Mavery Would like to introduce to you.....

PIXIE!! 

Amazingly we all slept in today. After the crazy busy weeks we have had, we needed it. We met a few families at breakfast and then headed to the church where we would be in training. 

There were no signs of the dogs, but the room quickly filled up with families. 12 people were receiving dogs! They went over a few things and then started bringing them in. At this point you still have no idea what dog you are getting. 

They brought in German Shepherds and I was really hoping they were not ours. Beautiful dogs but they are just big and scary looking to me! Thankfully they passed us by. 

I am not sure I mentioned that Mavery had requested a Golden Retriever. It is all she has talked about. We told her we just had no idea and she needed to be happy with whatever. We prayed this morning together that God would just give her the perfect dog. 

Next dog walks in is a golden retriever and they came straight to Mavery! She looks back at me and said, she is just what I always wanted! 

Her name is Pixie and she was born on June 21st, 2012. These dogs go through a variety of training. We were pretty excited to find out part of her training was in a family with kids! As you can see in the photo below, we need SUPER calm. 

In the class are 4 Goldens. 3 Labs, 2 Standard Poodles, 2 German Shepherds and a Great Dane! After introductions they quickly were teaching commands. About half the dogs are medical alert dogs and it was amazing when TWICE today one of them was already in tune knowing their persons blood levels were off. (red vest means medical alert, blue means therapy dog) 

Mavery did really well overall working with Pixie. She is not quite as stern as she needs to be, but by the end of the day she was remembering what to say. Basically Pixie does not move with out Mavery's say. And amazingly overall that is what she does. By the end of the day Mavery was done. 

Dinner was with the group at Pizza Hut and what a site to see 12 dogs calmly laying on the floor at the feet of their peoples. Not begging or barking or fighting with each other. 

Personally I had kind of hoped for a non shedding dog, and that is not what we got. Hair everywhere! BUT when they brought her to Mavery and said her name and I saw Mavery's face I knew this was exactly who Mavery needed. The litter Pixie was in is named after people who never wanted to grow up. 

The saying went through my head from Peter Pan, Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust. And isn't that what our journey with our children is? Especially these children whom had a life before we met them? Faith to say yes.  Trust that the Lord is going to bring them home to us and that no matter what, we will get through. And that pixie dust, the magical moments of seeing our children HOME, ours and loved. The spirit moving as we struggle and settle and grow and figure out this dance of life. 

I was not sure I wanted a dog sleeping with Mavery, but how do you say no to this? 

Tomorrow we will be back for another full day of training. We will visit a Nursing Home as our outing. We are ready for another day full of Magic and Pixie Dust for sure! 

Mavery's 5th Gotcha and a New Adventure!

Today we celebrate 5 years with our Ms Mavery. It feels as if I blink and time is just passing me by. 

Today we also spent our day on the beginning of a BIG adventure with Mavery. We spent the day driving to the middle of Kansas.

Tomorrow she will meet her new service dog, and we will spend our week training while getting to know her new friend. 

I don't think Mavery will ever forget this Gotcha Day!  

So why a Service Dog? Aren't those for people who are blind or have diabetes or who are in wheelchairs? 

Well yes, they ARE used for those situations. But they are also used for many different things. 

If you have read my blog through the years, you know we have had a roller coaster ride with Mavery. While she came home from China with a very serious heart condition, (that is still ongoing) that was not as hard to deal with as her emotional state. 

And while we have seen HUGE improvements over the years, there are still challenges. When a close friend of mine received a service dog for her daughter from China and started sharing how amazing it was for them, I was intrigued. 

We started to do some research, spent some time praying and felt this would be a really big benefit to Mavery. 

Therapeutic in so many ways. Calming. Confidence Building. And as an added benefit they say that these dogs can sense a change in her heart if something happens. 

If you have met Mavery,  you know she is amazing. Now you might have been "Mavery'd" as we say, because she has yet to meet a stranger. She meets you and she throws herself on you, she hugs, she hangs, she loves "fiercely". She is the sweetest child and has such a tender heart for those around her. 

We pray that this dog is going to be exactly what Mavery needs for some of her struggles. 

We applied for the dog back in January. At that time we were told a 12-18 month wait. Which would have put us most likely meeting the dog when we were in China for our adoption! (If we ever get there, wahhhh) We knew that was going to be an issue, because if we missed that class we would not be able to travel till the summer class, with new children. Which sounded rough. THANKFULLY we were able to get into this class last minute and so here we are! Of course this is in the midst of CRAZY time at my house but when isn't?? 

Kind of a funny story... Last month I had asked some family and friends to pray with us for our adoption referral on a specific day. THAT was the day I got the call we were getting the dog! While I was thrilled for Mavery, it was NOT the referral I had in mind!!! :-) 

We have no idea what the dog is. We will find out on Monday morning! We will be in a class with many others getting dogs so it should be a fun experience! 

We drove all day today and checked into our hotel. STRANGE just having ONE child. I think this is going to be such a good week for the 3 of us. We are in training all day every day. 

I am going to try REALLY hard to blog every night. I know this is an experience I want Mavery to always remember. Internet is not good, so pictures might have to be added later but hopefully I can get some up. 

And I have yet to get up Makenna's 16th and Malaine's 11th birthday's from this month. Who knows, with only one child, I might get it all done this week. 

Happy 5 years to Mavery Raye JinSong. We are SOO thankful for every day she has been with us. She has taught me so much about what true love REALLY means. So thankful for how I have grown because of her. 

Feeling blessed. 

Malaine's 11th on October 11th!

We celebrated Malaine's Golden birthday this year! 11 on 10/11!! She is our golden girl for sure! People will ask, does she always smile? And as you can see from her baby photo's, yep, she has always and continues to ALWAYS smile! 

 She is the middle child and just easy! She has the gift of encouragement and she is always looking for ways to make you happy. If I am having a bad day she is the one who will be sure to give me lots of hugs and tell me what a great mom I am! It is great having your own cheerleader!

We are so thankful for that sweet spirit. This year she has started piano lessons and she works so hard and is doing a great job quickly learning to play! She is doing amazing at gymnastics and also loves singing in the choir and being a part of AWANA.

On her birthday we went with some friends to an event near home by Danah Gresh. She was not that thrilled with the event, but she loved the dinner with friends! 

Malaine will be joining us on this China trip and she is SO excited to finally walk the halls of the orphanage that she has only seen in pictures. She knows every child there by name and can tell you more about them than I can sometimes! She has a heart for those children and I can't wait to see her holding some of the faces she has prayed for!

Happy Birthday Lainey Bug! We are so blessed by you every day. We pray you always keep that smile and heart for others. Love you so much!

Homecoming 2013!

Makenna's SWEET 16!! (October 1st)

I know when we have our first babies everyone tells us, enjoy, it is going to fly by. And we really have no idea what that means. Till all of a sudden that baby is turning 16. And driving. And looking so much less like that little baby girl we held in our arms. 16 and a sophomore in High School. My heart can hardly take it... 

To celebrate on her birthday Mark & I took her to Spaghetti Factory. I was hoping for somewhere exciting, a grown up place on the hill. But she insisted on her favorite place ever, and I guess I should be thankful that she still loves it. 

We had a girls weekend at the lake with some of her friends. I am so thankful for the girls she gets to do life with. Sweet girls who love the Lord and love each other. We had a mall scavenger hunt, lots of food and lots of fun.

You have to feel sorry for the oldest child. Every step of the way we had to learn. When she was born, we were clueless, and to be honest, most days we are still clueless! We don't always do everything right, that is for sure. (not that she EVER reminds us of this!!) But one thing I do know is that we have always given her to the Lord. Since before she was even created and every day since, we have trusted the Lord to guide her. And we have begged him to use us, to lead her to love Him the most. I am proud of this oldest daughter of mine. She has such a heart for the Lord and for China. For art she was asked to draw a picture describing her life. I think this says who she is perfectly.

On November 1st, she was able to get her drivers license. It has been an emotional month for this mama for sure! I am being reminded daily, that she IS God's first! I am so thankful he gave me the joy of being her mom. 

Happy Happy Sweet 16 Makenna Kaylee! We love you so much and we really are proud of you. We pray that God would continue to use you in amazing ways. Thank you for always being you and standing strong in this world. 

Adoption Update

Unfortunately there is nothing to update about. One reason I wanted to get caught up on the blog is because I am itching to write and share my heart about this wait for our next child(ren). It is HARD, really really hard. And I am tired. 5 kids, 2 adoptions, I guess I have not learned the lessons the Lord has for me still. So we wait, and we wonder and we try to just keep trusting that the Lord has a plan. I know that at this time next year I will look back and it will all make sense. But it is getting to that time next year that is just so hard right now. One more update on Homecoming and then hopefully I can write and keep up a little better! We have a crazy busy few months coming up that I hope I can keep up with! (4 birthdays, Gotcha Day's, getting a DOG, vacation, 16th birthday celebrations and the list goes on!!) 

Sage Gotcha SEVEN years!

Can't believe we have had our Spicy Girl for seven years now! Sage Chen Yi Mae was placed in our arms on August 21st, 2006 and our world has never been the same. 

 She is such a joy and I am so SO thankful that the Lord allows me to be her mommy. 

We celebrated with Chinese food, of course! We took the kids to Sesames for their first time and we all had such a great time. The waiters LOVE meeting the girls when we go out and hearing our stories of China. 

So thankful for this life I live. 

School Days 2013

 We had our traditional School Year's Eve dinner the night before school started. The kids love any time we eat in the dining room on the "special plates" with sparkling juice! 

Hard to believe Makenna is a sophomore, Sage & Mavery in 2nd grade! 

Mavery was very nervous and wanted to just go back to 1st grade again! Thankfully she quickly settled in and all is going well. 

 I still just have Sawyer and Malaine home again this year for 5th and 7th grade. We don't know what will happen each year, we just spend much time in prayer and see where the Lord leads. 

They are taking some classes at a local co-op for language, science and computer. They are enjoying it and so do I! 

This is our daily prayer for our children as they are with us and as they leave us. 

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

Happy School Days!