Summer Fun Working on Gross Motor Skills & A Medical Update

I love these moments when these two love being brother and sister. Trust me, they are balanced out with moments of fighting over toys and invading each others personal space by poking, splashing in the bathtub and hugs that turn into boa constrictor squeezing.

I am really working on getting us outside as much as possible. Sophia has amazing fine motor skills, but is way behind Elijah's abilities with gross motor. She goes very slowly down stairs, she takes them one at a time..making sure that two feet are on each step before moving on to the next. She doesn't have a lot of muscle tone in her bottom and legs. So we are working on outside play to improve this.
The slip and slide is a huge hit. She doesn't slide down it, but she splashed in the water and runs around in it.


I am taking them to the park. The one nearest our home has a big wooden play structure with all sorts of activities. Eli leaves Sophia behind on this because she is so slow, but I am hoping that by the end of the summer she will be climbing around and moving at his speed.



You all know that we love to fish out here at the lake and Sophia loves it too. She has a little Barbie pole that she can cast out (Tyler taught her how to cast) and she reals in the rubber butterly tied to the end of her string. She loves it and repeats it over and over.

We went to visit our pediatrician this week and everything looks good. He said that she still has a slight murmur in her heart but that it is normal and he thinks her surgery was successful. He said no one can repair a heart to the perfect condition God makes them in. Her TB test came back negative and her urine test came back clean. I am working on collecting 3 separate stool samples to check for parasites (not a lot of fun). And I have to take her to have her blood drawn to be tested for pretty much everything. My pediatrician wants her immunizations re-done. He said there is a type of ramp up schedule for children who start their shots at a later age. I hate having her poked while I am trying to build up her trust in me, but I have no choice. I still need to get her into our cardiologist. Then we will know for certain that her heart repair was good and we can move on with her childhood.

Happy 17th Birthday to my son Zachary...

I love you Zach. Happy Birthday. You are still and always will be... my sunshine.

First Post Since China...

These are our red couch photos taken at the White Swan Hotel. We were in such wonderful company on this trip. The families with us were truly inspiring. It seems like we have been on the run since they were taken. Our trip home went well for us, but we all are just exhausted. Tim, Eli and I caught some type of flu in Guandzhou. Thank goodness for Z Packs. Eli and I recovered pretty quickly, but Tim did not.
We are struggling to get back onto some type of a normal schedule. Last night was the first night everyone got to bed at a normal US time and woke up at a normal US time. Sophia will not sleep in her bed. She will nap on the living room couch, but will only sleep if I am with her at night. So, this throws Eli off too because he needs things to be fair between him and Sophia. So, he is now napping on the living room couch and refusing to sleep alone.
I cannot complain though. Sophia acts like she has always been with during the day. We are not having any issues with her as of yet. She eats normally and is very outgoing and affectionate. We haven't seen her seeking out anyone else for love or comfort in an unhealthy way, she seems to understand that we are her parents and is happy with us.
She and Eli and definitely quite a pair, enjoying the love and frustrations of being siblings. Zach and Tyler absolutely adore her. She is surrounded by love.
I will blog as I can. Today is the first day that I feel almost like myself again.

The Journey of My Life

I have decided to re-design the auction blog into a travel blog. I just love the style and Daleea was so wonderful and tweaked the header for me a bit. The blog is the same site, so you can hit your auction link and go straight there.

Please join us, I will not be blogging on the Seventh Diamond again until after we return from China.

click here: The Journey of My Life

My Princess...

I am very emotional right now. Anyone out there have this? I just think about my girl all of the time and what this experience is going to bring to her. I know how happy we will be and how terrified she most likely will be. I think about the past 3 years and all we have gone through, that is really just overwhelming. I am in a sort of auto mode. I am picking up the Z-Pack prescriptions and buying our gifts to bring and making sure we have enough things to keep the kids busy on the plane. But every once in a while I just look at her and have a good cry. After all of this time, my girl is coming home.

Our SW called yesterday to tell us that our gotcha day has been delayed. China wants us in country for a couple of days to make sure we don't have swine flu before they give Sophia to us. We were told the adoption is not being delayed, just that we will receive her a few days later than was originally planned. I hope that they get past this before we get there, but we will do what we need to do.

I like this photo because it shows what I believe is her bedroom and she has cute pink sheets and a little vanity by her bed. I am hoping she is happy where she is and that she will be happy here too.

Sunday...

It's All Coming Together...

We are finally to the point where everything has come together and I feel at peace. Don't get me wrong, I am still anxious and slightly freaked out. But the big pieces have fallen into place. This is going to happen. I will be leaving next Sunday to meet my daughter.

We have our visa's
We have our final travel itenerary
Everything has been arranged for us in Beijing and Guangzhou
We have our shots
We have the dog kennel notified that Cooper is coming
We have a ride to and from the airport
We have someone to check on the cat
Everything is set with our jobs

Still to do:

Find someone to water my flowers
Get a prescription for Tim and I for a Z-Pack
Get a prescription from our pediatrician for a children's antibiotic
Pack...I'm not a person for packing weeks in advance

Tutus, Ladybugs & Daisies

Oh yes, all of my adoption anxiety has found an outlet and there are literally piles of hair bows stacking up in my dining room. Please head over to the boutique and order a bow. Just one little bow.... CLICK HERE

Saturday with the Tribe

I think it's impossible to get 4 children to look at you and smile at the same time :)

The Secret Upstairs Playroom

Boat ride!

Swimming in the Pool

We spent this Saturday with Steffie B. (Never Too Many) and her family. We had a wonderful time. The kids played non-stop. We went for a boat ride and toured their lake. Then the kids went swimming in the pool. We ate dinner outside in the sunshine. I think the pictures tell it all.

Please Pray! My Dad is having some items auctions tomorrow to raise funds for us.

Please pray for us today and tomorrow. My father is auctioning off some items tomorrow (Saturday) to raise money for our trip to China.
Thank you Dad. We wouldn't be able to do this without your help. I appreciate you more than you know.

How's It Going?

I'm hanging in there. I'm waiting for our Visa's to return. Tim went today and made arrangements for our 'new cash' for the orphanage donation. Our travel back and forth to China has been confirmed, but we are still waiting for our agency to confirm in country travel. I am asking everyone I know about what we should eat and what we should do. I am hearing rumors that the Civil Affairs office is shut down in Beijing and we won't be able to complete our adoption. Our agency says we are all set up and fine. We are traveling ALONE...no travel group. I went to Target yesterday and bought a My Little Pet Shop play set and a Disney Princesses miniature play set for Sophia for the plane rides. Eli has pirate finger puppets waiting for him. Then I also have a lot of books and coloring books for both of them. Tim is going to put over 20 kid movies on his ipod for the kids to watch while traveling. I am bringing my big Jeep stroller. Eli cannot fit in an umbrella stroller (he's a big kid) but he and Sophia can both fit in the Jeep stroller...so too big or not...that's what I'm bringing. Tomorrow I am going through Sophia's closet to determine what outfits I am going to bring. THANK YOU to all of you for the wonderful things you have sent, I am going to try to clothe her exclusively in your gifts while we are in China.
I have purchased hand sanitizer, hand wipes and flushable wipes. I met with the pediatrician and have a good medical plan. We still have to meet with our Social Worker to make sure all of our paperwork is done correctly. THOSE ARE ALL OF THE THINGS SWIMMING IN MY HEAD RIGHT NOW :) Did I forget anything????

Thank you for lunch today Steffie. I needed to purge my brain. Now tell me again how you are going to be there for me while I'm in China and you are in Maui....you won't forget me right???

New Blog

Please come over and take a peek at my new bow blog. I think Verna and Becky did a wonderful job with it. Check out Busy Mama Blog Designs to see their work.

If you add my sidebar link to your blog, please leave a comment and let me know. I will be doing a drawing and the winner will receive a free membership to the Hair Bow of the Month Club and will receive 13 free hair bows!

If you purchase a bow and are a regular reader of this blog, let me know and I will send you a second bow of your choice for free. I'm not putting it on the bow blog, but I am happy to do it for my friends.

All prices include postage.

Thank you so much!

Click here: Sophia Jane Boutique

Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend

It's a Whirlwind Around Here!

All I can think about is Sophia. I tell you, I am just going in so many different directions. I sent away for our Visa's yesterday. That was nervewracking...to let our passports go out in the mail has me VERY nervous, even though I'm having them tracked. Our flight arrangements were confirmed yesterday. I am starting to freak out a little about how China is quarantining people who are on flights with people who have a fever and are suspected of having the pig flu. That is my worst nightmare right now. I am also hearing that civil affairs in Beijing is closed. I have asked my agency twice now to confirm that they know for a fact that we will be able to complete our adoption. I can just see us waiting for weeks in China for civil affairs to re-open. You know how you wake up in the middle of the night and all of the crazy things that could happen (but never really do) keep you up all night? Yeah, that was me last night.

I talked to Steffie about the gifts I should bring, so I feel pretty good about that. I met with our pediatrician and that went well. I have to get a letter from our agency for work, confirming that we are indeed adopting and I qualify for FMLA.

But I think tonight I might go through Sophia's closet and pick out some of the things I want to bring. I'll do a post so you all can see your wonderful gifts to us that are heading to China!

TA!! We leave June 15th for Beijing to bring Sophia home.

I don't even know what to say. I am completely numb. I just can't believe it. My baby girl. After all of this time. After all of the tears and the frustration. On June 16th, I will kneel down in front of her and look into her eyes for the first time. There it is...my due date, June 16th.

I cannot begin to express what I am feeling.

Sunday...

This Weekend...

This weekend I was hoping to get our boat in and cleaned up. But it's rainy today so far. I also have some flowers that still need to be planted. Hopefully it will clear up and be fabulous!

I have also formed a little addiction to making hair bows. I have a whole work station set up for them and every day I am coming up with new styles. I think I will have a bow blog made to sell them. I'm having a lot of fun with it.