REFLECTIONS....... TEN MORE THINGS I'VE LEARNED ABOUT AND FROM EILEY JOY

It's hard to believe that it was a month ago today that we left on our journey to China to get our precious Eiley Joy. Even though we had made the trip twice before, and knew the whole drill quite well, there was still the unknown about what it was going to be like to have a third daughter, and how she was going to react to us. The thing we were absolutely CERTAIN about, though, was regardless of all the unknowns, we KNEW that we already loved her with all our heart and soul.

I know I've said this a million times before, but it is just mindboggling, yet SO simple of an act for our GREAT GOD to take a child on the other side of the world who needs a mama and a daddy, and plant in the heart of a couple of old codgers (we may be old in age, but not in spirit) the desire to have another child----and then put those two miracles together. It is just the ULTIMATE of ULTIMATES of blessings. And when I hold Eiley Joy in my arms, and she just melts there----and I place my face against her little head, I just see God EVERYWHERE. All three of our girls are gifts from him, and we just can't imagine life without them added to the blessings of three sons.

I know I shared some things in a previous entry that I had learned about Eiley Joy, but I would like to share a few more. Some may be ones I mentioned before, but please know they are now MAGNIFIED!!!

1. Eiley Joy is a TOUGH little girl. In the almost month we have had her, I have NEVER seen her cry when she has fallen or run into something. She just always gets up and keeps going. I guess you might say, she demonstrates GREAT perseverance.

2. She is a very MISCHIEVOUS little girl!!! She knows what the word NO means, but likes to hear it several times before she acknowledges her understanding of it---the whole time having a sly little smile on her face.

3. She has the cutest little giggle, that we are hearing more and more each day. It's not a belly laugh-----it's just a sweet, quiet little sound that warms our hearts!!!

4. Her crying is MUCH louder than her giggles. In fact, she sounds a lot like a sick elephant when she cries when she is wanting something.

5. The TERRIBLE tantrums that she threw when we first got her are no more!!!! She still gets mad sometimes and cries, but the head throwing back and forth and the scratching and biting were left behind in China. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

6. We are beginning to get into a really decent sleep routine. (ANOTHER PRAISE THE LORD!!!) During our time here in Florida, she hasn't been going to bed until around midnight because we have been about and about late each night. HOWEVER, when I get ready to put her to bed, she lets me hold her, and she snuggles up close to me. When she falls asleep, I am able to lay her in her pack 'n play, and even if she wakes up, she puts her little hands in a praying position under her face, and sticks her little bottom up in the air, and goes back to sleep. AND, she sleeps for at least 9 to 10 hours!!!

7. She LOVES music!!! When she hears it playing, she either sways from side to side, or actually does some pretty serious little baby dance moves. It puts a SMILE on her face!!!

8. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES water!!!! We have been AMAZED at her this week in the pool, and then today at the beach. She has NO FEAR of water (or anything else, for that matter). She LOVES to put her face in it, and to be dunked under. She can float on her stomach with her face in the water, and when we pull her off the side into the pool and put her under, when she comes up, she turns toward the side and actually helps to pull herself up to do it again. They must have done some powerful swimming lessons in those sinks at SHH where they gave her a bath daily!!!!

9. She is really beginning to pay attention to her two sweet big sisters. I have been taking pictures of the girls each day out on our condo deck. She knows exactly what I'm going to do, and will now stand against the screen and reach out for Molly Kate's and Callie Beth's hands to hold. Tonight, she let Molly Kate feed her ice cream, and she has NEVER eaten it before when Roger and I have offered it to her. And even though she is often like a little bull in a China shop, going through their blocks or other things the girls might be playing with on the floor, they are sweet and understanding with her.

10. She is the most loving, cuddly, sweet baby girl we could ever ask for----and even though we still have a long way to go and lots of things to learn, she KNOWS who her mama and daddy are, and she loves us and trusts us. She is OUR girl.

This Sunday will mark the anniversary of when we first saw Eiley Joy's profile on CCAI's Waiting Child link. We were at a hotel in Columbia, Tennessee on our way home from vacation here in Florida, and I just happened to open the daily Yahoo shared list of available children to adopt. CCAI listings are rarely included in that list, but they were that day, and there she was. When I saw her picture, I was drawn to her. She was NOT anywhere close to the age range of the child we thought we were looking for. Her special needs were NOT special needs we had checked on our medical needs checklist that we felt comfortable with or would be willing to accept. AND, the likelihood of her file not already having a long waiting list of requests to review it was rather dim. YET, I sent the email to CCAI, and asked to be put on the list. Four days later, her file was in our hands, and 11 months later, she was in our arms.

I just can't say it enough.......WE ARE BLESSED!!!!!

Vicki :)

 

 

WE'RE HOME.........BUT GONE AGAIN!!!!

I really don't remember what my last blog entry was, so I am going to backtrack just a little bit, to make sure I have shared ALL of our big adventures. We left Shanghai last Sunday afternoon (China time) at 4:30 PM, and we were due to arrive in Dallas/Fort Worth at around 4:45 on Sunday afternoon (USA time.) For some unknown reason, our plane was late leaving Shanghai, and when we finally arrived in Dallas/Ft. Worth, it was after 6 PM. Our flight to Nashville was scheduled to start boarding at 7:50, so that gave us less than two hours to get through immigration and customs. The immigration line was LONG....VERY LONG, and we had the sinking feeling when we took our place in the line, that we were going to miss our flight. That sinking feeling became a reality. It was around 7:30 before we finally reached the officer who processed our paperwork. We couldn't have asked for him to be any nicer and accommodating that what he was, but he told us there was NO WAY we would make it to our flight, and that we needed to go to American airlines to see if we might get on a later flight. Unfortunately, the 11 o'clock flight was totally booked, and the likelihood of five seats coming available was almost nil. We were told the best thing we could do was get a hotel room, and come back the next morning, if we wanted to be on stand-by. We were given tickets for the 4:45 flight on Monday afternoon---that's the earliest guaranteed seats we could get. SO we caught the van to the Holiday Inn Express, and attempted to settle for the night, thinking we would got back at 7:30 the next morning, in hopes of getting an earlier flight. Roger and the girls went to bed, and I got Eiley Joy settled around 2 AM, and very eagerly hit the sack, knowing we would be getting up EARLY to go back to the airport. Our van driver had told us that we WOULDN'T get standby seats, and the clerk at the desk had pretty much told us the same thing, but we hadn't ruled out trying.....UNTIL Eiley Joy woke up 30 minutes later. Apparently, she thought it was NAPTIME, and felt that a 30 minute nap was ample. She was up and going strong, and didn't go back to sleep until 7 AM. Needless to say, Roger and I decided NOT to spend the day in the airport with a two year old, and two five year olds, but to just wait for the flight at 4:45. Evan and Shea had planned to pick us up on Sunday night when we were originally supposed to have arrived, and had already started for Nashville when we found out we wouldn't be able to get a flight that night. Because Evan had a JV soccer game on Monday night, he wasn't able to pick us up, so my sister-in-law, Phyllis came to get us.

When we got back to Murray, we met Evan and Shea at Applebee's for a late dinner, and for them to get to meet their new little sister, and then we headed HOME!!!! We were greeted by B.B. and Sophie Grace, our faithful dogs, and our cat, Allie. As we expected, our little fearless girl wasn't afraid of them at all!!! She was also VERY WIDE WAKE!!! I began doing laundry, and she followed me and made herself at home. At 6:10 AM on Tuesday morning I finally put her in her pack 'n play. She screamed and cried for about 20 minutes, and finally went to sleep, as did I. Unfortunately, we had appointments on Tuesday morning, so it meant only a couple hours of sleep.

On Tuesday we got up (I had to wake her up, needless to say) and headed out for the day. Eiley Joy made her first visit to North Calloway Elementary!!! I think she was a hit!!! Then we headed to Pagliai's for her first playdate with Charlotte. We had a fun lunch with Kendra, Charlotte, and Kim Crouch. Eiley Joy seemed right at home there. Afterward, I had to take the girls to dance, so EJ and I went to visit Uncle Steve and Aunt Phyllis during that time. I picked the girls up from dance, and we went by Gran Gran's (my mom's) so she could meet her new granddaughter. After we got home that afternoon, we turned around and headed to Paducah, as I had Gymbucks I needed to spend. LOL :) Roger sat out in the play area at the mall with the girls. Eiley Joy LOVED climbing on all of the things there. Once, she got out the door, and Roger had to chase her two stores down to catch her. She is FAST!!!!

Once we got home, we were SURE she would be ready for bed. NOT!!!! After trying to rock her to sleep, I finally gave up and put her in her pack 'n play. She screamed and cried for a LONG time before falling asleep. She did sleep until after 11 on Wednesday, when I had to wake her up so I could get the girls to school on time. We went to eat with Gran Gran, then went and picked the girls up from school. On Wednesday night, Eiley Joy went to church for the first time in her life. She did okay in the nursery. She wanted to push the younger babies over----not really aggressively. She has a lot to learn in interacting with other children. I know it was survival of the fittest at SHH, to a certain extent, and since she was one of the smallest in the toddler house, I'm sure she had to be rough sometimes to survive!!!

 

Wednesday bedtime was the pits, AGAIN...... I kept thinking she would go to sleep, because I knew she was VERY behind on her sleep. It just didn't happen, though, until she had screamed and cried (with no tears) for a LONG time.

 

Thursday was our first day to get to stay at home. PRAISE THE LORD!!!! By this time, I was so far behind on sleep, too, and we didn't get up until after 11:30. I began thinking about vacation!!!! YES.....we were leaving for Florida on Friday---the next day, as soon as the girls and I got back from Molly Kate's and Callie Beth's preschool pumpkin patch visit. It was after two that night before Eiley Joy went to sleep, and I pulled an all nighter----I wanted to try to have everything packed and ready to go when we got home from the pumpkin patch. Poor Eiley Joy.....I had to get her up a little after 7 so we could leave in time for the field trip. She really isn't a morning person when she hasn't had a good night's sleep. She looked AWFUL!!! Her little eyes were red, and she was obviously SO tired!!! It had rained during the night, and I have to be honest----I was in hopes the pumpkin patch trip would be cancelled, BUT it wasn't. Two VERY excited five year old girls, and an EXTREMELY tired mama and two year old headed to Paducah. I don't think Eiley Joy was overly impressed with her first trip to the pumpkin patch. I had given her a bottle on the way, and somehow it had leaked, so her shirt was soaking wet when we got there. It was damp and cool outside, and my girls were the ONLY ones there with shorts on. HEY.....I had just gotten home from China, and I just hadn't had time to get out fall clothes---ESPECIALLY since it had been HOT up until that day. We all survived, even though I don't think I got one smiling picture of EJ. We rushed home, and I frantically tried to finish packing everything. It was after 2 before we were able to get on the road, though.

 

We started on our journey to Florida----a very tired Roger, who was still suffering from jet lag, ME, who had had a total of 11 hours sleep in four days, a pitiful sleep deprived baby girl, and two happy 5 year old little girls!!! We had a hotel reservation in Fayetteville, Georgia. We were to meet our adoption friends, the Cooke's on Saturday morning for breakfast. Their precious daughter, Hannah, and Molly Kate were roommates in the orphanage before they both were adopted. We have gotten to be with them the past three years when we've gone to Florida.

It took us almost two hours to get through Nashville because of the backed up traffic. The farther we drove, the more exhausted we became. We stopped in Chattanooga for dinner, and I think the full stomach pretty much finished Roger off for the day. The farther he drove, the more dangerous it became because he couldn't keep his eyes open. He didn't want me to drive, considering I hadn't been to sleep at all. FINALLY, he pulled into what I call a fleabag hotel, went in, and got us a room for $44. He thought if we could just rest for an hour or so, maybe we could make it the rest of the way to Fayetteville. He slept, and I played with Eiley Joy who was in no mood to sleep. She had slept quite a bit after we left home, so apparently she got her nap out. About an hour and a half later we hit the road again. We finally made it to Fayetteville around 3:30 AM. Eiley Joy was still wide awake. This time Roger took the baby shift and I fell asleep. When the alarm came on a couple hours later, she was asleep in the floor. Roger had let her run until she pretty much collapsed. We got dressed, packed, and went to meet our friends at McDonalds. We had a wonderful visit with them. They are just another of the MANY friends we have made ALL because of adoption. They are a wonderful Christian family, and we feel blessed to count them as friends.

Once we were back on the road, Roger felt rested. I slept quite a bit as he drove. Eiley Joy rested well, and Molly Kate and Callie Beth were good as usual. We made good time, and were relieved to arrive at Orange Lake around 8 PM. I know it was probably stupid of us to try to make this trip so soon after coming home from China, but we truly felt like it would be good bonding time with Eiley Joy, and THAT it has been. Even though Roger's phone has rung continuously with insurance related calls, it has been SO nice to not have the normal duties we have at home, and to be able to just relax and enjoy each other. Eiley Joy didn't go to sleep until 3 AM on Sunday morning, BUT she slept until 1:30 PM Sunday afternoon. AND, when she DID go to sleep at 3 AM, it was without any crying and screaming. On Sunday night, she was asleep by 12:30 PM, and slept until 11:30 Monday morning. Tonight, it was after 1 AM when she went to sleep, but we didn't get in until late, and again, she went to sleep in my arms without any crying or screaming. She is getting caught up on her sleep, and is one HAPPY little girl. She is our spunky monkey!!! She is into EVERYTHING, but is just SO happy all the time. She absolutely LOVES the water!!!! Yesterday, when we took the girls to the pool, she put her head and face in the water the first thing, and she even let me drop her underwater. She floated on her belly with her face in the water. We think she may be the little mermaid in real life!!!! I expected her to love the water, just because of the way she had reacted when I gave her a bath. I never dreamed she would love it as much as she does, though.

We have had two great days at the pool, and three nights of scrumptious dinners. We are looking forward to the rest of the week of fun, rest, and relaxation. I guess when we get back home on Sunday, we are REALLY going to have to get back to reality, but hopefully this week of bonding is going to help make things easier, once we get back home. I decided here to not put Eiley Joy's pack 'n play in our bedroom. I have it set up in the living room area of our condo, and it has worked out great. We are in the next room, so I hear her if she makes a sound. I think it is going to be best for her to sleep in her own room when we get home, though. We are going to try it, anyway.

Sorry for my boring, play by play entry. I may not be adding a lot more to my blog, other than pictures. I am attaching several that have been taken throughout the week. As you can see, we have another happy little girl on our hands!!!! She is a PERFECT fit for our family, even if she IS going to keep me on my toes!!!!

Thanks so much for sharing our journey with us!!!!

Vicki :) 

 

 

 

 

 

Shanghai Healing Home Infant House Photos

Shanghai Healing Home Toddler House Photos

SHANGHAI.......CLOSURE AND NEW BEGINNINGS

We arrived in Shanghai yesterday a little after noon. We had a good flight, but was ready to reach our final destination before our flight home. Two of the WONDERFUL volunteers from the Shanghai Healing Home, Mary Ann and Norma, picked us up at the airport. YES.....it took TWO vehicles to transport all of our luggage and us to the hotel!!!!
Last night, we took a walk around the area where our hotel is. It was a beautiful evening, and we found a restaurant that had outdoor dining. Our meal was good, and we REALLY loved the AMERICAN music that was playing in the background. :)
Today was a BIG day for us. In fact, today was the SOLE reason we made the trip to Shanghai....to visit the Shanghai Healing Home- Eiley Joy's home for all but a month of her life before we adopted her. Another one of the sweet volunteers from SHH, Birgit, came to pick us up and take us there. Roger and I had talked about whether or not we thought it was a good idea to take Eiley Joy back. Birgit had even offered to care for her while we visited and toured. We decided, though, that we just didn't feel right about visiting WITHOUT her, and that we just needed to take her, and deal with any setbacks that might occur.
This visit was SO important to me, but I don't think I realized how overwrought with emotion I would be. I'm tearing up even as I write this. There I was.....at the place Eiley Joy had known as home as long as she could remember. And when we went in, and I saw the reactions of all the ayis when they saw her, I knew just how VERY much she had been loved during her time there. Eiley Joy smiled and giggled as they all hugged her, kissed her, and passed her around. I also realized very quickly that, despite the fact that SHH isn't a home with a mama and daddy, it IS a place where they TRY to make it as much like a real home as possible.
We spent almost two hours at SHH. It is actually made up of two houses, the infant house and toddler house. It is located smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. We saw SO many precious children who are waiting for families, and YES......we DID see a few that we would REALLY love to being home with us. There is a precious little girl there who will never be able to be made paper ready to be adopted (a story in itself.) She is five years old, and is one of the prettiest little girls I've ever laid eyes on. I keep thinking.....where there's a will there's a way. Who knows????? :)
As I said earlier, we really weren't sure what the repercussions might be with taking Eiley Joy with us back to SHH, but we found out there were none. She LOVED her time there, but when it was time to go, she reached out her arms for me to take her. I told Roger tonight that I know we have loved her from the time she was placed in our arms. Actually, we have loved her from the moment we received her file and KNEW she was meant to be our third daughter. But, something about our visit today just made me look at her in a whole different light, and feel even MORE blessed that God has entrusted her to our care. 

I would like to share more about SHH, but my internet connection is about to go off, so I will end for now. I will have one more blog entry about our trip here (we had dinner tonight with another SHH volunteer and her family---an AWESOME evening), and then the next entry will be about coming home. Our flight leaves at 4:30 PM tomorrow (Sunday afternoon here), and we will be arriving in the good ole USA at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport around 4:30 PM Sunday afternoon home time. We will have to go through immigration and customs. I think our layover is almost three hours, and then we are due to arrive in Nashville at 10:05 PM Sunday night. Evan and Shea are coming to pick us up at the airport. PLEASE pray for good travels for us, including SLEEPING children at least part of the time, and a quick and easy transition through immigration and customs.

It has been a good trip, and we are coming home with a PRIZE!!!!!

Vicki :)