The Beginning of this Journey...

The Lord began this journey towards our second adoption about 1 year ago. He put on our hearts to sponsor Kay - at Harmony Outreach and we did. When i first saw her, i fell in love with her and prayed for her to join our family. It wasn't until May 2008 that the Lord began to use her to open our hearts to adoption again. That was when we had John Bentley from Harmony Outreach (her foster program) staying with us and he told us that Kay was ready to be adopted internationally. We prayed about her and began the adoption process again. Unfortunately, it wasn't in God's plan for her to join our family but He did use her to open our hearts up to adoption again and we are excited to see where He takes us. We are Trusting in Him.

The Lord has brought Maylynn into our lives and hearts on Nov. 21st (that is when we received her referral). We are excited to see Him bring her home to us. Please pray for the rest of our journey. We can't wait to bring Maylynn home...

Sunday, September 27, 2009

2 Month update...




Not sure if i'll remember to update this monthly etc. but it just so happens that 2 months ago from today is when we got Maylynn...

I am just amazed at how well she is doing! She has definately captured everyone's heart that has met her. Her smile lights up her face and her cheeks are so unbelievably kissable it's hard to stop kissing her once i've started:) Her hugs are so strong and she is so much fun to cuddle with:) She is very good at repeating EVERYTHING you say - (many times it is not clear but the tones etc. are there) It's so funny - i am trying to teach her many different phrases that are common when first meeting someone - she has "hi" down and "byebye" but i am working on her answering "How old are you?" - well, she just repeats me "how old are you" it's quite funny b/c then i'm trying to explain to her no no no - I say this... and you say this... it is only when i am able to do the same thing with Hayleigh that she kind of understands what she is supposed to do. Hayleigh has been such a good teacher (and bad at times - teaching her bad things - like today she taught her how to stick her tongue out at you if you don't like something - not sure where Hayleigh learned that but i am hoping to nip that in the bud asap!) And when we are trying to holler down to someone to do something etc... sure enough Maylynn is hollering the same thing and no one is able to hear or understand b/c her little voice is interupting etc... it's quite the scene:)
The girls are now separated for sleeping... we started to separate for naps a few weeks ago and that worked wonderfully! they were waking each other up and i could never get to the bottom of it as to who was waking up who! Now Hayleigh is sleeping in Brayden's top bunk at night time as well - they would talk constitanly and keep each other up until we went to bed at 10pm! This new arrangement is working out much better for everyone so far. We do have some space in our basement to finish a room if we need to but not sure where we will but the storage stuff that takes up that space - maybe we can hold off until next spring...
Just as easily as her smile lights up her face, she also has quite the pouter lip! It is rather pathetic and she really "works" it when we are around grandparents and friends! We have been just ingnoring it b/c it seems she is mostly doing it for attention - and she does get it from everyone - i should try to get a pic sometime - it is quite the lip!
She doesn't clean her plate anymore - many times now she will just eat what she likes and then says that she is done and expects to get up and leave the table - sometimes she gets upset but we haver her stay until we are finished or she has eaten a bit more for it to be considered her "meal" :)
She's had her hearing checked and that seems okay but 1 ear had fluid so we are waiting to get that one rechecked -i think?? Her eyes appt. went as good as it could considering her language abilities and her Thyroid tests came back okay. We just have to get her TB test this week at the health dept. and another round of shots on Friday...

Copied and pasted from The Vickerman Family Happenings (Posted on Sept.10)


The girls continue to act like sisters - I think Hayleigh still wishes that she was the only princess here sometimes. We are trying to "catch" Hayleigh being good and reward her for doing nice things, playing nicely etc... "Be nice" is the phrase in our house lately:) I really think that Hayleighs special time at preschool and gymnastics will be the very best thing for her - Maylynn was sure happy to see Hayleigh at the end of H. first day of preschool - it was so sweet and i could see that H. was a bit surprised to get all of the hugs from M.:) Maylynn is still learning the ropes but she is sure catching on. Her receptive language seems to be very good! I asked her in english where many of her body parts are and she did a GREAT job pointing to them! She was very pleased too:) She is such a sweet heart - we just love her so much! Tuesday she had a Dr. appt with a plastic surgeon to look at her cleft palate. He said that it looks repaired but a little short - so that is why she sounds so nasaly and will need speech therapy. He said that when she is much older, she'd probably have another surgery but nothing for a while. Since we were in Richland, we headed next door to the hospital to have MORE BLOOD drawn! I did not want to do it and almost didn't!! But, we did... and she cried her little heart out again for the 3rd time! this time she cried for Brayden - so sweet:) When we got home, as soon as she saw Lance - her lip drooped down and she held out her little owie - she did this routine for everyone in the family - it was quite the show:) Everyone was gracious to her and felt sorry for her:) lol:) Get this though! We got a phone call tonight that we have to have MORE BLOOD DRAWN AGAIN!!!! Apparantly a thyroid test that we just had done - one was pos. and one was neg. so - she has to get another! ugh!!!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Mom's gotcha week!

This past week has been fabulous! Lance has enjoyed being able to walk and do things without his "cling-on" and I've been enjoying my new daughter:) She has kissed me, hugged me, snuggled with me, ran to me with open arms, let me take care of her when she's hurt - it has been such a joy! She has also been bonding alot with the kids - which is fun & sweet to see:)


We are not ready to let our "bonding & attachment" guard down yet though - Lance and I will be the only one holding her for the next few months... it is so important for her to understand that we are her only mommy and daddy forever!!



Thursday, August 13, 2009

Maylynn's Gotcha Moment

So... here is Maylynn's gotcha moment - it is totally opposite of Hayleigh's :( The person holding the camera is our guide and at one pt. during the taping he had to run over to get a document.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Saturday, August 8, 2009

 

Home SWEET Home! - Aug. 6th (part 2) & Aug.8 update

So... the plan was that we'd meet our family at Brayden's last swim meet but Hayleigh and Taylor (and i think maybe gma V.) couldn't wait - so, they too met us at the airport. It was so sweet to see Hayleigh FINALLY meet her LONG AWAITED sister - although she had just woken up from a nap in the car and was a bit overhwelmed and a little shy. We headed over to the meet - we had thought that Maylynn was going to have a fit getting into the carseat but she pleasantly surprised us with just a little "delayed" complaining:) As soon as we got to the meet, we snuck up on Brayden - he was happy to see us but a little embarassed by all of my hugging and kissing in front of his friends;) We then sat down with gpa v. to wait for Brayden's events - it wasn't long before Hayleigh wanted to go swing - there were 2 little swings just waiting for them - She quickly took Maylynn's hand and they were off - it was such a precious sight. They played almost the entire time together - just getting to know each other - it was so heart warming to see:) Maylynn also instantly accepted Taylor too - she quickly jumped into his lap! soo cute! I could see in Taylor's face that he too was pleased:) After the meet we grabbed some Little Ceasar's pizza (ohh - that pizza has never tasted soo good -yum!) we also had to make a pit stop at McD's for a few little gems:) We came home to a beautifully clean house!! It was so wonderful and i know that gma & pa V. and the kids worked really hard! The kids were eager to see what we had bought for them in China - then they had fun getting to know thier new sister. They really enjoyed hearing her sing her little songs etc...

Maylynn has done a MUCH better job adjusting and accepting the fact that she is not going to be living in Lance's arms. She does prefer the boys in the family but she is slowly warming up to me. I have been in charge of ALL of the care giving for her (and Hayleigh) Actually, it has been very helpful having H. show Maylynn that there is nothing to cry about while taking a bath, getting dressed, brushing hair, teeth and going potty - Maylynn actually understands now that this is a part of life and is accepting it. Our first night was alittle rough - M. woke up around 1:30 and cried and cried (i think for Lance) but he wasn't going to be coming - soon H. woke up and i told her to go get in bed with daddy -she quickly took me up on that but M. was a little more ticked that she was stuck with only ME! She had alittle fit for about 1-2hrs. (my touches or voice only made it worse - so i just rolled over and pretended to sleep - it worked!) I stayed with her until morning - i didn't want her to wake up again and be frightened with no one there. Last night went much better - both of the girls skipped their naps for the day and was asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow! and they didn't wake until morning - woohoo! I am praying that is the case for tonight -so far so good = 2 girls asleep:) Also, the past 2 nights i've had both girls in my lap for books - M. loves books - she just sits so good and listens - it amazes me b/c how can she understand a word i'm saying? - i'm hoping she is soaking all of the language in.

Tonight (Aug.8) we went to the neighborhood park and the girls had fun playing on the slides - well, we started a thing where when they went by they'd give me five, the next time it was 10 and the next time H. gave me 10 and a hug and M. quickly followed -it was so sweet - i just soaked it in - it was actually the very first time that SHE came to ME and gave me a hug and a little sweet pat on the back - she did it 3 times! I'll never forget this day:)

She is doing so much better but we are being very careful about who offers to hold her. We won't be putting her in the church nursery for a few months, or leaving her with a sitter - we really want her to understand that we are her main caregivers and the people that she needs to attach too. So, please don't be offended by us requesting people to not to offer to hold her - there will be a time but not yet:) The boys are loving her to death too and love to hold her and she'd prefer that they'd hold her instead of me but they have been so understanding to not hold their arms out to her when i am holding her. They have had plenty of opportunities to sit with her or carry her around though - H. too! although the "big sister" novelty is slowly wearing off and while they have a great time playing together there are times when M. just wants H. to leave her alone. And there are times when H. has a bit of jealousy - H. also has been extra sensitive so, i've been smothering her with hugs and kisses!! (Lance has too) Actually, the boys have been great in including H. in their playing with M - they are the best big brothers. I am just so amazed at them! Honestly, they really weren't too keen on the idea of adopting again but their hearts have QUICKLY changed! They love M. so much and Brayden even asked us yesterday if we could adopt again - our answer to that was "our table is full :)"

Maylynn has definately made a difference at our house and each day is getting better.

Also, i really want to thank EVERYONE for their prayers, words of encouragement and kind gestures through out our journey. Adoption is not as easy thing - as you have read there are good times and bad times - i hope that i've been "real"enough to convey that. Even though we recieved our daughter 2 weeks ago - i have been in a deep valley and am so grateful for the prayers and scripture that has been shown to me - i really feel that He has been reaching His hand down to me and slowly - day by day - drawing me closer to Him and pulling me out of that valley again. Thank you so much Jesus - you are my rock.

This Adoption journey is now over but the story continues as a family - "The Vickerman Family Happenings" blog will be taking over. I will be occasionally posting to this website if something only applies to Maylynn and her adoption or adjustment. Thanks for following!

Oh - i almost forgot! I can finally share her "confidential" details now that the adoption is final!
Chinese name: You Ru Shui ( i think it (Ru Shui) means peaceful water) You is her surname/last name
Born: April 17, 2007
Found on May 24, 2007 and placed in the Guilin SWI on May 26th, 2007
Placed in foster care on July 25, 2007
Repaired cleft palate surgery in April 2008