Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas ! We certainly did! The kids had a blast with all of their new loot.I have never seen our living room so full of gifts.

Tex even joined in on the festivities!

Ava has been home for over two years and knows the Christmas gift routine. But we were not sure how Pei would do .Well, lets just say she was not overwhelmed one bit! At one point she looked at me and said "more"! She loved every single second of it!!!!

But Ava kept us grounded and continued to remind us what Christmas was really out... Baby Jesus's birthday! She said she was going to hold him at his birthday party because he is sooo cute :) Ava's speech is coming along so well and she continues to make us laugh with all that she has to say!

Pei has been home four months and continues to amaze us with her progress. In that four months she has found her place in her new family.It shows with every hug and smile she shares. How truly blessed we are that she is now home with us and we can share our lives with her forever.

And thank you Santa for the laser pointer!

Robert at New Day needs your help!

Look at this sweet face! This is Robert at New Day and he needs heart surgery. He is currently available for adoption in China and waiting on his Mom and Dad to find him! So while he waits to be found he needs to have his little heart fixed.

There is one post on the New Day blog about Robert that totally got to me . This is what it read:

"Robert, especially, seems to be really wanting a family these days... yesterday he watched a plane go through the sky. He pointed up at it and named off some of the other children who have been matched with families. (The children all associate airplanes with getting adopted, as they know they leave on airplanes.) Then he said, "I don't have pictures of my family yet. I don't have a mom and a dad."

That is truly heart breaking.

Roberts best friend , Ethan , has a wonderful family http://throughthemagicinthestars.blogspot.com/ who has taken Robert under their wing. They are putting together a fundraiser for Robert's heart surgery. The following message is from Tonya and Mike, Ethan's mom and dad.

"Sometimes I'd like to ask God why He allows poverty,
famine and injustice when He could do something about it.
But I'm afraid God might ask me the same question"

Robert was born on October 9, 2006. He was abandoned at the the gate of a local orphanage on March 9, 2007. When his parents couldn't be located, they admitted him into the hospital and diagnosed him with a severe heart defect.
He's received two surgeries to repair his heart defect so far and needs a third surgery. The organization that paid for his first two surgeries is no longer able to take care of him, so they returned him to his orphanage. Due to his extensive medical needs, his home orphanage asked New Day to take him while he waits for his third surgery. He came to New Day on March 11, 2010. He loves to be praised and he's able to understand and communicate with adults.
We know Robert's case is very difficult, but we hope to see him grow stronger and have a long and healthy life Robert is one of Ethan’s best friends at New Day Foster Home. We want to help Robert get his heart surgery.
We are willing to match ANY amount that you donate in order for this to happen! If you are willing to help in any way, the information for making contributions is below.
Surgery Needed:Heart Disease - Single ventricle, single atrium, pulmonary atresia Surgery cost: $10,000
Tax-deductible donations to the medical/surgical fund can be made by check or on-line through PayPal. If you would like your contribution to go towards Robert’s medical expenses, please e-mail us at foster@newdaycreations.com. If donating by check make it payable to:
New Day Charities P.O. Box 311671New Braunfels, TX 78131-1671Please write “NDFH Medical and Surgical Fund for Robert” in the memo line of your check.

I received this email from Adoptive Families requesting a survey about adoption time and cost. http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1617
They will draw one winner for a $500. donation to the charity of your choice. It takes about 3 minutes to complete and I put New Day Charities (Roberts heart surgery fund) as my charity choice .
This is so simple and it could be a quick $ 500 for his heart surgery fund!

If enough of us pull together we could win this for this handsome fellow :)

Help Needed!!!

Calling all of Santa's little helpers! This is a call for help straight from these little cuties at New Day ! Look at these beautiful faces ! Sigh:) How can you not help you ask !!!!! Well just read below what is on their blog ! And head over to the operation giggle webpage and help Santa get to New Day! We were blessed to sponsor beautiful Serena this year!The girls had a blast shopping for her!





We know that the rules of Wordless Wednesday specifically say that one is not to include words, but we've bent the rules before and we have some important news.Many of you know, and are intricately involved with the Operation Giggle program that is going on right now. This amazing group of people has joined together, for the second year in a row, to sponsor Christmas presents for every single child in our foster home. In a few short days they will be shipping us boxes full of wrapped goodies for the children to open at our Christmas party. But they have a problem. Are you interested in helping? Just head on over to Sherri's blog for more information!

Pei's Momma

Each week seems to bring about a new surprise in the grief and attachment area. Pei seems to be grieving a bit this past week .

No trigger just a bit sad and far away.

So, it is in the midst of our after dinner routine that Pei decides to have a melt down. I really do not think much about it . She is two and occasionally will cry and call my name... repeatedly. So, I lean down and ask her what is wrong. And that is when it happened. She pulled away from me while she was still calling momma.

OUCH!

At that point I realized it was her foster mom that she was calling for not me.

I would be lying if I said that it did not hurt a little bit but it was like a light bulb went on in my head. She has done so well her with us that I really thought that she was moving past the grief.

But I was wrong .

Since we have been home from China we have not shown her any photos of the foster family. I thought that we should wait a bit and let her settle in a bit more . So after this I decided it was time. I can not even begin to imagine what is going on in her little mind and heart. The only momma that she has ever know and loved was there one day and gone the next.

So, the next day I pull up a photo of Pei and her foster mom. I think I held my breath until I saw her reaction. She looked at it and smiled. So, I am thinking okay you can breath now!

I pointed at Pei and said "Who is that?" and she said "Pei Pei". Next , I pointed to the foster momma and said "Who is that ?" and she answered " Momma".

[Insert a sigh ]

I have to say it felt like someone had kicked the air out of me. But worse than that my heart just broke for her.

So, then I pointed to my chest and said "Who am I?".

At that very moment that little girl came over to me and wrapped her arms around my legs and sweetly said "My Momma".

[insert a really happy sigh}

So, there you have it . My beautiful daughter has three mommas.

She has her birth mother who held and loved her for four days before she picked a place to leave her where she knew she would be found .

Next , she has her foster mom in China that was not afraid to love Pei knowing that she too would have to give her away. But despite that she loved and cared for her like her mother.

And last she has me. Her final and forever momma. I am the one that gets to reap the benefits and sacrifices of the first two mommas. I get the greatest gift of all ... Pei as my forever daughter.

So, one day when she asks about her life story I will tell her that she was so special that God gave her three mommas to love her.

As we sat down for Thanksgiving dinner I could not help but think back to last year. When we awoke on Thanksgiving day we received an email from X that we received our pre approval for Pei. Along with that PA we received some updated photos. I honestly was scared to death ! It was so real at that point, we truly had found our little girl.

But as I sit down for dinner this year this year that same little girl is sitting right beside me. I could not help but watch her and think last year I could only dream about her . But this year she is sitting as close as she can possibly get to me , meowing like a baby kitty. I can not help but feel so thankful that my baby girl is finally home .

Three months home

November 2nd marked three months that Pei has been with us! I hardly can believe that it has been three months since we first laid eyes on our little girl. Now, it seems like time is flying by! But there was a time not so long ago that it seemed like the days would creep by! I longed to get past the grief and all of the trials and get to the "good "part. It would seem like at times we would take a step forward than take a couple back. All of the progress being made would seem like it would disappear in an instant. And I could not wait to hit the gas peddle and "blaze" past this part of the process.

Sad to say but true.

Where we are at today is a far cry from three months ago! We have now moved past all of the grief and the sadness has been replaced with true happiness with an occasional tantrum! That being said , Pei has become one of the happiest little girls I have ever seen. The transformation is incredible!

I have to admit I too have had a transformation. As each day passed the bond between Pei and I has grown . Through each test and trial ,trust has grown and from that a bond has formed.

I had stared at her photo for nine months and dreamed of the day I would get to finally hold her. I loved a little girl that I had never meet or held but I knew she was my daughter. That is the beautiful thing about adoption. After meeting her came the hard part. I had to let go of my image of her and get to know the real Pei. I have discovered through this process that she is an amazing little girl who has a trusting and loving heart. One by one she has let the walls come down and has chosen to love and accept us as her own. I have had a glimpse at the wonderful character that she possess. I can only imagine the kind of young woman she will grow to become. But for now she is the kind of little sister that is always eager to cater to her big sisters artistic whims :)

and is never to far from her trusted,tattered friend ,bunny.

The other day my Mom said "Pei is the kind of little girl that can just steal your heart in an instant".

And indeed she has stolen mine:)

Now, I can look back and say we needed to go through this storm to get to the rainbow.

BOO !!!!!!!!

We had a great day today visiting the zoo ...again! This seems to be one of those venues that never gets old with the kiddos and the mommies have a good time visiting too! The girls dressed up for the zoo Halloween festivities.The girls were the fairies , Tinkerbell and Silvermist . They loved dressing up ! Of course, we visited the goats again . Ava has decided she wants one for the house. But I think we will just visit the ones at the zoo for now :)

The week started out rather sketchy in the attachment area. Pei has regressed back into the anxious attachment zone. You know the zone where mom is not allowed but a mere 5 feet away. And heaven forbid you have a visitor come to the house! Nothing short of a wave of hysteria breaks out like a virus with the simple word "hello". Pei's hysteria freaks Ava out too! So, I am not sad to leave this week behind and move on into next week!

I am so thankful for my friends and a much needed outing with all the girls!

Windows to the soul

Let me just start this by saying Pei has done so well adjusting to all of the change that has been thrown her way. Her entire world has been turned completely upside down.











Just imagine one day waking up and your family dressing you to leave your home. You think you are just going out maybe to the store or to see a friend. But when they leave you at the orphanage you do not know this is goodbye ...forever. So within a few hours you are dropped off with complete strangers . Reality begins to set in when you drive off with all of these strangers.But nothing like the reality that occurs at bedtime. Fear takes over and panic sets in.








These people smell different,look different and speak a language you do not understand.

Imagine just how frightening this would be at the age of two years old.

I think we have been so impressed by Pei's resilience. The two weeks in China were so hard but after coming home and establishing a predictable routine she has settled in . So when we had a complete raging tantrum today, I am reminded how frustrating this still is for her. She is still just a baby but is really tall for her age so you often forget there is a years difference between her and Ava. We have really expected a lot from her. I have been reminded today that underneath all of the giggles and smiles there is a lingering sadness for her losses. Such a heavy burden for such a little girl. But her eyes tell her story.Without any words exchanged her eyes are open windows straight to her little heart. And they tell it all.

Just as quick as the sadness and frustration consumes her ,it is gone again ...for now.




And she is back to the sweet little girl that we have gotten to know and love.



Full of giggles and kisses.

A little of this and a little of that!

We have been busy the past couple of weeks! We have been back to the zoo, went to a fun farm and been visiting with our friends Quinn and Wren!
The sisters are doing so well with each other! There is a lot more giggles and silliness with the occasional sister show down!But that is expected!
Here our a few photos of our latest adventures!Check out these Texas cowgirls !

We also had a wonderful visit from Ms. Ana from Russia ! As you can tell Ava LOVES her!

What a silly girl!