Furious Fours

Actually, they're not that bad. We've been blessed. ;) I talk CONSTANTLY about Sarah, so I'm going to post some old posts from my adoption blog. This should be interesting. =)


Announcement Post


How My Life Changed Forever
February 26, 2007


"Ever since I realized that I would be living with my two brothers for the rest of my life, I've wanted a little sister. Every birthday I would blow out my candles wishing for a sister. Every Christmas when we had to write a letter Santa during school (even though I didn't believe in him)I would still ask for a little sister, and a dog or a cat. Now don't get me wrong there are many advantages to having two brothers. But being the only girl AND stuck in the middle, the disadvantages can really show sometimes. I love my brothers very much, but they can be a pain. I'm 13 years old and my family is adopting a little girl from China! We made this wonderful decision on October 3, 2005. On October 10, 2005, October 14, 2005, and October 23, 2005 we told the rest of the family about it. They were so happy!! Time went by and papers and applications were filled out and an apointment for meeting our social worker was made. We waited for our Dossier and our I171-H to come and then be mailed out. Getting anxious every second, everyday, every month. Still getting anxious. Everything has been mailed out and we're just waiting, waiting, and waiting. It's been about 3 years now. A whole 3 years!!! We're all so anxious and want it to happen right now. Mom say's that hopefully Sarah's (my little sister) referral will come by October of this year and then we'll be going to China in December. That seems far away but I know it will go fast. Hopefully."




Chosen from the Special Needs list. (Possibly the hardest thing we did. Choosing one out of 5. *sigh*)


Sarah Grace
June 18, 2007


"I would very much like to introduce Miss Sarah Grace!!!!!! Mom says I can't post her picture until we get the confirmation from China, which we hope will be very soon. We got the call at 7:30 this morning from Bethanne!! She said that right when she got our email saying we're interested in Baby, she immediately called the other families and told them that she was taken. She said that she didn't like the whole thing with sending like 8 different families LOIs to the CCAA so she contacts the first family and says that they can proceed with the adoption and that the baby is no longer available. If you think about it, it's pretty funny, we were the last ones to get the information and we're the first ones to call in and say we're interested and want that baby girl!! It really doesn't seem real right now. We've been waiting for so long that it doesn't really feel that different because we're just going to be waiting some more. I really can't wait to post her referral pictures!!!!"


Referral Picture released (I melt every time I look at this picture ;) )
Here She Is!!!!!
July 19, 2007

14 Days and counting till take off to China =)

14 DYAS!!!!!!!

December 19, 2007

"See how excited I am? I spelled probably one of the easiest words wrong! 14 DAYS!!! That's better! But I'll be more specific! 14 days, what? You may be asking yourself. 14 DAYS UNTIL MOM AND DAD LEAVE FOR CHINA!!!! =D Which makes it only 16 or 17 days until I get to see our sweet girls face!!! We're bouncing off the walls and everything is just nuts here!! Mom is everywhere! Packing, packing, packing, shopping for Sarah, packing, and (you guessed it) more packing. So far though, she's only packed all of Sarah's stuff. She's waiting to pack her's and Dad's until, I think, the day before, because they're still using the stuff they need to pack! My room looks so crowded! Her suitcase and carryon bag are right where her crib is going to go.

Speaking of crib! That's coming on Friday! Some friends of ours had two cribs and said that we could have one! I can't wait until that goes up!

We also finally got Sarah's carseat! Turns out she's going to have to be rear facing because of her weight! She's going to be so tiny! I'll post a pic of that when I post one of the crib!=D

Only 6 or 7 days till Christmas!

MERRY EXTRA-EARLY CHRISTMAS!"

These posts are making me all giddy inside. I forgot all about the excitement that we went through. Crazy stuff. Totally worth it. =)

Just a little excited

Freaking Out Now!!

December 28, 2007

"I am freaking out now! 2 days until Mom and Dad leave! I forgot to add in most of the posts something. Mom and Dad are going home with my Grandpa on Tuesday and then leaving on Wednesday! Anyway, I can't believe it's only 2 days until I don't see my parents again for 2 WHOLE WEEKS!! And the next time Sarah will be with them!! I can't belive it's only 2 days until my life changes forever!! Wow!"

Oh boy!

Itinerary!

January 2, 2008

"So I probably should have posted this earlier, before Travel, but I could never find it. So here's the Itinerary for our Journey To Sarah Grace Anderson! =D

IN-CHINA ITINERARY FOR THE ANDERSONS, JANUARY 2008

3- arrive in Beijing

4- tour in Beijing

5- tour in Beijing

6- fly to Lanzhou , placement in the hotel at about 16:30 (Mom forgot to add that this is also Gotcha Day!)

7- registration in the morning, and then notary

8- bonding day

9- tour in Lanzhou or visit museum

10- tour in Lanzhou

11- get passport and notary papers

12- fly to Guangzhou

13- visa paperwork, visa picture

14- medical exam, tour in Guangzhou

15- Consulate appointment

16- oath taking ceremony

17- go home via HK"

The Big Day!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

January 5, 2008

"TODAY'S GOTCHA DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET MY SWEET LITTLE SARAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom and Dad leave for Gansu at 8:30 AM!!!!=D"

The BEST moment EVER! =)

My Mei Mei!!!!!

Jaunary 6, 2008

"I apologize for the wait of arrival for pictures!!!!!!! I've just been in awww since I saw her!!! She is the sweetest most perfect little girl you could ever dream of! I love her sooooooo much!! Her smile is just so contagious and the way I heard her baby talking to Dad? So cute!!!!! An email Mom sent me this morning is below. And then pictures!!!!!!

Hello Everyone!!!

It is 11:30 p.m. here (9:30 a.m. your time). We tried to call you but you are not online. We will try again later. Our flight was quick and painless. Lanzhou is really amazing.

However, I know you do not want to hear about Lanzhou!!!

Sarah is just wonderful!!!! She smiled for me (Mom) right away and follows me with her eyes where ever I go! Poor baby had to drive 8 hours to get here on a terrible mountain road. She was very tired. On top of that, she is sick. She went to the clinic yesterday and we have prescriptions for her. Problem is, she will not eat for us and the meds need to go into the bottle. She has a congested cough and you can hear the rattle in her chest. She had a 101 temp. about an hour after we got her. She is such a good baby. She just loves her toys. Especially the teething ring and stacking cups. She will not let go of the teething ring. In fact the only time she cried was when Bill had to take the teething ring from her for our family photo. He felt terrible! She did cry later in the room when we gave her her first bottle. I think she didn't like not having her nanny. They told us to just lay her on the bed and she will feed herself. We tried that as a last result on the third bottle. She still won't drink. Right now she is singing to Dad!!!! It is so adorable. She fights her sleep just like Christopher. She kicks her foot and startles herself awake!!! Finally she couldn't do it anymore and fell asleep at 8 p.m. our time. She woke us up at 11 p.m. wanting to play. That is why we are up right now. Dad is playing with her and I hear her giggling. She has just started to imitate us a bit. She waved back at Dad! It is so cute how she will not let go of those two toys. Even in sleep she kept her hand on the teething ring. We really miss you guys and can't wait to have you meet Sarah!!! We will try back again later.

Much love and kisses,

Mom, Dad, and Sarah

Lisa, Joe and Sarah"

"

The days drag on.

Two posts! One by Mom and one by Dad!

January 11, 2008

"Here are two posts that from Mom and Dad's blog! The first one is from Mom.

Hello Everyone!


Sorry we missed a day. Yesterday our precious one was a little crabby cake! She hadn't gone to the bathroom for a couple of days and was letting everyone know she wasn't happy about it. We pushed bananas and carrots (which she loves) throughout the day and finally had success later in the evening. But, Sarah slept and whined all day which made it difficult for us to do anything. Even Bill was surprised by her disposition. She was back to her giggly, sweet self after her plumbing was working properly again.


We did manage to get out and see the Yellow River. Well, we got in and out of the car quite a bit because it was too cold to walk along it. Sarah wasn't happy about that. She's not too thrilled with her snowsuit. Our girl doesn't like to be bound up and the snowsuit keeps her from sucking on her index finger. A definite no-no in her book and she told anyone who would listen!


She has already stolen Bill's heart. She throws him kisses all the time. He came into our room last night and was talking to Joe with his back to Sarah. Sarah started yelling "hey!" (okay, the equivalent baby sound to hey.) When he turned around she blew him a kiss. He had to come over and high-five her! It was adorable. If she is close to him she will put her hand out until he holds it. Too cute. She's not too sure about our driver, Steed. She just watches him very carefully while hanging onto us. So I know there's something special about Bill.


This morning she was way to adorable. I can't wait for all of you to meet her. Her personality is just incredible. Her laugh is real husky. Joe calls it her diabolical laugh! Her smile lights up the room. She has started to roll around on the bed and crawl a bit. It cracks her up going from one place to another on her own. She stops and laughs about it in the middle of the journey. We brought a baby picture book of the kids and gram and papa for Sarah to look at. We wanted her to at least be familiar with their faces before coming home. She loves the book. She flips through until she comes to Christopher's picture and then slaps it! We have been encouraging her in this. HAHA Christopher says that is how they show love in China. He's a good sport!


This morning for breakfast she ate pumpkin patties, watermelon, strawberry yogurt, scrambled eggs, grape bread (my favorite), and some kind of bran muffin which wasn't a big hit but she ate it anyway. This child is like the energizer bunny when it comes to food!!! She just keeps eating until we leave the restaurant. She also waves to other tables and tries to get them to give her their food! I spoon fed her some tea which she really enjoyed. With her clefts it is difficult to give her a bottle out of the room. She needs to be lying down and the liquid just flows all over the place. She needs a change of clothes after her bottle feedings. What a mess! I will introduce her to a sippy cup when we get home. Now that she has been having solids, she will only take her bottle when she wakes up and before bed. So that helps. But I have to be diligent about getting fluids into her throughout the day now.


Oh, last night after dinner we gave her a bit of strawberry ice cream. As you know she loves it. So Joe wonders what she would do with chocolate ice cream. He gives her a bit of his and Sarah just stops. Stops moving, stops blinking, just stops. She sits like that for a moment, then her eyes get real big (which is quite a feat since they are so big already) and she smacks her lips together and starts dancing in her chair, bobbing her head and giggling. I think chocolate beat strawberry!


We are doing well - Sarah is such a joy for us. Missing home and our family a lot. It feels like we've been gone for months now. Jonah told us this morning we will be coming home in a week. I was thrilled to hear it. Tomorrow we will fly to Guangzhou. It will be a day of traveling, leaving at 1 p.m. and arriving there around 8 p.m. I'm not looking forward to the 5 hour flight but am glad we are onto the next half of our journey. Lord willing, we will be home soon!


Thank you all for your comments and prayers. Joe will post more I'm sure.
Much love to all of you, Lisa

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dad posting:

I feel bad that there wasn't a post yesterday. Actually had a touch of the blues (Mom's birthday. How ecstatic she would've been over all this.) A weather system moved through which made the outdoors real gray, and the indoors kinda achy. (And as Lisa said, Sarah had some "issues".) Tonight's the last night in Lanzhou. Click this link http://www.theodora.com/maps/china.gif to see some cool maps of China. (For home-schoolers this counts as geography class.) Tomorrow we'll fly from Lanzhou (LON-JO) to Xi'an (SHE-ON)(just a little southeast of Lanzhou) for a stop and then on to Guangzhou (GWON JO), which is on the southeast coast by Hong Kong. That's where the only American Consulate is in China that handles adoptions. That's where we'll handle all the legal aspects on the American side. We'll be busy. But it's tropical so we're really looking forward to it. Tonight we're having dinner with Bill and Steed and another guide at the same restaurant we went to on Wednesday. We have a private room reserved. More lamb with garlic for sure. Got some video there last time of the manager "briefing" the staff prior to the dinner rush. The employees stood at attention in lines that any drill sergeant would be proud of and then she yelled at them for five minutes. She makes the Sicilians look warm and fuzzy. When she was done I had to restrain myself to keep from jumping up and getting to work. All this took place right next to our table. Can't wait to share this video stuff with everyone when we get back. We're starting to get a little homesick.
Patty and the Winter boys you guy's are so kind to stop by the house on Thursday. Everyone was so glad you came!!
Carol, Dad is going to pick us up at the airport Thursday. We'll post our flight info and would you see to it that he has it? Our car is at Sam and Geri's house. He's taking us there and we'll drive home from there. But thanks for the offer. And especially thanks for the spiritual encouragement you (and everyone else) have contributed.
The Lord Jesus continues to work on our hearts, growing us up, maturing, strengthening us. We are so thankful to Him for what He is doing in our lives. Of course, saving us from our sins would be enough, but the great care He takes to daily abide with us as we sojourn here is just so amazing to me. What a privilege He has granted us to serve Him in this way, to provide a home for Sarah where the good news of salvation and the desire to serve Him are paramount.
Speaking of strength, what a difference ten years makes. That's how long it's been since Jonah was carried around. It's nice how the Creator makes it so that baby is born small and the parents can gradually build up the physical strength as baby grows. Not so with Sarah. I guess she's only 20 lbs. or so but whoa, those muscles thought they were set up for early retirement. They ain't likin' being forced back into service. Also the eyes are sorta shot too. I was the official toe and fingernail clipper man on our first batch. (I'll let Lisa tell you why.) I thought my lovely Lisa might want the job this time but such was not the case. I went to trim Sarah's nails the other day and couldn't see them! I was squinting and straining until I was seeing double. Eventually I just sorta guessed at where they were. No blood, all's well.
Okay if I gush a little? Cupcake wakes up smiling! (except for yesterday) We laugh and play non-stop. I'm not a pessimist, but I was pretty sure this was going to be traumatic for her. I was expecting a really difficult start, but it's been wall to wall enjoyment. She's already looking at the lovely one when I say, "where's Mommy?" She's communicating with us. She reaches for us when she wants to be held and that's like always. She waves at people. It's adorable! Elbow at 90 degrees hand pointing straight up and then rotations showing the back of the hand and then the front. Definitely a princess!
REALLY looking forward to Guanzhou!
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
Daddy (again)"

And she's finally home! =)

Sarah Grace Anderson

January 18, 2008

"Sarah's taking a nap right now so I thought I would take the opportunity to post! =D

Mom, Dad, and Sarah arrived home at around 6-6:30 pm. Sarah had slept the whole ride home, so she was in a pretty playful mood. =D We all went into mine and Sarah's room, and changed her (well Mom changed her. We just talked and listened to Mom talk). After that Mom picked her up and Sarah looked at all of us and then started blowing kisses to Papa! =D The way she blows kisses is adorable! She licks her hand and then blows!! =D Then she turned to Grandma and blew her some kisses. Then Christopher and then Papa again. Then she made Jonah give her a high five. She just stared at me and smiled. =D We then moved into the family room and sat Sarah down on the couch. Christopher sat down next to her and Dad handed her two Chinese rattles (which she loves!). She then handed one of them to Christopher and gave him this huge smile!! She started hitting her rattle against his and then started laughing. Well growling. Her laugh is this really deep husky laugh that is so adorable and contagious!! I'll try and post a video of that soon. Then Dad handed out all the souvenirs (that'll be another post) and Sarah watched. =D After a little while Mom picked her up and sat her on her lap. About five minutes later Sarah reached for me!! She wanted me to hold her! =D After she ate dinner I changed her (which wasn't all that fun because she cried and lets just say she did not like it that I was changing her). After that Gram and Papa left and Mom fed Sarah her bottle and then put her down for the night. At around 1AM this morning she woke up crying, needing to be changed. Mom had asked me to get her if Sarah woke up in the middle of the night, so I got up and went upstairs to Mom and Dad's room. I woke Mom up and we went back down to my room. Right when Mom picked Sarah up she stopped crying and smiled. I was going to stay up, but "forced" myself back to sleep because I didn't want her to think it was playtime. Mom said that she went to sleep at 2AM. Sarah woke up again at 5:45 AM. I woke up and stumbled to my door to get Mom. Now when I went to sleep at 1 the door was open, now it was closed. So I ended up walking right into the door. :D After that, Dad came in and she was up completely. Time to play. No more sleep for Jie Jie. :D So I've been up since 5:45 and am only a little bit tired. Welcome to baby land.

Although now I'd really like her to wake, so we can play again. ;D

Pictues will come soon. We've just been having so much fun, we didn't really take any pictures. :D"

Oh sweet girl, how much I love you! You are such a huge blessing to me! I can't believe the little girl who came home 2 years ago (almost 3!) is already 4. You've grown up too fast! Keep on going with learning to read. You're doing great! =) 

♥Cait