My Heart Is Bursting ... An Update On Ellie

 I couldn't believe it when I saw an email from our agency that said UPDATE.  We had asked for new pictures and asked some questions about our little Ellie but were shocked that it came so soon.  I opened the email to see this picture .....

Oh my goodness we are in love with this little girl already.  It seems crazy that we could fall head over heals in love with a little girl an ocean away that we have never met but that is what has happened.

She is our daughter and China telling us we can come get her can not come fast enough.

I have studied her pictures from top to bottom.  Look at that cute little nose and those sweet little lips ...

and those tiny little curled toes are just too precious.

Her cheeks are full and she looks healthy and yet those tiny little legs, ankles and feet remind me so much of Max's feet and legs when we got him.  No strength or muscle tone.  She looks like such a little peanut.

This is what we found out about Ellie today:

We asked for updated measurements and they said she is 70.5 cm tall, she weighs 8.5kg which is about 18 lbs and her foot length is 10.5cm.  We know we take the measurements with a grain of salt ... not sure she is looking like an 18 lbs little girl. She has 1 tooth.

We asked how her health has been, if her VSD seems to affect her health, if she sweats easily or has blue fingers or mouth.  The orphanage said Ellie was very weak when she came to them but under their good care, her health has been greatly improved.  They said she sweats easily but doesn't get tired. She hasn't had blueness in her fingertips or mouth so far.

We asked for another Echo to see if there were any changes in the hole in her heart.  The told us that the hospital is far away and would be very hard to make an appointment there so too hard to arrange the exam for Ellie.

We asked the caretakers to describe her development and personality.  The said she can sit alone well and stand holding on to furniture.  She can move around when sitting in the baby walker. She has started to babble. She gets along well with the other children and likes colorful toys.

We asked if she had ever been in foster care and if she had a nickname.  The said she had never been in foster care and they call her Na Na.

Little Ellie has wiggled her way into all of our hearts already.  We continue to stand in awe that God has given us this precious little girl to be our daughter. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I 

know that full well. 

Psalm 139:14

Introducing Our Daughter ...

It is with great joy and thanksgiving that we introduce you to our daughter.  

Gan An Na was born on October 20, 2011 she is just 7 months old. 

She is waiting for us at the Jianxin Social Welfare Institute in the Jiangxi Province

We have named her Ellie An Na.

We stand in awe of God's perfect plan for our family. We have watched the evidence of his hand every step of this journey. He has orchestrated every step of this process in such an amazing way that we sit back and give him all the glory! God is good! 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
Ephesians 3:20

When our feet hit the ground we will share more about our little girl and how clearly we have seen his hand at work.  

One More Step Closer

We are one more step closer to our little girl ....

Today We Are 

 Dossier To China 

 This means that our Dossier (large amount of paperwork we gathered) has been approved by Holt International and is on its way to China. We will now wait for a LID. The LID (Log in Date) is the date that our paperwork is logged into China. After we receive our LID we will be ready to be matched with either a little girl thats file is released in the monthly release from China or a little girl that is designated to our agency! We can't wait to see the little girl that God has picked to complete our family!

A Celebration

When we went to China we fell in love with the Chinese culture and the people.  We have always wanted to take part of Max's culture and integrate it into our family. We also have wanted to be able to share his culture with friends and family.  We decided January would be the perfect time to do that with our family.  This year January is when the Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year.  It is the largest celebrated Chinese holiday.  We thought it would be fun to share the customs and food of Chinese New Year with our family and also celebrate Max's 1 Year Anniversary of being in our family! 

This year is the Year of the Dragon so we hung the dragon from the ceiling. 

We spent a large part of the day preparing food.  We are rookies when it comes to Chinese cooking.  I will say it is a little bit hard to entertain a large group of people with a large amount of Chinese food because everything is cooked fresh and it is hard to make things ahead of time.  I really should have gotten a picture of the stove and all the dishes.  I think we used every pan in our house. 

I wish I would have gotten a picture before we all dug in but it was  little bit of a blur as we finished up the food prep and tried to get it all on the table at the same time.  The girls helped make fruit kabobs that we put into a fun arrangement in the empty pineapple.  We also had dumplings and spring rolls. 

We made a chicken dish to make lettuce wraps. We also made pork to put in buns that resembled one of Eric's favorite dishes in China "the Chinese hamburger" well at least that is what we called it.

Our main dishes were beef and broccoli and orange chicken that we served with rice.

The Chinese don't eat a lot of dessert.  We usually had fruit at the end of our meal for dessert in China.  We decided to have some cupcakes for a treat.

The kids had fun trying to teach their cousins how to use chopsticks. 

Max enjoyed his food!

It was fun watching everyone try out the chopsticks. 

It was fun to have everyone over to celebrate! We had a dinning room full and in this picture Eric's sister and husband and kids are missing.  They decided to venture up in the snow and got to our house after we started and I had snapped the picture.  

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary Max!

We finished the evening with sharing a book about the Chinese traditions of the Chinese New Year.  The kids handed out some bracelets and notebooks to their cousin.

The kids also got to take a Red Envelope home with a special treat in side!

We put together this video of our journey to Max to share with our family.  

We feel so blessed by all their love and support on our journey.  It was fun to share some of the Chinese culture and traditions with them. 

Happy Gotcha Day Max

It is hard to believe that one year ago today we stood anxiously by our hotel elevator jumping at every beep as we waited to see and hold Max for the first time.

(You will want to pause the music on the side bar when you play the videos)

As I watch this video it seems so surreal that we stood and watched our little boy walk off the elevator with a director from the orphanage.  I remember feeling overwhelmed how precious he was.  It all happened so fast.  After a few questions were answered the director left and there we stood with our little boy, he was forever ours. 

It was so overwhelming for both of us as we held him for the first time. We both fell in love with him instantly.  I still can hear Eric's voice saying, "Oh my goodness, he is perfect!" Yes, he was perfect but little did we know just how perfectly he would fit into our family.

We have watched a little boy with sad, hollow eyes transform right before our very eyes.  

The sparkle in his eye, the dimple on his cheek and his love for life continue to grow.

We have experience so many first with Max this year.  There have been special days, holidays, milestones, but there have also been hugs, playing in leaves, swinging at the park and touching the grass.  A whole new life and world was at Max's fingertips this past year.  We have stood with anticipation as we watched Max experience the world and life with a family for the first time.  He soaks every ounce out of life and embraced it with every piece of him.  

He is not just a happy little boy, he is a boy that is FULL of joy!

There are so many times Eric and I have sat and watched our son and stood in awe.  How in the world can a little boy that never set foot out of an orphanage, laid on a red mat in a red room with out any toys day after day for 17 months, just had his basic needs met, did not get a lot of love or attention ... come out of that environment with a love for life and a joy that is infectious.  Others are draw to him because of the joy he exudes.  I often get asked if he ever stops smiling.  No, he rarely stops.  I know God held our little boy, guarded his mind and protected his spirit until he was in our arms.

Max has moved right into our family with ease.  His sisters and brother love him to pieces.  There is no doubt God's hand placed this little boy to fit perfectly into our family.

So today we celebrated Max's Gotcha Day.  A day we will never forget.  A day that changed his and our life.  We broke out the chopsticks and enjoyed a meal around our table together.

We finished the night at one of Max's favorite places ... Cherry Berry.  He ran in yelling "ICE CREAM" and also ran up to everyone in Cherry Berry yelling"HI!"  We can't help but smile at how much life is in this little boy.

This video is a glimpse into Max's first year home! It pretty much sums up how perfectly he fits into our family and the joy he brings! 

Happy Gotcha Day Max! 

A Lot To Celebrate

There is so much to celebrate this Christmas season.  It seems crazy at times that this is Max's first Christmas home.  It feels like he has been with us forever and yet just a year ago we were anticipating our trip to China shortly after Christmas.  God has blessed us in so many ways this past year through our journey to Max.  We dragged our feet a little bit on the last batch of paperwork for the finalization of Max's adoption in the state of South Dakota.  I love how the timing worked out though.  What an amazing Christmas present and a great way to start the season of celebration with our family. 

The kids were all very excited to head to court today to complete our last leg of Max's adoption journey!

I love this picture of Eric watching the kids!  One proud daddy! 

Brothers!

When Papa walked in the court room it was all over  .... the rest of us were chopped liver.  This boy loves his Papa! 

Love this picture of Papa talking to Max on his big day! 

We were very grateful that my parents made the drive for Max's big day! They have been so supportive of us on our journey to Max and since we have been home.  They held down the fort for 16 days while we were in China and made it through flu with all the kids, a broken fridge and the business of life with three and their school schedule. Max loves his Papa and Grammy and is quick to run into their arms for hugs the minute he sees them.  We almost had to tell Papa to leave the courtroom during our lawyer's questioning because Max kept yelling "Papa" at the top of his lungs and wanted to go by him.  

On December 22, 2011 we celebrated Max officially becoming Max Lei Fu McDonald in the state of 

South Dakota! 

The whole gang! 

I love this picture of the girls skipping away with their little brother.  What a great day! 

We finished our special morning with breakfast at the Cracker Barrel! 

So thankful that we can celebrate the finalization of Max's adoption this Christmas season, what a gift! This little boy has brought us so much joy this year.

Reindeer Cookies

It is crazy to think that just a year ago we were anxiously awaiting our final approval on our journey to Max.  Those two letters ... TA ... were with in reach and we waited not knowing when we would be jumping on a plane.  We knew it could be close to Christmas, just after and were praying we would get our Travel Approval in time to squeeze in before China shut things down for the Chinese New Year in January.  

There are some things and memories that will always be a part of our journey to Max and remind us of the anticipation as we waited.  These cute little reindeer cookies have been a favorite of the kids to make the last couple years.  The last two years Alexa has made them to take to school for her 1/2 birthday celebration.  Shane had to take snacks this week and really wanted to make the reindeer cookies.  As we were making them Alexa said do you remember what happened when I was making these last year?  I sure do ... we were in the middle of mixing them and we got the email from our agency that we had gotten TA.  China was telling us it was time to come and get our son.  Alexa remembers it vividly because she was trying to get me to help her finish mixing up her cookies and I was dancing through the kitchen all giddy that our final piece of paperwork came through.  Good thing she knew how to read and follow a recipe because my brain turned to mush and I couldn't remember how many cups or what we had already put in the mixing bowl. She had said to me, "Mom, you are acting weird.  You never act like this!"  I am pretty sure every time Alexa or I see or make these cookies we will always remember the excitement of getting Max's travel approval. 

It is hard to believe that just a year ago today we got permission from China to bring our little boy home. I just can't imagine life without this sweet bundle of energy.  His smile and love for life lights up a room.  We are blessed! 

Welcome Home Samantha

Today we couldn't wait for the day to pass by so we could go to the airport to Welcome Home our friends Jarrod and Sara and their new little girl Samantha. I felt like my emotions were on edge all day as we anticipated their arrival.  There is some things that just can't be put into words and getting off the airplane, walking through the doors and seeing your family and friends with your new little one in your arms is one of those moments.  I was so excited to watch our friends walk through the door and experience that very same thing.

The girls were so excited and spent a good chunk of the afternoon making a sign to hold at the airport.

The kids were waiting in anticipation.  On the way to the airport it was fun to hear them reminisce about the things they were thinking and feeling as they waited to meet their new little brother. James and Josiah were very excited to see their mom and dad again and new sister.

Jarrod and Sara walking through the doors with Samantha and seeing their boys for the first time.

Max brought his friend Samantha an American Flag.  It was so fun to see them wave these together.  Someday I pray they understand what waving the red, white and blue truly means for them.

We can't wait to see our Asian cuties grow up together.  We already have an arranged marriage in the works.

Isn't she just a sweetheart?

The best picture of them all! Finally together .... a family of 5 now!