Just a short post

Hello All!!!! Hope you all are having a safe and wonderful summer!! It's the end of July and it really doesn't feel like we've had a good summer yet. Big sigh... Here's to hoping for a warm fall and winter!!!

Megan is 3 weeks post op and she's finally on the road to recovery! She had her adenoid and tonsils out in hopes to help aid her speech. We have learned that she apparently is a very s l o w healer... And, the bad breath that is supposed to go away in roughly 2 weeks is still hangin' on....blech!!!! I can't wait until that nastiness is gone!!!! Other than the recovery, Megan is doing just fine. Funnier that all get out and still extremely stubborn.

We are getting ready to head out on our 1st full family trip. We are hitting Pittsburgh for a Tigers game, then off to Baltimore for a couple of days and then down to VA to visit our travel buddies from China that we haven't seen in a little over a year. We are so excited!! We are hoping to plan a get together with the rest of our travel group next year. We have kept in contact with all of them but it sure would be nice to see their faces in person.

Just a short post this time around.




Megan and Foo foo are all ready for surgery! All feet are toasty warm.


My poor Chicklet.


I'm not sure she'll ever wear sunglasses correctly.


My little fishy! She loves to float.


Corn on the cob? Sure!!!

Below are a few videos from when we were in China

Wasting time before Megan arrives.  Watching traffic!  : )

 Megan "brushing" her teeth

Only had her for 5 days and she already knows the Night Night song...  and doesn't like it. 

What Chinese kid doesn't need squeaker shoes?

Gotcha Day Anniversary!!

Oh my goodness! As I was preparing to write this blog entry I kept thinking that this would be quite long; but now that I sit down it may be quite short. I am at a loss for words on what to say... I am sure you are all tired of reading how much we love the little Chicklet and how totally awesome she is... Ah who cares, it's my blog ; ) I can't begin to tell you all how much Jeffrey and I sit in total awe when we watch or listen to Megan. It is so hard to explain words. One year ago today we were sitting in our incredible hotel room in Jinan  besides ourselves wondering when Megan was going to arrive and if she'd be as wonderful as we both had dreamed her to be. It was 10:12 am June 17, 2013 ( 10:12 pm June 16 -Father's day here in the US), when our door bell rang. We have watched the video a thousand times and I could watch it a million more and never get sick of it. 10:11 am we were just a family of 4 and one minute later that all changed. All for the better!! She has changed the 4 of us - it is amazing. I remember that moment like it just happened. We waited 6 very long years for her and this is the 1st time I have said it, but it was worth it. It was the hardest thing we have ever done. Filling out the endless stacks of paperwork, waiting for this approval and that approval or just plain 'ol waiting, for what seemed like no apparent reason - only to have her walk in the room at the most perfect time. God is amazing!!!

Has Megan changed from when from that 1st day we received her? Ummmm, no!  I went back and reread our China blog entries (I have read them quite a few times over the last yr but who's counting?) and had to giggle when I read what we wrote about Megan. We were dead on accurate. She still is so incredibly funny and has a million faces to show. She is still sassy and incredibly stubborn. Holy Moses, I wish the stubbornness would die down some - geesh. The only difference from then until now is that she has gained 6 lbs and has grown 3 inches. Oh, and she has a bit more hair on her head. She was shaved right before we got her and she's slowly working on growing her hair out. : )


Health wise she is fantastic! The cardiologist has given her a glowing review. We will go back in 1 yr for a follow up. Megan has been assessed by 2 speech therapist. Both of them said she is very smart but just  needs a bit of help pronouncing her words better. She will begin once a week sessions when schools begins. August 4th Megan is getting her tonsils and adenoids out. Both therapists think this could be hampering her speaking. The ENT wasn't thrilled with taking them out as he really didn't have any medical issue but said if we really thought it would help her speech, he is going to do it.


Jacob and Alex are doing fantastic. Jacob is 16 and going to be a senior.  Alex is 13 and going in to 8th grade. They both are amazing students - we couldn't be more proud of them and the people they are. They love their sister but both know exactly what to do to push her buttons... Ugh!!! Megan does get back at them or should I say Jacob. Ha! When he wants a kiss, she will tell him yucky and covers her mouth. She doesn't like when Jacob doesn't shave. Hee hee!!!!



Thank you for taking the time to read our blog and for all your prayers.



PS - this wasn't short... ; )

 The moment we met Megan!!


Our 1st day!!! 6/17/13


6/17/14





Megan wanted Papa to buy this Buick... He said no...


I checked in on Megan one night and his is what I saw. M channeling Jim Leyland :)


The awesome cookies I had made to celebrate our Gotcha Day


Yummmm cookies!!!


Such a sweet girl!


1st and last day of school

It is about that time again

Holy Smokes!! Where has the time gone? The last time I posted an entry was
January!! That seems like so long ago yet, 3 months later we are still in
cold nasty weather... Ugh!!!! What have we been doing for the last few
months? Let's see.... Birthdays, birthdays and birthdays... Jeffrey was
in January, Alex was in February, Megan celebrated her 1st birthday in the
US on St. Patrick's day and me in April. Megan sure loves birthdays!!! She
loves to sing Happy Birthday and thinks it is pretty darn cool to get
presents on the big day!!!! This year we celebrated Megan's pre birthday
with a Minnie Mouse birthday with the family. Then we did some special
things for her on the 17th. We wanted to make sure that she knows when her
birthday is and that it is a big day! Jacob and Alex got her an extremely
obnoxious girly Cinderella bike, which she adores!!!! Now if we could just
get her to learn to pedal on her own, it would be a miracle!!!!! Anyone
have advice on that, it would be extremely welcome.



April came and seemed to bring in a few extra emotions that I had some
trouble dealing with. The 17th of April is the anniversary of the day
Megan's birth parents made a huge sacrifice and left their 4 week old
Princess on the steps of a hospital in Jinan, China. Their sick little
child became one of the greatest blessings in our lives but I can't help but
think the sadness her parents had to go through that day or even now 3 yrs
later. I am so torn with the thoughts of the "if only"... All she needed
was one surgery and she's totally healthy but if not for their sacrifice, we
wouldn't have this amazing little chicklet in our home to constantly love
and kiss every day. Moments of happiness but how can I be happy at their
unfortunate situation? Never did I ever think that this would ever be an
issue but somehow it is. I pray for her birth parents. I pray they are at
peace with their decision and that they know in their hearts that their
daughter is happy, healthy and loved beyond words.



Anyway, Megan is doing fantastic!!! She is one of the funniest little
people we know. We are constantly laughing at what she does. Wait, except
for the stubborn stuff. That is a gene I wish her birth parents didn't pass
on... Ugh!!! Geeze Louise, this girl is stubborn like no other. Her match
in that department is her own brother, Jacob. Thank God we don't have both
of them going through this stage at the same time. You would find me in a
small padded room being medicated. : ) We had Megan assessed by an awesome
speech therapist last week and she gave us a lot of good feedback as to why
Megan isn't speaking well. She thinks it is an airway, tonsils and adenoids
thing so we made an appointment with an ENT. A doctor we know extremely
well as we probably funded both his kids' college and grad schools with all
of Alex's appointments, hospital stays and surgeries. He said her tonsils
and adenoids are moderately large but would like to try a 4 week stint of
antibiotics to try and get rid of some constant phlegm in her throat to see
if that helps. If that doesn't work, he'll do surgery. Next on the doctor
rotation was her follow up visit to the cardiologist. Down side of that
visit is that Jeffrey, Megan and I were all wearing Michigan State clothes
and the doctor went to Michigan... Ooops, note to self - do not wear any
college clothes to the next visit. : ) Dr. Malcolm gave her a glowing
review!!!!! He is absolutely amazed with how well the Chinese doctors did
her surgery and how well she is doing now. He said that you can't even hear
her murmur with a stethoscope and it is only noticeable on her EKG. He said
that just isn't all that common to have such great results as she has. He
would like to continue to see her as she grows to insure that her pulmonary
valve, which was one thing that was repaired, is stretching correctly as she
grows and isn't developing any stiffness from scar tissue. She weighs in at
27.4 lbs and 36 inches tall. Such a big girl!!!! She has gained 6 lbs and
grown 3 inches since coming home 10 months ago. Something we can't seem to
fix is her sleeping issue. She has no issues going to bed at night or for
naps but just can't seem to sleep consistently through the night. Leaving
this Mama one tired old lady. Hoping that if she gets her tonsils and
adenoids out, it will help. God, please let it help!!!!!!



Many people have asked about our travel buddies - they are all doing very
well! We just received updates from all of them. 2 families are on their
2nd adoptions and we wish them all the best. I miss seeing them and being
able to chat with them. At the time China was so overwhelming but now
looking back at it, I'd take it back to see the sites again and to be able
to chat with those we came so close to. I have the most amazing, supportive
husband on this Earth but seeing a note come from Brandi in our inbox or on
FB always comes at the most perfect time. God has given us so many things
to be thankful for!






Who's ready to go to Florida???





If I fake sleep then maybe the characters won't come near me...





Fun in the sun!





1st drive... Need much more practice





How can you not laugh???























I'm 3 today!!!!





My new bike from my brothers.





Lovin' laundry with my Papa - wearing Mommies roos.





The best kids ever!!!





Donut enjoyment!!!






Yakkin' her way down the hall and BAM!!! Right into the wall.

1 Year Ago...

Where were you one year ago today??? What were you doing??? Hard to remember? Well, it sure isn't for us.

Morning of 1/30/13: I woke up from a terrible dream... In this dream I was at Bethany's office; however, it wasn't an office I had seen before. It was much bigger - more like a large warehouse with cubicles. I was walking through the office and noticed a large crib that had 15 small little Chinese girls in it and who were all 15 months old. I began playing with the girls and seemed to connect with a little princess with a round face. She had such a cute smile and long, straight black hair. I asked a lady walking by why all these girls were in this crib. She said that China just released these girls and Bethany was waiting to match these kids up with families. I mentioned that my husband and I had been waiting 5 yrs for a little girl and could we have one of these girls. She said yes we could! All we had to do was sign this particular letter and we could have one of these girls. I asked about the one little girl I connected with and she said that she'd do what she could but we had to get this letter back quickly. I drove home like a mad lady at mock speed so I could get Jeffrey's signature on this letter and get it sent back in to Bethany. When I got home and quickly explained to Jeffrey what was going on and all we had to do was sign a letter and the wait would be over. He hemmed and hawed and said that he thought it would be best to just stay in line and continue waiting for our referral. Needless to say I went ballistic! Then he says, I never wanted to adopt anyway... I woke up and could have cried. It felt so real and for the first time ever, every time I saw a little Chinese girl, her face was blank but this dream I did see this little girls face and she was perfect. I went to work and typed up an email with my dream sequence and sent it to Jeffrey and my sisters. My sisters gave Jeffrey crap and said he was being
so mean! : ) Jeffrey quickly responded back and said that he DID want to adopt and didn't understand why he was in so much heat when it was my dream.
Ha!!

Well, at 2:45pm that afternoon, Jeffrey received a call from Bethany. They wanted us to look at a referral!!!!!!!!! When Jeffrey called me at work, I tried so hard to control myself but I was a blubbering mess. I drove home mock speed so I could get the medical records, pictures and any other details of our referral. Jeffrey called me and kept saying, be calm and don't get attached yet. We had to look at all her records and see what the Dr's had to say. I got home quickly stared at the documents, not absorbing any of the verbiage. All I remember seeing was that she had a heart condition and that she was 22 months old. Once I saw her picture I was hooked. I just knew we could never say no to her referral. Jeffrey again told me, don't rush into things... He came home, saw her pictures and immediately said, "there is our daughter". We quickly accepted a referral for Mengli Fu - aka Megan Emily-Mei. Our lives were changed forever.

Megan is doing GREAT!!! She is as sassy as the 1st day we met her. Megan has a million faces and is very stubborn. Sleep still is an ongoing issue... She slept through the night 2 nights in a row a couple of weeks ago and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. That didn't last....Oh well! Megan's receptive language is amazing but her English speaking skills are slow coming. I guess we'll keep waiting. Other than a few bad colds, she has been pretty healthy. Yay!!! She loves her brothers and tolerates Lily. Both Lily and Megan fight for my lap space. Both girls need my lovin'!!!

We are headed to Disney in 7 days! Megan's 1st trip. A bit earlier than what we were originally planning but we know we will have fun no matter what. Since she is so short she will have to wait to ride Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster. : ) I will ride it a few extra times for her.

1 yr ago our lives would be forever changed and we couldn't be any happier. Thank you for your support and following our very long journey.




One of the 1st pics Megan


She's ready to meet Minnie Mouse!


1st pony tail. Compliments of the girls at daycare.








Relaxing in her new bikini (her feet must have been chilly)


Woke up one morning looking like this! Wowza!!


Sunday pj day! Yeah Hoooo!


Anyone have any flip flops? Megan needs some.

6 mo Anniversary!!

Hello and Happy 6 month Anniversary to US!!!!!!! 6 months ago today Jeffrey and I received a wonderful special delivery to our hotel in Jinan, China. We still cannot believe 6 months have passed since Megan came into our lives. I remember it like yesterday. A day neither of us will ever forget.  Megan weighed in at 21.8 lbs and now weighs 27.2. She measured 33.2 inches and now is 33.5 inches. Ha! I think we'll have a little shorty on our hands. She is doing very well! Still so very funny and "slightly" stubborn... Famous last words from the orphanage - she is "slightly" stubborn. Well, we are here to tell you that is the biggest  understatement we have ever heard. Holy smokes!! Sleep still seems to be an issue - gets worse at times but then is better at times, too. English is still lacking.  She says a lot of single words but does not say more than 1 together. This makes things extremely difficult when she wants something and none of us can tell what in the heck she is saying. Both of us were hoping that language would have been much better at this point. We've been told not to worry that it will come soon. Her receptive language is amazing and has been since shortly after we got home. She comprehends everything we tell her and will do what is asked - or should I say she'll do it when she isn't being slightly stubborn.

Last night we sent an email to Megan's orphanage to give them an update on how Megan is doing and we sent some pictures, too. This morning we received a very sweet message back. They were very happy that we sent them pictures and they know that Megan is happy and healthy. Jeffrey and I got a chuckle when reading the email as conversion doesn't always work out well when translating. Ha!! Below is the note.

We are very excited for receiving your letter and photo . Megan is a pleasing girl when she was in the children's welfare in china, so there were a lot of our staff here love her except for her her volunteer family. Now we all miss her very much. From the letter and photo, we know that Megan is very healthy and happy, and becoming more beautiful . Thank you for giving her a family and taking good care of her . Please convey our yearning for Megan, telling her we love her for ever . We are eager to know her news so we hope you can often contact with us.  The Christmas is coming, wishing your family a merry christmas.

I was so excited to read their response but after I read it I was sad. I know how loved Megan was there and to know they are sad they do not get to see her any more. She was there for 2 yrs before we came to get her. I love that we will be able to keep in contact with the orphanage. They even sent us a couple of pictures of Megan that we had not seen before. We will definitely take Megan back to visit when she is ready.

Many people have asked how our adoption travel buddies are doing. We miss seeing them and talking with them each day. We do send updates via email which is nice but seeing them would be so much better! We've all had little struggles along the way but all are doing amazing. We wish them all the best!!!!

Speaking of our adoption buddies: in October our family was invited by Bethany to have dinner with some delegates from a couple of orphanages in China and the head of all the Chinese adoptions. It was a great dinner but that is not what I want to tell you. Bethany had created 2 pictures boards: 1 showed families that have adopted from China and 1 showed children along with their new forever family that will have their adoptions completed in 2014. I noticed a little boy on the board as one of Megan's volunteer family siblings. We have quite a few pictures and videos of him. I mentioned to a Bethany adoption specialist how we knew this little boy. She said she'd get in contact with that family and pass on our information. This family lives in Virginia roughly 10 mins from our close friends we did all our travel within China (Brandi and Michael). Brandi and Michael got in contact with Jon and Janalee who are adopting Megan's volunteer sibling. Well, Brandi and Michael's little boy, Max mourned a good friend at the orphanage in China when he got to the US and you got it, it is Jon and Janalee's to be son!!! Amazing enough for us to be in contact with Megan's "sibling" but for Max and to be able to grow up with his buddy from China! God wants those boys to be together!

We want to wish you all an amazing and blessed holiday season. Count all you blessing and be truly thankful for them. I know we will never be able to say thank you to God enough for our family.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!



She loves her Papa!!





Bring on the snow!

Megan's Baptism

5 months and 1 week!

helloOOOOOoo hellOOOoOOOOooo!!!!!

It is update time – although we do not have many interesting things to share. Megan is doing great!!!!! She is doing well at home and at daycare. She loves making her Momma and Papa some delicious concoctions in her kitchen and she makes a mean cup of coffee. Megan loves to do laundry with her Papa and she’s a great “folder” and she’s obsessed with putting clean underwear on her head. Ha!!! She is a great helper when Jeffrey is making his lunch for work, too. Ok, she just does it to get a smidge of peanut butter but who cares, right? Megan is a gifted artist. Her coloring skills are awesome and she is left handed! Yeah HoOoOOOOO!!! Lefties are awesome!!! Her English is still slow going. She is saying more words but she is refusing at this time to put words together. She’s slightly stubborn. The famous last words her orphanage said to describe Megan and slightly is NOT what Jeffrey and I would use for this little Chestnut. Last week Megan learned the word MINE!!! Momma and Papa were not happy with this new word. Some little person at daycare has taught our daughter this nasty word!! I joked with the ladies at daycare and they did say that word is used quite often in their room – perfect, I said. As you can tell Megan is doing very well and we could not be happier! Well, except when she’s throwing a fit over life in general, that is. If you are unsure of what I am talking about see my Facebook page complete with the video. ; )

Jacob and Alex are doing fantastic. They are both doing extremely well in school and adore their sister. They are always there to help out no matter where we need it. We have the best kids!! They are always trying to hug and kiss her but she lets them know when that isn’t totally acceptable with her.

Jeffrey and I are doing well, too. We both are extremely busy at work and would like if the stress was at a bare minimum. We are heading to Fort Wayne next Wednesday for Thanksgiving with the rest of my family. Should be a good time to eat, drink, play cards, eat, visit, drink, eat, visit and play cards. Jeffrey and Mike will be making some Black Friday shopping deals bright and early, too! Oh, and we just booked Megan’s 1st trip to Disney in February. We had a big trip booked last April but when we received Megan’s referral we had to cancel. Luckily the airlines were able to credit an account for us but we had to use the money by this December. On a sad note, Jacob is not going with us. He doesn’t want to miss that much school. Have you ever heard of such a thing? He’s such a great kid! He’s currently taking his 2nd AP course and since those are college courses, we totally understand. We will try to have fun without him.

If we could ask for your prayers: When Jeffrey went to Megan’s orphanage back in June he saw so many kids there both young and old. He saw a little princess that had a sad look on her face but she seemed to catch Jeffrey’s eyes often. When he came back to the hotel that afternoon, he showed me the video and pictures of this amazing place full of little people. I too picked this little girl out of all the kids. She was wearing a pink dress. Any who, Jeffrey and I came home and couldn’t/can’t get this little princess out of our heads. We contacted Bethany to see if we could bring this little girl to our home. It has taken well over a month to investigate who this little girl is and her status. We received information last Friday from Bethany and the news is devastating. This little girl is from a foiled kidnapping/human trafficking ring. Since China can not verify any information on her she sits in limbo in the orphanage system. Meaning, she is not adoptable and will live out her youth in an orphanage with no option of being adopted. We asked why is her situation is different than Megan’s because she was left of the steps of a hospital with no trace of where she came from either. Bethany stated that since they know she is from a foiled kidnapping/human trafficking situation that leaves her with absolutely no hope. All of this is extremely hard to swallow and very heartbreaking. We are both still working through a lot of emotions knowing we cannot bring her home and give Megan and the boys another sister. Again, Jeffrey and I ask for your prayers for this pretty little pink princess and all the kids who are in this same situation. May China change their policy on these children and let them be adopted by loving parents.

Hate to sign off on a sad note but we hope you all a very happy and safe Thanksgiving! Wishing you all faith, hope and love!





















Our little fairy!


Jacob moved from his spot and guess who moved in?


Underwear hat


The Pretty Pink Princess