CallaAnne Photos~

Most of the time when I ask Calla if I may take her picture she says no~

But today she crossed those arms in a pose and let me shoot. 

Adorable!!!!!

Date Night~

Scott and I were able to get away for a short date and we took little bit with us again~

She kept looking at how beautiful she was once she was ready.
She loved riding in her daddy's new truck and experienced her first grocery store run.
Precious little one being loved on big!!!

School Blog Book~

Our 2015-16 School Blog book came today and they were SO excited ~

THIS is why I am SO diligent to blog our family and school memories because I promise these books are chosen every single day.
Calla has even found herself in this one and that makes all the difference in the world!!!
Worth every penny!!!

CallaAnne & the Babies~

We have intentionally kept Calla's world small since she has been home.
Keeping her on the first floor with us and toy introductions to a minimum.
Imagine her surprise this week when she was able to play in the room she will be sharing with E&H~

Her favorites were the bitty babies and their crib which she climbed into with them.
Babies, babies, everywhere!!!

Weekend Fun~

EK and SJ enjoyed Ellie's birthday party and getting to hang out with their church friends~

Calla had a great weekend hanging out with her sweet sibs~

Scott and his siblings planned a family reunion weekend to celebrate their significant birthdays for 2016.
Larry 75, Jan 70, Susan 65, and Scott 55~ There was a great turn out on Saturday evening~

 We were able to get our first family photo with Calla too!

Lots of time in the pool because it is so hot~

 SJ taught school and pulled her own tooth!
A full and fun weekend!!!

Life is Unpredictable~

One minute I think I have CA figured out. Everything going smoothly. She's satisfied with me holding her or singing to music then out of no where, a meltdown happens.

It is raw, desperate, and needed. Children from abandonment and brokenness have lots of pain inside and need a safe haven to express these emotions. They need dignity in the hard times. It happens in the four walls of our home.

Most of the meltdowns are from miscommunication. She can't tell us what she wants and we can't figure it out. Most of the time it is a guessing game. Sometimes what we offer she refuses all to change her mind in no less than a minute later. She doesn't even know what she wants.

Life is so unpredictable and the main reason we are not out and about or having lots of people over.

One thing I've learned through seven adoptions is to have no expectations.
Taking it moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. Giving the gifts of space, time, and love.


Space~ A place to know what family feels like.

 Last week we went to pick blueberries in our side yard between us and our neighbor. Everyone was excited to go, even CA who LOVES being outside! We made our way over to pick and everyone was happy until CA discovered I wasn't going to let her graze on hundreds of berries. Then this happened.

Time~ Moments given so broken hearts can heal.

I can't tell you how thankful I was that we were just across the front yard because NOTHING I could have said would fix this. She did not like being told no, or walking away from the blueberry bushes, or even going back into the safety of our home. What if we had been at someone else's house, or the store, or church? She would not have had the allowance for all of this play out. Because that's what has to happen. It can't be smothered. It can't be pampered. It can't be controlled. It has to come out and given the time needed for healing.

Love~ Unconditional and complete acceptance of any and all behaviors.

Love for these little ones has to be unconditional and okay with the unpredictable. 

Sometimes she lets me pick her up and console. 

Sometimes she doesn't want to be touched, hits, and screams.

I have to stay close by to provide safety and my arms when she ready.

If she refuses me, I remember she's not rejecting me.

If she hits, I remember she's not trying to hurt me.

If she reaches up, I pull her in no matter her behavior.

Things We've Learned in the Last Month:

Feet Up More than Down~  

Calla needs to be held more than not. I had a friend tell me 'Hold them for a year and it will make all the difference in the world'. (Cathie Zinn)

Super Sleeper~

Calla is the best sleeper once she is asleep but getting her there requires patience. She has transitioned onto the sofa bed in our room but still needs us in the room with her. We are okay with that. Sometimes at night it takes her two hours to fall asleep. No telling where all that originates but being with her is what she needs.

Learning New Words Everyday~

Giving Calla one word phrases has proven to be her way of learning. She understands most of what we say to her and is learning to verbalize back. We tried teaching her to sign and she just shook her head. Her speech is great and can repeat most any word we give her IF she feels like it. :)

Music is Her Love Language~

Sometimes if we are having the worst time I can turn on her Chinese music and she calms down. I have sang to her from the moment we took her in our arms. She can sing back any tune I sing to her. Definitely need to build on this gift.

{DVD: Dance & Learn Chinese, CD: Little Dragon Tales}

Super Eater~

Calla likes most everything we offer her and at first she spit everywhere. She spat at me when she was mad... that has stopped. She loves all kinds of foods too: meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and sweets. She usually wants me to feed her the first half of her meal then takes the utensil to finish. Sharing this builds our bond and attachment.

Sibling Bond~

I have been amazed at how well the other kids are doing with Calla. They know she needs more of me and have pitched in to help. They know she may accept them and other times she pushes away. We laugh either way and move on. She is choosing to follow them around to play and sits to 'school' when we are working. I see them pulling her in and showing her what being connected is all about!

May Need Tricking~

Sometimes we can't 'talk' Calla into what we would like her to do. We have found if Evie does it, she will want to do it. This works with eating, swinging, riding in her push car, putting on her clothes, etc. She just needs to see and then it becomes her idea. Get the trick?

Loves to be Outside~

If all else fails and even before we need intervention, outside is the golden ticket. She loves being out even when it is in the high 90s. She is used to it being from Guangxi. We spend lots of time just being in nature. It makes us all feel better!

Extremely Loving~

Calla is very loving. I saw it in a photo from her orphanage days as she patted a baby in a bouncy seat and thought this would be the case. She hugs and kisses us and loves to be held. She holds her baby doll and sings rock-a-bye to her. She has fallen in love with her big sisters and believe me it is mutual. She has us all wrapped around all her fingers. :)

Learning No and Mine~

She is learning to express her 'no' and 'mine'. It's okay because the others are old enough to understand she's the baby and we give in the her (for now). Allowing her to express herself is huge in attachment. Her strong will is evident quite often and we know in the long run, it will serve her well!

We LOVE you baby girl and SO thankful you are safe and sound with us!!!

Home One Month Today~

Calla has been home for a month now and we are beginning to fall into a new normal.
She still adores Evie and Evie certainly feels the same~

She LOVES being outside doing whatever her sibs are doing like chalk~

 At first she was so terrified of the dogs, she wouldn't even get down to play.
Now she points to them and laughs wanting to like them so bad.
I know in time, she too will be a dog lover just like the rest of the crew~

She still loves her water table more and more and insists on going without a shirt when playing.
She is also tolerating cold treats now.
Don't you just love her first pigtails and the story that brave scar could tell~

One day at a time this little one is finding her way to knowing what family and love are~

We have positioned a basket of books in the family room to grab and read.
Up until this week she has wanted to nothing to do with them.
She is quite the fan of having her OWN ideas so now SHE is choosing books.
Her favorite is Cornelius P. Mudd, Are You Ready For Bed?~

I've already written about her love for our family photos.
It dawned on me she needed to see herself in the photos too and boy was I right.
She stands and looks then says, "Calla?".
Yes sweet one, you are part of us and our love for you is forever~

Home one month today!!!

Love is Growing Around Here~

It's a beautiful thing to watch siblings scoop up one they didn't know and begin pulling her in~

It's a lot of give and take... mostly giving but can't brag on these amazing children enough~

Evie: "I'm playing with Calla. She really likes me!"
Love is Growing Around Here!
Everything Beautiful!!!

Our 30th Anniversary~

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary just like a couple two weeks home from China with a new little one would~

Dinner in Greenville with little bit in tow.

She jumped in her carseat perfectly as if to say, "Where are we going guys?"~

We made a mistake maybe by eating out on the patio because CA wanted to be up looking around instead of eating our delicious shrimp and grits (which she LOVED!).
Who cares if we weren't able to sit quietly staring into each other's eyes to reminisce over the last 30 years?
We already know the best 30 are still to come, and we were holding our future in our arms.
Love you sweetheart and all the blessings we cherish.
Here's to another 30+!!!

Travel to China

We left home Friday morning for our journey to China. 

We dropped Rosie and the four kids at Savannah and Josh's for the weekend. We felt like it might help the separation if they weren't home. Was still super hard!

We picked up Josh and he drove us to the airport.

We checked in and waited only a short while before we boarded our first leg to LAX. The girls did amazingly well!!!

THEN we had a six hour layover...

You can imagine they crashed in the stroller waiting for our longest leg. 14 hours to Guangzhou.

This long flight is not for the faint of heart. Holly had some anxiety waking up from a nap in the dark on the plane. Once she was so hysterical, she threw up all over both of us. There was nothing to do but create a 'sweater skirt' and let my puke wet jeans dry.

We met the sweetest couple on the plane headed to Nanning just like us! We were instant best friends and will receive our children together tomorrow at the civil affairs building.

When we all came out from baggage, our guides were standing side by side!

This is the view from our 20th floor hotel room and our hotel is connected to a very nice mall, restaurants, and Walmart.

We have it all right here with us.

Tomorrow we will have the morning to get our bearings of where we are and then head to get CallaAnne about 2:30. Please pray for our sweet baby and her foster mother. They will be separated tomorrow and she will come to us. I expect it to be a very hard day but thank Jesus she will be our forever little girl this time tomorrow!!!

SO thankful to be here!!!

Leaving for China~

It has been a big week of last minute details and this morning as we prepare to leave is no different.

I am sitting here writing on the blog when I should be up closing the suitcases. :)

Today we leave in anticipation of sweeping our precious CallaAnne into our arms forever.

I wanted to post our adoption video today in honor of our journey to our baby.

Scott and I want to thank everyone who has walked this journey with us in prayer, support, and/or financial help.

There will be one less orphan Monday morning and one more Ankerich!

Praise the Lord for ALL HE has done and will continue to do.

Blessings and love to you all and I will see you in CHINA!!!

China Bound~

Tickets are purchased, Itineraries planned, and packing has begun.
We were thrilled to wake up today to 5 new pics of our baby~
 The one in pink taken today. This is what she REALLY looks like!

The bitties are getting excited to travel for their baby sister~

Almost go time!!!

CallaAnne~

We had a big hiccup in our paperwork this week with USCIS which gave me yet another chance
to realized I am not in charge of this journey.
I was very upset but chose to accept and move on.
Today we received a wonderful report about our growing girl and these sweet photos~

 They are blurry because I screen shot them from a PDF, but you can't deny the cuteness~

It was definitely a JOY to see her sweet face and know God loves us very much!!!
He has the timeline down to the perfect moment she will be in our arms!

Holly's Passport~

We received Holly's passport so she and Evie can go with us to get CallaAnne~

Now it's time to apply for our visas. Getting closer!

LOA for CA~

Our LOA was sent on Monday, and we expected it yesterday by 8pm~

There was a big storm in Memphis causing a delay in deliveries.
It arrived today, and we signed sending it right back.
One HUGE step closer to this sweet girl!
{Estimating travel sometime in May}

Don't Miss It~

One year ago this past weekend I was invited to the If Gathering at the last minute, and on the second day we were asked to write on a stone a word God was speaking to us.

I wrote the number 7.

God had shown me 7 a few times in the weeks before and would after too.

I really felt like He was leading us back to China for a 7th child but when I shared this with Scott, he reminded me of a pact we had made 6 months before that. He said no.

---

It was June 27, 2014 and as we hit the tarmac, we locked hands, looked into each others’ eyes, and made a promise we were done! Done with travel, done with adopting, and just ready to be home. Little did we know, God had such better plans for us.

---

Back to February 7, 2015… I was home from a mountaintop experience thinking I had heard a clear word from God and my husband was sure I had not. I didn’t know what to think or pray.

I decided to pray IF we were meant to go back for our 7th child, God would tell Scott. It was SO hard to sit back and let Him work.

In April, I saw the face of a little girl that took my breath away. I wanted her to be our little girl but didn’t know how to approach Scott about her. I casually mentioned a precious little girl who looked just like SJ, and he said she probably had a family. I checked… no!

I told him I would advocate for her and just see what God would do. That was SO hard. Trust God to give her to us even when I was putting her out there to be chosen by someone else. I believed with all my heart if she was meant to be our daughter, God would work it out.

For two months she waited on an agency list and I kept praying for her, for Scott, for our family.

I remember getting a message while we were away for our anniversary in June that another family had sent LOI for her, and I had to force myself to be thankful she was chosen and loved. It hurt so much but God was working.

For two months her file was gone and we believed a family was pursuing her adoption. I still thought about her and continued to pray for her.

In August I was standing in the school room staring out the window watching the rain pour when a message appeared on my phone that Raine was back on the list and the family had released her file. I could NOT hold back my feelings. I sent the file to Scott with a note saying, “Don’t be mad.” For days he didn’t say a word.

One Saturday he was running and God revealed her eyes to him. He knew. The next day at church God would make it SO clear during a sermon challenging us to be Lifesavers… who were we going to save?

Bam! That was it… the answer to my prayers over the last 7 months. That night he reached over to take my hand, looked me in the eye, and said Okay. Nothing else needed to be said. I knew he meant Okay, we have a daughter and Okay we are going to get her. It was also a moment when 7 made complete sense.

7th child had been chosen 7 months after God had spoken to my heart. He had taught me He is able to do immeasurable MORE in His timing. I just had to believe and wait.

Our children were thrilled when we told them they had a new sister while vacationing at the beach.

And the rest is history… we are waiting for LOA and hoping to travel in the Spring.

---

Chosen for Life Conference~ {Yesterday}

One year later yesterday, we were invited to share our video and testimony at Chosen for Life Conference. One year later God gave us the beautiful privilege to share our adoption story with people chasing adoptions or foster care. It was amazing to stand on stage and shout God’s provision in our marriage over the last 30 years! SO thankful to Bryan and Lisa Miller for this amazing opportunity!

IF I had not gone to IF Gathering, I might not have been available to hear God’s plan for our family.

IF I had chosen to ignore God’s nudges, I would have missed the blessing of speaking for His glory.

IF I had pushed Scott instead of waiting on God, I might have missed our 7th daughter.

IF our marriage had been weak and we had been selfish, we may have chosen our own path.

---

SO What to Take from all this?

God will reveal His will to BOTH of you but not necessarily in your timing OR at the same time.

Prayer moves us to a place where God ordains His will.

Never say never because you don’t always know what God has in store.

His plan is ALWAYS better!

Ephesians 3:20… Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Our favorite matra lately has been: WHAT if we had missed this?

Final Thought: DON’T MISS IT! It’s TOO good to miss!!!

Share what might be holding you back from a first adoption or maybe your 7th.

More CallaAnne~

I got word from a friend someone was looking for me on FB to share a wealth of CallaAnne photos~

Anyone who has brought home a child through adoption knows,
old photos from the child's past will be precious treasures one day.
I am SO thankful for amazing people who have traveled to CA's orphanage to love on the least of these.
They have loved on our baby and are sponsoring her to live in a foster family!
They describe her as breath taking and so very sweet.
I can certainly see it in the photos we were given... all 90 of them plus video.
Just too precious to take it all in!
We are in awe of God's grace and mercy!

Updated Photo of CallaAnne~

My birthday is next week and more than anything I just wanted a new photo of CallaAnne!
I contacted Ladybugs 'n' Love about sending a care package to our baby.
They needed to see if CA's orphanage accepted packages and were told she had already received one.
Angela was so kind to say there was no need to send another package...
she would just ask the orphanage for updated photos.
Honestly I had forgotten about until this morning when I opened my email to see~

Our angel baby... just look at that precious face!

I can tell you I could barely function the rest of the day!
I am more excited than ever to take this sweet one in my arms!!!
I also want to say I LOVE Kelly and Angela with Ladybugs 'n' Love!

A CallaAnne Story~

Not long after we accepted CA's referral, we found out she was being sponsored by Grace & Hope for Children.

I had several friends reach out and suggest I follow them on FB so I did in hopes of seeing our baby.

Over the month of December they collected coats and delivered to children all over China.
They took photos and began sharing online.

I was diligent in checking for CA's orphanage and this past week, I saw her~

Smiling in a little red coat.

It is hard to explain how it feels to see a glimpse of our child...

kind of like seeing an ultrasound and wanting a photo to carry around.

SO very thankful to know she is well and warm.

Such a great surprise on the same day we would hear we are Logged In (LID)

on Jan 19 which was super quick!

Now we wait for LOA (Letter of Acceptance).

We will be there soon CallaAnne!!!

Dossier to China~

It is a stellar day when these 13 beautiful documents are handed off to our agency~

and word comes they are off to China... DTC (dossier to China)~

There is much work involved as these documents are compiled and keeping them organized is key so I wrote a post HERE to explain my process~

Go to A Beautiful Symphony: Adoption Paperwork Mountain to read more.
We are so thankful they are in China and now we wait for them to be Logged In and official wait begins for official word of LOA~ Letter of Acceptance!!!!!