Day 3 .. Click here for video!

Funny! That a great word for her today. We had many moments of laughter and her doing things and repeating things that were just funny. She is like a parrot when she's happy and I'm like a marsupial (kangaroo) when she's not. Everyone in the family had some pretty cool bonding time with her today. She really wanted to play with the kids a lot today. They had fun teaching her to say different things. She loves to say "sissy" and "bo bo". When she sees Parker she says "bo bo". She spent the evening in the carrier with Daddy. She likes that "pouch" because it keeps her tight to us. She eats very well especially with daddy. She loves chicken!

She slept until 9:30 this morning, but woke up in a bad mood. We know she is cutting a tooth that looks so painful, has a runny nose, and today we discovered she had a lot of drainage coming out of her right ear. Thankfully, the Dr. in Birmingham sent me with some antibiotics just for an ear infection. So we think some of her fussiness is coming from all that. I know I would be a grump too! So, some information I haven't shared is she is tiny. She weighs only 22lbs. All the shoes and clothes we brought were a little big. The shoes are huge. She might wear a size 4 shoe. She drinks from a bottle most of the time. We are trying a cup, but for now she likes the bottle.

Okay, as for the events of the day. Our big outing was to the local Walmart. Yes, they have a 3 story Walmart here. Nothing like you've ever seen before. You can get a fresh whole goose, head and feet included. A pig's face, yes I said it, there was a lot of pig faces hanging on a hook to buy. Next to the pig faces were dried fish hanging for sale. Dexter saw a heart in a bag. Oh did I mention the smell when we went through that part, and we got lost twice so we had to walk through it 3 times. It was so crowded you could barely move. We met a guy from North Carolina who lives here with his wife and 2 children. He teaches english. It was great getting

to share with him. Along the way we saw a man walking with his dog who had on 4 boots. Then another dog wearing a full set of clothing. It is getting close to Chinese New Year, so many people are arriving to celebrate. Lots of people, small cars, bicycles, and mopeds, and very little obeying traffic signs. Oh yeah, I am so thankful for the respect our men have for us. It is very different here. They are rather rude. I had two men take my omelet twice this morning at breakfast. They got right in front of me and took it from the Chef. Finally, on the third try, he was able to pass it to me without an interception:):):) It was like that New Orleans game the other night hahaha. Anyway, I had to laugh. Well, I didn't hear anything specific from the Lord today; however, I witnessed many prayers being answered. Keep praying because He is listening

and doing exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever imagine. I am loving the emails from everyone, especially when I hear the Lord using our journey to minister to you in your life. I want to be a channel of blessing in other people's lives. He is Abba Father. To Him who sits on the throne, be blessing and honor, and glory and power forever. May we, His children, spend every minute of the day crying, Holy, Holy is the Lord God

Almighty.

Until tomorrow,

Patricia

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Beginning Day 3

Well it's 8:20 am and our precious Maggie Mae is still asleep. She had a big day yesterday and only slept a little so she is very tired. Last night went down to the restaurant to eat and she loved bananas, strawberries, apples, bread and rice of course. We came back to the room for bath time. Oh boy! She hated it the night before, but tonight she LOVED it. She laughed and splashed and played and was quite upset with her daddy when he took her out. By the way, I don't think I've said this along the way, but I have the most wonderful husband, partner, and friend in the world! Dexter is amazing with tending to her and being sensitive to me. The enemy has tried and tested us so much in the past 2 years, but God has used that to build an even stronger bond between. So if you are facing trials in your marriage, be encouraged because when you push through, the Holy Spirit seals some things in you that are a result of your perseverance. Anyway, didn't mean to get off track with that, but I am just overwhelmed with all God has done and is continuing to do. So where were we. Okay so she loved her bath and lotion massage with lavender and vanilla lotion:):) She then went to bed in her crib. She's really not interested in sleeping with us, so we are letting her be where she feels safe and comfortable. She had I episode of crying in the middle of the night and we couldn't console her. So we just tried laying her back down and she immediately got quiet and went back to sleep. Dexter believes she had a night terror. So we are praying against any terror in her sleep. We have no idea what this little child has been through, but we know that NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST HER WILL PROSPER! We already are victorious in this battle because He has overcome the prince of this world. Well I think I hear her stirring in her crib. Thank you all for your emails and comments on the blog. I wish I had time to respond to them all. We love you all and are truly blessed by your outpouring of love, prayers and encouragement.

Love

Patricia

God is intervening

Today was a much better day for Maggie Mae. It is about 4:35pm Monday afternoon. We've had her for 24 hours and she is beginning to trust us a little. She took her bottle today and ate KFC for lunch and loved it. She didn't want to take a nap this afternoon. She just stood up in the bed and watched me try to take a nap. She was so funny standing there sucking her thumb falling asleep. She would not lay down. Now she is up walking about the room for the first time. She let herself out of the bed and is walking great. She seems to see some because she is not running into anything in the room. We went to the adoption center today to do all the final adoption certificate paperwork and then to the Police station to apply for her passport. Her picture is hilarious. They wrapped her in a men's black coat and she was not happy. We met a family from Raleigh, NC who were picking up their daughter. She is the little girl that came with Maggie Mae yesterday from the same orphanage. She was a special needs child with issues relating to lack of oxygen at birth. Her CT scan showed abnormalities in her cerebral cells. The family found out when they got here that on her last medical visit, she had a normal CT. Praise Jesus for that. Nanette, the mom and I got to talk a lot at the adoption center. They have 3 biological children, she sings on the praise team, and testifies to an incredible journey.

She and I shed some tears together because all this is a bit overwhelming. How sweet it was of the Lord to put us in the same room together. We will have our official ceremony at the US Consulate in Guangzhou together next Wednesday. Emma, our travel coordinator, says that things in Kunming are a bit unorganized compared to other provinces she has been, which makes things a little chaotic at times. She has been wonderful!

Thank you all for your encouraging emails. I'm sorry if I have not replied to all of you, my time on the computer is limited. The internet works when it wants to here.

More tomorrow and thank you so much for praying, God is intervening.

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Day 2

Well it's 6:30 am and she is still sleeping. She slept all night with a few cries, but she just put her thumb back in her mouth and went back to sleep. Sarah-Gracen and I seem to be the only ones who had trouble sleeping last night. The guys have been our since 8:30 last night. It is in the stillness of this morning that I am reminded by my sweet friend, how long it took me to trust God and to believe how much He REALLY LOVES ME! How many times did He try to hold me and touch my life and I just kept Him at a distance. I have said so many times this is all about a journey with Him and the journey continues. I am so thankful for all the difficult things I've been through in the past because I can see God pointing back to them and reminding me how far we've come together. Maggie Mae now has that opportunity to never be left again, to be loved consistently, unconditionally, and to be surrounded by people she can trust. It's our job to follow HIM as to how to be a part of that. I am so blessed to have so many friends to encourage and pray for us right now. You are holding us up and we feel it. I love you and now we start a new day, with new mercies, new promises, and new hope. We are so excited about what God is going to do today. It must be something big because He has had me up all night praying!

WITH HIM

Patricia

HERE SHE IS!!!!

We are a little numb right now to say the least! She was very unhappy when we got her, but after 45 minutes and 2 suckers and then her thumb she fell asleep. We found out that she has been in a foster home all this time. She has been sleeping with the foster mom and has been thriving well. She cannot see very well at all, but we are still praying for God to heal her. She is fine with either Dexter or I, but really she just wants to lay on the bed and be left alone. She is very content right now talking to herself and being by herself. It is so funny, if we go to the bed and try and talk with her or touch her she lets us know she doesn't like it :):):):) We are letting her do whatever she wants because she has had so many changes in her 23 months. I really can't put into words how I am feeling right now. Maybe after some time I will be able to.

Time to Pack!

We are praising Jesus for confirmed travel plans and a confirmed appointment with the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China.
We are officially leaving Atlanta on Friday January 29th at 8:00 am. We will travel approximately 26 hours and arrive in Kunming City, China on Saturday January 30th at 11:15 pm. They are 13 hours ahead of us so we are going to have our days and nights mixed up for a while. We are so excited and anticipating an incredible "adventure". Our visas should be here today or tomorrow and our official travel approval papers are in the mail to us also. These are the final 2 documents we need to travel.
This has been a week of praying without ceasing, and the Lord has been faithful to respond in His time. Sometimes his timing doesn't seem right to us, but He knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper and not harm us. We must rest in His plan, for He is our hope.
As we prepare to leave many things are coming to mind of what He has done for us. So many people have walked with us, prayed with us, helped us financially and helped us with fund raisers. To all of you, we saw His vision fulfilled, a vision of COMMUNITY. We will never be the same. We have encountered Him in a new way and are changed forever. So now it's time to pack. How do you pack for 6 people for 14 days? I keep asking myself that question and am quite perplexed. I guess I'm just going to have to roll up my sleeves and get busy.
Many of you have asked how our fundraising is going. I wasn't really going to share anymore about that, but I woke up this morning and the Lord showed me specifically what He wanted me to share. Please know this is very personal and it's very difficult to be this transparent. However, the Lord is teaching me a lot about the power of testimony and sometimes that requires vulnverability. Wednesday morning it was time to make our last payment for all the things leading up to actually traveling. I basically emptied out our accounts, leaving enough in there to keep each one of them open. I was so scared and really down about it. In the midst of this I was constantly praising Him for all He has provided through fund raising and gifts from individuals. We have been truly blessed. But to be honest with you, it's a bit unnerving when you empty out your bank accounts. In addition, we have to bring $10,000 cash with us for adoption expenses in China and travel expenses. Well that afternoon, Dexter brought in the mail and there was a card from someone I met at the Pike Road Arts and Crafts fair. I remember talking with this girl, but don't know them personally. It turns out, she and her husband are at the beginning of their adoption journey. She read this blog and was encouraged and sent us a check for $50. The Lord used someone I don't even know to bless us and remind us that HE IS IN CONTROL. Well, yesterday morning, 24 hours later, some sweet friends gathered with me for a baby and blessing shower. We received so many great things we needed for her including $475 cash. Some of this money was given to someone to use for their medical expenses and the Lord told them to give it to us! Wow, can you see this beautiful picture He is painting of His children following Him. I was overwhelmed by His provision once again. However, the sweetest part of the shower was all the blessings that were spoken and written for Maggie Mae. Two blessings in particular really spoke to my heart because of where we are with the finances. The first was, "The Kingdom of heaven is described by Jesus as a merchant seeking pearls. Once a pearl of great value is found, the merchant sells everything he owns to buy this pearl. The kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything else we can have. We must be willing to give up everything to obtain it." Did you know, Maggie means "pearl"? The other blessing was a letter written to Maggie Mae and part of it said, "Your mom and dad have shown us all a beautiful picture of Christ in their love for you. They, like the Good Shepherd, have left all they have to find you. They have sacrificed and worked, prayed and wept, dreamed and planned for the day you would become their daughter. What a beautiful picture of the Father's deep, sacrificial love for His children." You see, when I read things like this it does not make me feel all great about myself and what I am doing. It reminds me of my nothingness, and in my nothingness, He is GREAT!
So what next? Well, we will continue to trust in Him, but we are going to have to take out a loan for the remaining $10,000 due to the fact that we leave in 7 days and these things take time to process. Do we believe God can still provide the rest? Definitely we do, and we will not stop praying for that. We are going to have one last fund raiser Tuesday night from 5pm-8pm at our house. We have some people who buy gold and silver coming to our house. You get to come and sell your unwanted gold or silver for cash. At the end of the night, they will give us 15% of whatever they bought since this is a fundraiser. This does not come out of your money, but is paid to us from the gold buyer. I have already sold all my jewelry and got $914 which helped a lot last week. Please tell all your friends about this and email me at pwatts@wildblue.net for more details.
Well, I am still proclaiming this one verse given to me by a dear friend in Florida at the beginning of this whole process, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it." Psalm 81:10 Not only is my mouth open wide, but my arms are open wide to my God in heaven who loves me and has called me according to His will and purpose. May His unfailing, unconditional love rest upon my daughter as she sleeps in her crib. May her heart be filled with anticipation of what is about to happen.
9 DAYS UNTIL GOTCHA DAY!!!!!!

COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS!!!!!

We received Travel Approval Tuesday and expect to receive an appointment date with the US Embassy in China tomorrow. We have a tentative travel date of January 29th that will be confirmed hopefully tomorrow. God has been moving mountains and making Himself known in mighty ways this week. We have entered His courts with prayers and petitions and left with thanksgiving and praise. So many times I have just sat on the side lines and said "God is in control and all things will happen in His timing." While this is definitely a true statement, I still have to get on the field and get in the game. Something compelled me Monday night to pray without ceasing for Him to intervene and get that Travel Approval to AGCI on Tuesday. If it didn't, we would have to wait until the end of February to travel. I praised, paced, sang, danced, and wore out a path on the hardwood floor for hours. It was an incredible time. He heard my cry and answered my prayer within hours. Standing before His throne and making my requests known has a whole new meaning to me now. He wants me to come. He wants me to be specific. He wants me to not let up until I hear Him. So many of you prayed with us, and we pray you are forever changed by His response to your prayers.
As we approach our travel date, a lot has to happen. We will try to keep you all posted. We are testing out uploading videos which should be a part of this post. Our desire is to video as much as we can in China and keep you all posted with pictures and video. We are praying now for favor on the rates of our airline tickets. Tomorrow is 14 days out and fares are going up. Please pray for 5 incredibly good fares. Also I have begun to pray for the planes, the pilots, the mechanics, the other passengers. We want God to use us even as we travel. Thank you once again for all who have helped us and prayed with us. SHE'S REALLY COMING HOME!!!!!