Alright here we go, my friend Gail has tagged me! Gail is a Mom to two beautiful girls, and her blog is My Answered Prayers. Now here is the hard part, coming up with 7 random weird facts about myself! I am really not that interesting, come to think of it!

1. I had several signs about my daughter before I knew who she was, like a dream, specific date, quite a few things did happen and they all turned out to be signs!

2. I am terrified to fly, and still can't believe I managed to fly 18 hours to China.

3. I want to write a book.

4. I have experienced a miracle!

5. I can't touch cotton balls, they make me want to throw up! Can't explain that one, but it's true.

6. I desperately want Maggie to have a sister.

7. I think I'll get a new tattoo, when I lose 40lbs! Hoping 2009 is the year, I'll keep you posted!

I need to get better at adding links for other people's blogs, so if you stop bye and read your tagged! Leave a comment and we'll check it out!!
Photo's to come of my two birthday kiddo's and of course Christmas pics, that my goal in the next few days!

Happy Birthday Henry & The First Snow

Happy Birthday Henry, you are now 4! Henry joined our family almost 4 years ago and he was probably about 10lbs. Four years later he is now about 150lbs, but a big gentle giant. We had our first snow fall last week and it looked so pretty, I couldn't help myself by taking some pictures in the back yard. Henry was brave enough to head outside, there wasn't too much snow and it wasn't that cold, he enjoyed himself playing out there!

Feeling Good

Patrick or as we like to call him Paddy Boy, is a thumb sucker. He really only sucks his thumb when he is tired or upset. I wanted to share a conversation that Paddy and his Dad had a couple of months ago, it is absoutely precious!
Dad: Take your hand out of your mouth Patrick
Paddy: Why?
Dad: Because your hands are dirty and I don't want you to get sick
Paddy: oh
Dad: Patrick, why do you suck your thumb?

Paddy: Because it makes me feel good!

What better reason is there than that? Patrick you are precious, I love you too much!!

November is National Adoption Month

I should of probably posted this in the beginning of November, but here I am with just a few days until December! Adoption has changed our lives, I am so fortunate to have four beautiful children. It is truly amazing how people are meant to be together, even if they are half the world away from each other. Adoption is amazing, your heart grows with love, more than you could ever possibly imagine.


Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women
Who never knew each other
One you do not remember
The other you call mother
Two different lives shaped to make yours one
One became your guiding star
The other became your sun
The first gave you life
And the second taught you to live it
The first gave you a need for love
And the second was there to give it
One gave you a nationality
The other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent
The other gave you an aim
One gave you emotions
The other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile
The other dried your tears
One gave you up…It was all that she could do
The other wished for a child
And fate led her straight to you
And now you ask me through your tears
The age-old question through the years
Heredity or environment -Which are you the product of?
Neither my darling - neither
Just two different kinds of love.

author unknown

Maggie's Day !

We finally have the last step finished with Maggie's adoption! On November 6th at our local district court, we finalized Maggie's adoption in this country and now maggie will have an American birth certificate. We had the most awesome Judge, he made the day so special and also gave Maggie this adorable stuffed bear, which she loves! The boys all came and my parents were able to make it, what a special day! She's all ours!

Perfect Visit for the Special Girl

Last week Maggie had her second annual cardiology appointment with Dr.Fulton from Children's Hospital Boston. Once again she had a great check up, all her tests were normal and her little heart is perfect! What a relief, thank you God!! Dr. Fulton was kind enough to pose for a picture with the kids, he is an amazing man, I think the world of him! When we received Maggie Peng's referral, I emailed him all her reports and he replied back to me within twenty four hours! He took time out his busy day, to help me, without even knowing me! Best of all his reply stated, Maggie Peng had received great care in China and he thought they did a great job repairing her VSD. Thank you Dr. Fulton, you will always hold a special place in my heart!!!!

SUPER BOWL BABY !!!!!

Yes, thats right the Hanson Warriors are going to the Super Bowl!!! Here's my guy after his last game, winning again to make it an 9 and 0 season! Joseph plays middle linebacker, tight end, center and nose guard, he's basically a superstar!!! He has had an amazing season, he made the most tackles on the team and two sacks! This weekend they will be playing Duxbury in the Super Bowl, I will keep you updated. Go HANSON WARRIORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

A Visit From Miss Emily

We were so excited to have a visit with Miss Emily and of course her Mom and Dad! It has been two years since we have seen our friends from Florida, and they were able to meet Maggie Peng! We had a great time together and the kids were so excited to have Emily here and play for the evening! We miss you guys already, thanks for visiting us over your weekend stay!! Emily you look great in all these photos, hope to see you soon!

On The Search For The Perfect Pumpkin

"SPECIAL" Yes, That's the Perfect Word

Look at my girl, she's special alright! I have always posted on my beautiful family, and of course the inspiration behind this blog, Maggie Peng. Being a busy mom to four kids, I try to find the time to post pictures and share some of our day to day happenings and now want to share just how special our girl is!!
We started the adoption process in July 2005 and we logged in to China Jan 06. We were on a list for a non special needs child as young as possible and of course a little girl. When we started our process the wait time was 6 months for a referral. Joe and I really never looked in to the special needs/waiting child list, because to be honest we didn't know anything about it at that time.
Spring of 06, I spoke to another adoptive mother, who had adopted her three daughters from China and they were all special needs children. I was really surprised by what China considered special needs and thought to myself, we would most definitely be open to specific special needs children, that we thought would fit into our family.
I did mention this to some people that our name was on a list for a special needs child, and I really was surprised by the feedback I received. I can't tell you how many "are you sure you know what your getting into? and can you really handle a child with a special need and the boys", and so on. So what I decided was to be selective on who I shared information with and just wait and see.
I never really called my adoption agency to see where I was on the list, I just waited and thought my daughter will be exactly who she is suppose to be. We knew we would not limit our search for our daughter because of a medical condition WE considered minor.
As luck would have it, our beautiful daughter came into our lives, after our social worker asked me three times if we wanted to take our names off the special needs list, because we were so close to a non special needs baby. I answered three times "no, keep our names on the list, I don't want to change anything", and then she proceeded to tell me about a little girl 18 months old recovering from open heart surgery to repair VSD. I later asked our social worker why she asked me three times about changing our status of a special needs child, and she replied "I wanted to make sure you were committed" Well we were committed, and our daughter is exactly where she was suppose to be, with us!
Special needs children from China includes a huge spectrum of pre-existing medical conditions.
I really want to try to advocate for these children and blog more on our experience of adopting a special needs child, and like I said "Special is just the right word"! We are so blessed to have our beautiful Maggie Peng in our lives!

Paddy Boy is Thinking School is Cool!

This year Patrick is loving school!! Here he is on one of his first days, and he was more than willing to go!! What a difference, last year the poor guy was on the brink of expulsion from nursery school! Kind of funny but true, hehe. Patrick had such a hard time adjusting with his parents being away for two weeks, starting school, having a new sister come home and then me ending up sick in early Oct and being in the hospital for a few days!! The director had called me several times not sure if preschool was going to work out for Patrick! Yikes, he was trying to escape daily and most days had to sit with the director in her office! Well I am happy to report a year later he is loving school, and actually last week he cried and didn't want to come home with me!! I am so proud of him, keep up the good work Patrick, I love you!!!xoxox

Celebrating Forever Family Day!!!!!

One Year ago today we were in Nanchang China, meeting our beautiful Nanfeng girl Lu Dan Peng. How much has changed in a year, we are so thankful to have our beautiful daughter in our lives and to be celebrating our first year together as a family! Last year we met our daughter outside of our hotel room on the 13 th floor in Nanchang. Our first glimpse of her, was Peng clinging onto her foster mom screaming. We had to pry her out of her foster moms arms, it was one of the most traumatic things I have ever lived through. She had a terrible time for the first four days, her spirit was broken and she clearly greived the loss of her foster mom. I literally felt her pain, emotionally and physically it is hard to explain but I truly felt her pain. I still have trouble thinking about those first four days, and actually now I have tears reliving her loss. At one point I really thought of giving her back to her foster mom, I wasn't sure if I could put her through anymore pain. She had such a hard time, hunger strike, wouldn't walk, wouldn't look at us, she was pathetic. With all things time mends a broken heart, and she is ours! I have never worked so hard for someone to love me and she has given back so much love, I know she is happy and where she belongs, with her family.
A year later she has gained 10 lbs, speaking in sentences, using the potty, happy, well adjusted, and a ray of sunshine in our lives!! She adores her brothers and they adore her, she loves her Daddy, she now loves Henry who is our 150lb great dane mix (she shook and screamed whenever she saw Henry for the first two weeks, now she hangs all over him and calls him "good boy"). She is incredible, a blessing and I am so thankful for all of my beautiful Children.
Maggie-Pengs foster mom told Joe "Treat her like a treasure" when they met outside our hotel room, and believe me she is treated like a treasure everyday.
We had a great day, here are some pictures of us making a cake today to celebrate and of Peng giving Henry a hug, isn't she gorgeous?? God is good, we are blessed!