Shepherd's Field Children's Village

http://vimeo.com/30912132

Here is a link to an amazing video about Emma's China Home. We love this place and the people who started it. I want to go volunteer next summer for a week... who wants to go with me?

GOTCHA!!!

Wow. One year. I can't believe that one year ago we met this amazing and beautiful little girl.

It was a long drive from Beijing to Tianjin due to the fog and closing of the highways. Our driver was lost and because we didn't know the language, we had no clue if it would be 30 minutes or 2 hours until we reached Emma Grace. Finally, we recognized the gates of the children's village and saw Sara waiting to greet us. We came in, said our good-byes to Shirley (our Beijing guide), dropped off our luggage in our room and Clay and Sara told us we were going to meet Emma Grace.

We walked into the House of Peace and climbed the stairs to the second floor. There was our precious little girl, sitting in a chair. Little did she know at that very moment her life would never be the same. Emma Grace woke up as an orphan that morning and the routines of her life started just like they always did. But, a few hours later 2 people walked in that would change her life forever.

We were so thankful for the opportunity to meet Emma Grace in her home. She was happy and calm. It made our GOTCHA day special and memorable. We got to see the true personality of our daughter in a place where she felt safe. It was a day I will never forget. The next several days brought many challenges and fear took over our sweet girl. Thankfully, she bonded quickly and today she is very attached to her mommy and daddy.

Emma Grace in the House of Peace 10-23-2010

The first time was saw Emma Grace 10-23-2010

She just can't believe she has a mommy and a daddy! 10-23-2010

I love this girl as if she had grown inside me. I feel connected to her in ways that I never thought were possible. She is my own, she is my daughter and our family and lives are more complete because of her. The "what-ifs" of her story are scary. What-if her parents made a different choice (to not give her life...) what if she was not found quickly and died on the street... what if she was not loved and nourished the first year of her life, what if we SAID NO... what if we lived in fear of the financial commitment and fear of bringing in a child with a haunting beginning. Thankfully, God pulled at our hearts and brought us this precious child to raise as our daughter. I will never be the same. She has changed me forever. In China, many people would say "lucky girl" but truly, we are the ones that are blessed and lucky. We get to see the face of Jesus everyday in our little girl.

I want to thank everyone who has loved and cherished our daughter in the past year. She has been accepted in every part of our community. NOT ONCE have we heard a racial comment, an inappropriate question or comment (so, how much did she cost?) or anything else that would make her feel like she did not belong or that she was different. Thank you for loving our girl as much as we do!

My precious daughter (with her baby) 10-23-2011

Emma Grace 10-23-2011

Tim Baker, founder of the Philip Hayden Foundation (where Emma Grace lived in China) said it best, "God has a specific plan for every child's life. He sees them as being something very valuable. Maybe when they were abandoned they were considered as trash, they were thrown away. But God sees them as being the treasure found in a field. He values their life."

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY to our precious, beautiful little girl!!!

Baby Fever

Um, but not for me. Emma Grace is obsessed with her baby dolls right now. Having only experienced boys, I am quite amused by this! She treats her babies like real little people. A lot of this is from her babysitter, Gaga. Gaga also takes care of 3 little babies in addition to my 2 wild toddlers. Gaga says that Emma imitates everything she does with the babies. Melody (gaga) has to give Emma a bottle during feeding time so she can feed her babies. She is such a good mommy! Here are some things she has done recently with her babies:

*changes diapers AND wipes the little bums of her babies. She also takes a wipe to clean the nose when she is done (we do this sometimes during runny nose season!) After changing the diaper, she wraps the wipe in the diaper and closes it with the tape (just like we do!)

*she sat her baby on the stool to clip her finger nails. This is exactly the place and way we clip nails for our kiddos!

*she gets the bottle ready by putting a finger over the nipple and shaking it... she will then feed her baby, pause to burp her and continue feeding her.

*I was folding laundry the other day and heard Emma coming up the stairs saying "Up" over and over again. I went to see what she was doing, and she was helping her baby walk up the stairs and she was saying UP every time she need to climb a step.

*Emma shares her snacks/food/sippee cup with her babies

*we were watching a fish night light that Timmy got for his birthday. Emma went to get her baby and then held her up so she could see.

*Emma will sit down on the trampoline so her baby can have a turn to jump

*Baby must sit on the potty to go pee pee.

*she puts her babies night-night in all our beds and then shuts the doors. A few minutes later, she walks around waking up all her babies.

It has so precious to me how she treats these dolls. I love it!!!! Here are a few pictures of her with her beloved babies:

Emma just changed her diaper and was loving her baby

Here she is clipping the nails of her baby.

Birthday Fun

The kids were so excited to eat cupcakes and brownies for Timmy's birthday. (as if they don't eat enough junk every day) They were cracking me up!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Timmy!

My baby boy is now 2! (and I am officially the mother of TWO 2 year olds...) We celebrated his birthday party a few weeks ago with family so it was just us on his birthday. I took him to play in the church playroom, he got a yummy lifesaver gummy treat after lunch and we went out to eat at his favorite restaurant for dinner. We topped it all off with brownies and cupcakes...YUM! We recycled Andrew's old trains for Timmy's birthday. They have been packed away for all of Timmy's life, so it was something new for him. He LOVED his new trains!!!!! Why go buy something when you have something that cool packed away? He loved it when we sang "happy birthday" to him... big smiles from my handsome little man! Here are some things I don't want to forget about my 2 year old:

*he has crazy curly hair and I must figure out what to do with it... it's a mess!

*he has a special Winnie the Pooh blanket he sleeps with every night. There is a pooh bear on 2 of the corners and he has basically chewed them off. He loves to suck on his blanket!

*he climbs on anything and everything

*he LOVES to jump on the trampoline

*he is an outdoor boy, he could play outside all day if we let him

*he loves his sister, but doesn't show it well. When other kids are around, he makes sure Emma has all her toys and will take stuff out of the hands of other children to give it to his sister. BUT, when it is just the two of them, he takes all her toys and throws them so she can't get them.

*he has to take a book and other little "treasures" to bed with him every night. He sits up in his bed and reads the books until he falls asleep. When he wakes up in the morning, you can always find him reading books again!

*he loves books and puzzles

*he does not like me to wear shoes. He will grab my shoes (while screaming) and say OFF! When I take them off, he runs and throws them over the baby gate. In his mind, if he can't reach them, neither can I. No shoes means I can't leave :) Smart boy, huh???

*feeding time is a nightmare... Timmy and Emma constantly steal food from each other and scream their little hearts out.

This is my handsome little man on his 2nd birthday, October 19, 2011.

On his first birthday, October 19, 2010. I had to leave my baby boy the very next day to fly to China!

Happy Birthday, Timothy! October 19, 2009.

So cute...

Some news to celebrate...

See this handsome little guy? This is a special little boy who shares a big part of my daughter's past. Actually, he is the one person that remained constant in her life since he entered the orphanage in Fuzhou City late 2009.

On May 21, 2010 we were matched with our Emma Grace. We had no idea that she was living at Shepherd's Field or that she had gone through heart surgery to repair her VSD. Within days of accepting our referral, Betty emailed to tell us she was living at PHF near Beijing. I was on it... and emailed Tim Baker (he and his wife founded PHF) immediately.

Within hours, I get this response:

Dear Sarah,

Thank you for your email. I am happy to say that Liu Rongjia is with us at Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village. She joined the Shepherd’s Field family on April 23rd along with a one year-old boy named Liu Minli also from the Fuzhou Orphanage. Both Rongjia and Minli came to us via the Taida Hospital in Tianjin where they both received surgery for their heart conditions. Taida is a very good hospital in close proximity to Shepherd’s Field that is part of the Tomorrow Plan, helping orphans like Minli and Rongjia receive corrective surgery for their heart conditions. Minli received surgery for his PDA and Rongjia for her VSD. I am copying this email to the head of our medical team, Dr Bill Moody. Dr Moody can help answer any questions you may have about Rongjia’s post op recovery as well as her cleft lip and palate. Please feel free to communicate directly with him with your questions. Should you have any questions for me, please feel free to email or call me at *****. I will be heading back to China on Thursday.

Blessings,

Tim

It turns out that my Emma lived with this precious boy, Minli, in Fuzhou City. They were taken to the hospital near Beijing where they went through heart surgery together. They were both discharged and taken to live at Shepherd's Field, where they lived together in the House of Peace. I have been told by volunteers of SFCV that Minli and Emma played together often. I have a picture of them together on the floor and even one short video clip.

From the moment I received this email from Tim, my heart was split in two. This little boy shares a past with my daughter that I will never know. When we went to pick up Emma, I took her over to say good-bye to Minli. It was hard moment for me, but I know they will never remember it and at the time had no clue what was going on.

Rick and I talked about Minli often. We wanted to go back for him, but he is the same age as Emma and Timmy. His needs are a little greater, and not that we couldn't handle it, but with three 1 year olds it would be too big of a challenge. A family posted on our SFCV yahoo site saying they were interested in him... I was so happy! But once this family learned about his back, they felt they were not the family for him. Several others viewed his file, but he always came back to the shared list... his mild scoliosis scared families away.

This summer I had an adoption friend that traveled to SFCV for a family mission trip. I emailed her and asked her to spend some good, quality time with Minli. I was determined to find this little guy a family and I wanted someone to give me details about his life. I trusted my friend's observations... she is a mom to 2 boys. When she got back from Ch*na, she emailed me a lengthy email with her observations. It was everything I already knew... he was sweet, loving, interactive, typical boy!!!! But on paper, it seemed that only one thing stuck out... and that was the issue with his back.

I posted her observations on my Fuzhou City yahoo group. Well, someone read it. Meanwhile, there was a family in Indiana who saw a picture on their agency list and fell in love with a precious little boy. They wanted to lock his file. The mother of this sweet family mentioned it to her friend... and her friend said, "oh my goodness, someone just posted about him on my yahoo group!" WHAT ARE THE CHANCES!!!!!

So, Minli has a family. A family that knows about his back, but sees him for the sweet, precious, loving little boy that he is. He is not defined by his special need because the only need we truly have is to be in a family!!!! I can't wait for this little guy to come home!

Did I mention the best part????? He lives only a few hours from us. Again, what are the chances?!?!?! Rongjia and Minli, who started a relationship in an orphanage in southern Ch*na will be raised half way across the world only a few hours from each other.

In looking at all the details, it is obvious that God had His hand in this. I know that Minli and Emma will never remember each other. I don't know all of the details of their time together. BUT, I know they were together... and as her mother, I can't wait to share this part of her story with her!