CUTIE PATOOTIE

Boy did she ever SCREAM when the goat in the picture charged the fence. Needless to say, she did not like the animals. More of our friends at the farm tomorrow!!!!

Fun On the Farm !!!

What a great weekend we had!!! Our local FCC (Families with Children from China) group got together at McGee Farm. I know Olivia had a good time, but I think we had an even better time just getting to watch her. I have many more pictures I'm going to post of the whole group of girls later today. I've got to start putting a bow in her hair because on the hay ride two people commented about how cute "HE" was. I politely said thank you and "We think SHE is, too!!!" That's her frind Hannah Beth from church in the pictures with her. Check back later for more cuties!!!!

I'M HAPPIEST WHEN............

I'M EATING !!!!!!!!!! Look at this little pudge. She's gone from broccoli to boiled okra to bananas. She won't eat either one unless she can feed herself, not even the banana unless she can hold and peel. Her adjustment is getting better every day. We had an appointment with the International Adoption Clinic in Birmingham Wednesday. Dr. Chambers was really impressed with her physical abilities and said she was progressing like any regular baby. She had lab work done, which I might add was a nightmare, to check for the strength of her immunizations and other things. I sat in the waiting room and could clearly hear the scream when the needle went in. We're working on the language and me being able to leave the room without her crying. EVERY SINGLE thing we see, we point and say the name. It's so funny, she's gotten so familiar with us pointing that she can wake up in the middle of the night and I'll go in her room and find her standing up and pointing to things saying "Huh? The social worker explained her trust and attachment to Tyler and her crying for me like this: She latched on to Tyler because a male had never abandoned her and she immediatley built a trust with him and felt secure. Every female she's ever known has abandoned her (birth mother and nanny at orphanage) so she feels I'm leaving her when I walk out of the room. She still doesn't trust me, but our prayer is that God will build her trust daily. We are grateful to see how the Lord continues to work!!!

This message is from Olivia, who crawled up in my lap as I was posting this:

fcdf oze igwiujgwjigmkv dosjkfdidoujfdikd!!!!!!!!!!! I think this is secret code in Chinese!!!!

Showers Of Blessings

Just a few pictures from our shower at church. What a blessing to receive just gifts from so many gracious people!!! We have such a wonderful church family and we feel so blessed to be a part of it. The second picture was one of those gifts that you look at and say, "Wow!" Jana's dad, Alvin Lynch, took Olivia's referral picture and sketched it in charcoal pencil (I think) then Jana had it framed. It took our breath away!! It looks just like her and this picture doesn't do it justice at all. He is such a talented man with a very giving and loving heart!!! Every time Olivia passes it she points to it. Yes, that's Tyler at the shower. He was so sweet to come and show her off. He is a wonderful Daddy!!! The last one is of the two China Dolls at church, Olivia with Hannah Beth Chumley and her mom, Linda, who has been such a faithful and wonderful friend to us. Aren't they sweeties?

Why Didn't Someone Tell Me.........

that the kitchen sink is far better than any toy I could ever give her? I had several things I needed to get taken care of (laundry and dishes) so I decided to stick her in the sink for a little play time. She absolutley loved it!!! The floors were soaked, but I got some things accomplished. The other ones are of her finding the pumpkins outside and her daddy loving on her. It's so funny, we keep asking ourselves, "Does she really look Chinese to you?" Yeah, we know she does, but she's become such a part of who we are we don't even recognize it. For those of you who might be wondering, the love we have for this child simply cannot be explained in words. We are so grateful that her biological mother allowed us to take this child as our very own and give to her a gift she may have never known........LOVE!!! God is good, all the time!!!

WIDE LOAD !!!!!

Maybe I should make that a double wide!!! This turned out to be the sweetest picture. That's my mom in the floor crawling around with us. Believe you me, we find ourselves doing some pretty silly things around here. It's so funny how this house has changed. It's become more of a home, a messy one no doubt, but the change has all been for the good. For those of you that don't know, I like to keep my house clean and make sure everything is in the right place. Wow, you just wouldn't believe how far I've come. If I can take a bath, wash the clothes, clean the kitchen and fix something to eat, I feel as if I've made huge accomplishments for the day. The best part of the day is when Olivia wakes up and says, "Mama!" Melts my heart.
This is going to be one of those T.M.I stories, but for those of you that have been there done that, I can already hear you laughing LOUD!!!! I was downstairs posting these pictures and waiting for them to upload. So, I take off upstairs to tell her goodnight before Tyler put her to bed. I'm walking through the house, thinking they're hiding from me, shouting "Where's Daddy and Olivia?" "I'm gonna find you!" After searching every room and getting no response I walk to the upstairs bedroom and find the bathroom door closed, fan on, and Olivia saying dah, dah, dah. Tyler had to "take care of business" and had nowhere to put her, so in she goes with him. I just got so tickled I couldn't stand it. Tyler will kill me for that, but it was soooo funny!!! You all know it's happened to you, too!!! The time we've had to spend with her has been such a blessing, even if it is in the most unexpected places!!!
This is for Tyler's friend, Vince. You're right, Olivia does have more hair than Tyler, heehee!!

SOOOO Good to be Home!!!

How many times are we going to say it is so good to be home? Knowing that when we get up in the morning and we don't have to run to the nearest Seven-11 for bottled water or that we don't have to boil the water before we drink it, is such a relief!!!! When we arrived home Saturday, Tyler's dad had made Olivia a welcome home sign. If you look closely at the first picture, you can see her looking out the door.

I put the picture of her eating Spaghetti-O's for the first time because as I was feeding her she took the spoon from my hand and started to feed herself. We had Spaghetti-O's all over the place.

The last two pictures are for my girlfriends at work. You all just thought I wasn't teaching reading didn't you? Would you like to make a little bet as to who is the busiest and gets the least amount of sleep? I love staying home with though, she is such a joy!!!!! I have more pictures to post, but tonight is my night off (Daddy's turn to get up) so I'm headed for bed!!!

Arriving in the States!!!

These are the pictures of us in the plane and finally arriving in the States. Olivia became an American citizen as soon as we landed on American soil in Los Angeles. As soon as the plane landed everbody (those who had adopted babies and that was about 30 families) started cheering and clapping and shouting, "U.S.A. !!!!" We left China at 9:00 p.m. and arrived at Los Angeles at 8:00 p.m. 12 hours later. Do I have to tell you she has her days and nights mixed up? I love the last picture. This is her first look at the United States when we arrived in L.A.
I have more pictures to post, but I'll have to wait until she's asleep.

Last Day In China !!!

I've finally found the time to post pictures of our last day in China. The first two pictures are the traditional "Red Couch" pictures. It's become a tradition to have your child's pictures made on the couch at the White Swan. But, when your child won't sit still long enough, you get to be in the picture, too!!! Jane, our guide, is in the second picture. The third picture is of us at our Consulate appointment. This is where Olivia got her Visa and officially became ours. There were about 100 families in the room at the same time. We took our oath that we would love and take care of her to the best of our ability. It was so emotional to see all these babies in one room together. I looked around and thought "They just don't realize how blessed they are and how richer their lives just became." Then I thought of all those babies who were left behind and wondered if they would ever experience the touch and love of a parent. When we saw Olivia's orphanage we immediatley noticed how big it was, three floors and vastly spread out. My heart broke to know that many of those babies would be there forever. Olivia had about 30 babies in her room alone. That brings to mind the verse in James about how God's heart is turned toward the orphan.... "Pure and udefiled religion is to take care of orphans and widows." The last picture is of us walking through the airport in Guangzhou. We were so thankful to be heading home!!! For some reason it's taking a while to load the pictures, so if you read this early I'm posting more as soon as I finish this one. I thought I would update the blog until I go back to work, November 13.