Twas the Week After Christmas...

Christmas Cousin Fun!
Happy Birthday to Jesus!
Matching Christmas Morning PJ's(malaine acting like the hamsters w/ her cheeks stuffed full of breakfast!)

And all through the house, there are toys to put together, and we now have a MOUSE! Ok, so it is a hamster, 2 hamsters to be exact, but they definatly have a mouse looking quality about them. Especially when they get loose from their cage and scurry around the room. Why add hamsters to this chaos? Why not? ;) If the hamsters survive that is. They are chinese(of course they are!) dwarf hamsters, and though they are "supposed" to get along, they don't . So we now have 2 cages, one holding a bloody hamster! But the kids are THRILLED and think Santa is the best to bring them more pets! All about making happy kids that is our motto!
What a different Christmas for us this year. Last year we ached to hold Sage, this year our arms are full of her! She is definatley not all that impressed by the mountain of gifts that had her name on them, but we sure are impressed that God allowed us this gift of His children. All 4 of them. More Christmas pictures coming soon...

Merry Christmas!

Our prayer for this Christmas Season is that we can all step back and enjoy the gifts that God has delivered to us. And most important that we will remember the Greatest Gift of All, Jesus. May God Bless you and your family. Have a VERY Merry Christmas!

The Cuteness Continues at 13 months!

Cute Christmas PJ's from Megan & Shannon. Not sure about that hat!
The smile that lights up the room and melts our hearts!
Walking like a big girl! Look at that concentration.
All ready to go in my coat from China!



Sage is now officially over a year old, and has developed quite the personality! We are having so much fun with her and we all agree, she is the most amazing baby in the world! Sage stuff for 13 months...

• She is 19 pounds. I am hanging on for her to stay under the 20 pound mark, I love being able to use the infant car seat still!
• Her hair is growing, it lays down as much as it stands up now.
• She is CRAZY with no fear at all. Her favorite game is to sit on the couch and dive off headfirst in a flip. I tried to teach her to climb the stairs, she just throws herself down them. Same thing off the bed, etc. And then she just laughs and laughs!
• Favorite activity is still a bath. She stays in till she is shivering and blue and I have to force her out while she loudly protests. Still loves to go under, bathtime is an adventure.
  
• Eats anything you give her. Is most happy to feed herself, though still does eat baby food good for us. We are slowly switching to milk, very slowly. She still enjoys bottles before going to sleep, and I am keeping that up for at least another 6 months for bonding.
  
• Totally attached to pacifier. Sigh.
• Is a snuggle bug! The cutest thing she just started this week is reaching up to be held and then laying her head on my shoulder and patting me. Love it!
• Taking about 5 steps now. It is a fun game to practice walking. About half the time she just throws herself at you counting on you to keep her from crashing to the ground. It is so funny watching her do the "munster" walk, stiff legged arms out.
  
• Continues to sleep pretty well overall. We have alot of night wakings needing the pacifier and last week had alot of wake ups with uncontrollable screaming. She is still trying to get a top tooth in, so we are praying that once it is through, she will sleep better. She is still in our room and we are debating making the move to her own room. I wanted to wait till summer, but I know I wake her up w/ my bath at night.
  
• Her communication has been the most amazing thing to me this month. We have been working on a few baby sign language sign's w/ her, but when I teach her the sign and say the word, she mimics the sign and says the word w/ me! Here is what she can now say..

1. Uh oh
2. Dog
3. Dada
4. Mama
5. Ball
6. Football(mark was pretty pleased w/ himself for teaching her this one!)
7. Bye bye
8. Night night
9. Bear
10. Papa
11. More (and the sign)
12. Bath
13. Ouch(she always rubs her head when saying this, she constantly bumps her head!)
14. Uv oo(love you) my favorite of course, and it is done w/ a tilt of her head back and forth, CUTE!
    

Since we have had Sawyer in speech for 3 years now, I am really excited to hear her saying so many words, especially for not hearing anything but chinese for 9 months of her life! If I say night night, she knows where her bed is and says bear. If i ask her if she wants to eat, she will crawl to her chair. If I say want a bottle, she knows where they are kept. See, isn't she amazing? ;)
I am still in awe of her. We all are, especially with Christmas upon us. The kids daily say, remember last Christmas when we thought Sage would be here? Yes, I remember very well. But we are also reminded that if we had a baby last Christmas, it would not have been Sage and so we are all thankful that God made us wait! Mark can't help but always add, Isn't it amazing, God actually is smarter than you are! Thanks for the reminder honey!
13 months old and 4 months since Gotcha. Time flies when you are having fun!

What a Difference a Year Makes

A Glimpse of Our House at Christmas

Look Who is Using a Cup!

We are trying out the sippy cup and Sage is doing great! So far just using it for juice, I still enjoy feeding her a bottle when she needs it. Doctor said she could start making the switch to whole milk, but we are holding off this week since she is on antibiotics yet again. Diapers are "interesting" enough without anything else new. Cups, real milk, taking steps, what is next? Our girl is getting big! And sadly, we see fewer hair days like this too, it is getting longer!

Sawyer Lost a Tooth!

Finally, after being loose forever, Sawyer allowed us to pull out his first tooth! (This happened right before the icestorm, trying to get caught up on my posts!) He was pretty excited about the toothfairy coming to visit, especially about the fairy dust she left behind! Makenna wanted to know why he got more $ than she did for her first tooth(who can keep track of that!) and why the tooth fairys handwriting looks so much like Santa's! hmmm...

Weekend Fun

Depsite the ice and snow, we headed out to Kansas City this past Friday. What should have been a 4 hour drive, turned into 24! The roads were pretty clear, we thought we were making good time and then they shut down the highway, right in front of us! So we rerouted through the backroads, and I saw more of Missouri than I needed to for sure! We stayed the night in Jefferson City, the kids were done w/ the car and were not going to make it another 2 hours. Had lots of fun with Sage at her first swim! This child is a fish. She honestly thinks she can swim, she has no fear and going under water is no big deal to her. We laughed and had such a good time watching her. We have to find a good floatie for her though, she is hard to hold, she wants away!
The kids had a blast in KC w/ all the snow! St Louis does not get alot of snow, so they could not wait to get out in it. Isn't their snowman cute?
We were able to see the Christmas Pageant at my brother in laws church, the reason we went. I should say the rest of the family saw the play, Sage does not sit through anything at this point, she is BUSY!
So despite being in Kansas City less than 24 hours, and spending more time in the car than not, it was still fun to visit with family and get away!

PRAISE FOR MYER MASSEY!!!!

I took this post off of Myers website just now.. If you did not see my prayer request please scroll down. "How Great is Our God, Sing w/ me, How Great is our GOD, and ALL WILL SEE..."

December 06, 2006 at 04:43 PM CST

All Glory to God!!!! It is a MIRACLE!!!! More than we can hope or imagine!!!!

The last few days Doctors have been coming in and scratching their heads... "Its not making sense"... "its not adding up"... more tests... more speculation. All the while we've been praising our Merciful Savior, Healer, Redeemer!!!!

The geneticists doctor came in today after looking at the last MRI and confirmed that it IS NOT MITOCHONDRIAL DISORDER!!!!!! It is Encephalitis cause from Influenza B. Encephalitis is inflammation (irritation and swelling) of the brain, usually caused by infections.

We are hoping to bring her home next week and begin rehab. She has lost major milestones… walking, eating, etc… its still hard to tell at this point. Therapists looked at her today and will continue their assessment this week. However, she took a bottle for lunch!! No feeding tube!!! Myer sat cuddled in Ally’s lap and quietly looked around. (Picture soon to be posted!!!)

There is absolutely no doubt that this was the work of our Jesus!! Our Yahweh Rapha!!!

When you share this testimony God gets ALL THE GLORY!!!!! This is HIS WORK!!!! This is not about Myer Massey, but the amazing way God draws us closer to Him. Please join us in praise and worship to our most loving God. Our hands are lifted, are hearts are full of gratitude and are smiles reach from ear to ear!! Whoo-hooo!!!!!
More to come on the expected rehab and recovery…

One Year CheckUp

If you did not see the post on prayer for Myer, please scroll down to my next post...
Sage had her one year dr visit today. The doctor is not her friend! Everytime she goes in there she gets a shot or her ears dug in! Today being no exception. Our baby girl is growing! She is now weighing in at 19 pounds 4 oz, which puts her in the 20th % for weight on American charts. She is 28 inches long, putting her again in the 20th-25th% for height. She is actually bigger than Malaine was at this age! The great news is, she is developmentally right on target now for a 12 month old baby! The doctor was very excited with her progress, as are we! She can now start switching to whole milk, which really makes Mark happy. This is our first experience w/ formula, it is expensive! She did have 4 shots, which is always horrible. And they were having a hard time getting a good look in her ears, had to dig out lots of wax, not fun. She said 2 more teeth are about to come in, which is probably the cause of her never ending runny nose. Overall a good vist and our Sage is a healthy girl! By the way, she can finally wear her first squeaky shoes, aren't they cute? She thinks they are so funny!

Prayers Needed

This is Myer. Her family traveled to China in our group, but Myer was in another province. Myer is very sick and their family is asking you to pray with them for a miracle. She was admitted to the hospital a week ago, and is still there. So many things, I can't even pretend to understand, so I am going to link you to their site. Go here www.carepages.com You will have to register, which is very painless, I promise. Then it will ask you to enter a care page name and you need to enter Myer.
There are things in life I don't understand, and this situtation would be one of those. We waited for these babies for such a long time, we fell in love with them before they were even born. We traveled around the world to bring them home and now here they are. It is hard for me to comprehend that it might have been God's plan to have this little girl here for such a short time. However, I continue to trust Him. And I continue to pray that He would do a miracle here and allow her to be healed. That He would send his angels down to hold her and her family in his arms. That He would prove to the doctors that He is bigger than genetic things, sickness, coma's and that He holds the Truth.
My heart hurts for them, I look at Sage and my eyes just fill with tears. She is mine. The thought of her being taken away just takes my breath away. While I don't know Myer or her family well, I do know that she shares a history of China with us. I ask that you would please be on your knees for this family. And if you can't get into her site, just e-mail me laxton@htc.net and I will try to help you out..

Can't Help but wonder...

One year ago today, a tiny baby girl was found outside of the hospital of Chenzhou City in Hunan China. No note, and no one around. What was it like for that man who picked her up and carried her in to the hospital? Was it just part of life for him, did he give that little girl a second thought. We will never know. What was it like for the person who brought her to this finding place. Was it her mother? Did she hide in the shadows and watch to make sure that someone took her in. Did her arms ache and did her heart break as she walked away? What was it like for those 8 days she kept her. And why did she wait 8 days? Did she pray and hope that there would be another way? Did she try to hide her for that time? Did she nurse her and kiss on that sweet face? Did she try to memorize every tiny detail to imprint it on her heart. So many things, we will never, ever know.
It is hard. Questions upon questions, we want answers for. A little over a week ago I sat in a waiting room with my family waiting for our new cousin to be born. Minutes after her birth we were able to go into the delivery room and hold this tiny newborn girl. We were all so excited, and it was such a celebration of her birth. I could not help but wonder, what was it like for Sage's birth? My guess is that she was born at home. Was there anyone there at all? What was it like for her mother to give birth to a daughter, she knew she was going to have to let go? What was it like to hold that baby in her arms, knowing every day she was going away forever. My heart breaks for her. I know we don't really know what it was like. But I still respect her. She made a choice to have this child, to carry her to term and to give her up. So many other options she could have taken, but she gave her life. We will forever be thankful to her.
I do know this. Depsite the pain of her loss, or my loss over the time I missed, God had a plan. When Sage was born, He celebrated and lovingly held her in His arms for me. When her birthmother walked away, He held her and whispered in her ear, it is going to be ok. When I cry over all those days I missed, He reminds me of what I have yet to see with Sage.
I tried to come up w/ someway to honor Sage's birthmother every year at this time. I bought 1 white rose and every year I will buy the number of roses for how old she is. We pray for her daily that she would come to know Christ and that someday, probably not on this earth, we will be able to look at her and say Thank You.

Thanksgiving Blessings

With Thanks...

Birthday Reflections

Make sure to scroll down and check out the slide show. I am not sure how to make it start from the beginning, but I almost had it timed to go along w/ the song, so turn up your volume.

Today Sage ChenYi Mae Laxton is 1. ONE! How is that possible? It is going to fast, I want to go back and just hold on to these 3 months a little longer and a little tighter. I did not get enough of her first year. What was it like just one year ago when she was born? It has been hard on me. I know that the 9 months Sage was not with me, was all part of God's plan. But my heart still hurts for all that I have missed. So many thoughts of Sage's birthmother this week, which I will save for another day to share. It is hard enough to watch your baby turn one. So I am trying not to dwell on all the questions and just lift her up in Celebration. She is one! We have held her for 3 months now! Thank you GOD for allowing us to hold her for those 3 months. Exactly one year & 9 months ago we began the process called adoption. Exactly one year and 9 months ago Sage was most likely conceived. One year ago, my heart was crying and my prayers were full for a baby we had no idea was being born into the world. 3 months ago, we walked into a room, and were handed this beautiful angel child. She was so tiny, her dark eyes just stared at us, taking us in. Today, she is a different baby than the one we met in China. She has changed so much, and every day we know we are blessed to have her as ours. Some Sage Stuff for one year...

--She weighs 19 pounds now. She is chunky and has rolls!(14 pounds at gotcha)

--She has 5 teeth, 3 top/2 bottom (2 bottom at gotcha)

--Standing, still not taking steps though, continues to cruise

--Crawling "normal" now. And she is FAST!

--Says Mama, Dada, Dog, Bye, Waves Hi and Bye!

--Plays really well on own, is SO curious and loves to explore

--Eats whatever you give her. Still on babyfood and formula.

--Her skin is so soft and clear now, was not in china!

--Has her 2nd ear infection, just went to the dr today.

--Continues to sleep great. In our room. Is attached to pacifier. oops!

--Loves to make us laugh!

--Is impossible to change. She does not like to be still, way to much to explore.

--LOVES bathtime. Goes crazy in the tub, and crys when we take her out. Dunks her face in the water, and just laughs!

--Is very attached to her bear. I will have to post about Bear sometime, to cute!

Every day with her is just a gift. It is so amazing to watch her learn new things each day. In China, she could not sit, she could not really hold onto toys. To watch her learn and change so much, I just sit in awe. She looks so much older to me, her hair is already longer. And even longer continues to stand straight up! I will miss that so much when it stops doing that! I think back a year ago and where I was. So impatient, and trying to "bargain" my way to China. Please Lord, if we can just go NOW... I am so thankful that we have such a loving Father who loves us in spite of us! He knew Sage was ours, and He loved me through the 9 months it took to reveal her to us. Sage is our daughter. No other baby in China could have been ours, I have no doubt about that. So today I celebrate her birth and the 3 months I have held her. She is mine & I Thank God for her. Our gift.

Happy Birthday Sage!

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First Birthday Party

Hard to believe that we are having a party for Sage's first birthday today! Wasn't it just yesterday we were in China and she was only 9 months old? How life has changed in just 3 months. I will post more on Monday(her offical birthday), so many emotional thoughts this week as we celebrate. But we did have a great day! We had chinese food for lunch with a ladybug theme, of course! Our local buffet is so excited about Sage, they sent us tons of food, we might be eating chinese for thanksgiving this week. Sage enjoyed all the attention and loved her cake as you can see! Not sure how much she actually ate, but it sure was fun to play in.

We have a New Cousin!

We had an exciting day! TJ is my cousin above holding his daughter Jaylyn, coming out to share the news that he has a new baby girl! Adley Brielle weighed in at 9 pounds 7 oz! As you can see in the picture of the nurse holding her up, she is a big girl! Beautiful sweet baby. Wide eyed and looking like her big sister already! Amy, the new mommy, was due tomorrow. She was scheduled to be induced on Monday, which I thought was cool, since that is Sage's birthday. But Adley was ready and so was Amy! We are sad that they will miss Sage's first birthday party, which is tomorrow, but we are SO happy that the baby is here! As soon as I get some cleaned up pictures of Adley, I will post. And of course will add pictures of Sage's birthday party soon!

Sage's First Professional Photo

Isn't she beautiful! I can't quite figure out how to flip the rest of the pictures from our session and post them, so until Mark can help me, you just get to see Sage!

Beware of the MerMer

In China we tried to get Sage to take a pacifier with no luck. We thought it might be nice for the plane. Recently Malaine found one and as you may or may not know, Malaine LOVED her "mer mers" ( no idea where the name came from, she came up w/ that) She began to push it on Sage often. So now, Sage really likes it as you can see. She is way to old to be starting with it, I know. And so far, she seems ok to be with or with out it. We will see.
Had family pictures done today. Went much better than we anticipated it would. They took over 100 shots and only a handful were actually decent. You know how that goes, getting 6 to actually cooperate. Will try to scan them in at some point. They took some really beautiful shots of Sage on her own that I loved. The best part is, Christmas cards are done! Finally, ahead of the game on something this year.