One Year Later

Wow! Time flies! This past year has been filled with joy and lots of HARD WORK! 

When we met Michal, she could not walk, she could not talk, she had no teeth, she had never eaten food other than mush, the only automobile she had ever been in is the bus that brought her to us, she had never been on a plan,  and didn't understand English. 

She was walking within 1 month of being home. She was in physical therapy for about 3 months to help get her hips to rotate and to get everything moving like it should. She was stiff from being stuck in a crib her whole life. 

She had her first birthday party in July! 

Michal was talking within just A few months of being home,  and now,  her language skills are probably that of a 3 1/2 year old! Bam! That's how Mama rolls! A big thanks to Mrs.Stacy (Michal's PAID Speech Therapist. Lol!) and Mrs. Cheryl her Special Instructor.

She has also come leaps and bounds with her articulation, but it will take a good while for her to be 100% clear because of having an incomplete palate for 2 years.

She finally got her palate repaired in August after we struggled with some respiratory issues that prevented her surgery in June. 

She started preschool in September at Eli's Place!

And she celebrated her first Thanksgiving 

And her first Christmas with her family!

She is SMART, STRONGWILLED, STUBBORN, sweet, kind, and loving! What a package! We will never be bored and we are OH SO BLESSED to have Michal for our daughter!

These pictures tell it all!

First weeks home

At the airport

Finally home to our boys!

Sleeping in her bed!

Going to church #1

Going to church #2

Met my cousins on the way to Cincinnati!

Saw Snow! 

In Cincinnati to see the surgeon 

Baby Dedication Sunday 3/15/2015

With Gma Dixie & GGma

With GPa Will

Around the house #1

Around the house #2

On the dock!

With Jackson

First time in a swing. 

At a Forsyth Park.

Her first car!

Zhen Zhou China/Gottcha Day

Zhengzhou will NOT go on my list of favorite cities. 

It was dirty, filled with construction, smog and tons of people. 

In Zhengzhou they allow mopeds on the same sidewalks where pedestrians walk. It is extremely dangerous. The car traffic is insane. There is no waiting, stopping, or yielding. When you want to go, you just go. The only thing that keeps them out of wrecks is, no one wants to get in a wreck because it is very hard to prove the wreck was someone else's fault. You don't get paid for the damages. So, in the midst of all the crazy driving you rarely see an accident.

The one thing I will always love about this city is, it is the place where we finally got Michal!!

January 19, 2015

Wow! What an unbelievable day!

Things to come included: many bus rides, government buildings and paperwork completion sessions.

Michal was NOT fond of the buses filled with children and other crying babies. . .generally, she was the crying baby. We found out a few days after we got her that her first experience on a bus did not go well. On Gotcha day they woke her up before daybreak, put her in 4 layers of super thick clothes, and then took her on a 2 1/2 hour bus ride. She does not like to be hot, but they would not take her clothes off because the old Chinese ladies would yell at them.

When we got her back to the hotel the first day, we gave her a bath and laid her on the bed in just a diaper and she was SO HAPPY! 

After that, we decided the old Chinese ladies could yell at us if we wanted to but we would not put that many clothes on her, because our girl does not like to be hot.

We got yelled at a lot!!!

Beijing

Now that we are home, I want to try to start posting a few of my pictures. I am sorry for the delay. We have had our hands full! 

Our first stop in China was Beijing. The purpose in being there was  understanding Chinese heritage. They like you too have a good understanding of the country your child comes from. After experiencing it, I feel like the knowledge and experience we gained will be very important for us to be able to share with Michal.

We went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and we climbed the great wall of China! 

Tiananmen Square

A symbol of modern-day China.

We also went for a rickshaw ride and ate at a traditional Chinese home. 

Later, we went to a jade factory and route through Olympic Park.

Our time in Beijing was extremely cold!

The Forbidden City! 

A symbol of ancient China.

I was really amazed by the Forbidden City. It is a huge palace with over 8000 rooms still in existence. It originally had 9999 1/2 rooms. The Emperor didn't want to outdo his father who had a palace with 1000 rooms! It is called the Forbidden City because common people were not allowed to enter.

The rickshaw ride was so cold it was almost miserable. Then we followed that with lunch at a traditional Chinese home. It was colder inside the house than it was outside. They don't have heat and insulation like Westerners are used to in most Chinese homes.

At night we walked on the streets of the city some. This was one shopping area near our hotel.

We looked at the street food but we did not eat it. We wanted to make sure we stayed healthy to be able to get and take care of Michal!

The Great Wall was amazing! 

It was cold there too, and quite the workout! It was really amazing to see it with my own eyes! As we drove to it, I could not believe we were going to see the real Great Wall of China. Then, there it was. It is HUGE and beautiful! It was a really cool experience. 

Just in case you were wondering, they have squatty potties there too!

It is hard for me to believe I actually took this picture with my phone!

We also got to visit a jade factory & market. Jade is more precious to the Chinese than gold. 

We bought some special gift to give Michal when she turns 16 and when she gets married.

This ship is made completely of Jade.

We even rode through Olympic Village. 

The ice looking building is where they held the swimming competitions and the birds nest is the building where they held the gymnastics competition back when the Olympics were in China.

That is a quick look at our trip to Beijing China! 

I will create post with the other cities soon.