Mary, Sadie and Lunch with Aunt Nancy!

Well our sweet Mary is making more contact with friends her age and hopefully once we get a few more doctor appointments out of the way, we'll be working on more playdates! Now, Miss Sadie is the granddaughter of good friends, Jo & Tony Kelly (rockin' guitarist and vocalist)! We enjoyed a great cookout at their house and it seems like Miss Sadie and Mary connected riding in the wagon! Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to post some pictures down the road with Mary's CUTE friend, Landon!!! But in the meantime, here's Mary and Sadie hangin' out! Next, today - Mary and I met Aunt Nancy for lunch! Nancy works downtown and she picked out an AWESOME place for us to meet, stuff our face and SPLASH IN THE WATER!!!! You GO, Nancy! Nancy is Robert's sister and she is such a treasure to this family - and I know, to MARY as well! Nancy has made Mary the most awesome outfits, blankets, lunch backpacks, curtains - wow.....we don't know of anything that Nancy CAN'T make (or BAKE!) but beyond that awesome talent, Nancy is lovingly devoted to her family, always supportive and it brings Robert and I great joy and peace knowing that her thoughtfulness and generousity will be such a strong influence in Mary's life!! Who knows???? Maybe one day Mary will take a liking to sewing and can be Nancy's protege'....."Project Runway"????? A gold medal in swimming? Who knows.....time will tell!!!! WE LOVE YOU NANCY!!!!! Enjoy pictures!

To Robert: Happy Father's Day

Well, it's the day after Father's Day and this is a picture that Mary gave Robert as a gift! Of course, I took it and I remember when I saw those two just talking and laughing at the kitchen table together that morning, that the moment would make for a great picture, and it did!

Beyond the moment though, Robert the father and Robert the husband has one of the biggest hearts in the whole wide world, second to God. He loves his older children so much and when we started on this journey to get Mary, I wondered just how much room he would have in his heart for her - well, I think the picture says it all! He LOVES THIS LITTLE GIRL and there's nothing in the world that makes my heart smile more than to know she has been appointed an earthly father who really wants the best for her, has her back and will do everything he can for her to help her grow up to be the woman that God desires!

Mary loves him, too! It is endearing to see her reach out for him, nuzzle her head into his chest or just smack his leg to get his attention so that he can pick her up! There's nothing more amusing either than to hear both of them laughing!!! She trusts him. That's HUGE! Anyway, I love you Robert and I love you for the father that you are and will continue to be to our little girl, Mary! You ROCK! Lastly, this next picture is when Robert met Mary for the very first time and I think the eye contact and the visual exchange between them is timeless. That moment will always stand in my mind and heart forever! Enjoy!

Something New, Every Day!

Well, as of June 5th, Robert and I have had the joy of loving and knowing Mary for one month!!!!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MARY! Since Memorial Day, Mary has been to the zoo for the first time, been on the boat for the first time, met her older (Jei Jei) sister Jennifer and older brother Brian this past week! Dude, I don't know the chinese name for 'older brother' - sorry! Mary also got to meet most of my family last month as well.

SO - how is Mary, compared to when we met her at the Civil affairs office in Hefie City, China last month?????

• She smiles and laughs more than we ever, EVER thought she would!
• She's not so wobbly - her coordination and strength are stronger every day. She's learning to jump, too!!!!
• She's added the following foods to her diet: black-eyed peas, Cheetos and Pringles potato chips (thanks Grandpa and Aunt Diane!!!!) Chili, mashed potatos, and spinach. She's starting to drink some liquids cold but to date and to be on the safe side - she still prefers lukewarm!
• She went from calling Robert, 'DaDa' to Papa! She is nailing 'byebye' and "Hiiiiiii" and waves furiously when she says both!
• She's SOOOO close to correctly forming her little fingers so that she can say - ROCK ON!
• She's doing very well with the baby signing - she's SOOOO smart!
• She has some dance moves - more to come, I'm sure!
• Now when she folds her hands to pray with us, she moves her mouth as if she's talking, even though she doesn't! She does the same when we're all singing - moves the mouth, no words....hey, that's her MILLI VANILLI impression!!!!
• She's very resourceful! For instance, Robert and I woke up to hearing this soft tapping against the wall. Mary had woken up, walked into the pantry, got down the swifer broom and we both watched in astonishment as we witnessed our 28 month old daughter manuever the end of the swifter broom handle to turn on the light switch. Yes, she did it and to roaring applause from her parents!
• She's been in her own bed for about 2 weeks and really does sleep through the night!
• She's starting to really get familiar and love the Businda family and has successfully spent some limited time with them alone! WITHOUT a meltdown!

Every day unfolds some new suprise and we're really starting to find our 'new' groove in this blessed change! I have some random pictures, so enjoy and know how much we appreciate your love, prayers and support! Here's Mary about to give PaPa a dose of G-FORCE!!!

Mary's first swing!!!!!

Mary's first Boat ride - look how she's wiggin' out a little!But NOW - she's got the swing of things and how fast the boat should go!
Mary and her bodyguard, Jacob!
Mary and "Jei Jei" (older sister) Jennifer

Different kind of pic with Mama and Mary on boat!

Mary with big bro, Brian and then with Aunt Nancy on her first carousel ride at the Nashville Zoo!!!!

Mary's first Holiday!

Gotta start with baby girl playing "sock puppet"!!

Well we just finished celebrating Memorial Day Weekend and boy - was it memorable! But first, a big 'SHOUT OUT' to ALL of our men and women in the military who served and those who are still serving our country! To my nephew, 'Lil David who is still in Iraq - ROCK ON! Cody and Brian Businda who are serving, ROCK ON!

NOW - here's a few pics of our day at Nashville Shores where Mary saw her first fireworks, which she loved but the noise of course, scared her! (Maybe we shouldn't have sat by the pool, close to where they were shooting them!!) She also met Aunt Joan and Uncle Billy for the first time, and Cody's fiance', Stephanie who Mary LOVES! It was a great night and Mary slept GOOD!

Congratulations Mary on celebrating your first American Holiday as a United States Citizen, especially a holiday that honors our men and women in the military who have served this great nation so valiantly! ROCK ON!Robert showing Mary the pool!

Cousin Jacob training Mary on the electronic games

A pose before the fireworks!

Stephanie, Diane, Kenny, Aunt Joan and Uncle Billy getting ready for the show!

Baby girl acting all CUTE!

Stephanie and Mary bonding!

Mary LOVES to Play!

Well, this first photo is a 'self-portrait' that Mary took as my good friend, Renee was brave enough to lend Mary her camera and let her take her own picture! Not bad, and look at all those little choppers!!!!Mary plays like her parents, hard and to the point of exhaustion and really just has a great time!!!!

So I'll just post some times of Mary playing and let you enjoy!!!

Mary and Uncle Kenny crawling around on the floor!!!

Prayer with Mary and the Father's Heart

When Robert and I knew we would have a child together, we would discuss at length what we wanted to establish as a foundation, what we wouldn't do and what we wished we had done in the past......well, that's more relevant to Robert since Mary is my first! LOL!
SO - the biggest thing we felt/FEEL is important is being consistent with praying -Praying one-on-one with God, with each other, and as a family at mealtimes, meltdowns (yes, as one night I rocked my child and prayed while she experienced a traumatic night terror - it was one for me, too!) whatever the situation....we want Mary to know that God is ALWAYS there and is ready to listen and talk to her at anytime, for anything. So we started implementing this with Mary, in China.
So Robert and I make sure that every meal and every night, our hands our together and heads are bowed with Mary and she's right along with us - even though she doesn't know the profound significance of this communication, she watches us intently and smiles - what a thrill for my heart and a responsibility too!!! Anway, I really recognize the power of our ACTIONS because a couple of days after we got home, I laid down with Mary for her nap. We're quiet, but laughing and trying to sleep when all of a sudden, she just rolls towards me, faces me with those BIG, BROWN EYES and she puts her hands together in prayer, smiles and ..just looks at me. I put my hands together, smile (oh, my heart is just LEAPING!) and look back......she then, slips her little 'prayer' hands into mine and just leaves them there. I immediately just started to pray to God, thanking Him for Mary and for all He does for us. An incredible moment, one that I will never forget and one that is surely growing me up!
Next, loving music and CeCe Winans the way I do, I just HAD to introduce Mary to a little rhythmic dance move you make during CeCe's song "Pray"......this particular move is very simple, and one day - I WILL get her on video doing this - but she is sooooo ADORABLE, bobbing her head, smiling and moving her little 'prayer' hands from side to side and she does it sooooo well! CeCe would be proud!
Lastly, I grew up surrounded by various environments (certain denominations too - gotta be fair!) that conditioned me to believe that God only loved me if I was "good"....you know, all the moral things a monkey can be trained to do with the exception of giving it's heart to Jesus and being spiritually transformed! I also believed that God did NOT love me when I sinned. I believed that He never forgot my sins too and that's such a cruel lie. The point is - times that I doubted, rebelled, committed sins that I thought would condemn my life forever, times I was really angry at God and pitched a fit, raised my fist and was depressed or whatever.........He DID.....He DOES love me and while I have come to embrace the true Father heart of God in the past few years, He's REALLY laying it on me hard and heavy with my 28 month old daughter!
I love her in the midst of her frustration, I love her so completely when she's angry because she just doesn't see the big picture.....not yet..she doesn't understand....(are you getting this, too?!?!?) I ache for her when she's scared, I cry with her, for her (and for her birth mother) and I'm always watchful of her to protect her, I delight in hearing her laugh and being silly and I'm all but doing the touchdown dance when she learns something, mastered a simple task and I just LOVE it when she falls into my arms, so pleased with herself that she did it! I am adament to tell her how proud I am of her, to tell her 'that's my girl' and.... okay......I DO a few victory dances too, she and I are very cool with that! (until she grows into her teens, so I'm told!).
So more than ever, I'm learning to give myself a break when I screw up as I really see this Father heart, the Parent heart of God as He deals with ALL His children, especially His older children like myself. I don't see Him as a license to sin, - never - I'm just not going to allow guilt, shame, or horrible people who want to be hurtfuland are unaccountable stop me from loving Him and moving forward. My Father, OUR Father, who art in heaven, wants me to grow in the fullness of Him and learn, just as I want that for Mary and I'm so committed and impassioned to live the rest of my life helping to lead her to soak in the presence of her Heavenly Father.

What's Goin' On!

First, here's a GREAT pic that Robert's sister, Nancy took at the airport of Robert holding Mary - I absolutely love this picture because it truly captures both Father and daughter beaming, comfortable and in love with each other while also enjoying being HOME!!!

Well, the Busindas' are finally getting to a normal pattern of sleep and Mary is ALMOST on Tennessee time! The night before last, Mary was down for 9 hours and last night, she actually slept 12 hours - HOO-RAY!!!!!!!! We're noticing how Mary has a tendancy to wake up for a little bit, babble to herself and then go back to sleep. Mom had about 12 hours last night as that's the most I've slept since we've been back home. Robert's been able to rest when Mary has but Mom hasn't (Nap OR bedtime - I can tell I'm a 'first time worrying Mom!) so Robert kept close eye on Mary last night while I shnoozed in the back bedroom. NOW, I think we're all up to speed on our rest AND a schedule - WOO-HOO!!!!

Next, Mary had a visit to the International Adoption Clinic at Vanderbilt Children's hospital yesterday - it was an AWESOME visit and I'm sooooo grateful for such a positive report. First of all, as Mom, Dad and Mary were well rested, we put Mary in the car seat for the first time - went smooth as a baby's butt!!!! She was sooo good and smiled at both of us when I would turn around to look at her and was just so wonderful to hang out with - no tears! As we were driving to the hospital, looking at my happer and well-rested daughter, looking at my husband and holding onto his hand, it felt soo good, so sweet to be this 'family', to be more than just husband and wife but father and mother with a daughter as well......still can't describe it. Another great thing was that Mary also reached out to Robert to hold her, carry her and love on her in addition to me so it looks like she's really getting it into her heart that now - she has a mother and father = a family!!!!!

To sum the 4 hour hospital visit, Mary's growth parameters were measured according to an American growth chart, not Chinese and where weight, height, and head circumference were all within normal limits!!!! We made follow up appointments with the occupational and developmental therapist and her appointment with the cardiologist is next week. That was a given as to her repaired heart defects as well as the murmur that she has so we look forward to that visit. Mary also had a chest x-ray and then the LAST STOP WAS THE LAB!!!! 15 vials of blood they took from baby girl as dad held her and mom distracted her. (I think this was harder on Dad than Mary!) When they first inserted the needle, she did cry but then the cry became a whimper - apparently she knew the drill! She was absolutely amazing during the whole time and even the nurse exclaimed that Mary was their best patient that day! Wrapping it up, Mary was waving to the nurses and blowing kisses and they were so sweet to give her a little stuffed animal! Vanderbilt ROCKS! So with all of that, we'll follow up with the labs and poop specimen mom got today with our pediatrician, Dr. Donna Lett - she's the WOMAN! We're believing for another good report.

Lastly, the Businda family came over this past Saturday night for a cook out and while Mary was slow to warm up, by the end of the night, she reached out to Grandpa, played with Kenny - who was hysterical, opened up her awesome gifts from Grandpa, Diane, Jacob and Nancy and it was a great introduction to the wonderful family that I already know and such a kind and Christlike family who loves and embraces this gift from God! Today and yesterday have been just, very, VERY cool as this immediate family has been chilling, and spending some intimate and fun time with each other - Mary is definitely becoming more and more comfortable and her bond with Robert is getting stronger and stronger! Also, she's babbling, cooing and communicating more so we'll be starting just a couple of 'signs' and start the baby sign language soon!!!!

We're headed to Wal-mart for a short trip (hopefully) and I'll be posting at the end of this week! 'Til then, enjoy these other pictures Aunt Nancy took of Mary at our cook-out!!!!