7 Months!

We recently celebrated 7 months with Jia!  I think the video says it all!  Remember... all paperwork and updates we had on Jia pre-adoption called her shy, introverted and afraid of strangers.  In China, this girl screamed if anyone touched her besided her momma.  In fact, the kind man at the notary office just spoke to her and she screamed!
A day or two before we left China, I remember our guide coming to us with great concern written on her face asking us if we felt we should ask more questions about Jia or have a doctor look at her because she never heard her talk or seen her away from momma.  Jack and I had already seen bits and pieces of Jia coming out in our hotel and knew all was well!  Oh how I wish Molly could see her now!
And the family we shared most of our days with in China... I remember sitting my Jeff with Jia on my lap and he was talking to her.  She of course had her head down, but was tolerating him.  Then he reached over and touched her hand and the flood gates opened!  Now she would probably talk his leg off!
I just can't get over the resilence of this girl and words can never express how much we love her, how proud of her we are and how very blessed we feel to be her parents!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Jia's Birthday Party

We finally celebrated this girls birthday!  We've been telling her ever since her actual birthday (Jan 7) that her party was  coming.  It was so hard for her to wait!

But, alas, the big day arrived!

I made the cake, but did something wrong.  Jack and I watched it all Saturday night and it kept leaning, and leaning and leaning....

I thought I better get her picture with it quick because I didn't know if it would still be standing by the time her party rolled around.

Party time! 

My friend Renea made the little outfit for her!  She sells homemade clothing at Pish Posh Tots, so go check it out!  She usually doesn't have much on hand because when people come in to her photography studio, they end up buying the outfits!  But you can certainly let her know what you want!

Blowing out 4 candles!

 Mom and Dad serving up cake...

Jacen and his friend Bryce were a huge help with the party!  They helped me set up the tables and chairs and blow up balloons before hand.  Then they helped pass out cake.  They were joking that they were practicing their waiter skills for when they were older.

Lots of family and friends turned out to help Jia celebrate!

Oh, she just couldn't wait to get into those presents!

Whew!  Finally!  She totally ripped into them grabbing tissue paper with both hands and throwing it over her head.  I had to stop her to get the cards first so we could thank people!

Loves Tink!

Having a moment with mommy...

Grandma made her this sweatshirt dress with her 1 2 3's and A B C's on it! 

Oh, she just can't wait to get into these.

Oh how I love this girl!

Jia and her loot!  I think she came out all right!

Anma, Momma and Jia!

So was entirely wore out at the end of the day!

Help Us Help Haiti

Well Joint Heirs Adoption Minstry is at it again!  Things slowed a bit during the holidays, but we're not going anywhere!  The earthquake in Haiti has caused us to rise up and do what we can to help orphans.
One of my partners, Renea, spent time in Haiti last summer and found many friends and family there.  You can imagine how heartbreaking the TV news stories are to her.  While there, she had the priviledge to visit Canaan Orphanage and the children there left a lasting impression on her.  So we have decided to do what we can to raise funds to help provide relief to The Orphanage Called Canaan.  You may have noticed the 'chip in' box to the right. I hope you can add to it.
Another way you can help is through Scentsy!  Yes, those wonderful wickless candles that are all the rave!  I have one in my home and bought another for my mom for Christmas!  They smell OH SO GOOD and are entirely safe to have in your home!  The wonderful Scentsy rep in our community has a link on her website where you can order the candles and part of the profits will go to JHAM Haiti Relief.  Just visit Brenda Warners Scentsy site and find the Haiti Fundraiser link on the left!  Order yourself up a good smelling candle and while you're there, order another for someone you love.  Valentines day is coming up you know!  I highly recommend the Snowberry and Satin Sheets!
 Remember, all money raised will go to Canaan Orphanage.  You can read more about our fundraising efforts on the Joint Heirs Adoption Minsitry blog and see photo's from Renea's time in Haiti and at Canaan.  Even photographs she took at the wedding of one of the workers there!  Don't hesitate to check it out.
If you're unable to help financially, please put Haiti on your prayer list, if you haven't already.

What Would You Do??

Conan O'Brien told NBC good riddance Thursday in a $45 million deal for his exit from "The Tonight Show," allowing Jay Leno to return to the late-night program he hosted for 17 years.

Hmmm... what would I do with 45 million dollars?  It really irritates me when so much money is wasted on such trivial things.  Especially at this paticular time when the devastation in Haiti is so tremendous.  I watch very little TV, and never am I up late enough to catch a late show.  But I can't imagine any of them being worth 45 million dollars.
Back to my original question... what would you do with 45 million dollars?  Oh, I think you all know what I would do.  How many people could that help?  What a difference that amount of money, or even a portion of it, could make to places like Haiti.  How many people are still left displaced from the Thai tsumani or Hurricane Katrina.  Why aren't we hearing more about them?  Disaster is over, we no longer care about the people still in need.  Or is it just not newsworthy any longer?  How many people could finally realize their dreams of adoption with that money.  How different would the world be if $45,000,000 was spent on helping others.
Specifically, I think first I'd take care of any debt I have.  Put some aside to live on.  (How many people have you heard about that have won the lottery, spent it unwisely and are now broke?)  Then I would start traveling with checkbook in hand, and my family in tow. 
Let me know what you would do with 45 million!

Reminder...

I was browsing Ehow for some information and found this article on 'how to be a good friend'.  Hmmm... it's interesting you can go to the internet to find out how to be a good friend.  So incase anyone needs a reminder... Here are the instructions.  Also interesting is that the difficulty rating is: EASY!

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions
Step 1Keep in touch. We all lead busy lives. Send an email. Send a postcard. Meet your friend for lunch.



Step 2Don't gossip about your friend. While with your friend, don't gossip about other friends. You don't want your friend wondering what you say about her when she is not around.



Step 3Celebrate your friend's success. Has your friend lost 20 pounds? Congratulate her-and buy her a new pair of jeans!



Step 4Listen to your friend. Don't do all the talking.



Step 5Never insult your friend. Maybe your friend is a lousy cook, but her house is immaculate. Focus on your friend's positive traits, not her negative ones.



Step 6Apologize to your friend. We all do and say dumb things. If you offend your friend, simply say, "I'm sorry."



Step 7Help your friend. Is your friend a stressed-out single mother? Offer to babysit once a week to give to your friend a break. If you see your friend struggling, offer to lend a helping hand.



Step 8Respect your friend. Is your friend a nonsmoker? Don't light up a cigarette in her car!

Step 9Be approachable. Let your friends know they can talk to you about anything-anytime.



Step 10Be honest. Did your friend get a new hairstyle that you hate? Has she asked you how it looks? Be honest without being insulting. Find something nice to say about it. Perhaps you like the color.



Step 11Don't judge. Has a friend confided in you that she wants to get a divorce? Point out what the Bible has to say about divorce. Then, let your friend decide if she's traveling down the right road.

Owies, Invitations and Goodbye!

Jia got her first big owie the other night.  She was running through the living room and tripped and hit her chin on the coffee table.  It wasn't a deep gash, but wide.  So we called our friend Bethany who's an EMT to get advice on stitches or not.  She brought up some steri strips and just taped her back together.  Thanks Bethany!

Jia's Big Owie

I posted earlier about having Jia's birthday party in a couple of weeks.  We're going with a ladybug theme and I seen these invitations on Etsy.  So with the help of my wonderful friend Renea's circle cutters she had from her scrapbooking days, these were really pretty simple to whip out!

And of course I had some help!

My Oh My!!!  We used Jia's chop from China for the return address on the envelopes and she continued to play in the ink a bit!

Here's a finished ladybug!  Jack and I visited Hobby Lobby last week to get the supplies for these.  And God bless him, I don't think he had any idea what he was in for, but he hung right in there with me... through the entire store.... every isle!

These would've been nicer had they been printed, but hey... by the time I lined it all out to fit in the circle and such, I had them hand wrote!

Now about the goodbye... I'm going out of town for a few days for work and tonight will be the first time for Jia to go to sleep without her momma.  I'm a little anxious about how she will do.  She only wants momma to rock her at night.  But she and dad always do great when I'm not here, so I think she'll be a little trooper and be fine! 
I'm totally paranoid about Jack handling everything, but it will be good for him!  I laid out church clothes and school clothes and he'll have Jacen and Jory to tell him how everything happens!  I know he can do it!  He took a week off work to stay home with the kids, so he's ready to go!  Keep him in your prayers!

We also had our 6 month Post Placement Homestudy this week and I took a picture of Jia with Kisha our Social Worker, but I'm afraid I deleted it!  I'll have to try again when Kisha comes in June since that will be our last visit with her.  She's been great and we always enjoy seeing her.  I think she's always amazed at the changes in Jia when she comes and this time Jia took her by the hand and showed her her room and stuff.  Really sweet!

Have a wonderful weekend!