Friday, May 30, 2008

Two new beginnings!

Presley Claire has joined the Reis family! Amy and Derek are head of heals!
And another dear friend, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! They have two older boys so when they found out the were expecting a girl they (especially Mom) where so excited!
Congratulations John and Becky and boys!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Little Lexi will not be coming home

Oh, International adoption! Roller coaster after Roller coaster! Lexi's mom and dad, Amy and Derek, left so excited to hold their precious daughter for the first time! Though they held her in their arms for a short time, they will forever hold her in their hearts. Their story is on their blog at Our Journey To China
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Praying for peace for your entire family!

Monday, May 26, 2008

"I like water"




One of Jailyn's favorite sentences so far this summer! We just purchased her a sprinkler. She loved it! Cosmo thinks it's pretty cool too!

Sorry for the delay!

I know we haven't posted anything personal lately - sorry!
I would love to catch you up!
Our dear friends, Gary and Valerie, returned home from China with their beautiful daughter Aubriana! She is adorable and doing new things every day. As most of our kids who come home from China, she was a bit behind developmentally. It wont be long until she is doing all the same things as her big brother,(they are only 30 days apart.) Needless to say, I have been trying to get to their home to help them through this transition. I love this new family! They are awesome!!! God will bless them!



The weather in Texas has been so blasted HOT! We were able to take the kids to the pool. Usually, the pool in May is still pretty cold, but not this year! By August we will be adding ice cubes to the water to cool off! :)

Kenzie was our photographer - sorry I deleted the one with me in a swimsuit!


Here's a few photos of our sweet Jailyn - she is growing so fast! When we first met her we had her preschool days all planned out. With cleft lip and palate we assumed she would qualify for PPCD (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities). Jailyn has far exceeded our expectations and though she will still be evaluated, we highly doubt she will qualify. Though I love the PPCD curriculum I am so proud of how hard Jailyn has worked on her speech! And the big kid, they have worked so hard with her. It's amazing how each one of their personalities teach her something!
This photo is from Mother's Day! The family took me to a Demo Derby!

Jailyn loves to help mommy in the kitchen!

Kenzie's choir went to a competition! They did great! Received a perfect score and then spent the day riding the rides at a small amusement park in Dallas! Fun! Fun! Fun! Jailyn and Mom had a great time too!



Hope that helps y'all get caught up on our sweet pea!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

On a brighter note! Another family will be united!

I am so excited for my blog friend Amy! She and hubby will be united with their sweet Lexi very soon! Lexi is a cleft lip and palate baby, which of course touches my heart! Lexi is so beautiful! I can't wait to see her finally in her mommy and daddy's arms!
Follow along this week at Our Journey to China
Love you Amy!

Friday, May 23, 2008

More information

As this tragedy of Maria Sue Chapman unfolds it just continues to become more and more sad. Maria Sue had just turned 5 years old, 10 days before the accident. The family was all together to celebrate the engagement of the Chapman's oldest daughter's engagement and were hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb (their other son's) completion of High School.
Please continue to pray for this beautiful family!
In lieu of flowers the Chapman's have set up Maria's Miracle Fund in her memory.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Pray for the Chapman family


Steven Curtis Chapman's family is mourning the lose of their beautiful 5 year old daughter Maria.
She was killed in a tragic accident in their drive way.
I can't imagine the pain they are all experiencing right now!
This family has adopted three girls from China and have been an inspiration to many!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Another Forever family born!

We met this couple a few years ago, as they were doing paperwork for a China adoption. As they wait has gotten longer and longer they decided to adopt from Ethopia while they wait for their daughter in China.
The met their son for the first time this week!
Beautiful new family pictures! Click here to see their blog!
Oh, I think I want to go to Ethopia next! :)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Another new Family!

Yea! A little girl will meet her momma and daddy for the first time this week!
Follow along! Little Jenny is from our Jorja's orphanage!
Congratulations to this new family who are finally going to be together -
FOREVER!!!

THE BIG WAIT

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

My Advice for Amy

Gotcha' Day is filled with so many questions - will my child cry? will she/he be hungry? will she/he be tired? will she/he accept me?
Amy, remember to let Lexi take the lead! and don't take her first reaction to you personal. Her little world has been turned upside down, she will come around! It just may take time. I wish I had brought bubbles or something for Jailyn. Though she did well emotionally, but bubbles may have helped her relax a bit more with us. I've never met a kid who didn't like bubbles.

While in China Jailyn took 3 hour naps. The other mom's that we were with kept saying, "Don't let her sleep - she wont sleep tonight." We let her sleep - she got sick the next day, but guess what if though we have been home for over a year, Jailyn still takes 3 hour naps! I'm so glad we let her sleep!

One more word of advice... I know many adopted kids suffer from constipation. While in China we gave Jailyn bottles and Congee. What she was used too. Her little world was so crazy already -the last thing she needed was more stress. We kept her on her comfort food. On the airplane ride home she had her first taste of muffins, and at home we slowly brought baby food into her diet. This really seemed to work. She never suffered from constipation. We are hoping to do the same with our 4 year old. Somehow, I need to make baby food seem perfect for a "big" girl! Plus, it's gotta be healthier for these kids!

Can't wait to see you with your little girl!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Shower Game #3

Hey Ladies,
This is not really a "game" but can be very helpful to Amy as she is united with her sweet girl!
Please list any advice you would give her while in China, on the way home and when she get home.
Feel free to blog on your blog, and/or send directly to Amy on her blog.

Amy, so excited that you are leaving so soon! We will be following your journey through your blog! And will
be crying tears of joy when you and hubby finally have your little Lexi in your arms!

Love ya,
Jodi Sue :)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

The Winner is...

Lexi's mom! Yea Amy!
Amy guessed 165 and there were 166 whoppers in the jar!
Way to go Amy! Your prize will be sent to you this week!

Our next game will be announced tomorrow!
Hope y'all have had a Happy Mother's Day!

Jodi Sue

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Baby Lexi's Shower game #2

I loved hearing all the Gotcha' Day stories! I love to see Forever Families born!

For our second shower game we will play -
Guess the number of whoppers in the jar!
Leave your guess in the comments! Even if you don't know Amy and Lexi feel free to play along!

My daughter, Kenzie, made her guess this morning.
I haven't counted them yet - so I have no idea either!
Have fun guessing!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Sharing our Gotcha' Day with Jailyn

February 5,2007 - What a great day. We were filled with excitement and fear. We had no idea of what to expect. We were going to meet our daughter for the first time - Wow! We didn't know much about her at all, but were in love with her already! We made sure we made the hotel buffet breakfast thinking that this may be the only meal we get today if Jailyn is cranky and not happy with us. As we ate breakfast, we also watched the Superbowl - yeah, kinda funny! Monday morning in China!
Our guide,Nancy, took us to the Civil Affairs office and after being there for 15- 20 minutes a van with 6 little kiddos pulled up. And there was the first time we saw Jailyn's sweet face. Tears came to my eyes, but I was determined not to cry - I didn't want to scare Jailyn.
As the children were brought into the room, Nancy began yelling, "Yunyan! Yunyan!" She didn't know which one was Yunyan (Jailyn's chinese name). Coco brought her over to us immediately. As soon as we held her we knew that she was our princess!

She took us in and didn't whimper a bit. We tried to give her a bottle but she wanted it much warmer then it was. But, she was fine - just taking everything in.


Jailyn was 16 months old and only 15 lbs. She was not walking yet. She didn't show us for a few days that she knew how to crawl. As she began to trust us did she begin to show her true personality and what she could do.
After we returned to our hotel room we stripped Jailyn down to see how small she really was. We gave her a bath. She did okay, but she was nervous and clung to me. This was a good thing that she had to trust me to take care of her.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out in our room and the hotel hallway with our fellow travel mates, meeting their children.

The personality that we met that first day - I still see in Jailyn 15 months later! She takes everything in! She is so observant and very social. She is also still our princess! Not so much an "angel" but our "princess"! :)

Baby Shower for Sweet Lexi

Our dear friend Amy will become a mommy again in less then a month!
We want to be part of this celebration so we will be having a Virtual Shower for her!
Lexi is in China, and will be 19 1/2 months on Gotcha' Day!
She is a peanut, but Mom is hoping she will be wearing 18 month clothing.

The shower will run from today May 5th - Friday May 16th.
Our first shower game is to share your Gotch'a Day experience with Amy!
Hopefully, this will give Amy some idea of what this incredible day will hold for her!
Blog your experience on your blog but make sure you let us know that you are joining us so that we can check your stories out! (feel free to leave your blog address here or on Amy's blog)And remember to post photos! We love photos!

Sending gifts to Amy - please email me at soccermom@tx.rr.com and I will give you her mailing address.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Virtual Baby Shower

I get to host a fun Virtual Baby Shower for my friend, Amy! I am so excited to celebrate the adoption of their daughter Lexi! Amy should be traveling by the end of May.
I have never hosted a Virtual Shower so if there is anyone out there who has some suggestions please feel free to leave a comment! I want to make this special, but have no idea of what I am doing!
Here are some sweet photos of little Lexi! She is so adorable I can hardly stand it! Oh, adoption is such a wonderful thing!