The Big Purple Cast

Here are a few more snow pictures which is sadly now gone. We really had a ball in the snow!! Fred rigged up a way for us to pull Jodi down the driveway which she loved. It was a great workout for Mama and Baba! In the one with Mama and Jodi, there is a tiny little snowman at the bottom left. The snow was not sticking that day and that was the best we could do. Sadly he was plowed over by a road crew.... Poor Frosty (which was the name of every snowman we made.) I love the one of Baba and Jodi walking in the snow together, definitely a precious moment. Finally, I thought you'd like to see the "big purple cast." Jodi now refers to her big purple cast anytime she doesn't want to do something, saying, "Mama and Baba, I can't do it because of my big purple cast!" We remind her that she has other fingers in that cast that are working and she'll sigh and say, "OK." She is healing well and we are grateful. Much much love!!

Let It Snow

Let it snow!! We've got some beautiful snow today and are loving it. It's only in the 20s so it got a little cold out there but still well worth it. We think that Jodi has seen snow before but she tells us she hasn't been out in it. That would make sense because I'm guessing the orphanage didn't have the staff or clothing to allow all the kids to go out. We bundled her up, covered her cast, and off we went. She's been wanting to make a snow angel so as we were walking down the driveway, I mentioned it. Next thing I know, Jodi is on the ground, moving her arms and legs back and forth. She had a ball throwing snow at us but unfortunately the snow won't stick together to make a snowman. Maybe tomorrow!!

I forgot to mention that we had our year review with our social worker this week. It all went well and Jodi was her cute self, dragging the social worker into her room to show her everything. At one point when Jodi was running around laughing, the social worker looked at us and jokingly said, "Well I can see she doesn't seem very happy here." I think that's our last official thing that we have to do for our adoption. Can you believe it?? Thank you again for your faithful prayers and support over the last year. We love you!!

Surgery Update

Hi all! Just wanted to update you on Jodi's surgery today. The actual procedure took about one hour and the surgeon seemed pleased with how it looked. She is now in a purple cast (I know... what happened to pink??) and will wear it for at least a month. Today we found out she'll be splinted after the cast comes off so this will be a longer process than we had anticipated. Jodi handled everything so well and we were quite proud of our brave little one. Yesterday I was explaining what we would happening to her in the surgery and she looked at me and said," Don't worry Mama. I'll be just fine." After I wiped the tears out of my eyes, I gave her a huge hug and told her how special she is. The wait is never fun but we were blessed to find that we knew another couple in the waiting area whose son was undergoing a procedure. We got to visit for a while which made the wait much more tolerable. As Jodi was getting in the car to come home, she said, "I know people were praying for me." After I wiped the tears from my eyes yet again, we told her that absolutely people were praying for her!!! We thank you for those prayers and kind words which help us through these not so fun days. I too could feel the prayers when I had a peace come over me as I was getting ready this morning. I told Fred,"Someone's praying right now. I can feel it." We ask your continued prayers that her pain will stay under control. That's been the most difficult thing at this point. We thank God for you!!!

Into the New Year

Happy January!! The first picture shows her royal highness on her throne from Aunt Laura and Uncle Bobo. It lights up which she (and Mama) thinks is very cool!! The next one shows her with her Nye Nye when we were on our way out of town at Christmas. The holidays always go so quickly and I'm always left with a sense of sadness when it comes to an end. Now we look forward to the promise of spring!! The last picture shows Jodi modelling her new coat (pink of course) with the fuzzy hood. She had me take her picture in 3 different locations and gave me approval on each one. What a character!!

We are quickly approaching our year anniversary of meeting our daughter for the first time. It is beyond belief to us that this year has gone so quickly. Now we can't imagine life without her. Jodi continues to be a very loving child, affectionate and constantly saying, "I love you." She is also a strong willed 5 year old who is trying her best to push her little weight around and split Mama and Baba to get what she wants. She keeps us on our toes because she's a smart little one!! We continue to pray that we are the parents she needs us to be and that we keep a united front!!

Physically Jodi is doing well for having such an unusual diagnosis. She is definitely weaker in her left leg and can fall quite a bit when she's playing but it doesn't seem to bother her much. At our last doctor's appointment, we were shocked to find out that she has grown 5 inches since we got her!! She truly is a different child and you can see it when you compare pictures from a year ago. Jodi has her hand surgery on Thursday and we would greatly appreciate your prayers for her healing. We only have to stay overnight if there are any complications or if pain is an issue. Our love and thanks to you wherever you are tonight!!! God bless.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you!! What a year we have had. Christmas was just incredible and Jodi again got to experience so many firsts. She decorated cookies with her Aunt Betty and Aunt Mary, learned to play pool with Uncle Mal, played with her cousin Will, opened more presents than she could have ever imagined, and received so much love and many many hugs. Everyone went out of their way to make it special for her. It was so much fun to watch her joy and excitement with each new experience. It's hard to believe that last year she was still just a picture on our refrigerator that we anxiously waited to meet. Jodi has brought us more joy and wonder than we would have ever experienced on our own. I think as we age, we can lose some of the excitement and now we get to see it all through her eyes. What an incredible gift we have been given. The world of children can be a very sweet and innocent one. The love that we have for Jodi is beyond any words and a true gift from God. Thank you to all of you who have continued to give us support and so much encouragement. We send all of our love to you and we wish you many blessings in the year ahead.

Christmas with Our Angel

OK.... "angel" may be a little bit misleading in describing our daughter but she did play an angel in our church production!! Jodi did very well for being up in front of so many people. She gets confused that Christmas is lasting so long and that Christmas day isn't really until next week. The bottom line is that she is enjoying every bit of the season and loving all of the fun parties (and the attention she gets at these parties!) and the lights.

The cute little blonde boy is one of Jodi's favorite friends from her class that we have been told "loves" Jodi and thinks she's really pretty!! I of course had to scope him out at the preschool Christmas party and ask his intentions with our daugher. I don't think he quite understood my question. :) Just kidding!! The beautiful group of little girls are alot of princesses from our church who went to see the new Disney princess movie together. It was a sweet time and those girls are so precious. Jodi spent alot of time in my lap because there was a voodoo theme in the movie that was pretty scary for her. She loved being with her friends though!! The last picture was so funny. Nye Nye Johnson sent Jodi a beautiful Christmas stocking that she bought in China. When Jodi upwrapped it, she started to put it on her foot. Makes sense, doesn't it?? Now she knows it goes on the mantle with Mama, Baba, and Lucy's stockings. We are leaving soon to see our families in Georgia and cannot wait. What a special time it will be!! We send all of our love to you and your family this Christmas. Thank you for following us on this incredible journey full of ups and downs!!!

Christmas Is Coming

Jodi is absolutely loving this Christmas season!

She especially loves the Christmas trees and all of the pretty lights. We had such a special time decorating our tree. I turned on the lights for the first time and heard her exclaim, "Wow!" Here's something we've done so many times that we don't even think about it!! She adds such joy and helps us to experience things in a whole new way. We put lights up around her room and told her they were princess lights. She starting singing about her lights because she was so excited. Jodi went to our town's Christmas parade last weekend and will be an angel in the church's childrens' program. That could be interesting!! You see Jodi with the leaf blower .... she literally grabbed that out of Baba's hands because she wanted to help so badly. What a doll!

We met with a orthopedic specialist today in Winston-Salem. I know his reputation well and it's a good one! He was very sweet with Jodi and we of course liked that. We have her surgery scheduled for January 28 to remove her extra thumb. She'll be casted for one month (should be fun!) and we pray that will be the end of surgeries for a very long time. We dread another procedure but God brought us through the first one and will again. Hoping you and your family are having a good holiday season and much love!!