Remember this?

Above is a photo of the first time we set eyes on Maddie. Remember this? Look how scared she was! This seems like a different child in so many ways. She did not know if she could trust us...would we be around forever....what was a family? She just did not know.
Here she is after six days with us. Six days and she is figuring out that, yes, we are sticking around. Six days and she is giving us smiles.

Again, six days and look at that face. Ya think she is starting to trust us?

Now, you need to be aware of a situation going on right now with a Chinese adoption. A family has been forced by the US GOVERNMENT to leave their adoptied daughter (she is 4 yrs old) in China. After about one week together, they have to return to the states and leave her. It is a long story so it is best that you read here....http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/

Please, please, please contact your Congressional representative and beg them to get involved. Think of Maddie. What if we had to leave her in China after one week together? What would that do to her ability to trust us? How would that have fundamentally changed her personality?

There is a video of the parents saying good-by to their daughter. I will be watching it after the kids are in bed as I am sure it will require tissues and prayers to get through.

I know my little blog does not get much traffic, however I am begging you to send people here to see updates on this case. My heart is breaking for this family that I don't know.

Most importantly, please pray for this little girl. Pray that God protects her sweet heart until the US Government can fix this situation.

Heather

post in progress

Since it is summertime (and the kids are home), this post is going to take a day or so. It will look strange until I can get it done...bear with me. :)

Heather

Carson's first roller coaster (http://www.buschgardens.com/BGW2/Gallery/Default.aspx?Tag=Apollo's%20Chariot)

A, C and Mom did this (http://www.buschgardens.com/BGW2/Gallery/Default.aspx?Tag=Escape%20from%20Pompeii)

A and Mom did this (http://www.buschgardens.com/BGW2/Gallery/Default.aspx?Tag=Curse%20of%20Darkastle)

Maddie, Ausitn and Brian...Maddie did not like (http://www.buschgardens.com/BGW2/Gallery/Default.aspx?Tag=The%20Big%20Bad%20Wolf)

Austin (http://www.buschgardens.com/BGW2/Gallery/Default.aspx?Tag=Griffon)

Friends and Family Day on the Truman

On Saturday the Truman once again hosted "Friends and Family Day." This is when the boat goes out for about 12 hours to not only show off but to entertain the families of the crew. This year both Austin and Carson went with Brian and had a fabulous time!! They had to get up at 4:30 AM and were on board by 5:30 AM. They headed directly to Brian's room and went back to sleep.They had all kinds of activites on board. Here you see the boys on some type of play equipment.

There was food available all day long. They were able to eat fried chicken prepared by the Admiral's chef and Carson swears is was as good as MopMop's. Huge compliment....

They also got their faces painted...

I love this one...

On the flight deck there was an amazing airshow. From what I understand, you can't imagine how close they were and how LOUD it was (note Carson's protection on his ears). This was a huge step for Carson since loud noises really bother him. He wanted to do this because he realized what an unique opportunity it was.

For you parents out there...you might recognize this young lady. She plays the President's daughter on the Disney show, "Cory in the House." The boys got an autograph also. Carson thought she was pretty cute and is sure that the two-year age difference (she is 11) would not be a huge hurdle!

Here are my handsome fellas on the back of the boat.

Carson was given permission to sit in the Chief of Staff's chair in the Island. Since Brian is on the Admiral's staff, the boys received a full tour of the Island.

A blow-up rock climbing wall. Carson is on the left, Austin on the right...

Here is Austin with Virginia Beach in the background. This was on the way home.

The day was so fun for all three of them. The boys were talking nonstop about it and are certainly proud of their Daddy (as they should be). I continue to be amazed at the coordination that must have taken to pull this off and can't tell you how much this means to our family. While we hate, hate, hate Brian being away from us so much, having these types of opportunities helps the kids to really foster a sense of pride in their Daddy's difficult job.

Heather

Trip to Pensacola

What a fabulous time we had in Pensacola! During our last week there, Jordan, flew down to spend time with us (Austin's bestest bud from Maryland). We are, however, happy to be home with Brian. Jordan and Austin took surfing lessons on day. The photo on the top is Austin and the bottom is Jordan...not bad for a 1/2 of lessons!

Here is Miss Maddie enjoying the beach while the boys surfed.

No trip to Pensacola would be complete without a trip to the Krispy Kreme doughnuts store. The boys ate a dozen in about five minutes!

Celebrating the 4th of July!

There are more photos, however Mama-duties call right now! We hope you are all having as wonderful summer as we are! :)

Heather

A 12-year-old girl in China needs a family

UPDATE: This sweet thing has a family!!! Praise God!

From another blog:
I've advocated for this girl before, but no family has come forward for her. I met her last year when I was adopting two of her foster home "sisters." She begged me to take her too, but understood when I told her that my paperwork was only approved for her sisters. I've been haunted since that time with her request "Tell your friends and family in America about me! Tell them I want to have a family too!" So I am trying again, in the hopes that Yuan does have a family out there somewhere. Yuan is a soft spoken, very sensitive, 12 year old girl who will be 13 soon. She loves to sing, play with babies, and works hard in school. She is blind, as are all of the children in her foster home. She speaks fluent English and knows both English and Chinese Braille. She has been studying very hard the last few months after some of her friends were adopted. She said she wants to do well so she can be adopted too. She is very helpful and likes to take care of the people around her. She was shy when everyone was crowding to see me, but was thrilled to sit quietly and talk to me at length. She just has such a sweet, gentle spirit. It just shines out of her when you speak with her. She knows she is close to aging out, and desperately wants a family before it is too late.Her orphanage does not believe she is adoptable due to her blindness. Her paperwork has not been prepared for adoption, and will not be unless a family comes forward for her. Thus she has no chance to be seen on waiting child sites or to benefit from any advocacy from adoption agencies. However, should a family come forward, her paperwork can be forwarded directly to the adoption agency of the family. This is the procedure that we used to adopt her foster sisters. If we were in any financial position to adopt again, we would go back for her in a heartbeat. Having adopted two of her "sisters", I can testify that they were very well prepared for adoption, and that living with children who are blind is simply not as hard as one might imagine. There is much more information available on Yuan to interested families. Please feel free to contact me for additional information. Also, please feel free to crosspost. I would really love for Yuan to find a family.Velletavtscott @ cox . net

At 14 years of age this sweet girl will "age out" of the adoption system. Please share this information with your friends and family.

Heather

Summer is Here!!

What a busy month we have had! Maddie turned six on June 1st! She celebrated with a swimming party on the 7th (Sunday). She had some friends from school and friends from the neighborhood at her party and was blesssed with some wonderful gifts and even better memories! She finished Kindergarten and will move on to 1st grade. Quite an accomplishment for a little girl who has only been in the US for 1.5 years. She also received a Citizenship Award!



Austin completed 6th grade and accomplished his goal - - all A's for the entire year! He also won an award for the best "Science Student" in the 6th grade. He is ready for a lazy summer (he sure deserves it) and is looking forward to having his best friend, Jordan, join us in Pensacola for our last week there.

Carson is doing so very well. Even though he gets so very nervous, he stood in front of a crowd and performed a song with his class during a talent show. He stood straight, still and sang the song (even gave us an occasional smile)! It was so huge for our boy and we were especially thankful that Brian was in town to witness it. Carson has had so many things "click" these last few months, both academically and emotionally. It is a huge thrill to watch him. Have no fear, however, he remains my snuggler! :)

Brian is out of town (again) for about a month. The kids and I are off to Pensacola for the month. We have many things planned, including a visit with my grandmother. We will post some photos from Floriday.

I will post more photos another time - - the kids (and my Mama who is in town) are ready for breakfast!

Heather

Austin is excited to be....

ON THE WEB! Go to http://e-conserve.blogspot.com/

EVEN BETTER NEWS!! Brian is HOME!! YEAH!!! To say that we are happy would be an understatement. Our family is just not complete without him. While we did well, during his absence, we are most certainly doing even better now! We love you Brian!
Heather