Jaeya and Meisyn are officially Ellisons!!

 Started out with breakfast ON TIME which was no small feat as Ms Delicate and Ms Elestagirl are quite a challenge to dress.

Yep, picture ala Meisyn our budding photographer.  This pretty much illustrates what has happened to our girls lives in the past 48 hours.

 Jaeya signs her name and dates the paper confirming that she continues to wish to be adopted.  She wrote in her best handwriting with a nervous smile on her face.

 Taking the legal oath of adoption.  I was told that the adoption was now considered full and final and that it would now be very difficult to "get rid of you daughters".  They got that right!

At the moment that Meisyn was told she was forever an Ellison!  That is a very fine sign.  We love you Meisyn!

We found the holy grail of fingernail polish in the form of a street vendor selling bottles for 2 Chinese dollars each which works out to be less than 50 cents.  We are going to work on COLORS as we found every color I know and then some.

Meisyn ADORES Barbie and yes, we passed a store that had one in the window.  I thought she would hop right out of the stroller.  Perhaps Barbie will be the carrot at the end of the learn to stand and walk stick.  Darlene, do you see the phone in her hand?  She is completely smitten and the only time it was out of her sight was when Jaeya hid it because she was so annoyed with the beeping, LOL!  The rest of us were thinking the same but still too nice to be impatient.  Darlene sent us a gift bag with so many fun things and the phone is deeply cherished.  Thank you Darlene, Lulu and Meklit!

 Stickers are yet another obession. First we awoke to Meisyn having put them all over the wall!  I rummaged through the hotel desk drawer and found a bag.  The Disney princesses are now in their more appropriate home.

Watch out Facebook.  Meisyn has figured out the self portriate pose.  Her first one as Meisyn Lirou Ellison.  She is quite stunning in her sparkly makeup.  That cost us one dollar from the cart lady but brought us invaluable fun already.

We are off for dinner and more exploring.  More from the shores of the West Lake in Hangzhou city later.

Our first day together

 Signing my name and adding my fingerprint to seal the agreement.  I mistakenly put my thumbprint in Daddy Stephen's part.  Sorry my love but now officially you are me!

We have just entered the 24 hour Harmonious Period.  We have one night with them to decide if the adoption match will work before we will return to legalize the adoption.  I am there with the 2 directors from the SWI and the SWI doctor.  On the far left are the Zhejiang province officials.

Off on our hotwheels to find some lunch.  You can only imagine the stares that one white fat woman, one hot brown girl, and her beautiful three Chinese daughters (two of whom are in the biggest "trolley"to grace the streets of Zhejiang) garner.  We are quite the circus side show no doubt.

Fries dipped in ice cream?  I took Meisyn about 30 seconds to figure this tasty combination.  Much to our sadness the only place that would fit our trolley through the door was the KFC.  We made the best of it!

Jaeya loves french fries dipped in ketsup.  Smart girl!

Or if we had held out a little longer we could have had the tripe, gizzards or chicken heads.

We have one boss and one who wishes not to be bossed

I don't need to speak Chinese to understand siblingese.  It is very clear that Jaeya is the boss and that Meisyn does not wish to be harnessed.  I was told that Jaeya has helped take care of the babies for the past many years.  She has forgotten that she is a child.  Our biggest challenge will be to teach her to be a kid.  It will come.  But, the look on her face when she told Meisyn she could not open her stickers and I overruled and said that Meisyn indeed could was amusing but I stifled my chuckle.

Wendy Ritz will get a memorable giggle over this but Jaeya left the cap off the green marker and there ended up and very large green circle of ink in the white down comforter.  Jaeya was clearly worried and pointed to Lan and I am confident tried to tell me it was Lan's fault.  LOL!  Lan took it like a champ and gave me a knowing grin and we talked about her chivalry as we scrubbed the comforter in the sink.  Out came the stain much to Jaeya's relief.

I will post about the Adoption paperwork today but Makayla and Lan are across the street at the mall and I am hearing "Mother!  Mother! about every 5 seconds.  They haven't been able to use that word for too many years and they get to use it over and over and over and over as is their due.  It is still a pleasant sound.

Their bodies are even worse than I had imagined.  We have so much work ahead of us and the Shriner's team.  Meisyn has absolutely no use of her body below her trunk.  She is one floppy and flexible child.  She can't sit without support and that I think we can address.  Walking?  I have seen Shriners work miracles and they will have to pull one out of their hats for Meisyn.

Jaeya is good about knowing how to undress and giving me instructions of what to take off first and how.  It was my first day trying to hold her gently in one arm and slip down her pants and panties and get her on the toilet.  The harder part is holding her again in my right arm and sliding the clothing back up without squeezing her.  She is very fragile.  Her ribcage, elbows, knees and shoulders are twisted and assymetrical.  I am very interested what Shriner's response will be at the sight of her xrays.  She has the most affecting smile.  But she has been hurting a long time and is scared of being moved as that hasn't worked out so well in the past.

Both girls are marvelous beyond words and have been so loved.  Meisyn spend a half hour brushing her teeth with her electric Dora toothbrush.  Jaeya told her she needed to stop because she didn't have any toothpaste but again I let them know Meisyn could brush as long as she wanted.



Jaeya and Meisyn are kind, helpful, friendly and so eager to try English.  I am confident that they will pick it up quickly. Life is very, very good!!  And we are very, very tired!

Love to everyone.  Please say prayers for Ammon. He ended up in the ER after a seizure on the playground and a split open chin.  Three seizures this week.  I think having mom and Makayla away has thrown him off his game a bit but Dad is home and capably handling things.  We love him!!!!!  Thank you Daddy!

Without further adieu...

After a year of waiting, Jaeya gets to the part where she knows she is leaving her little friends and her Mama Lou whom she loves so dearly.  The birthday party was a bittersweet affair with tears and cheers.

To the rescue comes a video camera for Jaeya of her very own.  She can record her friends and views of this world she has lived the last 12 years.  She was extremely proud of her ability to control this little world in her hands.  She made very sure that Meisyn didn't get to play with it.  I have already learned this is a wise move on big sister's part. 

Makayla once again wins over the newest siblings.  Can't help but love Makayla and Lan!!

Meisyn took at least 100 pictures of scenes very similar to this.  LOL!  I tell ya, she is full of curiosity, spunk and outright naughty impishness.  She truly delights in herself and knows she is WONDERFUL.  She is every minute 6 years old.  Right on target.  She also loves Barbies and brought hers with her, complete with brown haired Barbie who had a terrible mishap with the scissors and barely has a brown hair left on her barbered head.  She will match all the other mauled and battered Barbies and the Ellison abode.

Will try uploading some video....

TWO HOURS TO GO

As we enter the final countdown, I will try to catch up on what we have been doing...

We are on the bullet train somewhere in the country side between Qufu and Nanning.  We are also between stunning modernization and staggering poverty.    We have been in an elegant chandeliered powder room  and an hour later in a public latrine with no privacy stalls and a ditch to squat over.    We have eaten fried cicada, sea cucumber and chicken feet.   We have tried to function in the bitter cold and now the rosy red of the children cold burned faces bring an uncomfortable new meaning.  What an introduction to life my American raised girls are getting.

We have equally frightened and mesmerized the children of three orphanages with our technology, unfamiliar language and stranger faces in the whirlwind that has been the last three days.  We have firmly imbedded in our hearts the children of Ruzhou, Heze and Jining.  Their caregivers have become our dear comrades as we work together to help the children living under their roofs.  Each adult works for them to have a future with health, opportunities and family.  The children are ready.  They wish to be included.  When I hugged each child and whispered in their ear that I was working hard to find their family and ended my embrace with a kiss, they leaned in for more.  Some were quick to kiss me back.  All  remained waiting as we left and the security door was locked behind us.

It is hard to see so many children who struggle.  It is impossible to meet every need at once but we will certainly wear ourselves out trying to meet as many needs as we possibly can.  We need the help of every person that can lend a hand or offer a prayer.

And we have blog access!!!!!!!!

Now that the whirlwind of our work related first week has wrapped up we have arrived in our daughters' city of Lishui and have been able to download GoTrusted and get on the blog.  What a moment of celebration!

We are now ready to post our jmeetig with the girls in the morning.  The SWI director picked us up at the bus station and took us to the hotel.  In 12.75 hours we will enter the SWI.  The cute director told us the girls have been bery excited all week but today have become nervous.  I can onlu imagine what is going through their minds right now, their last night in the only home they have ever known.

Well, off to check-in on Facebook and show that we truly are among the living and have not become lost in the rural countryside of China.

Jaeya finally gets the family she cried to have...

Tonight as I finished up with thank you cards to mail tomorrow on our way to the airport, I received an email from the woman who first started the hearts and hands in motion to get Jaeya registered for adoption and into our family.  She told me something I had never heard and which just breaks my heart. 

They visited with her in 2006 when adopting their son.  As they prepared to leave, Jaeya began to cry and choked out, “I want a family, too.  And, because of my sickness, I cannot be considered for adoption.”  This kind woman went on to say, "Afterwards, I myself knew she was there, and no one else might ever know how she felt ~ she wanted a family, and the least I could do is fight for her.  When another concerned worker with LWB initially inquired about her, the orphanage staff replied, “Who would want the poor thing?”. 

Well, we absolutely ache and yearn for our brave girl to come home.  She is completely what we want.  She is going to touch our spirits and our family in ways only she can.  And I know that her orphanage staff has loved her and worried over her.  They just didn't know that there are families for the children who wait.  EVERY CHILD deserves this chance and we praise our Heavenly Father that we were able to give this child as well as our sweet Meisyn the wish of their little hearts.  Their wish to be wanted, accepted, and included into their very own family.

Let the Metamorphosis begin. Leaving tomorrow for China!!

Metamorphosis (n)


Change of form, or structure; transformation which is usually accompanied by a change of habitat or behavior.



We are about to witness the metamorphosis of 2 little girls whose broken bodies are soon to be tended and mended. Both girls have amazing smiles and indomitable spirits that see the beauty and positive in their world. However, their physical struggles keep them from fully participating in that sparkling realm.



Jaeya is 12 years old and weighs 26 pounds. Her bones are fragile and easily broken. She was born with a broken pelvis that has never been medically treated. She continues to break bones. She has never had a bone set by a doctor. She has never been given any pain management. She has never been to school because she cannot walk.



Meisyn is six years old. Her hips are dislocated and she has no strength in her legs. She cannot stand. She cannot walk. She cannot open her hands freely. She will spend much of the next two years in multiple castings, including a spica body cast.



In just a few weeks their adoptions will be completed and they will go to Shriner’s Hospital for Children and begin to have their bodies repaired.



Both girls will have surgeries then casts. They will enter their medical chrysalises and cocoon there until they can emerge transformed.



Without your help, this miracle would not be possible. Your selfless financial contribution will allow two tattered and fragile caterpillars become the brilliant butterflies who will finally be able to flit, dance, and SOAR.

Can I record and upload? I guess I got skills!

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY JAEYA!!

Today in China is our Jaeya's 12th birthday. Yes, we are missing it, but they are saving the party until we visit the SWI. Her family might not be THERE but we are there will her in spirit and I believe she can feel us.

Last year on this day, I did not know that she was my daughter. She was a child that was on the CHI assigned list and one to whom I had become strongly attached. We worked so hard to find a family for her. There was none. Until, one day in April 2011 it became clear to me that Jaeya's family had been cheering for her all along.

So, I repost the message I sent to her last year and smile and what had already been set into motion by the adoption fates that I did not yet understand. Her CHI privacy name was Pamela, in honor of an adoptive mother who saw her sitting in the SWI and began advocating for her. Without Pamela there would be no Jaeya.

Last year's birthday post:

"A hearty happy, happy birthday our spritely wee Pamela!! We wish for you
health, mobility, hope, love, and FAMILY. May this next year bring you all
these blessings.

Tiny precious Pamela. We know that your bones ache sometimes. We know you get
tired. We know you watch the other children play as you sit on your little
chair. We know you try your best to be mobile using your chair for support or
that walker which is MUCH TOO BIG for you my sweet sparrow. There is a tiny
walker just your size in a box that I am shipping to China for you. This will
be so fun and much easier to use. We can't wait for you to get it. That is my
birthday gift for you. We hope that it opens a new option of mobility and
stability. You have so many things to do at 11 years old!!!

My son Caden has the same fragile bones as you do. He's had many operations and
too many broken bones to count. But he has had surgery for his legs to put in
titanium rods that spiral longer as he grows. This makes his bones much
stronger and straight. Amazing isn't it!! He also goes to Shriner's hospital
every four months for an IV treatment of the drug pamidronate. I'm sure you've
had many IV's before so you could certainly handle this. It makes his bones so
much stronger. And the aching goes away and he is filled with energy. Its like
a miracle.

We want to see this miracle for you too. There is no pamidronate treatment in
China for you. We know this is something that you need here in America.

We wish more than anything to bring you a family, that they might be able to sit
with you and hear you sing and chatter. They will learn from your positive
attitude and stubborn determination to be happy even when you hurt.

Your mind is bright. You love people. You try, and try, and try again. And
that is what we promise for you. That we try, and try and try again to find a
family that can bring you HOME.

With all the love in my heart,

Stefani Ellison"

Jaeya in March 2006

An Angel in Jaeya's life sent me these pictures today. Jaeya had been listed on her little boy's adoption reports as his best friend. He is pictured with her below. This Mama has been praying for her to have a family all this time. This is powerful and priceless to me. These pictures were taken nearly half her life ago in 2006. She was in her little chair then. She is still in that little chair now. But soon, very soon, she will be in my arms. SMILE.

We have plane tickets ;)

We have plane tickets!!! We will depart on 3/16 and return on 4/6. We are ecstatic that we leave NEXT WEEK for China. Lan is so exhausted by her excitement I believe I will have to carry her on the plane. Since it is a night flight I hope she'll sleep all the way across the Pacific but it will probably work so that she is so overwound she will be giddy and bouncing off the seats. My apologies to those who are lucky enough to be seated around us. But no matter what she does, she will be a much better traveler than Ammon. I'm still trying to recover from our 2006 flight home with him.

We are profoundly grateful to each person who said prayers, gave support and even donated funds so that we could get to this point. We are blessed. We are ever so completely blessed. Thank you my friends.

Guess Whose Mama is Coming in 2 Weeks??

Do they look like they are getting excited??? They look very, very happy with their SWI mama. It appears that she has loved on them very well. They are going to miss each other. I am so grateful for their relationship!

TAduh!! TAduh!! TAking off soon for China APPROVAL HERE

OH YES WE DID!!!! We got TA times TWO! The TA's for Jaeya and Meisyn have arrived. We hope to be on a jet plane two weeks from tonight bound for Beijing.

We will be meeting up with the CHI families leaving a week later. I get the joy of doing some work and meeting our One To One kids before we travel to Hangzhou to meet our daughters.

We will be buying the plane tickets on Monday. We need about $600 more to get them purchased and SET FOR TRAVEL. If you can play for the KINDLE FIRE before midnight tonigth 3/2 it will certainly help!

THANK YOU DEAR FRIENDS!! Our girls are coming home.

KINDLE FIRE! KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY FOR THE GIRLS 3/2/12

My friend Kenlyn who is also adopting a child with brittle bones NEXT WEEK has sponsored a Kindle Fire Giveaway. Maybe you can beat the odds like my girls have done.

"There is a special person in my life, in a lot of people's lives, who needs help right now. Most of you know Stefani and you know that she is leaving in the next couple of weeks to bring home her two older daughters. They are still short the airfare for the girls and so I thought we could help them by holding a giveaway. People seem to really like the Kindle Fire idea and we have done quite well in the past with it, so I am holding another one.... only this time it's for Stefani. I truly believe that God does amazing things and so really, all it would take is 100 people donating $30 or 200 people donating $15 to have them make their goal. We are all in this together, bringing these sweet children home. So let's step up as a village and give if we can.

Here's the skinny.....

1 chance=$5 donation


5 chances=$20 donation


20 chances = $50 donation

Anyone can get one entry just by leaving a comment that you told a friend about this or posted this to your Facebook page.


To play, simply send a payment through the Chip-in button at http://ellisonescapades.blogspot.com/ and then let ME know by emailing me at maeveyblue@aol.com with a copy (cut and paste is fine) of your Chip-in reciept. Remember, I am doing this totally 3rd party so if you don't let me know, I can't enter you into the giveaway.
They need to make $3,600 more by this next week because their TA is immenant.

Any questions, you can email me at Maeveyblue@aol.com and I'll get right back to you!

This giveaway ends on March 2nd at Midnight!"