Sunday, November 13, 2016

65 Days

65 days ago, this little one began her morning like any other morning....
only, on this morning, just one day after she turned two years old, she would awake and dress and eat and do everything normal to her for one last time.
On this day, she awoke to the woman who she had come to call "Mama"...
on this day, she awoke to eat her breakfast meal, the one her "mama" would prepare just for her...
on this day, she would play with her foster siblings one last time....
she would watch her friends walk into her orphanage and wave goodbye to them as if she would see them soon....
and then she would get into a van with two orphanage officials and another baby girl for a three hour drive....
and as they drove, she would get farther and farther away from her life she had always known and inch by inch she drew closer to the life that was to be hers forever.
Sobering to think about.
Today, 65 days later, I can tell you that there is not a day that goes by that I don't consciously remind myself of the changes that have occurred in her little life span, changes that most adults have not endured in all of their many years of life.  
When most two year olds are exploding with their vocabulary, our sweet Chapman is learning an entirely different language.  Where we used to hear her sweet voice speak in Chinese phrases or words, those tones are now gone as she begins to put English words to her lips.  
Choosy food eaters as most toddlers are, she is not - she has never had so many choices in food.  
Two months home and she knows who her mommy is and she is not always fond of sharing me with her sisters - though it is tricky to handle, this "jealousy" is soo good.  When she sees me or Ryan, she will run with her eyes wide open, shouting, "Mama! Mama!" grinning from ear to ear with her hands reaching out to us.....she knows we adore her and love to hold her in our arms.
She hesitates when strangers approach, even the kid-sized strangers.
She can cry like no other yet she knows when enough is enough.
She prays.  
For the first few weeks, she would cry out as we said our mealtime prayers - I mean, why would your parents place your food right in front of you only to make you wait?!  But practice makes perfect, and examples are good, especially when you have seven examples sitting around you with their prepared plates in front of them as they pray
And then one night I looked over and said, "Fix pretty hands, Chapman" just as I say at every meal and lo and behold she did it!  And thus her prayer life began.
Two months home is looking good on her.  
This little one is thriving and we are so thankful that we are hers forever!

Pumpkin Patch 2016

The pumpkin patch 
Our tradition is going strong
 Maryn took her job of finding the perfect pumpkin for her and Chapman to carve very seriously - there was a bit of thumping and a little eyeing of each pumpkin to be sure it was just right!
 In true Maddox form, she chose to take along a little tool to observe each stem and determine its growth lest it be too old to carve?!?!
 Maddox loves this baby!  She is always wanting to be right beside her during any new adventures!
 Chapman Mckensie, how observant you are to everything that comes in your path be it a vegetable, a person, a food, a place....all things are inspected before you don your smile.
 But that smile is so sweet and so worth waiting for.....
 and then there are the times when you just need your thumb and because it is soo cute, you will not hear us complain about this habit of choice!
 During this season of Thanks, we give thanks for YOU sweet girl, thanks that you are home forever, thanks that you have settled right into all of our hearts.
 Halloween came and though the others weren't sure of their costume until an hour before the big event, they had all been asking for weeks if you were going to wear the sweet pumpkin costume that all six of the children have worn on their first Halloween.  
 And the answer was YES, a pumpkin, albeit the cutest pumpkin in the patch was you!
 Six
The Fabulous Mix of Six
Two boys, Four girls
So thankful that our plan for our family was overruled by God's ultimate plan for our family!