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.

A Week of Lasts

In seven days we will be meeting our children.  It seem almost surreal.  We have been working towards this day since February 2013.  It has seemed like an eternity but when I count the months, in reality, it hasn't been eternity.  But living each month knowing that one day everything will change seems to stretch time.  While some people like to put off the inevitable I don't.  It's like those that want to wade in the water or those that jump in.  None-the-less tonight I am full of thoughts and wish that I could be I Dream of Jeannie and 'poof' be done with this week and in the Philippines.  (That would be the Jetsons added in my thoughts for transportation!  I always did want to be in those time travelers.)  And yet I digress....

So many times this weekend as we drove around in our mini-van....just the four of us I thought, "This ______ is the last time we will do as a family of four."  The girls tried to get us to go to Starbucks because "it's the last time it's the four of us"!  So while I'd like to be done with this week, on the other hand I am savoring our last days together.  Just the four of us. 

I love my girls.  I love how they have embraced adopting and encouraged us to keep going on this journey.  I love how they are each so different in what they think is the best part of having a new sister and brother.  I love how they've already decided who gets which sibling.  (They may be in for a surprise!)  And I love (in some ways) how they are already talking about more adoptions.  Sweet Abbi, with the heart for the older orphans was reminding us just tonight that we said we'd get an older girl.  While they have to be reminded at times that sacrifices will be made and challenges will be had, they have been 'all in' on this ride.  Their hearts make me proud.  And God.

And so today was our last day at church as a family of four. 

I can get emotional at times (surprised?) but I had no idea how my emotions would overcome me today.  During worship I kept thinking about my new children and how they would stand with us for worship and how brave they are going to be to move to a new country and start a life with strangers.  Keeping my emotions in check was challenging, and then we had prayer time and our pastor announced our leaving on Friday and reality hit.  People came to pray over us for our trip and for our kids.  Seriously, I lost it. 

They say a Girl Scout is always prepared, and I was a Blue Bird (so close enough), but I did NOT have a Kleenex!  HELLO?!?!  Can you say more-than-tears-running-down-my-face?  I asked Faith quietly, "Do you have a tissue?"  My beaver-daughter, always prepared for everything did not have one?!  Say what?  Thankfully a sweet girl looked at me (I'm sure I was a sight) and I mouthed, "I need a tissue!"  Duh....Lo and behold a wad of toilet paper appeared.  Bless her!

We belong to a body that knows adoption.  We are blessed to have crazy friends like ourselves who almost had an empty nest to only adopt and add multiple children to their family.  There have been times in this journey that God's hand has been so evident and today was a shining example of how he has used people to lead the way and come along side us as we walked this road. 

I might sound like a broken record, but I am reminding myself of all of these God-things.  Why, you may ask?  Because I know that while this road has been bumpy, long and had many different turns, THIS has been the easy part.  Adoption is from God there is not a doubt in my mind.  But adoption isn't easy.

My son has spent two years in the orphanage.  At six weeks of age he entered Children's Shelter of Cebu a sick baby.  He has been nurtured and cared for, and CSC is all he knows as home.  He has seen us twice via Skype and looked at our pictures.  And yet in one week, his whole life as he has ever known it will change.  That's hard. 

And so I pray that he will have courage.  He is a fighter, hence the name Cayden.  His life has been filled with sickness.  But I'm praying total healing of his body and total healing of his heart.  I pray that he will know that God's plan for him is great and I pray that he will supernaturally know that he is loved. 

Micaela.  Sweet, spunky, independent Micaela.  My daughter had a rough first 3 years.  She was loved, for sure, but abandonment was her companion.  Trust is something that we will have to earn from her, and so I pray for many ways to prove to her that we will take care of her.  I pray that she will embrace her mom and dad and sisters and she too will supernaturally know she is loved.  This little girl who has a laugh that lights up a room, I pray that she will find many things to laugh at and that God will turn her sorrows into joy. 

This may be a week of  'lasts' but I know a lifetime of 'firsts' is right around the corner.  

Candie

What a Day!

There are some days that I am overcome with the knowing that God is a very good God.  He is always good, it's just that some days I see Him better.  Today has been one of those days.  We have been waiting and waiting to book tickets and get our kids.  Knowing they have had their medical appointments and visa interviews and knowing we are so very close to bringing them home has added extra excitement and a new layer of 'good stress' to our house.

We registered at Target due to the urging of co-workers and friends who want to buy things for our kids.  It was never something we thought of to do and when I stood at the register and put my 'babies' in the system, I think my heart jumped a beat.  Then when we walked the isles and looked at what we needed....oh boy....an overwhelmed feeling hit.  As my girls have been bugging me for months to start shopping for the kids, I was the one who kept saying, "Oh stop.  They just need love and food.  We got this."  HA!  Turns out my Pollyanna attitude (whoever she is) was in denial.  So when we hit the underwear isle and I was in shock because I 'forgot' the kids need underwear, it was then that the realization hit.  We are bringing not one child home but two!!!  Two blessings, for sure, but double the need.  Double pajamas, double shoes, double clothes...... and don't even get me started on the diapers and wipes! :)

Which is why for the past week I have been waking up multiple times at night, thinking of more things we need and all the unknowns that are coming our way.  At 3:00 a.m. I think of my kids in the Philippines and know that their day is 4:00 p.m. and I wonder what they are doing and I pray for them.  At 4:30 a.m. I think of them and pray.....Not sure if God is preparing me for our trip to the Philippines, or if my brain just doesn't want to shut down, but either way, I'm getting extra prayer time and my heart is filling with more love for them. 

Anyhow today.  Let me share about my weaknesses and God's goodness.

I have been tracking airfares for a couple weeks.  We have had a general idea of when we'd be traveling, but nothing official.  We have had some generous donations and grants that gave us most all our travel expenses, but then last night the tickets I'd been eyeing went up $400 per ticket!   I admit it.  I freaked out.  It is so hard not being in control and waiting for other people to decide life altering events.  I knew we had money, but not the extra $1200.  And so I stressed. 

Then we've been trying to get an update on Abbi's passport.  It should have been here 2 weeks ago.  Since we are planning on buying tickets for the 11th, we need that passport.  So Stacy called the government yesterday and today.  Yes, it's in process.  That's all they can say, but they'll have Chicago call us.  No call from them.  Then I called myself (as if I would get farther), for some reason Stacy gets better results normally, and I got the same answer.  2 days, 3 messages left to call us, no response.  The stressor is do we buy her ticket?  Hard to leave the country without a passport!  And so I stressed. 

I could tell Stacy was stressing too.  It's happy stress, but none-the-less stress.  All of a sudden it hit me.  This is warfare.  Satan hates adoption!  Adoption is the perfect picture of Christ's love for us and our free gift he gives us.  Once we choose Jesus we get an eternal family with a new name.  In my head I could reason that enough to tell Stacy, but I still didn't really have peace.  Ever been there?  You know it, you just don't feel it?

And then a sweet kiss from Heaven came.  I got a message from a dear friend who wanted me to know a gift was arriving today,  I'm telling you, I cried.  We call those "happy tears" in our family.  Lo and behold a car seat for Micaela appeared.  This journey has been so humbling.  There are no words that can explain how much our friends have blessed us.  Friends whom we haven't seen or worked with in years are being used by God.  I know they tell us they want to be a part of this call and bless us, but I'm here to say that each time something happens like today, I hear God say, "I got this covered."  I know that God has touched our friends and asked them to do something.  My friend said she heard God say, "Pick something and send it."  And she did!  Car seat straight from God through my friend. 

Composing myself I emailed our agency and tried really hard to be kind.  I know that some of our wait is cultural.  Filipinos are laid back.  There's always tomorrow.  Diana must have heard my desperation (I did mention to her that I've been lacking sleep!) because when she called she gave me the words I'd been wanting to hear....Book your flights!!! 

We've been working with a travel agent who specializes in adoptions.  All of our flights had us flying out of O'Hare in Chicago.  Not a big deal with the exception of Faith.  Faith has to stay home and she will be our chauffeur to and from.  She knows Midway Airport like the back of her hand, but was freaking out about getting to O'Hare.  So we had asked Jeff if there was any possibility to fly out of Midway.  Sure for an extra $2000!!!  What?!?!  Suck it up buttercup...time to learn O'Hare.  I can hear everyone now, "That's mean!"  I agree.  But I don't have a money tree in my backyard.  Sorry.

So today Jeff says he'll see what he can find out of O'Hare and I jump on Orbitz.  Guess what I find???  Flights out of Midway!!!!  And guess what else???  They are cheaper than anything we've every seen!!!!  I email Jeff and ask if he can get those flights?  Yes, ma'am! 

WOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

So in case anyone is missing this, let me explain.  Today we found out we get to travel to the Philippines in 10 days!  We got tickets for less than we'd ever imagined  AND Faith gets to drive to Midway!!!  Is God good or what?!

So I've been chewing on a lot today.  It's this 16" inch connection between my brain and my heart that I've been pondering.  I know God is good.  Hands down, he is the best and only wants good for me.  BUT how many times do I say God is good when things aren't going great?  Friends, I don't want to give the impression that I only praise Him when major things happen.  I think my faith is ever growing.  There are still things that we will face with this adoption that I don't have answers for or have control over.  But God is still good.  No matter how my daughter handles her new mama (me) or how my son's health issues really turn out to be.  God knows.  And I'm just guessing that He has people waiting in the shadows to help when we need it. 

God is good.  All the time.  All the time....God is good.

Candie

A Suprise Blessing While We Wait

It seems like this adoption journey has been a “hurry up and wait” journey.  The Embassy in Manila has our paperwork and we are waiting for the kids to get their medical checkup and interview so that their visas will be issued.  And so we wait.

BUT we had the biggest surprise and blessing yet.  We received a video of our sweet Micaela and Cayden!  Oh how I wish I could show all of you this package of love, but I can’t. L  Instead, I’ll describe the beautifulness of these 3 minutes!

The video starts with Cayden staring into the camera.  You know how kids like to get right up to a video camera?  Holy Cow!!  My son has the biggest brown eyes.  I just melted when I saw him.  Then he says, “Mommy.  Daddy.” The camera pans to Micaela and as she is swinging she says, “Hi Mom and Daddy.  How are you?”  Yep.  Dying now.

Before I go any farther you need to know that videos are not the usual standard procedure when it comes to adopting.  Cayden’s medical records had some conflicting information and so our doctors thought it would be a good idea to see him walking.  Because he has been diagnosed with Metabolic Myopathy, while not life threatening, anything related to his muscles can be affected.  When he was very little he couldn’t hold his head up for more than 10-15 minutes and he was slow to roll over and walk.  Part of his records said that he was running and walking with flat shoes and bare feet, however the most recent doctor’s report in January said that he was using a walker.  Just a tiny bit confusing!

So back to the video.

Cayden clearly loves to dance, and the boy has moves.  He danced around for quite some time while holding onto a bottle of bubbles.  Funny that Abbi found the biggest bubble blower at Target months ago and wanted to buy it for the kids.  I told her to wait.  Guess we may be taking a trip to Target soon!  Cayden also likes to play basketball.  He has pretty good dribbling skills for a two year old.  At one point he looks at the full size basketball hoop and then it’s as if he says, “Naw…too big!”  So he finds a puddle to dribble in.  Ha!  Boys!!

Let’s see, what else….Micaela is an extra in this video but I can tell she is a protective big sister.  Twice in the video she is hugging Cayden from the back.  Because we’ve seen so many pictures and videos of Micaela we have a pretty good idea what her personality is like and it was clear she was a little embarrassed by the attention they were getting.   One of the sweetest parts of the video is when Micaela and Cayden are swinging side by side and sing a song together.  Their little Cebuano voices are so sweet. 

Oh people!  These two are precious!

Just last week we received an updated report on Cayden’s therapies.  Cayden had been having physical therapy and occupational therapy.  He now is at appropriate age milestones so they have discontinued PT.  However, it was noted that he has low mouth muscle tone and is now receiving speech therapy.  I am so blessed to have my children in an orphanage that gives good care.  To my eye it does look like Cayden will need some more physical therapy.  He appears to have some limb weaknesses and his foot turns out when he walks at times.  Clearly the Aunties are used to his imbalance because at one point they have their hands ready to catch him, should he fall.  Seeing these issues gave me a little feeling of panic.  Not like we didn’t know this, our son will need some medical help.  But like everything, we have put our trust in God and believe he chose Cayden to be our son.  And so we will cross that bridge when we get there.  In the mean time we will continue to pray for healing to his body. 

And wait.  Did I mention we are waiting?!

Candie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I-800 Approved!!!!

It's been an exciting week here.  Monday we received the piece of mail we've been waiting for...Micaela and Cayden's  I-800's have been approved!  Our kids have official permission to come to the United States of America!!

Then last night we had the sweetest surprise ever.  A picture of our son!  I know I've mentioned before, but we've hardly seen any pictures of him, so when he appeared on our screen I just stared and stared.  He looks so much older.  I said to Stacy, "Are you sure that's Cayden?"  He even has a big boy hair cut.  And he looks much healthier too!

Today I keep wondering what he's going to be like?

As if that wasn't exciting enough, this morning we were informed that the National Visa Center has forwarded the kids' approval to the Embassy in Manila.  This means that they will have their medical visit and the paperwork for their visas will begin.  If you ask me, this should take 2 weeks maximum.  Ha, but it's a government entity....SO it could be a month or two to get that done.  :( 

Micaela's birthday is in 20 days people.  Move it!!

I'm not sure if it's my age, or if I'm still in shock that I have two precious kids coming home, but I know I need to start getting things ready for them.  Like plastic plates, and small utensils, and clothes, and book, and toys, and..... well you get the picture.  I need to get moving.  Instead I keep looking at their pictures.  And imagining what in the world will it be like to go to their home, say hello, then bring them home?  I know for every adoption it looks different.  For every child they handle things in their own way.  I have no idea if my kids will roll with life or come kicking and screaming.

What I do know is that right now God is growing a love in my heart for my son and daughter.  He had this planned out from the beginning of time.  All the things I 'need' to do are extras.  What my children need is a family.  Our family. 

Candie

Memorial Stones

 During this waiting time, some of the things that have happened were obviously such God-kisses (is that a word?) that I wanted to share them with you.  In the Old Testament the children of God would set up stone memorials.  The first time we see this in the Bible is after the Israelites had finished crossing the river and the LORD told Joshua to choose one man from each tribe, 12 total, and have them pick up 12 stones from the Jordan River.  They each took a stone and carried them over to the camp where they were to stay for the night.  These stones were to serve as a sign among them, so that in the future when their children asked what the stones meant, the people would retell the story of their deliverance.  (Joshua 4:1-9)

Let me share with you some of our stones.

During our fast Stacy ran into an old bible study friend at a farm.  We hadn’t been to this farm in over a year and yet on that night Stacy ran into Bob.  Bob as it turns out was getting ready to go to the Philippines to adopt a sibling group of 4.  At the time they talked we really had felt that God was encouraging us to not be afraid of our age, that God doesn’t have an age limit on parenting.  And when you think of it, Sarah was 90 years old when she had her son!  You see Bob is in his 50’s and they have a million kids! Just kidding, not a million.   Anyhow after we decided to adopt, we got to thinking about Bob and we wondered if perhaps we missed something God wanted to tell us through him.  And so Stacy got hold of Bob and asked him some questions like what countries they’d adopted from, agencies, etc.  We had been having a hard time choosing a country and Bob told us the orphanage their kids just came home from was amazing.  The very best they had seen.  He gave us their website and as a family we checked it out.  I can remember plain as day sitting on the couch, Stacy behind us and looking at this orphanage.  It was amazing!  And we all said, “That is where we want our kids to come from!”  Only you don’t get the choice when you adopt.  When you choose a child from the Special Finding List the orphanage is not shown at first.  And so we prayed.  God knew the desires of our hearts.  The first 3 sibling groups that “fell through” were not from this orphanage.

And then came Micaela and C.J.!  Of course you know already, but they are from the same orphanage as Bob’s kids!!!  Our kids and their kids lived in the same house for a year!  How crazy is that?  These 6 children who were adopted to Americans will now live 5 miles away from each other. 

The day we saw that our precious kids were from the Children’s Shelter of Cebu was an amazing day.  Here we were ready to throw in the towel and then look what God did for us!!!

I want to tell you about Children’s Shelter of Cebu (CSC).  If you are ever looking for a ministry to support, look no further!  This orphanage is run by Christian Americans from Minnesota.  They have a huge presence on social media.  Tons of pictures, video and bloggers.  It takes just a few minutes to see the love of Jesus at this special place.  If you read the posts you will sense the Spirit’s hand on CSC.  These kids, our kids are very much loved.  They make sure they have excellent medical care.  When they could find cheaper doctors and hospitals they choose the best doctors and hospitals for their kids.  When they felt their kids weren’t getting a good enough education outside of the orphanage, they built a school.  It is amazing.  I’m not an expert at orphanages, but I’m telling you this place is special.  http://www.cscshelter.org/

And so one memorial stone is our chance meeting with Bob.  And the second stone is Children’s Shelter of Cebu. 

I mentioned that our daughter’s pictures are everywhere.  We’ve seen video of her singing her ABC’s, eating ice cream from a cup and playing with the kids.  We’ve seen her leading a line of children, kissing her brother, and playing dolls.  She. Is. Amazing.

Being the creepers that we are, we have searched everywhere for pictures of our kids.  The most recent picture we have of C.J. is from June of last year.  As you can imagine that is not good enough for this mama!  Well in searching for our kids, we found a blogger who taught at CSC for a year.  Her name is Lindsay and she has a wonderful blog called A Pinch of Yum.  As we creeped on this strangers blog we found wonderful pictures of the year she and her husband’s spent in the Philippines.  Beautiful pictures of the country, the people, the food, the children and funny, tons of Micaela and a few of C.J.  I’m telling you we were freaking out!!  Her blog was like finding a gold mine!  Do you realize how amazing it is to see multiple pictures of your kids?  My friends who have adopted internationally tell me that you usually get one or two pictures.  That’s it.  So guess what I did?  I emailed Lindsay and introduced myself! J 

What happened next I could have never imagined.  Here I am, a stranger asking her if she would mind sharing pictures of my children.  She also lives in Minnesota and so I told her it would be so much fun to meet when the kids came home.  (I know, I’m a crazy stranger!)    But this is a woman who spent 1 year with my kids!!  From the pictures she took, you could see her love for these kiddos. 

I got a reply within an hour or so.  Monday night Final Four Basketball game and she writes me, sobbing with her friend in the room even!  I like this girl.  She cries because she cares.  Anyhow, she proceeds to tell me that they fell in love with Micaela and when they got back to the states they prayed and sought counsel if they were supposed to adopt Micaela and C.J.  They decided it wasn't the time for them, and so they started praying for their parents who would adopt them.  US!  Are you seeing the crazy to this yet??  She was so blessed that I contacted her.  They never imagined they would ever see these two precious kids again, and now they can and will.  And then she blessed me more and told me about my daughter.

“She is something else, that little girl. So much spunk and character and independence and this incredible little sense of humor. I've never met a child quite like her - she is so much fun.”

I like Lindsay and you will to when you check out her blog.  But don’t go there when you’re hungry.  I warned you! http://pinchofyum.com/

Lindsay is a memorial stone.

Another something extra special came to us just the other night.  C.J.’s medical files are a little contradictory.  One part says he is now running with bare feet and flat sandals, and another part says he is using a walker!  This didn’t go unnoticed and so we requested a video of him walking and running, which we have yet to receive.  CSC puts a new picture up daily on Facebook and last week there was a picture entitled Toddlers Racing.  It was a picture taken from the side, but it look so much like C.J.!!  I couldn’t be 100% sure, but of course I shared the picture with all my friends, and then Stacy and Faith did the same.  Within an hour the picture was gone!  Gone from all of our pages and the CSC Facebook page.  I sort of freaked out wondering if we weren’t supposed to share the pictures, but no one ever told us not to….So I emailed Lindsay quick and asked her if we had done something wrong.  I told her I thought it was C.J.  As it turns out last year CSC made a decision to not publish our children’s pictures on Facebook.  Their birth mom has a difficult time seeing them as it was a very hard decision to make in choosing a better life for them.  By mistake C.J. had made it to Facebook!!! 

That picture, which hopefully I’ll see again soon, is a memorial stone.  Our son is running.  God was just letting us know.  Isn’t he good?

There is a song we used to sing years ago that I sang all day for a couple of days.  It sums it up.

“I stand, I stand in awe of you.  I stand, I stand in awe of you.  Holy God to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of you.”

These memorial stones are for us.  They are for our children.  For Faith and Abbi, they are proof that we believe God speaks to us.  We believe his plans are for the best, even when it gets scary.  These stones are for Micaela and C.J. and it will be an amazing honor to share with them how God orchestrated all the details.  For Stacy and I, when the going gets tough bringing home kids from hard places, these stones will serve as a reminder that God knew before time what was to happen.  They will remind us that through this journey he was with us and his hand was upon us.

Candie

 

 

 

Introducing Micaela and C.J.

 

 

Let me introduce you to our son and daughter.  It still sounds so weird coming off my tongue to say son.  The daughter we got down.  But did I mention we have a son?!

Ladies first: 

Micaela will be 5 years old in May, 5 days before my 47^th birthday.  Our hope and prayer is to have her by then but it will take a miracle.  (Hey, a mom can ask!)  She looks like she is going to be so much fun!!  Her reports say that she is very smart, can reason well, likes to be in charge, gets along with everyone and she can also give you the silent treatment when she doesn’t want to do what is asked of her.  (Oh boy!)

We have found so many pictures of her on the internet.  The orphanage they are in has a huge presence on social media and Micaela happens to be so photogenic (insert: cute) that we feel like we know her already.  She reminds me of a miniature Abbi. 

Then there’s our son C.J. as they call him.  He turned two in March.  This little guy is a fighter and for that reason we want to give him the name Cayden.  He has been sick every month of his life.  He entered the orphanage at 6 weeks with double pneumonia.  Since then he has had at least one round of antibiotics every month.  He also has some digestive issues and asthma.  (He’s a GAPS kid!)  He also has been delayed developmentally due to Metabolic Myopathy.  However we had his medical files reviewed by the doctors and they are not certain he has this disease.  Their opinion is that we get him home and see how he’s doing, because while we have a lot of information on his health, it’s not very detailed so the doctors couldn’t confirm his diagnosis.  While we are totally prepared to handle this issue if he ends up having it, we have believed that once he’s home things will work themselves out.  As I like to say, “He needs a family, love and good food.”

We don’t have many pictures of C.J. and about the only thing we know of his personality is that because he’s been in isolation with his Aunties often, he likes to be held and he doesn’t like waking up to an empty room.  Faith thinks she has a cuddle bug coming home just for her!

It’s still hard to believe that we have two more children who will be Shipmans!  The other day at church I looked at a couple of our friends, one has a 2 year old boy and the other a daughter the same age as Micaela and it dawned on me: Chubs and CC are coming home with us…and they are never leaving!!!  It was sort of the same feeling I had when we brought Faith home from the hospital.  If I looked too far into the future I’d end up panicked.  I remember seeing 8 year olds and thinking, “Oh my goodness, what will I do with that age?!”  And I realized that it’s much, much better to live one day at a time.

Micaela and C.J. we can’t wait to hug you and love you and see you grow!

A Suprise Email

February 17, 2014 

6:03 p.m.

A surprise email!!!  Typically we have not heard from the Philippines past early afternoon due to the time differences.  Imagine to our surprise when we looked on the phone and saw this:

You were approved by Board!!!!  HOORAY!!!

I should have the official papers in the next few days!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Let the screaming commence!  The news we had been waiting for….FINALLY…..and then we just looked at each other….OH MY GOSH!!! Do you realize what this means???  We are bringing home not one but two littles!!!  Breathe people. 

We drive to Toys R Us just to knock ourselves into reality.  Seriously a bad choice.  First of all, I worked at Toys R Us during the Christmas season in my early twenties.  I still can remember the lines to the back of the store and all the people.  It makes me want to break out in a sweat 20 years later.  Secondly, I never, repeat NEVER took my girls to Toys R Us.  To me it seemed like that was a disaster waiting to happen.  What child could ever make a decision when there are a million choices??!  But here we go…to Toys R Us.  And I thought people got wiser as they aged.

We look at cribs (when did they become so expensive?) and decide that we don’t know if C.J. is in a crib or a toddler bed.  We look at bedding.  No offense boys bedding isn’t very fun!  I start imagining I’m going to have to go to the fabric store….hey, I sewed both girl’s nursery ensembles…..22 and 14 years ago!  We check out car seats, booster seats.  I complain that not all girls like pink.  Could someone please learn that?!  Then we go down the Barbie aisle.  HOLY COW!!!!!  Words can’t even describe….  Lastly, we decide we’d check out the ball section and the blocks.  Stacy finds some really cool Legos.  Having a boy should be interesting! J

After about an hour of browsing we pile into the car and are exhausted.  So much to see.  So many bright lights.  We can hardly believe that we are looking at things for our kids.  Stacy then says what we’ve all been thinking.  “I was expecting us to be looking at these types of things for our grandkids…not our children.”  Ya, so this is our life. 

God, you got this covered, right??

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer. 29:11

If there was ever a verse to hang onto tonight, this was it. 

 

Checking Email Hourly

January 24^th we receive the following email with a forward from Philippines liaison.

I'm thinking it looks pretty good for you...  ;) Fingers and toes crossed!

 And the liaison said:

 Talked   to  the  Executive  Director  of  CSC,  he told   me  that   he's  done  with  the  review  of  the dossier   and    he  liked   the  family....

Let's  hope   that   they  will  be  included   in  the  agenda  of  the board  meeting   on January  31..

 One week to go!!! The end is in sight!!!

 Philippines is 13 hours ahead of us so on Sunday night the 30^th our family starts praying.  And we wonder how long will it take to get the approval we’ve been waiting for??

But the next day we hear that the Philippines took a holiday!! What?!  With such important items to discuss and lives to change….a holiday??!!  For crying out loud!!!

 On February 4^th we see this lovely in the inbox:

 Hi!  Here is today’s update!  You are on the schedule for Board review on Monday, 2/10.  Sorry for another delay, but hope for good news soon!!!

Are you living what we were going through?  Oh I hope so.  This is adoption.  This is waiting.  When people whine that it takes forever and their life is in limbo….ya, there’s a reason for the whining.

 February 17, 2014:

Sorry- know the wait is probably driving you nuts… I was praying to hear overnight but no email today. I have another email into C*** to see what is going on.  Hope to have news for you tomorrow.

By now I hope you can imagine what the anticipation is doing to the family!  Every stinking time we open our email we anxiously hope for word.  And then hope is dashed.  I know, dramatic.  I remember thinking, “Will I be able to sleep tonight?”  And then I remember that God’s timing is perfect and tomorrow we may not hear a thing!  Or will we??