3 words

Eme & I headed to the woods of Georgia this weekend to spend some good times with the girls.

I was really nervous to fly with Eme girl alone and though she did fabulous, I was thankful for the short flight!...another 30 minutes on that plane and the outcome might have been different.

When Mare and I were on our way back to the airport we were chatting about the future, like in 10 years when all our teenage girls are laying awake at night chatting about their crazy Mom's and talking about life. It's a fun connection for our girls and I look forward to all the times we are able to get together to make some memories. So in honor of that, here are my 3 words and some random photos of the weekend.

& even though we were missing a few gals....they weren't far from heart.

Some random photos of our weekend.

I love how Low-Low is so obedient to just sit there and keep smiling as the scene gets ugly with Eme....

Just monkey'ing around.

Cooking class...
Gumbo Girls!

Eme LOVED Big Daddy's Gumbo! She ate 2 full servings plus 2 servings the next day for lunch! Big Daddy does make the best gumbo ever!

Eme could NOT stay away from the dog dishes...AT ALL.

Eme's exploratory behavior was causing Low-Low great distress. Low-Low is a very well behaved, smart child who listens very well and seems to be very clear on the rules of proper behavior, unlike my uncivilized munchkin who is always in motion and grabbing at something all the time;0) She's a work in progress.

a relaxing float, except for Sophie who is all over the pool, she is quite the little fish!

Thanks for the good time girls!

dumping the Flip

While cleaning up all my cameras and trying to get my photos and videos all organized and backed up, I have found myself staring at the photos from our trip to China with nothing but gooey eyes. I stayed up till 1:00 AM just looking back at our referral weekend photos and remembering all the feelings of excitement and the whirlwind of activities that transpired. I found myself on the blog, reading all 200 & some comments on referral day and the tears just started flowing. I never really read any of those comments because at that time, we went from referral bliss to partying like rock stars with Colleen here visiting to full fledge paper work to packing to organizing my boys life while away to boarding a plane and so goes the story. There was really never a moment to pause and read all the lovely messages left. I think my heart leaped out of my chest and I wanted to say thank you.

I miss China. There I said it. I really enjoyed our entire trip there and I fell in love with the kindness of the people and the rich heritage of our girls homeland. There is something so simple and yet so detailed about life in China that I deeply admire. Could I go back? In a heartbeat.

So here are a few videos of Emerson...

*the first one was from China, taken at the White Swan hotel

*in GZ at the wet market

*first morning home

*Kita dog getting to know her new sister

*first morning giggles (ignore me, I was still in PJ's reading)

*learning to crawl (with Colleen as her audience=0)

*doing the scoot

* a daily dance with Daddy

*learning to walk

3 words

My girl sticks to me like glue. She does everything with me and when I put her down, she stands to hold me. She is starting to venture away and explore her world, but she always comes right back to me. She is Mama's girl.

We are Mom's, friends and neighbors. We celebrate most everything together and my life would not be the same without my girlfriends. Some of us are rejoicing in the greatest professional accomplishments of our career and others are struggling in the lowest of times. Some of us are caring for elderly parents in a way that consumes your every being and others are working more than their fair share in life. Some of us are hoping for a better tomorrow, while others don't think tomorrow could get any better than today. While we are all at a different place in life, we always come together for the good times and we offer support in the bad times. It is the friendships of life that adds all the spice and I know I couldn't live without them.

This has been a week where the rules of the CDC have so dramatically affected the Scruggs family that they had to leave their daughter in China while they returned home without her due to the new rules for TB. The rules that were written for adults should be rewritten for our adopted children coming home to America. This will continue to devastate many families if the rules are not changed.

I'm hoping everyone that reads this will sign the petition:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html

& while all this continues to unfold, Jaylee's family has been fighting the CDC and their ridiculous rules of TB since last August when she was referred to them. Her test results for the sputum culture will be 42 days old, as required, this week. This family needs good news. If the results are positive, Jaylee will most likely never find a home. This sick little girl is a product of her institutionalized environment, but she should be home, with the only family that has been fighting for her for a year now.

We are praying Jaylee home this week.

17 months old, 2 months home, 2 months into summer break.....sigh....

(the cute shirt was a gift from her)

*My girl is 17 months old and she is cruising through babyhood and lining herself up pretty fast to be a toddler. She says hi, Kita, doggy, up, thank you, Dada, up, and she mimics sounds, such as her brothers names. She knows who Mommy is by pointing to me, she knows who Daddy is by pointing to him, she knows who Eme is by pointing to herself, but yet she only really says Dada for us all. She is standing on her own and has taken her first step towards me. She gets from point A to point B in a flash. She is Ms. Grabby hands and everything in her reach is fair game. She squawk's like a parrot, still. We ignore the behavior and she will then sign what she wants. She is a snack queen and we always travel with her crackers in her snack cup at all times. She is gaining weight, strength and the ability to be separated from me for a short amount of time. Emotionally, my girl is opening her heart for Daddy all the way and completely adores her brothers. We've stuck with the "Nancy Thomas" way and though it was hard, we are proud that we stuck with it and followed the advice of an expert, especially in the first weeks home when things were very rough on her emotionally.

In other news:

*I enrolled little boy W in kindergarten today. 3 down....1 to go. I can't believe that he is going into kindergarten already. Where does the time go?

*The ladies in the office were kind enough to spill the beans on who C's teacher would be and low and behold.....I'm satisfied. Every year I have to fight for that child and this year, the clouds parted and they managed to take care of my boy all on their own without me having to fight it out for him. Of course, she threw in the disclaimer that 'it could always change'....it better not.

*C's fabulous teacher that he had last year left the elementary school and moved to the middle school that he will be at NEXT year. Could we get lucky enough to get her twice for the same child that really needs a teacher like that???? God I hope so.

*There are 2 teacher options that I'm hoping W gets next year, though the other ones might be marvelous, I've just been told by EVERYONE who I should want for W.

*G has informed me that I don't need to worry about him. It's a good thing. =0)

*The W*i Act*ve is the bomb, though it's causing some serious damage to my bad knees. It's a nice reminder as to why I quit running on pavement and why I just can't do ljump lunges....though I am pushing through and dealing with swollen painful knees for now.

*Did you all go sign that petition? If not, read below and sign.

*I FINALLY opened the email up from my agency that they sent the week we returned from China. I wish I hadn't opened it. It's full of MORE paperwork, lots and lots of paperwork. Good lordy, I'm so sick of paperwork. BC*BS has been completely incompetent in getting our daughter added to our insurance, I just don't want to deal with more paperwork.

*I called and left a message with US Citizenship to find out where her green card is....? I don't understand everything I need, but I don't want to trade her Chinese passport in for an American one. It's just one link from her past to present that I don't want to turn in.

*Speaking of agency's. My small China only agency has been nothing short of A+. They were exactly what I had been promised and lived up to the reputation that they have earned. I'm so glad that we switched to them, even after paying the fees with another LARGE agency. They came highly recommended and I would highly recommend them to anyone. ANYONE.

Please Help by signing the Petition

This is the face of a little girl that has been denied access to America by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the new TB protocols.

These protocols also apply to children adopted abroad by U.S. citizens.

My neighbors received the referral of this precious child 11 months ago and gave her the name Jaylee. Everything that Jaylee has had to go through is nothing less than bullshit.

Jaylee had pneumonia at age 1 1/2, and they suspected TB due to the x-ray. So she went on 6 months of TB meds that ended mid Dec. In Feb & March she had another set of x-rays as part of the Visa process where they still concluded that TB was probable, though she has NEVER tested positive for TB. So they induced coughing to gather a sputum sample to which she could not do because she's only 2! So they hospitalized her after 3 months of arguing if this was even needed. They hospitalized her in order to do a gatric lavage to gather the sample over 3 days for a smear and culture that has to sit there for 42 days. 42 MORE DAYS OF WAITING. By the end of next week, they will have the results of that test. The smear came back negative for TB, which is a good sign but it will mean nothing if her culture doesn't come back negative as well. If it is positive, Jaylee will stay in the Philippians Orphanage and this family will not be able to bring her home.

Even though she was given the 6 months of medicine, the CDC will not accept that because it was not witnessed because she is in a Social Welfare System.

Meanwhile, this family continues to wait, hope & pray.

We are asking you to please go here:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html

and sign this petition calling on the CDC to eliminate the new TB protocols for children adopted abroad by U.S. citizens on the grounds that they are unnecessary for this population.

& if you'd like to read about this happening to another family right now in China who has officially adopted their daughter and will have to place her back in an orphanage and return to the US without her so they can go through the bullshit process above, you can read their story here: http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/

My daughter was given a TB shot when she was a in the orphanage, if tested, she would have tested positive for TB as well. In fact, she will always test positive even if we opted to give her the 6 months of medicine. This protocol is totally unfair to the lives of children and families trying to bring their children home.

Please sign your name to this petition.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html

3 Words

I am so excited that PugMama is bringing back the 3 word Sunday edition. Our family really looked forward to it and it was fun to look back at all the past photos and videos and know the stage our family was in at that time.

Our week was all about Eme Grace.

& since I couldn't decide....PM, you decide.

my island girl

We have spent the week with just our girl and have loved every second of it. She's been fun, witty and her laughter seems more alive. She has found a new friend in Daddy and she is meshing well into our life. She is everything to us and I am in awe of this tiny little girl and that she is now apart of our lives. She seems to love the island life as much as her Mama!

That's my girl, sitting on my island....can you believe it?

It's a picture that I envisioned for so long & really doubted it would ever come true.

She is a dream come true.