Merry Merry

This was that fastest photoshoot I've ever done (about 4 steps from our garage door)! These littles are so tollerant of the cold I had to bribe them to come back inside. About 30 minutes, after more hot chocolate inside, they were all bundled up and back out in the snow having a blast. Love my little cuties!

Merry Christmas from the Murphy's!!

I Wud Dew

A couple of nights ago I wasn't feeling well. I was sitting in the upstairs hall only verbally participating in the bedtime ritual, letting BJ take over. Lainey all on her one came to me and wrapped her little arms around me for a gentle hug and a kiss on the head. And then in a whisper she said, "I love you" (sounding more like "I wud dew")! And then she was off again, running into her room to put her bitty baby in her crib and tuck her in for the night.

Oh, how I love this girl!

Community

When we started our adoption process a couple of years ago, we stepped out feeling pretty alone. I was an adoption blog nut/stalker, but didn't actually know anyone myself who had adopted internationally. During that time I remember thinking a lot about how I took for granted the community available to me during my first pregnancy. Of course lots of women in my life - my sister, my Mom, my friends - had been pregnant. There were so many people I could talk to if I had questions, fears, or wanted to prepare for the way our life was about to change.

But when adopting, as with a lot of experiences in life, it was so hard to find someone who could really get it, unless they've been there.

It wasn't until 5 or 6 months in that I discovered (though one of my blog addictions) a thriving online Chinese adoption community to connect with.

Enter hallelujah chorus!

The group was made up of families at about the same place in the adoption process as we were, so we walked through it all together. This group of families, with selfless and passionate hearts for children, is amazing. They picked me up at my lowest, encouraged us, and gave us a chance to encourage others and celebrate together with each passing milestone (understanding posts that would just read things like "DTC!!!!!!!!!"). And there are so many examples of ways the community helped walk us through the nitty gritty, in a "what do we put on line 4b of page 76 in this USCIS document" kind of way.

Amazing.

And now, we feel so blessed and have community in a lot of ways. By keeping in touch with families we met in China, through the adoption/foster community group we have formed at our church, through a new group of Chinese adoptive families in our community, and through some truly beautiful friendships I have formed with people I may never meet.

My sweet friend Melanie, who I met in our online Chinese adoption community, sent this awesome bag for Lainey completely out of the blue. Oh, my heart. I just love her!!

I never could have imagined that an unexpected extra blessing through our adoption would be the friendships we would gain. We are so blessed and so thankful!

Baby, all I want for Christmas is YOU

It’s a amazing to think what a difference a year makes. This time last year, as we set up our Christmas, Lainey was heavy on our hearts as we ached to bring her home. The theme of our Christmas became for me, “Baby, all I want for Christmas is YOU”. At that time we hadn’t seen her face yet, or given her a name, but we were well on our way in our adoption process and eagerly awaiting “the call”.

But our waiting hearts have never been what this is all about. Lainey was the one really waiting. But she was the one with no Mommy or Daddy. No family. No special Christmas day. And now, with every decoration hung I remember how far she’s come, all she’s been though, and how blessed we are to be the ones to call her ours this year at Christmas and for the rest of our lives. And I am overwhelmed with gratitude. 

And so... if you catch me happy crying this December on I-74 with Maria Carey at full volume… just look away and know... ;) 

A Love-Hate with COATS

Maybe if Lainey realized how cute she was when wearing a coat, she wouldn't put up a stink about putting it on. :) So many of Lainey's clothes are loaners from our wonderful friends. This adorable coat belongs to Lainey's friend Audrey. :)

Six Months

Six months ago today, BJ and I found ourselves waiting nervously, in this very surreal moment, waiting to meet our little girl for the first time. Lainey I’m sure had very little awareness of the significance of that day. I wonder what was going through her mind as she was carried out of her orphanage baby room, away from all that was familiar to her. Her nannies had held her in the car, and then once arriving carried her up the same stairs we just climbed, and into the Hangzhou Civil Affairs boardroom. Just seconds later we were holding her. It certainly had to be frightening to be put in the arms of strangers and to have her nannies leave her there with us. And it isn’t any wonder why this was traumatic for her, and why it took almost a week for her to come out of the protective cocoon she had built around herself. But little by little she learned to trust us…

Our first glance of Bing Yan.

I'm not so sure about you, lady.

Proud Daddy!

And now that little girl has our hearts so completely, and she is the evidence of so many answered prayers. To have her home finally and enjoying life with her is an immeasurable blessing.

A little about our girl, six months home and 2 months shy of age 2...

She is smart. Not yet even 2 years old, and only having been exposed to English for the last 6 months, and she already can say so many words and a few short sentences. She’s even picking up on what we’re teaching Ezra, walking around and saying “ABC”.

She is strong-willed. This may sound like a bad thing, but it’s seriously glorious. She knows that she CAN have an opinion, and a will, and she knows how to express it.  She will not. Will NOT have you put a coat on her without at least a small battle. She also tries to be patient at first when she needs/wants something, sweetly saying and signing “please”. But if you’re not quick enough for her, her “pease” becomes “PEASE!!” and her sign gets more emphatic. Baby girl can get her point across! And it’s pretty stinkin’ cute.

She is affectionate. About a week ago BJ and I were out to dinner with the kids and a friend, and Lainey kept grabbing my face and kissing it over and over. At home she loves to give hugs at random moments, and blows kisses to the boys at bedtime. She even. hugs. the dog!

She is a little momma. Our dining room has in the last couple of years been converted to a playroom for the kids. We have a few little girl things in there now added to the mix of trucks and trains and cars. Lainey hardly notices all the boy things, and the boys never even take a second glance at the baby dolls, but to Lainey they are her BABIES. She picks them up and carries them with such a gentleness. She cradles them in her arms, kisses their heads, and feeds them their bottles.  When she’s done playing, they are very slowly and very carefully given to someone else or laid down on a soft place. When Lainey’s in mommy-mode, it always makes me think of her China mom. It gives me the gift of seeing a little part of who this woman was and is. A gentle, caring mother, who did the hardest thing I could ever imagine to save her little girl’s life. We can see glimpses of her every day in our sweet girl.  She will always be a part of Lainey and so much of who Lainey is is already being shaped by this woman we’ll never meet.

Lainey in her medieval princess costume. 

She’s adorable & hilarious. The best is when we play “I’m gonna get you!” and she giggles so hard she can’t run straight. And the little looks she gives us. Oh my goodness I just can’t get enough of that cute face and her tiny little shoulders!

She sleeps awesome. We worked so hard to slowly adjust Lainey to sleeping on her own in her crib. The air mattress in her room that I slept on with her for almost a month had long since been deflated. Now Lainey is by far my easiest child to put to bed. She has her little routine, and when I lay her down she smiles, grabs her baby doll, and pops that thumb in. She’s ready, and feels secure enough to trust that I’m coming back when naptime or bedtime is done.

She’s ours. And we are so blessed and thankful for every second we’ve had with her, and we’re so excited to see her grow and learn and be shown over and over how much we all love her.

Busy Bees

Hard at work! 

Ta-DAAA!!

Two toddlers (one of which is taking is time getting re-potty trained after regression) and a pre-schooler makes this Momma a bad blogger! But life is SO good!! We're all just living normal life around here - working, taking Canaan to school, baking cookies (maybe a bit too much... I'm a little obsessed with baking with the kids), learning to spell and read (Canaan), naptimes, soaking up the last bits of decent weather, cleaning up after three kids... the list goes on. All together, we're so blessed and love the little family we have. :)

The biggest development with Lainey is that she is officially Miss. Independent. Do not try and help this girl climb up or down stairs, or even suggest that she sit in a booster seat at dinner. No. way. This girl wants to be big like her guh guhs! I love how much she knows her own mind! :)



Not sure what Canaan was doing! lol  :)

Just Like Any Other Kid

Throughout our adoption process, I've heard over and over... story after story... of the resiliency of children coming from hard places. Some do have more struggles than others, but these precious kids THRIVE with the love of a family.

Bringing home Lainey, we were prepared for whatever might lay ahead. But now here we are, home and settled... and Lainey is just like so many of those children we've seen come home before her. We've only been home for 2 1/2 months and every fear is gone, every immediate hurdle is conquered (though we know of course there will be more to overcome as she works through her past and identity).

But today, even after such a short amount of time, she is very truly just like any other child. Which means she has giggly, happy, silly moments, but also sometimes is grumpy... usually because of her relentless teeth or if she's tired... but it's all just normal 19-month old stuff.

And every day we fall more and more in love with our sweet girl.

I almost get sick thinking about the big what-if. "What if we never said 'yes' to adoption?"

We would have no idea this very moment all of the blessings we were missing out on.

The sweet hugs and kisses she gives before bedtime. The way she loves to be chased, tickled and "tickling" her guh guhs (brothers). She sequel she makes when her body is on the downward motion of the playground swing. The way she says, "peese" (please) with her baby sign or signs "help" when she is trying to get the very last bit of her freeze-pop. Her love of SHOES, and the randomness of never knowing whose shoes she'll be wearing next. The way she loves her "bebes" (babies) and gives them kisses and tucks them under one arm. The way she grins in such an adorable mischievous way when she's hiding with her brothers during hide and seek. Her bravery. Her pigtails. Her sweet little nose. The way she now so easily lays down in her crib at night... and pops the thumb out of her mouth just long enough to tell me, "nigh nigh". I could go on and on.

Did I mention we love this girl?!

Man, we are so blessed. :)

Lainey's Sweet Face

A few days after meeting Lainey, BJ and I visited her orphanage, the Hangzhou Children's Welfare Institute (CWI). There are also Social Welfare Institutes (SWI) in China, which have children, adults with disables, and the elderly. Children's Welfare Institutes are usually much better environments for the children because the CWIs are focused solely on children. We are so thankful that Lainey was in a CWI, and such a nice one with such loving nannes.

Lainey had been at the CWI since she was just a few days old. One of the first things that the orphanage staff gave us when we visited was a CD of photos from Lainey's life there. It's such a treasure to have these photos of our sweet girl! We have no specific information about when each photo was taken, so we make our guesses about how old she might have been in each of them.

Because we applied to adopt just a few short weeks after she was born (though we didn't know it then), it's amazing to think that as each of these photos were taken we were somewhere in our adoption process... and already on our way to her! It was a long (15 month) journey, but worth it ALL, and God. knew. THIS little one, half a world away, was meant to be a part of our family. I can't even imagine us now without her.

Here are a few of our favorites!

I wonder what I was doing when this photo was taken.
Well, probably sleeping... so I wonder what I was dreaming about. :)

A battle over a toy! Haha! Oh the battles yet to be fought with her guh guhs. She was in preparation.

The little grin I now know so well.

Life Lately { & Photo Overload }

I've been taking a nice long social media break (primarily Facebook)... and have a lot of catching up to do here, I almost don't know where to begin!

After 2 1/2 months home, we feel finally settled and in a normal swing of things. We definitely have our share of holy-cow-two-toddlers-is-tough moments... but then comes a hug and smooch from Lainey, or Ezra's first "I wud you Mommy".

And this past week we finally deflated the air mattress in Lainey's room and I can now lay her down straight in her crib. She finally feels safe and secure enough to lay down and let us leave her. We don't even have any tears (usually)! It's. awesome!

We have also been finding a new rhythm with BJ being back to work, especially since a couple days each week he leaves before the kids wake up and is back after they are in bed for the night. It's been an adjustment, but overall we are just so thankful for the long maternity and paternity leaves we were able to have together as a family helping Lainey settle in. Our boys were both born in the winter, so having time off to enjoy the summer all together was awesome!

This past weekend I took the kids up to Granger (8 hours round trip) to see my parents and have a another celebration for Lainey's homecoming and 1st birthday (that we missed). It was so awesome seeing everyone and for them to be able to meet our precious girl! I also got to visit my amazing friend Kate... but forgot to take pictures!

So here's a little photo catch-up!

The babies have eaten their weight in freeze-pops this summer! 

Why yes, that is my daughter sitting int he dog's water dish. :)
And by the way... her fear of the beast is gone!

Just hanging with my cuz... eatin' some cheese. :)

Blurry, but cute! These babies like to HUG (without prompting)!
Having two toddlers can be tough... but also pretty sweet! 

A very rare moment of my wild man... sitting still. 

The house in progress across the street has provided much entertainment for our little ones!
So many cool trucks!

About to watch Canaan's first soccer game.

Snacks with Nana & Pops.

Lots of waves from Guh Guh!

She loves water bottles!

Watching some good ole' PBS.

Cute as a button, this one!

Pudding!

Stinkers.

Helping Papa John make a fort!

Exploring Mommy's childhood home (from age 11+ anyway!).

Pigtails!

Getting ready to celebrate!

Canaan and GG Lake

Beautiful Emelia!

Our sweet family that all came to meet and celebrate Lainey!

Ezra & Uncle Eric

Four generations of women

Playing chase with Grandma Sue before bed

Peek-a-boo!