A Birthday Blessing for my Daughter

From the Book of Isaiah

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you." Isaiah 60:1-2.

May His glory always appear over you my sweet Maggie Mae.

" 'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10

May you experience Freedom and LIFE within His covenant of peace my precious daughter.

"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." Isaiah 50:10b

The name of the Lord is a strong tower and a lighthouse for you Maggie Mae.

"I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." Isaiah 48:17

Follow Him my little princess.

"I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness." Isaiah 42:6-7

I pray you SEE life with His eyes, He is your healer Maggie Mae.

"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." Isaiah 32:18

You are loved, accepted, and safe, WELCOME HOME Maggie Mae.

"I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple." Isaiah 6:1b

May you see the face of Jesus and praise Him day and night saying Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty. He is your constant, everlasting Father Maggie Mae.

Happy Birthday Maggie Mae. I love you.

Mommy

Reflections of Reality

Time flies when you are running an infirmary in your home:):) Ever since we've been home, someone has be sick with the flu. We have shared it with the Hufham household also, and we are so sorry!!!!!! Other than the flu epidemic, life is resuming. I won't say to normal because normal is just the setting on the dryer:) Parker did very well getting his makeup work done and has caught up and done very well. He thinks he needs to leave the country more often, hahaha! Baseball has begun and we won our first tournament. So proud of the integrity of our coaches, players and families. This is going to be a fun year of travel ball. Sarah-Gracen and Camden are trying to get back into a routine of homeschool, but we are finding it a little hard to do school with a two year old running around. They are greatly enjoying the distraction:):) Tony is still looking for a job; however, he is the latest victim of the flu and is miserable. Dexter is still trying to catch up with work and coach baseball and help me. He and Maggie Mae had a great morning Sunday. I went to church and he stayed home with her because Camden was sick. They had a good time, and he discovered she loves to swing and she loves the dogs. God is answering our prayer and that bond is beginning to happen.
I know you all want to know how Maggie Mae is doing, so I'll give you a quick update. She is happy most of the time. She can get around the house with no problem. She is especially good at finding the bear mount and digging all the moss out of the bottom. Bedtime happens to be her favorite. She loves her crib, and she loves to sleep. I have to wake her up every morning around 9am, she naps from 1-4, and then goes to bed at about 8:30. She is waking up in the middle of the night, but only to play, and not needing us. She loves to eat, especially Cheerios.
Yesterday we had our first doctor's appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmolgist in Birmingham. He confirmed the original diagnosis of Primary Optic Nerve Atrophy. She has about 20/200 vision, which is considered legally blind. He did say her vision at this point was functional, and we will only know if it will deteriorate over time. He believes she was born this way. His exact words were, "God just made her this way for whatever reason." We were very impressed with him and his plan. Right now we are scheduled for an MRI of the brain at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. He wants to see the rest of the optic nerve and rule out any cysts or tumors. He also wants to have a good look at the brain, since we don't have any history of her. On March 8th, we see the International Adoption Pediatrician in Birmingham for a head to toe assessment.
So how are we doing with all this? I'm not sure I can find a word that describes our emotions; however, I will say that we knew all this was a possibility, and now it's a reality. I have praying for God to show me how to pray. I'm not sure what to do at this point in seeking Him, so I am relying on the Holy Spirit to show me what to pray. Earlier today I was processing some of this, and this is what He showed me. We look at this as she has lost something. We grieve for her loss. BUT God reminded me that she was born this way. She has never known anything but this. Most importantly, she hasn't lost anything. She has gained a family who will introduce her to Jesus who has a Hope and a Future for her life. We get to see life through a completely different perspective now. We were talking with the kids last night, and I thought about what our first hiking trip to Oak Mountain with her would be like. I told them that we will have to watch out close for her because of the roots and rocks etc. BUT, this will cause us to see things we might have missed along the way, feel things we might not have ever touched, hear the beauty of His creation, and smell the goodness of the Lord. I was so encouraged by this. Will it be easy? No, but once again, I am reminded that He never promised us that following Him would be easy, but He did promise to never leave us or forsake us. So we are praising Him that she can see some, and that other than her eyesight, she is a healthy little girl who is filled with LIFE. Her laughter is contagious, and we are falling desperately in love with her.

First Few Days Home ... Click Here for Video

There's no place like home!!!!! Oh it feels so good to be home. We have had an eventful few days, hecnce, you haven't heard from me in a while. We left China at 4pm Wednesday afternoon (Alabama time) and got home Friday morning at 3am. We almost missed our flight to Atlanta due to a long line in customs, but thanks to Maggie Mae crying in her daddy's arms, we got bumped to the front. We saw another family getting special privileges because their child was crying so hard, so Dexter looked at me and said "Give me the baby!" And yes we thought it was funny that time and it worked. We ran to the gate and got there right before they were closing the doors! We then found out an hour later that the de-icing mechanism was not working on our plane, so we made a detour to Knoxville to change planes again. We didn't care, we were going to make it home. Tony was home feeling anxious because of the impending weather coming in on Friday. So we got in around 3am and got everyone settled in, went to bed about 5am and got up at 10:30am to Sarah-Gracen throwing up. Everyone was so excited about the snow, but she was so pitiful and wasn't able to go out in it at all. She was sick for 2 days. Yesterday, Camden started running fever and has a sore throat. Parker is getting over jet lag and doing 2 weeks worth of make up work. Daddy has gone back to work and mom is trying to dig her way out of 2 1/2 weeks of laundry. So that's where we are now, but again, all is Great because we are home.

Maggie Mae is doing well adjusting to her new home. She is loving her high chair and her car seat! Praising Jesus for an answered prayer! Sleeping was rough at first because of the time change, but it's getting better. We went to church yesterday and she did very well, even went to Jalapenos with some friends and she loved it! As we speak she is on the floor playing with her new toys Maw Maw and Christina brought her. This is huge because she has not wanted to be out of my arms since we got home. You will see in the pictures and video, she loves taking a bath, and she got a real special treat the other night. She and Elsie Hufham got to take one together. She really loves her friend!

So many thanks to so many people who made our homecoming special. My house was clean thanks to Sarah, Gayna, and Georgia. Groceries were stocked thanks to Nan! Lisa had the sweetest Welcome Home sign made for us! Amy added her special touch with signs from our friends at church and flowers in Maggie Mae's room and most importantly, praying over our house!!!! My secret pal made a visit and left cookies, hot cocoa and some beautiful flowers. Thanks to Sharon, Suzanne, Georgia, Glenda, Martha, and Lisa for the meals. I haven't had to cook once since returning! Martha, my mother in law came on Saturday bearing gifts, food, but most importantly her love and support. She and I got all the bags unpacked and got the laundry started. Maggie Mae has a very special Maw Maw! One of the sweetest things was the first thing I saw when arriving home, Tony put a yellow bow on the mailbox. He was so ready for us to be home, and we were so ready to see him too! I know I probably have forgotten someone, but know that so many people have done so much, and we are eternally grateful for every single detail. God spoke to me regarding community last May, and He has given me a new perspective on living in community. I will never be the same again.

Lastly, I will leave you with something God has put on my heart. Amy and I were talking the other night about our whole experience and she said something that illuminated this in my heart. She asked me how I REALLY was! She said she could read between the lines in the blog and knew me well enough to know when it was a good day and when it wasn't so good. When someone really takes the time to get to know you, they can read your words and know your heart. This is the same with the Lord. Anyone can read His word, and He will reveal Himself to them through His word. However, when you really know Him and know His heart, and then read His word, it comes to life! It's just different when we really know Him. How do we get to that point? Well I think it's different for everyone because we are all on our own individual journeys. However, one thing I know for sure is stepping out and taking risks in following Him is vitally important in establishing our relationship with Him. This has been the hardest thing I think I have ever been through, and I have been through a lot in my life. But oh, how intimate my relationship is with my Lord because of it. I am so in love with Him and truly am beginning to understand what "I Surrender All" truly means. Please continue to pray for bonding and attachment for Maggie Mae and Dexter. I am patiently waiting to see God breathe life into that relationship. She has been given an incredible earthly father who loves her deeply. I pray as she begins to trust him, she will give her heart to him completely!

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Last Day in China! .. Click for video!

Dexter types:

So, its my turn. It is very hard to sum up two weeks of China in a message you could read in one sitting. We have had many challenges with all that goes into being over here, from language barriers, to food choices, to just about everything you could imagine being half-way around the world with your whole family. The hardest by far for me has been trying to get Maggie to want to come to me and feel comfortable with me. Today, it was a breakthrough. We retried the highchair and the stroller and, at first, she screamed again, but only for a few minutes this time. We were making progress. I had her giggling in the stroller after just 2-3 minutes down the streets and sidewalks of Shamian Island with wheelies and curb jumps and all kinds of acrobatic stroller tricks. She loved it.

We walked for the next 2-3 hours, just strolling along the sidewalks and talking to people in the park. It was magnificent. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Some shopping, we packed up most everything for leaving and met our new friends for dinner at our favorite restaurant on the Island. Now, we headed home and got ready for baths and bed, but tonight would be different than any of the other ten. She let me bathe her while she played in the bath tub and splashed water to her hearts delight, and to mine. All the rest have just been "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (for both of us)! For several nights, though, she has been letting me give her a lotion massage and get her dressed for bedtime, but that was it. Nothing more. Tonight once I had her dressed she let me hold her and snuggle and give her a bottle. All of this was a first. It was fantastic! "She DOES love me," I thought.

That was almost two hours ago and she is still singing and playing in the bed next to me. I almost want her to stay up so that she wont forget in the morning how much she loved me tonight. God has been showing me this whole time how He feels when we, His children, reject Him and want to push Him and His love away when He tries to give it to us. Jeremiah tells us that God "knew us before we were formed in the womb" much like I knew Maggie before we got her last week. I knew how long I had wanted to hold her, protect her, cherish her, and give her all the love she could stand, but she did not know me. I had to show her my patient, kind, tender, forgiving love that I have for her for her to trust me enough to come to me. I am a sinful human, and I can show her this love how much more perfect is God's love for His children in that He is perfect. God has shown us His perfect love, in that, He made a way for us to see His love to trust Him and come to Him and accept His love. I have known that for many years, but today I really understand it.

I cannot believe He has seen me, even into my deepest being, and trusted me with this little girls life. I truly am the luckiest man on earth. I have been given such a wonderful family that I love so deeply. Thank you all for being there for us through this wonderful journey. I have a feeling that this is the ending of another chapter, but only the beginning of a really good "book".

Many Blessings to you all,

DEX and Patricia and the family.

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Day 10 ! A day of VICTORIES! ... Click for video!

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty." Need I say more? He is the Great I Am! He is Worthy of all honor and praise! So many times I try to find the words to say to Him and am reminded of what the creatures in Revelation 4 did 24/7. Acknowledging who He is and who I am because He says so makes me stand in awe of Him.

Today was a victorious day. I decided after 10 days of eating with her in my lap, today would be the day we conquered the dreaded high chair. She didn't like it one bit for about 10 minutes (which seemed like an hour). I reassured her I was there and she sat on the edge of the seat so she was still touching me, but hey we ate breakfast in separate chairs. So feeling very triumphant, I decided to go for it with the stroller. When we finished breakfast, we went for a walk and workout in the park. Wow, that really made her mad. She cried for about 30 minutes. All the people in the park kept staring at the American mom power walking the circle with a screaming child in the stroller. Dexter and I tag teamed and guess what. She stopped crying. She loves his singing. She even was beginning to mimic him with "Old McDonald had a Farm". She ended up loving the walk through the island for about 1 1/2 hours. In the park, we listened to singing, watched Tai Chi, Ballroom dancing, and playing with this thing that's like a "hacky sack ball". The kids enjoyed just being out of the room and getting some much needed exercise. When we returned to the hotel, we ate lunch and put her down for a nap. At 2:30 we left for the U.S. Consolate. We got some of our papers and were sworn in by an officiate. Tomorrow Emma will pick up her visa and immigration papers. We were told that when we check in at the immigration desk and they stamp her passport, she will then officially be an American citizen!!!! Big day, simple ceremony, but brought tears to mommy's eyes. She's really ours! Tomorrow, we will probably walk the park again and begin packing. It will probably take us a week to get unpacked, but that is okay, we will finally be home. All the family's are weary and ready to leave. As you will see in one of the pictures, Maggie Mae and Rainey are becoming friends. Maggie Mae sat in the high chair for dinner after another 5 minutes of crying, but then she stayed there without touching me for well over an hour. She's definitely made some huge steps today. We thought this would be good preparation for the car seat saga on the way home from Atlanta. Once again, we love hearing from everyone and love hearing what God is doing in your lives through all of this. Can't wait to get home and just sit and share with everyone. Can't wait to be at The Pike on Sunday! 1 more day and we are heading home. Pray for safe travel and good rest on the plane. We have heard it takes a little while to adjust back to the time when going back home, but we are so excited about just being in our own home and having some space. We can't wait to be reunited with Tony. He has been taking such good care of the house and animals. We are blessed to have such a responsible and dependable son. Pray for him also, he has 2 prospective jobs with the state!!!!!!! He will be an asset to whom ever hires him!

Time for bed, mom is tired!

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Day 9 ... Click for VIDEO!

As we approach our day of departure, I find myself already looking back at how far she has come. As you will see in the two pictures attached, we made big progress today with daddy. He decided to put her in the carrier when we went to the Pearl and Jade Market. He also decided to put in his ear plug, HA!. She cried for about 30 minutes as we were walking through Guangzhou, but then she settled down. He was singing to her the whole time, and when she decided not to fight it any longer she began to hum and sing too. Even when we got back to the hotel room and he took her out of the carrier, he could hold her for a little bit. Also, he seems to be the one that can get her to lie down and go to sleep much better than I can. The kids are counting down the time til we leave to go home, just like they were counting it down before we left. Two weeks is a long time for Dexter and I, so I can only imagine how long it seems for them. Parker said he didn't care if we got home at 2 o'clock in the morning, he wanted to jump on the trampoline. They are already talking about what they want to share in Sunday School. Church is all they talk about, oh how I love that!!!! Well tomorrow is the big day! We go to the U.S. Consolate for our official ceremony. Then, we are done! Emma will go pick up Maggie Mae's visa Wednesday afternoon, and we will be packing and preparing for going home. Our room looks like a bomb went off in it, but 6 people in a single hotel room about 1 and 1/3 the size of a normal hotel room is a bit tight. I'm looking forward to having my space back.

TRUST is the big word this trip, and I think the Lord has been teaching me about trust in so many ways throughout this whole process. It's one of those things that is too difficult to explain, you just know that is what He is wanting to establish in you. I am so encouraged and blessed by all the emails we have received. I am overwhelmed by what the Lord is doing in so many peoples lives. We love you all and miss you terribly. Be home soon!!!!!

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Day 8 a week since "Gotcha Day" .... Click for video

The girl likes to shop!!! We went shopping this afternoon for "squeaky shoes"! Took a while to find sizes and colors and she was a trooper. She did very well today. She was a little tired this morning because the construction workers were literally on our window ledge at 7am and woke us all up. However, we got her to go down for a nap in her crib which was huge. She slept for 2 1/2 hours while I was gone to the store and getting pizza for lunch. It was raining all day today, but we have severe cabin fever, so we put on our jackets and hit the streets. We met up with our new friends from North Carolina again for dinner. We found an Italian Restaurant owned and operated by an Italian couple so it was very good. We are loving the European flair to Shamian Island which is where we are in Guangzhou. Tomorrow night we are going to try the German Restaurant! Maggie Mae, as you will see in the video, was very happy tonight. She is talking so much. I tell her I love you so many times and tonight she looked right at me and said "luv you" in that sweet voice. She laughed a lot when we were running in the rain. She loves her Boba (the carrier I'm using). She and daddy had some good moments too! Once again, she loved her massage, and she touched him a lot during dinner. Thank you all for praying about that. We are seeing prayers answered all the time. We believe in the power of Jesus name, and we call on it often. He is SO GOOD to us!! We are truly falling in love with this precious gift. Enjoy the pictures and video (sorry it's so long, but I didn't want to cut any of it out). We only have 3 more full days then we leave Thursday morning. Oh how we are all so homesick. We can't wait to see everyone. We are praying she will adjust quickly to yet another change, and we will soon be able to spend time with everyone. Did you see more of Jesus today?

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