Fall 2010

Well, Mikenna is growing and growing. She finally has gained some weight. She eats non-stop but she is SOOOO active that she burns it all off. Mikenna moved into Meriah and Madissen's room on June 5th. She protested this very loudly. I planned this specifically to happen over the summer so that if we didn't get a lot of sleep, it wouldn't matter since none of us really needed to be up early. She would take naps in the bed with no problem but staying in bed at night was not happening. She would wake up around 4 times a night or more. I was exhausted from not having a solid night's sleep. Finally around July, she started to sleep more but still woke up about 2 times a night. I resorted to reading books on sleeping disorders and one book gave me some helpful hints. Most nights, Mikenna can sleep about 8 hours and then she manages to make her way into our room around 5 or 6 am. At that point, I just let her crawl into our bed. She will sleep until I get out of bed. She has a keen radar on me and the moment I am gone, she can sense it. Mikenna is gaining trust with people at church. She no longer goes to nursery and she is slowly adjusting to Sunday school. She really likes Mr. Allen and talks about him all week but yet when Sunday comes around she is usually in tears saying she doesn't want to stay alone in S.S. We are working on me leaving part way thru the service. Mikenna loves the daycare kids. Especially the older kids. She misses all her friends from last year that didn't come back because most of them attend all day kindergarten so their parents don't need me any longer. We have a few play dates with those girls and Mikenna just loved it. Mikenna continues to show us how smart she is. On Easter, she told us that Easter was the day that Jesus rose from the dead after he was killed on the cross for us. WOW! A three year old gets it! She can now spell her name and she can count about to 40. She still loves being outside and playing with the daycare kids or our neighbor, Caroline. Mikenna has slept over night at my parents house twice (with a few sisters) but has done well without mom. I am still the only one to put her to sleep at night. Paul and Mikenna still need prayer. She will go with Paul, but most of the time will put up a fuss. Her mind tells her that it'll be ok but her heart has not come to that realization. We are still working on this and her 'whining'. As an adopted child, she will always have some issues about being adopted but we are praying for her to fully attach to all family members and friends so that she will be able to have lasting relationships with others as she grows up. God is in control and I need to rely on Him for His time to be perfect. We were able to get together again this summer with some of our 'China families' in Ohio. One of the families has added another child from China. We got to meet Noah and he is very sweet. Mikenna enjoyed being with Emmett, Mariah and Noah. We have plans on going out to Va. after Christmas to visit our 'China families' again. We are so excited! God is good and faithful to us. God bless- Lori