I cannot believe we are already in the middle of August! We start our second year of homeschool on August 22nd and let me tell you, we are all ready...even my Rachel Cate! We have moved our classroom to Trevor's former office as he is heading to junior college in a couple of weeks and won't be needing it. I must say, it's bittersweet as I will miss him during the day. Talking about Trevor, I have some wonderful news!!! Trevor was accepted into Columbia College at Chicago for the fall of 2012!! CJ and I are so proud of him and excited for this opportunity. I will miss him so much but I know my eldest bird must leave the nest at some point and I'm thanking God he is only an hour away! Trevor continues to work at the Karate studio which is a great job with good pay and to top it off the girls are now attending classes there too. It's nice to see how awesome Trevor is with the parents and his duties at work, it really makes his mama proud.
Miss Madelyn has been with her forever family for over one year now!!! I cannot believe how fast this first year went by. We celebrated by having a wonderful Chinese dinner followed by a movie and mama's brownies with ice cream. We are so blessed to have this angel in our family, I thank God every day for her! Madelyn continues to make excellent progress in her English skills and maintaining her Mandarin. Now that she is comfortable with us, I am seeing more and more of her personality and I can see how advanced she is for her age in maturity. God knew what he was doing by placing her as the BIG sister in our family, she is very good at her job and at times mama and dad have to remind her we are the parents and she's the sister...LOL... it's too funny but she is very "in charge" at times and I know it's from the culture she was raised, we celebrate her independence but at the same time we encourage her to stay a kid for just a but longer. :)
Miss Rachel Cate is growing like a leaf and has mastered swimming this summer. She is a fish, just like her daddy!!! Rachel will be traveling with us to China when get the TA (travel approval) from God to get our Gracie Faith. I am so excited to bring her as she is my child that has the most anxiety when we're apart. I seem to worry about her the most because Linzhi just seems to go with it and doesn't seem to get too upset for too long and Madelyn has already stated she will be "just fine" and she will "babysit" Linzhi...That's my girl! We are also thrilled to show her where all her sisters come from and the opportunity to be apart of the Chinese culture if only for a couple of weeks. Rachel has a tender heart and it breaks easily for those who are the lest of these so I know it will be emotional for her at times but I also think she will be able to witness first hand the miracle of adoption and how Graceful the Lord is in times of unknowns. Plus, she'll be an excellent playmate for Miss Gracie Faith.
Oh my, Linzhi Rose...She has been to heck and back as she continues to recover from surgery. I must say at first, she did not want anything to do with therapy once her cast was off but little by little my courageous Linzhi came out of her shell and now...Look out! We do therapy everyday and once a week with her OT (just to make sure we're on target). Praise God, her muscle is pumping that arm up and down, we are getting there, it's coming and we are just so happy to see our little peanut working towards a more independent future! Having two kiddos with arthrogryposis can make our hearts break into a thousand pieces everyday when we witness their struggles just to do things we take for granted like, putting on our shirt or brushing our hair. Daily we come up with different ways of doing ordinary things just so they can have the confidence of being independent. It's so hard for me at times when I see Linzhi in Karate and kids stare at her skin graft on her arm. I'll ask her if she wants me to wrap it and she'll say "no mama, it's just me" Ok, lessened learned for mama. I cannot keep her from the world and I need to stop making mean eyes at the kids that stare at my daughter...LOL (I really don't make mean eyes but I want too). I find myself wanting to shelter her from any hurt feelings of not being "normal". I tell my children daily "DARE TO BE DIFFERENT". I started this when Trevor was itty bitty and I mean it! I want all my children to be proud of the way our Lord created them as they are all fearfully and wonderfully made by the hands of our creator. Life can be tough on these kiddos that look "different" but honestly every single person on this earth has a special need either you see it or you don't. Period. Enough said. :):):) Oh and by the way, Miss Linzhi and Madelyn have become little fish in the pool too...Just wanted to add. :)
We sent Little Gracie a cake, flowers and a picture of her new family. We were told by Adele it will be delivered today or tomorrow. I paid extra for digital pictures...I am praying we get at least one!!! I am just dying to see my baby. I am so grateful for the videos I have of her but I want to see what she's up to now and if I can see any signs of lack of oxygen in her face. My prayer for my daughter is that the Lord will breathe his healing breath into her heart and lungs and by the hands of the most powerful physician our daughter has some healing in her heart, Lord willing. I am not in denial but I am hopeful in the promise of our Lord. We are putting on our Shield of Amour and getting ready for the work the Lord is preparing us for with Gracie. OK, now get me on that plane to Beijing!!! Hopefully my next post will be pictures of our little one in Shanxi.
God bless and enjoy the pictures!
Linzhi making a goofy face in the hospital. She was going a bit stir crazy (me too)
Finally home from the hospital and completely exhausted.
The welcoming committee.
Feeling better at home.
Ok, pics out of order here... getting ready to apple pick this past Sunday.
The annual bus photo stop.
Trevor at his graduation party. See how long it's been...His hair is already grown out!
Back to the apple orchard. Seeing Madelyn pretending to eat a leaf...That's my goof ball.
Look at that arm!!! See the bulge of her strong muscle!!
Madelyn picking her apple.
All finished!
Now for dinner...yummy!
Rachel Cate lovin her pasta!
Miss Mady too!
The End!
