Celebrating Maddox

On Saturday, April 30, my parents held a party in honor of Maddox. People that I have known since my childhood as well as folks that I have not seen in years, all gathered together to share in the love of our little girl. What a true blessing it was to have everyone present for this event.

There were not many photos that were taken. One can imagine how distracted I was :) Between talking about our new addition, chasing our newest addition and feeding our newest addition, my hands were tied. My lips, however, were moving constantly trying to get updates on those that I have not seen in so long. The mental image will be forever etched in my memory from this night of celebration. We not only celebrated Maddox, we celebrated our family!

Maddox tried her very first piece of cake. As expected, she LOVED it and wanted more and more of the icing. What a treat!

Thank you to all who came out for the evening. Every one of you has meant so much to my family - my father, mother and siblings as well as my husband and our children - and I love that you continue to support us with prayers, encouragement and love as we move through life. Thus far, it has been a wonderful journey!

Happy Birthday Pryce!

Nine years ago today, Pryce entered our world and immediately made it a better place to live. With him, he brought peace, laughter, sweetness, kindness, a way to calm others and a good friend to all whom he meets. We love this little guy with all of our hearts and we are so blessed to be able to call him our son!

Pryce loves his siblings. He and Colin are the best of buddies. He will play and play with MK. He adores Maddox and always wants to know what he can do to help with her.

Pryce inherited his mother's "planning gene." I am, by nature, a planner. I remember as a child planning out my birthday parties months in advance. Pryce is the same way. He loves a good plan. The party plan has been in place since Christmas and he was so pleased with the outcome. On Friday, Pryce had four homeschooling friends over for a campout. What a great time they all had. They made yummy ice cream sundaes, they went Snipe Hunting, they told stories until the wee hours of the evening and they had many, many Nerf war games to attend to. It was perfect boy fun!

On Saturday afternoon, Pryce invited some neighbors, some school buddies and some Boy Scout den members over for a party in our backyard. Again, Nerf wars were fought, balloon toss was a hit and a treasure hunt ended with a great surprise to take home!

Pryce's backyard crew.

The birthday sing-along.

The homeschool crew. What a great group of friends Pryce is surrounded by!

The birthday boy! Nine years old. Wow, they really do grow up way too fast!

Sisters?

Once upon a time, I worked at Gap Kids. I often opted to work on the Baby Gap side of the store. I loved helping first time parents with their special purchases or grandparents who were purchasing the perfect outfit for their latest addition to the family. I heard story after story and loved every minute of it. One day, I helped a lady who looked pregnant and she was buying a lot of pink, itty-bitty baby clothing. As she was checking out, I glanced up at her nonchalantly and asked, "Oh, when are you due?" The poor girl's eyes said it all before she even spoke. Had I paid closer attention, I would have noticed that there, right in front of her many pink clothes, was a stroller with a, her, tiny, tiny little baby girl.

Another time, I was visiting a friend and we were having dinner with several families who had adopted from China. We had only been home with MK for a short time and I knew very little about the Waiting Child program. I met a family with two adorable little girls, one was a NSN adoption, the other, a SN adoption. The mother began telling me of the child's needs and stated the care that she would need. Without a thought, I asked, "Did you know she was going to require such attention before you accepted her referral?" I did not mean any harm.

Weekly, even in China, people have approached me and asked, "Are they sisters?" The people who choose to ask do not mean harm. They also do not pay attention to what is in front of them. They are curious. If they paid attention to the scene in front of them before asking, they would take note of my very intuitive four year old, the one who does not miss a beat. You know, the one who speaks endlessly about her new baby sister. How confusing it must be to hear perfect strangers asking your mother if your new baby sister you have been praying and wishing for is really your sister.

Biologically speaking, no, they are not sisters. They were both born of different birth families and they were born in two different areas of China.

Familial speaking, yes, they are sisters. They were born of the same dream, the same parents, the same brothers. They were found and united with their forever family. They were wanted. They share the same history - they were both born to birth mothers who chose life for them, who cared enough for them to place them in a well traveled area knowing that they would be found, they both lived with foster families who gave them the best care possible until they were in our arms, they both came to us, their family, through adoption, and more importantly, through love.

When you see a family out and about with children who are of another race, please take the time to pay attention to the scene. Often, the parents do not mind the question in a private setting - I would take the time to explain to the grocer or the clerk or the attendant to tell them the miracle of adoption, the miracle of family through adoption, but not with my four year old, my eight year old, and my eleven year old in tow. Instead, hold your questions and make a kind statement about the beauty of their family.

Easter 2011

Early Easter morning.....very early Easter morning :) Two parents and four children who are most often later to church than earlier, awoke, dressed, viewed the Easter bunny goodies that were brought, ate a quick bite and jumped into the car. Over the hills and through the woods we traveled.....and we ended up in SC with cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents! What a wonderful day we all had together!

The two "Kates"....Mary-Kate and Mason-Kate are fast becoming best buddies when they are together. We are so happy for cousins!

Maddox doing her usual, exploring. This was her first trip to Gran and Pop's house. She took it all in stride, as expected, and bonded with cousin Kemp over a helping of Goldfish. Yum.

Such a sweet, sweet little face.

So happy for these two little guys in my life.

Prayers were said and a grand meal was eaten, complete with Chocolate Delight - a fav.

Gran with all of her 9 grandchildren. Gran and Pop planned such a fun, family filled day complete with church at the church I grew up in, appetizers, dinner, Easter goodies, and an Easter egg hunt for the children.

Aleigh and Pryce scored the prize eggs!

Just a swingin.....Emma, Pryce and Maddox were all full of happiness and laughter.

Our big girl on her new bike. She is quite the rider and loves her new set of wheels!

The Many Faces of Maddox

For the most part, we see laughter on her face. She is happy and loves peek-a-boo or any game of the likes. She is a gamester and always on the move looking for the next laugh.

Of course, her favorite "game" is seeing just how far she can climb up our stairs before getting caught....and always there is this look of "hahaha, look where I am!"

And Maddox loves to be the source of laughter. She is catching onto the fact that many of the boys' friends as well as MK's friends are entertained by the likes of her silliness. The sticking out of the tongue seems to be the most entertaining for all involved!

Uh-Oh....Maddox covers her mouth anytime she is hiding something or when she has just let go of something.

And then there is our sleepy Maddox. For the most part, she does get to nap in her own bed but there are the inevitable times when she has a little snooze in the car.

Not so sure what she is thinking when she does this face but she does it often and we all laugh so I am thinking she does it to make us laugh....makes sense, right?!

And then there is the mad Maddox. The Maddox that we, thankfully, do not see a lot of but nonetheless, a Maddox that does exist. I snapped this just at the right moment and her face says it all.....mad, yet sad, yet frustrated.....so stinkin cute.

The Medical Stuff

So far this week, we have tackled bloodwork, the dentist AND the ENT. Bloodwork went as smoothly as it could though we haven't gotten the results back yet. This is routine. The comparison, because there is always one, is that with MK - even the lady doing the blood draw from Maddox noted that she remembered MK, who doesn't? - I digress, MK took three trips to three different facilities when we finally ended up at the hospital where three adults as well as myself held this poor little, screaming-her-head-off soul while they TRIED to get a vein. It was literally blood, sweat and tears at its best. Maddox - one facility, lip poked out at the site of medical gloves, tears flowed openly, and the screaming began when the needle went in and continued until it came out. She sat on my lap the entire time and the draw was over, I turned her around, she placed her pitiful little head on my shoulder, clung to my neck and the screaming ceased. They took one.two.three.FOUR tubes of blood. As little as she is, I wondered if she had any left inside.

The dentist. The comparison. Actually, the girls both get a thumbs up on this one. MK, from what I do remember, handled this one well though I do believe we didn't take her until well after her palate repair due to there not being any real concerns. Maddox, well, there were concerns so off to the dentist we went. Again, she handled it well, cried at the site of the dentist and the medical gloves but overall she was a sweet little trooper and had the staff eating out of the palms of her hands by the time we made our grand exit. Maddox does have a few cavities - this we knew. She will have those filled. Even though they are baby teeth, we want to fill them so that they do not cause her any serious harm in the near future.

The ENT. I just love our ENT. He is a patient, personable man and talks to the children, plays with the children and engages them so that they are not frightened by his white coat. Love him! I took both girls. MK asked to be first so she could "show Mady not to be scared of him." She is taking her big sister role so seriously and we love seeing this quality in her. She is the only one in the family who consistently calls her Mady. We will call her Maddox but we think MK's nickname for her is a special thing for the girls to have between them. At the end of the day, Maddox's ears will not get a break until tubes are put in during her upcoming surgery. Maddox tested as having "mild hearing loss" due to fluid build up. MK had fluid in both ears and walked out of the office with a big prescription to take care of that. There were tears from Maddox during this visit as well but she snapped right out of it.

Three things I learned yesterday during our ENT visit. One, MK is a great big sister. I attribute this to "her boys" and the fact that they have doted on MK for countless hours since she joined our family. MK has soaked that attention in and is now sharing what she has witnessed with her little sister. Two, Maddox was so shut down in China. She continues to get more and more comfortable at home....she is so easygoing, so happy, so loving. Yesterday, though, I saw a glimpse of her China personality when we were in the doctor's office....she was quiet, she was scared, she wanted to sit in my lap, she turned away from the dr. when he spoke to her, she was sad. It is part of the process, part of the adjustment and she is taking it all in stride. And third, I am officially dreading her palate surgery. Seeing her so sad yesterday gave me a reality check as to the pain she is going to endure in less than three weeks. I already hurt for her.

Guizhou - Maddox's Birthplace

Guizhou, one of China's poorest and least populated provinces. The entire province is a series of plateaus, with almost no level land. High rainfall renders the terraced hillsides a luxurious green. Rivers and streams cut through fields. The water trickles down through limestone to create vast cave networks, as well as underground lakes and rivers.

Guizhou's remoteness has allowed many of China's 56 ethnic minorities to flourish here. Together, they celebrate over 1,000 festivals a year. Depending on their tribe, women will sport headdresses of finely tooled silver, bone or embroidered cloth dangling with silver charms.

Together, they celebrate over 1,000 festivals each year. Festivals are a time to practice traditions thousands of years old - from bullfights to horse races, from flute playing to singing, from operas to down-home singing, from batik dyeing to elaborate mass gatherings where young people come to find a husband or wife.