Pushing the boundaries

Last night we dined at a Mexican place called Tequila. Jacob and I enjoyed it, but the girls struggled with the menu. I didn't realize that we were entering the "pushing the boundaries" phase of the process, but we were. Can you hear the twilight zone music playing?

After trying 3 different dishes from the menu, and none of them meeting Maggie's approval, I clued into what might be happening. She ended up eating Haddie's meal, which Haddie thought was too spicy. Needless to say, it ended up being our priciest meal yet!


Dish number one...





As I mentioned before, Maggie sleeps well, but I believe last night exhausted her. She fell asleep at 6:30, and despite our best efforts we could not wake her. She ended up sleeping until 6:45 this morning.

We have been working on using some basic English words to eliminate some of the grunting, pulling and whining. At first she resists, but soon complies to what I am asking.

Each day her breakfast choice remains the same: bacon, ham, sausage, and congee. Today she mixed it up a bit and threw in a croissant.



The daily ritual of feeding the fish after breakfast continues to provide a good 30 minutes of entertainment. I will take anything that allows time to tick away on the clock!





Haddie and Jacob are real troopers. I cannot say enough about how proud I am of both of them, and so thankful they are here to help their old mom! Jacob is having his fill of "girl", and I expect he will hibernate with his brothers for a few days when we return home!

Maggie will certainly need some dental work. I am almost positive one tooth is rotting out of her head. She wanted to have gum today, and about 30 seconds in to the chewing she handed me a tooth. I really hope it was a baby tooth, but honestly I don't know.


We went shopping on Shaman Island today. It was an area we were familiar with, due to our previous visits here for Haddie's and Libi's adoptions.


Haddie enjoyed looking at the beaded bracelets. She was patient.


If you look at Maggie's face you can see she was less than thrilled and not exactly patient.


Most of our time has been spent at the hotel. When we go out for meals, Maggie is quieter. When we head back toward our hotel she becomes excited. It is clear that our room brings security and comfort to her.

So, today when we were away from the hotel, and literally dragging her into shops, it didn't go too well. I didn't handle the situation perfectly, but we survived! By the time we hit Subway for lunch she was coming back around, and even shared her chips with me. That was huge, because the girl loves her chips and I really wasn't feeling the "I like my new mommy" vibe!

Back at the hotel we did school work, and she completed her multiplication facts 1-10 without missing any. I really should have brought along worksheets for Maggie. She has ended up completing some of Haddie's!

We are just relaxing now before dinner. Tomorrow we will go to have Maggie's TB test read and head to the Safari Park. shopping definitely out of the question for the rest of the trip!

I am so homesick my eyes fill with tears as I type. Thanks for posting and messaging, it is such a comfort to feel the connection to home.


Talented girl!








Yes, be amazed!

Medical Clinic and other little happenings

Last night we decided to dine at an Irish Pub of all places. We were warmly greeted by our Irish host, who had a thick Irish accent. He escorted us to our table, and as Jacob and I sat down we felt at home. The ambience of the restaurant felt familiar, and it delivered comfort to us feeling a bit connected to home. As we opened the menu, the comfort continued to wash over us. We could actually discern what the dishes were without the need of pictures or translation!


Maggie and Haddie enjoyed their apple juice!


This was my dinner selection of fish and chips. It was decided when we return this meal could easily be divided between the girls and myself!











Jacob enjoying his burger!

The girls do wonderful at bedtime. They like the routine of brushing teeth, getting into PJs and cuddling with mom. Maggie is a terrific sleeper. She seems to be quite cozy nestled in between her mama and big sis!

Maggie likes to take pictures with my camera. Here are a few shots she took this morning:


I did not turn these upside down.






Serious? Too cute!!!!


Got it turned the right way!


She told Haddie to make the "peace" sign.


One of the great gifts of JOY since being here was this morning at breakfast. As we were walking to our table I passed this little honey with her mama and baba. I recognized her right away. Her name is Claire, and she was at New Day foster home with Libi. She has been an extremely sick little girl over the last few years, and we have spent many a night praying her through! I was struck with emotion, and continue to process seeing this MIRACLE begin the journey with her family!!! What a gift!


Beautiful girlies!





This picture is for daddy. She already knows how to use the "pouchy lip". It is not working on mama so much, but pretty sure it will work on daddy!


Happy Haddie, waiting for her sister to finish her exam.


So the medical exam, I really don't understand the necessity of it. They check vitals, vision, hearing, height and weight. Then there is an overall exam by a doctor. The doctor kept trying to straighten Maggie's left leg. I got so tickled, I was laughing out loud, and so was Maggie. After the doctor left the room I started my own exam on Maggie. We were hysterical!

She had to have a TB test and was brave, but she did not like that it bled. She kept holding her arm up to me wanting me to wipe away the blood and going me the "pouchy lip". Haddie and I felt bad for her.


After the medical exam was complete we went to Sun-yat-sen Memorial Hall. Our guide compared the memorial to our Statue of Liberty and Sun-yat-sen to George Washington. It was Sun-yat-sen who ended the reign of the Ming dynasty and paved the way to China becoming a republic.


The girls resting in squat position.


Chinese cowboy. That was a whole other story! As Jacob said, not everyday you see one of these!


Happy girl to be at KFC!



First hand in hand walk with her big brother...priceless!



Doing school...



Eating chips! Is there any other way to do school?



She loves to copy out of books. I think her handwriting is pretty neat!


I was also excited to see that she knows some multiplication. She is working on it right now and doing great!

Maggie is quite the parrot, repeating everything. Today when we were going through a Chinese/English picture book she made the mistake of beating me to some of the English words. It became apparent she knows more English than she's been letting on. I began to tease her about it and the giggles struck, there was then no turning back!

Tomorrow we will travel to Shaman Island, where we stayed when adopting Haddie and Libi. There are little shops, and a pearl market, so it will be a full day.

Again, I greatly rejoice in the Lord's goodness to us. His plan is filled with good things for His children!

Another long, yet blessed day

It is just 2:00 p.m. here, but I wanted to update now while Maggie is asleep. Yes, the girl is wiped out! Haddie is doing school and Maggie is snoring away beside me.


Written on the notepad next to Maggie's leg are words she copied from Haddie's reading book. She enjoyed when I would "grade" her work with a star or smiley face.

We ended up having a nice dinner at a Thai/Korean Barbecue restaurant called "Cow and Bridge". I hoped to dine somewhere special for Jacob's birthday, and this place met my expectation. Ordering a variety of dishes I was surprised to see that Maggie enjoyed the spiciest dish most.

Upon our return to the room, this greeted us.


I thought for sure Brad had outdone himself once again and sent Jacob a cake for his birthday, but it was not from Brad. The hotel had sent it. The cake itself was held inside the outer box of chocolate. Quite delicious!






Haddie is hanging in there. She was fighting tears a little while ago, feeling frustrated that she needs to keep up with school work. One of the funniest moments with her so far was the other day when perusing through a Chinese/English book she attempted to say something in Chinese. It came out like, "Ching Jing Jang...blah, blah, blah." Maggie thought it was quite funny as well.



Maggie continues to come out of her shell. We have had some healthy moments of pushing boundaries. She continues to want to do everything I am doing. After I used my cleanser to wash my face, she was right there wanting to do the same. She even attempted to curl her eyelashes this morning.

As far as language, she has been a bit more of a parrot today, quietly mimicking and repeating. We hear a lot of "Oh" and Oh wow!" Today at breakfast a newly adopted 12 year old girl was sporting a fancy frock of frills, and Maggie was quite taken with it. She looked at me and said, "Mom, Oh wow!" So, after breakfast we went shopping!



This is the dress she chose. Enough said, right?

Of course we got one for the other princesses in the Arnold house too. Haddie didn't want to try hers on...but has decided these will be perfect to wear for Easter!


This little button below has become one of my favorite things here. Simply light the switch with the lady and the broom and leave the room. When you return to the room it is clean and tidy! Brad, can you install one of these while I am gone?

Birthdays and Beginnings

Today, I celebrate the one who gave me the gift of motherhood. Jacob is a true gift and I am grateful that we are sharing this experience together. To think, only God knew on Jacob's 9th birthday his sister was being born on the other side of the world! He, of course, is the glue holding this whole operation together. I embarrass him hourly, but he hasn't bailed on me yet! Maggie is quite enamored with him.



Maggie Grace, even though I have only known her for 4 days, I feel as though it has been a lifetime. Our guide said, "I think she is girlie-girl". I agree, just like her mama!




Haddie and Maggie are doing well as they are getting to know one another. Maggie has had some moments when she has made it clear to Haddie she has been "big sistered" enough, but overall they really enjoy one another.


I am so proud of Haddie! Sharing mom and being sensitive to all these crazy circumstances is not easy at age 9. Being a big sis to Libi has prepared her for much of what she has endured in this last week. I will never forget how she was overcome with emotion when she first met her sister!





Orphanage visit:
On our way to the orphanage Maggie withdrew into herself. I was concerned for what the day might hold for her little heart and prayed for God's hand of protection.





Upon our arrival her face brightened and Maggie bounded from the car. Being greeted warmly by all who crossed her path, it was clear that she was well loved in this place.

What I saw today is hard to fully communicate. Hope mixed with hopelessness in such a bittersweet dance. The Dongguan Social Welfare Institute is home to over 900 children. Please allow that to soak in. This is only one city, one orphanage out of thousands in China. 900 children, you do the math.

May the pictures below speak to your soul:


































This little angel was in time out. It was very difficult for me not to rescue him!!!

These last 3 children we had the privilege to meet are available for adoption through Madison Adoption Associates. They were all so wonderful!


Age 8, cannot bare weight on his legs. He is very bright, and sings beautifully!


This little honey is very tiny! She is 6 and very tiny. It is not known why she is small, but she is in good health, and cognitively on track.


This last handsome dude has killer dimples. He is 7 and deaf. He has begun to learn sign language and is quite bright. Other than his inability to hear he is a healthy and happy boy!

All of the children we saw carried some type of special need label, but everyone was a delightful child capable of blessing a family with inexplicable JOY!! If given individual medical care and a family they would all make huge strides both mentally and physically.

After visiting the children we were taken to a room with black couches and over in the corner sat Maggie's foster mother. Maggie quietly sat down near her.



Her foster mother is quite smitten with Maggie. She shared with us that Maggie was her favorite. She brought Maggie a birthday cake and a card that her teachers had sent. Her foster mother informed us that Maggie was all of her teachers' favorite too because she is such a sweet girl! She received an A+ in English, and that is her favorite subject.


She helped Maggie cut the birthday cake and serve everyone with warm hospitality. I remarked to Jacob that Maggie has had some good training. Maggie has lived with her foster family for almost two years. There were 4 other children in the home, ages 10, 8, 7 and 4. We were told that Maggie got along well with the children, but she typically was the one in charge. This should greatly concern anyone who knows anything about Haddie!


When it was time to go, Maggie grabbed Haddie's hand and they dashed out of the building.







We made one last stop in the village where Maggie was found. I really have no words for that.

I once was lost....


But now I'm found!!!!!

Maggie slept on me all the way back to the hotel.