Adoption Mom

Summer picture of the kids

2007-11-24T22:53:00.000-05:00

Long Time, No Hear

2007-11-24T22:31:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it has been 7 months since I last posted! So much has happened. We are still recovering from the passing of my mother. The kids had a hard time, but now don't ask about her much. Whenever we pass a hospital, Timothy asks, "Is that where Mamaw lives?"

Brodie is doing well with homeschooling. He is doing 8th grade work and still enjoys having mom as his teacher. He played soccer for Grove Avenue in the fall and is now doing ice skating. He will probably continue that during the winter and then do golf lessons in the spring. He has developed a love of cooking and wants to learn every recipe I know. We are also planning on getting him a guitar and some lessons in the very near future.

Emily has a great kindergarten teacher and other than not wanting to get out of bed, she seems to really love going to school. She is reading now! She has lost 6 teeth altogether, but only 2 adult teeth have come in. She has quite a big gap in her smile. Emily has discovered Webkinz and wants to be on the computer all of the time. We are going to surprise her with gymnastics classes after the holidays.

Timothy is still our little charmer. His smile lights up his whole face. He has been cleared by the neurosurgeon to not need further visits, unless he develops any problems. We were excited about that. Timothy started preschool in September and adores his teacher. He has made a couple of buddies that he talks about often. His favorite things right now are Spiderman and the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.

Bethany also started preschool and is in the same class as Timothy. They do well together at school. She has turned into quite the little fashion model, insisting on only skirts or dresses. She is so attached to Emily, always wanting to be doing what Emily is doing. For now Emily is tolerating it. Bethany has the most delightful laugh and she is completely taken with Barbie and all the Disney princesses.

Charlie and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary this week! He took me on a 7 day Caribbean cruise the week before. We went to Honduras, Belize, Mexico and the Bahamas. It was absolutely wonderful!! Our good friends Mike and Amy Bowles, formerly living in Thailand, moved into our house and took superb care of our four kiddos and their two as well. It was so relaxing and just an amazing time of reconnecting as a couple.

We are just about finished redoing my parents' house in order to put it on the market. It has been really hard getting rid of everything from the house. We have taken down all the wallpaper, painted, new carpets, new floors in the kitchen and foyer, new cabinets and appliances and redone all the landscaping with just family providing the labor. Mom and Dad's good friend Don is finishing up by hanging new doors and touching up. He also redid the hallway bathroom and will be putting in new toilets and such. Unfortunately the market stinks right now, so we are not sure of when it might actually sell. We will continue to pray about it and know that God has the perfect timing in His plan.

We are still in the process of transitioning to career missions. It has been slow with Timothy's medical needs, but now we have complete clearance for him. We decided to delay by one cycle so that we can be appointed here in Richmond instead of in Sunnyvale, TX. Nothing against Texas, but we would really like for family and our church friends to be able to be there. Please pray for us to be able to finish all the paperwork in the next couple of weeks and get it turned in. Also pray for Brodie, who is dealing with great reluctance in leaving his only remembered home and all his friends.

We will be sending out Christmas cards in the next couple of weeks and will give a more complete update in there. Talk to you later!

Much Sadness

2007-04-19T11:32:00.000-04:00

Once again, it has been a while since I last posted.

Timothy has recovered remarkably well from his surgery. After a week of him thinking he couldn't walk, he took off and is back to absolute normal. People don't believe me that he had major spinal surgery until I show them the large scar.

Since I last posted, my mother passed away. It was a short 7 weeks from diagnosis to her passing. I was able to spend the last night with her and was present when she went home to be with our Lord. In many ways, it still is not real, though we held the funeral yesterday. I continue to think that I can pick the phone up and give her a call. She will be greatly missed. She was a wonderful lady and a great friend.

This picture was taken Christmas Day at our house. I am so grateful that she spent Christmas Eve and several days with us during the holidays.

While we were at Mom's preparing for the funeral, tragic events unfolded at Virginia Tech, Charlie and my alma mater. A gunman student shot and killed 31 students and then himself. I had Charlie check on one student that we knew there. He was fine. I had forgotten that we knew another student there. She graduated this past spring from the same school that Brodie and Emily attend. I found out this morning that she was one of the victims. Please pray for this family as they mourn the untimely death of their daughter. She was a believer and we know that she is rejoicing with Jesus, but it is still hard for those left to wonder why this kind of thing happens.

While you are praying, please remember my nephew David and his wife Cathy. Since November, they have lost to death their dog, Cathy's father, David's paternal grandfather, both of Cathy's grandmothers and David's maternal grandmother (my mom). Cathy's paternal grandmother passed away just a couple of hours after my mother. They have endured much. They have two young sons, David (8) and William (6) who have had to attend way too many funerals for kids their age.

Thank you to the many friends and family members who have shown such love and support during these difficult days. We don't ever want to miss an opportunity to tell you how much we love you.

Does it ever amaze you how God created our tear glands with a seemingly endless supply of tears?

Update on Timothy

2007-03-15T13:41:00.000-04:00

Timothy had his first surgery to repair his spinal cord yesterday. The surgery went well. We had expected anywhere from 2 to 6 hours for the procedure. It was done in 3 hours. The neurosurgeon has been wonderful to work with. Timothy is currently in the Pediatric ICU, but may be moved to a progressive care unit today and possibly to the regular pediatrics ward tomorrow. If all goes well, he should be released on Saturday to come home. He is required to lay flat on his back for three days and then can get up and move about with pain as his guide. We are praying for a speedy recovery and complete healing. At this point, we are not sure about him having a second surgery. The spinal cord does split into two cords in the thoracic area, but there is no bone separating the two halves. This thrills the surgeon, who is weighing the risks of further surgery with the benefits. He would like to do another MRI while Tim is at the hospital, but that is proving difficult to schedule with anesthesiology. Timothy is in moderate pain that seems to be controlled well with the pain medications. He wants to be held and he wants to go home, neither of which are happening things right now.

We will keep you up to date as much as possible from home or the hospital.

Pictures 3/5

2007-03-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken for our 6 month post placement visit happening this week.

Stressful Times

2007-03-05T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hello y'all! The last month or so has been a whirlwind of activity. Not only is raising four children crazy enough, but homeschooling has added a whole new level of insanity to our house. Brodie is doing well with his lessons, but I wish I had more hours in the day to spend with him and with the three little ones.

We have had some hard days lately. On February 21, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. It has spread to other organs and glands as well. She had her first round of chemo last week and was able to get out of the hospital today. My sister Liz and I have been spending as much time with her as we can. Thankfully, Mom's sister Dottie has come to stay for a while and can give complete attention to Mom's care. Please pray for my mother's healing and comfort as she comes to your mind.

The day is quickly approaching for Timothy's surgery to fix one area where his spinal cord is tethered. In many ways we are looking forward to it, knowing that we have caught it early enough that he has no irreversible nerve damage at this point. Of course we are not looking forward to the pain he will have to endure, nor three days of keeping him from moving. I sure hope the hospital has stocked lots of sedatives! (Some for me would be nice.) :)

Charlie is busy, busy, busy at work. He will be gone a couple of days this week for work related fun and games. He is not thrilled, to say the least.

Brodie and I are going on a trip after Timothy's surgery if all goes well. I will post pictures from our scenic location. Brodie does not yet know all the details, so I must be vague here. I am so excited! I do feel bad about leaving Charlie with the three little ones for another week. He was so sweet to stay home with all the kids while I stayed in the hospital with my mother for a week.

I will post more on all of these things as I can.

All Four Kids

2007-02-15T21:34:00.000-05:00

Slackers R Us

2007-02-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

OK, so I made a New Year's resolution to keep this up to date weekly. I also made a resolution to lose lots of weight and to keep my house clean. I am really bad at keeping resolutions!

A lot has happened since I blogged last. Timothy had surgery on January 17. He had 5 root canals, 5 crowns and 7 fillings. He also got circumcised. He did great! Unfortunately, he took great delight in dropping his pants to show people his "boo-boo". That didn't last too long, thank the Lord.

After the surgery we jumped back into the paperwork to become missionaries. We only needed a few more medical letters to complete that process. When we called the pediatric orthopedic surgeon to get a letter from him, we were informed that he wanted Timothy to see a neurosurgeon about his spinal cord issues that were discovered on the MRI. We went to MCV last week and met a great neurosurgeon. He wants to do a CT of the thoracic area of Timothy's spine. That will happen on Feb. 23. Then Timothy will have his first neurosurgery on March 14. This will repair the cord where it is tethered in the sacrum. Timothy will spend 3 days in the hospital, supposedly not moving. I hope they have lots of sedatives for him! He will need a second surgery 2-3 weeks later to fix several problems with his cord in the center of his back. I will post when that is confirmed after the CT is done.

I had to go into the blog and delete some posts that had pictures. I had used all my space so I haven't been able to post any pictures in the last several months. I will try tonight to post some new pictures.

All the kids are doing well. Brodie is now being homeschooled and seems to really like it. He is still playing basketball for his old school. The tournament is next week and Grove Avenue's middle school team is in first place! All the kids are growing so fast. It is amazing to watch them.

Hope this fills you in a little!

Happy New Year Everyone!

2007-01-01T14:16:00.000-05:00

My resolution for the new year is to keep this blog more up to date. Well, that is one of my resolutions.
Since I blogged last, a lot has happened. Not necessarily in chronological order, we had a huge party for Timothy and Bethany at the local Chick-Fil-A, everyone got sick with one thing or another and Bethany turned three. As for the sicknesses, there was a virus that Bethany had and gave to Timothy and Emily. Timothy gave it back to Bethany and it turned into pneumonia. Meanwhile, Brodie got strep. I had a virus in the cartilage of my ribcage that did a really good imitation of a heart attack. Poor Charlie. I called him at work and told him I was having severe chest pains and could he take me to the hospital, please? He made it home in record time. It has taken three weeks, but the pain is finally going away.
Christmas was wonderful. My mom came down Christmas Eve and spent two nights with us. It was so nice to just stay home on Christmas Day. We usually open presents and then load up the car to go to one grandparent or another's for a day or two. The kids never get to play with their toys. This year was very relaxing. We left Wednesday to go to Charlie's parents' and stayed until Friday. While there, we went and visited our good friends Tim and Diana Tippett. It was fantastic to just hang out for the evening, talk and teach them the game we love to play, Nerts.
Then was the tragedy called the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. We were so excited with the 21-3 lead at half time. The second half of the game was just painful to watch. We are still not talking about it around Charlie, as he is still in mourning.
Last night, we had a great time at church. The church was able to get a copy of the movie "Facing the Giants" to show. Lots of families showed up and the film was awesome. It had an infertility theme to it, so of course I boo-hooed through most of it. Brodie stayed at church for the youth "all-nighter" and had a blast. I had to force him to wake up at 2 this afternoon so that he will sleep tonight!
We are well and happy as 2007 begins. Please pray for Timothy's upcoming surgeries on January 17th. Our IMB approval is still riding on getting medical clearances and Timothy's needs are a great concern.
We love you all and wish you the best year ever.

Happy Birthday, dear Timothy

2006-11-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

I know. It has been over a month since my last entry. I am sincerely sorry for not keeping everyone up to date.

I can hardly believe that Timothy is now 3! Much to our dismay, he is sick today and he stayed home from church with Mommy. We will do cake and presents at lunch time. We are planning a joint birthday party for Timothy and Bethany in early December. I am so glad we didn't have it planned for yesterday...we would have had to cancel!

It has been a big week at the Sell house. On Tuesday, Charlie and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. How can that be, when I only feel 25? Thursday was Thanksgiving, which we spent at my sister Liz's. My mom and friend Linda came as well. It was small and quiet, but we had fun. Then yesterday we enjoyed watching the Hokies stomp the Wahoos. And today is Tim's birthday. That is a lot in one week. Only three weeks of school left until the Christmas break! I really need to do some shopping!!

Since I last blogged, Brodie and I spent 12 days in Thailand on a mission trip. I will share details and pictures on that in a separate blog.

Timothy has had his MRI. We will get the results tomorrow or Tuesday. The orthopedic surgeon did try to call and the message was that it wasn't bad. That was encouraging. We will see if anything will need to be done for Timothy's scoliosis or if we will leave him alone. The MRI was done under general anesthesia and he did great. He is scheduled for dental surgery on January 17, also under general anesthesia. Please keep him in your prayers for that one. It promises to be much more painful.

We are still in the process with the IMB and still hope to go to Thailand. Everything is on hold due to medical issues that need to be resolved. Two things have been submitted and hopefully we will hear that they are complete. We need to send in proof of some blood work on all three of the little kids. Then we need to finish up and have final reports on all of Timothy's needs. Hopefully we can go to a candidate conference in March and be on the field in August or September. I am ready to go now! Know anyone who needs furniture, clothes, dishes....?

More later!

I'm Proud to be an American

2006-10-20T17:36:00.000-04:00

It is official!!! Timothy received his Certificate of Citizenship today, along with a personal letter from George W. Bush. He is the only one of our three from China with this oh so important document. Now it is time to hustle to get them for the girls! We have the forms filled out, pictures taken and all we need to do is write a big check and mail them off. Maybe tonight?!?

I am sorry for the delay in updates. The hate mail and calls have started again. One of my friends actually told me the date and contents of my last blog and laid on the guilt. So here is the update, Dena.

Timothy went for his kidney ultrasound and praise the Lord everything is absolutely normal! He is scheduled for his surgery on Monday, November 13. Poor guy!

I also had my appointment with my favorite orthopedic surgeon. Again, praise the Lord. The ACL is in great shape. Evidently, I managed to grow a little cartilage after the surgery in 2001 and then somehow tore a bit of it. It appears that no surgery will be necessary, but I go back in late November for a recheck. Meanwhile, I am taking a lot of glucosamine and chondroitin to lubricate the knee as much as possible. Old age is not for sissies!

Emily's class went to the Pumpkin Patch today, so Timothy, Bethany and I went along. It was muddy, but lots of fun. Here is a picture of the three kids out in the patch. It is not the best, as both two year olds have decided that they don't like having their pictures taken.

We had the grandparents over last Saturday to spend some time with Timothy (and the rest of the grandkids). It was wonderful and the kids were so happy to see Grandpa, Grandma, Mamaw, Linda (Mamaw's friend) and cousin Fiona. Other friends came as well and we all enjoyed barbeque and the fixings. Here is the one good photo of Timothy I got that day.

We have a weekend with pretty much nothing planned, so we will be hanging out around the house and taking care of laundry and other essentials. More later.

I Went to the Animal Fair

2006-10-05T16:47:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we took everyone to the Virginia State Fair. Charlie always puts up a fuss about going, but I absolutely love the fair. I don't necessarily want to ride the rides or play the games, but it amuses me to no end to just people watch and to see the animals. We got to see some really cool baby animals, including a newborn calf weighing in at a whopping 90 pounds. I liked the giant pumpkin and the quilt show. Timothy got to ride his first carousel. Speaking of which, I can't help but be reminded of my mother asking me what we were going to name our son who became Brodie. He was adopted as a newborn and we met the mother when she was about 4 months along. We lived in Hawaii and my folks were in Virginia so this conversation took place by phone. I told her in all seriousness that if we got a girl we would be naming her Cara. I left it at that and my mother expressed that it was a cute name. SIX weeks later I get a phone call with my mother yelling at me. "You can't possibly be serious about naming my granddaughter Cara Sell!!!" She threatened to spank her 29 year old daughter the next time she saw her. I am still chuckling. Oh, and I told her after her threat that we had chosen a boy's name too. Dura.

Meanwhile, back at the fair, Brodie chose his one thing he really wanted to do. He rode the mechanical bull. It was fun to watch. We all ate corn dogs and French fries and cotton candy and funnelcake and had a soda to wash it down. Yum! We were fortunate. I heard today that a school group went to the same fair and 24 out of 25 came down with food poisoning. Thank you Lord!

We have started on our rounds of doctors' appointments. Emily was first with a trip to the pediatric neurologist. They cannot tell if her facial tic is just a "transient tic of childhood" or possibly the start of Tourettes Syndrome. We will watch and see what happens. Timothy went to the urologist. He is concerned about Timothy's kidneys, so we will have an ultrasound next week. That way if anything is going on with them, he can work on it while circumcising our poor boy. I then had to go to the doctor for my knee which seems to not want to hold me up very well. This is the same knee I have had 3 operations on and two other procedures. I will be seeing the orthopedic surgeon next week. Now we are up to 16 appointments in one month! And, Brodie came home from school with a 102 fever and Daddy has another cold. It is never ending around here.

Well, I think that is all the news for now. I will post pictures separately. One of the pictures will be of a plumeria flower. Our trees are finally blooming. I am glad they managed to before it got really cold. We will probably move them inside the sun room this weekend to try to get all the flowering we can.

Ciao!

Day By Day

2006-09-29T16:06:00.000-04:00

Time flies when you are having fun, or just trying to survive. Having four children, with three of them preschoolers is like trying to herd cats or nail Jello to a tree. My main goal is not losing any of them. Sound reasonable? Everyone seems to be healthy now and the virus that got everyone else avoided me. Thank you God! Mommy and Daddy are exhausted, but happy. We plan to have a family night tonight with movies, pizza and caramel apples. We had thought about a babysitter and going out, but we have been in constant motion since returning from China. We need a night to just hang out at home with no real agenda. Brodie is at basketball try-outs and will be done at 6:00. We will start our fun as soon as he gets home.

We have many doctor's appointments in the month of October. Emily will see a pediatric neurologist on Monday for a facial tic that had been getting worse. I think it is behavioral, but want to be sure. Timothy sees the urologist on Tuesday for a consult. Brodie goes to the orthodontist on the 9th. Mary gets a new crown on the 11th. Timothy will see the pediatric orthopedic surgeon on Oct. 25 and all three little ones go to the dentist on the 26th. Some time in the month, Timothy and Mary need to have blood drawn at the lab. Mary and Brodie need shots for the mission trip also. I think that is all. Mary had her annual physical and mammogram last week and Charlie had his FBI physical. Timothy and Mary both went to the doctor in Sept. as well. Timothy for a checkup and for vaccinations, Mary for a routine blood pressure check. Oh, and Mary went to the dentist to have the old crown removed. Phew. We will be tired of copays really shortly! Thankfully, most everything but the crown and the dental work Timothy will need is covered by insurance.

All of that is not the big news of the week. Yesterday, Brodie's soccer team won! It was 7-1 and several different people were able to score. We also took about 30 shots on goal that had potential to be scores. We need to work on our aim and timing. It was wonderful for them, as they normally are matched with teams that are all high school boys and we play co-ed, 5th through 11th graders. The kids have good attitudes despite the losing record. They are learning a lot and improving each game.

All of that is not the big news of the week either. On Wednesday, the three little ones and I were driving to get Brodie. Emily asked me when God was coming back. I told her that only He knew that. She then asked if Jesus was going to live on the earth with us. I replied that Jesus would take all the people who believe in Him to live with Him in heaven. So she inquired if we believed in Jesus. My response was that Mommy, Daddy and Brodie did. I proceeded to ask her several questions about believing. Do you believe that Jesus is God's Son? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross? Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Why did Jesus die on the cross? Are you a sinner? Can the blood of Jesus clean up your sins? Emily was able to answer all of my questions correctly. I told her that if she believed all of that, then all she needed to do was to pray to God and ask Him to forgive her. Then she needed to ask Jesus to live in her heart and be her Savior. When we got home, Emily sat on my bed with me and we talked about it again. I led her through a prayer of salvation, right there and then. She was so excited, and so was her mommy! We called Daddy at work to tell him. She told lots of people at church Wednesday night. We went and talked to the pastor about it yesterday. She was shy with him and didn't express what had happened very well. His advice was to wait a while before taking any further steps. I am so happy that Emily understands her need for a Savior at such a young age. I am also extremely grateful that the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover any sin...those of a 5 year old and those of the worst serial killer and everyone in between. Praise You Jesus!

What a week!!!!

Pictures 9/26

2006-09-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

The First Time

2006-09-26T20:08:00.000-04:00

OK, I am getting hate mail because I haven't blogged on over a week. Good grief!

So Mr. Timothy has experienced many "firsts" in the last week. He went to his first two birthday parties. He had his first spaghetti. He went to the mall for the first time. He got his first belt for his pants so we don't have to see his skinny behind all the time. He was bitten by his sister for the first time (and second and third times.) He had his first shots in America (and didn't make a peep.) He slept all the way through the night for the first time, just once. And most importantly, he wore his first Virginia Tech jersey. What more could a boy ask for??

I do have other children who are noteworthy. Brodie continues to be my delight. He is preparing to go on his first mission trip in November. He and I will be going to Thailand for 11 days to minister to the Kui people and we are very excited. He is doing reasonably well in school and is having a great year in soccer. In fact, he played so well in today's game that he amazed both coaches and his mother. He is a big help with his siblings and I sure appreciate him.

Emily is also doing well. She enjoys having Timothy to mother. Between her and Brodie, Charlie and I could leave the state and the two year olds would be well taken care of. She had some funny moments this week as well. The background is that the friends that the kids stayed with while we were in China have an 8 year old son named Hunter. My kids and I were all in the car and I said that I saw two doggies. Brodie replied, "I see London, I see France, I see dogs in their underpants." He was just being silly. I said back, "In underpants?" Emily, from the back seat inquired, "What's in Hunter's pants?" Of course I told her that she did not need to concern herself with the contents of a boy's underpants! Crazy kid!

Bethany is not so thrilled with the new addition. She is having a very hard time sharing Daddy, Mommy and the toys. She has become quite verbal over the last couple of months and has a cute munchkin voice since her tonsillectomy. Unfortunately, she has no volume control. She is either deafening or she is silent, rarely in between. She really likes to be outside and is trying to speak Chinese with Timothy. It is so cute.

My big kid Charlie is doing well. He has transitioned to a new role at his office and seems to be much happier about it. Of course, I can't go into detail here. He has a new partner in Sunday school since I left to teach Timothy and Bethany's class. He is enjoying the Hokie football season. He was really bummed with the Redskins losing to Dallas, and I didn't even gloat. Much.

We are trying to keep in contact with all those whom we travelled to China. I have heard from several and look forward to "talking" with others via email. We met so many wonderful people and feel blessed to share in the amazing experience that is adoption.

Please pray for my uncle, Jim Benedict. He has had cancer return. It is pretty bad in his throat. In addition he suffers with a heart condition. His wife, Nancy, has back problems and needs assistance with daily tasks, so all of this is a mess. They live in Winston-Salem, NC and would appreciate your prayers.

I will post pictures separately so you can have your fix.

Have a great night!

On the Road Again

2006-09-19T09:53:00.000-04:00

We had a lovely day at church on Sunday. Everyone oohed and ahhed over Timothy and he was his normal charming self. He had fun in Sunday School (and so did Mommy) and even participated in the craft. When Stacey asked if they could say "Jesus" he chimed right in! That's my boy! He liked Mary Chewning a lot and told me good-bye when it was time for the service. He played toys and did fabulously. In the evening, though, he wanted nothing to do with the nursery, so Daddy kept him and Mommy went to the service.

Monday we were off and running, back into the routine. We took Brodie and Emily to school, then ran back home for a few minutes. Then we were out the door to Timothy's doctors appointment. Our doctor was pleased with his developmental level and overall health. He gave us referrals to a pediatric urologist and a pediactric orthopedic surgeon. We plan to have Timothy circumcised at some point. We also want to have his back x-rayed to make sure it does not need any further treatment. He has some curvature due to the surgery he had at one year of age. Timothy also needs a couple of "waxinations" which he will get on Friday. I am going to the doctor at the same time to have my BP checked. Hmmm....maybe not the best timing on that? After picking up Emily at noon, we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. It was yummy! Then home for a nap and off to pick up Brodie. On the way home, we went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on some groceries. All of this is a normal day in our lives (except the circumcision part).

All in all, the adjustment is going well. Bethany is having somewhat of a hard time, but that was going on before we left. She doesn't like other kids touching her or her stuff, especially her blanket. She will be OK in time, I am sure.

Here is my favorite picture I have taken recently.

Pictures Updated

2006-09-19T09:40:00.000-04:00

Home, Home on the Range

2006-09-16T18:41:00.000-04:00

Well, not on the range, but home at any rate. Timothy did well with the drive home and didn't fuss much about being strapped into a car seat. We took Mamaw home and got headed toward our house. By the time we got home, it was after 1 a.m.! We put the other three to bed and bathed Timothy. Daddy took care of brushing his teeth. By the way, we are going to completely fund our dentist's retirement with the dental work that Timothy will require. His teeth are awful! Anyway, I got a nice hot shower and sent Charlie off to bed. Timothy and I headed to the playroom to await sleep. I did give him a shot of Benadryl to speed up the process. He squealed with delight when he saw all the toys that were available to play with. Want to know what he played with first? Car? Truck? Legos? Nope, the purple stroller with a panda bear passenger. He had a blast. He likes the Little Tykes farm and the Weeble village. He did play with Legos eventually. Finally, at 3:08 he fell asleep. I just put him in bed with me that night. I went to sleep at 3:09, I am sure. He slept until around 6:30 a.m. and Charlie was nice enough to get him. We let the other kids sleep in a bit before getting ready for school. Yes, we sent them to school. We all went and had a live show and tell object for both Emily and Brodie's classes. We took Bethany and Timothy to Ukrop's (the greatest grocery store on the planet) for a few essentials. Mary hit the sleep wall and had to go to bed around 11:15. Charlie went to pick up Emily and took Bethany and Timothy with him. They all went down for a nap after lunch and at 3:15 we got up and departed for Brodie's soccer game. Timothy slept all the way there and all through the game. He continued to sleep until 6:30 p.m. He was one tired little boy! We picked up subs for dinner and had some play time. He went to bed around 11:30 and slept until 5:30. I got up with him, as I had a full night's sleep and we went out around 8 to do some shopping, just Timothy and me. He stayed up until after 1 p.m. and then took a nice nap. I am hoping that in the next few days we can get him back on a normal schedule. Please pray with us as we try to get him to sleep anywhere but our bed. He did sleep at the foot end of Bethany's bed for a while. We may have to move his toddler bed into our room for a while.
He has gotten to meet a few friends and neighbors. It will be interesting taking him to church tomorrow. I will post pictures separately.

Lord, I'm Coming Home

2006-09-16T18:15:00.000-04:00

OK, you blogaholics, here is an update. The trip was very, very long and hard. We were lucky enough to get bulkhead seats and the extra leg room was much appreciated. Unfortunately, you cannot put the armrests up in those seats, so it was impossible to lay Timothy down when he slept. He was held for about 24 hours straight. I also had a very hard time emotionally. I hope this comes out in a way that those who have never adopted can understand. Adoption is a very emotion-laden process. There is a big time investment getting tons of paperwork done. There is the money aspect, which brings out emotions in and of itself. Then there is the pure emotion of falling in love with the child and the hopes and dreams that go with any new child coming to a family. In China, as you are getting to know the child, whole new feelings come out. God, in His infinite wisdom and supreme planning, builds into every human the ability to love each new child without losing love for the others. There is an endless capacity. All of this is to say that I had somewhat of a meltdown on the airplane when I had invested all of my emotions into Timothy, only for him to only want to be with Liz. He would cry and hold his arms out for her if I held him and he was awake. It was very difficult for me. On top of that, Liz wasn't feeling tip-top and needed to rest. Timothy cried for two hours straight until he finally fell asleep. I had big plans that the melatonin was going to put him out. HAH! It ramped him up and made things worse. Somehow, we all survived and made it to Chicago. Once there, we had to go through Immigration with all of his sealed paperwork. That went pretty quickly. Then it was off to baggage claim to get our luggage in order to take it through Customs. I didn't know the baggage hold was so big! Of course one of my bags was the very last to come off the carousel. Our connecting flight was already boarding by this time and we still had to do Customs, re-check the bags and transfer terminals. We were told to take Timothy's paperwork to the Immigration officer in Customs and have a seat. It was nice to be able to tell each family good-bye as they got finished. On Thursday, September 14, 2006 at 4:25 p.m., Timothy Chang Sell became a U.S. citizen. Woo Hoo!!! We managed to get booked on a new flight getting in two hours later than originally planned. We contacted all those who were going to come to the airport and got them to slow down a bit. The flight from Chicago to Dulles was wonderful. I had a nice lady sitting next to me and we talked the entire way while Timothy slept again. We left the plane and were met at the baggage claim by one proud Daddy and three very happy children. With them were two grandmothers and one grandfather. Cameras were just flashing away and Mr. Personality suddenly got really shy. It didn't take long for him to be running around with his siblings while we waited for our bags. Let me say, it is really good to be home!

Last Tango in Paris

2006-09-13T02:42:00.000-04:00

Or, last post from Guangzhou. It is hard to believe we have been in China for two weeks. In a lot of ways it went very quickly because we stayed so busy. The last couple of days have dragged and we are ready to be home. I really want to see Brodie, Emily and Bethany and to see them interact with Timothy.

Timothy continues to be quite the funny little guy. He plays hard to get when you want him to talk, but will talk to complete strangers. He had several nice conversations with various shopkeepers over the last two days. He told one that he liked me because I gave him cookies. Hey, whatever works. Today, I gave him a 1 yuan coin and he thought that was the greatest. He gave it to the cashier at 7-11 to pay for his first Pringles. He has picked up many more words and phrases in English. Now he goes around saying, "knees and toes" all the time. He made half the bus go "Awwww" when he said "I love you Mommy." I am so thrilled with him. I am a bit nervous at how it will go with all the kids in the house. I am sure that a pecking order will be established. Emperor Pu Yi here evidently was alpha male in his room at the orphanage, despite not being the oldest or biggest. I am looking forward to him understanding English enough for him to realize that Daddy and Mommy are in charge and him starting to be obedient. Please continue to pray for him as he develops relationships within the family. Pray also for the girls to not feel left out as I work with Timothy over the weeks and months to come.
We must have our bags out at 9:30 tonight and depart the hotel at 5:45 in the morning. I look forward to seeing all of our family and friends in the days to come.

I Want Candy

2006-09-11T09:45:00.000-04:00

I finally found what Timothy repeats over and over. He says, "I want to eat candy." He is the biggest sugar addict I have ever seen!

Today we had his medical exam for the emigration paperwork. It went well and the doctor even says that his repair was better than most she has seen. We will still have him evaluated when we get home though. He weighs 29.4 pounds and is 35.25 inches tall. After the exam, we spent several hours shopping. We had a nice lunch on Shamian Island and then spent the rest of the day at the hotel. We ordered dinner from Danny's Bagels. Danny is a New Yorker who opened a restaurant for the US crowd who need a home cooking fix. It is not quite home, but it is close.

Tomorrow is a completely free day. We are supposed to stay in our rooms from 9:30-10:30 in case the consulate has any questions about our paperwork. We plan to return to Shamian Island to pick up a purchase I made. We might have lunch at the same restaurant because it was excellent.

Timothy found pillow fights absolutely hilarious this afternoon. He knows which room is ours when we get off the elevator. He will be good pals with Emily as he loved playing with the doctor's stethoscope. It was really laid back today, so not much else to report.

Oh, we found out something interesting today. There is a couple here adopting in our group that are just so sweet. Someone else told me to google the husband's name. His name is Billy Foote. So, I googled him and found out that he and his wife are Christian music performers and he has written several of the praise and worship songs that we sing! They are so humble and have not talked about their profession at all that I have heard. Wow!

More tomorrow. We can't wait to be home!!!!!

Pictures from Sunday

2006-09-10T19:26:00.000-04:00

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

2006-09-10T09:12:00.000-04:00

And that is what it is going to take to contain this little boy of ours. In case you haven't grasped his brilliance, let me give you a bit of insight. Today, to use up some time, Timothy and I went to ride the elevator and the escalator. He calls the elevator the ding dong, because a bell rings as it is called and as it arrives. Anyway, we rode down to the bottom floor. He then led me to the stairs and walked up one flight. He immediately turned left and led me to his favorite hangout, Starbucks. He walked in and stood there as if to say, "Well, are you going to buy me a cup of coffee, or not?" So,Brodie will have a fellow coffee fiend in the family. He has picked up several English words. He can count to five. He can say Timothy, Liz, Brodie, Emily, Bethany, OK, no problem, Nate, and most importantly, Go Hokies! He continues to amuse the Chinese ladies with the things he says in Chinese. Tonight on the way to dinner, he told Nate to get out of his way or he was going to beat him up. We happened to be walking with Amy, one of our guides. She had a little chat with him about being nicer. It didn't last long.

Our sightseeing today was to the Chen clan temple. It is a historic temple and used to be a local school for the arts. In addition to the buildings and rooms, there were some local artisans selling their wares. After that, we went to the Friendship Store, which is a 6 floor department store including an upper scale grocery. We got some provisions to last us for a few more days.

Timothy loves to play with the controls for the lights and the tv and radio. They are located on a central console between the two beds. He delights in turning off the lights when you are trying to read something. Tonight, he wanted to turn off the light by the front door, but there is no button for that on the console, only one on the wall. In his ever so ingenious way, he dragged a chair all the way across the room to stand on and turn the light off. Once there, he discovered that there were some cookies on the counter. He put up quite a fuss over only getting one. He is a big time sugar addict. He would drink coke and eat cookies and ice cream all day long. I am looking forward to regular meals and drinks at home!

Well, enough rambling for tonight. Here are a few pictures from the sightseeing.

Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder

2006-09-10T03:19:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a travel day. I don't think I took any pictures, so you just get to read my ramblings. We had a 0500 wake up call (that is before the sun for you non-military types) and out to the bus at 0620. Yuck. Timothy did very well with the whole travel thing, other than needing to be bao (held) all the time. He loves to fly! He squealed with delight on each take off and about split his face smiling. Once again he kept everyone around us entertained with his chattering in Chinese. The man in front of us spoke English, so he translated some of what Timothy was saying. Sitting next to the Serby's was a very nice older lady. She was the perfect Grandma type. She was traveling to Guangzhou and told us she would help us in the airport at Huangzhou where we had a short layover. We didn't have to change planes but were required to deplane. Just as we were about to touch down in Huangzhou, the pilot cranked up the throttle and took off again. We made a big circle back into the landing pattern and landed about 20 minutes later. We are not sure of the reason for the touch and go, but it was skillfully performed and people were only slightly concerned. When we did land, he got a round of applause. It was much hotter in Guangzhou than in Changchun by about 30 degrees. It was good to see the other families with their babies and some with older children. Oh, about the flight to Guangzhou...as soon as we pushed back from the gate Zachary Serby announced that he needed to go pee. He couldn't get up to use the facility as we were close to take off. So, the lady next to them, the grandma one, talked him into peeing into Mike's tea bottle which was about half full already. It took a lot of convincing, but Zachary finally did it and was much relieved. The funniest thing about the whole event is that the lady is a high ranking government official from Changchun who was traveling on government business. I guess she took Chairman Mao's command for the government workers to serve the people quite literally. What a hoot! They ended up leaving the bottle in the seat pocket. We hoped none of the cleaning crew got thirsty as they were cleaning up.
Timothy remains the little emperor. He is so smart and inquisitive. I am sure you all will have a good time getting to know him. I feel sorry for his Sunday school teachers. Oh wait, that would be me wouldn't it? Hmmm....Ronnie can I change my mind???
More later with pictures.

More pictures from Friday

2006-09-08T08:06:00.000-04:00

Let the Little Children Come to Me

2006-09-08T05:36:00.000-04:00

Today was an absolutely amazing day! We started out with sadness over Charlie leaving. Luckily, Timothy slept in, so he missed Daddy's departure. He was fine with just Mommy all day. After breakfast, we headed out on the bus to the orphanage that Timothy and Noah were in. It was about 40 minutes away, in what Steve called the suburbs. We would call it poor The road was part cement, part dirt and was under construction most of the way. It had rained early in the morning with loud claps of thunder, so the road was really muddy. When we got to the orphanage, Timothy announced in no uncertain terms that there was no way he was going in that building. He clung to me and cried pitifully. So, I sent my camera in with Nate and Timothy and I walked around outside and hung out in the bus. The others stayed inside for a little over 30 minutes. We did get some nice pictures and a great one of Timothy and I with his nanny. We found out that Timothy and Noah had beds beside each other in the orphanage. On the way back, we wanted to take pictures of the provincial school for orphans. The bus had already passed it, but the driver graciously turned around and took us back. We got out to take pictures of the gate and surroundings. There were kids who appeared to be having free time. Many of the kids came up to the gate to say "hello". They were so sweet! Their ages ranged from around 6 to 16. Steve began to talk to them and asked if visitors were allowed in. The oldest boy in the group went to get the headmaster. A few minutes later the headmaster's assistant came out. After Steve explained who we were and that we were not spies, we were graciously invited inside. We first went into the girls' dormitory. There were clothes drying on a line in the hallway. Each room was spotless and well maintained. They each had 8 sets of bunkbeds and the girls were so proud to show us where they lived. There were posters on the walls and decorations hanging from the ceiling. In the first room, there was a poster of Jackie Chan. We had been teasing Steve all week that he looked just like Jackie Chan. To our amazement, we were told that Jackie Chan had been there to visit last year and in fact, his agents were in the headmaster's office at that very moment! He evidently wanted to make a large donation to the school. The school houses and educates about 600 students. They are in the midst of building a completely new facility for 3000 students. We were taken to the headmaster's office where there was a museum of sorts. Several girls were present and with great poise presented the history of the school. All throughout the tour, we felt so blessed to have the opportunity to meet these wonderful children. It was very emotional for all of us. We left after having been given three books each about the school and promising to let the world know of these amazing kids. So I wonder if Charlie will let me come back for an older kid??? Just kidding!
We will check out very early tomorrow morning and fly down to Guangzhou. I will try to post tomorrow evening.

Once again, the pictures are not loading. I will put them in a separate post.

Scenery Thursday

2006-09-07T09:06:00.000-04:00

Pictures from Thursday

2006-09-07T09:02:00.000-04:00

OK, the Moon River title makes more sense if you have this picture.

Moon River

2006-09-07T05:26:00.000-04:00

Where do I begin? The day started with Timothy taking off his shirt and throwing it in the bath tub. He then turned the water on to wash it. Needless to say we had to start over on the dressing. When we went outside to meet the bus, he decided to drop his pants and "niao niao" on the sidewalk. Charlie aborted that mission and took him to the toilet to do his business. We had a big day of touring Changchun and it was so much fun. We started out at the Puppet Palace, where Emperor Pu Yi resided after he escaped from Beijing. It was very interesting and I took about 200 pictures. We saw the palace buildings and an awesome garden. We dressed up in traditional dress and took pictures. Charlie and Liz were the emperor and empress. I was a mere concubine. Timothy refused to participate. He actually told someone that mama was not paying him any attention because she was off playing. I can see his mouth will get him in a lot of trouble in the future. When we left there, we talked our guide Steve into dropping us off at a real Chinese shopping district where the locals shop. It was quite the educational experience. Nate, the 11 year old boy in the group, wanted to see the meat section. We saw every kind of animal imaginable and every part displayed for your viewing and purchasing pleasure. I will not post the dog meat pictures because some of you have squeamish stomachs. The smell cannot be described. I do not generally experience nausea, but the McDonald's we had just had for lunch was near the surface by the time we departed that area. We met Steve part way through and eventually headed for the bus. After a block or so, Timothy announced his need to relieve himself. Steve graciously took him outside the bus and formed a stool for Timothy to use right beside the bus. Everyone got a good view of urology in action.

OK, I have tried four times to put pictures in. I will post the pictures separately.

His Love Still Amazes Me

2006-09-06T06:23:00.000-04:00

It has been a lazy day here in Changchun. It was a much needed free day. We did manage to drop off our laundry at a local cleaners. It will be ready on Friday and costs less than a third of the hotel's laundry. It was a fun experience and we are so glad that Mike Serby speaks Mandarin. We wandered around for a while near the hotel, with plans to go to another area of the city. We decided before we got a taxi that all three boys needed a rest. I had a nice two hour nap. It was delightful! We are now hanging out in all four rooms and the kids are all playing so nicely together.
We had a major breakthrough in our family unit. I was able to take Timothy for a walk without daddy. He has somewhat decided that I am ok, especially since I let him drink my Diet Coke. He loves sodas and candy and anything sweet. He eats like a horse. For lunch he had a whole banana, half an apple, a hot dog inside a large sweet roll and part of Jason Merrell's cheese bread. He has to be told to stop eating.
We don't have much else to report, so I will just post a few pictures and will add more tomorrow. He came to us with the "do rag" and it is perfect for his personality.

I Need Thee, Lord, I Need Thee

2006-09-05T01:16:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness! There is no way that Charlie and I can raise this child in our own strength. BUT, we are children of the living God who can do anything. Our little emperor is going to require much discipline and training. Evidently at his foster home he could do whatever he wanted. He likes to spit on the floor and throw things off the dinner table. Those two behaviors must go. He struts around like he owns the world and expects that you will be following. He had every female employee of the restaurant come talk to him at breakfast. They would talk to him and he would wiggle his eyebrows at them and then show the dimples and act coy. When it is time to go, he says in Chinese "Come on!" He says bye and blows a kiss to the room. He oozes personality. I told Brodie, he is a lot like Bethany but turbo charged. He finally hit the wall around noon and went down for a nap beside his baba (daddy). They have moved their twin beds side by side and are both snoozing. I am already beginning to pray about flying on an airplane with this child. It will definitely be interesting. Now, where did I put the tranquilizer darts?? He is going to give Emily and Bethany a run for their money! He has such a sweet voice and I just wish I knew what he was going on about. Some of it the guide says is just child talk, but he is very smart. He is interested in everything and nothing escapes him. He is very fastidious...he lines up his crayons precisely and makes sure they all point the same direction. The bathroom door must be closed and you must never put his shoes on the bed. What a riot!

I haven't taken many pictures today. I hope to transfer Liz's to show you Mr. Personality in action. For now, here are four more from yesterday.

Pictures for Real

2006-09-04T19:05:00.000-04:00

OK, it is now morning in China. Timothy awakened around 2 looking for his mama (not the Caucasian one). He got in bed with daddy and slept for a little while. They got up for good at 4. He made friends with the cab drivers parked in front of the hotel. He has had his first bath, which he enjoyed, but he did put up a fight over taking his clothes off. He looks so cute!

God is Good, All the Time

2006-09-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

We made it safely to Changchun (pronounced Chahng chwin) this morning, arriving around 9:15. It is a beautiful area of mostly corn fields, with mountains in the background. At arrival it was 54 degrees and sunny. We all got our bags and headed to the hotel with our guide, Steve. We checked in and had about 3 hours before we were to meet in the lobby to go to the Civil Affairs office, so we unpacked some of our luggage and prepared the gifts we would need to give today. Then we did what every American would do and went to Wal-Mart. There is a W-M Supercenter on the next block over from our hotel. We purchased water, Cheerios, juice and some M&M's for Charlie. We decided to have lunch before returning to the hotel and ended up eating at KFC which was interesting to say the least. When we got back to the hotel, we had about 30 minutes left and used that time to gather everything we needed. In the last few minutes we had an awesome prayer time with most of the family members present. There are only 3 families here and each has 3 people. I guess Liz is the kid we brought along. Steve called during the time to tell us to hurry up and get to the bus. The boys had already arrived at Civil Affairs! We hurried off and climbed up three flights of stairs. That doesn't sound like much, but after the hundreds of steps on the Great Wall, it was somewhat painful. We walked into a conference room and there were three adorable boys, all dressed in red sweatsuits. The officials were there, as were the orphanage representatives. These were not the actual caretakers, but the administrative staff. So, on to Timothy. He looks a lot like Bethany, but moves at Mach speed. He sat pretty quietly at first. He likes Skittles, orange juice and animal crackers. Oh, he also likes Pez and oyster crackers. He played with the car I brought and with the toy cell phone. He was fine until the orphanage worker started to leave. She had been talking to him, evidently telling him that we were his "mama" and "baba" and that he was going to be OK. He cried pitifully for about 15 minutes until she actually left. He calmed down after a while and started exploring. By the end of the hour and a half, he was wide open. He can unscrew the lid off of a coke type bottle and pour liquid into a cup. He tried to climb out an open 11th story window. He escaped twice from the conference room. He weighs more than Bethany, but may not be as tall. I can't quite tell, but will know after his medical exam next week. After all the paperwork was done there, we went to the notary's office. The notary is equivalent to a district judge. While there, Timothy talked nonstop, charmed an entire office of ladies (he is like his daddy) and entertained the notary. He can blow kisses and waves and says "Bye!" For now, he is all daddy's boy, wanting nothing to do with me, though he will give me a high five. He liked me when I gave him a flashlight and coloring book. We went out to dinner with just part of the group and he really can pack away the food. He fell asleep with a chopstick in his mouth and then I got to hold him.

Every Tongue Shall Confess

2006-09-04T09:44:00.000-04:00

OK, I know what info you really want, but I did not get a chance to blog yesterday and I wanted to capture it here. We started our day by attending church at the Beijing International Fellowship. It was so moving to see and hear people from around the world singing and worshipping together. We sang several songs in Chinese and then a couple in English. The sermon was about doing church as a team. All I kept thinking through the whole service was that it was the perfect picture of every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. I cried through most of it.
Next we went to the jade factory. Robin and Colleen, I have your items. They were about $1000 each. Just kidding!
After lunch and a huge government owned "Friendship Store" we went to the Great Wall. It was cloudy and cool, but still magnificent. I will post pictures at the bottom.
After the Wall, we had dinner and went back to the hotel. Waiting for me was the most handsome man on the planet. It was so good for me to have Charlie join me here in China to share this experience.
We had just a few minutes to get organized and then we were off to the Chinese acrobatic show. Once again I was amazed at the flexibility and strength of the children in the troupe.
We had to have our bags packed and out of our rooms by 10 p.m. We were told to meet in the lobby at 5:40 a.m. for our departure to the airport. Because of all of that, no blogging happened yesterday.

Pictures from yesterday and today

2006-09-02T09:13:00.000-04:00

OK, I put pictures in the last post, but they did not show up. And, the text posted twice. That was weird. Anyway, here are some pictures of Liz and I together. The first on is in the SF airport waiting to board. The last picture is the bus driver for the other half of the group. His shirt amused me. Our bus driver is nicknamed James because he drives like James Bond. He is the one in the brown shirt by "Louie" the FBI driver.

Start spreading the news

2006-09-02T08:45:00.001-04:00

Where do I start? It was a wonderful, if long and busy day. I got up around 5:20 (yes, this is Mary) and slowly got ready for the 9 a.m. departure for Beijing touring. I would have slept later, but the sawmill in the bed next to me prevented further sleep. I hope she doesn't kill me for telling the world! We had a nice breakfast in the hotel and loaded up on the bus. Today we saw Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. We had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant and toured the pearl factory. On the way to lunch, our guide Sherry was telling us what we would be having to eat. She said that it would be Kung Pao Chihuahua. She went on to explain that there would not be any dog on the menu as that is a winter dish only. We then went on and toured the silk factory, where I spent most of the kids' college tuitions on silk comforters. After all of that, we had a Peking duck dinner. I was the object of much laughter when some of my food fell off my chopsticks. I was somewhat startled when it rolled down my leg and into my sandal. Jason Merrell was sitting across from me and asked what happened. I had to tell the whole table that I had a pea in my shoe. Of course, they all thought I said I had peed in my shoe. I was quite embarrassed. Oh, speaking of which, I was the brave one who used the squatty potty and almost got left at the Summer Palace. The entire group was standing there waiting for me to finish and come out. Also quite embarrassing! All in all it was a fun day. The weather was warm, but not unbearable. Unfortunately it was extremely smoggy and the pictures will reflect that.
Charlie is on the airplane now on his way to this side of the planet. I am looking forward to him being able to meet the gang. That reminds me...yesterday at the SF airport, I asked Liz to be on the lookout for red bandanas on carry on bags. She asked my if that was how I could locate my gang members. I told her all my homies would have them.
Tomorrow we will attend a church service at the Beijing International Fellowship, climb the Great Wall and go to the jade factory. After dinner we will be able to see a Chinese acrobatic show. Charlie should be here in time for the dinner and show. Early Monday we will be off to Changchun and should have Timothy in the early afternoon China time. Please continue to pray for us. We have had some opportunity to show the love of Christ and look forward to having more as the days go by.

Start spreading the news

2006-09-02T08:45:00.000-04:00

What's it all about?

2006-09-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

We made it to Beijing safe and sound!!! Well, mostly sound. The flights were great and the luggage made it. We had several good laughs today, which always makes traveling more fun. When we got to San Francisco, Liz decided that a neck pillow was a good idea after all. So, we went in search of one. I asked her what type she wanted, like foam or microbead. She said she wanted an alfalfa one. I was totally confused until I figured out she wanted a buckwheat one. Boy did I laugh about that one! At least they are characters from the same show. Liz purchased a green one and promptly named it "Alfie".

We had 8 families all on the same flight from SF to Beijing. We met 5 of them in SF and did not know about the other two until we got to China. Everyone did great and only 4 bags got lost. They expect them to arrive tomorrow.

Well, we left the house at 4:15 a.m. on Thursday morning after only three hours of sleep (and those were not consecutive hours). It is now 9:30 a.m. Friday for you east coasters and time to go to bed. We have unpacked, purchased water and other essentials (Skittles and Snickers) and Liz is showered and in jammies. I am headed for the shower as soon as I hit send.

Note to Brodie, Emily and Bethany: Mommy loves you all and misses you already. I will call you at dinner time. Be good for the Martins and have a great weekend!

Less than 24 hours

2006-08-30T11:08:00.000-04:00

In only 21 hours my sister and I will be boarded on our first flight toward China and Timothy! I have packed, re-packed and checked my packing. I think I am ready. You would think this is my first international flight or something. I have way too much stuff and hope it is the right stuff. I realized that I had not packed any medications for myself or Timothy other than some Ibuprophen and Tylenol PM. Neither would do Timothy any good. I took care of that, only to discover that my asthma inhaler expired two years ago. Oops! I have called the doctor to get him to call one in to the pharmacy. No worries, I have to swing by the store anyway.
The kids are ready to go to the Martin's. They are all packed with the exception of a few toys they want to take and their toiletries. I trust Charlie to handle that. Truly. I think the girls understand what is going on. Emily definitely does and is excited to be "taking a sleepover" with Jordan. Bethany keeps saying, "I go with you, Mommy." I am glad I am not the one dropping them off! Brodie is just dreading going back to school and reentering the structured world. I am positive they will all have a wonderful time.
I will probably not post again until we get to Beijing. Please pray for us for travel safety and for health! We look forward to seeing everyone when we get back. For now, here are a couple of pictures of Timothy's room.

Entering the final countdown

2006-08-27T19:54:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is Sunday evening. I leave on Thursday morning, very early, to fly to China. So what did I do to get ready today? I pulled everything out of Brodie's closet. All 10 years of accumulated stuff is now on his floor waiting to be sorted through. I guess I am in nesting mode. I cleaned out the girls' closet Friday night and put away everything in their room (and it was a mess when I started). Timothy's room is perfect. Charlie's any my room is even reasonably neat, considering the suitcases on the floor and piles of things to go into them. I am just about ready to go. I feel good about the kids staying with our friends the Martin's. We finally received our international tickets just yesterday. The paperwork file has been checked and rechecked and is ready to go. Nevertheless, we still desire and request your prayers. There are so many things that could go wrong. We know that God is in control and will watch over us.

Speaking of God, have I mentioned how much I love our church? The sneaky people in our Sunday school class surprised us with a mini-shower disguised as an end of the year class breakfast. Their outpouring of love and support have been a true blessing.

Before we leave, here are the latest pictures of Brodie, Emily and Bethany for your viewing enjoyment.

China Dates

2006-08-15T12:21:00.000-04:00

OK, I forgot that most of you haven't heard that we have firm, definite dates for our trip to China. Due to the US Consulate being booked for August, and then the Labor Day weekend, we could not get consulate appointments until Sept. 12. That means that Mary and Liz will depart on Thursday, Aug. 31 and Charlie will depart on Saturday, Sept. 2. Though it is somewhat disappointing to have to wait yet another week, it actually will work out fine. Our only concern is getting the kids to school the first week with both parents on the other side of the globe. I am sure we will find a solution somehow.

I am mostly packed for the trip already. I need to find a few more pairs of pants for Timothy, and perhaps a sweater, as he is used to dressing in long pants and sweaters all year long. We will transition him to shorts in balmy Guangzhou so that he will be acclimated to VA weather when he gets home.

Don't you just love that face? I think this picture was taken when Timothy was about 6 months old, but I am not quite sure. All I know is that I want to give those cheeks lots of smooches.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2006-08-03T07:58:00.000-04:00

Good Morning!
Tuesday was a fun day at King's Dominion with our friends the Chattaway's. We rode rides and cooled off at Water Works. Did I mention it was a heat index of 115? My nephew Billy would say that was nothing compared to where he grew up, but this was no desert dry heat. Everyone did well until they got hungry around 5:30. A large pizza filled everyone back up and we were back on the rides. It was wonderful to spend the day with some friends who completely understand life with an adopted child.
Please pray for a friend of Rachel Chattaway's, if you would. One of her jump rope teammates was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor just days before the competition. Chad is 11 years old and was told that if they had not caught the tumor when they did, he probably would have died within a day or so. God has spared him and we want to pray for complete healing. He has already had two surgeries in the last week.
Yesterday was another whirlwind day. After dropping Brodie off at school for an indoor soccer camp day, I came home and loaded the girls in the van. I stopped at the church and got one more document notarized, then we were off to Dale City and Mamaw's house. My mother graciously agreed to watch the girls, despite the many things she needed to get done around the house. She had been in Massachusetts for the previous week and is trying to get packed to go to the beach with us this coming week. I stayed for just a few minutes and then drove north toward DC. I parked at the Springfield Metro station and hopped on, not knowing exactly how to get to the Chinese Embassy by way of Metro. A nice young man at the station gave me directions of what stop to get off at and which bus to catch. All of this went off without a single hitch. I made it to the embassy and back to my mom's in about 4 hours, including driving during rush hour from Springfield to Dale City. I was proud of myself. The passports are all dropped off for visas and should be back to us early next week. I even made it back to church in time for the prayer service.
Today is a laundry and packing day. We leave in less than 48 hours and I have packed zero items. Guess I should get a move on.
Have a great day!

Am I Insane?

2006-08-01T08:22:00.000-04:00

So at about 3:30 this morning it really hit me. In a little over three weeks, I will be the mother of FOUR children. AAAAGGGGHHHH! What am I doing?!?!?! As I laid there and tried hard not to panic, the neatest feeling came over me. God was saying, "Trust ME. Lean on ME. Believe ME." I am in the middle of doing the Beth Moore study Believing God. It is about not just believing in God, but believing Him for all His promises and in all His greatness. This past Sunday night was an awesome video about God's Word being alive and active within a believer. I got to see it in technicolor yesterday. He is so AWESOME! OK, I need to wipe some tears. Be right back.

I have an crazy schedule for the next month. Beach trip starts this weekend. Bethany's surgery two days after we get back. China 10 days later. Still need to get visas for China. So to prepare for all of that...today we are going to King's Dominion. Our dear friends from our first trip to China, the Chattaway's, are driving through Richmond on their way home to PA. They have been in Portsmouth at a Junior Olympics event that their daughter Rachel qualified for in jump rope. She is about the same age as Brodie and Rebecca is the same age as Emily. Did I mention that it will be over 100 degrees here today? Oh well.

More later....

The Perfect Day

2006-07-31T14:05:00.000-04:00

Ok, it has been just about a perfect day. I had an insane list of "to-do's" for today and got started on them bright and early. I took Brodie to soccer camp at 8. I stopped to get gas and to take the van thru the carwash. While in the carwash, my cell phone rang. It was the surgical coordinator for Bethany's ENT. Evidently they just figured out her age, after 2 months, and had to change the location and date of her tonsillectomy. It is now on 8/14, the Monday after we get back from the beach and a much better day for our family. That was cool. I then took the girls out to breakfast and let them play in the playspace at Chick-Fil-A, our favorite restaurant. The only painful part so far in my day is the young lady at the table behind me who couldn't say more than 3 words with adding "like" or "you know". It was like annoying, you know? Anyway, after the play time, I went back to soccer camp and picked up Brodie to take him to the orthodontist. When that was finally done, we went back to the soccer field, only to discover that they had left. Not a bad thing, as I still had many errands to run. So, we are headed to Dick's for cleats when Bethany falls asleep. Change 2 to plan B...let's go home and let her get her nap. We'll go back out later. As I lay her in the bed, the phone starts ringing. I dash to get it and of all people it is Anna Nicolaisen, the travel coordinator from AWAA, our adoption agency. This is THE CALL we have been waiting for!!!! We have travel permission to go get Timothy, with a mostly firm date of departure of 8/24. Praise God! All of the dates are working together. We can go to the beach, have Bethany's surgery, give 10 days of recovery for Bethany and depart for China. Charlie will be back on Labor Day weekend, in time to rest and get the Brodie and Emily to school on 9/5. All we will miss is orientation night and one soccer game. Not too bad! My sweet husband witnessed me dancing across the yard and skipping in the kitchen. Poor man, it was not a pretty sight.

We have a blog!

2006-06-21T22:58:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! We have started this blog to document our journey to getting Timothy from China. We hope that you will follow along and enjoy the ride. We will also use this blog to keep you up to date on the other changes in our lives. Have a great night!