Helping out a sister/friend

When we came back from China, we looked through some of the pictures taken by the orphanage, and we were delighted to see pictures of Molly and Michelle together in the same foster family. Even though not biological sisters, we have come to think of Molly as Michelle's foster sister.

We had already been following Molly's blog - you can find it on our links to the side under "Continuing the Journey".

They are going to get Molly soon, and things are moving a little faster than expected. That's the good news - Molly gets to be with her family. The bad news is, in this rough economy, their family is struggling a bit to get all the funds necessary for the adoption.

If you would like to read more about Molly, and maybe help them out a little, please visit their blog. It's a great blog, and they seem like such a neat family. Plus, they are having some great giveaway's to everyone who contributes.

Tell them Midge sent you!

A fun, family weekend

Our family woke early Saturday morning and headed down to Virginia Beach. We left at our house at 7:15 and had toes in the water before 11:00 a.m. This would be our only real family vacation this summer due to busy schedules, so we tried to make the most of it. Michelle loved the ocean, and really liked the water until a big wave knocked her over. After that she decided to just stick to playing in the sand. The weather was perfect - just warm enough, and the water was just cool enough. The big kids stayed in the water for close to 5 hours - needless to say, we didn't have to rock anyone to sleep that night.

That evening we drove out to the Rogers home for dinner and a Luohe reunion! Pete and Catherine came to stay with us just before their trip to China to get Emma last November. Catherine sent us some beautiful pictures and priceless video of Michelle. The girls were in the same orphanage - it was hard to tell if they really remembered one another or not. Emma seemed to really be checking out Michelle when she came in. In the below picture Emma was looking through the photo album she was given by the Luohe orphange - and, as usual, Michelle is eating! LOL

On Sunday we drove to Busch Gardens for some more family fun. Busch Gardens has a "Salute the Hero's" program, where all active duty and their families get in one day each season for free. We have lots of great pictures from our fun day which I will try to put up later, but this is one of the main reasons we came - to see the furry red guy of Michelle's dreams. This year they opened the new Sesame Street Land and Michelle gave it a big thumbs up! I wish I had captured her expression when she first saw Bert and Ernie. It was one of awe and amazement to see these characters in the flesh. She was excited but a little reserved until she saw Elmo, and when she saw him she just ran over and gave him a huge hug!


The weather again was perfect on Sunday - slightly overcast and cool with only one brief shower. Busch Gardens is such a fun family park - lots of great roller coasters for the teens, lots of fun little kid rides, and lots of shows and animal attractions if you are not a ride person. We are all tired after such a whirlwind trip, but fun was had by all.

Happy Father's Day!

It's wonderful that this year Michelle gets to celebrate Father's Day! What a blessing she is to us, and we are amazed to see how her Heavenly Father worked on her behalf to put her in our family!

Today we had a special dinner after church to honor Bill and Bill's Dad who was down to visit. Michelle loved the roast and kept asking for more. After a couple of small servings, I told her she couldn't have anymore until she ate her green beans. I was surprised at how quickly she cleaned them off her plate, so I happily cut a few more pieces of meat to give her. However, as we were clearing the table, I noticed a very neat little row of green beans lined up just under the plate of little miss priss!

Don't Blink

Enjoy your children while they are little - they really do grow up way too fast! It seems like just yesterday Elizabeth was this size. As my husband so eloquently put it... "One day they are 2 years old, so happy just to play with you...

... the next thing you know, they are climbing into the back of a stretch limo with some guy with a beard!"

Just kidding Lizzy - Colin is a nice boy! (Isn't she lovely?!)

Like a Weed!

As part of the six-month follow up the social workers asked us how much Michelle has grown since we have had her. We hadn't measured or weighed her lately, so I got out the tape measure and scale. I had read about 'catch-up growth' in adoptees, but Michelle has been 'catching up' even more than I expected. She has grown 4 3/4 inches and gained 9 1/2 pounds in six months!

When children are left unattended...

I left Michelle alone for about 10 minutes while I started dinner. When I returned, this is what I found...
You should see the carpet! I'm just glad she waited until after the social worker left today!

Time flies when you are having fun!

We did our 6 month post adoption report today with our homestudy agency. They came to see Michelle and ask how things are going. It's amazing, looking back on how far we have come in just under 6 months. New family, new home, new country, new mouth - she's been through a lot and it's amazing how well she is doing.

What a blessing! I can't imagine life without her.