Nine!

It's been 9 years since this boy made his debut into the world! My sweet second born has always been a display of sweet and feisty, active and calm, loving and fiery. Whatever Colin does, he does it 100%. 

 Colin is loyal and kind, athletic and competitive, funny and silly. He defends his friends, helps out those around him and will compete with anyone...doing anything.

 Colin's favorite thing to do is play soccer. He would play every minute of every day. He loves to watch his favorite team, Tottenham Hotspurs, play and watches most games. He always reports to me on how the recess soccer game went...before he tells me how the actual school day went.

Despite the first soccer report of the day, Colin enjoys school and loves to read. He likes to spend time researching for his writing projects (usually about soccer) and is very detailed in his work. He is looking forward to 4th grade and his final year in elementary.

 Colin is a fantastic brother. He was the first sibling to bond with Maggie...even before we brought her home. He was actively engaged in our whole adoption process and their sweet attachment has grown into a beautiful friendship.

He also loves to be with his big brother, playing hours and hours of soccer, video games and general rough housing. He also enjoys being the older boss of Macy :) 

Dedication is a word that I would use to describe Colin in all things. He is deeply dedicated to soccer and his team. His focus belies his age. The picture above he is writing out his fitness goals for the month while watching the Premier League.  He also funnels that same dedication to school and his family. I am not sure where that laser focus comes from, but it is very much a part of who Colin is.

He is also one of the silliest and funniest kids around. His 3rd grade teacher told me he was the funniest kid she had ever met and that he made her laugh every day in school. He has always made us laugh with his dry sense of humor, but I am glad that he is starting to show the rest of the world that silly, fun side of him!

Happiest Birthday, Colin.  We love you so much!

We are so excited to watch you grow! 

"I ran out of fingers"

Today my baby is 11.

 He told me that he ran out of fingers now. No longer can he use both hands to tell his age.

Time doesn't hold still, just like Jack.

Jack is always on the the go and prefers to be doing something at all times.

His interests are varied and he participates in many different things!

Jack worked extra hard this year in soccer and futsal and was able to make a high level Michigan Jaguars club team this year.

We are so proud of the determination that you showed and the hard work that you put in.

We can't wait to see you play this fall!

Jack also worked hard with his Destination Imagination team and went to State and qualified for Globals. I love that he uses his brain and his athletic ability.  Jack loved his DI team and is looking forward to next season.

Jack is the best big brother and all of the kids look up to him.

He also is always, always up for a laugh.

Life is never dull with you around, my son.

You keep us on our toes, and usually laughing!

You love to write, and I hope that is a discipline that you continue to work hard on. Everyone always looks forward to your handmade cards! Hallmark should definitely hire you!

You love to be with your friends and we pray that you are a leader among them.

We pray that you stand firm in your convictions and show kindness to those around you.

Stand up for the lonely or ignored. Advocate for those who need a strong voice.

We love that you love your family and your friends.

We love your silly faces, your Dad jokes and your kind heart.

Happy 11th Birthday, my son.

You made us Mom and Dad, you challenge and inspire us.

We love you!

Three!

Today,  our Maggie turns 3! We just got her to say she was "2" a few months ago, so she is really not buying that she is now 3. I can barely believe it myself.

Our girl has grown so much in the last year! She is talking MUCH more now and is attempting to communicate with the world around her!

She is serious and determined when she wants to be. If she wants to work on something, she will keep at it until she masters it. If she does not want to...nothing will entice her.

 She also is the silliest, who loves to make faces, tease her siblings and momma and daddy. 

 Her favorite thing to do is to tell us that an item is "My item, no it is Jack's, no it is Colin's, no it is Dadda's"...and on and on until she laughs too hard to keep going.

She likes to be in the mix with everyone and wants to do what all the big kids are doing!

She loves to be with her family and loves to snuggle up. Maggie has the very special skill of just melting into a person. She gives the best snuggles and everyone fights to hold her!

She loves to do my hair, put on my make-up and help fold laundry. She cleans up better than most of her siblings...to which I am VERY grateful for!

She changes her clothes multiple times a day and usually they match relatively well. She puts her clothes away after she changes, so I can't complain too much. The picture below is when she found her swimsuits and had to change into one!

It is hard to believe that Maggie is 3. We are so proud of her hard work this year and her continued motivation to communicate clearly. We couldn't imagine our world with our Maggie Li Ya!

Happiest 3rd Birthday, baby girl. We love you SO!

Post Adoption: 18 months!

 It seems hard to believe that we have been home with our girl 18 full months! One and a half years! 

We've been busy these last few months, celebrating Christmas, the start of 2019 and the Chinese Lunar New Year! 

We've spent hours on an indoor soccer field, a basketball court and a futsal court.

We've spent hours working on speech.

And hours stuck inside while Winter decided to finally show up!

 But, through it all, we've been loving and learning more about this funny lady.

Food and Growth:

 She is doing well! She is a very typical 2 year old, so some days she likes everything and eats everything and some days she doesn't! Cheese sticks and any type of fruit are her very favorite. She is drinking from a sippy and a regular cup well, and she loves her milk!

While still on the small side, she is slowly but surely growing.

Attachment:

She knows she is a Fedell and she will NOT be left behind in anything that we do. If her siblings do it, she will do it. We feel like she is fully attached to us. While there may still be some ebbs and flows, we feel confidently attached.

Development:

We are working hard on speech over here and we are SLOWLY seeing some progress. She is now saying more words, a few 2-3 word phrases and most of them include orders! Open Door! That's mine!  And so forth.

She is also entering into the world of "Why?"  Everything is answered with "Why?" It is a developmental stage that she had to reach, but we are answering a LOT of questions these days.

We are still behind, but we are slowly improving our language skills.

Goals:

We are still going strong with her speech and will get an official IEP once she turns 3 in April. She will then go into the preschool speech schedule. Potty training will probably start soon, once we warm up a bit. Our long range goal is to get her potty trained by September, so she can attend preschool in the fall! 

Friends. Adoption is hard, but so is parenting. So is life. Anything worth doing well will have some sacrifices and downsides, but the rewards are always far and beyond more than the struggles. Always.

Kids need families, no matter what.

We are SO glad that that we get to be Maggie's family.

Post Adoption:15 months- The Half

We have been home with Maggie 15 months now.

I've thought about this number, and about this time, even before we boarded a plane for China.

While there is a buffer in place to give some privacy to Maggie's story and to account for my terrible math skills, we have reached the point of having Maggie in her forever home that same amount of time that she was in an orphanage. Half of her life.

We've had her for half of her life.

What a beautiful gift we have been given.

Maggie has known a family for half of her life and we have known her joyful laugh and spunky spirit.

15 month update:

Maggie has been doing well!

Food and Growth:

No real issues here anymore. She is eating well and will drink from cups now. She likes to snack a lot and likes to eat whatever anyone else is eating. She is just barely getting into 2T clothing, so she is still pretty tiny, but she is growing and that is most important.

Attachment:

She likes her family and she likes people. At home, she always wants to be held, on a lap or involved in everything.

In public she is very outgoing and likes to say Hi and Bye to everyone. She thinks that everyone needs to acknowledge her. She likes to give fist bumps and high fives, or tease you and not give you anything. You never quite know what you will get!

Development:

Speech is our biggest obstacle right now. She has really started to add more voluntary words in the last few weeks, but it has been S L O W. She will repeat words (when she feels like it) but she does not add them to her vocabulary as often as we would like. She is in speech therapy every week and we are working on it, but the process has been much slower than I had expected.

Her fine and gross motor skills are almost up to par. She is still not proficient at stairs and doesn't want to even try them. In her defense, we have zero stairs in our house, so the only chance we have to practice is when we visit someone who does have stairs. All of the houses we will visit this holiday season have stairs...so we will get to have LOTS of practice, whether she likes it or not!

Goals:

Speech and communication is our number one goal

right now. She has been adding more 2 and sometimes 3 word phrases, but they are not really clear or as often as we would like. 

So, having Maggie be able to clearly communicate to us is most important.

While we know that Maggie was loved and adored in her orphanage home for those 15 months, she still was without a mother and a father, brothers and sister. She was without a family. I am still completely humbled that we were chosen to be her family. We get to experience all of  the joys and laughter and stubbornness that is wrapped up into Maggie Li Ya. We are so very blessed.

November is National Adoption Awareness month. If adoption or the plight of the orphan lays heavy on your heart, I encourage you to take that first step. Maybe it is diving into our Foster Care system, maybe it is domestic and working with birth moms. Maybe it is in family preservation. Maybe it is international adoption, where children still live in mass orphanages. Whatever pulls at your heart, whatever you can't seem to get out of our head,  I encourage you to make that first move. Take that first step. Make that call.

Adoption is like a giant funnel. It is wide and open with thousands of options, but I promise you, once you start the process it will narrow, every question and phone call will bring the next step and you will be closer to the end result.

It is worth it, friends.  Kids need families.

12 years later...

12 years ago, I walked down the aisle to meet this guy waiting for me at the end. We were both so young, so in love and so excited about what was in store for us. I loved him then, but I love him more now.

12 years have brought us changes upon changes, some valleys and definitely some mountains tops. We've made major moves and had multiple job changes, all while raising 4 amazing kids.

This year we start out on a brand new foot. Ryan is now self-employed, running not one but two of his own companies. It has been a long time coming for us. Ryan's masters is in Global Entrepreneurship and running and owning his own company has been a life time goal.

We are now walking into that new role and it is both terrifying and exhilarating. I am excited to see what is in store for him professionally and for us, as a family.

This 12th year is going to be a good one, love. It is going to be a good one!

Below is a brief look at Ryan's company, Project Bold Co. We created this for a contest (we didn't win) but it gives a great look at one of his businesses. There is a lot going on behind the scenes for this company and I am so proud of the direction this business is going. Important people are catching this important vision and I am so excited to see what happens next!

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The other is his own consulting company, East Park Consulting that consults and implements for salesforce integrations. (http://www.eastparkgroup.com)