My Marianna

Two blogs.... too much : )

2010-09-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hey guys.... I will be posting from here on out on our family blog "Family Mosaique"

There's also a link at the top of this blog. I won't ever get rid of this one so feel free to stop by and see our journey to Marianna anytime you'd like..... I'm just too tired to keep up with two these days : )

Gifts to China With Love

2010-09-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Our friend Katherine in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China who has a heart from adoptive families (we met while there adopting Izzy) and her partner, Sheri (an adoptive mom herself) have started a new business called Gifts to China with Love . They do care packages, translations, gifts for foster families and much more for families that are adopting from China. Please go check out their website.

So far,so good

2010-09-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

"How's it going?" I've heard that a lot lately. "so far, so good" I say. And that's true. It's really going well. Considering all things, it's actually going very well. Are there some things that could be better? Sure. Are there some things that are not what I expected? Sure. Are there some things that are better than what I expected? Sure. Am I overwhelmed? Sure. Am I at peace? Sure. So far, so good : )

Adoption is such a crazy God thing that it often doesn't make any sense when I think of it from a worldly perspective. So, I constantly have to remind myself of the grand plan and I realize that we are doing very well. Birthing a almost 4 year old is extremely difficult, yet she's doing great. Amazing me everyday. I am doing so well with her. All of that is wonderful. Izzy, however, is in total regression. I did expect some of that, but she's really struggling. No, it's not out of the ordinary, but it's hard to see her going through such a tough time. It breaks my heart. She's is usually such a strong independent little girl and she's won't even go to the potty by herself right now. Scared of everything. She's trying hard to pull it together. She even recognizes that she's struggling. She told me that she was sorry that she was having a hard time. Oh, that did me in. I'm trying to love on her plenty. We talk A LOT. Yesterday, she seemed to be doing better. I hope that's a sign of the direction we are going in with her.

Marianna has such an awesome spirit. She is such a beautiful child. The adjusting to her new home and family are going exceptionally well. She struggles more with physical stuff. She has pain in her knees and in her right hand a lot. During the day she'll start blowing on her hands and shaking them. She doesn't stop though. She just starts coloring holding her crayon or pencil with both arms. She just started feeling comfortable enough to start telling me that they hurt. She'll ask me to rub them for her. She has these horrible nose bleeds and is snoring like a grown man. We are seeing an ENT on Wednesday and we go to the Amputee Clinic at Children's Hospital on October 13th. It all just reminds me that what we've been called to will not be easy. Adopting orphans is not for the faint of heart. Parenting isn't for wimps either : ) Put it all together and well, let's just say we'll be on our knees a lot : ) I have lots of friends called to much more difficult things. They inspire me. I know we can handle this. The Lord doesn't give us more than we can handle. I trust that. But if I get caught up in the "stuff " of this world I could get really down about it all. So, I keep looking up and asking Him to help me. I'm focusing on the big picture and the big picture is that I have a Father in heaven that adores me. He gave His life for me. Surely I can give mine for Him. He's given me a husband that loves me and entrusted me with four amazing children and a wonderful family. His grace is abundant in our lives. So, all things considered.... so far, so good.

Pink Cawr..... Momma, I wanna drive pink cawwwwr.... pease ?

2010-09-19T04:03:00.000-07:00

I love the way she says car. It's so sweet. Cawwwr. It's just too cute. That is unless you've heard it 500 times that day : ) The first few days she got in the car and would say "Momma, pink cawwr bwoke. No woking today" and I'd say, "Yes, honey it's broken today" and think to myself "whew, that was close. I'm just not up to walking the mile around the neighborhood in 90 degrees with mega jetlag". Well, after 3 days. Izzy told her Daddy just needed to hook the battery up and that the car worked just fine. So, I had to start using the jetlag excuse " Girls, next week when we're over the jetlag we'll go for a drive, ok?" Well, that flew until Friday. I saw Izzy under the hood trying to figure out what to do to get the car moving and Mari was helping her. So.... I did what any jetlagged mom with half a brain would do, I made Daddy take them when he got home from work. He's such a sucker for "Please Daddy, please?"

Ahhhh....can you hear the silence in my house? It was beautiful.... for twenty minutes : )

Mari's Gotcha Day..... leaving Hidden Treasures Home

2010-09-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

How truly she was loved.....

Little Who Dats

2010-09-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home

2010-09-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome Home

2010-09-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

We made it home Sunday evening. The flight from Hong Kong was sooooo long but pretty smooth. You guys did a great job with the praying : )

The girls did so well. I was so pleased with how well they did on the flight. Such troopers. They watched lots of movies and colored and ate and watched movies and colored and ate again : ) They didn't sleep much but were so good. Thank You Lord !

Our family met us at the airport. What a welcomed site they were. Our family cleaned our house, brought food, took care of my kitties, brought gifts for the girls. They went above and beyond for us. I was deeply touched by their kindness. I love you guys. You made us feel so loved and we were so happy to see all of you at the airport.

Hong Kong.... almost home

2010-09-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

We made it to Hong Kong yesterday. It's absolutely breathtaking here. When we got off the train I didn't get what the big deal was. It seemed a lot like China. Except they drive on the other side of the road and many of the people here sound British. Other than that the city outside of the train station looked like China. Then we got into a cab and started making our way to Lantau Island. WOW. It's so beautiful. The mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. I've never seen anything like it. We were all so quiet on the ride to Disney. We just sat back and took it all it.

Disney has been great. The girls love it. Rye and Jessi it's very strange to be here without you guys. We have so many great memories of being at Disney with you. I'm missing you terribly right now. Totally Vaclemp during the fireworks last night. I love you two so much. I know I'm sapped out these days. Can't wait to see ya'll.

We went to the park last night and did about half of it. It's small compared to Florida. The park here is a little smaller than Magic Kingdom at home. There are only two hotels on the grounds. It's perfect for little kiddos like ours. Not too overwhelming. The hotel is so nice. The view from our room makes you not want to leave : ) There's a kid's center here where you can go and do arts and crafts. The girls made wash clothe animals this morning. They learned to draw some of the characters. It's really a nice thing for the munchkins.

They've loved all the attractions for the most part. The Festival of the Lion King scared them at first because it was loud. Then they warmed up and enjoyed it. They let us sit in the front handicapped row and all of the characters came to us at some point in the show and high fived the girls. They loved the monkeys and the gazelles. Izzy of course asked if she could be in the show.

We had a character breakfast this morning which started out with Izzy being scared of Mickey and Mari being ok. Then Pluto came up behind Mari and tapped her on the back while she was in the high chair and she completely came unglued. She was buckled into a high chair and some kind of way got out of it and jumped into Bobby's lap and remained there for the rest of breakfast. I came very close to taking Pluto out this morning.

Then all morning long she kept telling me "Mommy, Goofy bite me" and she's been scared to death of Goofy all day. I keep trying to tell her it was Pluto and he didn't bite her, but she's not buying that and she's still not happy with Goofy.

Izzy got over being afraid of Mickey and was great with all of the rest of the characters. Overall, I think they did great for their first trip to Disney. Mari was not afraid of much. She rode the carousel and the flying Dumbos immediately without hesitation. She loved it. So much for that motion sickness. Thank You Jesus.

We found a beautiful spot on the island to renew our vows (because Izzy will not let up on it)..... but it's raining now. So, we'll see.

Tomorrow we leave at 9:15 a.m. from Hong Kong for a ridiculously long (15 hour) flight to Detroit. Please pray for us. I'm dreading it. I wish that I could take a train home. I really do. I wouldn't even care if it took days. It would be better than 15 hours in the air : ( I loved the train ride by the way from Guangzhou. It was great.

Going to get some dinner and see about marrying my husband again. Lots of love to you guys. Thank you for all of your sweet encouraging words. I know that you all have prayed us through this time here.
love, Lisa

GEAUX SAINTS !

2010-09-16T09:48:00.001-07:00

Yes, the Saints are on in China : ) Bobby is beyond excited. Unfortunately we leave for Hong Kong in 30 minutes.

The commentary is in Chinese though. LOL.

GEAUX SAINTS

My Piglet and Pooh

2010-09-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Can you see the resemblance? LOL. I know they will kill me one day for calling them Piglet and Pooh, but right now they think it's funny. And they are so Piglet and Pooh.

When Izzy came to us.... I was shocked when I picked her up. In fact that's when my back went from bad to worse. That's also when I started working out. Mike and Deena had nicknamed her "Chinese Winnie the Pooh" because of her little short chubby legs. Well, when we met her we completely agreed and she reminded us so much of a Pooh Bear.

So, here comes Marianna. We see bunches of pictures of her with her Piglet stuffed animal. Sweet. On Gotcha Day she shows up with her Piglet and a Piglet backpack and she weighs 27 lbs soaking wet. She's the teeniest little Piglet.

On Gotcha night we get in bed to read a bible story and a bedtime story. I brought just one book (with lots of stories in it). Izzy wanted to bring 50 books..... but I held firm on that. The luggage was already overweight. I opened the book and there on the inside was Piglet and Pooh snuggled up together by the fire and there I was snuggled up in the bed with my Piglet and Pooh for the first time. It really reminded me of them. So, now it's become a thing. They call each other that and they've expanded it to include Bobby and I. I am Rabbit and Bobby is Tigger. Wanna know why??? I think this is hilarious. Izzy gave us those names. She said because Rabbit thinks a lot and Tigger doesn't think too well. LOL. Bobby didn't think that was as funny as I did.

2010-09-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Not at all my laid back quiet little girls. They've been so rowdy and rambunctious. I don't know if it's because we've been in a hotel room for so long. And when we're out they're in a stroller. Not sure, but whatever it was sent them over the edge today. They wrestled like little boys. Then they giggled until they could hardly move. Sweet as can be.

Then the next minute they were fighting over who gets to sit next to Momma. Who is the better artist. Who had the pink hat first. Nini suggested I get a whistle. I felt like a referee today. I haven't been a referee in a long time : )
What can I say.... Sisters !

A sweet day

2010-09-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Today was such a sweet day. Our girl was as sweet as can be. Hugging and kissing on us.... all day. It was the sweetest she has been. She was holding, touching or near one of us all day long. I'm getting little glimpses of the real Mari. Of how she will really be with us once we get back home. She is listening better every day. Her manners are very good. I'm still amazed that she hasn't dropped a dish yet. She is unbelievable. She has this silly little side to her. She can be pretty goofy. It bodes well with this family though. I'm loving her sense of humor. It's quirky. I love it. She and Izzy are down right little goobers sometimes. I love to hear their giggles. From the stroller, from the table, from the bath, from the bed (when they're supposed to be sleeping) It's just music to this Momma's ears. They've been huggy and kissy all day. Just a sweet day. I know that I better enjoy these days. I'm sure there will be plenty of days when she doesn't like us so much : ) But we sure are enjoying the "loveyness". It's taken Izzy years to get to that point, so this is just wonderful. Just a couple more days and we head to Disney.... then home. I really am enjoying our stay in Guangzhou, but I miss my bed.

Good night everyone. Much love to you.

Red Couch Photos

2010-09-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Out and about in Guangzhou

2010-09-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Not sure what all in is here : ) Also, some setting on the camera is not set properly. Pictures have been a little bright. Not sure where the polarized lens is...... not a good photo day. Oh, well. We had a blast shopping in this crazy town.

A new normal

2010-09-16T08:53:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 43:5

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west
Ahh, a new normal. I know it takes about 6 months to reach a new normal, but it seems like we are making significant progress today. Going down to breakfast me with Izzy’s hand in mine and Daddy holding Mei Mei it just for the first time seemed really normal. We’ve had little glimpses of that all week. This was one of those moments for me when I really recognized that this was my reality now. A few days ago when Mari was screaming and crying that reality was a brick wall. Today it was surreal and very sweet.

I know the next few months will have many ups and downs. We did with Izzy. I had to work very hard to carve out time just for me to spend with the Lord much less a moment to take care of myself. So, I know that will be a challenge. If I start thinking about surgeries and prosthetics I could get pretty overwhelmed. So, today I’m just going to enjoy this as my new normal. Knowing full well that the Lord will not give me more than I can handle. And He knows I’m pretty pitiful sometimes : )

Izzy is having her moments these days. Sharing is not so much a problem. It’s when we say something to Mei Mei she will immediately ask before we even get a chance to say it “Am I beautiful too Momma?” “Do I draw well like Mei Mei, Momma?” “Am I a princess too, Momma?” …….. Oh, boy. So for two years Izzy has been the sole princess of our home and now there are two. You get the picture. She’s having some feelings about that. So, we are working on it.

Mari is doing wonderful. We got past the shots, the meltdowns, the pushing the boundaries and she’s feeling more comfortable with her new family. Not that I think we are past all of those things. Just the first round. LOL. A lady in the hotel yesterday told me that she thought my daughters were so sweet and well mannered. She was Chinese but had a British accent so when she spoke to me at first it took me by surprise. So when I realized that we could communicate I sat down beside her to talk. It was nice. I haven’t done that the whole time we’ve been here. The communicating is so difficult. Mari could interpret for us but she refuses to for the most part. All of a sudden, just like Izzy she wants no part of Mandarin. Anyway, I sat down to talk to this lady and she was inquiring about the girls and commenting on how sweet they were. When I told her that Izzy had been with us for a little over two years and Mari with us a little over a week, she was completely stunned. She said she would have thought we’d been together forever. I know that I feel that way, but I didn’t know that translated out to the way people saw us. It was kind of her to share that with me. I don’t know why it mattered to me what someone thought or the way they viewed us as a family. Maybe it just validated the way I was feeling and it was nice to have that confirmation that we were doing ok.

Last night Mari let Daddy lay by her and read a story. She even let him take her to the potty. At night is when she has the most difficulty and that’s usually when she only wants me. So that was big progress for her.

Today we are going to have our red couch photos done with the other families at the White Swan. Then we are off to the Consulate for our swearing in ceremony which is not at all the big deal it sounds like. I was very disappointed last time. It’s just a room full of people raising their hands and repeating the oath and they give you a sealed envelope that cannot be opened till you hit US soil and clear immigration. So, no big deal : ( Tomorrow we get Mari’s Visa and we are free to leave the country. YEAH !!! I love China. Love the country that gave me my girls, but I’m ready to go home.

We have a little pit stop in Hong Kong for a quick trip to Disneyland. The girls still don’t know that we are going. We’ve been seeing some Disney stuff here and Izzy has been praying when we do our nighttime prayers that she could one say see the castle at Disney. What great timing for those prayers. So, we are excited for them. They are going to love it.

I’ll have some more pictures for you guys tonight.

Guangzhou Day 3

2010-09-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

TB test was negative for all the kiddos. Praise God because some of them started crying just walking in the doors. Can't say I blame them. I would've hated to have to do an xray. Mei Mei would've melted. We went to island and shopped a bunch. It was beautiful to see the island again and stroll around. Lucy's had the best sweet tea and apple juice for the girlies. It was so nice. So hot, but so nice.

Tomorrow is our Consulate appointment and Wednesday is our swearing in ceremony. We are all meeting to take red couch photos at the White Swan and for dinner we are all going to the Banana Leaf. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it. We've met some really awesome families here. It's nice to do some stuff together.
Will put some more pics up tomorrow.

love ya'll.

Finally some sunshine

2010-09-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today was a much better day. After a very rough night, Mari woke up feeling great and the sun was shining. So we spent most of the day by the pool. She did much better this time. She's trusting Daddy more and is letting him take her all over the pool. She and Izzy are doing great together. Getting to know each other's personality. It's sweet to watch.

They are completely over me taking their picture. I've said "smile girls" a million times at least. Can't help it. I don't want to forget any of these moments.

This evening we are venturing out to the Liwan district around our hotel. That should be interesting from what I've seen already.

I can't believe we will be home a week from today. Time is flying by.

First Day in Guangzhou..... Stinkin Clinic Day : (

2010-09-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

Made it to Guangzhou by the skin of our teeth. The weather was horrible. The flight wasn’t bad. The landing was not so good. It took forever in the pouring rain for the plane to stop. Two of the other families that were flying in last night got rerouted to other cities. It was just plain nasty. Mari is not a fan of flying….. Just like her Momma. I had to put on a good face though so she would be ok, but she still climbed into my lap buried her head in my chest and didn’t move from that position until we landed. Thank God it was a short flight. It was raining terribly when we landed and the drive to our hotel in the bus allowed me to spend a lot of time with the Lord. LOL. Almost kissed the ground when I got out of the bus.

The hotel is beautiful. Margie thank you for the suggestion. It just what we needed. So nice. It’s strange being in this luxurious hotel with the biggest rooms I’ve ever been in at a hotel and you look out the window at these tiny shabby shanty town like buildings. It’s just odd to have one foot in each world. Strange.

So, we had about 6 hours of sleep. Today was our clinic day. The day I’ve dreaded. It was so awful last time for Izzy. I started talking to her days ago about going back there. Mari was a trooper. Unbelievable. Laughed and smiled at the doctors and nurses. Izzy at some point saw the doctor that did her exam last time and curled up in the curtains to hide from him. Poor thing. At some point, Izzy had a complete meltdown. I knew it was coming the whole time. I could tell by her demeanor. Then something silly like some squeaky elephant that she couldn’t have just sent her totally over the edge. Then I was missing a piece of paperwork that I didn’t know I needed. Then they come out and tell me that Mari needs 7 shots. I was so upset. I have her vaccination records and in Fuzhou was told that she was up to date on her shots. Both by Deena and our coordinator. Our coordinator even commented “Oh, great your baby don’t need shots in Guangzhou, she have all shots” So, I wasn’t expecting that at all. I also didn’t bring enough Yuan with us. We left most of our money in the safe at the hotel. So, I guide had to pay for our shots until we could get back. So, not only do they traumatize your child they charge you $327 to do that. Absolutely upset me. Not much you can do if you want to bring your child home, but it really upset me.

Mari was screamed at the TB test. I knew what was coming with the shots. Bobby was dealing with Izzy in full meltdown mode and I took Mari in the back for her shots by myself. It was just awful. I felt so bad. I am absolutely amazed at how strong this 27 lb little squirt is. It took three of us to hold her. I was crying. She was crying. They gave her a piece of candy and me a tissue when it was over. I’m telling you…..”Parenting is not for wimps” I dreaded this day because last time I was there Izzy screamed for two hours. And that was without shots. And this go round was just as awful. I’m not even going to show you my after clinic pictures. Oh my goodness.

So, our girl had some Tylenol when we got back to the room. She is sleeping now and has been for the last couple of hours. She had a horrible time when we got back to the room. It was 7 shots, grieving, being angry, defiant, sleep deprivation all rolled up in to one. She finally fell out under the covers with me rubbing her back. I felt so bad for her. I know this is harder on her than us and we are wiped out. I told the other families that were with us that I feel like I aged 5 years in the last week. Maybe 10. At least the clinic day is over. We go back Monday for her TB test to be read.

Tonight we are laying low at the hotel. Praying for no fever from the shots. Hopefully will get to do some shopping soon. Much love to you guys. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. It means the world.

Last day in Fuzhou

2010-09-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Bittersweet...... again. Just like last time. Leaving Fuzhou was emotionally hard. Now don't get me wrong. I was ready to move on. Guangzhou means one more step closer to home, but Fuzhou means so much to my heart. Walking through these little alleys and seeing little kids playing with their parents it makes me wonder what life would have been like for my daughters if things had been different. I saw so many little girls speaking in Mandarin strolling through the park with the grandparents. I'm so grateful for the gift they are to me, but there's a tiny part of me that grieves their life in their home country for them. I know full well that the Lord never intended for them to grow up here. They were chosen to be my daughters long before they were ever born. It's just a little sad. I love this country. As difficult and complicated as it is, I love their country. I love it for them.

Visit to Hidden Treasures Home

2010-09-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Tired of Pictures Yet?

2010-09-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Are you guys getting tired of the million pics of the girls? LOL. Can you tell we don't have much else to do these days?

We do journey on to our next stop today to Guangzhou. Our flight is for 7:20 pm. prayer warriors..... that's 6:20 a.m. your time on Friday. So get up early : ) It's a little more western than Fuzhou which is both good and bad. Not as authentic China to us but then again our tummys are tiring of the Chinese food and ready for some sweet tea and grilled cheese at Lucy's : ) I will also get to meet the other families from our agency that I've journeyed with for so long. That will be very nice to say Hi to the ladies I've literally cried with over the internet.

The girls are doing well. Here are few pics. I will have the pics from Hidden Treasures up soon too.

Much love.

Psalm 45:11 The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your lord.

2010-09-15T21:07:00.001-07:00

I bought Sweet Pea Beauty for the girls (Veggie Tales) and brought it with us to China. The girls have watched it a couple times. It’s about true beauty and recognizing that you are special just the way God made you. I didn’t watch it with them the first time because I was reading a book and not paying attention but I watched the second time with them. What a great little movie. With such a great message. I know they are young and these life lessons are hard to comprehend at this age. Yet, I pray that they get “it” earlier than I did and that they don’t go through their teenage years putting their worth in how they look. So, I thought it was great that Veggie Tales was trying to address this issue and being a Momma of little girls I had to buy it. Well, the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I know my girls are going to have some struggles in this area. Izzy isn’t the typical petite little Asian girl. She was the only roley poley orphan that I saw in China when we were here last time and Mari will have very unique challenges with her limb differences and how they look. I notice the way some people look at her when we pass by. Some of the waiters in the restaurant at the hotel are so amazed by her beauty that they immediately smile big at her and then they will notice her hand or her leg and then give us a polite little smile. As if to say “oh, that’s too bad.” There are a few of the staff here that I’ve noticed watching her eat and they are completely amazed at how well she does. She uses her fork. She picks up her glass. She hasn’t dropped a single thing yet in the restaurant. They smile at us. They say Hi to the girls. They are very sweet and encouraging with their demeanor. Then there are those that look at her and us with this look of pity. It’s just had me thinking a lot. About how I will handle the stares when we get home. Mari doesn’t seem to notice one bit. Her self image is wonderful. She is so confident. All credit to Mike and Deena and the staff at Hidden Treasures. They have clearly taught this little one that her self worth is in the eyes of Jesus. They’ve obviously taught her that her hands are beautiful to them. It’s very evident.

I don’t really think that it will be that much of a problem for Mari. At least not at this age. I am however wondering how much of a problem it will be for this Momma Bear : ) I’ve been praying for awhile now for the Lord to give me His grace when dealing with those stares. God forbid pointing. Or whatever might come up. Sometimes other children can be cruel. I’ve had a little practice with obnoxious people asking me outright in public “how much did she cost you?” pointing to Izzy. Or “why did you get a kid from China when we have so many kids here?” Yes, I’ve been asked those questions. I’ve always been with Izzy when asked those questions, so I’ve had to stop and recognize that Izzy was watching me answer these people. All I can say is that God’s grace is there when you need it. I haven’t told anyone off thank the Lord in front of my child. I’ve been measured and gracious with my answers and as I walked I away I may have had a few choice words in my head, but always managed to do ok in front of Bella. I can just see the Lord using this as a way to produce fruit in me. He would so do that : ) I guess I will be praying a lot more about how to handle these things. Izzy and I have had a couple of chats about it. She is already a ferocious big sister. I could just imagine what she would do if someone said something not so nice about her little sister. That girl…… will need to work on the fruit for sure : )

I just want to protect my girls from all of that. I know that I can’t completely. Even our Jessi that is so beautiful both in the Lord’s eyes and the world’s eyes had some of those issues with self image growing up. I guess all that I can do is to let them know how beautiful they are to me and that the Lord made them this way and they are so beautiful and special to Him. And that’s what really counts. Oh, goodness….. Parenting is definitely not for the faint of heart. Lord give me strength. And grace!

As Izzy would say.... " Momma, you got the sicka"

2010-09-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, goodness. I’ve been up since 3 a.m. this morning. Finally succumb to SARS….. just joking Mom. I’m reading Mary Beth Chapman’s book right now and she went to China during the SARS epidemic to get her daughter Stevey Joy. So, last night I finally got sick. I’ve been fighting it tooth and nail. Praying, drinking Airborne, Vitamin C left and right but last night it finally happened. I’m achy, coughing, stomach issues you name it. So, trying to find humor in it I told Bobby this morning that I think I have a touch of SARS. He’s reading the book too and we’re both so tired that we started giggling uncontrollably. Then I started coughing and couldn’t stop. So much for finding humor in all this : ) I’m tired as can be. In the bed with my laptop and the girls are on the floor drawing. I’m laughing because Izzy is trying to help Mari say “Brown”….. she says “Blown” and it’s as cute as can be. Quickly, “lellow” has changed to “yellow”. She is amazing and learns so fast. We taught her Bingo, Checkers and Tic Tac Toe yesterday. Can you tell we’re stuck in a hotel room? Thank goodness I brought lots of arts and crafts and games for them. I figured it would be very hot and we’d be inside a lot. Turns out it’s very windy and rainy and we’re inside a lot : ) So, I’m thankful I have a plan B.

It turns out that all of this time in the room has been wonderful for us getting to know each other and it’s facilitating bonding with our newest daughter. God knows what He’s doing. Last time we toured everything and we’re constantly on the go which wasn’t bad because it was just Izzy and was always holding her and we were bonding. With two little ones being on the go is all about logistics. Especially with one child with just one leg. So, being in the room is actually better for us this time. I just got that yesterday…. I know I’m slow. So, instead of feeling so trapped I’m kind of embracing it. Just wish I was coughing and sneezing on everyone. Good news is that Izzy is feeling better. She coughs terribly the first hour or so she’s up and then she’s fine. She’s sleeping well and her allergies seem to be improving. She does come to me every few hours with a secret. She whispers into my ear, “Momma, I want to go home.” She said it out loud a couple of days ago which sent Mei Mei into the same thing and she became sad. So, I asked Izzy to please try to come tell me privately when she was sad and feeling like she wanted to go home. So, that’s how’s she handling it. She’s been an incredible big sister. Trying to be sensitive to her new sister’s needs. Sometimes when she whispers that into my ear, I look at her and say “ I want to go home too.” It’s like this little secret that we have together. We’d rather be at home in her playroom and eating at our own table. Sleeping in our own beds. Bathing in our own baths. It’s all so different here. You can get overwhelmed if you let yourself. Sometimes I just need to hear someone speaking English on TV. Most of the people are very kind and that helps. Sometimes people have clapped and told us thank you when we stroll by with the girls. Sometimes we get some not so nice looks and that kind of makes you uncomfortable.

Mari has been doing so well. This morning she had a difficult time at breakfast. She normally eats very well, but today she wouldn’t eat. She wanted me to hold her. Then when I did she kept telling me she wanted to go home. It’s so hard to hear. It breaks your heart. Her grieving is typically at night. The mornings are usually wonderful. Her grieving is so very different from what we went through with Izzy. Mari is very quiet when she gets sad. Izzy tends to cry and be very dramatic when she’s sad (My little Diva) So, I took the girls back to the room to color and draw. When I opened the door Mari said “ yeah, we’re back home “ Poor thing thinks the hotel is our home. So, I don’t know if at the breakfast table she wanted to go back to Hidden Treasures or to the hotel room. We’re on a learning curve. And God’s in control. We really can’t mess it up if we let Him guide us and that’s how we’ve been handling this. One step at a time. Prayerfully considered and lovingly executed. Day by day.

So, day five with Mei Mei is going pretty well. I don’t know that I’ll make it to Hidden Treasures feeling this way. I wouldn’t want to get any of the kiddos sick. Bobby may go with the girls this afternoon. Playing it by ear.

I wanted to thank all of you for posting on the guestbook. Your prayers and kind thoughts mean the world to me. It’s keeping me connected to all those that I love and it’s really helping. Keep praying for us. Despite that everything is going very well, it’s not an easy thing and we need your prayers and feel your prayers. I love you guys so much.

We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow evening for phase two of this journey. Please pray for a “smooth” flight. Yes, my friend Amy…..”smooth” indeed. I know you love to fly as much as I do, so pray hard : )

Much love, Lisa

2010-09-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

We did make it to the pool. The sun was shining when we left the room, but by the time we got there the clouds were out again. Then the wind picked up again.... I'm thinking the typhoon already came through. What's up? It turns out there are three typhoons. At least that's what our guide thinks, but she really hasn't been paying attention so she's not sure. YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. I have to fly on Friday. I already can't stand flying. I bounced around for four hours on the way here. Goodness gracious !!! And what's with people not paying attention to this stuff. Please ! So, we did what any crazed family stuck in a hotel room with serious cabin fever in another country would do. We went swimming and It was nice and breezy. Izzy got a little freaked out when the leaves started hitting her in the face again, but she got over it quicker this time. So, overall we got out of the room for awhile and the girls got rid of some energy. We all went back in the hotel had lunch and took a nap.

Mari was introduced to the family crack today..... that is sunflower seeds. She loves them : ) She and Bobby and Izzy were all crowded around there little pile of seeds like it's gold or something. Funny. I don't get the deal with the sunflower seeds. In fact, I can't stand them because I find them everywhere in my house. My biggest peeve is when I find them in the bed. And today these two turkeys showed Mei Mei how to eat sunflower seeds in my bed !!! Until I ran them out of the bed. Then from the bathroom I overhear Izzy telling Mari " Mei Mei be careful not to spill them because Mommy will get really mad when she finds them all over the house and she really doesn't like it when you spit them out on the floor. So don't do that, ok?."

They are already quite a pair.

More Pictures

2010-09-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

I was amazed by how well she can color. She can do so much with her hand, but I had no idea she could color like this.

And she's very proud of her artwork. She shows me every few minutes how's she's doing.

My sleeping beauty. She smiles in her sleep. It's so sweet. She also snores like a grown man : )

She didn't know what to make of my compact and lipstick. She really looked concerned that I was putting something on my face. The little things that I don't realize she hasn't been exposed to. She catches on quickly those. Now, she's putting my lipstick on for me : )

They love their Baby Be Blessed Dolls. Each doll has their full name on their tummy embroided on with a scripture that I picked out for them. I picked out her scripture before I really knew her and it's really cool that it fits her perfectly.

Day 4 Photos

2010-09-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Day 4 ..... We're Making It

2010-09-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

I had my first meltdown today. I feel so much better : ) Ladies you know what I mean..... We've just been kind of stuck in the room a bit. The typhoon came through or at least I think it did because the sun is now shining. Can't seem to find anything online that gives me a reasonable forecast of what's happening. Our guide just casually mentioned in passing on Monday that the typhoon was coming. And of course my ears immediately perked up "What ? a typhoon. " Then when we were at the lake yesterday morning the wind started picking up and the leaves were hitting the girls in the face really hard. It scared Izzy. She started crying. So, we went back to the room because the weather became nasty and here we've been for 24 hours..... hence the meltdown. But now I'm better. The sun is shining and we're going swimming in a little while. Thank You Jesus. You know the sun makes me feel better : )

The girls are great. We all slept better last night. In fact we were asleep by 8 p.m. and woke up at 5:30 a.m. Very strange for Bobby and I but our bodies are in some strange half on Louisiana time and half on China time. Tonight we're going to dinner with a family that's here from Atlanta and our friend Katherine that was our coordinator last time we were in Fuzhou. I'll put some pictures up shortly.

Much love to you all. Thanks for your prayers. We're making it. Day Four with Mei Mei and we're starting to feel like a family : )

Ahhh.....catching my breath

2010-09-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, I think my head has settled down enough to put my thoughts together. Amy, girl you pegged it. My head is swirling. Today we slept till 5:30 a.m. which is progress. Izzy was sick all night so I was up and down most of the night but still had more sleep than the previous night. Izzy coughed and coughed. It’s just allergies at this point but it’s teetering on going into her chest. I was going to be proactive about that and give her some pulmicort. China has this weird voltage issue. So I ended up accidentally blowing up her nebulizer. Sparks, smoke. Oh, goodness. Last time I blew up a blow dryer : ( Please pray that she doesn’t get worse. I have antibiotics and all the other medicines that I need, but no nebulizer.

Mari on the other hand is feeling great. She’s adjusting slowly but it’s been steady. The first night with us when we went to bed she kept telling me that she wanted to go home, but last night she didn’t say that. She did get sad for a little while and let me hold her for the longest time. It was so good for this Momma. She was sweet. Izzy fell asleep before her since she wasn’t feeling good so Mari eventually let me lay in bed with them and talk to her while she went to sleep. She’s great about praying with you. She prayed for Izzy which she pronounces “Iggy” to feel better. Just as sweet as can be. When she started falling to sleep though she looked over at me and said “ok, Momma you go sleep in your bed” You can tell she’s used to sleeping alone. At least she’s sleeping in the bed. Izzy insisted on sleeping on the floor for the whole two weeks that we were here last time.

Mari lets me help her with the potty and lets me dress her. Rarely does she let me do anything else unless she’s exhausted her efforts. She really tries everything and she can do just about anything. I’m seriously amazed by her. Last night something scared her in the bath and she jumped out on her own soaking wet and jumped right into Bobby’s arms. She moved so fast we didn’t know what happened. I had taken Izzy out first and was drying her off. I’m guessing she was afraid by herself. She is fast !!! Moves like lighting. At the orphanage they say she’s as fast as a hiccup. I love that : )

She is one tough little thing though. She wipes out quite a bit because she just goes for it. She jumped from one bed to the other with one leg. I don’t really even know how she did. She’s going to give me a run for my money. She does have a sensitive side though. Daddy corrected her yesterday and her lip puckered up and she climbed into my lap and put her head on my shoulder and cried. It broke his heart. She normally listens very well, but has that same little stubborn streak that Bella has. I love it. Coupled with that determination she has I can tell that there won’t be anything that she can’t do.

Mike said to me yesterday that she has a very Mark 9:23 way about her. I looked it up and it says “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” We just smiled when we read that because almost a year and a half ago when we were praying about adopting Mari the Lord said to Bobby the exact same thing.

Bonding is going a little slower than it did with Izzy. Slow but steady. Izzy was alone with us and was a little younger. I’m having to be more intentional with Mari. Yesterday we colored together for a couple hours. She colors beautifully. At some point she ended of rubbing my arm and then my cheek. It was sweet. Little baby steps. This morning I was kissing her little nubby hands. Just trying to show her that I thought they were beautiful and she reached out and kissed my cheek. I could tell that there was a connection. She has a great self image, but I think her Mommy kissing her hands said something to her maybe about acceptance and unconditional love. Not sure. I could just tell that it meant something to her. You can say a bunch but actions speak volumes. I know that it spoke to her.

I have to admit that I was a little worried this time. Not about if I could love another child. I’ve learned through our journey to Izzy that my children are my children whether biological, through marriage or adoption. I was worried that there wouldn’t be that immediate connection like I had with Izzy. I bonded instantly with Izzy. Like she had been with me her whole life. I know that bonding happens differently sometimes. I’ve spent many nights in prayer over that. Many nights in tears about that. But you know it’s amazing. God’s grace is amazing. Already when she’s in my arms I know without a doubt that I would fight to the death for her. It’s so strange that you can feel that way so quickly. It’s truly beyond anything that I can do. I’m just not capable of loving like that. It’s only from the Lord. All from Him.

Ok, so we’re off to do some strolling around the lake. It’s beautiful today. Very windy because of the Typhoon. Feels good. I’ll put some more pictures up soon.

For this child I prayed

2010-09-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

For this child I prayed; and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:27

Gotcha Day

2010-09-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I'm so brief. I can barely see to type.... I'm so tired. Bobby and the girls are asleep and I'm soon to follow. Just wanted you to see some of the photos from today. Will update more tomorrow. Marianna did wonderful. God's grace was abundant and it was a very smooth transition. Will fill you in later.

Much love

Bundle of Nerves

2010-09-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I thought that I wouldn't be nervous. I guess I had this been there done that thing in my head. But it just hit me about an hour ago and now I'm a mess. Praying. Breathing. Couldn't find any praise music. Forgot it all at home. I did bring Izzy's for the girls. So, Hillsong for Kids is working. Calming me down some. Izzy is taking a walk with Bobby and then I'm going to let her take a little nap. She's exhausted. Our schedules are still a little wacked out. We woke up at 5:00 this morning. She's done incredibly well. She is a mighty little trooper.

This is so surreal. Being in the exact same place. Amy and Brad.... saw your post on the guest book. Yes, we are going to the same conference room. I have goodie bags for both Izzy and Mari. I couldn't forget the suckers. God bless those suckers : ) Delivery room will be much different this time. There is another family here with us, but our agency does things a little different. We each have our own coordinator and kind of do things on our own. I miss you Arnolds. It's lonely without you guys.

ok, loved ones. In a little over two hours we'll have our sweet girl with us. Thank you for your prayers. I'll try to post some pictures of our gotcha day tonight. much love to you.

Sarah Joy..... Izzy says Hello !

I didn't expect to be so emotional about being back to Fuzhou. Everywhere I look though I'm reminded that this is Izzy's birth place. It's overwelming me and has kind of caught me off guard. I am so grateful to be blessed by these experiences. I need to slow down and drink this in and see what the Lord is saying to me now.

Not to mention birthing another child here..... shortly. Wow ! He just continues to knock my socks off.
I love you Lord. You are so good to me.

First Day in Fuzhou

2010-09-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we did get some sleep. 4 full hours. Izzy was up at 6:00 a.m. telling me " Mommy I"m sick for home..... this is not like my bed. I want my bed from home." Oh, goodness. She got over it pretty quick. Now, she's loving Fuzhou. Skipping down the halls. Singing. Trying to answer people in Mandarin. It's funny because the extent of her mandarin is the extent of our Mandarin (which is not much). Hard to believe that she was fluent two years ago. So, what does she do when someone talks to her in Mandarin.....well, she fakes it. It cracks me up. Then they look at her like she's crazy. It's been fun to watch.

Then we go to eat dinner at our favorite restaurant (Arnolds..... it's not the same without you). Bobby and I are using chopsticks and Izzy is using a fork and knife. They really think we are odd. We didn't have our coordinator with us tonight and we ordered by looking at the pictures and I know the "beef" we had was not beef. Bobby said it was questionable. I'm saying that was not beef! But here we are. I didn't kill me... whatever it was that I ate.

Then we took a walk on the boardwalk. It's so beautiful here. August is much warmer than May but there's still a nice breeze in the evening. The West lake is lovely. The islands in the middle are full of beautiful foliage just as I remembered. Starting to get sappy. It just reminds me of when we were here before. We had such a memorable experience. When the sun came up today we looked out the windows at the mountains. The same mountains we stood in front of a few years ago on our last day in Fuzhou. We held hands and prayed and the Lord spoke softly to our hearts that we would be back one day. We thought that He meant that we come to visit again or maybe come for a mission trip and serve at Hidden Treasures. We had no idea what He really meant.

So, tomorrow at 3:30 pm we see our sweet girl and what the Lord whispered to us two years ago and is so much more than we had ever dreamed. Can't wait for this season of our lives to begin.

Thank you for praying for us. We found our today from Deena that Mari had severe motion sickness yesterday when they took the train back to the city she was found in. They had to go do her processing there. She was very ill. So, we will have three flights with her and one train ride so please pray for the motion sickness to go away completely. Also, please pray for a smooth transition tomorrow. She's been with Mama and Baba since she was one month old. I know this will be difficult for her. She is very excited they are we are coming and I know that she has been prepared for us, but it's still not easy.

Much love to you guys. Will update tomorrow night.

We made it

2010-09-15T11:41:00.001-07:00

We made it..... and that's about all that I can muster up :) We are exhausted. Plane ride from states to Shanghai was rough and we didn't rest. We made it to our room at 2:00 a.m. last night. That put us at 31 hours without any sleep by the time we got here. It's Saturday here now and we see Marianna at 3:30 pm tomorrow. So, we have a day and a half to pull it together. Much love to you guys. Will post later when my brain is working.

love,
Lisa

Bye........

2010-08-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

Next post will be from China.....

Don't forget to go to http://www.babyjellybeans.com/ and look for Marianna Braniff.

love to you guys : )

2010-08-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...... 8 days left. AHHHHHH!!!! I can hardly stand it. I'm so ready to see my girl. It's becoming so very real lately. I ordered my curriculum from Abeka yesterday and it really hit my that I would soon be homeschooling two munchkins :) Everything from adding another car seat to my van to thinking about who is sitting where around the table. Last night I had Izzy toddle into my bed at 1 am and I thought to myself "How much sleep will we get when two of them end up in our bed ?" I'm so excited about the next season of our lives. I can't wait to see what the Lord is up to with this little one.

Oh, before I forget. While we're in China we cannot post to Blogger since Google pulled out of China :( So I have a site set up to post to at Baby JellyBeans just like we did with Izzy.

You go to www.babyjellybeans.com and put in Marianna Braniff and it will pull up her site. Then bookmark it at the bottom of the page so you won't have to do that every time.

Prayer requests..... please! I don't like to fly. Please pray for me to not get anxious about it. I haven't been so far, but last night I had my first dream about our plane crashing, so I know it's not far away. I'm determined to overcome this. Your prayers will help.

Also, please pray that the Lord is preparing our little girl for her new family.

Much love to you.

2010-08-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

"A little child enters your life and fills a special place in your heart.

A place you never even knew was empty. "

-author unknown

I had no idea that there was a place in my life for more children. To think that we thought Ryan was the caboose of this little clan...... funny !

In a little over two weeks I will be a mother of four and although I've known this for awhile the reality is starting to sink in to every little crevice of my soul. The Lord has promised me the desires of my heart and He is faithful. The time is finally drawing near. It's strange because there is something that is so "still" right now about how I'm feeling. When we were about to travel to meet Izzy I was a wreck. Anxiety ridden, bundles of nerves, crying, yelling, emotionally out of control. God bless my husband for putting up with me. This time feels so much more grounded to me. Is it experience? Having done this before. I don't think so. This adoption has been so clearly orchestrated by the Lord that I feel like there's just no point in worrying about anything. One of the things this journey to Marianna has taught me is that our God is in the details. He cares about every single detail of our lives. Yes, the hairs on our head are numbered. You betcha ! No person could have accomplished what He's done to bring our family together. Too many God things. So I figure why sweat the small stuff. And that's not easy for type A personality me : ) So, we leave in two weeks from today. Yep. And I'm not freaking out. Wow. This feels so strange and soooooo good.

I'm sure all of you guys praying for me has something to do with it too : )

2010-08-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Three weeks from tomorrow and we are on our way ....... Woo Hoo!!!!

Be still my heart : )

2010-07-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Amazing : )

2010-07-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Shhhh !!!

2010-07-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's a secret. I haven't told Izzy and we're not planning on it unless of course we slip up. Thanks to my very generous MIL we are staying the weekend at Hong Kong Disney before we come home : ) I can't wait to see the expression on their faces when we get there. We are taking the train to Hong Kong. We've never been on a train so I'm really looking forward to it. Everyone that's done it says it's a beautiful ride through the country. I can't wait to see China that way. It's so busy in the city. This will be a nice perspective.

Hubby is still grieving the fact that we will be on a train while the first Saints game of the season is going on at home. He and my mom were trying to figure out a way to Skype the TV set for him.... oh goodness. Die hards : ) However, we just realized that it will be Friday morning China time and we'll be in route to Hong Kong : ( Sorry honey.

Travel Plans

2010-07-13T20:10:00.001-07:00

Well, we got our TA..... yeah!!!, BUT (yes, BIG BUT) we are not able to travel until August 26th. We will leave New Orleans that Thursday and will be united with Marianna on Sunday, August 29th. Hey, I just realized that day is the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. That day usually bums us out. Who wants to remember a disaster that flooded your home and destroyed your family business. Now, we can celebrate our Gotcha Day instead. I like this idea. Yes, this is cool. Then on September 3rd we'll move on to Guangzhou. We have our Consulate Appointment on Tuesday September 7th. Then on Friday morning we'll take the train to Hong Kong and stay through the weekend and we'll be home at 4:45 on Sunday afternoon. Whew!!!

Izzy made a "Count down to Mei Mei" poster with a paper chain on it. One for each day until we leave for China. It was so long we had to make two rows : ( She doesn't seem to mind though. She is all smiles every morning when she cuts a link off and says " Mommy, one day closer to Mei Mei"

What would I do without her?

Travel Approval

2010-07-08T10:47:00.001-07:00

Our TA is on it's way from China : ) Our agency should have it today. More details to come......

100 Blessings Quilt

2010-06-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

I am starting on a 100 Blessings quilt for Isabella and Marianna. Yes, I may be crazy! I intended to get started on one for Izzy as soon as we got home from China and well.... you know life happened instead. So much for good intentions. So, I'm going to do two quilts now. Or soon : ) If you are interested in being a part of the girls 100 Blessing quilt, please send us a 9x9 square of fabric. You can send them the same kind of fabric. You can also send more than one square of different kinds of fabric. It's up to you. Cotton, preshrunk works best for quilting, but any kind of fabric will do. Along with the square (squares) would you please include a blessing along with a small piece of the fabric. You can mount the blessing and the little piece of fabric on a piece of card stock, paper, scrapbook paper. Whatever you want. I will make a little scrapbook for all of their blessings to go along with their quilt. Whew! I'm actually a little tired thinking of all the work ahead of me : ) I'm doing a quilt swap with the ladies from my agency Yahoo group so I'm getting a jump start on it. I've got 18 squares coming soon and 4 already here. Yeah!

If you want to participate, please email me (lisabraniff@gmail.com) and I'll send you my mailing address. To those that have already sent fabric I am so grateful. I really can't wait to get started on the quilts for my girls.

Much love......

YEAH !!!

2010-06-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Our Article 5 was picked up on Monday.... Yippeeeeee. I'm so excited. We are finally waiting on Travel Approval. Just one more piece of paper before we go get our sweet girl. Ahhhh. Paper chasing is hard on the heart. I guess I better get my act together. I did get the luggage down from the attic. That's a step in the right direction : )

Our agency said the average wait time for TA's is 3 weeks. I did see a couple of families get theirs in 4 days though. So..... you never know. His time, not mine.

Thanks for all of your prayers.

This is my daughter

2010-06-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

2010-06-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

I love, love, love this picture.

So blessed by that smile :)

2010-05-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

It worked !

2010-05-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

So..... stalking the mailman worked : ) We got our NVC letter yesterday afternoon. Check that off the list. We will be waiting for Article 5 as of next week. Then for TA. Yeah!!! Thanks for the prayers.

I never thought it would come to this : )

2010-05-27T07:17:00.001-07:00

Our information has been cabled from the National Visa Center to the US Consulate in Guangzhou on May 21st. Which is awesome, but does me no good until I have the piece of paper that says that. So yes, it's come down to this...... I'm stalking the mailman these days.

I know it's ridiculous, but it's so frustrating to wait on a single piece of paper that is coming from a government entity (Ugh!) that is coming via snail mail (Ugh!) that sets the time table for your travel to get your daughter (UGH !!!) Do you think they could spring for Priority Mail ????? How about an email? It is 2010 ya know. Then there's a holiday Monday and yes, the US Consulate in China is closed too. Even in China the US Consulate is closed on Memorial Day. I thought they closed on Chinese holidays. Oh, yeah... they close then too. And there are a lot of holidays. We wonder what takes so long to adopt. The holidays !!!!! Go figure.

So, that means that our letter will get there a week from Thursday because they only accept this information on Mondays and Thursdays and since it's already Thursday night in China..... shucks.... even if I get it in the mail today......shucks..... I've already missed that window of opportunity. I know right about now you are wondering if I'm losing it. The answer is..... a little bit.

I truly know that we will not be in China a day before we are supposed to be. I rest in that. I just have no faith in the US Postal Service. Especially since our USCIS approval was mailed on December 7th and arrived at our home on January 19th : (

Yeah, you guys might have to up the prayers a little bit ....... I am after all almost 13 months pregnant. And my poor husband could testify to that. I've got him out at midnight getting Burrito Supremes and Gobstoppers. It's not pretty : )

oh, btw, could you start praying for our flight too? I'm already pretty anxious about it. I do not like to fly !!!! I have flown bunches and bunches of times, but it never gets better for me. How I made it to and from China last time is absolutely by grace of God. And of course the sheer determination to go get my daughter. Nothing would've stopped me from that. So please pray for an uneventful flight and more importantly I want to overcome this anxiety I have for flying. It's one of those areas that the enemy runs rampant. I've got to finally put a stop to it. Thank you my sweet friends for loving me enough to pray for me. I love you guys too : )

Hopefully the next post will be that we are waiting for our Article 5, then TA.

2010-05-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

One more thing to check off the list....... Yeah ! We found out via email last Thursday that our I 800 was approved. Today we received it in the mail. Now we wait for our letter from the National Visa Center which informs us that our file has been forwarded to the consulate in Guangzhou. I'm told that it takes about two weeks for the consulate to issue our Article 5 which is actually our signed LOA (go figure). It will be hand delivered to the CC*A who should then issue our TA (travel approval) in two to three weeks after they receive our Article 5. I know more than you wanted to know. What that means is that we could see our TA sometime in mid to late June. However, we've heard that the CA's (consulate appointments) are really booked up so that may delay us some too. So, chances are we'll get to China in July.

Meanwhile I'm nesting like crazy. Readying our home for our sweet girl : )

So thankful for my girls "Momma"

2010-05-10T07:10:00.001-07:00

Today I think of a very special lady. A lady that loved and cared for Isabella while we waited for the Lord to bring her to us. We are so blessed that she has also been chosen to love and care for Marianna too. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her and praise God for her. I pray that she had a wonderful Mother's Day surrounded by all the little ones that love her so. What a blessing she is and always will be to our family. We love you.

New Pics of our sweetie

2010-05-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

What a difference a year makes

2010-05-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

One year ago today I got a phone call from a lady I did not know. But she knew me. God had led her to find Marianna's file for us. She called to tell me that. This wonderful lady that I know call my friend found her for us. Two days later we were matched with Marianna. And that day with $1900 that was given to us by our missionary friends and the faith of a mustard seed (that's truly all that I had at that time) we moved forward to adopt our daughter. We didn't have the money. It made no sense to this world. It was His plan and we obediently stepped out in faith. Not knowing how He would provide. Accepting His word for the truth that it is and knowing nothing more than that. And here we are a year later. Through His people, He has provided $22,164.34 so far for Marianna. Two weeks ago today we received our LOA and are now waiting on travel approval to go get her. And it's kind of interesting that a year to the day when we started this journey with only $1900 that was given to us..... here we are with only $1900 left to raise. We serve an amazing GOD. He has taken my breath away so many times during this adoption. The God stories I have from this journey alone are so many I can't count. It's honestly too much to write it all down, but I can tell you that when I needed a better more accommodating car for my girls. He gave us this:

Yes this was a gift. A beautiful family that we know bought a new van and God put it on their heart to give us their old one. What a gift! And a day later a mom in Illinois read this blog and was so moved by Marianna and our journey that the Lord put it on her heart to give us the $6,000 that she had raised from her previous adoption. I didn't know her either. Forever my friend and sister in Christ. Talk about knock your socks off. That day the Lord left me physically amazed by Him. Rob and I could hardly speak that night. The only thing that came out of our mouths were praises to Him. Once again during this adoption I felt like John at Patmos. Face down to the ground in absolute awe of Him.

I know people don't like to talk about money. It makes some people uncomfortable. But at least once a week I meet someone that tells me that they would love to adopt but they don't have the money to do it. And I post things like this to show people that you don't have to have it. It's not about the money. God will provide that. I promise you. He wants us to love His children. There are to many orphans in this world. One orphan is too many. We are all called to their plight. John 14:18 says "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." This is how He comes.... through us. I have learned that money doesn't matter. It's all His money anyway. I didn't know that before. I know that now. If you are called to adopt... take the first step and pray hard. The first step is a doosey, but the rest is all down hill : )

Can you tell I have a burden for the fatherless? I can't help it. I love them all. Each one is so beautiful to me. And every child deserves to know the love of a mother and father. Whether it's children here in the US, Africa, Haiti, Guatemala or China. Every child is loved by our Father. And we are all called to help them. No one is exempt. No not everyone is called to adopt. It may be financially that we are supposed to help. We may be called to serve in an orphanage or we may be called to be Mommy or Daddy. It breaks my heart to know there are so many people that would love to adopt but don't because of finances. I want everyone that has a desire to adopt to know that money is not an obstacle to adoption. It feels like it is. It feels huge when you don't have the faith, but remember all we need to have is faith as tiny as a mustard seed. He will do the rest. He will grow your faith till it is huge. I promise : )

Sorry for the rant today. I get the scripture now that says "even the rocks will cry out". I can't help but tell of His goodness. I just can't help it. A year ago I took a step out of obedience, with a tiny faith. Wow, what a difference a year makes.

Overdue.....

2010-04-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

ok, today I'm 11 months and 20 days pregnant. That's a bit overdue and don't expect to deliver soon : ) Just kidding. Soon is all relative. Compared to the one year journey, it's soon. Painting her bedroom last night boo hooing my eyes out, it's not soon enough. This part is so hard. The closer we get, the harder it gets. Last night I took a bath with Bella which is something she loves. She washes my hair and my back. It's the sweetest thing. She looked at me so sweet and said "Momma we're going to have to make room in here for Mei Mei soon" and that sent me into a complete meltdown. Poor thing thought she said something wrong. Once again lately I found myself explaining to Izzy that I'm ok. That I'm just really looking forward to her sister coming home. That these were actually happy tears. It's too hard to explain hormones. And definitely too hard to explain that since I'm not physically pregnant my hormones have nothing to do with it, but yet I feel pretty hormonal. Happy tears is the easiest thing to say. I'm happy, but I'm sad. Sounds pretty hormonal to me : ) Either way Izzy looks at me like I'm crazy and pats me and says "don't cry Momma, she's coming home soon" Thank You Lord for this little one. Last time I just had my poor husband that I drove completely crazy.

So, here's where we are. We sent off our I 800 which is a govt form that seeks to classify Marianna as an immediate relative. We also sent off our I 864W which I have no idea what that's for. I really don't get that one. And I sent off Marianna's Immigrant Visa Application. Last go round we did all of this in China so it's a little confusing to me why we are doing this here. So, we are now waiting for our I 800 provisional approval. Then we wait for our Article 5. Then we wait for our Travel Approval ( I think ) . Praying that all of that goes quickly and we are in China sometime in June.

Marianna Raffle Drawing........ And the winners are?

2010-04-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

First let me say that I've been completely blown away by this raffle. I know so many of you didn't care about an Ipod. You guys just love us and love Marianna. We are so grateful for you in our lives. We are truly blessed by wonderful family and friends.

Ok, here we go........

837 tickets.... can you believe that?

Izzy mixing up the tickets....... Drum Roll

Izzy picking the first ticket for the Ipod Touch

Marcelle Clement McCarthy : )

Izzy picking the second ticket for the first Ipod Nano

Kirsten Berberovich : )

Izzy picking the third ticket for the second Ipod Nano

Dave Watkins : )

Izzy picking the last ticket for the Solomon Beads necklace

Sherri Berthold

Good job Isabella.......

Thank you so much for helping to bring my sister home. Love, Izzy

LOA !!!!!

2010-04-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

We got our LOA on Thursday. LOA is Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter. It's basically China requesting that we make a final decision to accept Marianna. Are you kidding? Yes, we actually have to check Yes or No. It seems pretty absurd to me. It's the last piece of paper from China before they send our Travel Approval. We have to do some things on our end such as applying for her Immigrant Visa and filing our government form that seeks to make her an immediate relative. By the time this adoption is over I will be a pro at filing government forms. Lord knows I've filled out a gazillion of them.

Izzy is getting so excited.... as are we : ) We are painting Marianna's bedroom and getting everything ready for her. Our agency said the average time is 10 weeks from LOA to travel. Could be sooner. Could be later. His timing, not ours.

2010-04-17T08:09:00.001-07:00

I have some really incredible things to share with you guys soon. I'm still so overwhelmed that I don't have the words yet. God has moved in a significant way through some extraordinary people that love Him and are called to His children. I'm actually physically wiped out by it all. He has truly knocked my socks off this week : ) Promise to fill you in soon ........ love, Lisa

2010-04-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

13 days left on our raffle.....

2010-04-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Less than two weeks left on our raffle fundraiser. It has been extraordinary. I'm blessed to know so many incredible people that love the Lord and apparently love our daughter too :)

If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, please click on the left sidebar....... and here's what we're raffling:

Ipod Touch (32G) valued at $299

2 - Ipod Nanos (16G) valued at $179 each

A beautiful pair of Solomon Beads donated by Stacy from My Cup Overfloweth. The winner gets to chose the necklace size and color.

The drawing will be Sunday, April 25th at 6 pm.

Tickets are $5 for one chance to win and $10 for 3 chances to win

Winners will be notified directly and posted here.

Click on the Chip In widget on the sidebar to pay securely through PayPal

2010-04-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those days of clarity for me. These days I recognize what a gift it is to even be able to see clearly. Our world is so cloudy and filled with so much that distracts me. I'm encouraged when I can see that I'm on the right track. It's truly a blessing. All day I've been in tears. Good tears. It's definitely not a make up wearing day : ) I'm so emotional about our journey to Mari right now. I see her picture and I'm in tears. I remember being in this place while waiting for Izzy a couple of years ago. There was a time when in the beginning of our adoption journey that it all seemed very abstract. It wasn't coming together for me. I was trusting God, but really couldn't see exactly where we were heading. It's so hard to know what it will be like and it's hard to put it all in the proper perspective. You know that it is going to be so much bigger than what you're imagining, but you have no clue especially when you haven't had that experience of adoption at all. Then about two months from traveling to get Izzy I started having these clear visions of what it would be like with her home with us. The funny things that she would say and do. I don't know how but I knew she would have a great sense of humor. I saw her dancing. Swimming. I also saw the times that she would struggle. I even saw her in tears one day asking me if we were going to leave her too. I saw it precisely like that. It has amazed me to see all of those things really happen. The first time I promised her that we would be her Mommy and Daddy forever it absolutely broke my heart. I look back now and see that God was showing me what He was calling me to. He was preparing me. He was readying my heart for what was to come. Wow ! The last two years have been so incredible with her. I cherish every single moment. It hasn't always been easy, but it has definitely been the biggest blessing of my life.

Today he starting showing me again. I've seen little glimpses of Marianna in my mind. Of her in the bath with Izzy giggling and playing. I saw them in bed reading a book together. I watched her write her name in home school. I saw her trying to ride her tricycle with one leg and being frustrated because she couldn't do it. I saw me kneeling down to tell her that she will have a prosthetic leg soon and that one day she will be able to ride that bike. I told her that she will be able to run and dance and jump. She gave me the biggest smile. It was so real and so beautiful. You know, I really should be terrified. Terrified of the unknown. Terrified of the surgeries that she has to go through. Terrified of the children that might make fun of how she looks and hurt her feelings. Terrified that there will be something that she cannot do and it will break her heart. This is when I know that I'm letting the spirit lead me because I'm not the least bit scared. I was in the beginning. Now, I'm crazy excited. Excited to see what God is going to do in her life. I'm ready to embrace whatever is coming our way. I have a feeling that Mari will do everything that she sets out to do and I want to be her biggest fan. I know there will be days that raising a daughter with her needs will break my heart. She will certainly have disappointments in her life and she will also overcome so much. I can hardly wait to behold the blessing that is Marianna. I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning and there's this giant present with my name on it and I'm waiting for my parents to wake up so that I can open it.

Today has been such a beautiful day of clarity. Such wonderful glimpses of what is to come. Some difficult, but I don't care. I just want them to come. It's funny how something is so cloudy one day and so very clear the next. I can feel the Lord readying my heart for the next season. I'm so EXCITED !! I can hardly wait.

2010-04-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

She's getting too big. Too big before my eyes. She is changing so much. I can hardly stand it. I watched Izzy do the same thing. A year is a long time. Especially when that year is from 2 to 3 years old. Children change so much in that year. Watching holidays go by. Birthdays go by. I want to experience it first hand. I want to kiss her goodnight. I want to rock her. I want to pray with her. I want to tell her how much I love her. I want to hear her giggling with her sister. Uggghhh ! I forgot how much this part stinks (sorry guys. I know I'm usually pretty upbeat) ..... Day 40 waiting for our LOA :(

2010-04-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Day 34..... waiting for LOA......... Sigh !!!

The Certainty of God's Promise

2010-03-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 6:13-15

13 When God made His promise to Abraham, since there is no one greater than Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying 14 "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

I woke up this morning with a heavy heart. Some days Marianna feels so far away. I mean she is physically "so far away" but I often feel very close to her. Very connected to her. I truly recognize the Chinese Proverb of the red thread because I know that we were always connected. We just had to find each other. However; today I woke up disconnected. Feeling far away. Feeling like this would never come to pass. Like the journey was too long to bear. Knowing that I have been through this with Izzy and that it's a normal feeling. It just seemed overwhelming this morning. And then I let the enemy into my head. I heard him telling me " You'll never go get her. " "Something will happen that will keep your adoption from going through." "You won't raise the money you need to get her." "You don't know how to care for her special needs anyway."

What ? how did I let that happen? Just last night I was at bible study with my girlfriends and the chapter this week was spiritual warfare. I know better than to listen to his lies. So, I grabbed my bible and opened it. And Hebrews 6:13 - 15 is what the Lord put before my eyes.

Slowly but surely I was comforted. Almost a year ago, He confirmed for us that Marianna was to be our daughter. It was His promise. His alone. He showed us. He used Izzy and many other people to show us His will. We finally saw and He encouraged us to find her. He held our hands every step of the way. I know our God keeps His promises. I know the enemy is a liar. It was just one of those mornings that I needed to be reminded...... and just like the loving God that He is, He showed me. He reminded me gently that He promised me and that He keeps His promises.

What I have to remember is that He didn't promise me that it would be on my time frame : )

Thank You Lord for being a God that keeps His promises. I know that I will see my daughter again when You decide it's time. Not when the US or China decides. When You declare it. I love knowing that. That You are in control. Thank You Lord for giving me another daughter to raise and to love. What a gift !

Raffle continued.......

2010-03-19T07:08:00.001-07:00

My friend Stacy (another Momma working on bringing her munchkin home) has graciously donated her Solomon Beads to our raffle. So, everyone that buys a raffle ticket will automatically be entered to win this too. How cool is that ?? Thank you Stacy. The winner will get to pick out the size and the color. To check them out head over to Stacy's blog to see Solomon Beads ..... : )

It's that time again........

2010-03-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are back to fundraising. The Lord has graciously blessed us with incredible fundraising in the fall of last year and now it's time to get back to it again. We started this process having just spent every penny that we had bringing Isabella home. We had absolutely nothing for another adoption and To God Be The Glory here we are $14,000 into a $24,000 adoption. I sometimes can't believe it myself. That figure seemed to swallow me whole in the beginning. Slowly and surely I had to dig deep into my faith and trust that the Lord would provide. After all, this was His plan. His child that He is entrusting to us to care for. It's all His money. It's not mine even if I had it sitting in my bank account. I get that. Totally. It's still big faith. For me it's big faith. I know so many people that have relied on the Lord in such a way for so long that this is nothing for them to trust Him quickly and entirely. I'm still on a learning curve. The key is I want to and therefore I do. So, we find ourselves on a fundraising quest for $10,000. Yes, that's sounds like a lot and it is a lot for most of us. But it's nothing for our God. We serve a BIG GOD and He is changing the life of an orphan girl half a world away and He's using us to do it. And as He has done all along He will use you guys as well! So, here's what we're doing:

Blitz Raffle for Marianna

Help bring our daughter home

Grand Prize Ipod Touch (32G) valued at $299

And 2 - Ipod Nanos (16G) valued at $179 each

$5 a chance, $10 for 3 chances

Drawing on April 25, 2010 @ 6 pm

Winners will be notified directly and posted here.....

Click on the Chip In Widget on the sidebar and pay securely through Paypal

Ipod Nano

Ipod Touch

Care Package for our sweet girl

2010-03-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

Our second care package was delivered to Marianna by Sarah (Thank You Sarah). Look at this little one enjoying her goodies. Such a blessing to see her smile. We also made her a DVD of her family so that she could see and hear from each of us. This has been such a special week. We got our log in date and now an update on our sweetie. Thank You Lord for the blessings.

One extra blessing that was thrown in for this Momma...... God is in the details. He truly is. Last week I was painting Izzy's nails and right in the middle of it, I was suddenly saddened by the thought of not being able to paint Marianna's nails. I know it's just nails, but all I could think of was how sweet it is to do Izzy's and how much she loves doing the whole "girly" thing with me. It broke my heart to think of Mari watching me do Izzy's nails and not be able to have hers done. I was really broken about it.

Then last night I get an update on Mari. I looked over the pictures a million times between last night and today. Those of you waiting know what it's like to get a picture and you stare at it all the time. Noticing every little detail about it. Trying to discover something in the picture that gives you some insight into who your child is. A little clue about her likes or dislikes. I was completely enthralled with every detail about her. Combing every picture for anything. That's when I saw it. I was so delighted. So tickled. I smiled the biggest smile and told God how absolutely awesome He was. What I saw was a fingernail. One beautiful little fingernail with pink nail polish. Yes, it's just one. One little bitty nail on a portion of a hand. That's all she has. Just one..... but one is just enough : )

LID: 2/26/10

2010-03-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Thank You Jesus Finally a log in date. This has been a looooong paper chase. Finally everything is in China and we are officially logged in. Now we wait for our LOA (Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter). It's basically a letter from China asking us if we still want to adopt Marianna..... are you kidding me? But yes, that's what we are now waiting on. And it takes awhile. HIS time, not ours. Thank You Lord. Your grace is abundant.

Nothing she can't do........

2010-03-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

DTC..... Yeah !!!!

2010-02-23T07:19:00.001-08:00

For those in the adoption world.... Yeah Baby, we are DTC on February 19th and waiting patiently.... NOT for LID.

For the rest of our family, our paperwork is in China. Once they officially log us in we will then start counting down to our final approval. Once that comes in we will sign it, send it back and wait for travel approval.

Time frame is probably June/July, not May :( I'm trying not to get hung up on that. God's timing is perfect. Absolutely perfect. Yes, I have to remind myself of that. Even after the agony of waiting for Izzy and finally meeting her on Mother's Day (how perfect was that?). Even after all that the Lord showed me through that journey, my stubborn heart says "I want to go now !!!" I know it's natural. It's fleshly. His ways are not mine. His ways are better. His ways are best. I know that. It's just hard. This part is hard. I kept saying that the paper chase part is so miserable and that when our Dossier gets to China I will be relieved. I am relieved, but now it's completely out of my control. At least while paper chasing you feel like you are doing something. Now we truly are just waiting. I'm certain the Lord has something for me to learn through this journey too : ) Lord, please give me a teachable spirit.

WOOOOO HOOOO !!!!!!!

2010-02-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

The Federal Government opened today. Yeah!!!!! Our dossier is finally out of the blizzard in DC and on it's way to our agency.... Which means it will soon be on it's way to China. Thank You Lord : ) As Izzy and I plan for our Chinese New Year dinner, complete with decorations, we are celebrating that we are one step closer to Marianna. Next year we will be doing this with her Mei Mei.

2010-01-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

Sending my sweet girl a few goodies: A scrapbook with more pictures of her family, her bedroom, her playroom, her play set outside, her toys, her books.... all the things that we can't wait to share with her.

I also sent her a pink keepsake box with her name on it to keep all of her special things in. I hope she loves it. I recently saw her in a Minnie mouse sweatshirt so I included a little Minnie Mouse doll and a ladybug hat. A little white purse with some pretty beads. And of course Valentine's stickers and a Princess sticker book.

I want to send her everything. It's so hard not too. I have to think of the other children though. I did include a bag of Valentines suckers for all the kiddos. I know that in a matter of months she'll be home enjoying all of these things with her sister. I can wait. It's just not easy :(

FINALLY.....

2010-01-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

Thank You Lord that our approval finally made it to our home. It was originally issued on December 11th and I received it January 19th. You would think that a $830 document would be sent Fedex, not snail mail. Oh, well. There's a reason for everything. So, Izzy and I trekked to the Secretary of State's office and got everything state certified. Long ride...... Izzy tried to escape from her car seat. Poor thing. I sang. I recited nursery rhymes. Recited scripture. Begged for patience for Izzy and myself. By the time we got there I was signing commercials. Oh, rough ride. Then we sat for an hour while they were being processed. Then another two hours home with three pit stops (my darling is on antibiotics because she's sick...... not the best time to be in a car) We survived !!! And today I can say that our Dossier is headed to Washington D.C. to be authenticated then it goes to CHINA...... Yeah !!

A huge load is off my shoulders. Ok, CHINA I'm ready for a log in date and a quick LOA. Thanks for all of your prayers. Keep praying..... the waiting continues.

Prayers Answered

2010-01-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you Lord. I was able to speak with someone again at USCIS that figured out what happened and has reissued our approval. It should be here by Thursday and by Friday I could be at the Secretary of State's office getting our dossier certified. Woo Hoo....... Thanks for your prayers.

Joy Cometh...

2010-01-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to my joy and my delight. Psalm 43:3-4.

The ups and downs of adoption could really do me in.... if I did not know the joy that comes from the Lord. If all I knew was happiness, I would not be ok right now. Happiness is so fleeting and circumstantial. Disappointments come and unhappiness is sure to follow. You just can't be happy all the time, but joy is possible in all situations. I know that joy now and I have a death grip on it. I just refuse to let the enemy take it from me. It's hard though when you're on a roller coaster that is constantly going up and down. This last week for instance I was a little bummed, well a lot bummed because we still had not heard from USCIS on our fingerprints. We had them taken on November 13th. For pity sake !!! How long does this take?? Going down the tracks.......

Then I get some incredible pictures of Marianna ( see below ). She is just beautiful, isn't she?? : ) Here we go up the hill....... Feeling good.

Then I finally get a response from USCIS via email. Your fingerprints and your I-800A were approved. Woo Hoo !!!!! Up up up we go. On December 10th. What ???? We didn't receive our approval in the mail. We could have had our dossier to China by now. We could be logged in by now. The clock could be ticking toward our LOA. What???? Down the hill again. Oh, really. You don't know what to do to get it reissued. Shocking.... You need two days to research what to do to get another approval letter sent to you. Down down down...... : ( What a week.

Also this week, I finished Living Beyond Yourself which is a 10 week bible study by Beth Moore on the Fruit of the Spirit. It was incredible. We finished on Friday. My girlfriends and I are actually mourning it ending because it was such a great study. It made me think about how the Lord prepares you and gives you want you need. Well, I learned about all the Fruit of the Spirit. I'm learning every day how to bare fruit in all circumstances. Most of it is not easy. Try loving the unlovable. Patience..... are you kidding me? As soon as you ask the Lord for patience, He gives you situations that require you to be patient. No fun. Self control, well..... let's just say I'm working on it. But, Joy. Joy has been a whole different story. This was a light switch for me. The day I realized that my joy is in the Lord and nothing else, it all changed. I can be on a roller coaster..... and have joy. I get down sometimes about things and I get up sometimes, but I'm not devastated like I used to be. I don't let it rule my life like I used to. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. So, hopefully, we'll get our approval in the mail next week. We'll get our dossier certified and authenticated and hopefully off to China in a few weeks (prayers greatly appreciated on that) and we'll be one step closer to this little one..........

Merry Christmas Marianna

2009-12-29T09:12:00.001-08:00

Thinking of you on your birthday......

2009-12-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you what He has done for us.......

2009-12-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

He has put the desire in our heart
to love a child a world away.
A child that was once discarded
but now knows the love of the Father.
He used another babe,
to show us His will.
Because we were blind and couldn’t see.
He told us to step out, but we were afraid.
So He nudged us ever so gently.
Like a good parent would do.
And stood off to the side to let us know,
He was still there
and would see this through.
He confirmed His will with each step we took.
He’s taken a child, a world away,
to show us how much He loves.
He’s used this child to open the eyes of many.
He’s poured His grace out through our family
our friends
and even our community.
The obstacles that once overwhelmed us
are now fading behind us.
Thank You Lord for Your grace and mercy.
Thank You for the people You’ve put in our life.
Especially the ones that love our daughter.
Your daughter that You are intrusting to us.
Help us to boldly and confidently tell of Your love.
Through the generosity of many,
we will meet our daughter one day soon.
The journey is just beginning
and we know that it will not be easy.
This child that You chose to be ours
has many obstacles to overcome.
We will cry with her.
We will cry for her.
We will pray with her.
We will pray for her.
We will rejoice with her
as she overcomes.
It will not be easy.
and we are a little scared
of what she will have to go through.
We may only have the faith of a mustard seed,
but You tell us that’s all we need.
We know that You will grow it in us.
We look back to who we were
and where we’ve been.
And we are amazed at what You’ve done.
Your grace is sufficient for us.
We live daily being fed only by You.
And we are so grateful.
And yet You bless us further
With the gifts of these children.
Four incredible children.
Thank You Jesus.
Thank You Jesus.
Thank You Jesus.

One word..... Sweet !

2009-11-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

2009-11-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

“Help bring this little one home!”
God tells us in His word He has heard the cry of the orphaned and abandoned children (Psalm 10:17, 18) and He has made a way for them to be cared for – through adoption. As believers, He adopted us into His family through Jesus Christ, and did not leave us as spiritual orphans!

Yard sale fundraiser to benefit

Marianna Jiang Braniff

November 7th from 7 am to noon

in the parking lot of Slidell Athletic Club.

If it's time to clean out your attic or your mini storage, put all of that "stuff" to a good cause. If you are interested in donating items to this fundraiser, please contact us at lisa@thebridgeslidell.org or

call us at (985) 646-3443.

You are here because I called you......

2009-11-03T18:29:00.001-08:00

Summit V - Why are you here? from Tapestry on Vimeo.

USCIS - Here We Come !

2009-10-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

We got our fingerprint appointments today in the mail. It took three weeks. Apparently, that's not bad. I had just gone online to the Yahoo waiting group for our agency and everyone said that it was running around six weeks. So, Yeah, fingerprints. November 13th !!! Even though I absolutely dread USCIS, I'm very excited. Just another step closer to Mari. Please pray that there is at least one nice person at Homeland Security and that we get that person : )

We got a grant!!!

2009-10-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

Lifesong for Orphans has given us a $3000 matching grant for Marianna's adoption. Yeah. Isn't that incredible? Any money raised between now and December 15th will be matched dollar for dollar up to $3,000. We are so excited. And it's at a great time because we're having a church fundraiser on November 7th (more details to come).

If anyone is interested in helping bring Marianna home, you can send your tax deductible gift to:

Lifesong for Orphans
Attn: Marianna Jiang Braniff Adoption
P.O. Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744

A sweet reminder

2009-10-06T05:39:00.000-07:00

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour our your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

Oh, the Lord gives us what we need, doesn't He? This morning my bible study was on peace during the wait. Isn't that great? Beth Moore did this particular bible study oh about eight or nine years ago. And for some reason (I know now) my group didn't do it. We just skipped it. It's on the fruit of the spirit. Today I know that I wasn't ready for it then. It would've sailed right over my head. But today it's impacting me in such an incredible way. And this week, this week..... we are studying peace. We did love and joy so far and they were incredible, but peace. Oh, yeah! I've needed some peace lately. I've had a taste of it and it's wonderful but I want it all. Once you have a little bit of peace that surpasses all understanding you are willing to fight tooth and nail for your peace. So, in the five days of my study on peace, I've learned through scripture that Christ had perfect peace in ALONENESS..... in PROVISION...... in the STORM..... in the WAIT.... and in the TEARS. If that doesn't sum up the adoption journey, I don't know what does.

This week we sent off our I800A to Immigration. We waited three weeks for the finances to come through in order to do this. For three weeks I sat there and looked at this envelope that was ready to go. But I couldn't mail it. We didn't have the $830 to go with it. I was confused at first. This is the first time since we started this journey to Marianna that the money was available at the exact moment it was required. So, I was a little confused and wondering "ok, Lord. What's going on ?" And then this morning, I read about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I didn't know that He waited two days after He heard about Lazarus to return to him and raise him from the dead. Two days. He loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary, but yet He waited two days. He knew they were grieving their brother and yet He waited. This morning it hit me like a ton of bricks. Christ had God's glory in mind when He waited so long before responding to Mary and Martha. There is no mistaking that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. And on Friday when I mailed our I800A to Immigration I knew that it was the Lord that provided the finances for this adoption once again. And this morning I once again realized that there was a reason for the three week wait. It's all in His timing. It's all about His glory. I knew from the beginning of this journey to Marianna that it was about His story not ours. Sometimes I just need to be reminded.

2009-10-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know who came up with this image. I've seen it bunches of times, but it's never impacted me quite like it has this time. All I know is that it speaks volumes to my soul right now. Lately Izzy has been talking about the fact that Ryan grew in Mommy's tummy but she grew in my heart. And I always tell her how special she is to have grown in my heart. And yesterday she told me that her Mei Mei was growing in her heart too. Oh, that sweet girl. How I love her. She is going to love that sister of hers so much. And it made me realize that as much as I've tried to manage this "longing" I have for Marianna. As much as I've tried to not let it consume me. I just can't help it. My heart is in China with my daughter and I cannot wait for her to come home. My soul lately just aches for her. It's better this go round because I've learned so much from our journey to Izzy. I have this incredible peace from God about the "when". I'm not worried about the finances. Rob and I are on very solid ground about trusting our Father for His provision for Marianna. But there is no avoiding this maternal aching to love that little thing. I end up daydreaming about what she smells like. Yes, I'm officially head over heels. Thank You Jesus for giving me this longing for her even though sometimes it breaks my heart that I can't hold her right now. Even though when I wake up in the morning I know that she is going to sleep half a world away. Even though I know now that she knows she has a Mommy and is maybe wondering when is she coming to get me. All the uncertainty. All the heart aches. All the waiting. It is so worth it. Thank You Lord for allowing me to love another child.

2009-09-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

Father, We know Your will for us. Let us remain faithful in our belief when we grow weary during this wait. Lord, we also know Your timing is perfect. We know the finances for our sweet girl will come together when You are ready for them to. Thank You Lord for allowing us to parent these incredible children. What a gift they are. Thank You for all that we are to learn through this journey to Marianna. Your Grace Is Sufficient : )

Home Study Approved !

2009-08-31T19:46:00.001-07:00

Yeah. We are done with our home study. Woohooo. You would think since we've done this already, updating it wouldn't take that long. Wrong...... With all of the changes since The Hague Adoption Convention, it actually took longer to update our study than it did to do the study in the first place. Thank goodness we have a wonderful social worker. So, we are ready to head to USCIS..... Prayers needed, Please. I have yet to have a good experience at USCIS. Well, maybe this time will be different. Come on, Lisa, the glass is half full : )

Also, I got a few new glimpses of our sweet girl:

I have never seen Mari in a dress. Ever.... Isn't she just adorable?

A couple new pics....

2009-08-02T20:54:00.001-07:00

Waiting......

2009-07-25T21:29:00.001-07:00

Oh, I forgot how hard the waiting was. Big reminder this week. No news. No new pictures. We are still paper chasing. Almost done with our home study. Then it's off to Homeland Security for our appointment and new fingerprints. I guess to make sure that we are still not serial killers. So, that's where we are. The waiting is hard, but so much better than last time. I learned so much through our journey to Izzy and I know His timing is perfect. This time there is no struggle with the Lord on "when, when, when?" Just trusting in His plan for her.... for us. Praying for His provision and hanging on His every word. It's all I can do :)

New Mei Mei pictures......

2009-06-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Oh, how badly I want to watch her sleep....

Marianna and Bethany

Look at my big girl cutting with scissors !!

This is sweet. Her foot print and her hand prints on the wall....

Doesn't she look like she would be a handful? She and Izzy are perfectly paired.

Mari and Daniel swimming

Bubbles in the pool ?? Izzy would love to do that at home, but Daddy won't let her. Maybe we won't let Izzy see this picture :)

This is a very special day.

2009-06-14T17:59:00.001-07:00

Today we got an update. The sweet pictures that I couldn't wait to see. She got our care package. Yeah !!! So sweet to see the smile on her face. I can tell that she loves her bear and the family photo album. It brought me back to the day we got the same email of Izzy opening our first care package and the incredible update that followed. It was the day that we found out that our daugther was at Hidden Treasures Home. Until then, we just thought that Izzy was in foster care. Who knew that she was in such an awesome place. That day God's story became clearer to us. It's so beautiful how He weaves all of us together. It makes the second journey all the more special that we get to return to Fuzhou to become parents again.

Then what really hit me was that "She knows". She knows that I'm her Momma. She was looking at the photo album with Mike and smiling. I know that he was telling her "that is your Mommy and that is your Daddy". And "oh, look at Izzy, she is your sister now". "And that is Ryan your big brother and Jessi your big sister". I could hear the words as if I were there. I also remembered Deena telling me during our journey to Izzy that every night they looked at the photo album together and talked about her Mommy and Daddy. I knew that they would now be doing that with Mari. What a peace that gives me knowing that they will be preparing her for us. That is a gift that I know all adoptive families do not get and I do not take it lightly. I'm so blessed that my daughter is in such a loving and caring and Christ filled environment. I thank the Lord everyday for that blessing.

Today, my daughter found out that she has a family :) My little girl a world away from me knows that I'm her Momma. This is a very special day.

To God Be The Glory....

2009-05-23T08:33:00.001-07:00

The words are not coming..... my emotions are so raw. I'm so overwhelmed by my glorious creator that I can't put it into words yet. Think of John on the island of Patmos. That's me, face down in awe, praising my Lord, but I can hardly move. Though I'm not shocked at how He moved mountains to make it all happen, I'm stunned by HIM !! I promise to write more soon. For now, I just want to introduce you to our sweet daughter, Marianna Jiang Braniff.

Our journey started awhile ago but officially we were approved to adopt her on Thursday May 21st. Izzy is delighted that she will be a big sister. More to come soon. I promise.

Much love ~ Lisa