Mei Mei Journal

We are out of here!

2007-11-06T07:38:00.000-05:00

Come join us at our new blog

Mei Mei Journal II.

2007-11-04T19:27:00.000-05:00

scotch tape art

2007-11-04T13:48:00.000-05:00

When Lauren was done with her masterpiece she said "That's awesome!"

Surprise! Happy Birthday (Grandma) Patty!

2007-11-03T07:40:00.001-04:00

2007-11-03T07:37:00.000-04:00

2007-11-01T07:08:00.000-04:00

dragon tails

2007-10-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

Lauren calls braids "dragon tails". I guess this is a variation of pony tails.

We love our cousins!

2007-10-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

Our children have 8 cousins and 6 step cousins.

They all live within 20 minutes of each other.

cheering on her Linds

2007-10-28T20:34:00.000-04:00

Lindsay's team came in third at their District meet today.

This qualifies them for states next weekend. They will run on the same tough, hilly course.

Lauren love to cheer for Lindsay and her friends.

Paige's website

2007-10-20T17:21:00.000-04:00

We have a new website we are going to use during our journey to Paige. We may or may not be able to access this blog while we are in China. During the next 3-5 months we will post updates about Paige here.

Halloween Preview

2007-10-19T20:45:00.001-04:00

Lauren & Cosmo

2007-10-18T17:46:00.000-04:00

Grandpa & Gavin playing football

2007-10-18T08:44:00.000-04:00

preschool update

2007-10-18T08:41:00.000-04:00

Lauren is enjoing preschool now. I go in with her for the first few minutes to help ease her in. I read my book for a few minutes, then she comes over, gives me a kiss, and tells me I can go. The whole process only takes about 5 minutes. She is having a great time after I leave. Yay!

homecoming

2007-10-13T19:40:00.000-04:00

2007-10-12T14:25:00.000-04:00

2007-10-11T08:48:00.001-04:00

chopstick use #432

2007-10-11T08:18:00.000-04:00

replacement stylus for handheld game

passing along wisdom from an IA expert

2007-10-10T06:11:00.000-04:00

After receiving the referral information for both Lauren and Paige we sent it to a doctor who specializes in International adoptions. She reviewed both their translated and untranslated documents. Each time she called and gave a very thorough, matter of fact review of her findings.
With Lauren, whose heart defect was more minor, we had already sent back our Letter of Intent prior to receiving her call. We were given some helpful and advice and info to pass along to our pediatrician.
Paige had what would be considered a major heart defect. We waited to send our LOI until hearing back from this doctor and the cardiologist. When she called to review the info she described several "red flags" and "unknowns". Even though she doesn't ask, I felt compelled to tell her that we were almost certain we would be bringing this little one home.
That is when I received some true wisdom.
She said that long term studies show ultimately the success of an IA depends on the parents, not the child. The qualities that successful adopted parents shared are having high expectations and being flexible.
She also shared that in long term(decades long) follow up studies of IA families 95% reported satisfaction with their expreince and would do it all over again. (This was reported after the teen years!)
We are not looking for a perfect child to fit into our family. We are looking to be the perfect family for the child that joins us.

2007-10-08T14:47:00.000-04:00

care package

2007-10-08T14:38:00.000-04:00

We will be mailing our first care package to Paige tomorrow. We have included a photo album with our pics labeled in Chinese, 2 books, stacking cups, a sorting toy, small ball, disposable camera, two outfits, and lotion for her Foster Mom.
The arrival of this package will be the first indication to her orphanage and foster family that she has been matched with a family. They won't be officially notified until our Travel Approval is issued, which will be months from now. They will have more time to try to prepare her if they find out sooner.

sending our love to Paige

2007-10-08T14:10:00.000-04:00

2007-10-07T21:16:00.000-04:00

2007-10-06T16:37:00.001-04:00

third time's a charm

2007-10-03T16:02:00.000-04:00

Today was Lauren's third day of preschool and she made it 'til 11:00.

(She dismissed herself early the first 2 days.)

She is proud of herself!

Paige's Heart

2007-10-03T08:10:00.000-04:00

You can click here to learn about an Complete Atrioventicular Canal defect. Paige was born with this condition and had urgent surgery, thanks to Love Without Boundaries and the wonderful families that sponsored her, at the age of 14 months. Our cardiologist has reviewed her records and it appears she had a very good repair.

Paige is also very small, most likey due to her heart condition. She has some developmental delays which we are prepared to address when she comes home. The MD says that overall she is doing very well considering that she lived with the defect 14 months before treatment. Any activity would have been very fatiguing to her prior to surgery.

We think she is just perfect and can't wait to bring her home to complete our family. She has a Mama. Baba, and siblings waiting to love and support her.

Paige's orphanage

2007-10-03T07:50:00.000-04:00

Click here to be linked to a wonderful website about Paige's orphanage in the city of Fuling, Chongqing Municipality. It is a very comprehensive website with lots of pictures.
(I have added a slide show to the bottom of the blog of all the pics we have of Paige at Fuling.)

our baby girl

2007-10-02T09:23:00.000-04:00

Sweet little You Fu Xiang, to be Paige Fuxiang, was born

January 2, 2006.

She underwent successful surgery for a heart defect when she was

14 months old.

She is currently living with a foster family in Fuling.

More details to follow.....

she DOES paint at school :-)

2007-10-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

moon festival with cherished friends

2007-09-30T11:34:00.001-04:00

go Gavin!

2007-09-30T08:22:00.000-04:00

2007-09-27T12:54:00.000-04:00

Lauren is still unsure about school. She goes in happily. I wait in another room, where she can come see me if she "needs" me. She loves the "cool playground". However, not much else. "I no paint at school. Otherone kids paint at school. I paint at home."

go team

2007-09-27T12:44:00.000-04:00

Lindsay's cross country team is having a very successful season. The are undefeated with two meets to go before Districts.

2007-09-24T16:47:00.000-04:00

Lauren and her cousin, Taylor, had their preschool open house today. They both aren't sure they want their Mommies to leave them there. We'll see how it goes wednesday when they have their first day.

2007-09-24T08:36:00.000-04:00

I recently finished this book.

It gives very insightful look inside the field of Pediatric Cardiothorasic Surgery, very interesting, particularly if you have a child with CHD.

weekend hike

2007-09-23T18:31:00.001-04:00

apple dumpling gang

2007-09-21T12:27:00.000-04:00

Sara Groves, i saw what i saw

2007-09-20T22:17:00.001-04:00

i read what i read

2007-09-20T22:02:00.001-04:00

I read this book about a child soldier in Rwanda several months ago. I highly reccommend it! When I saw this video by Sara Groves it reminded me how powerful Ishmael's story is. I haven't seen Rwanda, but I read what I read and I can't forget it.

no call yet

2007-09-20T21:08:00.000-04:00

We haven't been called with a match from our agency's current list of waiting children. They are probably about 2/3 of the way through the list. We might still be called. If not their next list should arrive in about two months or so. Waiting isn't easy, but goes with the territory when adopting.

another beautiful Fall day

2007-09-20T16:28:00.001-04:00

visiting our horse, Lacey (& friends)

2007-09-18T13:52:00.000-04:00

zoo pics

2007-09-16T22:13:00.000-04:00

face painting fun

2007-09-16T19:24:00.001-04:00

playgroup pals

2007-09-14T13:37:00.000-04:00

Lauren & Olivia

2007-09-14T13:27:00.001-04:00

Dr. Lauren, busted with the Band-aids

2007-09-13T12:57:00.001-04:00

weird adoption dream

2007-09-13T08:13:00.000-04:00

Last night I dreamt that CCAI called us with a referral. Greg and I hopped on the next plane immediately. (Don't you wish it worked like that?) I started realizing that I forgot to pack a lot of stuff, like underwear and contacts.
A few hours into the flight I decided to call CCAI to get the details about our child. In my dream, and in reality, we have "requested" a girl younger than Lauren. I found out we had been matched with a 4 year old boy. We were thrilled. However, I had only packed clothes for a 2 yo girl. We decided to fly back home and do some shopping and repacking.

When we are actually, eventually matched with a child it will probably be close to five months before we can travel. I wish that part of the process could be accelerated.

Like my Spiderman hat?

2007-09-10T09:04:00.000-04:00

video link

2007-09-08T07:13:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to a 10 minute videoclip from a documentary that follows four Swedish adoptees traveling back to China. Very interesting hearing the girls' perspective! Some of their comments are very poignant.

Zhang Emperesses

Healing Hearts

2007-09-07T09:14:00.001-04:00

Love Without Boundaries

2007-09-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

Personal DNA Your True Self Revealed

I saw this on Steffie's blog. It is fun and seems to be accurate.

ice cream truck!

2007-09-05T21:19:00.000-04:00

more cousin pics

2007-09-05T07:28:00.001-04:00

conversation initiated by Lauren today

2007-09-04T15:43:00.000-04:00

L - Whens ours baby, Mom?
M- " I don't know, Lauren."
L- "When's ours baby Mom?
M-"I don't know Lauren."
L-"Why?"
M-"China didn't tell us yet."
L- "Picture."
M-"Yes, we will get a picture of your sister first."
L- "Stuck."
M-"What's stuck?"
L-"Baby stuck"
M-"Where's the baby stuck?"
M-"In China."
L-"Grab her, hug her, grab her, hug her."
L-" I play my sister. I love my sister."

I amazes us when she says things like this. Conversations about a new sibling are almost always initiated by Lauren. She sure talks the talk of a great big sister, but will she walk the walk? :-)

cousin time

2007-09-03T20:46:00.000-04:00

16 months loving Lauren

2007-09-03T10:32:00.000-04:00

Hersheypark Happy

2007-08-31T22:03:00.001-04:00

new list

2007-08-29T17:04:00.001-04:00

Our agency has just received a new list of children waiting to be matched with their families. They will translate each child's file and match them according to the medical conditions checklists submitted by waiting families. Deniece, Pam , and Sarah at CCAI do an amazing job with this process.

We are hoping that Lauren's little sister, Paige (?), might be on this list. She is very excited about the idea of being a big sister and we think she will be a great one. Lindsay, Austin, and Gavin have been wonderful older sibling role models.

idyllic weekend

2007-08-27T16:19:00.000-04:00

Happy 15th Birthday Lindsay!!!

2007-08-24T22:54:00.000-04:00

Wow, our first baby is 15! She is a really great kid which is a big part of the reason we went on to add 3, soon to be 4 more.

2007-08-24T07:40:00.000-04:00

"Thanks, Maddie!"

2007-08-22T16:07:00.000-04:00

Lauren loves her cousin Maddie's hand me downs. She keeps saying "Maddie gave me this." Technically it was her Aunt Sue, but I'm sure she doesn't mind giving Maddie the credit.

speed dial to China

2007-08-19T07:55:00.000-04:00

Lauren brought me the phone and phone to show me the Chinese button. Can you guess which one it is? (answer is in the comments)

day at the lake

2007-08-15T22:05:00.001-04:00

2007-08-14T19:15:00.000-04:00

2007-08-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

"I made my big tower."

2007-08-12T08:15:00.000-04:00

"Swing me up fast!"

2007-08-11T13:26:00.000-04:00

Lauren finally enjoys swinging.

I think her cousin, Devon, helped get her over her fear when she helped babysit last weekend.

2007-08-11T13:19:00.000-04:00

Lauren cheered on her goat friend, Honey, at a 4-H fair this am.

Check out the beads in her beard!

playgroup field trip

2007-08-09T13:25:00.000-04:00

Thanks to our friend Carol for letting us visit her miniature horses and fainting goats. We will be back to see the babies in the Spring.

2007-08-03T06:59:00.000-04:00

Grant is coming home!

2007-08-03T06:51:00.000-04:00

We have met Grant's family twice. He has two beautiful sisters from China close in age to Lauren. Lauren has really taking an interest in Grant and talks about his Mama going to China to hold him. Grant's Mama gave Lauren this picture, which she loves.
Grant's parent's are in China now. You can follow their travel journal here.

sand

2007-07-29T16:02:00.001-04:00

surf

2007-07-29T15:58:00.000-04:00

back from the beach...

2007-07-29T14:09:00.000-04:00

happy family

2007-07-25T06:44:00.000-04:00

Rieley's family is in China now. We can't wait for Rieley to come home and join our weekly fun! You can follow ther journey here.

2007-07-25T06:39:00.000-04:00

If you are interested in more reunion pics, Sam has posted some great ones on her blog,

Just Keep Swimming, enjoy!

Lauren and Kieren, 20 months later

2007-07-22T14:26:00.000-04:00

The Girls

2007-07-22T14:08:00.001-04:00

pool party with the JC Girls

2007-07-22T13:58:00.001-04:00

2007-07-22T13:51:00.001-04:00

Dutch Wonderland

2007-07-22T13:46:00.001-04:00

Jiangcheng Girl Weekend fun

2007-07-22T13:40:00.000-04:00

Kieren, Lauren & Zoe making music

2007-07-22T13:33:00.000-04:00

thanks Aunt Sarah

2007-07-14T22:15:00.000-04:00

Remember you bought this for Lauren at a craft show before she was home from China? She's old enough to appreciate it now!

corn on the cob, a year later

2007-07-12T20:19:00.000-04:00

July '06 July 'o7

4 playgroup friends, soon to be 5

2007-07-12T20:02:00.000-04:00

Rieley's family is leaving for China next week. We can't wait until she is home and can play with us! You can follow their journey here.

cardiology appointment

2007-07-10T20:26:00.000-04:00

Lauren had her third cardiology appt today. For the first time her echocardiogram showed some spontaneous closure of her VSD. Apparently some of the tissue from her tricuspid valve is growing over to close the hole between her ventricles. Her arterial pressures are normal and her enlarged right ventricle has not grown larger. This is great news! There is no need to intervene surgically now, and possibly never will be.
Lauren was a very brave girl during her appointment. She is afraid of the wires they use during the EKG and echo, but she stayed very still and didn't cry.

mmmm s'mores

2007-07-10T20:22:00.000-04:00

reunion picnic

2007-07-08T14:00:00.000-04:00

Chloe and Lauren

2007-07-08T13:47:00.001-04:00

We traveled to Virginia for the CCAI MidAtlantic reunion with friends Janelle and Chloe. The girls had a great time at the hotel and reunion picnic.

Kelsey and Rachel

2007-07-08T13:28:00.000-04:00

Lauren met cuties Kelsey and Rachel for the first time. Their Mom, Karen, and I became friends while waiting to be matched with Lauren and Kelsey in January 2006. You can read more about their family at Now We Are Six.

Happy 4th!

2007-07-04T20:26:00.001-04:00

zoo day with Grandma Patty

2007-07-01T18:39:00.000-04:00

Lauren loves the animals, particularly the giraffes with their long tongues.

She watched her brother and his friend go up in the zoo balloon.

2007-06-30T07:39:00.000-04:00

kiddie pool cool down

2007-06-27T19:41:00.000-04:00

stopping to smell the flowers

2007-06-26T08:32:00.001-04:00

We have been very busy this Summer keeping up with four active kids, ages 2-14. Lauren is enjoying the extra attention from her big sister and brothers. She continues to learn and grow. Her language is taking off. She recently told us"I want some more chocolate."

splash

2007-06-22T10:56:00.000-04:00

brothers

2007-06-22T10:55:00.000-04:00