Introducing Ashton and Brady's little sister Emma Elizabeth FuYi McGowan

We are officially going to be her forever family. I received the call while I was sitting on the beach reading my book and enjoying the breeze. God smiled down on us and we got the call from Leah, our family coordinator. Bo and the boys had already gone back up to the condo and I was enjoying some quiet time. I knew referrals were supposed to arrive today and there was a possibility that RA's would come also. When my phone rang and I heard Leah's voice on the other end, I told her that she was the only one allowed to interrupt my tranquility and she laughed saying she thought the news she had would be worth it. I knew it would be! So now, she has to Fed Ex our paperwork here tomorrow and then we sign it and overnight it back to her so it can go to China ASAP. She could only venture a guess as to when we would travel, but most likely around the last week of August or first week of September. Sooner would be great, but it's all in God's very capable hands. I'll leave it there. He has blessed us beyond all measure and I can't even begin to praise him enough.

Vacation

After a rather long drive, we are at the beach. The boys were a bit loud on the way down and therefore I didn't get to sleep on the way after working all night. As I suspected, the ER was very busy last night and we never got much of a break. But, the beach is great and I am looking forward to some quality down time. There is some seaweed to contend with, but nothing too bad.

The condo we rented is nice. It's always a gamble, but this one seems to have paid off so far.

I hope everyone has a great week. We hope to hear something about our RA this week, but that may be wishful thinking.

Friday

Well, we survived the first part of the family reunion. I came home after midnight and the guys stayed all night. They came home in the wild thunderstorm that we had this morning and headed straight to bed. I hear snoring from all directions. Unfortunately, they have to get up in just a little while to go back over to the reunion. This is the 50th year that our family has been doing this and I think that's pretty impressive. We had a good turnout last night and I'm sure we will today. Everyone was asking about Emma and I was able to show off her picture to my family. Of course they think she is adorable and she is. So next year, hopefully she will be able to celebrate her first independence day with her extended family. Red, white, and blue dress all the way!

I have still got to get packed for vacation. I have managed to make a list and that's about it. I am hoping for a good night at work tonight! Maybe no excessive celebration that leads to an ER visit, but you never know!

I can't believe it's already July 4. The summer has flown by and the kids will be back in school in a month. We have not had any downtime, and I am so looking forward to the beach. I hope the weather is perfect. The boys are ready for some beach time as well. It's hard to think this is our last vacation with just the 4 of us. Next vacation will involve little girl things and I will no longer get to just sit and read my book and watch the waves. Oh boy, my life is about to take on some major changes.

Happy 4th!

Thursday

I should not be on this computer right now! I should be cleaning, packing for vacation, baking for the family reunion, working on the family scrapbook I use only for the July 4th holiday (I'm a year behind), etc. However, I have not managed to do any of those things yet. I'm getting to it! All of my boys are off playing 9 holes of golf with Bo's life long friend Anthony. It's quiet in my house for the first time in a long time and I should be using my time wisely!

I had a late night last night. Melissa and I went out after church and made a quick Target run and went to see Get Smart. It was pretty cute and I enjoyed the company. She has been holed up in the house with a sick one and deserved to get away for a little while! I know she will do the same thing for me when Emma is having a spell!

While I was at Target I bought Emma a toy. All little ones have those plastic rings that stack (Rock a Stack), but now the top ring is a rattle. I thought that was cute and we can take it to China with us. I keep trying to think about things that will be simpler for her to do with her limited grasp. Although I'm pretty sure she will manage to overcome most everything!

I was very excited yesterday to read on our AWAA waiting child board that a family that received their PA on June 27 actually received their RA yesterday. A 6 day turn around! I don't know if that will happen for us, but I can certainly hope. They may travel before the Olympics start. I wish we could do that! So please keep praying that we will get our RA soon. Also, please pray for a good friend Leslie who is waiting to bring her precious little girl home. They have been waiting over 50 days for their RA and their little girl really needs to get home and have medical treatment. Please pray for strength for that family and their little one.

It's amazing how the wait worsens once you have a face to look at and know that their is a little person on the other side of the world who is yours. It will be 3 weeks tomorrow since we got the call and in that 3 weeks we have come to love this little girl so much and just want her home with her forever family. There's an emptiness in our home and hearts. We just want to bring our daughter home. I have 3 kids and one of them is missing, but, hopefully not for long!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Stress Causes What?

Okay, so the last 2 mornings I have gotten up with a toothache and had severe tooth sensitivity to hot liquids (aka COFFEE). I managed to get an apt. with the dentist today and he seems to think I'm clinching my jaws at night while I sleep and causing me to have pain in my tooth. He said my jaw was very tight and it's tender to touch, so I'm sure that is probably the culprit. He asked if I was under a lot of stress and I refrained from telling him just how much! Bo says I've been snoring a lot at night and I have been so tired that I haven't even been waking up during the night. The last few weeks have been slightly exhausting! I guess it's just preparing me for when little sister gets here and I have to be up at night and all the things that go along with having a little one around. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready for that part of this journey! I just don't want to have to give up my beverage of choice!

We had our Hep A vaccines today and everyone (including me) did well with that. Ashton didn't even complain too much. Of course, his payment was a Krispy Kreme donut with chocolate glaze and sprinkles. He can be bought! We have to get another injection in 6 months and we should have life time immunity.

We has a great lunch at Red Robin. The burgers were great ! I highly recommend it.

I have not managed to get a lot done around this house this week, but it's always hard to accomplish much when Bo and the boys are at home. As soon as I do something, it's undone just as quickly. Bo is still wrestling with the basement and the pool. They boys have played Monopoly and argue during most of the game. They both like to cheat and that always turns into a screaming match.

One of my morning devotions was about worry. One of the lines in it said "Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of it's sorrows, it just empties today of it's strengths." I thought that was great way of looking at things and how very true.

I keep thinking about Emma and hoping that she is being held and loved by her caregivers. I hope that she gets to smile and laugh each day and when she goes to bed at night that someone gives her that last little touch and she goes to bed peacefully. I look forward to those moments when I can put her to bed after rocking her and she knows that she has a forever family that will never leave her and accepts her just the way she is. I also think about her biological family and the decision that was made to abandon her. I have nothing but respect for them because I don't know their situation and will not judge them. When I look at Emma's little hands and feet and think that her mom may have had the same condition and didn't want Emma to be shunned by people, or perhaps she knew that if she was adopted she could get the best medical care, I am forever grateful to this woman who made this choice. Because of her, I have the privilege to parent my daughter. I may be "glamorizing" the entire situation and she may have chosen to abandon her daughter for less honorable reasons, but regardless, she is now ours (or will be soon:) When I look into her little face I just see a bright future ahead of her with a family that loves her so much. I thank God that he chose us to parent this little dumpling!

We Are PA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As of today, we are pre-approved by the CCAA to adopt little sister. This is issued electronically after the CCAA Special Needs Department has reviewed and approved our EA. Now we wait on them to fully review our Dossier and application and then we will receive our RA (referral acceptance). It has taken 2 weeks and 1 day for the PA to arrive after our EA. Now the race is on to receive the RA. It is estimated to be between 1-3 months, but I'm thinking it will happen sooner. At least I am very hopeful of that. Our dossier was logged in on April 29, 2006, so hopefully it will move quicker since we have been waiting SO LONG. We still cannot post a picture of sweetie pie, but as soon as we get our RA, her face will be plastered on this blog:) After the RA, we are allowed to send her a care package. I have been sleeping with a stuffed baby Simba the last few days that we got at Animal Kingdom Disney World. They recommend doing that so it has your scent on it and then we will send it to her. I hope it has a good scent! We will also send her a blanket and a camera, as well as a picture of us. Bo is chomping at the bit to do that! (No, she won't be taking any pictures, that is for the nannies to hopefully take pictures of her for us.)

No other exciting news. I worked yesterday and I mean I worked! I was very tired and went straight to bed when I got home at 9:30. Today was errands, hair apt., getting ready for vacation. Just busy stuff.

Tomorrow we go get our Hepatitis A vaccines. Ashton is beside himself with excitement. He was just as excited yesterday when he applied for his passport. The sweet lady at the post office asked where he was going and he begrudgingly said "China". She asked him if he was excited and he said "not really". He's a lovely child.

A Bunny, A Bracelet, and Lots of Prayers

Okay, amazing how a bunny and a bracelet can make you feel better. Of course, it really wasn't either of those things, but the sweet sentiment behind them and the prayers that I have been feeling since my last post. Is Satan still after me? Well, of course. That's an ongoing battle, but I have felt the prayers of my friends and family and I'm sure people that I will never know and it has been very comforting. Please continue to pray as often as you think about it for us and Emma. I am still haunted with thoughts that I just can't get out of my head, but it has been better in the last 24 hours.

A friend of mine gave Emma this adorable bunny Friday night and also gave me a bracelet that came at just the right time. "with God, all things are possible" was the wording on the bracelet and boy was it ever the time to get that. God knows what he's doing and even in the little things, I'm reminded how much he loves me. So thank you Shelly, for the bunny, the bracelet, and above all, the prayers.

We went to a family reunion last night at Bo's aunt's house and everyone seemed to have a good time. The boys swam and enjoyed the antics of little cousins that aggravated them a lot. The funny thing is, usually it's Ashton who is the youngest and most aggravating, but last night he got his just reward. It was funny to watch! I felt like it was payback for all the times he annoys us in the pool. Last night he was on the receiving end:)

I am going to try to make a final decision on crib bedding today. I found the cutest bedding on Baby Age that I really liked called Clothes Line by Kids Line. Really cute and simple. I may actually make a final decision on something! Very impressive for me. I've also been looking at diaper bags at Etsy. Of course, I'm having a hard time deciding on that. There are just too many cute choices.

Bo is on vacation for the next 2 weeks. Of course, this week he will be so busy around the house that it won't feel much like a vacation. He was able to get a lot done in the basement yesterday. If we can ever get things cleaned out, then we can get a handle on the actual building project. After 20 years of marriage and 2 kids, you just end up with a lot of stuff and it seems to collect in the basement and the attic. We are also planning on taking Ashton to apply for his passport tomorrow and then we have to get our Hepatitis A vaccines this week. I am working tomorrow and then we have our other family reunion on the 3rd and 4th. A busy week, but it's just one step closer to getting little sister home.

I wasn't able to sleep very well and was up this morning at 4:30. I really like that time of morning when I'm the only one up and the house is quiet except for the hum of the dryer (constantly going). It was nice to spend some quiet time with my Bible and a cup of coffee. I think God really blesses those moments and I come away feeling refreshed. It's really my favorite time of the day.

Prayer requests for the week: Emma, that she is being loved and cared for and that she has no other health problems that we are not aware of. Bo, as he tries to get a lot done in the days he has off. Our family as a whole as we prepare our hearts for her and the changes that are ahead. Our paperwork issues! And above all, keep Satan away from our family and Don't allow those doubts to arise in my head!