Fun Outside

Playing outside in some of their "princess" dresses yesterday evening. I wish I'd taken the time to get my better camera but our convenient little one was on the kitchen counter so I grabbed it on the way out the door.

Who Are You?

I know from my Site Meter that I have a lot of people reading our blog but very few ever leave comments.

Just wondering who is reading our blog and where you heard about us. I'd love to hear from you!

What I'm Working On

If you are interested in what I'm embroidering, just check out my other blog. I'm posting photos of what I'm working on every few days. My customers are loving seeing what their items look like before they even open the package! :)

www.themonogrammedladybug.blogspot.com

One Year With Bailey Shay

One year ago in China we finally met our sweet Bailey Shay. We had waited 13 very long months to bring her home and we were so excited to finally make her a part of our family.....the feeling was NOT mutual! However, a year later she is a happy, healthy and much better tempered little girl. She loves her baby dolls, her stuffed elephant, her bracelets and her family. She has gained almost 4 pounds (up to 27 pounds) and has grown 5 inches (up to 39 inches). If you mention going to China she immediately says, "I stay with Mama." She still makes frequent calls to China on her toy phone to talk to her beloved ayi Hu Yan. We are so blessed that she was so loved by this special lady. Even though she spent her life in an orphanage and not in foster care, she was loved and that has made such a huge difference in her little life. She still has a temper but it is not coming out nearly as much as it did just a few months ago. She is very giving. If she has something and Brinley doesn't have the same thing she will happily give hers to Brinley with a smile and a sweet "you have mine, it's okay". We are so blessed to be the parents, brothers and sisters of this wonderful little girl.

We love you soooooo much, Shay-Shay!

To read about Bailey Shay's gotcha day, just jump over to our travel blog.


We celebrated Bailey's special day with a cake....pink, of course! She was so excited! We also met Daddy for lunch at her favorite "wess-want" (restaurant). Chinese noodles are still her favorite food....and rice! Last night we watched some of our videos from China. She laughed and laughed when she saw herself having a huge temper tantrum. Thank goodness those days are behind us! :)

Monogram Madness!

I am so excited that my monogram/embroidery business is maintaining after pulling most of my listings from eBay. I don't have as many orders coming in but I do have quite a few and I am just thrilled to know that people are coming back to buy over and over again. I feel so blessed to have met so many wonderful people through The Monogrammed LadyBug .

The reason I pulled my listings from eBay was the charges are just ridiculous and I need to spend more time with my little ones. We have been having so much fun since I am not so stressed about keeping up with eBay. I am loving having my website up and running again!

I am trying to list new things for Back To School. I have tote bags, back packs, lunch boxes......cute new clothing! Oh, you name it and I've got it.....I just don't have it listed yet! Time, time, time.....it's all about having enough time. I need to take pictures of all of it and get it listed.

If you are looking for something, please don't hesitate to email me at themonogrammedladybug@gmail.com . I've met many of my customers through this blog. Even if you aren't shopping now I'd love to hear from you about what you are looking for this holiday season. I've got some of the cutest appliqued clothing that I will be listing Sept. 30 for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! I can't wait for all of you to see it! I will be putting up a preview on my Monogrammed LadyBug blog on Sept. 29. There will be limited numbers of items so check it out to make sure you get the designs and items you love the most!

MAMA MIA!

Okay, did you see it this weekend???? Did you LOVE it????

Kristen and I had a mom/daughter evening out at the movies and we both LOVED it!
LOVED IT!!!

We stopped and bought the soundtrack on the way home! She thought it was hysterical that I knew the songs! Puh-leeeezzzz.........ABBA was so 7th grade! She had no idea that the movie was based on the songs of ABBA. I think she's hooked now! She took the soundtrack home with her!

Lo, I love you!!! Thanks for enjoying the laughs with me! :)

Brinley Update! :)

Today we saw Dr. G and he said that her mouth is looking great and that the hole should heal on it's own but if there is a small hole that doesn't heal that he can repair it easily.

WHEW!!!!

What a relief to hear those words!

The hole is definitely closing. It's already about half the size it was.

Thank you again to everyone who has said a little prayer for BinBin.

Chapman Family

Every day I still think about the loss the Chapman family has faced. From reading their blogs I know that they are doing the best they can to find "normal" in their lives again. I can only wonder if I could face such a tragedy in my own life and ever find "normal" again.

Steven has recorded a new 4th verse for the song "Yours" from his "Cinderella" CD. It will be the next song released to radio. Please continue to pray for this family. They have done so much for so many.

Thank you!

A huge thank you to each and every person who has emailed or called us about BinBin. Praise God, the hole appears to be closing up! We are being extremely careful about the foods we allow her to eat and what she can do.

We will see Dr. G. this Friday so we will know more then and we have an appointment to see the cleft team again in Charleston in August.

A very special thank you to Laurie M. and her husband Robert for their insight and help when I was in panic mode. I will never forget your help!

Thank you so much for all of the prayers for our sweet girl. She said, "Hello Kitty" a couple of days ago and it was just as clear as anything with all of her sounds just like they should be. She was so excited! Even she could hear the difference!

Last night Bailey said "Brinley" for the first time. It's always sounded more like "Minnie". She, too, was very, very excited that she was able to say the sounds correctly.

We are above and beyond blessed with these two little girls!

Please Pray For Brinley

Brinley has developed a hole in her palate. A big one. If you are a praying person, please pray for our sweet girl's healing. I just found the hole Friday evening. This is not a good thing....not at all. We will be contacting her doctor first thing Monday morning. We know that the Great Physician can heal her. Please remember her in your prayers.

Sharon

Some VBS Fun!

We had a blast at Vacation Bible School this year!

From The IAAP Newsletter

Lemonade Sales for Siping Center

Rion, Sophie and Pressley Smith had a lemonade stand this summer and donated the money they made to our foster care Center in Siping. They made $63! Their parents, Greg and Kim Smith, are very proud of them and so are we. This money will provide much needed formula for the new babies at the Center. Thank you Rion, Sophie and Pressley!

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We are very blessed to be friends of the Smith family. They are on day 99 of their wait for Cate. Please keep them in your prayers. Their family is not complete...

Home!

Just a quick note to let everyone know we are home and that BinBin is doing fine. Longer post coming soon with pictures. We are both tired!

Thank you so much to everyone for your prayers, calls, emails and blog messages! A very special thank you to our pastor Allan Burden for coming to the hospital to be with us. Allan has only been our pastor for two weeks but we already think of him, his wife Trista and their children as part of our family.

Sharon

PART II: The tooth fairy will be coming to visit BinBin again tonight! Before surgery Dr. G removed her other bottom tooth that has just barely been hanging on. She took a nap today and seems to be feeling great! I am keeping her on her pain meds just to be on the safe side but she says it doesn't hurt much. She is running around playing with Bailey. They are so glad to be together again! Bailey earned $5 during her overnight visit with Granny Mae & Boss. She picked beans and tomatoes! Brice earned $5 too. :) I was soooooo happy to see them when we came home! I sure missed them!

Thank you so much for all of the emails and calls we have received since coming home today.

Surgery Today For Brinley

We are getting ready to head out to the hospital. Brinley has more cleft palate surgery today. If all goes well we will be back home sometime tomorrow.

Hopefully we can post from the hospital and give everyone an update. Thank you so much for your prayers. Tonni, thank you so much for posting yesterday. I am praying for your group!

Jan & Kim, I will have my cell phone with me.....if you get any news CALL ME!!!!

Hugs to all!
Sharon

Brinley Lost Her First Tooth!

Brinley has had a couple of wiggly wobbly teeth on the bottom for several weeks. Today she was playing with her makeup and looking "lovely" when she asked me if she could go and play in the pool with her brothers. I told her that would be fine and thought to myself that the makeup would surely wash off in the pool. So, she and Bailey suited up and put on their floaties and jumped in. Just a few minutes later I heard Brice say, "I'm sorry, BinBin! I'm sorry!" His arm had bumped her chin. Then Keith yelled, "Her tooth is missing!" Her tooth had fallen out into the pool! Brinley was grinning and the boys decided it was their mission to recover the tooth.....the itty bitty tiny tooth.....in the pool! Talk about a needle in a haystack! They both started searching and in just a few minutes Brice popped up out of the water victoriously holding the missing tooth!

Here are some photos of BinBin's exciting day!

Check Out This Group!

I just want to help spread the word about the most awesome adoption related group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WaitingSNChildrenChina/

This group is for families interested in adopting a WAITING CHILD (with some kind of special need or just on a waiting list due to age) from China. Note: This group is for prospective families at any phase of the adoption process, and also agency representatives.
This is a group where we discuss topics such as DISRUPTIONS, SCHOOL ISSUES, everyday life before, during and AFTER adoption. This is a list where we respect each other but we can debate about issues and still be friends when the day is done. This is a group that really is *ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN*. Please feel free to join this wonderful, awesome yahoo family.

I have been a member of this group since the beginning and you will not find a greater bunch of caring mamas and daddys on this planet! Come and join us no matter what stage of your sn adoption you are at! We'd just love to meet you!

More Surgery For Bin-Bin

Brinley & Bailey visited Dr. Giles today. Bailey is doing great! Brinley has to have another surgery. She will be having a z-plasty on July 1 and we will be at the hospital over night. She is excited about having this done because she knows that afterwards she can get her ears pierced. We have been putting this off because we knew that more surgery was coming soon but we weren't sure when and we didn't want her to have to take her ear rings out before surgery. We've promised her that just as soon as she is feeling better we will take her to get her ears pierced. She is so excited! :)

I found a drawing online of what Dr. G will be doing to Bin-Bin's palate. Please keep her in your prayers.

Quick Update!

We have been busy, busy ever since school got out. We went to Atlanta for several days and went to Six Flags, Stone Mountain and the zoo. I'll post photos of it all soon. While on vacation we found out that the company Marty works for is being bought by another company and that he may not have a job after December. YIKES! Please keep us in your prayers! We are worried but are confident that God will see us through!

I am trying to get my embroidery/monogram business really rolling just in case. It's been sort of a side thing until now and I was just trying to bring in enough for groceries or special treats. Now it's time to step up and give it all I've got! Please help me spread the word about The Monogrammed LadyBug! I am currently running everything through eBay to try and boost my sales and traffic.

Otherwise, we are all doing great! :)