Meet Micaela

Micaela Joy Shipman is as spunky as every picture we had ever seen of her suggested.  She is a cross between Abbi and Faith.  She is smart, busy, bossy, loving, funny, motherly, and should I mention CUTE?!  If I had $10 for every time I heard that, I would be one rich woman!

Micaela (pronounced Mi-K-eye-la) went to Children's Shelter of Cebu just shy of her 3rd birthday so she has lots of memories of her life with her first mama.  It's fun to talk to her about when Brother was born and what she did when it was just she and Mama A.  Some of her memories are quite made up too, but we try not to laugh because she's so certain of them.  Micaela is fiercely loyal and gets upset that Cayden doesn't have to same memories as she does (he was 6 wks old when he entered CSC), so she has taken it upon herself to tell him all about their mother.  As an adoptive mom it is important to allow my kiddos the chance to talk about their birthmoms.  Sometimes my big girls get upset, but then I remind them that while we gained two siblings, we can't forget that they experienced great loss, especially Micae.

Micaela's 3rd Birthday

Micaela's 4th Birthday

Last birthday before mom and dad come! 5 yrs old.

When we first met Micaela she was quite reserved.  On our first day at CSC we took Micaela to lunch.  She got into the car and when we arrived at the restaurant she grabbed my hand to go.  Guys, I about died.  Having braced myself for the worst, and thinking she may not want anything to do with me, it was clear we were going to be ok.  That would be a pattern every time we'd go somewhere. She would always want to hold my hand anytime we were in a store, mall, or restaurant. I was her security blanket.  But at night, Abbi got the honors.  Once we had the kids back at the hotel Micae and Abbi slept together.  Micaela would put her arm around Abbi and grab so tight Abbi could hardly breathe.  Brave Micaela.  

I remember leaving the orphanage with the kids belongings in tow.  The driver took us back to the hotel and all the while both Cayden and Micaela looked out the window in silence.  What was going through their mind?  Granted, we thought we knew what we were doing (HA!), but imagine leaving all you've known to start a new life with people who you've seen in pictures and talked to once via Skype.  Leaves me speechless when I think about it.

Her first trip to a pool with her forever family

Micaela is our first child who is an early bird!  When she first came home she would go to the basement to wake Faith up, bypassing mom and dad.  I'm am no where close to a morning person, so needless to say was not happy about a child waking up by 6:30.  One day I asked her when she would sleep in.  She told me that she liked getting up early because she loved it at home!  How sweet is that?  Somehow I need to become a morning person!

Micaela is super observant.  She had to have a chest x-ray, and to this day she still remembers the exact road the office was on.  

This picture is Micaela's first experience making chocolate cake and licking the beater.  She is her mamma's daughter.  Her favorite food is eggs with toast.  Side of chocolate works fine too. :)

Some of Micaela's favorite things to do are legos, pretend play (usually she's the mom and Cayden is the dad), watch morning videos, and if she could do it everyday she would play outside.  She also loves to color and write her letters, which she now knows!  On occasion we ask Micaela if she wants to go to school.  Once she found out that you go all day and you don't come home for lunch, she has decided that she wants Mom to teach her at home!

Micaela loves to wear skirts and have her hair curled.  She does not, however, enjoy the blow dryer. It is a necessary evil, dear.  We're not in the tropics!  She loves jewelry and her favorite color is blue.

Before Micaela came home we debated on a name change and decided we loved her first name which means gift from God.  I'll never forget the night I was tucking her in bed and asked her if she would like to have a new name, like Cayden had gotten.  She was so excited when I told her Joy would be her new middle name!  The next day she gave her baby doll a new name....Joy.

Micaela, you do bring such joy to our family with your infectious laugh and the funny things you say. Your courage to face a new life and love those around you will take you far.  Your heart for Jesus and prayers for your best friend to find a forever family shows us that you were wonderfully made.  The best is yet to come sweet girl.  

Meet Cayden

Cayden John Shipman is an amazing little boy!  When we first found out we would be bringing home a 2 year old BOY, we thought, “What will we do with a boy?”  Everyone one told Stacy how excited they were for him.  It’s always perplexing when people think Dads need boys.  For 22 years Stacy has been a dad of daughters and he never once wished or hoped for a boy.  It probably helped that Faith and Abbi were athletic and in some ways, more boy-like than girl. :)

Cayden spent the first years a very sick boy.  When we were in the Philippines we visited his genetics doctor and met with the medical staff at CSC.  His medical records were inches tall.  He had been hospitalized twice, had a muscle biopsy, and been on antibiotics at least once every month of his life.  Cayden was diagnosed with metabolic myopathy, asthma, eczema and GERD. 

Cayden's 1st Birthday

Cayden's 2nd Birthday

Seeing these pictures, which I am so very grateful for, reminds me that just next month I will be planning a birthday party!

When we got to CSC it was very clear that Cayden had been very well taken care of.  It was hard to get his aunties to let go of him!  Cayden was walking on his own and running, albeit wobbly.  He was taking two naps per day and even though we got to take Micaela out for lunch, Cayden stayed home because he tended to always get sick whenever he left the CSC grounds. (He was also finishing his antibiotics and we didn't want to risk him being sick for a 24 hour day of flying.)  

Here's a picture of Dad and Cayden the first day :)

Cayden took to Stacy pretty quickly.  His first official day with us wore him out.  It's pretty stressful leaving the only home you've ever known and going places with strangers.  Cayden's personality at first was pretty cautious.  He also had a horrible cough, and with his history I was extremely concerned we might end up in the hospital.  This was not something I wanted to do in a foreign country.  Praise God, I took my essential oils and we lathered him up.  The next day....no cough!!

 One very tired boy!

One of Cayden's favorite things to do at CSC was to following the maintenance guys around and help them "fix" things.  This works out handy for Stacy!  Not knowing if Cayden will ever play sports because of his condition Stacy had already planned that woodworking and "fixing" things would be father-son bonding.  One of the first things we bought was this tool bench! Note:  Don't take newly adopted children to Toys R Us!  As an adult I'm overwhelmed in that store....poor kiddos...at least we're learning and getting better at thinking things through.  One of my best memories from that trip was watching Faith and Abbi talk Stacy into the largest workbench.  "Dad, YOU HAAAAVE to!"

One of the bummer things about living 2000 miles from friends and family is that no one has been able to meet our kids. Enter the Sherman trip to Washington, DC.  Now I realize people thought we were extremely stupid, I mean brave to take our kids on a road trip 2 weeks after coming home.  BUT here's the deal.  You gotta bond with them, and how better then to get in a car and drive 10 hours?  We reasoned that driving 10 hrs was way better than 4 days to the west coast.  And so our crazy family got in the van and spent a day with our friends walking for hours in the sun, with Cayden and Micaela in tow.  I might mention that 1) two strollers would have been really nice to have.  Lots of shoulder rides! 2) Unbeknownst to me I had a broken knee and it had been swollen for months, but evidently I have a high tolerance of pain.  This picture cracks me up because I walked up all the stairs to the Lincoln monument with Cayden on my shoulders.  Opps!!!

When we first got Cayden he had a nasty habit of throwing up in the car, or after we got off an airplane.  After arriving at the airport in Manila after flying from Cebu he puked in the taxi.  A moment I'll never forget as we pulled up to a very nice hotel with tons of luggage and a child with no shirt on and "lovely things" all over himself and mom.  Ewww....sorry for the graphics.  I can't tell you how many times we stopped to clean up the car seat and change his clothes on the DC trip.  I think it was about then that I realized I had a sick boy.  A bit of panic ensued as I realized there were a lot of "what ifs" we didn't know about Cayden.  We believed God planned for him to be in our family.  I just hoped God knew how much I could handle.  I can remember when Abbi was healed after 2.5 years of seizures.  I'm pretty sure God did that for my benefit (it's all about me, you know), because it's just super stressful for me to have sick children.  

Today Cayden is a wonderfully healthy little boy.  He has been to the doctor only once for a well visit.  One day he acted like he was going to have a cold, and we did notice that if we went out on trips he would seem like his immune system was weak. But I think we just kept lathering him in essential oils that his body decided it would never have to be sick again.  He is off all medications!!! This is amazing!  I remember at one of the airports we were going through security and  having our bags checked. Cayden had a separate bag with all of his meds and  formula.  We got stopped.  You know the liquid rule for carry-ons? Well we were way over that limit.  The employee looked in the bag and said, "All of this is his?!"  Yep.  But no more!!! Today he takes a couple vitamins and that's it!  He has grown so strong.  His muscle issue has yet to surface.  At first he was wobbly, especially when he got tired.  He may need a little physical therapy because we notice when he walks upstairs he tends to have a little right leg weakness.  That. Is. It!  Can we say Praise the Lord?!  

Little Man loves his snow hat.  And his food!

My friends all told me I would love having a son, that there is a special bond boys have with their mamas.  I'm not sure I've seen anything different from my daughters yet, but do I love this little guy!  He is so funny!  He talks ALL THE TIME (just like his sister)!  One of my favorite things he says when I ask him a question is, "No, mom, I'm fine."  I know in print that doesn't sound like much. But his little voice cracks me up!  Cayden is super protective/possessive.  When anyone comes to hug his mom he come running to get in between and yells, "Hey, that's my mommy!"  He gives hugs and kisses freely and when I put him down for his afternoon nap he's says, "I love you too mom."  The best part about that is I haven't said I love you yet!  

Cayden's favorite Bible story is David and Goliath.  He says amazing prayers for dolphins every night (after watching Dolphin Tale) and for our friend's son who is stuck in the Congo waiting to come home.  He is very caring and anytime he hears a crying child he shows great concern.  Cayden is ALL boy!  Everything is a gun or sword, including my Vitamix stick which he named Goliath.  Little man is also very smart and can identify every letter and it's sound.  He may just learn to read with his sister.

Son, your life may have gotten off to a rough start, but you have shown us that your name Cayden, which means fighter fits you perfectly.  You have gotten so much stronger in the 6 short months you've been home.  Your middle name, given to you by your first mom is John, meaning God is gracious.  And indeed he is.  We love you little man!

Such Great Intentions

Almost 6 months have passed since we flew half way around the world to meet Micaela and Cayden. I had thought I'd update this blog every day while we were in the Philippines!  HA! We could not have been prepared for the changes, emotional roller coasters, and exhaustion that life would bring us.   It took almost 4 months for us to find any type of rhythm to this new life.  Each night after the kids were in bed we would all crash on the couch and look at each other.  Praise God, we made it through another day! However, the energy to write, clean, or even speak coherently was missing. So here we are and I am finding myself looking through pictures and realizing so much has happened I want to write it down in case my old age forgets.  LOL!  Sort of joking.  They say Micaela and Cayden are going to keep us young.  I hope "they" are right!

So, how about a recap?  Fortunately I have lots of pictures!!!  Ready?

Stacy, Abbi and I flew into Manila to spend the night before flying into Cebu.  None of us had ever flow such a distance, but fortunately all went well and we arrived safely!  One of the first "God kisses" was our driver to the hotel.  He spoke fluent English, which most in Manila do, BUT he also had a Bible on his dashboard!  :)  He offered to give us a tour, however, our flight departure didn't allow us to do this, so we told Ricky we would call him on our return. We checked into our hotel and fell asleep!

The following day we got on our plane to head to Cebu.  The orphanage takes that day off so we wouldn't be able to see the kids until Monday, but just getting to their homeland was so exciting!  To think we were just about to meet our sweet kids!

We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Cebu.  Unbeknownst to us Cebu is the #1 grower of mangos.  OH MY GOSH!!  Indeed, I'll never forget the taste.  Every morning we went to the buffet for breakfast and Abbi ate 4 mangos. :)  I'll also never forget breakfast on Monday, July 14th, Meet You Day.  I remember when we flew to Oklahoma to adopt Abbi, how we felt.  It was so surreal and yet so peace-filled.  This day was just the same, only 15 years later Abbi was about to see how we felt when we came for her!  Mitch, from CSC was picking us up at 10:00.  How many times did we look at our phones?  How many questions did Abbi ask us at breakfast?  Too many to count.

I can't explain what goes on in your head at a time like this.  I had brought an adoption book on the plane to re-read.  It was SO depressing.  But I had prepared myself for the worst. According to experts, mom's are the last of the family for adopted children to bond to.  I remember thinking, they may not give me the time of day!  How's that for positive thinking?  We kept telling Abbi, "Keep your expectations super low and you won't be disappointed."  Cause you just never know.

So Mitch met us in the lobby and we pretended like this is just a regular ole day.  How are you?  How are the kids doing?  Trying to not think about all the crazy drivers who were weaving in and out, honking at one another.  Who knew that there was a honk system?  Who knew lights were optional at intersections?  Mitch explained it best as we tried to remain cool,  "It just ebbs and flows, and you go with it."  Wow, thankful we didn't have a rental car!

The moment came when we stopped at the gate and Mitch honked the car horn.  We got out of the van and guess who was waiting for us?

Guess who came running to hug me?!!!!  MICAELA JOY!!!  Trip was worth it.

Love this picture of Micaela practically hugging Abbi into the ground.  

She was inseparable from her new big sister.

Me meeting my son, Cayden John.

 Can we breathe a sigh of relief?  We've made it.  So many times we didn't think it would happen.    But it did.