Maui

We took all of our children and then some (Lilly, Lizzy's BFF and Minghui our exchange student) to Maui for the Thanksgiving Break.  We, of course, had an amazing time.  Maddie and Mia just had so much fun in the sun and on the beach.  Here are some pics of my beauties enjoying Maui....

Aloha!

Qualities

With having grown children it is very easy to articulate their qualities and personality.  They have grown up and I have helped guide them through various seasons in life until they have forged who they are.  With Maddie, I see some amazing qualities about her in just 6 years of life.

Maddie has been faced with some challenges over the past 18 months.  She has had to step off her throne and share the spotlight with Mia, which she struggled with but has come to embrace her little sister and become a great big sister.  I have seen her face her fears head on - starting soccer and being apprehensive about it and realizing that she has a gift and turned into the star of the field!  In school, she has struggled this year in Kindergarten.  Her teacher confirmed some of our fears, she has some dyslexia tendencies and started falling behind.  Maddie is tenacious and determined to overcome!  She works hard - harder than any child in her class at mastering her lessons.  She never fails to do her homework and pushes me daily to help her.  She will go over and over her lessons, never tiring.  She inspires me!  She inspires me to never quit because something is hard, inspires me to be a better mom, a better person!  I know that she has a lot to overcome but I know that she can do it!  I love her - my tenacious, strong willed, determined, bright and beautiful little girl!

Check up's

In November, Maddie and Mia both had check up's at Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston with the entire craniofacial team of physicians.  My dad came with me to try and help me wrangle both kids through parking, waiting and getting examined.  The day proved to be just as challenging as I thought it would be and was glad he came to help - 4 adult hands were just not enough to handle my 2 little chicklets.

Mia's check up went very well.  The doctors raved over how beautiful her lip closure was and they were in awe that it was actually performed in China.  Her palate is beautifully healed and functioning appropriately - yeah!  Her vocabulary is expanding and her speech is coming along beautifully.  I think she will still need some speech therapy but she has come along way.  She will have a full speech evaluation in March.  The tubes in her ears look great too!

I expected that Maddie's check up be as routine as Mia's.  Wrong.  Unexpectedly, the physician (who had not seen her before, as her physician that followed her from the time she came home passed away from cancer), was immediately concerned about her lip and nose.  He felt that they needed to be surgically corrected soon, as her face is pulled to one side as she is growing AND her nose has many issues - it was not reconstructed correctly initially.  But it got worse.  Her palate was not corrected properly either and the muscles aren't functioning correctly and may need to be redone.  Whoa!  Not at all what I expected to hear.  Maddie has had several obstacles to overcome here lately at school and this is just adding to the list.  I have been so burdened for her recently and pray daily that GOD gives me the tools to be a good enough as a mother to help her overcome.

Once I got over the emotional side of my baby having to have surgery, the practical planning side of me kicked in.  If we are going to do the lip and nose surgery we need to have a plan and schedule it for the end of school so that she doesn't miss any critical material that she needs to move on to 1st grade.  We will go for a surgical evaluation on January 6th.  Hopefully we can put a plan of action together.  As for the palate surgery, we will wait until March and see how she fairs in the Speech Evaluation.

Medical Challenges

Since coming home Mia has had some recurring respiratory issues.  We initially thought it was her adjusting to the humidity and allergens in the air in Southwest Louisiana.  Then we thought it was just a reaction to when she had some other sort of cold or infection.  Then I thought it might be an allergy to the dog.  After several trips to the ER and many breathing treatments, it reached a level that I felt that we needed to go a step further and see what is truly going on.

Our pediatrician referred us to an Allergy specialist in Lafayette.  Thankfully Mia is not allergic to anything, including the dog.  The outcome was that the physician thought that since she was sick 2 weeks before we picked her up in china with pneumonia that her lungs had really not fully recovered from that illness and felt that with proper medication over the next few months her lungs might heal properly.  The breathing treatments will continue on a nightly basis with different medication for now.  

I am happy to report that after only 1 week of treatment Mia is much improved already!!!  

Soccer

Maddie had her first soccer game.  She was very excited and even more so when she scored a goal!  This morning she was still basking in the glory of that goal!!!!  I'm so proud of her for overcoming her fear of the "new" and stretching herself to try something outside of her comfort zone.

Here are some picks of my sweet girl!!!

She's having so much fun and making new friends!

Hurdles and Milestones...

Maddie is growing up so quickly and looking back at pictures of her confirms just how fast time is flying.  She started Kindergarten this August and I can't believe it.  She was ready on the big day with her back pack and all her supplies.  Now with a few weeks under her belt, she is a confident Kindergarten student and learning sooo much.  Some days I even think she has more homework than Lizzy who is a junior in High School.

It has been a long 1st year for Maddie adjusting to having Mia as part of our family.  Historically, Maddie does very well in an environment where she is the center of attention, which we were guilty of promoting when she initially came home.  With the addition of Mia she has had to share the spotlight and has struggled to find her place as well as how to deal with a younger sibling.  Sometimes things just take time to work themselves out and this was one of them.  No amount of parenting or disciplining can help what only time will work out.  Lately, I have noticed Maddie and Mia playing nicely together, Maddie helping Mia get dressed and even comforting her when she is upset - just like a big sister would do.  I'm so proud of the big sister she is becoming.

Maddie has many gifts that GOD has blessed her with.  One is being extremely athletic and is a gifted swimmer, fast runner and by admission of her PE teacher a great potential soccer player.  In an effort to try and develop her swimming skills, I had taken her for a try out for the local competitive swimming team.  She was extremely uncertain and nervous and wouldn't even swim for the coach trying to evaluate her.  That was a bust.  So when the PE teacher brought it to my attention how good her soccer skills were, I had a flashback of the swim tryout.  So for a whole year Maddie and I have been talking about playing soccer.  Her response was always "once I turn 6 I will play soccer".  Well the time has come and her birthday is approaching in October.  I was skeptical how Maddie would react to a new situation with new people she had not met.  First soccer practice was touch and go - I even had to call in the calvary and have my mom and dad come to the soccer practice and cheer her on.  After that initial practice, she was hooked.   She is doing great and will play her first game this weekend.  I am so proud of her for overcoming her fears to do something she is really good at.  Can't wait to see what this soccer season holds for her.  GOOOOOO  MADDIE!!!!!!!!

  

Mia

As promised, here is a new post.  Earlier this year Mia had surgery to close her palate.  It was successfully closed but the true test was to wait and see if it functioned and allowed her to make the appropriate sounds and eventually begin speaking.  Well, I am happy to report that we have achieved success!  Mia's vocabulary grows everyday.  She began with Mama, of course but now can name all of her family members and is speaking in small sentences.  She will let you know what she wants and what she doesn't want.  We will be have a visit soon with her Speech Therapist in Houston to evaluate her progress and make recommendations on future speech therapy needed if any.

Mia turned 2 in April and we celebrated with a large gathering of family and friends.  We delayed the party until Christopher was home from college - I wanted all the kids there to celebrate this special day with her.  She had such a good time!  I must say I was a little sad to see her turn 2 - She is the caboose of the family and I wanted to savor the baby in her.

Another big hurdle Mia is working to overcome is potty training!!!!  She can communicate well enough  now so it was time to leave the diapers behind.  We have spent several weeks in pull ups and are doing quite well.  She is rewarded with Candy each time she potties as well as she can wear her Dora panties over her pull up as a reward.  Panties and Candy - works for her!

Her hair is finally growing and required a small trim.  My neighbor kindly trimmed it for her.  Now it is just enough for her to wear a small pony tail, like her sisters.

She is still sweet as ever and loving.  Her personality has flourished over the last year.  We have come to realize that she likes to pick and joke.  Her crinkled nose laugh after she does something funny is infectious.  More in love with her each day that goes by....

Blog.... Oh how I have missed you!

Sometimes life gets in the way of the things that we want or even need to do.  One thing that has fallen by the waste side is my blog and I feel terrible.  This blog has captured moments and feelings that would be forgotten if not recorded.  So I am back and determined to make time to record those precious moments in our lives.

There is so much to catch up on and I will do that in my upcoming posts.  We have recently welcomed a foreign exchange student from China into our home.  When we first decided to begin this journey we were so excited to bring a little chinese culture into our home, especially for Maddie and Mia.  Minghui Zhang arrived on August 3rd after spending 1 week in Los Angeles at English camp.  She is exactly representative of the people in China.  She is very respectful, sweet and a bit meek.  She is very beautiful and is up for anything - she wants to try and experience new things.  When I ponder her journey as a 16 year old girl to the United States to live with a family who she has never met and knows very little of - the word BRAVE keeps coming to my mind.

She has started school and likes it very much.  She has had a very warm welcome from the kids in her school as well as Lizzy's friends.  Two of my close friends are also on this journey with me and have welcomed chinese students into their homes, all 3 of which are friends.  So Minghui is not alone and with the other 2 students they feel better having each other to talk to and hang out with. 

In the days since Minghui has arrived we have introduced her to several of our friends, neighbors and family.  With each introduction I find myself giving Minghui a little history on how long we have known each friend/neighbor, how they are connected to our family, etc.  In this process I have realized just how richly blessed I am to have such wonderful friends and family.  To have those friends that I have known my whole life, those that have been part of my entire adult life and those that are recently part of my life and all add so much to who I am.  It's quite humbling when you stand back and look at it.  

Minghui will spend the entire school year with us and I hope to learn a little chinese before she leaves.  We have many things planned for her time with us.  We will be traveling to Hawaii for Thanksgiving and Montana for skiing, concerts, art projects, athletic events, camping trips - you name it - we are making sure she has the experience of a lifetime!

One thing we knew about Minghui before she arrived is that she is unchurched and potentially does not know who Jesus is.  What an opportunity for our family to show the love of Jesus through our actions in our every day life, as well as allow her the opportunity to possibly come to know him through our church home.  

Maddie and Mia immediately loved her and are very attached.   Maddie likes to spend her free time in Minghui's room, talking and digging through her things.  We have had to counsel Maddie on this and insist that she give Minghui some space and time to herself. 

What an amazing year we are going to experience.

Minghui and her friends that are staying here too.  L to R Fiona, Minghui and Bella.  (Minghui and Fiona are going to the same school)

Arrival Welcome at the Airport

Life in Fast Forward

Life is moving at the speed of light...  Here is a quick update on what has been happening in our lives since Mia's surgery.

I turned 40.  Keith threw me a surprise 40th birthday party!  What a wonderful moment to start a new decade of my life.  I was a little down about turning 40 but only for a moment.  I have known several people who never saw 40 - so I am very blessed to have been given the gift of life for 40 years!  I can't wait for the next 40.

We took our annual ski trip with our friends.  This year was Big Sky Montana.  1st day, 2nd run a took a bad tumble off the side of the mountain and down about 50 feet through some trees.  Luckily I was wearing a helmet.  Ambulance ride to the hospital, ER visit, 7 stitches in my chin, 3 in my knee, a few bruises and I was back on skis a few days later. I have just recently fully recovered after several weeks of Physical Therapy.

Maddie finally conquered the slopes and ski'd like a champion!!!!  When she puts her mind to something she accomplishes it.

Once returned home, Mia has been sick off and on with breathing issues.  A few trips to the ER and the doctor and many breathing treatments later, she seems to be doing better.  Her palate has healed and looks really good.  We will do a speech follow up soon as well as a 3 month check up with the surgeon.  She is starting to talk and we can recognize many words.

Lizzy went to New Orleans and Baton Rouge for cheer competitions with St. Louis High School.  The team did fantastic!!!  Their performances got them a 1st and 2nd place.  A lot of hard work went into these performances and a few trips to the orthopedic doctor for Lizzy's elbow and back.  Cheerleading is not a sport for the weak....

Keith bought his parent's furniture store that has been a fixture in our community for 30 years.  We are so proud to be continuing the family tradition of furniture....  We remodeled the entire store, inside and outside!  

With all of the other irons in the fire along with the acquisition of the Furniture Store I decided to leave my job after 7 years with my company.  I need to be more flexible for our children and more involved in our many business ventures.

Christopher finished basketball season and will be returning to the team for next season.  Yay!!   He turned 19 and celebrated with family and friends.

Lizzy got asked to Prom so a shopping trip to Houston was in order.  Success!!!!

Maddie had her class Easter party.  She is a pro at hunting eggs!

Easter - The Lord has risen!!!!!  All my children were home and together and we had a wonderful day!

I am sure that I left out a few things but I've slept since then and can't remember - lol.

Mia's Surgery

I feel like I have started all of my recent blog posts by saying - "I'm so far behind on my posts" BUT....  Well the fact of the matter is I am so far behind on my blog posts.  Life is busy at the Portie household with 4 children, to say the least.  In the madness of the Christmas Holidays, the New Year Holiday and me returning to work Full Time - we did manage to squeeze in Mia's palate closure surgery.  This surgery, in my opinion, was long overdue for my sweet girl but with the shortage of Surgeons on the CLEFT Team at Texas Children's we had to wait longer than we expected.  January 24th, which happens to be Maddie's GOTCHA DAY, was the day of surgery.  The process of pre-op was a bit cumbersome and long and nothing we were experienced with.  I grew increasingly more anxious as we finished the pre-op process and the time of the actual surgey came upon us.   Mia was such a trooper and was ignorantly blissful playing with all the toys at the hospital and soaking up all of Mom and Dad's undivided attention.  She pleasantly endured all the poking and prodding that comes with preparing a little one for surgery which made it a little easier on me.  The decision was made to have tubes put in her ears while she was already asleep.  A hearing evaluation revealed a small decrease in hearing in her left ear but mainly due to some standing (non-infectious) fluid behind that ear. 

(The LARGE identification bracelet had to be used for Mia's ankle because her leg is so chunky - LOL)

(My sweet smiling baby girl playing before surgery)

(Mia got into the little tikes car and off she went with the surgical staff to the operating room)

Surgery was a quick 2 hours and was successful - in that her palate was successfully closed.  As the surgeon says, the proof is in the pudding - we will know it is successful if in a few months it begins functioning as she learns to speak.  He prepared us for what we would encounter in the recovery room - but does anything ever prepare you to see your baby (big or small) attached to monitors, wires, eyes swollen from surgery and in pain?  She was quiet and still laying in her bed when they brought us into the recovery room UNTIL she heard my voice.  She started to cry and the nurse was gracious enough to let me hold her for the remainder of the time we spent in the Recovery room.  Keith cried and tried to comfort her as best he could.  I held her close and sang to her to try and comfort her.  She finally awoke enough to be transferred to a room.

Keith and I decided that I would sleep with Mia in the room and he would return to the hotel to get a good nights rest. Mia and I made the night as best we could. Everytime we would settle in and fall asleep the nurse would come in and need to give medication or poke or prode poor Mia. But the nursing staff was great and took great care of Mia.

It is amazing how fast our bodies bounce back. The next morning she was up playing and wanting to get up and walk around. The restricted diet was the biggest post surgery obstacle for us. And I say us - because we all suffered through with her.

We made it through the hardest part - closing the palate.  Now we move into the next phase which is speech development.  Her follow up visit with the surgeon was good.  We will return for another hearing evaluation in March and a speech evaluation in April.  We have already noticed some changes in her speech.  She is now able to make sounds that she wasn't able to before.  Da Da  now sounds like it should most of the time.  Blanket is also very understandable as well as "Snack".  She is definitely making progress. 

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support during her surgery.

New Pictures

We recently had a good friend, who is a talented photographer, come and take family pictures now that our family unit is complete (or at least we think it is until GOD tells us otherwise).  I have been waiting for the opportunity to have all 4 kids photographed together.  When I watched her snap the first photo shown below, I briefly lost my breathe at the meer sight of all 4 of them sitting there and was instantly overwhelmed with JOY.  Joy that they are all HERE - TOGETHER for what some families take for granted - a simple family picture.  Maybe it is because we traveled far and wide, overcame lots of red tape and bureaucy to complete this family unit that I am so appreciative and aware of how precious it is.



The moments the photographer captured were so special on many different levels.  As a mother, my favorite ones are those moments in which my older children interact so lovingly with the younger ones.  I must tell you that bringing Maddie and Mia into our lives has certainly changed who Christopher and Lizzy ARE,  as well as who they will become.  Those tender moments of sibling LOVE are shown below.  I can see the love for one another, unadulterated love, oozing from these pictures - it jumps off the page at you.

The big kids definitely indulge Maddie and Mia and love playing with them.  Being silly, fun competitions between them and just enjoying the simple moments - it keeps them young and opens their hearts.

This picture of Mia just shows how stinking "CUTE" she is.  You can see her personality captured in this picture.

Happy GOTCHA Day!

It is hard to believe that Maddie has been with her forever family for 3 years.  I still remember the moment I first saw her scared, beautiful little face.  Life has certainly changed since she came into our lives - but only for the better.  She makes me want to be a better person and a better mommy!  I love her more than she could ever know.  We can't imagine our lives without her - What would we do without her quick witted sense of humor, beautiful smile and tentatious and headstrong way about her. 

We celebrate her Gotcha Day not to only honor and remember the moment she got a forever family - but more for us.  Because her GOTCHA changed our lives!!!  Changed our perspective!!!  and made us all better people. 

New Years

During the first few days of 2013 I have spent much time reflecting on 2012 and the many changes that occurred throughout the year.  One of the first changes that occurred in 2012 was Christopher, my oldest child, graduated from High School.  The tears still well up in my eyes as I think about his Graduation today.  It was a wonderful and bittersweet time for me.  With High School Graduation comes the inevitable:  COLLEGE.  Christopher moved off to college in the fall of 2012 and had a very successful first semester, both with his classes (earning a 3.5 GPA) and on the Basketball court.  With his big move to Alabama our house is substantially more quiet and less messy.  However, I definitely feel the void of not having him home.

Lizzy turned 16 this year and we all now what that means!  She is driving now.  She is driving and driving and driving - driving the wheels right off her car.   She spends many hours a day driving to attend all of her many activities associated with school and cheer.  Although it is really helpful having her drive I miss the time we would spend together in the car.  There were so many good mom and daughter conversations that happened on the way to school each morning.  I find myself longing for those moments with her and must be diligent about making time to talk when she comes home from school.

Maddie turned 5 this year.  She has lost that "Baby" look and is now a big girl.  She has made leaps and bounds in her development.  Speech Therapy has shifted from Speech development to language and concept improvement.  Maddie overall had a difficult year adjusting to her new sister, however with much love and lots of structure she has come along way.  Sharing is still a challenge but she is working on it.

Mia came home this year and has shared her sweet spirit and loving character with us all.  She adjusted very quickly to all of us and fits in perfectly.  She has grown so much over the last 6 months and is now starting to say a few words (as much as she can with her speech limitations and open palate).  I took an extended leave of absence from work and spent 6 months bonding with Mia.  The new year will bring me back to work and Mia to a daycare setting.  Change is inevitable and 2013 will certainly usher in changes in our family.  Mia's biggest challenge in the new year will be to overcome her palate closure surgery scheduled for January 24th.  I am feeling a little nervous about it but will look to GOD for calm and strength.

The new year typically leads to people making resolutions in their lives.  Several years ago, KLOVE's morning radio show, introduced a new way of looking at new years resolutions.  They suggested that you pick one word that will be the resounding theme of your life over the next year.  So in 2010, I did just that.  We were in the process of adopting Maddie and were waiting to travel to China.  My theme was Obedience.  Although we were well into the process of adoption, at that last moment before travel, I got very nervous and had doubt.  Was I doing the right thing, would I be a good mother to Maddie, would she love us and adjust quickly?  All of these things were whirling around in my head - until the moment I choose the theme "Obedience".  Once I spoke that word something changed.  I resolved to be obedient - obedient to the path that GOD had led me on and clung to HIS promise that he will never leave me.  Throughout the year of bringing Maddie home and getting adjusted to 3 children, I had many opportunities to be Obedient to GOD.

2011 brought a theme of Blind Obedience.  Blind Obedience is certainly a step further than Obedience.  It is total commitment, jumping off the cliff into the abyss to follow your GOD.  Knowing that he is faithful to his obedient followers.  2011 brought many decisions in our lives and some very difficult personal challenges.  Blind Obedience led me to follow GOD even though everything around me and my circumstances were telling me different - telling me to go a different direction.  One of the most important decisions we made as a family during 2011 was to pursue another adoption as well as accepting the referral of Mia.  In looking back, I can see the needlework of GOD, especially during 2011.  Preparing us, teaching us, molding us into who we need to be for HIM that we humbly serve.

2012's theme was Forgiveness.  There were many things and people that I needed to forgive, whether they had sought my forgiveness or not.  I learned that forgiveness sets the forgiver free as well as the forgiven.  This year of forgiveness brought my life true happiness.  Happiness in my marriage, in my family, with my children and in my friendships.  What a year 2012 has been.  When I look back on the year, how far I have come with my relationship with GOD and all the milestones as a family we have seen I feel warm and fuzzy and HAPPY!

That brings me to 2013 and this years theme - Faithfulness.  Faithfulness is defined as full of faith, strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful worker - true to one's word, promises, vows, etc. - steady in allegiance or affection: loyal.   I want to be full of faith and more importantly I feel called to be a faithful worker for GODS kingdom.  I want to give my testimony of obedience, forgiveness and faith.  I want to lead people to GOD and hopefully open their minds to Adoption or whatever GOD has planned for them.  I am excited to see what GOD has planned for this year.  I hope that you follow along with our blog and see what amazing things GOD has for us in this new year.