We’re going to China. I feel so happy! Gao-xing, gao-xing, gao-xing!

I couldn't resist quoting Kailan as I have been singing this song since I received the shocking phone call this morning. About two weeks earlier than we would have thought to hear, we received the call that we have TRAVEL APPROVAL! These are the long awaited words you hope to hear every day when waiting to go hold your precious child. We leave August 10th, 2011. If you are counting you will realize that is exactly three weeks away......ahhhhhhhh! There is so much to be done. The number one question I get is "Who is going to China?"

Of course, Mommy and Daddy are going...duh!
and these loveleys are making their second trip to China.....

The hard part........leaving my girls......

and my boys :(
We are certainly not looking forward to saying goodbye for 15 days to our kids, it will be tough to say the least. We have wonderful friends and family who will love on them while we are gone but nontheless leaving them is by far the hardest part of it all.

but, they are not being left in vain, this beautiful princess is our reason and she is worth every tear we will shed!

Susi on Apr 2, 2011

This is our Susi at Shepherd's Field Children's Village.

Spring has Sprung

Susannah-Yue Noellyn Brady Our little Susi-Yue on a field trip.

Doctor Susi!

It is such a blessing to receive current pictures of Susi from China. It makes my heart yearn and ache but it also blesses me to see her so happy!

My dear friend, Amber! She planned, hosted, ran, and cleaned up the entire adoption fundraiser yard sale. Then she handed over $2000 to us for our adoption expenses! What a blessing you are Amber. And a special thanks to all the other neighbors, friends, and people that helped and donated.

Graci and Dax's first trip to the Phoenix Symphony. It went well they made it through the first half and somewhat enjoyed it!

This is our babies everyday after nap time. It is kind of like the penguin exhibit at feeding time. They hop on their tower,up to the counter, then proceed to shovel food into their mouths at alarming rates. Both trying to eat as fast as possible so they can get it before the other one does.

Saturday morning in mommy's bed!

No room for mommy :(

Wow! It has been a whirlwind for our family since spring came upon us. March was just crazy and now April is just flying by. Our dossier logged in China on March 15, 2011. We are currently (not so patiently) waiting for our letter of approval from China. It is such a blessing to receive pictures of Susi often but it makes it really hard to wait to go get her. With our taxes done we are thrilled to finally get to reap the benefit of adoption tax credit/refund. We have banked a lot of expenses and it is nice to finally get some back. Unfortunately it will all go to accumulated debt from the past adoptions but it is still nice to have something to make a dent in that amount. Fundraising went well for our current adoption. The yard sale we had at the end of March raised over $2000! Praise God for His provisions! That is the exact amount we need for the next phase of adoption expenses which include our next agency fee, humanitarian aid fee, and Susi's visa. We are very busily getting our house ready for Susi to come home. So many accommodations and things have to be done. Currently, Lee is building a huge bunk/trundle bed for all the little girls who will be sharing a room. It is a large room with a bathroom and walk in closet. But we need a bed unit to fit nicely in there and accommodate all three girls. I shopped and shopped and could not find what I wanted so...Daddy got to building. It will be a full on bottom, twin on top, pull out twin trundle (for Susi because she can't climb into bed), and a staircase so all the girls will be able to safely climb and play on the top. After the bed is finished we will get to flooring and making other necessary changes to make sure Susi can get around safely. Savannah went to stay with Grandma until she goes to treatment. This frees up some more space and is less stressful on her. Alyx is getting ready to perform in a production of Robin Hood where she is playing Mother Meg. She is so excited!! She is getting to take part in creating choreography and music for the play. Who knew? Alyx is quite the performer!

Our March Madness

Madness is right. March is not over yet but boy has it been full. With Savannah moving back home and in the hospital(read below),our dossier going to China, Alyx turning 15, Graci finishing preschool, spring break, Thad turning 2, Graci turning 5, Graci's ear's pierced, family birthday party, trip to the zoo for Thad's birthday, and adoption yard sale fundraiser...whew!

Alyx is 15, the countdown to driving is on! She pretty much celebrated all month but it started with a small party with her friends and a big blue cupcake!

Alyx with her peeps at her birthday party.

Alyx with her friends, having fun for her birthday.

Dax tried really hard to get a bird to land on him but it never did. He fed them in other people's hand though.

Graci, very proud of herself because she let the bird land on her and wasn't scared.

Alyx feeding the birds.

Daddy and Kamby.

Our family minus two at the zoo.

Graci (5), Kamby (21m),Serenity (10), Thad (2), Dax (4.5), Alyx (15).

March birthday kids - Graci, Alyx, and Thad.

Dax and cousin Serenity on the merry go round at the zoo.

Graci has been talking about getting her ears pierced for almost two years. We originally told her she would have to wait until she was six. But after hearing about it and discussing it everyday for the past two years we decided 5 is a good age. All she wanted for her birthday was earrings. She decided not to have a friend party and she didn't want any other gifts just her ears pierced.

Waiting patiently with great anticipation!

Graci being very excited to get her ears pierced.

Going with it as the girl marks her first ear.

Starting to get a little scared but still being brave.

As soon as it came down to nothing left but piercing, she lost it. This is just one picture because the video is too disturbing. She was hysterical after the first ear and I had to hold her down while she screamed to do the second ear.

The right ear.

This is Graci's attempt at a smile after being traumatized by her ear piercing.

Ariel and Elmo cakes by Alyx.

Elmo cake made by Alyx for Thad's 2nd birthday.

Ariel cake made by Alyx for Graci's 5th birthday.

Dax, always happy but especially when there is a party.

Mommy with my big 2 year old boy and his Elmo.Graci, Alyx, and Thad with their birthday cakes. Alyx actually did not make herself another cake for the family party since she already had cake 3 times earlier this month.

Graci loves her Grandma!

and her Aunt Rinne!

Graci with Alyx's new bunny, Kiwi. You might notice that Graci is chewing gum, this is another big deal about turning 5. Graci says, "I am more repompable than Dax, so I get to chew gum."

Even though Kamby is younger, she is very much a little mother to Thad and all the kids. Here she is pushing Thad on the swing. No one told her to, she just sees what her siblings need and she helps.

Dax posing with Kiwi.

Kamby and Kiwi.

Loving the spring weather and playing outside.

Savannah update: It has been a hard month for Savannah, well all of us for that matter. She was asked to leave school at the end of February as it was just too much for her to cope with. With suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and some other issues, the stress of school was too much right now. Savannah has some things going on that are being exacerbated by her brain injury and some things that are a result of her brain injury. Everyone has been so thrilled with her progress since her accident two years ago, that sometimes we forget how long it actually takes to recover from a brain injury. She is experiencing things that are very common among tbi patients. Although, Savannah left school now she is hoping to get back in the fall or next spring. She is currently applying to a residential treatment center that does great work in dealing with young woman with depression and other emotional issues. We are confident that the God that started a good work in Savannah is faithful to complete it (Phil. 1:6). Prayers for Savannah's healing and for wisdom for us as her parents is greatly appreciated!

Graci's Gotcha Day and Dax's First Trip to the Emergency Room

The beginning of the dumplings and the only picture we were able to take.
Dax after waiting about two hours to be registered and vitals taken, he had only a 102.5 temp at this point. Compared to the 105 he was feeling good.

Daddy and Dax watching tv waiting to see a doctor, we had been in the ER for about 4 hours at this point.

After finally seeing a doctor and being in the hospital for about 6 hours. It is about 12:30 am and he has had a non stop high fever for the past 12 hours. Yet he is not really asleep just closing his eyes and he stayed awake until we got home until after 2:30 am.

Here we were, our house thoroughly decorated in honor of the Lunar New Year and getting ready to celebrate "Gotcha Day". I had just returned from the store where I stocked up on everything needed to make jiao zi (chinese dumplings). We have never made them before and thought since this is Graci's 4 th Gday we would give it a go. Earlier that afternoon Dax came home from the park and had a fever, this was a hurdle but we were still going through with our celebration. We had the kitchen covered with flour, dough balls, meat filling, and pots of water while Alyx was also making longevity noodles to go with our dumplings. In walked our little Dax and he did not look good, red-droopy eyes, hunched over shoulders, and a groan when he walked. Lee took his temp and the poor guy was burning up at 105.1. Called the doctor and hurried directions to Graci and her cousin who were helping with the dumplings. Well, I knew what the doctor was going to say. We don't have a four year old, during RSV season, who is running over a 105 temp and not make a visit to the ER. So, with sadness over not finishing Graci's celebration, I gave directions to Alyx to finish the dumplings, Grandma came over to take care of Graci and the babies and off we went. We arrived at the hospital a little after 6:30 pm. and left around 1 am. Dax was a trooper, he smiled and laughed, even danced a little. He was completely cooperative and extremely well mannered. We had to laugh at his awesome attitude because he was so sick and yet I was more disgruntled than he. He watched a lot of tv while waiting (because we wouldn't let him down or touch anything in the waiting areas) and during one commercial for a toy he said "we should get that for Graci Jia for her Gotcha day, she would love that!" So sweet! After being checked out it turns out Dax just has a virus, no ear infections, no RSV, no flu just what we refer to as the $600/6 hour virus. So now today it has spread to Graci and Thad. I have three little ones, with high fevers, coughing, and congestion. Poor babies! Graci did get to celebrate her day after all with something super special. Her cousins from North Carolina (one whom has never met her) came to visit yesterday and we had a big party to celebrate our Graci Jia. She passed out traditional red envelopes to everyone and had a great time playing and being loved on. Oh, and the dumplings did indeed turn out, none of the kids liked them but Alyx, Lee and I loved them!

Happy Chinese New Year

I don't know if we would remember to celebrate the Chinese new year except that it falls so close to Graci's Gotcha Day. So our house is decked out with dragons, pavilions, fans, rabbits, and many other Chinese symbols and characters. Graci asked today if she has to go to school since it is Chinese new year. I told her she did have to go and she said, " but I am Chinese."
"I know", I answered, "but you don't live in China".
"Oh good! but can I stay home from school?"

We will celebrate Gotcha Day on Saturday and remember that beautiful day four years ago when we first held Graci Jia!