Maggie is nine!

We will be full-on adoption blogging mode in just one day, but before we leave I wanted to make sure I wrote about my Maggie.

Maggie is now nine years old! It's always hard to believe when I sit down and really contemplate how quickly the years go by.

Maggie is our middle child and feels all the feelings. When she's happy, she's the happiest kid you've known, when she's sad, she's in the depths of despair, when she's angry all her Irish side comes out in full blown fury. Maggie is very much how I was as a child. She loves deeply and feels the injustices in her life very strongly. Everyone in the world needs Jesus, but I think sometimes people like me (and Maggie) feel that need a bit more because we know how, on our own, we are so prone to failure in our words and actions.

I've noticed in the past few weeks after having some great conversations with Maggie that she has tried hard to mellow out the extremes in her personality. It has been really lovely to watch her take her younger sisters under her wing and teach them new games to play, to show them how to climb trees, and to print out paper dolls for them.

Being in the middle can be tough because the older siblings are, well, growing up. They're not as interested in playing make believe stories. I'm so thrilled to see Maggie teaching those stories and games to her younger sisters. I know it won't be too long until she isn't as interested in those child-like games either.

Maggie has a truly compassionate heart. She loves all animals, bugs, and reptiles. Catching toads is still high on her priority list all summer long.

Loves her chicken, Big Mama

She is happy to play with Legos, Woodzeez, and other small toys. She is not very interested in picking up any of the aforementioned items.

This year we started a new tradition where I take the birthday girl out for coffee for an hour. Even though I'm with the girls all the time, I don't get to spend much one-on-one time with them. This was a really special time for us. I enjoyed getting to give Maggie my undivided attention. While the things we talked about were mostly things I already knew about her, I did learn something I hadn't known previously. Maggie really loves to imagine herself in other people's shoes. Actually, creatures shoes. She wondered what it would be like to live the life of a bird or the life of a pig. We imagined together what that would be like. It was actually a chilly day so we decided to just go for a drive around the countryside after she finished her Cotton Candy Gelati. She chose the music (Disney Princess Music on Pandora) and told me about all the animals she was seeing outside her window. A very quick, simple hour, but a new memory to cherish.

Maggie & Mama

Her time with dad was spent eating the breakfast buffet at Lapp's. She said the baked french toast was the best thing. Her glass of chocolate milk was so huge she couldn't finish it. And best of all, she got to take a free whoopie pie home since she was there on her birthday.

Breakfast at Lapp's

They rented a canoe at Muddy Run and took along the fishing pole she got for her birthday. She didn't catch anything but it didn't matter. She still had a great time. And she saw a green heron standing on a branch and watched it fly away.



Maggie is so excited to have another little sister from China. However, she's really holding out hope that we'll have another biological child someday because she loves little babies so very much. Seeing her new baby cousin, Wally, has really stirred this desire up in her. I will say, baby Wally is probably the best baby I've ever seen in my life. He's so laid back, smiles, and is all around happy. Who wouldn't want a baby like him?

Best baby!

I think that Heidi will be a precious sister for Maggie to devote herself to, especially since she's not walking yet, it will make her seem more like a baby than her nearly 2 years.

Maggie loves:
-yellow
-lasagne
-tuna noodle casserole
-tacos
-iced coffee
-monkeys
-reading
-favorite book: Unicorn Quest
-Legos, hatchimals, and other toys
-cleaning the bathroom
-cauliflower and broccoli (cooked... with salt on it)
-athletic shorts  & tank tops in summer
-sweatpants & loose shirts in winter

Maggie doesn't love:
-hot dogs
-cleaning up toys
-asparagus
-rice and beans
-chili
-jeans
-shoes
-tights

Happy ninth birthday, my Magdalena Faith! We love you!

Travel Update + Some Adoption Thoughts

So much good news to share!

Monday, August 12, we got a brief update of sweet Heidi Grace. She now weighs 17 pounds and is 28 inches tall. Although the update didn't state that she is crawling, two of the photos make it appear she is either crawling or very close to it (she is 21 months old). This is a wonderful improvement in her skills as she could only just sit up independently in April at 17 months old.

Yesterday, August 13, 2019, we got travel approval! This gives us specific approval to enter China with the intent of adopting our daughter.

Today, August 14, the protests in Hong Kong have settled down. This has been a concern for us because our flights into and out of China layover in Hong Kong and recently several days of flights have been cancelled.We believe that we will be safe to fly without difficulty.

We have our official FAMILY DAY scheduled (sometimes called Gotcha Day), which is the day we will be united with Heidi! This is scheduled for Monday, September 2. Less than three weeks until my precious daughter will be in our arms and we can share her photo with you all!

I plan to blog everyday as I did for our last adoption. You can now subscribe to my blog by typing in your email at the bottom of this page to get email notifications of when I post. I am hoping to still be able to post to Facebook once a day but I'm unsure if that will be possible so if you don't want to miss anything, be sure to subscribe!

Finally, I want to share some thoughts on adoption. I have very openly and publicly discussed our adoptions for one main reason. Simply put; adoption is amazing. I hope that by sharing our joys and challenges that you all will be encouraged in your relationship with Jesus, and that if you don't have a relationship with Jesus that you will want to know what it's all about. Second, I hope to encourage my friends and family to be involved in adoption in one way or another.

I can wholeheartedly say that my church, my community, my friends and family have done this. They have loved and supported us in more ways than I can count. When you hear the phrase "it takes a village", this is what comes to mind. We could not be going to China in two weeks if it weren't for the support we have had from all of you.

My greatest hope is that I will have the opportunity to support you in this same way. If you are interested in adoption, please reach out to me because I would love to have real, serious discussions about what it could look like for your family, how to pay for it, and how to get started.

Thank you all!
Much love, Emily