What's really going on Here...

We have completed our first week of school. It only took till Friday for me (Mom) to threaten to put them in uniforms if the morning routine didn't soon become "routine". I am "really looking forward to getting three girls ready for school one day"...yeah right!

Bax has decided that third grade "Isn't sooo scary". The teacher "isn't the mean one she thought she had".

Blaise (as of today) "is going to be the principle of the whole school when she grows up." Na and I are not surprised by this considering at this point in her life the principle is the person of highest authority. She also loves school and has many new friends (none of which she knows the names of yet) just "that girl".

Baelin is still looking for her Sissy's during the day. She fell asleep on my bed looking at a book today. She has not gotten quite accustom to getting up early to take the big girls to school.

Yesterday was fifth Sunday so no PM service. All the Travis boys and there families went to Paw Paw Gary's house after church for grilled chicken and fried rice. The step- siblings were there and we had a great time catching up. The kids had fun in the chilly 84 degree pool. Na took his diving gear. By the end of the day Blaise went from not wanting to get her face wet to buddy breathing on the bottom of the pool with her Daddy.

I wondered how long it would be before the large empty space where Momma Judy should be wouldn't seem so large and so empty. It will take your breath away at times. When you least expect it. I sure wish she could be here to see Baelin and to watch her grand babies get older and grow in maturity and knowledge. She would be so proud of all of them. Between our family, and that of Na's step dad's family, mamma Judy had 4 boys, 1 daughter, One Son in Law, 4 Daughter in Laws, and 8 Grandchildren to watch over on any given day around the pool. She would take her post on the porch over looking it all and just sit and wait for the grand kids to need her. She waited on them hand and foot and they loved her for it. It was their favorite place to go, and although it still is there is just an empty chair where Mom use to be. It is hard to swallow sometimes but we take comfort in the memories she gave us.

Baelin , Blaise, and Baxley can teach us so much some time. They are never sad about Grandma not being there they just start in with "remeber when grandma....." and then laugh. That is how she would want it. That is how we get through.

We are looking forward to the many wonderful years ahead and the many adventures school will bring us this year!

Birthday's and Starting School

We had the "Big girls" Birthday party on the 15th. Nothing like real pony rides in your own front yard. Well maybe, nothing like Blaise dressed in her purple sun dress, pink "cow boots", and "princess cow hat" and pony rides in your front yard.
Yep Baxley is 8 and headed to the third grade. She "don't want to go because it is going to be hard", but wants to go "because I get to learn how to write in cursive". Such is the deli ma. She is getting so big, not just in stature but in her thinking and actions. Making her bed, cleaning her room, helping Blaise do all of the above just like I was helping her last month.
Blaise turned 5 and is kindergarten bound, look out MA Hardin Elementary, your new principle hasn't seen anything yet. She also is climbing on up the maturity ladder. Chocolate milk is still her drug of choice, and she still finds her way to our bed most nights. "Baxley is asleep, I am not lying, and now I can't sleep by myself" Who can say no to that? As I am typing this she is "fixing" her new pony's hair while singing at the top of her voice the songs she learned in " big kid church" this morning.
Both girls are having trouble deciding what extracurricular activity to pick for the year. Dance, gymnastics, cheer, karate are some of the leading contenders, but time is ticking and no final decisions yet. I have added a new app to my I phone that has a color coded calendar that I am sure to put to good use with two girls in school.
Baelin actually rode a pony and liked it. Yes, we were all surprised. I just wanted her picture on one, but she let them ride her all around the yard. We are wondering how she will handle being home alone with "Sissy" at school. Maybe, with out her interpreters present she may learn to talk for herself.
I am looking forward to a new chapter in life as the big girls go to school, and Babe has a little time alone to adjust to her life with us. I thank God everyday that He gave me Na to navigate these (for us) uncharted waters of parenthood. I am truly blessed to have him on my team.

Never too old for a "teachable moment"...

I know we haven't really been using this Blog very well, but I do want to change that so here is my second post in a week.
I had a "teachable moment" today with God. Maybe I should say God had a "teachable moment" with me. I know there are probably a lot of these moments that I have that go relatively unnoticed by myself, but this one was right in my face. I love that about God. I wish they were all this evident. So here it is....Jami, "practice what you preach"!!! When Baxley started school we requested, in writing her Kindergarten teacher, and I think we did her first grade teacher , too. Truthfully, I always felt a twinge of guilt about doing it. I felt like I didn't trust God to put her in the class that He wanted her in. So last year I didn't do it.
Well, Blaise starts Kindergarten this year, and we didn't request her teacher. I prayed for God to put her where He thought she needed to be. The class lists were posted today, and she did not get the teacher that I wanted. Well, my first reaction was to to pout and whine and throw a temper tantrum. All of the things that I have punished my girls for going all week. You want to know what God did, He reminded me of a conversation that I had with a friend a few weeks ago. This friend is going through some stuff right now, and I was trying to encourage her. I told her that she had to let go of all the pieces of her life before God could put it together like it was meant to be. Now, when I was talking to her I was amazed at the words as they came to me. It was definitely not my doing, the Holy Spirit helped A LOT. So today in the mist of my fit I heard "you prayed for Me to put her where she needed to be..."
I want so much for God to be in control of my life, and the girls lives, and Na's life, but I was reminded of just how hard it is to let go of everything. I am very thankful for these teachable moments. They show me just how much God loves me, and wants me to grow in to dependence. So, I will try to "practice what I preach"....and look forward to many more teachable moments this year.
BTW Baxley got one of the teachers that I had this year.

"Six months...Really?...Are you kidding me?"

“Six Months…really?...Are you kidding me?”

That is exactly how I feel when I think about the fact that we were handed our “China Baby” six months ago. The past six months have been: a blur, overwhelming, wonderful, sad, happy, great, terrible, very slow, and absolutely nothing like I had imagined since we started this journey. However, I am most confident that they have been everything God had intended them to be.

Gotcha Day

“How is she doing?” Oh, if only I had a dime for every time I get asked that question.

So, how IS she doing?

Well, the Mommy who has raised a couple of other two year old’s thinks that she is a pretty typical two year old. She is a picky eater, she plays well alone and with others (when she wants to), she likes to sleep in her crib (unlike her sisters), she hates to have her hair washed, is pretty good about letting us brush her teeth, and gets upset when we don’t know what she wants.

The fist time Mommy of a two year old who: was abandoned by her mother at 3 months old, raised in foster care until she was a year old, was then put in an orphanage until she was two, and then handed over to two people who look nothing like anyone she had ever seen before, put on a plane and has spent the last six months in completely unfamiliar territory, thinks she is doing remarkably well.

6 months

No, I don’t think she is completely convinced that we are not going to give her to someone else, yet. No, I don’t feel like she is as bonded as she will be. No, I don’t think she completely trusts us yet, but why should she. I actually admire her independence and her fighting spirit, maybe she is a little like her “Momma.”

Yes, I think she feels safe with us. Safe enough to test boundaries (aka temper tantrums). Yes, I thinks she loves our “orphanage” but, you can’t beat only two other kids who cater to your every want. Yes, I believe that there will come a time when deep down in her soul she will know that I am Momma and Na is Daddy and that she is the little sister.

“How are the other girls?” “What do the other girls think of her?” These are also two of my favorite questions.

The “other girls” are the most amazing “big sisters” I have ever witnessed. Bax has always been the best big sister I have ever known. She has taken on another little sister like there was nothing to it. I sometimes think “If I was just half the Mom that she is sister …”

She is my learning curve as a Mom and I am blessed to have her as my first daughter. She is about to enter the 3^rd grade. She went to church camp for the first time this summer. She is the only kid I know whose favorite TV shows are: How it’s made, Dirty jobs, and anything on Animal Planet.

Blaise is a great little and big sister. She will play with Baelin and calm her when she is upset. She already admires Baxley, and “I just like Bax’s clothes better” has already started. Na and I often say,”One day Blaise will rule a small or maybe medium sized country.” She will be starting kindergarten this year. She is very excited and tells me to “zip it” when I talk about keeping her home because I don’t want her to leave me.

When I was pregnant with Blaise I prayed fervently against jealousy and envy, and for a deep love to develop between the girls. I can say that God has definitely granted my request.

When we started this adoption process I started praying the same prayer. Again, God has answered my prayer.

I have learned so much about God, myself, relationships, faith, trust, obedience, and love in the past six months. …..”it aint about how fast you get there, or what’s waiting on the other side, it’s the climb”.