The Staycation

This year due to some monstrous minor money concerns, we decided to stay home for Spring Break. The kiddos seemed okay with the idea, but they did request that we try to make the week memorable regardless of our less than ideal location. I morphed into SuperMom and took them to:

• the zoo on Monday (followed by friends spending the night at our house)
• the Civil Rights Museum on Tuesday
• a long nature hike and scrumptious lunch at Five Guys Burgers on Wednesday (followed by spending the night at friend's houses)
• a picnic and hike at a local state park with the grandparents on Thursday

Unfortunately, I was completely exhausted by Friday so the kids played outside and I prayed for David to come home early. Saturday was Kai's big birthday bash so I knew I needed to be well-rested and on my A game. He had his party at a huge indoor play place and the pictures turned out terrible, so you're just going to have to believe me that Kai had a great time playing laser tag and running around with 14 of his closest buddies.

Spring Break is over and the weekend has officially ended (since the munchkins are in bed, I count the day done.) This mama is truly thankful for the last week that she got to spend with her amazing kiddos but even more grateful for the wonderful schools that her kids will spend several hours at tomorrow!

It Happened 10 Years too Early

I knew it would happen one day but I had hoped it would be much, much later. I was thinking maybe I could handle it when she was, say, twenty-one. Today, however, Piper did the unthinkable (a good ten years too early.) I'm so mortified that I don't know if I should share it with the world. But I need to. I need to commiserate with other mothers who may have walked this path before me. So deep breath...here goes...

Piper purchased an item of clothing today that I completely disapproved of. I told her straight up that the said item was hideously ugly. And you know what? She didn't care. one. little. bit. She bought it anyway with money she earned from a neighbor's garage sale. My sweet, adorable eleven year old has *sniff* outgrown my fashion advice. Yes, today Piper bought a pair of TOMS.
I know, I know - the owner of TOMS donates a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair of TOMS sold. He's an amazing humanitarian. It's a fabulous idea. I support shoes for the needy, for goodness sakes! I just hate the way these specific shoes look. In my not so humble opinion, they resemble a $10 home economics project gone wrong. And no, I'm not cool. I'm 40 and coolness took a hike when I bought my first minivan several years ago. But I still know ugly when I see it. And ladies and gentlemen, TOMS are plain ole ugly.

I'm just waiting for the day that Piper says, "You were right mom." Mark my words, I'll happen.

There's nothing I love more than an update!

Molly Kate YunNing - 3 years, 4 months old

We sent a care package to Miss Molly Kate last week and two days later, voila, these photos showed up in my inbox. I'm completely smitten with our little girl. Her smile looks like it will light up a room! I keep fantasizing that China is going to send us a letter saying that we can skip past the other steps of the adoption and go get Molly Kate now. No, it'll never happen in real life, but it can't hurt to dream.

And on a side note, if you're looking for a good care package service, I would highly recommend Ann at Red Thread China. Over the course of our 3 adoptions, she has been amazing at getting information and photographs quickly for us. She's an angel in my eyes.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday - need I say more?

Demystifying Special Needs

There's been something of a ruckus lately on why one would chose to adopt a special needs child given the choice for a healthy child. I guess I should just confess right now that 5 years ago when I saw Kai's photograph for the first time, I was not looking for a child with his special need. I had an extremely short list of special needs that I deemed "acceptable" for our family. Kai's special need was most definitely not on that list. But you know what, God knew that our hearts were much bigger than we realized. And He taught us that children are children - regardless of their scary sounding diagnoses. They are amazing little human beings who deserve the love of a family. Forget the label and love the child.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have 2 little boys - not 2 little boys with special needs. They are wonderful, they are smart, they are healthy and they are full of life. What if I had let my fear of special needs say no to their sweet faces? I don't know about you, but to me, these guys are perfect in each and every way.

Another Step Completed - DTC

Yes, approximately 4 1/2 months after our family decided to adopt sweet Molly Kate, we are finally DTC (Dossier to China.) The dossier is a big, nasty, bundle of paperwork and it takes a lot of organization to get it compiled. It feels great to have this step behind us. Being DTC is a pretty big deal in the timeline of our adoption although we still have a long way to go. My guess is that we'll travel in late August or early September. I know, it's forever in the life of a 3 year old - don't remind me. Today I'm going to be optimistic and focus on the fact that we're one step closer to our little girl. It doesn't get much better than that!

Praise God

My baby girl sitting on her hospital bed (notice no iv lines)

My angel with a wonderful nanny hired to sit with her in the hospital

I received a phone call from our adoption agency a little over 5 weeks ago. They had just been contacted by the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) and told that Molly Kate had been transferred to Beijing for heart surgery. This was a huge shock for us (since we were prepared to have her surgery here) and put me into a world of worry. I'm a pretty easy-going girl and this honestly threw me for a loop. I worried about Molly Kate being alone and in pain in an unfamiliar and cold hospital. It has taken me weeks and weeks of emails, phone calls and searching, but I finally got the news today that Molly Kate is still in Beijing and doing well. She had successful open heart surgery 10 or 11 days ago and the doctor believes that she will be able to live a long and full life. One day I will tell the story of how I finally came to get this information but that is for another day.

Molly Kate is well. She is not alone. Her heart is healed. Praise God!