Ruthie's Party

A Two-year-old child is so many things --
A tiny discoverer of butterfly wings,
A hugger of Teddies,
A sweet sleepyhead,
And someone to dream for in bright years ahead...

The beautiful Birthday Girl

The amazing cake made by Mrs. Mary Loyd(it was as yummy as it was gorgeous!)

Ruthie's "smash" cake!
Ruthie, Elizabeth and Julie
Ryan and Ruthie
My niece, Caroline, and Ruthie
Ruthie and Julie
Coloring...ladybugs of course!
Sidewalk chalk
Ruthie and her cake
She LOVED the slide!
I love how excited she gets about every new thing! I want to look at life like she does.

She clapped for herself after blowing the first candle out..so cute!


Most of our local China friends. Aren't they beautiful?!
Ruthie with my mother
Opening gifts later at home

The Birthday Girl was pooped!


May all your wishes and dreams come true, sweet girl! We love you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Girl!

Two years ago today in the Shaanxi province of China, a lady gave birth to a precious child that she knew for whatever reason she couldn't keep. I can't imagine what making that decision felt like or how hard it must've been for her. I have thought of her all day and wondered if she thought of that baby today and if she ever wonders what happened to her. I have prayed for her in hopes that she has found peace with her decision and knows in her heart that the baby she couldn't keep has a family and a home where she is loved beyond measure.



One year ago today, that same sweet baby girl was in an orphanage in Xianyang City celebrating her birthday with her crib mate. The nannies at the orphanage planned a party complete with crowns for the guests of honor, a huge cake and a handmade birthday card signed by all the orphanage workers. I have prayed for the nannies today, that God would allow them to keep loving the sweet children of China and preparing them oh so well for their forever families. I have also prayed for the children at Xianyang City Social Welfare Institute, that God would provide all of them with loving families soon.



Today that sweet girl is turning two....at home! She is now with her family and is experiencing all that goes along with having a birthday with your family. She has been awakened with what was probably not a very pleasant rendition of "Happy Birthday to you!" and has continued to be seranaded all day by different people. She has spent the morning being loved on and played with by her Mommy and Daddy. She checked the mail where she had some birthday cards. She had lunch with her parents and several friends where Miss Caryn came ready with an oatmeal pie and candles. She has had a home cooked meal with some of her favorites(rice and pork chops) with her family and birthday cupcakes for dessert! She will have a huge birthday party in a few days where she will be blessed by many people who have prayed for her, cried for her along with us while we were waiting and who truly love all that is Ruthie. I have thanked God today for this miracle whom I call my daughter and for the honor of being her mother. Happy Birthday precious Ruthie! I love you!

Tutu Cute!

This little outfit was given to me by a friend and it really makes my heart smile. I mean really, can you get any more girly than a huge pink bow, a pink tutu and a pink shirt with your name in rhinestones??? I didn't think so!!

Mommy and Me!

Ruthie has gotten very clingly in the last week or so and there is no place that she would rather be than in my arms. This is fine with me and believe me...I'm eating it up, however, there are things that have to be done around here and my arms can only carry her 24lb. cute self around for so long. So, this is her new daily position. It satisfies her(in fact she sees the carrier and begs for it), I can do a few things around the house and her weight gets distributed among my neck, shoulders, back and arms!! Other than feeling like I am 10 months pregnant with a 24lb. baby, it's a win/win situation for us both!

I've been HOME for one month......

.....and it makes me smile so BIG that my cute dimples pop out!!!

Big Brothers are GREAT!

In the last month or so, I have gained a family which includes two amazing big brothers! The ladies at my orphanage told me that I was going to have two brothers but I had no idea what they meant or how wonderful it would be! My brothers play with me, take me for walks, throw my ball with me, jump with me on the trampoline, we swing together on the front porch, they read me books, they swim with me, make me laugh and hold me when I'm sad. What more could a little girl ask for? I miss Jon Milledge and Anderson because they are gone for a long time everyday now to someplace they call school but they sure are happy when they get home and see me and I certainly feel the same! I think every little girl ought to have big brothers especially ones like mine...they are the best!!

Love,
Ruthie

Me playing and dancing with Jon Milledge(and yes, dancing with your diaper showing, with one shoe on and one shoe off is the latest in toddler fashion...in case you were wondering!)

Watching TV with Jon Milledge

Anderson reading me a book

Swimming with Anderson

WOW!!! They have big shoes...I mean shirts to fill!!

One Month with Ruthie!

Today marks one month since that amazing day in Xian, China when I was handed the most precious baby girl. In some ways it is hard to believe that it has already been a month and in others it seems like Ruthie has always been with us. She is doing great as we are still settling in to life with a toddler...again! She has decided that the only person she really wants is her Mommy, which is fine with me but it breaks my heart for her Daddy. She LOVES him...from a distance! I know this is part of her attachment/bonding process and it will get better with time. She is picking up new words and signs everyday. I am also pretty sure that she already understands most of what we say to her. She loves to find shoes and clothes around the house and try to put them on. It doesn't matter whose clothes they are and most of the time she is successful in getting them on some part of her little body. She is going to be a dress up queen! She has got the cutest little personality and makes the funniest faces. She keeps us laughing most of the day! Tonight at dinner she copied us when we were praying. She folded her little hands and closed her eyes but kept peeking to see if it was time to eat yet. Then she said something that was supposed to be "Amen". So cute!
We are so in love with this little girl and can't imagine what our lives would've been like if we hadn't been given the opportunity to be her family. We are so blessed!

July 4, 2010

August 4, 2010

She makes my heart skip a beat!

One month ago, I met just one of my big brothers.....

....today I know and love them both!

First time on the trampoline...I love it!

One Week Update

Well, we have been home a little over a week and we are doing great! Ruthie got over jet lag much quicker than me and Jon Milledge. She is sleeping 12 hours a night with a 2 1/2 hour nap every afternoon. She is much easier to put to bed now that we aren't in the same room with her like we were in China. We just give her a bath, say our prayers, give lots of kisses and put her in her bed. She fusses until we walk out the door and then she stops and goes to sleep. It is almost too perfect! She is still not eating as well here as she did in China but we are working on it. We are making some progress with our dog, Duke. She will now let him get near her but only on her terms. Ruthie can now say a few words like, Mama, Dada,something that sounds like GuGu which is close to big brother in Chinese, peas(please), mo(more), ni ni(night night), tank to(thank you),hi, bye and NO! We think she is brillant!
We have just been busy visiting with friends and family. We have enjoyed showing her off and introducing her all over town. She seems to enjoy it too with lots of waving and "Hi's"!
She has the appointment with the cardiologist next week. Please keep her(and me) in your prayers! I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Enjoy the new pictures!

Me and my Pop

Me and my cousin, Lauren

My new outfit from MiMi and Pop. So cute!

Duke might not be so bad after all....

Helping my daddy in the yard...I loved it!

My first Sunday at church

Catching bubbles that Anderson is blowing...

Jet Lag Stinks.....

.....but I think we are finally on the other side!

There's no place like HOME!!!

China or Bust!

The time has finally come. We are leaving for China tomorrow and couldn't be happier! We are beyond excited but I'm also a ball of nerves and emotions as well. Please pray for us as we travel that all would go smoothly!

I will be using our travel adoption blog to update our adventures while in China. Please click HERE to follow our journey. Thanks so much!

Happy 14th Birthday!!!

Fourteen years ago today my dreams of being a mother came true. God blessed me with a sweet, dark headed little boy with the face of an angel. He was a precious blessing to me that day and has blessed me with his humor, strong-will, stubborness, faith and love everyday since. I am proud of him and proud to be his Mama! Happy Birthday Jon Milledge....may all your wishes come true! I love you!

Thank You Daddy!

After going over and over several packing lists from different adoptive parents, I came up with a suggested list of medicines that I feel like I need to take to China, just in case. Thankfully, my daddy is a pharmacist and he, along with a doctor friend, filled our entire list. We have everything from antibiotics, scabies cream, diaper rash ointment, first aid kit and much more. Hopefully we will all remain well during our entire trip but if something happens....we're prepared! My next problem is going to be packing all of these meds and everything else I have gathered to take and keep my bags under 44lbs each. Yikes!

Plane tickets have been purchased!

It's official...we are headed to China! Our plane tickets have been purchased and we have them in our hands. We leave on July 2nd and will return home on July 17th. I can't believe after four and a half years I am going to China to bring my baby girl home. It is a very surreal feeling.
Since Milledge has just started a new job, he hated to ask off for over two weeks so shortly after starting. So, Jon Milledge and I were going to go by ourselves and I was fine with that. Little did I know about all the people praying for our safety and sanity in China trying to do it all by myself. Obviously God heard all the prayers because on Friday my good friend Caryn, who has adopted twice from China, called me crying saying that God had burdened her with the desire to go with me to help. She had been praying about it and told herself and God that she would only go if it didn't interfere with anything that her family had planned for the summer. Caryn has 5 children total and they are all very busy in different activities. Guess what? The two weeks that we will be gone were the only two weeks this summer that no one in her family has anything to do! WOW! We had already purchased mine and Jon Milledge's tickets so we had to scurry around on Friday to see if we could get one purchased for Caryn and we did without any problems. Milledge, my mother and my father are all rejoicing in the fact that there will be another adult with me...especially one that has done this twice! I now have a peace that I didn't know I needed or didn't already have. I have been more relaxed this weekend about the trip than I've been the whole time.
Thank you God for answering prayers that I didn't know about or know that I needed. He is good all the time...isn't He?

We're Going to China!

We received our TA yesterday, confirmation of our consulate appointment today and are in the process of ordering plane tickets. From what I can tell, we will leave on July 1st or 2nd. We will meet Ruthie on July 5th China time but it will be July 4th here!! We are very excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. Hold on baby girl....after four and a half years of tears, frustration and waiting, Mommy is FINALLY coming!

Numbers

Today marks 43 months since our LID for Ruthie. So much has happened in the last four years, not to mention the last month and a half. We are tired, happy, grateful, scared, overwhelmed and just ready to start our life with Ruthie.


Also as of today, we have been waiting 28 days for our TA or travel approval from China. There are many charts online that I have been looking at that let me know that we are nearing the end of our wait. Most people receive their TA 4-5 weeks after LOA. So we are celebrating this number and can't wait to receive our formal invitation from China to come pick up our baby girl!! Hurry up China!!!!