Some bumps in the road

We have had some wonderful weeks of Fall.  The weather is cooling down some, the trees are beautiful and the mountains are getting snow.  Beautiful for sure.  The kids have jumped into school and are doing well for the most part.  We have our struggles with the ones learning to read and write.  Katy is loving school and making many friends.  She just wants to do everything that all the other kids do in the class.  The only problem is she has only been here 6 months.  She is a perfectionist and she has no time for not getting things just right.  She is learning and growing in many ways.  For instance....when someone bumps into you, you don't grab their finger and twist.  That isn't a very good way to make and keep friends.  Also, when you talk and disrupt class your mom and teacher WILL talk and then you may just find yourself....well....in a little trouble.  She learns quickly and so wants to do it all like she should.  We love her more everyday.  She has definately spiced up our lives.  We were missing something in our family and she was it.  DRAMA.  It has been interesting to say the least.  Katy has a full understanding of her life in China and why she was where she was....without a family.  I mentioned  how she wants everything to be perfect and with that she wants herself to be perfect.  Well, I think she would just settle for no physical problems at this point.  She gets so sad asking why God made her with something that will affect her and be hard the rest of her life.  It is so difficult to try and help her through that and give her strength to know it will all be ok.  One of those pieces of adoption that you really don't think too much about and when you are faced with it you then turn around and wonder why also.

Now for the bump that hit our family this week.  I was having a wonderful Wednesday when my phone rang with a call from school.  The principal was calm as he was telling how MeiLi fell from the monkey bars and broke her arm or shoulder.  She couldn't move it so they had call 911.  Ok, I was there in less than a minute.  I ran to the playground to see her laying in the ground with DonLi and Ellie crying their eyes out over the top of her.  MeiLi was screaming in pain.  One look at her arm that was no longer looking like an arm and I knew it was broken really bad.  The ambulance came and starting an IV an gave her pain meds just so they could move her.  It felt like a lifetime on that ground.  Praying and trying to calm her down.  We were off in an ambulance to Childrens hospital.  I called Scott and firmly said, "you have to come now!"  He sometimes gets the choice on whether to join me for a kids activity, and I knew he was giving a talk to a bunch of Dr's but it was no choice this time and we later laughed at how I said it.  MeiLi had surgery Thurs. morning to pin her arm back together and then we moved on with life again.  We felt so blessed through it all.  Within an hr 3 or more people brought food to our house.  The next day gifts and many cards from school came home with the kids.  MeiLi is loved and there are many, many kind people that go to our school.  Completely wonderful.  I wouldn't recommend braking an arm but to be able to see such kindness was wonderful.
As MeiLi lay in pain and was moved around she didn't want to let go of me.  She needed to know I was there and going to where she was going.  I just have to say that I feel so blessed and fortunate to be her Mama.  I thank God with all that is in me for bringing her to our family.  He showed us more than a little girl with a facial deformity.  There is a very good chance had we not heard God's voice that we were to go get her that she may have never gotten a family.  We made the decision to adopt her without even knowing all that was wrong with her.  WE just knew she was our daughter.  People might ask how we would know something like that.  The first time we saw MeiLi was while we were waiting to go get DonLi.  I was looking through photos of kids in that orphanage.  This is the first time we saw her.  She is on the left.

I remember the first time we saw this picture we said, wow, I wonder what is wrong with that little boy.  As we waited longer we continued to find pictures with her in them.  When we traveled to get DonLi we were able to visit these little children.  I wanted to hug them all.  I tried but they really didn't like that since they had never really been hugged before.  I remember praying for MeiLi that God would send her a family.  I knew it would be difficult for a family to step out and adopt a child that didn't look like other kids.  Scott hugged her and this is the photo we have of that moment.

Now don't give us too much credit here.  Scott is hugging her like a daddy hugs his precious child but not once through that day did we think we were to be her family.  Not until a yr later this photo arrived from a family that was visiting the kids.

Ok then.  My first thought was "Oh wow, she is a girl" and then came the small voice.  This is your daughter.  I want you to go and get her.  I sat there and cried because it was so clear.  I emailed the photo to Scott.  His first words back were, "we need to find out if she is getting a family"  The rest is history besides our fight to get her file so we could adopt her.  It took much persistence but she was our daughter and we had to do whatever we needed to do.  Yes there were many times as we waited to travel for her that I wondered what we had in store for us.  Little did I know that she would be one of the highlights in my life and every life that she touched along the way.  She is perfect in every way.  Yes, she is a little wide set and crooked here and there but her precious smile and beautiful heart is like none other.  Like I said, I am VERY blessed to be her mother.  Oh and by the way.  The name MeiLi means beautiful.  Perfect for such a wonderful little girl.

We love you sweet MeiLi.