Pooltime

Baba was able to go with us to the pool today so we have some pictures this time! Jodi absolutely loves the water. She kept saying "pool later" when I told her this morning that we were going. Our brave little soul saw another little boy jumping off the side of the pool and wanted to try it herself. I was floored by her bravery and talk about trusting!! All I could think was "please don't let me drop her when she jumps in" because I knew if she went underwater, that was it. Baba coached her from the side and she jumped over and over. She is now sitting on the sofa exhausted so I see a good night of sleep ahead for her. Her bravery made me think how we sometimes have to jump in (literally take that leap of faith) and just trust God that He will not only catch us but provide for us beyond what we can imagine. That certainly has happened for us with the incredible gift of Jodi.

We have been provided some incredible food by wonderful people from church which feels very undeserved! We are blessed beyond belief. Love to you today!

Awww Man!

Hi all! "Awww man" is Jodi's latest phrase that she is copying from Dora the Explorer. We're so proud because she even says it with a Southern accent! She is imitating alot of words and phrases and tries to use some English. What a doll! We've had a great week with her. She got to play with her friend Keri again this week and had a blast. She just adores her new friend. Jodi can't quite pronounce Keri's name since she has no "r"s in her vocabulary. She also got into a pool for the first time this week and LOVED it. I had a hard time getting her out of the water! We went to the pool when our good therapy friends Lana, Heather, and Haley from Randolph Hospital were there. Jodi had so much fun playing with them and even kicked her legs and moved her arms around in the water. We're thrilled that she likes the water and we'll try to get some pictures next time.

We are moving right along with her medical needs. We get bloodwork done this coming week. The following week is her comprehensive MRI which will last about 2 hours. She will have to be under anesthesia which we hate but it's very necessary. It will be a long 2 hours! The next day we see her neurosurgeon at Wake Forest who is supposed to be wonderful. We were thrilled that we got in that quickly to see him. We'll keep you updated as we go and thank you for your continued prayers for her.

Getting Better Everyday

I guess you can see Jodi now officially has her very own princess outfit. How could she not??!! She is such a doll when she puts on her pretty dress and clunks around the house in those shoes. As you can also see, she can go from princess to an outdoors woman and loves to practice hitting the ball. Jodi has also decided that she likes her hair pulled up as her hair is growing out. She is so chatty with us and we just wish we understood even half of what she says! She's definitely feeling better though she remains very protective of her sore spot. We absolutely adore her. Jodi still shuts down when she first meets someone and cries if there is too much stimulation or too many people around. We're a little nervous about how it's going to go when Mama goes back to work. Then we remember that God is in control and it will work out!

We got a call from our wonderful doctor today (yes, he called us personally....) and we start testing next week. He is referring us to a geneticist and neurosurgeon in Wake Forest. This is all a little unnerving because we hate for her to have to go through anything. We do know that it's necessary so that she can have the best quality of life possible. Much love to all of you reading this!!

Medical Update

Hi all! Sorry no new pictures but I did want to followup and let you know about our doctor's appointment on Friday. First of all, God definitely led us to the right doctor! He specializes in international adoption, has adopted from China as well, and is kind and compassionate. It was the first time I had ever had a doctor who wanted to pray with us at the end of our appointment. Fred and I felt so blessed and knew we were in the right hands. He was very complimentary of Jodi's bright and interactive personality. He also felt her development was quite good. Unfortunately a few days before the appointment, Jodi injured the place near her neck so it is now very swollen and sensitive. It literally drops her to her knees in pain if she bumps it. Very tough to watch and a helpless feeling on our end. We are doing our best to protect it and are limited with our play at this point which is hard for her. When the area seems to be well healed, we can start the medical process to include a comprehensive MRI and visit with a neurosurgeon. Our doctor said he has never seen anything like the growth at her neck and his colleagues feel the same. We can't wait to have that thing removed so she can go on with her normal activity!! She's having to sleep in the bed with us during the night so we can be sure she doesn't roll over on it. We've hit a rough patch but know it's just a phase and we'll get through it with God's help. Our love to you all and thank you again for your faithful friendship and prayers.

Our Little Princess

Today we spent the day with Jodi's new friend Keri Anne and her mom Jackie. What a time we had! She was able to copy her name when we were using sidewalk chalk (only one backwards letter!). She was so proud of herself and gave me a "high five" when she finished. Jodi also got to try out her beautiful new tricycle which was a little tough for her but she loved it just the same. She also learned how to hit a ball with a bat which really surprised me! She stuck with it until she was able to hit it a few times and then she didn't want to stop. Guess we'll be heading to the dollar store to pick up a ball and bat for our little athlete. :)

My favorite part of the day was when Keri suggested they play dress up. Next thing I know Jodi had found her inner princess and was decked out in a dress, jewelry, shoes, and a tiara! She was so funny clunking around in those shoes but she was so excited and kept saying the Chinese word for "beautiful." When it came time to leave, I was afraid I would never get her out of her dress but she did change into her clothes with one exception.... the tiara did not come off! Jodi was heading out the door with the tiara still on her head. We had to promise her that she could wear it again the next time she came. Too cute for words! I'm glad she's recognizing the true princess she is!! Have a blessed day.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter and our love to everyone!!! It is such a beautiful day here which feels just right as we celebrate our risen Savior! We of course thought Jodi looked precious in her first Easter dress. She picked it out herself which meant it was pink! I think it was her first dress ever based on how she responded when she put it on. She twirled and spun, watching her dress flair out and would then go look in the mirror.

Jodi met her new Nye Nye, Ye Ye, and Aunt Mary on Friday and did beautifully. She continues to be very shy when she first meets someone but then warms up after a little bit. She's silly in no time!! We all ate at Cracker Barrel and then enjoyed some time on the restaurant "porch", blowing bubbles and laughing. It was a special time! You might be wondering how she's doing with our dog Lucy. Initially, she was screaming and wanted nothing to do with Lucy. After seeing her new friends Taylor and Ryan playing with Lucy, she started interacting and laughing with her! What a relief!

Jodi has had many other "firsts" this week. She participated in an Easter Egg Hunt with our next door neighbor Wesley and loved it! Once she got the idea of finding the eggs, she was on a mission. She also went to our NC Zoo Saturday with Taylor, Ryan, and my longtime friend Jennifer. They were kind enough to drive up for the weekend and we had a great time together! They were so sweet to Jodi and she really loved them.

Jodi is attempting some English words (sometimes hard to understand with her accent!) and even spelled her first name without prompting. She is adjusting so well and we are very proud of her. She is a true gift from God and Fred and I are well aware of how blessed we are. Love to you and your family today and God bless.

Every Day a New Discovery

Well here's our little rock star in the making! She picked out these glasses at Wal Mart and took it from there. I think she already has the attitude down pat! I wish I could tell you that I set up this picture but it was all her idea....:)

Jodi has had so much fun exploring her new room, home, and surroundings. She does best when we take her out in small periods. She seems to be understanding us fairly well and attempts some English words. If I give her something, she'll say," Thank you Mama" with her cute accent. Pretty precious! She woke up in the middle of the night last night and was softly crying at the edge of her bed. We had been told that they may have orphanage flashbacks and wondered if she was experiencing that. She let us comfort her and then crawled into bed with us to watch "101 Dalmatians" which is now her comfort movie. Needless to say, Fred and I can now quote the movie and Jodi's even starting to!

We thank everyone for the warm and loving greetings for Jodi. We know that she is feeling the love and our love to you!

Getting settled in

Hi all! Sorry for the delay in a new post but we've got some major adjustments going on (for her AND us!!) :) I'll include more pictures soon. Overall, things are going well. Jodi is already sleeping by herself in her own bed. That shocked me because I had already planned our strategy for transitioning her to sleeping by herself! So much for that!! She actually made it to church and Sunday School yesterday. Everyone was so kind and excited to meet her. She cried going into church but then settled in and did fine. People have told me what little survivors these orphanage children are and I believe it. Even with all that she is taking in, she continues to handle it well. She did have a period of crying today and I wondered if it wasn't because of all the stimulation and newness she's already experienced since being here. I think we'll slow down on how much we're exposing her to.

Jodi did have her first experience with bubbles at our next door neighbor's house. She was very impressed! At Wal mart today she was greeting everyone with "Nee hao" as we went down the aisles. Now you have to understand that we live in a small Southern town where most people have no idea what that phrase means. It was pretty funny! She was given some beautiful clothes by one of the circles in our church (thanks to JaAnna) and we have been provided some excellent meals as well. Talk about being blessed!

We have a doctor's appointment with an international adoption specialist at the end of next week. Things are rolling right along! We'll keep you posted and thanks for all of your love and encouragement.

There's No Place Like Home

We are so so grateful to be home!! Thank you for all of your encouragement and prayer. It definitely got us through some long and at times tough travels. Unfortunately, I (Susan) got a horrible stomach bug the night before we flew out and was up all night. Fortunately the desire to go home was stronger than the virus so with help from Baba and Nye Nye we made it out!! Jodi did exceptionally well considering the time in flight. She no longer showed the fear that we had seen her first time. The biggest challenge was getting her to sleep because she just wanted to play! Since I was no help, the burden fell on Baba. As you can see in one picture, Baba tried to catch up on sleep at the Newark airport after the long long flight. On our flight a Chinese lady seated next to us saw Jodi getting fussy and decided to intervene by giving her tons of candy! As you can well imagine, sugar and sleep don't go together.

We included pictures of Jodi and her best buddy Keith during their inseparable last day together. The picture of Jodi with her backpack are her first steps as a U.S. citizen. Pretty amazing!! We got home safely under the wonderful care of Peter Brisley to whom we are so grateful for the van ride. We were greeted by all kinds of surprises in our home from some very caring and loving friends. Brought us to tears to say the least!! I am sorry to say that one of my first gifts to my daughter was my virus which meant she spent her first day in her new home sick. She was so brave and dealt with it very well. As you can see Mama and Jodi spent the day in bed together recuperating while Baba and Nye Nye tried to get us a little organized. I am happy to say Jodi is now feeling great and is back to her silly happy self. We will be taking Nye Nye to the airport tomorrow which will probably be very confusing to Jodi. I feel sure she thinks Nye Nye lives with us now! It has been an incredible adventure and we look forward to seeing you all soon. Much much love to everyone!!

Daylight Come and Me Wanna Go Home

Here are some parting shots from our time here and what a time it has been! We gave our oath today at the consulate which was a moving experience. It signified the official end of this long intensive process to get our precious daughter. It was worth it all! Our friends have already left for the airport and we leave very early in the morning. We will be arriving in Raleigh late Thursday night and hope to blog again when we come to life again on Friday. We have some tough travel ahead and we do ask for your prayers for safety and especially for peace for our little one. We also ask for prayer that God will equip us to deal with whatever comes up. Thank you for taking this amazing trip with us and much love. Cannot wait to see you!!!!! Here we come USA!