The Plan....

So, the plan was to take the kids to an indoor water park for an over nighter to celebrate Seth's birthday. We got a great deal (including a pedicure for me!). It was a surprise to him, so we did it a month early to keep him from getting suspicious. We left the house about 10 am to arrive at noon to maximize our water park fun! Dan got pulled over at about 10:10 and got a ticket for $150. We were determined to have fun in spite of it. We got dressed, and into the water park about about 1:30, played for a couple hours and then went to the room for a snack. Around dinner time, the stomach flu hit. I can't tell you how whimpy I am about vomit - mine and everyone elses. I spent the night back and forth to the bathroom. Seth thought he would join me at about 1am. Dan spent the night "sleeping" on a chair waiting for the next person to go down. He was Superdad and Superhusband. We decided to leave well enough alone and come home at check out time this morning. Our original plan was to play at the water park until 3 and then head home. Even the best laid plans.....

This is 1 of about 4 pictures I got.

Still waiting....

We have officially been waiting 216 days since we turned in our paperwork for Ethiopia. The waiting is so different this time. We have so much more faith in God's ability to place our child in our arms at the perfect time. Sophie fits in our family so well, that it hasn't been as hard this time to wait knowing that He is in control of our family.

It is difficult when I stop to think about our baby's birth family. The hardship and struggle that they are enduring even now that will eventually lead them to relinquish our child. It is difficult to think about things that we could be doing now to help them so that ultimately they wouldn't have to make that choice. It is a complicated thought process for sure. One that as an adoptive parent can lead you down some slippery slopes. Is adoption really the best solution to the problem? I believe the answer is no. But, I do believe that it is a solution for that one child. The bigger picture sure needs more than adoption though. Wow! This was supposed to just be an update, but it went a little further.

So, please pray for our sweet Micah (did I mention that the name we've chosen?). We can't wait to see what great surprises God has in store for us.

2008 is shaping up...

Believe it or not these are 2 seperate incisions!!

Makenzie (11) had to have a lumbar laminectomy and tumor excision twice in 3 weeks! Her first surgery was on December 28th, 2007. Two weeks later the neurosurgeon called back to say that her follow up MRI showed some traces of tumor cells. They went back in a second time on January 21, 2008. The cells have all been benign - Praise the Lord! She has been a real trooper. We have been so impressed by her strength and stamina through this entire trying ordeal.

There are lots of little stories to be told in between the surgeries and we've gotten to know some great nurses at Children's Hospital. We are beyond grateful that she is on her way back to full health!

What a difference 365 days can make....

One year ago today we arrived in Nanchang, China to meet a sweet girl who would change our lives forever. As we walked in to the freezing room, we saw a scared, tiny, bald little girl being held by a social welfare worker that had taken her from the only home she had ever known just hours before. Resilient doesn't begin to describe this little trooper.

Here are a few things she's conquered in a year:

• crawling


• walking


• running


• jumping (sort of - she jumps just like Makenzie used to)


• speaking English (this is our most frequently asked question - Does she speak English?)


• loving cheese -- all day long she says "I Mo' Cheese Mamma"


• playing a mean game of peek-a-boo (she's stays hidden for way longer than you'd expect)


• eating ALL-DAY-LONG!! (My girl can EAT)


• laughing - I remember her first laugh when Seth came running down the hall at the hotel. He can still get the best belly laughs from her without even trying


• Dora - she loves to watch Dora, and won't watch anything else


• body parts (even random things like forehead and eyebrow)


• the hearts of her Mommy, Daddy, sister and brother. It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord has knitted us together.

--I know it's a crazy picture - whenever the camera comes out she yells "CHEESE" she would only sit if she had Goldfish in her mouth. It is a good representation though!

The Gang's All Here

The entire Deslippe clan gathered in Battle Creek for a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Dan was in charge of frying up the turkey. As you can tell, that was an eventful activity. Apparently, the oil got a little hotter than it was supposed to. We had so much to be thankful for. We were surrounded by family, in a warm home with more than enough food to eat. We are still anxiously awaiting our next addition, but realistically, we will likely celebrate another Thanksgiving without him here. We know that the Lord will bring us together in His perfect timing. We saw Him work so faithfully with the adoption of Sophie. It is less of a challenge so far this adoption.

The fall has been busy for all of us. Makenzie is taking violin lessons and is in Girl Scouts. Seth is playing basketball and in Boy Scouts. Sophie is busy watching Dora! We are looking forward to our one year anniversary of our trip to Sophie!!

St. Louis or Bust!!!

Makenzie and I took a road trip last weekend to the Hannah Montana (a Disney show - for those of you who don't live and breathe Hannah) concert. We left at 6am on Thursday morning and drove straight to St. Louis to meet Josie, Rylie, Aunt Ju Ju and some friends at the mall for a LibbyLu makeover before the concert. Josie and Rylie were celebrating their 10 birthdays. We loved celebrating with them. We spent the weekend shopping and sight seeing. We had a lot of laughs and some good girl fun!! We had a great trip!

Sophie is 2!!!

Sophie Mei turned 2 on September 27th. It frequently strikes me how full our hearts are with Sophie in our lives. Of course, we felt very full with Makenzie and Seth all along. It is just an amazing God that can cause our hearts to fall in love with a little girl from China and knit us all together in such a short period of time. Sophie is growing physically, emotionally and especially verbally! She has lots of words and she likes to use them! I told you she is a Neal! She is such a loved little thing. She makes friends where ever she goes. I remember how hard this day was for me last year. I just wanted to hold my baby and she was a world away. But, I can tell you now that every moment of waiting was worth it for this precious girl. She makes us all laugh with her silly little antics. She sure has her sister and brother tied around her little finger too. There are many mornings where there are arguments about who gets to get her out of her bed. They are in love with their little mei mei. Looking forward to another year with our sweet kiddos and maybe even having a picture of our newest Neal by then!