The Joy of Raising GirlS

My KateLin is such a girlie girl. She loves to fix hair, do nails, and dress up. For this type girl we prayed, after raising boys for 9 years...we soo wanted a girly girl. We got it too. She decided the other night that she wanted to fix my hair. Anyone that knows me knows I'm a freak about my hair. Never the less, I succumbed to her request. Moments later a masterpiece was created. Complete with bows, ponytail holders and clips...my over the top girlie girl did my hair up right. LOL. I was plum beautimoussss. I had to post pics on fb just so everyone could see her hard work. We giggled and laughed and of course we had to have a repeat offense the next night too. I mean, hair like that is really hard to come by. HA! Times like these make me really appreciate the fact that if I hadn't been sensitive to the needs of children around the world, I would have surely missed out on this GREAT blessing of a girlie girl.

We chose China because the little girls are mostly the gender that gets left to be found. They are the least desired sex. Boys are preferred because in their culture the boys take care of the parents in old age...like a social security system. Girls marry and go to live with the man's family. In our culture, it's hard to imagine this mentality. Girls and boys both are equally desired sexes. While waiting to adopt I read lots of literature about the reasons in which these kids are left to be found. The stories were horrible, about ultrasounds being done to check a childs sex as late the seventh month of pregnancy so an abortion could be performed if the child wasn't a boy. Many babies are murdered after being born, smothered in ashes for example. It sends chills to my core, and brings tears to my eyes. I am thankful every single day that KateLin's birthmother chose life for her. As hard as it would be to bundle a baby up and leave her to be found....still she chose life for her.

I will never sugar coat KateLin's beginnings with half truths or misconceptions. On nights that she is fixing my hair....I stop for moments to really marvel at how God planned her life to be so much more than her beginning started out. She is full of life and fun and giggles. Sugar and Spice and everything Nice...and even Sassy. That southern accent is outta place in her little Chinese body...but it makes her unique and Crazy and so much Fun. Y'all would really have to meet her to appreciate her personality. Of course, you could also make a hair appointment and tip the lil Princess too. WE promise to give the proceeds to another family bringing home another lil Princess this summer from China. Our travel mates (for Caragan's adoption) are adopting again....another E. They will add Eliza Kate prayerfully this summer. They already have Enick and Elijah that they adopted when we adopted Caragan...and Emili Su that they adopted just a year prior. Eliza Kate will be their seventh child. We are really excited for them and can't wait to follow their journey back to China. Pssst...don't tell!! but we got a glimpse and she's gorgeous....fingers and toes crossed that all processes go quick!!

Counting My Blessings....One, Two, Three, Four

I had some time to catch up on reading some of favorite adoption blogs this morning. It used to my favorite pasttime while waiting for KateLin and Caragan. It became a hobby, sharing in the joys as well as the tribulations that other families were going through, while raising many kids. It always amaZes me though, the common thread that binds us together. The fact that we chose to adopt. Today, I needed a reminder of how far we've come and how God's hand has always been in it...every step of the way. I truly believe that we are all placed in one another's lives for a specific plan or purpose. Sometimes that plan or purpose is really evident, right off the bat, sometimes it takes years to really discover...WHY?

Raising four certainly has it's challenges day to day. Dealing with teenagers is never dull, for sure. LOL. Dealing with an adopted teenager that is finally starting to trust her surroundings enough to test you, is another issue altogether. It's refreshing knowing she's getting that comfortable here. I can honestly say that...for every hardship there's an equal blessing. I realize daily that life would not be near as sweet without all four of my kids. Each brings excitement, triumphs, joy and happiness to my life. I am thankful for the winding road that lead me to China twice...because I know that that was exactly the path that God would have us take. Life truly isn't about us...it's about helping others, making a difference in other's lives that we have the ability to touch. It's in raising two sweet boys and two sweet girls. I will never be a RICH individual if you check my bank account, but my cup runneth over with love and happiness because of my four kiddos. That is far greater than any amount of money I could ever possibly possess.

ScareD

Caragan had to sign up for her High School classes this week. Hard to believe I will have a child in High School next year, but I will. She was terrified at the thought of changing schools. It seemed a little crazy to me. This child has been through so much in her short life. I mean, think about it...she was in dance school which was like a boarding school where she went for weeks at the time and lived there. It was a rigorous curriculum from what we know. She moved to America with these 5 strangers, not really knowing fully what was in store. She did all this out of choice...although some days I wonder if it was really a choice as much as she felt a necessity for survival. She honestly thought she'd never get to speak to her family there again...her biological aunt, and cousin. All she had was a Moma, on adoption day that kept telling her "it's going to be okay" as tears streamed down her face while we walked away from the life she had known. I think looking back, she had to be devastated to get on that plane to leave China...because I know how scared she is of new things now. So, YES, my child that has been through all of this and managed to still be happy is terrified of High School. She can't tell me exactly why...other than it's a change. I guess we all begin to trust in environments that are consistently the same. This environment is going to be different. I tried to explain that it will be more freedom and more activities that will be fun. I guess even freedom can be scary if you used to NONE. I think she's scared of making mistakes....because she was used to NO TOLERANCE. Break a vase and the world seems to come crashing down around you. Oh My Goodness, if anyone knows me at all, I am very, extremely tolerant of accidents. She's not used to that. I wouldn't want to try new things either if I was scared that my world would come crashing down around me if I didn't always perform perfectly every time. I am working on making her understand that it's okay to be scared of new things, but it's not okay just not to face whatever is in store because of being scared. It's also okay to make mistakes, but the important thing is we have to grow and learn from the mistakes we make. We are growing together and I am so thankful this child had a great foundation to build on. She is a great kid, and I love her so much.