Well we have had our little girl for 2 months now and everything continues to go well. As stated before she is definitely 3, so there have been many trying 3 year old times, but nothing too bad.
She continues to bond and attach, especially to me. I start back to work tomorrow night.......then work again Saturday and Sunday nights. I'm a little nervous about how she will do at bedtime. She only wants me, so hopefully if I'm not an option, and only Daddy is, she will do ok......
Getting back to work will be a hard and trying time for us. It has been so nice to feel normal with a normal schedule. I'm not looking forward to the constant exhaustion that comes along with working nights, but my schedule is the best it could be with a newly adopted toddler at home.
For the first 5 weeks home we were at the doctor 4 out of 5 of those weeks, all of which she had to be stuck for something......she's had a double ear infection, Scarlett Fever, and Giardia........Don't worry giardia is only contagious if you have come in contact with her poop, and I think I'm the only one who has, and I'm fine! The doctor actually thinks that she is just a carrier of it, because she has not had any symptoms, other than eating poorly.
We did get her blood drawn including vaccination titers, to see if they really did give her all the vaccinations they said they did. They all came back that she was indeed immune to what she should be, so that was good news. All her blood work looked pretty good, so we were glad to hear that as well. The orphanage had said she never really got sick, my theory is that she didn't get sick because she was never exposed to anything.......I think she stayed indoors and was never given a chance to really strengthen her immune system.
She isn't very fond of wind or the sun......She pretty much whines when the wind blows and she burry's herself when it's bright outside. We are trying to get her more use to it, since she will be at a lot of baseball games this spring!
So all in all we are still doing great!
I had written a blog post on Gotcha Day while we were on the train going to her province, but because we met her the second we walked in the hotel, I never got a chance to post it. So hear it is, a little flash back to two months ago.......
There is also another slideshow for your enjoyment.... ;-)
She continues to bond and attach, especially to me. I start back to work tomorrow night.......then work again Saturday and Sunday nights. I'm a little nervous about how she will do at bedtime. She only wants me, so hopefully if I'm not an option, and only Daddy is, she will do ok......
Getting back to work will be a hard and trying time for us. It has been so nice to feel normal with a normal schedule. I'm not looking forward to the constant exhaustion that comes along with working nights, but my schedule is the best it could be with a newly adopted toddler at home.
For the first 5 weeks home we were at the doctor 4 out of 5 of those weeks, all of which she had to be stuck for something......she's had a double ear infection, Scarlett Fever, and Giardia........Don't worry giardia is only contagious if you have come in contact with her poop, and I think I'm the only one who has, and I'm fine! The doctor actually thinks that she is just a carrier of it, because she has not had any symptoms, other than eating poorly.
We did get her blood drawn including vaccination titers, to see if they really did give her all the vaccinations they said they did. They all came back that she was indeed immune to what she should be, so that was good news. All her blood work looked pretty good, so we were glad to hear that as well. The orphanage had said she never really got sick, my theory is that she didn't get sick because she was never exposed to anything.......I think she stayed indoors and was never given a chance to really strengthen her immune system.
She isn't very fond of wind or the sun......She pretty much whines when the wind blows and she burry's herself when it's bright outside. We are trying to get her more use to it, since she will be at a lot of baseball games this spring!
So all in all we are still doing great!
I had written a blog post on Gotcha Day while we were on the train going to her province, but because we met her the second we walked in the hotel, I never got a chance to post it. So hear it is, a little flash back to two months ago.......
There is also another slideshow for your enjoyment.... ;-)
We are on the train to Olivia’s province! I am not nervous, just anxious. Well I may be a little nervous, because I
have only been on a train once in my life, and we just stopped and are
sitting. Anyway, Mike didn’t sleep well
last night, he is very nervous. He’s
afraid she isn’t going to like him….so he has been up since about 3 am. I slept good. J When I think about her I just get teary eyed,
yes already. I know once I meet her I’m
going to be a sobbing mess. I keep
thinking about what she is doing right now, what she must be thinking. She is riding a train as well to the capital
of her province, Jinan. That is where we
will be staying until Friday. I think
her train ride is a little longer than ours.
She must be scared to death; I doubt she has ever left the orphanage
before. I have been praying for her to
have peace, peace in her heart when she meets us. That she will understand our love and feel
safe with us, that she won’t be afraid.
I know that only God can prepare her for this union. So I put total faith in God that whatever
happens He will take care of us all. I
am so thankful to God for leading us here, for putting us on this AMAZING path
of adoption. I love her so much already,
I can’t begin to explain.
Love from China, Katie
Our guide, Sylvia was telling us yesterday that we
will have 24 hours to make our final decision to adopt her. Our decision has been made. God did not bring us here to turn around and
go home, childless. This child has been
placed in our hearts by a power above all understanding, a love that will out
win any human trials. Adoption is
nothing short of a leap of faith. Faith
in God, faith that He will guide us, take care of us, and help us along the
way. I truly believe God has given
Olivia to us, that we found her only through Him. So many things that have happened throughout
this process have only happened because God made it so. When you pray for God to move mountains and
then the next few days, all you see on church signs is “God moves mountains” or
hear on the radio about God moving mountains, you know God is telling you to
trust and have faith in him. God also timed everything perfectly. Adoption is
not cheap but God does not always call the equipped but he ALWAYS equips the
called. And then there is the peace that
I have had after a storm (or freak out).
Many times I have had anxiety or stress over something and then I would
pray, worry, and pray some more, and there would be an overwhelming peace that
would come to me, which would soon be followed by an answer to whatever was
bothering me. When I prayed for another
child, I was also at a time in my life that I wanted to have a deeper
understanding and relationship with God.
We had found an amazing church and I was longing for a day to day walk
with God, not a Sunday fix. I would pray
for a life change to live and work for God.
I even strongly considered missionary work. When God opened the door to adoption, I did
not realize what else He was going to show me.
I have needed more faith in the last year than I ever would have
imagined. I have grown so strong in my
relationship with Him. It has been an
overwhelming feeling of God’s strength and grace in me over the past year. I finally understand what it’s like to want
to need Him every day. And this cannot
be changed now. This path does not
end. I will not let it. I can describe it best as a relationship with
your spouse, you thrive in it, you need it, you want it. Yes, you can get lazy and relaxed and not
continue to keep it special. But that is
when God will pull you back in and show you that you need Him always.
Well, that’s about all for now. I’m hoping to get off this train soon. Yay,
we’re moving, hoping that means we’ll be pulling into the station soon. Next post will have some beautiful pictures
of a precious little girl!!!
