Brizzi Family News

Call me pitiful

2010-04-08T13:01:00.003-04:00

Catching up on other folks blogs has shown me how pitiful I am when it comes to updating these blogs. I so enjoy checking out your blogs. Please don't give up on me.

On another note...what do you think about a Brizzi baby? For some reason, it came out of my mouth to Frank what he thought about it. I must be crazy. a 45.5 year old lady wanting a baby.

I thought that I was over this. Who knows? Only God does.

Have a great day!

The First Snow in Maryland

2009-12-12T20:08:00.006-05:00

Last week-end there was snow and Amelia's first time to play in the snow. Needlesstosay, I stayed inside and took pcitures. She really enjoyed herself. (Gabrielle, Gabrielle and Amelia and Amelia)

Flashbacks

2009-12-12T19:39:00.005-05:00

Celebrating my friend's 50th birthday party, it was a blast. The first pic is Dominic with a few of his friends, Gabrielle and Aunt Trudy, me and the birthday girl, Frank and me and me. We had an awesome time. It was a 50's-80's party. We danced all night long. I couldn't move the next day but is was well worth it. I felt like I was in my 20's again.

China Sisters (Pictures Added this time LOL)

2009-12-05T17:46:00.003-05:00

Mary-Kim, Hope-Elizabeth, and Amelia-Grace. A few pics of Emily-Elizabeth and Vickie. At the picnic we have Karen's daughter, Gracie-Mei, Amelia-Grace and Emily-Elizabeth. Just hanging out at home and at the picnic in October.

America World Reunion and Wedding

2009-12-05T17:36:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful time in October at Amyn and Lineker's wedding in Virgina. Vicki, Hao, Mary Kim (adopted in 2005 with Hope) and Emily Elizabeth (adopted in 2009 with Amelia) came from New Jersey and stayed with us.

They are a wonderful family. We enjoyed remembering both trips to China that we took together and look forward to getting together again soon and returning to China in the future.

Hope and Mary-Kim saw each other for the first time since 2005. Whe we brought them home from China, they were only 1 year old and now they are 5. They had a wonderful time playing together.

We were able to see other friends also, the Huey's, the Marrone's and the Benton's. Even though it was freezing cold, it was great to see everyone.

October/November Happenings

2009-12-05T17:27:00.003-05:00

Dominic went to the Homecoming Dance, Frank and Hope went to the Pumpkin Patch. We also celebrated Hunter's 14th birthday. Hope had her cheerleading competition of which I was one of the coaches. We won first place!!!!!! Go Waldorf Wildcats!

Amelia, a cheerleader in the making.

Happy October Birthday's to Frank and Amelia

2009-12-05T17:17:00.000-05:00

Celebrate good times....

2009-10-28T12:18:00.003-04:00

Well, I am here and still alive LOL. I just realized the other day that I had not updated this thing in 3 months. Shame on me. I apologize for those who do keep up with the crazy Brizzi Family.

We have been busy but I wanted to acknowledge a few birthdays for this month. On October 11, we celebrated Frank's birthday. I surprised him by getting rid of the kids for the night. I took him to Outback Steakhouse and then we came home and had the whole house to our selves:). I have wanted to express how much I love and care about Frank for so long and have now found the time to do it.

From the day I first met Frank, I knew that I loved him and he, loved me back for who I was. He has always put his family and God first. He has sacrificed a lot of his own self and desires for our family and for that, I am very grateful. I really do not know where I would be without him and God in my life. Thank you honey for loving me as I am and where I am in this life. I love you and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.

TODAY, is Amelia's 3rd birthday. I can hardly believe it. We don't have much planned as I am so busy with work, cheerleading, parenting and being a wife. I did find time to go out on Monday evening and by her a few gifts. We will have cake tonight after I take my mid-term (oh yeah, I am in school too- crazy woman). Happy Birthday babycakes. We look forward to celebrating many firsts with you this year and are so blessed to have you home with us. We love you more than words.

Pictures to follow.... Love to all my followers.

For TONYA LOL

2009-07-10T22:01:00.003-04:00

Amelia at a birthday party in May.

Amelia and her oldest big sister, Gabrielle in July.

Amelia helping daddy plant flowers in May.

Amelia, with one of her big sisters Hope-Elizabeth and their friend Raia who is also from China. Home now 1 year and a few month. Raia and her siblings spent the night before they moved away to TN in early June.

Amelia at Hope's Pre-K picnic in June.

Slacker

2009-07-07T08:27:00.002-04:00

Hi guys, well its been a while. Too long I must say. I have been so bad about keeping us with this thing but want so badly to keep you updated on our family and how Amelia is doing. I want to do a better job of this. I want to be like Tonya T. when I grow up, she is so good about keeping us updated on Matti.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we are still here, just very busy. Too busy in fact. I will post pics soon. Amelia is doing very well! More to come about her later. Don't give up on me and please do keep checking in. Love to you all!

its been awhile.............

2009-05-17T21:21:00.003-04:00

As you can see we have been very busy, Djuna back at work and kids playing soccer and football.... We re doing well just very busy.

Amelia is recovered, thank the Lord that is over with, she can eat anything and drink from a straw. Dominic went to his prom Friday, we will post pictures soon..

Evaluation Day UPDATE!!!

2009-04-22T21:57:00.002-04:00

God is good! I took the day off to meet with the folks from the Infant and Toddler Program. They came to the house at about 10:30 for what was suppose to be a 2.5 hour visit. They were done in 1.5 hours.

Amelia did very well with imitating and following directions. They were very impressed especially since she has only been home 3 months. Teaching her sign language was the best thing that I could have done. She is able to communicate very well in that way.

After the visit they said that she needed to see a speech therapist within 1 month. Of course I have only been working 5 weeks and hated to have to take another day off of work but would do it if I had to. Having said that, I told them that I would be willing to drive to their office that day if they could get me in to see the speech therapist.

Thirty minutes after they left, they told me that they had a 2 o'clock appointment. I swooped Amelia up and put her down for a quick nap. At 1:40, we were on our way. I am so thankful that God made a way for this to happen. He even worked it out so that the therapist will go to my sitter's house once a week for 30 minutes to work with Amelia. Can you beat that! This is great because they don't have evening appointments and I don't get home until 6:00 pm.

The therapist did really well with Amelia and she seemed to like her (Amelia) alot. I couldn't have asked for a better turnout and thank God for working in our lives. Amelia really needs speech and God provided this service for us and for that, I am grateful.

For those of you out there who have a child struggling with speech, know that God will work it out and change will come. Amelia is already making sounds and imitating what she learned yesterday. Be encouraged! Love to you all

Evaluation Day!

2009-04-20T09:32:00.003-04:00

Today, Amelia will have a visit from the infant and toddler program in our county. They will evaluate her playtime and speech. Will let you know how that goes. Really the only concern we have is with her speech.

We are hoping to get her into a speech program. I tell you the yelping sound she makes to speak with us is getting really old. She is so smart, however not being able to talk is very frustrating for us all. But God will see us through. I will update you after the visit.

Checkin In

2009-04-13T08:32:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone,

Hoping that you had a glorious Easter! We enjoyed a day with family and friends. I have not kept my promise of updating weekly so, as I sit at the office while it's slow I wanted to touch base.

We are still adjusting to this crazy schedule and my not being home. You all know where my heart is and it's not here :). But, I am thankful still to have this job while so many are losing their's.

I'm not the most exciting blogger but share what is on my heart (when I do post LOL). I thank God for my family and friends and how He is shaping and molding my family. God is the center of my joy and peace and I thank Him for that. The strength He gives me while I worship is amazing! Easter brings so much joy into our hearts as we think of our RISEN Savior.

As we ponder His love for us let us in everything we do worship Him; our Creature, Provider, Healer, Prince of Peace and Lord of Lords so that all may see and ask why are we so different. After all, we were made to worship.

Enjoy your day and worship Him.

Flashback to January 2009

2009-03-30T21:07:00.003-04:00

That's one handsome warrior!

Dominic, Amelia and Djuna

Our trip to medical. What fun!

Vicki and Mike. We were in China with them in 2005.

Lynn playing with the monkey's. Frank thinks she 's crazy! :)

Hi guys, its been a while since I posted but I hope that everyone is well. I went back to work full-time on March 16th after 8 years as a SAHM. Wow, I can hardly believe it. But God's peace and strength has covered me.

Since coming home from China as you know, Amelia had her cleft lip/nose revision and palate repair surgery. She is doing well considering she has fallen 3 times on her face. It was hard going to work just 2 weeks after but God really helped prepare me and Dominic and Hunter have really stepped up with helping out; getting Gabrielle and Hope off to school each day. We couldn't do this withou them. All the while, they are still homeschooled.

We really miss so many of you that we travelled with and hope our paths cross again. Amelia has really blossomed over the last few months. She really fits in well with our family too. Believe it or not, Frank talked about adopting again after being home only 2 weeks. Let's just say, the look I gave him was not one of excitement after having done this trip and facing surgery with Amelia that was the last thing that I wanted to hear. Who knows what God has in store.

For those of you who have been checking in with us lately, please forgive me the last 3 weeks have been crazy. My goal is to update weekly if not daily on life at the Brizzi home. Please keep checking in. I hope to learn how to upload more pics because we have a lot of great ones of the kids.

Dominic and Hunter start flag football this week. Frank will coach Dominic's team. Gabrielle has her first spring soccer game so hopefully those will be the first pictures that we upload on my journey to keeping this blog current LOL.

Well, gotta run, talk with you later!

Pictures - Amelia after surgery, snow the day of surgery and more

2009-03-14T13:07:00.004-04:00

Music to her ears....PART II - See video

2009-03-14T12:33:00.005-04:00

We played a cd of Chinese nursery ryhmes and Amelia recognized the songs and danced and Mommy cried.....

(Hint: mute or pause the music at the bottom of page to listen)

Amelia is home...

2009-03-06T20:49:00.002-05:00

Amelia came home Wednesday, she is doing well. She is not able to eat anything except jello and liquids. She is constantly asking for food. Poor thing.

We have a follow-up appointment next Wednesday at which time stitches will be removed from lip. I am so hoping that they give her the go ahead to eat soft foods.

Here's something funny that happened the first night we were home. Amelia has to wear these restraints (No-No's) on her arms so that she won't put her fingers in her mouth. Well, we put her to bed Wednesday night and when we went to bed, she had taken them off, through them out of the crib and took her legs out of her pajamas. She has never liked having her feet or legs covered. Now, everytime we put her to bed, she has taken the restrains off.

Most of the kids signed the No-No's but not Dominic. Amelia took one of them off and handed it to him to sign. The girl is a trip. We are amazed at how well she is doing since surgery. I must say that I am happy that this part of the journey is over.

Not feeling well myself today but wanted to give an update.

Amelia's Surgery

2009-03-03T11:09:00.002-05:00

Amelia's surgery went great, Praise the Lord! She was in for about 2.5 hours. She was moved to ICU (normal procedure) and will probably come home tommorow. Mom stayed at the hospital with her last night and told me Amelia slept through the night.
She was sitting on Mom's lap from 7am to about 11. She wants her Mommy all the time and Mommy hasn't eaten or had coffee yet...

Me and the other kids will go for a visit this afternoon.
Thanks for your prayers.

Music to HER ears

2009-02-28T10:21:00.002-05:00

Last week we expereinced the most beautiful thing with Amelia. The family was just hanging out in the living room and Frank decided to put a CD in that we bought from China. The songs on the CD are popular children's songs sung in Mandarin.

Well, as soon as he pushed play, Amelia lit up and began doing this dance that she must have learned at the orphanage. I completely broke down. The kids looked at me like I was crazy. It was the most precious thing to see. She remembered the music! How amazing after being home a month. We will definitely keep China and its culture as a part of both Amelia and Hope's lives. Especially after seeing and sharing this moment together it is so important to do so.

Hope that everyone is having a great week!

Pictures and updates

2009-02-16T13:11:00.005-05:00

Today Mommy is not feeling well and I am doing the taxes so I am not feeling well. There are seven kids in the house today, Hunter and Gabrielle had friends stay over. After getting them to do the dishes and vacuum some are playing guitar hero, some are dressing the baby and some are outside on tramploine and riding skateboards (actually sounds like someone is riding the skateboard in the house). This is a typical day in our house, chaos, noise, kids wanting to go to mall, I'm bored, can I ride to the next neighborhood?, baby's diaper is dirty etc etc etc... I would not change it for the world! The sounds of life.

God has blessed us tremendously and we are thankful! Djuna has asked that I mention that Amelia is blending in real well and has won over everyone's heart. We went to the drs last week and met a team of cranio-facial doctors. They thought she was doing great and we met the surgeon and she scheduled for surgery on March 2, 2009. There is alot more to this than I expected but God will work it out, He always does.

Home and getting settled......

2009-02-09T21:06:00.003-05:00

Playing hiding go seek right now, I am supposed to be counting, wanted to post this picture of our whole family... Gabrielle turned 10 over the weekend, wow 10 years old. Here is a picture of Amelia with my Dad.

Our First Week

2009-01-31T09:19:00.002-05:00

Hello there, we have been home one week now which is hard to believe. We are sitting by the fire with the girls checking out our friend's blog who is in China right now. Their daughter Matti (Yuanqing) is from the same orphanage as Amelia (Huanqing). Looking at the pictures on her blog is crazy because we were just there.

The group that is in China now will meet their children on Monday, February 2. Our prayers are with them as they meet them.

Amelia is doing great! She has bonded very well with all of the kids. Yesterday I had my first trip out of the house with her to Target. Frank took her to the movie store on Tuesday. She was so excited seeing all the toys. It was fun to watch her.

We are still struggling with jetlag and Frank and I have colds. I hope that this is over soon I have to much to get done and being rundown does not help me at all.

I am so glad to be home. It was a long trip but well worth it.

We made it home!!!!!

2009-01-25T08:14:00.002-05:00

All I can say is thank God me made it home. Our flight home was interesting. Turbulence was so bad at one point that the pilot got on the loud speaker and said, "flight attendants down". It was a little scary especially standing up holding the baby and feeling like the plane dropped thousands of feet. Whew, it was crazy. Folks were laying all over the floor because they couldn't make it back to their seats. Frank included. He was holding onto the wall, telling me to sit down. The flight attendants assured us that we were safe just dodging potholes in the sky.

It was really a rough flight but thank God, we made it. That was my prayer; please God, let us make it home. Amelia did pretty well on the flight. She only cried a few times but slept most of the way home. Much different from when we brought Hope home in 2005. She wouldn't sleep, had double-ear infections we found out later. By the grace of God, we made it home and it wasn't to painful. Time seemed to fly by which was good. We sat at the very back of the plane which made for extra room to stretch and stand up. We managed to get two passengers to switch seats with Dom and Frank so that we could all sit together.

We made the flight from Chicago to VA by the hair on our chinny chin chins. Two hours was not enought time to make it through customs to our flight but again, God saw us through. I was getting a little nervous about missing our flight and to top it off, security asked to check the babies juice and food. They did not seem to be on the same time crunch as us. The guy in customs took his sweet little time getting 11 families through customs. I tried to remain optimistic but by the time I got to security and the guy asked to test the liquid in Amelia's cup, I had enough. I didn't have any time to even put my shoes on as I hurried to our gate which seemed miles away. I even had to take Amelia out of the stroller, take her coat and shoes off. Needlesstosay, I am not ready to go through that again.

I felt a breeze and Frank and Mike were running past me to the gate. Thankfully, they waited for us. We have the Montgomery's to thank because they were wating on them because their daughter needed oxygen on the flight home. They were the last ones on the plane behind us. I am so thankful that we were not bumped onto another flight.

Amelia became a US Citizen in Chicago once her little feet hit the ground. We did get a picture. After all was said and done, we were greeted by all the kids and a few families that we know. That was nice.

Amelia bonded really well with the kids and has made herself very comfortable. We are still jet lagged but hopefully in a few days we will be back on schedule. Thank you all for your prayers we really appreciate it. Please continue to pray for us as Amelia bonds with family and friends.

So Long from Guangzhou China 1/22/09

2009-01-22T08:44:00.002-05:00

Well, the end of our journey to China is upon us. It is hard to believe that we will leave the country once known to our daughter. So much has changed for both she and our family. We leave with mixed emotions but ready to be at home with our other children that we love and miss so much.

It is our desire to visit China again with our daughters Hope and Amelia and to share with them the wonderful memories that we have shared here.

Today was a fun-filled day of group photos in the lobby of the hotel, a trip to the Guanghzou Zoo which was very nice. After we returned from the zoo, it was time to visit the American Consulate. This is necessary so that we can finalize the adoption on the China side. We took an oath and after a few minutes we congratulated each other on being the parents of our children adopted from China.

There was more shopping and gathering as well as packing. We leave in the morning for the airport at 6:00 am. Bell boys just came to our room to take our luggage. It is now 9:30 pm our time. We are just about ready to go.....I guess. Long day tomorrow with a 5-6 hour layover in Shanghai :{ The only good part about this is that we will have other families with us to pass the time away.

Please pray for our flight and for Amelia she has not been feeling well the last few days and has an infection. Thankfully, we have an antibiotic that we started today. We finished up the night with dinner in the city with a few families that we have met along the way. Friendships for a lifetime, through adoption. A great time was had by all.

Dominic and a few of the youth went for their last night on the town to the local bowling alley. I think that they all had a great time here in China and experiencing life in a different way. Well, so long for now and we look forward to seeing our families and friends.

Almost over...

2009-01-22T01:51:00.002-05:00

Follow up from Djuna's Heart post

2009-01-22T01:34:00.004-05:00

We went to Shamian Island to walk around and shop yesterday. While we were there, we saw several western looking couples and we smiled and waved etc. One couple whom we have never met actually called Djuna by name and said dJuna, dJuna...Djuna looked back and said its Djuna and smiled. They were from Hawaii and recognized Djuna from her blog. It was amazing, Djuna really knows people all over the planet. We laughed and talked with them for a few minutes, Don and Brandy are here adopting a baby girl named Lily from Guangdong. They were really nice folks and they had their son with them also.

I still cannot believe it.

Djuna's Heart

2009-01-20T21:47:00.005-05:00

This is Frank, Djuna's husband, you do not see me much in the pictures because I am taking the pictures.. :)

I want to blog about Djuna, she is at breakfast with Amelia so I have a few minutes to be alone. I will start by saying my wife is an amazing woman. I have never seen her so focused and determined about anything in our lives as I have during our two adoptions of Hope and Amelia. She did ALL of the paperwork, legwork, hardwork, prayer work (I did some too) and any other work related to this adoption. I was told where to be and what to sign. Its not that I am not as committed its that she has this under complete control. As I was saying, I watch her with the families here and she is always friendly, warm and considerate of other peoples needs. Always praying for people in distress and ALWAYS pointing them to Jesus. She has made lifelong friends with many people on this trip. I'll let her blog on those folks..

She was having church in Starbucks last night here in Guangzhou China, encouraging other women in their faith. While I am typing this blog, I just got a call from Djuna telling me she is visiting another family in the hotel and offered to watch their child if they need some downtime. They are struggling a little and Djuna is there for them. My wife is truly the hands and feet of Jesus. Did I mention that she is also beautiful? Just check out some of the pictures.... I love her and thank my God for her. She literally lights up a room wherever she goes.

Watching her with Amelia is wonderful, she is so patient and gentle. You can see the love in her eyes and Amelia can also. Amelia bonded with Mom after about an hour of being with us. The bond is strong, as mentioned in previous posts, Amelia was eager to wave bye bye to her nanny's and everything she has known to be with Djuna . She is joined at the hip with Ma Ma. She does not like to be without her Ma Ma, her first words in english, (even though its the same in Chinese). She has begun to say Da Da, Ge Ge (brother) and can say other words in Chinese and english. Djuna has begun to teach her sign language and Amelia can say please and more.

We went to the Anqing orphanage (see previous posts) and Djuna asked about about a Tonya's baby Matti. They woke her from her nap and dressed her and she played with Amelia and we took several pictures for Tonya. Djuna got to hug on her and hold her for Tonya. My wife is an amazing woman with an amazing heart.

If you have never met her, you probably know someone who does. We have a little joke about Djuna, everywhere we go she knows someone, everywhere, in Bahamas in the elevator, here in China we met a family whose daughter married someone we know. They are from Indiana. Everytime we go somewhere she meets someone she knows,...WHY?.... its because she takes time to remember people and contact them and remembers intimate details about them and their family. Bottom line, she cares about people and listens. Hard to find qualities in this day and age of rush rush rush and all about me.

I have seen her call and send cards to people for years with little or no acknowledgment and she continues on. I have seen the fruit of that love over the years also. I have seen her lead people to Jesus because they knew she cared and she was there for them in there distress. She is a woman who cares about relationships, more than money, more than comfort, and more than a hectic schedule. I have seen her clear her schedule to help someone in need. Sometimes that means the dishes might get done tommorrow rather than right after dinner...if you know what I mean. I have seen her be friendly to folks who are not friendly, love people who do not seem to love her in return, and struggle with the emotions that go along with it. I have seen her love people through tough times and then watch them move on to other friends for a season.

She truly is a special lady and I am happy to be Djuna's husband. I love her more than she could ever know and she is my friend also.

Bubbles and crocodile tails....

2009-01-19T09:38:00.004-05:00

I forgot to mention in our previous post that Amelia and Mommy had fun with bubbles and Dominic and I went inside a restaurant in Shaiman Island and saw crocodile tail, FRESH CUT! The guy was actually in the process of butchering the croc...yikes. There were snakes and exotic fish, water beetles, silk worms....and alot more..sounds tasty right?

For Tonya, who will meet Matti February 2.....

2009-01-19T08:55:00.004-05:00

This is a video of Matti who is from the same orphanage in Anqing and is one of Amelia's dear friends. We watched this video with Amelia tonight and she smiled and pointed..... Thanks be to God for this awesome journey!

http://ourmattigirl.blogspot.com

Guangzhou

2009-01-19T07:14:00.003-05:00

Last night we ate at a Japanese steakhouse in the hotel. This morning we had a short time of prayer with a few families in the Cafe and today was medical examination day on Shaiman Island. It was not bad and seemed to be a much more thorough examination than in 2005. Took about an hour, not bad... Next we went shopping and went to Jordon's Place, he was here in 2005 also. He moved his store and still wants to make a deal with everyone. We went to Starbucks, YES STARBUCKS! it was sweeeet.

For dinner, several families ordered pizza from Pizza Hut, its not your normal US Pizza Hut but the pizza was good. We all ate together in the hallway on the seventh floor. There were strollers, stacking cups, water bottles, pizza boxes, soda cans and babies, lots of babies. We talked about the movie Fireproof. One of the Pastors on staff from Sherwood Baptist is adopting also and is traveling with his family and he was telling us about the behind the scenes outtakes.

After an hour or so the hotel staff came and asked us to quiet down because guests were sleeping. So we cleaned up and quietly went to our rooms. The garden at the hotel is closed because they are preparing it for the Chinese New Year celebration. The entire continent is preparing for this celebration. I am not sure I understand it but i can tell you it seems alot bigger than our typical new year celebration, This is the year of the ox.

Ok well am tired. God Bless to all!

Amelia in rare form...

2009-01-18T08:14:00.001-05:00

Guangzhou China

2009-01-18T07:38:00.004-05:00

Hello from Guangzhou China!

We are on the last leg of our 15 day trip. We arrived here yesterday around 2:00 pm after 1.5 hour flight from Anhui Province. Leaving Amelia's province was sad especially saying goodbye to our wonderful guide Amy. She was amazing and took very good care of us. Her words to me at the airport were, "I will miss you". I know that this is their job but this time was different. She really bonded with both families that she assisted while in Anhui. I am thankful that we received her e-mail which allows us to stay in touch with her.

Once we were checked into the hotel, (we stayed here in 2005) we ran next door for lunch at McDonald's. The hotel had been renovated since the last time we were here. The rooms are gorgeous.

We decided to be adventurous with 2 other families and took the subway. They were jammed packed. What we went through to eat at Pizza Hut was both fun and tiring. Especially with Amelia. She had not had a nap all day besides the fact that she screamed for 30 minutes on her first airplane ride because she did not want to be put back in the seat belt. PLEASE begin praying now for the 14 hour flight home I'm going to need it LOL. She was in rare form. I don't know where she got all the energy she had. All the bright lights and people everywhere seemed to over stimulate her. We could not believe how active and defiant she had become. Today was a better day!

We have been spending alot of time with the Marrone family. We have been with them in every city and it has been a blessing.

This morning was breakfast, a trip to a museum and the "paperwork party". This is where one member of each family comes together in our guides room to process paperwork for the American consulate so that we are able to obtain Amelia's visa which allows her to enter into the United States. It was grueling but well worth it. This was to be a time for Frank and baby girl to bond but guess what she slept for 3 hours. I could not believe it. Perhaps the rest of the week I can get out for a little alone time while they bond.

Dominic ventured out with Jordon and walked to a local park and sat out by the pool. Dominic had pizza for lunch, leftovers from last night that he decided to heat up with the hair dryer...

The weather is great, close to 80 degrees. Frank mentioned in an earlier post that we visited Amelia's orphanage well, we were able to get a few pictures of a friend's daughter who is in the same orphanage as Amelia was. She will meet her forever family on February 2. I am so happy that we were able to take photos of her and give them to her family (see photos).

Well, getting tired so I will catch you all later. Thanks for your prayers for our family.

Orphanage Visit - Zoo visit

2009-01-16T09:26:00.005-05:00

Hello all, Yesterday we went to visit the Hefei orphanage and the Wild animal zoo. It was very sad to see so many children without a home. I must say that the orphanage was much better than I expected. I really didn't know what to think but it was great to see that the nannys really cared for the children. One of the families we are traveling with, their daughter was from this orphanage and they got to see the facility as well as meet the foster Mom who had been taking care of their daughter. They got to ask her questions and see where she has lived and meet their daughter's foster brother. It was so sweet to see her foster brother hug her and take care of her. He got her a seat and sat with her and just held her for at least 10 minutes. They said he was deaf and could not speak, but you would have never known and I must say he was very protective of his little sis.

After the emotional visit we went to the zoo where we saw several wild animals that you could actually touch and feed. Not like our zoos back home. Dominic my brave son got on a camel, a real hairy hump back camel, he also let the peacock feed from his hand. We saw lions, tigers wolves, bears, a giant panda and a multitude of other animals. You could walk up to deer and ostrich could reach you if you weren't careful.

On a previous post we mentioned we probably would not go to Amelia's orphange, over the last few days she has bonded with Mommy especially and since we visited the Hefei orphanage we thought we did not want to miss this opportunity while being so close.

So, today we traveled to see the orphanage in Anqing city where Amelia is from. It took about two hours to get there and we got to see the country side on the way. I really like the area where she is from. There were many mountains we passed to enter the city. Reminded me of West Virginia where my Mom is from. Lots of trees!

The orphanage was much different from the one in Hefei. It was much smaller and also housed elderly folks in part of it. There was no foster care on the premises but they used foster care in the way we would back in the US. We got to see Amelia's nanny and other caretakers. They really love her and had so much fun seeing her. She understands alot more Chinese than I ever will. They told us that Amelia (Huanqing) was the oldest and took great care of the other children. if they fell she would pick them up, she shared everything with the others and is very generous, we have experienced this with her already. She shares everything and is very helpful. She is also very attached to Mommy at this point. Although Amelia was very happy to see her friends and nanny, she was very happy to leave with her Mommy! We got to see another child whose parents will be traveling to China later this month to bring her home. We took lots of pictures.

That's it for now...off to Guangzhou where its almost 80 degrees, although we are happy to be closer to coming home and seeing our wonderful children Hunter, Gabrielle and Hope, it is sad to leave where she is from, hard to explain.

It's OFFICIAL!!!

2009-01-14T06:13:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, January 13, 2009, we visited the civil affairs office. This is the same office where we met Amelia yesterday. I was a little worried about her remembering leaving her nanny and her being upset but, she did just fine. After 24 hours of being her "foster parents" she is now our daughter.

Once there, we filled out some paperwork, took a family photo (see below) and were interviewed by a notary. We were able to meet a young man from the orphanage who spent time with Amelia. He was very nice. He and his wife our expecting a baby (sex unknown). We have decided that it is not a good idea to visit the orphanage because Gotcha Day was so traumatic for Amelia. But we will visit the Hefei Orphanage with Mike and Sandy where Grace is from.

After that, we will visit the Hefei Wild Animal Zoo. Look for photos tomorrow. Our day would not have been complete without walking around the city. We went to Parkson's (very expensive). Dodging the traffic was a fun part of the day. They do not stop for anyone even babies in strollers.

The weather was not so bad and the girls did fine. We had dinner at McDonald's, saw a monkey on a chain (the monkey was on the chain as opposed to "off the chain" - Franks comment) the lots of locals from Hefei City.

Frank: I was stuck in an elevator for 15 minutes today,,,it seemed like hours. All lights went out I managed to pry the doors of the elevator open but could not get the doors to floor 12 open. Then all of a sudden it was over...... if you have ever been stuck in a dark elevator, you know what I mean.

Dominic and I went to the gym yesterday and worked out with weights and treadmill and bike. I am glad he is here. He is very helpful and funny. He pushed every button on the elevator yesterday, made some folks kind of unhappy, 28 floors....He is a great kid who I am extremely proud to be his father. God has great plans for him.

2009-01-14T05:54:00.000-05:00

UPDATE and So AMAZING

2009-01-13T11:18:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that Amelia had a great night last night. She played for a while after we finally got her out of her 3 layers of clothes plus a coat. She bonded with Frank at first. We changed her diaper, changed her clothes and she played for hours.

Finally at 9:45 pm I put her in her crib. For the first time after 4 children she didn't cry. She looked around a lot and then sat up drifting asleep. I layed her down and she slept until 7:00 am. She is not very happy when she wakes up but warms up after a while. Breakfast went well and she ate a lot of congee. Like Hope, she didn't like the highchair at all but we made her sit in it. She cried for a few minutes and then calmed down.

Here is the amazing part of our journey listed below from a previous post on our adoption website.

Adoption Agency Website Post - So Amazing

Well, if you have taken a look at our blog, you will notice something different about Amelia. Our referral stated that she had a unrepaired cleft lip and cleft palate.

Melissa Blauvelt our FC told us that there was a chance that she would be repaired. Well, you guessed it. Amelia's lip was repaired April 2008 almost one year ago. Our referral was from Oct. 2007. We had prayed for God's healing and did not even consider it coming about this way. So, now all we need to do is have her receive palate surgery.

Another amazing thing about this story is that Amelia was in the same orphanage with Tonya Torkelson's little girl Matti. Unfortunately, we did not get to travel together but what we discovered was that Amelia was present in a few of Matti's birthday party pictures at the orphange and we didn't even know it until just yesterday.

Amelia is standing right beside Matti. I am so happy about this because I wanted a picture of them together but would not have gotten one with Matti and her family because our families would travel at different times to China.

God allowed for them to be pictured together and I am overjoyed. Thank you God and thank you Tonya for sharing those pictures with me. Especially since the orphanage did not receive my package with a camera in it so I did not get pictures of her in the orphanage.
Thanks for listening and sharing our journey with us. Love you guys!
Djuna in China (from MD)

GOTCHA DAY!!!

2009-01-12T08:20:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that we have Amelia! Our day started with us arriving in Hefei City at around 9:30 am and settled in to our room at about 10:00 am. We were to meet our local guide in the lobby at 2:30 pm. All of this seemed so unreal even after such a long wait; two years and one day later since we began the process.

We settled in to our room. I took a nap and Frank loaded SKYPE on the computer so that we could show the kids and family Amelia. Dominic chilled while we waited to meet her. The hotel has a revolving restaurant on the 29th floor (Holiday Inn) so we met the Marrone Family for lunch at 12:00 pm. Count down began at 1:00. Before we knew it, it was 2:30. Frank and I got off on the wrong lobby not knowing that there were two. But, thankfully we figured it out.

The ride to the civil affairs office was only 15 minutes away. YIKES! We walked in to the building, went up to the 7th floor, down the hall and into a room. Before we got to the room, my nerves had taken over and I said, "I'm not ready". To late right.

We filled out paperwork for temporary custody, set out our gifts and waited. The nanny had not arrived yet. After a few minutes, I heard a noise in the hallway. Oh my, they were squeaky shoes. These are a type of shoe that the children wear I guess to keep track of them. Their here I said. The door opens and in comes a lady with a cute little girl all bundled up. I didn't know who she was until they said this is Huanqing. Her cheeks were really red as you will see in the photos, her hair longer than I expected and the unbelievable part is that her unrepaired lip is repaired. They did surgery on her lip April 2008 almost 1 year ago.

Our family coordinator told us yesterday that there was a chance that her lip could already be repaired. Wow, could it be. Frank and I felt like her lip had been repaired but, we would have to wait and see. So, needlesstosay, we were quite surprised.

Amelia didn't like either of us at first and cried pretty much the whole time we were there. Of course her nanny hanging around didn't help at all. Finally, Frank and I took over and took turns holding her as she cried. The nanny left and after about 20 minutes or so , we got to ask several questions before she left. Then we left also. She began to calm down and didn't cry anymore all the way to the hotel. She sat with Frank the whole time.

Once we got to the room, Frank held her for a while with all of her clothes on (3 layers). After a little bit of fussing, we took off her clothes, changed her diaper and put on pajamas. From then, on I kept my distance a bit while she clung to Frank, eased my way in and we have been inseperable since. She likes both of us now. Praise the Lord! We prayed peace over her at the civil affairs office and God has blessed us once again. She is truly amazing and smart as a whip.

Continue to pray for us during this week as she transitions. Hopefully bedtime will be a breeze.

Djuna

She is sitting in her crib watching Djuna prepare for bed. My guess is she will end up in our bed. Frank

Monday - The BIG DAY!

2009-01-12T04:25:00.001-05:00

GOTCHA DAY!!!!

So long from Beijing -

It is 4:30 am here in Beijing and we will be leaving for the airport at 5:30. I got up at 4:00 am with the wake-up call promptly so we would not be late for the airport. Yesterday, we got ready with only 45 minutes to spare because they do not have snooze buttons here :). This day is to important to miss.

Dominic and I attended the acrobatic show last night. It was amazing. My guess is that the girls perfoming, do not have spines in their backs LOL. The strength, balance and concentration was amazing. Frank stayed back at the hotel to change the money over and to rest. When we returned from the show, we found him dead asleep. I had to wake him after a while to pack. They pick your bags up outside the room to have them ready for the airport. Thankfully, we did not have to much to do. I was very tired and just wanted to go to sleep.

Dominic met a young guy (Jordon) here on the trip and they went on to the sauna for a little bit. Very relaxing he said. Jordon's dad had gallbladder surgery 3 weeks ago and on Thursday was not feeling well but made the trip any way. Saturday, he ended up going to the hospital in Beijing. We prayed for him to feel better. The tests were inconclusive so he was discharged. I think that he was to have some other tests done or go to another doc but he felt better so he will be able to join his wife and Jordon in their province to receive little Amy Joy. Praise the Lord! They think that the elbow to the side in Tokyo (10 inch cut) could have made his body respond in someway that made him not feel well. Anyway, thank God he is doing better. Please keep him in your prayers.

So far everyone is healthy and feeling good. A little tired but we're making it.

Our trip to the Great Wall was good. A little cold. I didn't go very far this time. The air was hard to breathe and I hurt my left leg below the knee so, I decided not to make the hike. Frank and Dominic made it to the 3rd tower. A little girl named Chloe (3) went pretty high. She only started to cry when her daddy said that it was time to come down. Chloe asks why and he says "daddy is scared". It was so cute. She had waited for this day for a very long time. She is from the same orphanage as Amelia in Anhui.

Well, signing off until we get to Anhui. The next post will be of Gotcha Day. Please pray for us and our first evening with Amelia. Thanks!

Sunday

2009-01-11T08:30:00.004-05:00

Hi guys,

It is Sunday evening and we have had a full week-end.
Just wanted to let you all know that we will be leaving Beijing tomorrow morning at 5:30 am to head to the airport and then on to our province (Anhui). There are 22 families (3 non-special needs and 19 special needs) going to I think 8 different provinces.

We will meet Amelia sometime tomorrow so, be sure to check out the blog for updates about Gotch Day tomorrow.

Hope all is well with everyone and thank you for your prayers.

Pictures So Far

2009-01-10T15:23:00.007-05:00

What An Adventure

2009-01-10T06:52:00.003-05:00

This evenings dinner was pretty interesting. Jordan from Oregan travelling with his parents was not afraid to eat anything. Oh my I thought I would die when he ate the head of a chicken. No, I am not kidding. He even picked meat out of it that he said was the brain. Sandy is convinced that it was not chicken but pidgeon.

I was done with dinner after that. All I ate was rice, potatoes and fried pork. That was enough for me.

A few of the kids from the group, Dominic included, will head off to the pool and sauna. Frank is already asleep and I will head off to bed soon as well.

Tomorrow morning we meet at 9:15 am to attend the International Church of Beijing (foreign passport holders only). I will give you an update from Sunday when we return from the hotel.

Hunter, Hope and Gabrielle we love and miss you guys. Take care of each other and be good for Pastor Chris and Alex.

Baby it's cold outside!

2009-01-10T04:51:00.006-05:00

No, not really. We managed to make it through sightseeing in Beijing today. The weather really was not that bad. All were prepared with long johns, hand warmers, hats and gloves etc. It was a beautiful sunny day too.

We ate lunch at a western restaurant that had both American and Chinese food. Last night we shopped at Carrefour; something like Walmart only with 2 floors where they sell anything that you can imagine. Pizza Hut was a hit for dinner with the kids.

Later in the day we went to both the pearl and silk factories. This is where the better quality items are sold. We didn't buy much this time around.

The Summer Palace was visited as well. Seventy-five percent of the palace is a man-made lake. Here it was a little cooler because we were near water. We will post pictures later right now, we will run out to dinner and back to the hotel for the evening. It has been a long tiring day but well worth it. Two days until we meet Amelia. We can't wait.

Tomorrow is church, visit to the Jade Factory, The Great Wall, Acrobatic show and dinner.

WE MADE IT!!!!!

2009-01-09T06:15:00.002-05:00

Ni Hao from China!

We have made it to China! Thank you God! Our flights and steps through customs were uneventful. I thought the flight to China for us this time went a lot faster. Although I could have done without the guy who sat two seats from Dominic and I who kept getting sick throughought the 14 hour flight. Poor man, I kept praying that he would feel better.

It's about 7:15 pm China time and we are finally checked into our room for the night. Dominic and Frank may venture out to get something to eat from either Pizza Hut or KFC. Tomorrow we visit Tienenman Square, The Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. It is suppose to be 30 degrees (brrrrrrrr).

In the morning we have breakfast and then its off to see the sights in Beijing and dinner at the hotel.

Signing off for now. Will post once we get back from out outing on Saturday.

CHINA BOUND

2009-01-07T09:14:00.001-05:00

Hi there, I am not sure that I will be able to post later but wanted to let you all know that this time tomorrow morning we will be boarding our flight from Dulles, VA to Chicago, IL and then it's on to BEIJING. I can't believe it. Today I will finish up packing for Frank and I and the kids. The kids will be dropped off tonight with friends. Please pray for us as we will be away for 2 weeks.

We will meet Amelia on January 12 so when you wake up next Monday, we will be with our little girl. Definitely pray for her and this transition. Her whole world will change in a matter of minutes.

A really cool thing is that we will be travelling with 2 families that we met while in China in 2005. They live in Virginia and New Jersey. We can't wait to spend time with them and their families.

I also have exciting news; Dominic is able to travel to China with us. God worked a miracle and has made a way for him to come on the trip with us. God worked out every detail in that Dominic is on evy flight with us. We were not sure how this would work since our flights had already been booked.

He is overjoyed beyond all that you can imagine. He woke up at 6:00 this morning saying I can't sleep. So, he began to finish washing his clothes and packing. After asking me several questions, I got up as well and began to do more packing and organizing.

I said you think you can't sleep now, wait until tonight. LOL. So, the next time you hear from us, we will be in Beijing China. I will check in once we get settled. Thank you for covering us and our trip in your prayers.

Because of Him, Djuna

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T11:40:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Well, with 5 days left until travel, I feel pretty good. I have just a few more things to do this week-end and hope to be completely ready by Monday; done shopping that is. I have to have the kids packed and ready by Wednesday.

My heart is heavy that our kids can't go so please keep us in your prayers. I so wish that Dominic our oldest could come along. If it's possible at this stage, God can make it happen. We finalized our flights last Monday and will get our in-country travel Monday 1/5We also have our travel meeting via telephone (2.5 hrs). I am not looking forward to that.

Concrete Travel Dates

2008-12-25T19:10:00.002-05:00

Got word from our agency that we leave for China on January 8, 2009 and return to the states on January 23, 2009. Its official. Now we wait for our official itinerary. I will keep you posted.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T19:09:00.005-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas here at home today. Frank and I were truly blessed by how the kids were very thankful for the gifts that they did receive. It was a great time to be at home and enjoy each other's company. My dad and his wife came and spent several hours with us. They also brought pies and lasagna.

Frank and I cooked a big dinner that turned out great. The best news is that this will be the last Christmas that Amelia will have to spend in an orphanage. Next year, she will spend Christmas with her forever family.

Thank You God for blessing us with your son Jesus Christ. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Let the count down begin (16 days)

2008-12-24T07:28:00.005-05:00

It's Christmas Eve 2008. Wow, where did the time go really? This year has flown by and in just 16 days, Frank and I will leave for China to pick up the newest addition to our family. I sit here with 3 of the 4 children here by the fire and all is calm. Not a creature is stiring at 7:30 am except the cat who is sitting right beside me.

Frank is out window shopping and then it's off to meet with a friend for coffee and bible study.

In just a few hours, we will go to Frank's sisters and visit for a few hours and who knows what else will take place. Tomorrow we will spend the day at home with the kids which is a first. We usually are going somewhere.

Thinking of so many of you this morning and wishing you all a very Merry CHRISTmas with love from the Brizzi's.

Djuna

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!

2008-12-19T12:13:00.002-05:00

After 5 weeks of waiting, our TA (travel approval) is here. China knows we are coming. Our family coordinator called just a few minutes ago and said that they have tentative dates for us to travel to China.

It looks like we will be leaving on January 8 and returning either the 22nd or 24th. I hope its the 22nd. We had an extended stay last time and I will definitely be ready to come home by then. We hope to have confirmed dates from China by Christmas.

So, thank you Lord for answering our prayers that we receive TA by Christmas.

Still Waiting

2008-12-16T18:23:00.001-05:00

We were hoping to receive a call last Monday 12/8 that would possibly put our travel to China on Christmas Day. But as of today, still no call regarding our TA.

Each day that goes by puts leaving for China in January. Please Lord send that TA this week so that we can finally know when we will be bringing Mia home.

Sigh

2008-12-09T15:55:00.002-05:00

Still no call regarding our TA today. We also found out that as of January 1, the orphanage fee will go from $3,000 to $5,000 plus. Not good news but, God will make a way.

Hoping for a call this week and departure in the next two weeks. Keep us in your prayers.

Bummer.

UPDATE

2008-12-08T14:13:00.003-05:00

Well, its been a few weeks since I last posted so here's an update. Last week I sent our visa applicatoin to our agency. Now it's time to apply for our visas for the trip to China.

Today, I am hoping to receive a call that we got our TA (travel approval). This will give us tentative dates of travel. We really are praying for travel on Christmas Day. This would be a blessing in so many ways. Keep us in your prayers.

There is so much to do and plan for before we leave but, God will see me through. I can't wait to bring our daughter home. We face many changes in the new year but I TRUST God.

Preparing for Travel

2008-11-21T07:46:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday, we sent over the preliminary paperwork to our agency so that our travel can be arranged. We are waiting for the TA (travel approval) from China. This includes our CA (consulate appointment) while in China and our in-country travel.

Hopefully we will have the TA within the next two weeks.

Miss Hope-Elizabeth

2008-11-18T15:06:00.002-05:00

She is growing like a weed and it hard to believe that she has been with us 3 years this past July. The has so blessed our family and keeps us laughing each and every day.

She enjys pre-school which she attends EVERYDAY from 1:15 - 3:40. This is good for both she and I LOL :).

Look for recent pictures as soon as I can upload them.

Update on the Boys

2008-11-18T15:03:00.002-05:00

Well, boys will be boys. Dominic and Hunter are doing very well and I thank God that they are healthy and are pretty good kids...most days LOL. They are both homeschooled grades 10/11 and 7th.

Hunter will celebrate his 13th birthday THIS Sunday. Oh my two teenagesrs in the house. Lord help me. They are involved with their youth group as well as group classes of which Dominic takes a Life Skills class and Spanish II.

Hunter is taking Astronomy and Maryland History. They seem to fit in pretty well and have lots of friends. They are both taking Ju Jitsu weekly with the homeschool group.

Dominic will attend his first prom in May. Look for updates and lots of photos. YIKES, my boy is growing up. He also turns 17 then. :(

It's Opening Night

2008-11-18T15:01:00.003-05:00

Tonight Gabrielle performs for her Christmas play at school. This is exciting because she has both a speaking part and a solo. She also received Straight A's on her report card last week. Way to go girl!

On their way

2008-11-15T18:09:00.005-05:00

Today we sent the final documents back to our agency so that they can send them to China. After this time, we will wait for our travel approval. Hopefully we will have concrete travel dates by the end of the month. Can't wait.

Pray for the Cuzzou Family

2008-11-14T10:15:00.002-05:00

They are in China and did not receive their daugter Lydia Hope because her sn was more severe than they had thought.

We are praying for a miracle that the CCAA would please provide them with another child and their hearts would be happy. Please God we need you to do this for this wonderful loving family. There is a little girl out there for them and they need to bring her home. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

It's Official, we received our Referral Aproval (RA)

2008-11-14T10:05:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we received the phone call we have been waiting for since 9/5/08 telling us that we are officially aproved to adopt Xu Huan Qing.

I can hardly believe it. The wait was shorter that anticipated and it looks like we could be leaving for China next month. OH my! We are praying for a speedy TA (travel approval) and that we will have Amelia in December.

I will keep you posted. This is great news for us. I am sitting here waiting for fed ex to bring the official package from our agency. Can't wait to see what's inside.

Take a look at her sweet face in the post below.

INTRODUCING Xu Huan Qing

2008-11-14T10:02:00.003-05:00

Isn't she a cutie?! Look at those cheeks. :)

Chinese Name: Xu Huan Qing

American Name: Amelia-Grace Huanqing Brizzi

DOB: 10/28/08

Province: Anhui

Capitol City: Hefei

Orphanage: Anqing Children's Welfare Institute (East Central China)

SN: Unrepaired cleft lip/cleft palate

Travel Dates: (praying for December)

Happy Birthday

2008-10-28T17:49:00.001-04:00

Well, we have had two birthdays to celebrate this month. Frank's was on the 11th and once I figure out how to upload pictures I will do so. We also celebrate and wish we were with Amelia. TODAY is her 2nd birthday and she spends it without her family for the last time.

I can't help but think of her and wonder how her day was but hope that she had a great day. I really need to post more often and keep everyone updated on our family.

On last Friday some families received their RA (referral approval) from China which means they are officially approved to adopt the child that has been chosen for them. WE await this crazy approval from China as well and hope it comes soon. It is our prayer that we will be in China in December and home before the new year. Please pray with us about this.

Frank and I leave tomorrow for a few days away for a leadership conference in PA. I am excited to get away and to see what God has in store for us as we grow closer to Him.

PRAISE REPORT!

2008-10-10T19:41:00.000-04:00

Susannah came home from the hospital 5 days early which means she will be home on her birthday next week. THANK YOU LORD for answering our prayers.

Welcome Home Susannah.

Susannah's Home and Surgery Went Well!

2008-10-03T17:12:00.000-04:00

Yeah God, you did it again; proved your faithfulness to us all. Thank you for bringing the Irwin's home and bringing Susannah through her heart procedure on Tuesday. We look forward to what you will do in this little girl's life and well as her family. Thank you for holding them up during this time.

We love you Lord!

Susannah is on her way HOME!!!!

2008-09-21T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone, just wanted to let you know that Susannah is now officially an Irwin and is on her way home to TN. Please pray for safe travel and that her surgery will go well and for a full recovery. Thank you God for moving so many mountains on their behalf. You are AMAZING!

My THREE Sons!!!

2008-09-19T17:42:00.000-04:00

This is a very nice picture of the guys taken last summer too.

Me and my girls

2008-09-19T17:39:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of me and the girls taken last summer.

Room for at least One More

2008-09-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

Please pray for Susannah. Praise God she is doing much better. She really needs to get her to the US for surgery asap. Keep Susannah and her family in your prayers. See the link posted below.

Room for at least One More

A First

2008-09-10T00:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Hope started her first day of pre-school. I think that I was more nervous than she waiting for the bus to arrive. We waited about 35 minutes or so because we did not know the time that the bus would arrive.

Anyway, the bus came and she freaked out a little bit but I got her on the bus. I followed the bus, walked her into class and after about 10 minutes I left. She had a great day. I thought that I would be lost without her but I did ok. I teared up a bit in the morning but realized that this would be a good thing.

Today we are off to get her supplies and a new back pack. She is so excited.

YARDSALE

2008-09-08T17:56:00.000-04:00

Our yardsale this past Saturday was a huge success. Despite the bad weather and rain, our INSIDE yardsale went very well. Thank you to all of thos folks who came out to help.

We were blessed financially as well even though there was not a steady stream of shoppers. We will try again this week-end so be praying that this too will be successful. I pray that lots of folks come to shop and support our effots and help us get to China.

Adoption Update!

2008-09-08T17:53:00.000-04:00

On Monday, August 18th, our ageny AWAA sentan EA (electonic acceptance) to China. And, so we wait. Well, on Friday September 5, 2008 we received an e-mail from AWAA saying that China had pre-approved us to adopt Xu Huanqing. This is great news!

The next step is waiting for them to pull the dossier (paperwork) that we gathered over a year ago, translate it into Chinese and then from their, give an official approval. We are really wanting to travel this year so, please pray with us that this will happen.

We are also praying that we can travel with good friends of ours who we met in Chine for our first adoptions. They are adopting a SN little girl as well and will be going to the same province that we are. We were so excited to hear that.

We have a daughter!!!

2008-08-16T23:41:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone!

We have accepted a referral for our daughter! She is 22 months old and from the Anhui Province. This week-end will be a world wind of paperwork. Monday we will have our pediatrician review her medical file.

Once paperwork is done, we will forward it to our agency at which time they will send an electronic acceptance (EA) to China. From there, we await the pre-approval (PA) from China and then wait for TA (travel approval).

Believing God is in control, we look forward to meeting our daughter and bringing her home. Emotions will be up and down but we trust God.

We have a daughter!!!

2008-08-16T20:42:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that we have received and accepted a referral TODAY! Believing that God is in control, Amelia Grace will be coming home in early 2009.

She is from Anhui Province in China. Born 10/28/06 she is 22 months old and has an unrepaired cleft lip/palate.

The next few days will be filled with paperwork and document review by our pediatrician. By monday evening, China will have received our EA (electronic acceptance) of the referral and will review our file. From this point, we will wait 3-4 months for PA (pre-approval) and then TA (travel approval) which is 6-8 weeks after approval.

Please keep us in your prayers as we pray for God's provision, safe travel, the health and well-being of Mia and that she is healthy and loved.

Though our house is calm at the moment, we are shocked but happy to know that we have made it to this process only 3 months after applying for SN. God's timing is not our timing and we TRUST him.

More to come!

In Memory of Maria Chapman

2008-05-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

Remember the Chapman family today. One week ago today, they lost their youngest daughter Maria (5 years old) in a terrible accident. Our hearts break for them during this time of loss. They will need our prayers from today on as they grieve and us along with them.

The Chapman family is instrumental in helping to bring millions of orphans home to their forever families. God bless and comfort them and their family at this time.

Todd Smith of Selah

2008-04-15T11:06:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard, it is with sad news that I report that Todd and his wife Angie lost a child on April 7, 2008. Apparantly, they knew of this during Angie's pregnancy. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time.

See blog: http://audreycaroli ne.blogspot. com/

I'm Back!

2008-04-15T10:53:00.000-04:00

Well, its been a while so let me give you a quick update.

On April 6, Dominic preached his first sermon for the youth service. The message was on perseverance which we all need to hear. Hunter was also an usher. Needless to say, I was very proud of them. His examples came from the book of Daniel and 2 Corinthians and Paul. He also spoke about Wilma Rudolph and Abraham Lincoln.

Earlier that morning Gabrielle had a gymnastics competition at which she did very well. I was able to see 3 of her 4 events; bars (8.2), vault (7.25), beam (8.65). She received a 9.1 on floor (1st place) and 6th place all-around. Brie texted me to give me this information. What a great day for the kids. I am soproud of all of them. It was a crazy day for me trying to be in 2 places at one time but it all worked out.

This past week-end, I went on a scrapbooking week-end with my peeps (Alex, Lena and Lynn). We had a great time. Lots of food, little sleep and the beauty of the Lord. We stayed along the Potomac River at a campsight. The beauty of His majesty surrounded me! I was able to get over 40 pages done which made up 2 of the 4 kids books. Hunter's is next. Finding the time now will be hard I will make it work. Thank God school is almost over! Praise the Lord.

On April 12, we hit our one-year mark of waiting for our referral for Amelia. Boy did that time fly by. I only hope that the next year goes just as fast so that we can bring our daughter home.

Pastor Chris and Alex will leave on May 1st and I am so excited that I get to take them to and from the airport. I get to see Raia when she comes home and enters the USA. Yippee!!!!

Well, that about all for now, til next time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

2008-02-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrate Gabrielle's 9th birthday! I can hardly believe it. We celebrated last week-end with an ice skating party with her siblings and lots of friends.

This afternoon she will share cupcakes at school with friends. Then it is off to Clare's to shop. Next stop is gymnastics practice where she will once again have cupcakes with her friends.

Thank you God for blessing me with another child. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABRIELLE!!!!

Crazy Days!!!!!

2008-02-06T10:58:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Go figure with the crazy month we had, who had time to even breathe.

January was filled with birthday parties, (Jan 4 - mine), preparing for a gymnastics meet at our gym featuring Olympic Gymnast Dominique Dawes and sick kids. Hunter and Hope were sick all week-end during the met. Gabrielle missed 3 days of school following the meet. There is definitely something going around lots of kids and adults were sick but finally feeling better. Thank God.

Well I managed to make it through my birthday hardly believing that I turned 43 wow!

The last week-end of the month was very busiy preparing for the meet. Seeing Dominique again after a few months was very exciting. The girls love her! She is very motivating and loves to encourage the girls. She is very down to earth. The boys almost had a chance to go with her to get coffee at Starbucks but, that got canned. Maybe next time.

Gabrielle made one of her goals that day by receiving a 9.0 on Beam. It was a beautiful routine! She got an 8.2 on vault, 8.65 on floor and 7.85 on bars. She continues to improve her scores at each meet. So much so that she has already made it to state in May. The team placed 3rd and Gabrielle placed 4th on Beam and Floor and 8th on vault. Way to go!

Frank continues to work hard and is taking classes to complete his credentials for ministry. God has big plans for us in 2008!

Hope all is well with you all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-01-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

Boy does time sure fly by. What happen to the year 2007? Hope that you all had a very blessed Christmas. We had a great time away in Florida. The weather was unbelievable. Temperatures were in the hi 70's and got as high as 88. Thank goodness we packed a pair of shorts.

While we enjoyed our time away, all 4 kids were sick with fevers and colds from 12/23-12/26. Thankfully, Gabrielle was at the end of her cold when it came time for her practice and competition on Friday and Saturday. Her team came in 3rd place while she finished up 10th coming in 7th place on both beam and floor.

Hope-Elizabeth had a great time during her first ever trip to Magic Kingdom. December is a very busy time of year their. Disney ended up closing the park at around 12:30 on Christmas Day and giving free parking to Epcot with a shuttle ride back to MK. There was an estimated 800,000 people in attendance. All of the parks were crowded, so we didn't get to ride many rides but we did enjoy a couple of parades.

Most of the parks were crowded but we made the most of it which was good. It could have been a very stressful time. We picked up or nephew Jordan on the way down to FL and surprised all of the kids by presenting him with a ticket to Disney World. He had never been either. What a treat. I have to say, there were times when I didn't think that they enjoyed the parks early on but we made it through.

Made it back to MD on New Year's Eve and spent a quite evening at home with a few friends by bringing the New Year in with prayer. What a great way to spend the evening. Oh yea I almost forgot, my sister had her twins on 12/31/07. A boy, Davonte weighing in at 4lbs 11 oz and a little girl named Devon weighing 3lbs 13 oz. They are both healthy but will have to stay in the NICU for a few weeks but all in all they are fine and so is little sis. She should be home on Monday next week.

Today I celebrate what I can not believe is my 43rd birthday! Wow! All I can say is thank you God for allowing me to see another year. I look forward toa great year full of health, a closer walk with God and His presence as well as big changes in 2008 (new beginnings). I pray that you all as well as my family and children experience God's love in '08.

Check ya later!

One Down 7 More to Go

2007-12-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

Gabrielle made it through her first Level 5 competition and took 2nd place on beam with a score of 8.9. Her team took 1st place. We are so very proud of them the girls did a great job!

Let the Competition Begin!

2007-11-30T08:09:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, we leave for Gabrielle's first Level 5 gymnastics competition in Fruitland, MD near Salisbury at the DelMarva Gymnastics Academy.

Please keeep her and the girls in your prayers as they prepare and pray that they all compete to the best of their abilities.

We Will let you know how she does when we get back.

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-27T13:05:00.000-05:00

What a day! Well, I managed to get all of the cooking done and in plenty of time for our guest to arrive. This is only the 2nd time that I prepared a turkey. It turned out ok I guess. I didn't eat any of it LOL.

The day went along smoothly and thanks to TA we heard a wonderful message from the Lord about thankfulness and that if we have nothing else to be thankful for, we can be thankful that God sent His one and only Son to this earth to die for our sins. Now that's SOMETHING to be thankful for.

What an Accomplishment!!!!

2007-11-20T08:35:00.000-05:00

I attended an awards ceremony last Thursday for Gabrielle. She received the Principals Award for Honor Roll having achieved Straight A's for the first quarter in 3rd grade. This is her first report card with letter grades. What an accomplishment!

She also received the Computer Award (only 2 received in 3rd grade) and an award for Personal Responsibility. Way to Go kiddo, we are so very proud of you. Keep up the good work.

Moving on up!

2007-11-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

Dominic and Hunter tested last Saturday and the received their Green Belts in Tae Kwan Do. What an accomplishment after having been out of class for several months. Way to go boys we are proud of you.

Red Stipe

2007-11-08T19:04:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, both Dominic and Hunter received their red strip in Tae Kwan Do. They were very surprised because they have been in and out of the class over the past few months. They should be testing for their green belt in a few weeks. Congratulations boys we are proud of you.

Gabrielle

2007-11-08T19:03:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Gabrielle received her first report card "with letters". She received all straight A's and is on the Principals Honors List.

We are so very proud of her. She works hard and is doing 4th and 5th grade work as a 3rd grader. Keep up the good work!

Cute little words

2007-11-08T18:59:00.000-05:00

Hope has really come out of her shell. She comes up with the craziest. Her new word this week is mommy can I have some hanitizer? (hand sanitizer) She is a trip.

Today, I popped in the DVD from when we were in China (2 1/2 years ago). I can hardly believe that it's been that long. We have been waiting now 7 months for Amelia. As long as the wait seems, we will be going to get her soon.

What an experience!

2007-10-26T20:19:00.000-04:00

Dominic just called and said "dad let me drive". Yep believe it. He drove down to the end of the driveway and boy is he excited.

What a perfect time to try out driving... in a rent-a-car on rainy night, in the dark with 3 kids screaming in the background. Welcome to my world.

They sure do grow up fast.

Oh No!

2007-10-26T20:13:00.000-04:00

Unbelievable, I just witnessed my 15 year old son drive off to the store with his dad and siblings.

I can't believe it. And of all things, dad has him driving a rent a car that we have for the week-end. Oh well, no need to worry God is in control and the smile on his face was PRICELESS!!!!

Why A Blog?

2007-08-22T22:47:00.000-04:00

Well, for a while now I have been wanting to do a journal for each of my kids remembering their firsts and the crazy things that they do daily that make me laugh or sometimes even cry. I hope that by doing this blog, I can better keep track of our lives. This blog will be used to recourd our journey together as a family would be great to have as they get older and share with their families.

Enjoy!