Mikenna is 5 !!

Our little one is 5 years old today. I took some time to reread our blogs over the last 2 1/2 years. My has she really grown physically and emotionally. She is one of our 5 joys and she really can hold her own for being so little. She knows much more than an average 5 year knows because she has 4 teenage sisters. The 4 older girls really adore Mikenna. Don't get me wrong- Mikenna can get on their nerves and really annoy them but when the day ends- they love her with all their hearts. The older girls love Christmas and her birthday. Mikenna has brought so much excitement to our family. They enjoy buying her presents and pretty much spoiling her to pieces. Mikenna has had some adjustments with Melia leaving for college this fall. Good thing for Skype, that Mikenna can talk and see Melia whenever she wants to. Mikenna has made great strides with Paul in the last 3-4 months. She no longer protests when she has to be with him. She loves to sit on his lap for story time and she will even cuddle with him on the couch. She loves his I-Phone and that makes her cozy up to him even more if she wants to play a game on it. Life is good and we couldn't be more excited about this birthday with Mikenna. On January 16th, Mikenna asked Jesus to come into her heart. What could be more exciting than that? She knows and understands that Jesus died on the cross for her sins and that He loves her and she loves him. WOW!
She still tries to rule the roost here at home and many times gets shot down but I think she will do just fine when kindergarten comes around and she can go to school and learn lots of new things.
Please continue to pray for her emotional well-being. At times, she is still so fragile and I know in my heart it comes from her abandonment. We continue to love on her and so does her Creator!
She has adapted well to going to Sunday school, speech and dance without Lori in the classroom-thanks goodness!
That sums up a lot of what Mikenna is up to-

A poem written by Madissen

APRIL 3RD

Waiting...
waiting while we watch
watch for a car
The sun slowly falling asleep
They're home!!

Grabbing a glimpse at her
grasping mom and dad
the air of China attached to them
P-U-L-L-I-N-G mom
into her new house

Observing her CLOSELY
She talks
the little baby voice

The fresh smell of dinner
as sweet as chocolate
Roladen,
Chicken, Yum
Clean up time

Playing with her, I imagine
what life would still be like without her
two years
two years she has become
the perfect puzzle piece to our family

Tired, we all go to bed
excited for the days ahead
to come
and go
A family of seven
with
love
for a
small little girl!

Written by Madissen Kruit for an English assignment March 2011

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

An adoption poem !

This poem was written by our Meriah this year in her language arts class:

ADOPTING FROM CHINA

EW! The smell of 'snack lane' in the streets of China.
The smell is like dirty socks your brother wears.
Scorpion, snake, kidneys, all different in taste and smell.
You take a bite of something you thought was chicken.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!
All the food is the hard work from the people.
Finally the day comes...
Everyone crying,
Holding someone they've been waiting years for.
The tears trickling down their faces.
DRIP, DRIP, DRIP!
'WA, WA, WA'
Little Mikenna's cry
Seeing them cry...
Your crying even more!
Getting the adoption finalized.
FEW! What took so long?
Even the final signatures of my mom and dad say, 'FEW!'
TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK,
My sisters and I waiting anxiously!
TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK.
The tires rolling on the driveway...
It sounds like I have just won something valuable.
Finally, we get to meet our little sister!
We all wake up the second we hear her little cries.
Her cries are as loud as 100 elephants going up and down our stairs!
But... her cries are the hard work that pays off!
Maybe, just maybe we will experience the world of adoption again!

written by Meriah Kruit (2010)

April 3, 2010 - We've been home a year!

We can hardly believe a year has passed since we landed on US soil with Mikenna. It has been quite a journey over these last 12 months. Mikenna has made great strides but still has some big steps to conquer. She loves McDonald's, singing and being sung to, playing with bubbles, reading books, going to nursery at church, and eating just about anything that is put in front of her. She continues to amaze us at how smart she is. I took her to be tested thru the school district, and she tested within normal limits for a child that was born here in the US. So, she will not need any early intervention for speech or hearing. She loves being with her big sisters and demanding their attention. (Most of the time they give it to her.) She keeps us laughing at her little comments that clearly shows she has 4 older sisters and her mannerisms are really cute. The 4 older girls give her so much love and attention. We are still the 'novelty' at most places like restaurants or soccer games for 2 reasons: we have 5 beautiful girls and the youngest is Chinese. We get a lot of people either starring at us or actually asking if Mikenna is ours. (One person even asked me if Mikenna was Chinese-UM, I didn't quite know how to answer her with out making her feel stupid!) Mikenna, Paul and I went to counseling to help her bond more with Paul. We went for about 4 months and it helped a lot. She now will let Paul hold her, get things for her and even cuddle with him but she still does not allow him to put her to sleep or she does not like being left with him alone. We are still working on the trust factor with men in her life. We are also working on getting her to sleep in her own room with Meriah and Madissen. She sleeps in that bed for nap but not at night time. It has been a long year with a little person sleeping right next to us. We know it wont last forever but we both thought she would of been in her room by now. Mikenna still goes to a lot of soccer games and she loves it because she is outside- her favorite place! Mikenna has made a lot of friends with either the daycare kids or 2 other kids that have been adopted, one from Nanning, China (where Mikenna came from) and Haiti. Adoption is a wonderful gift and we have been so blessed by having Mikenna in our lives. At times, it has been stressful and then other times she makes it all worth while. Adoption has changed our lives forever- what a gift it has been to our family. Our girls have begged us to adopt again- we have responded that our family is complete. I have no doubt that one of our girls or maybe all of them, will adopt a child once they are married. I could go on and on about how adoption was a wonderful choice for our family but I'll spare you all of that. Please keep praying for Mikenna and her trust in Paul and other men and that she will grow into a beautiful young lady that loves the Lord. What more could Paul and I want for her life? This has been our first year with Mikenna and what a wonderful journey! Praise God!

March 24th, 2010 - Gotcha Day

This is Mikenna's Gotcha Day. One year ago, Paul and I laid eyes on our 5th daughter for the first time. Wow! Time has flown bye! We thought it would be fun to celebrate Mikenna's Gotcha Day with friends and family. We had an open house for her and 45 friends and family showed up to help celebrate Mikenna's special day. For those of you that are wondering what a Gotcha Day is and why we would celebrate it, let me explain. For kids that are adopted(either domestically or internationally), often times the families do not receive their children on the day they were born. So, Gotcha Day is the day that the child is joined with their forever family. Mikenna was a bit overwhelmed at first by all the people and I'm not sure she understood why everyone was here but she warmed up after awhile and had fun with all the kids that came. I had our dining room table covered with her clothes and shoes that she came to us wearing that first day, of course the green soccer ball that she carried throughout China, all the things we bought in China, her pictures while in China and since being home, and a lot of books about China or adoption. We also had all our pictures scrolling on the T.V. for people to see our pictures of the beautiful country where Mikenna was born. It was quite an evening of sharing our journey with friends and family. Happy Gotcha Day to all our adoptive family that traveled with us to China!

Happy New Year

It is the Chinese New Year. It is the year of the tiger. Mikenna, Brienna, Meriah, Madissen, Mom, Mrs. Luedtke, Jordan, Shelby and Lexi all went to Chinatown in Chicago for lunch and the New Year's parade. The lunch was wonderful and the parade was VERY crowded. At times it was hard to see some of the parade because people kept moving and getting in the way. Mikenna liked seeing the dragons. In the mass of all the people, we actually ran into Matt(my nephew) and his wife and then Mrs. LaGrassa, a teacher from the middle school in St. Charles.
Paul and Melia could not be with us this year because they are on their way to FL. to look at a college in Palm Beach (rough huh?)
We are ending the evening watching Mulan 2. Mikenna loves watching Mulan.
Well, this was a fun day for all of us and we look forward to many more celebrations!

Mikenna is 3 !!!

I can not believe that our little Mikenna that we went over to get in China in March is now 3! She has definitely lost the baby look and is well into the toddler stage. We looked at baby pictures of her(that the orphanage gave to us) and Mikenna would laugh at how her hair would stand straight up when she was a baby. I cherish those few pictures that I have.
It also has been an emotional time for me(Lori). I again thought of her birth mom and wondered if she was thinking about Mikenna and wondered what happened to her daughter. As Paul said a few days ago, if they (her birth parents) had been able to see her now, they would never had given her up. She is such a bundle of joy and I know in the bottom of my heart that God has great plans for Mikenna and she was meant to be in our family. The joy we have is her birth parents saddness of not knowing what happened to their precious daughter.
Then I also think of her foster mom, a year ago she celebrated Mikenna's 2nd birthday with her knowing that would be her last one. I know that she is missing Mikenna because of Jane our rep in China keeps us informed. I do send pictures to Jane so pass on to her foster mom. Being a foster mom takes a lot of love and courage because a foster parent gives all their love and knows that that child will eventually leave their home for the child's forever family. I don't have enough words for the gratitude I now have for Mikenna's foster mom. She loved her so much. We know this because Mikenna loves us so much and that is a reflection of what she was shown in China before she came to our family.
I will post pictures of our birthday girl so everyone can see how big and beautiful she is! Keep praying for our little one!

A lot has happened since Halloween

My girls have been telling me that it is time for me to update the blog. So, here it goes... Thanksgiving: we celebrated Thanksgiving up in MN with Paul's sister, husband and 3 daughters. Mikenna had fun meeting Veronica who is just a few weeks younger than herself and then the twins who were 6 months old. We all had fun just hanging out with one another. Two weeks later, our niece got married and Mikenna loved the dance floor. Veronica and Mikenna entertained some of us through dinner as they danced the night away. They were very cute! Mikenna, in her very pretty dress was trying to do the "worm" for everyone. After the wedding we set up our Christmas tree... I'm sure she was trying to figure out why we had a tree in the house. Anyway, Christmas was a bit mellow this year since she had never experienced Christmas in China. She was happy to get the presents but not as excited as I had thought because she had no reference point to gear her experience on. We went to the zoo on Christmas Day as a family. Mikenna had never been to a zoo so she was very interested in all the animals that we saw. I had told her that her birthday was after Jesus' birthday so after Christmas, she thought her birthday would be coming. Little did she understand that she needed to wait until the end of January.
Mikenna's speech is coming along great. I think she has been immursed in the language so much that she really should not have any problems. We are having her tested thru the school district in March to see if she qualifies for early intervention for speech and hearing(just to make sure). So, we'll see what comes from that.
In January, Mikenna and Lori had the wonderful opportunity to meet another little girl(Anna) and her mom. Anna was adopted from the same town as Mikenna. Anna is 2 years old and Mikenna would say,"My new friend, Anna" whenever she would talk about our visit. We hope to continue to get the girls together for play dates. We now know 2 little girls from Nanning, China. The other little girl is a relative of mine that adopted Ella about 7 months before we got Mikenna. We plan on visiting Ella and her family in June out in CO. We are SO excited!
Mikenna also made another new friend, Dave. Dave's family has been in the adoption process a long time and they were waiting for Haiti to give them court dates. Well, the earthquake hit and God allowed many miracles to happen last week and Dave and his family were united. It was SO amazing to see God's hand in every step of the way. All 26 orphans were not hurt in the earthquake and all 26 were able to get their visas approved to come to the US. So, we went over on Sunday and spent some time with Dave and his family. It was a very emotional week for the Malley family but God is faithful. All our children are wonderful blessings!

Happy Halloween!

Mikenna has known for a few weeks that we had been talking about halloween. She would say, for halloween, I be a lady bug. I knew that she really had no idea what she was talking about. She did not like any scary things in the stores. So the day arrived and she put on her costume. It was pretty cold here in Chicago so we had to bundle her up. She really never got the hang of saying trick-or-treat. She did open her bag and then would say thank you. She would say, 'I like candy!' She likes the idea of having all this candy around the house. Hope you all had fun with your families.

Another Unexpected Reunion in October 2009

Well, I know it's a little late to update but we had the wonderful pleasure of hosting a very quick reunion in Chicago for our friends that we traveled to China with. Let me tell you how it all started:
On September 20th, I met one of the moms with her 4 daughters that we traveled with for lunch with Mikenna. I told Vipa that Jane our Holt rep that lives in China would be coming to Eugene, OR for 6 months for training. After our lunch, Vipa called Jane and found out that she was already here and that she would be taking a break from training in early October. The next thing we knew, Jane had a flight booked to Chicago on October 1-6th. I called everyone with 5 days notice and let them know that Jane would be coming to our house for a few days and that she would love to visit Chicago. So, needless to say, I was in a whirlwind to 'clean' the house for our company. Our friends from Va. flew in on Sat. Oct. 3rd with their 3 children, the Hecky's from Ohio drove in on Friday, the 2nd and then the other family from the Chicago suburbs met us in Chicago with Jane. The other family from MI could not make it down because they had made plans already and just could not rearrange their schedule. They did send a letter and pictures of Mei Li to Jane so she could see how much she had grown. It was a fun/crazy weekend of showing everyone the sights of Chicago. We met down at Navy Pier and the kids played at the Children's Museum all afternoon. It was raining most of the day so we couldn't be outside. Jane and some of the other people wanted to go to the Sear's Tower but we decided not to pay to go up and not be able to see anything because of the clouds. We went to OvenGrinders Pizza for dinner. It was good pizza and the kids were really good. The next day, Sunday, I took Jane to our church so she could experience a church in the United States. She was quite interested. We then went home for a BBQ which Jane had never experienced. All the families joined us and it was a little chilly out but we all manged to eat outside, play in the backyard, have dessert and then head back to Chicago to the Sears Tower. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening in Chicago and we took many pictures. The Hecky's left from Chicago to head back to Ohio. The rest of us headed back to St. Charles. Melia and Meriah did not go with us downtown because of soccer games but the good thing was that they had dinner waiting for us and the Sharps. We shared dinner together and then the Sharps needed to get back to the hotel because they were heading to O'Hare by 6:15am on Monday morning.
We packed a lot of things into 2 days but it was a lot of fun to see Jane and this was the first time that she has ever been to the states and the opportunity for her to see the children that she helped place in their American home and with their families.
We had some of our family and friends stop by on Sunday to meet everyone that we have talked about.
I will post pictures from both reunions soon. We love our friends!

4 month reunion

On Thursday, August 6th, our van headed to Hartville, Ohio. Our destination was the Hecky's house. We were meeting a total of 3 other families that we traveled to China with. A few families could not join us this time but we had such a great time that another reunion is in the works. On Friday we just hung around the house and pool. Mikenna was so excited to be with Zhan-Zhan(Mariah) again. We waited for the next family to arrive from VA. Mikenna was again happy to see Qi Fu(Emmett). She was in her glory with her little friends from China. On Saturday, the 3 families went to an animal reserve that is owned and operated by the Amish community. Then we went to an Amish resturant and enjoyed some delicious food. That evening we spent our time by the pool and BBQ'ing and the kids had a ball. The 4th family arrived from MI with little Mei Li. She experienced the pool for the first time with her Dad. It was so much fun to see the kids and how they have adjusted to the American way of life. We have such wonderful new friends from our adoption. The Lord really placed each family in our group for a reason. We loved and supported each couple and child throughout the trip and that relationship continues. Most of the families had older children and all the teens hit it off really well. In fact, Brienna felt so comfortable that she even played a prank on the one and only teenage boy. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Before we left, we shared a lunch of Chinese food. Some of the families had had Chinese food since returning to the states and some of us hadn't ventured out to ordering Chinese quite yet. But it was very good and we really enjoyed every bite. It was sad to leave our adoption family/friends and Mikenna really didn't understand why we had to leave her friends. We all can't wait until the Spring when we see each other again. We had a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LET FREEDOM RING !!!!

As I get older, the more sentimental I get. For the last two 4th of July's, I have been very emotional thinking about our future daughter over in China. It was hard to think about our daughter being born and raised in a country that very much dictates their people. This 4th of July, I find myself so very grateful that Mikenna is home in the US with us and she will grow up in a country the celebrates its freedom. She will only remember the freedom we have here in the US. Our freedom did not come without a huge sacrifice. Many men and women gave their lives for our freedom. Thank you to all servicemen and women that have protected the US. I have always loved history, but until I traveled to Russia and now China, I never realized what a privilege I have, being born and raised in this country. Our founding fathers established this country for religious freedom and God has blessed us greatly. I pray that He continues to bless this great country that we all live in. I hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July. Enjoy the pictures our newest citizen of the United States of America!

IT'S FATHER'S DAY !!!!

Well, Happy Father's Day to all you great Dads. I hope you have enjoyed your special day with your kids. Paul's day started off at church. Is there a better way than to start the day off with worship? I always feel like the Dad's get ripped off because our church always honors the Mom's with flowers but the Dad's seem to get little recognition. Anyway, Paul doesn't complain. He is now at softball(what he loves to do in his spare time) and then we are having dinner and a volleyball game with family. As far as Paul and Mikenna's relationship, some days it is going well and then some days she wants nothing to do with him. She will only approach him when he is on the ground. Sometimes we don't know if she is just playing a game with him or if she is still not ready to fully trust him. It is hard to tell because her emotions are still unpredictable and her language isn't far enough along to really express what is going on inside that little head of hers. As I wrote in my Mother's Day blog, I had a host of emotions on that day. I have to admit that I really haven't given much thought to how Mikenna's birth Dad must feel. Does he mourn the lost of his daughter? Does he and his wife regret leaving her? Have they had other children? Let's remember all our Dad's in prayer as they are such a vital part in raising our children and giving them a sense of security. Thanks Dads!!!!

Mikenna having some fun!

Mikenna is loving summer. She loved being outside in China and she longs for the nice weather when she can just be outside to play with bubbles, mow the lawn or play with friends. She is the happiest when she is allowed to be out and about. Here are a few pictures of her. Enjoy!

Welcoming Mikenna to the Neighborhood!

New Photos of Mikenna

Where has the time gone?

We now have been home 2 months and Mikenna has made so many adjustments. She is speaking English in 2-3 words per sentence. That is average for a typical 2 year old. She understood English shortly after we arrived but I think by 1 month comprehension was all there and then the speech followed. She has experienced a lot of new sights, foods and activities. We went to a minor league baseball game and she loved all the people, eating the junk food and at the end of the game, there was fireworks- she was mesmerized by them. She knows if the girls are gone that they are either at school or soccer. She is working on her ABC's and she has started to count up to 3. She is so smart (sorry that I'm bragging). She really remembers things that we say and she'll repeat it back to us. She loves to pray at dinner and I think that is the cutest thing that she has picked up from us. A big answer to prayer is that she no longer asks for her foster mom. While we were in China, she constantly asked for her and that broke my heart. I think this past month she hasn't asked at all for her- praise the Lord! I'm not sure if she has forgotten her foster mom, but I definitely see a difference in her attitude. She sometimes has problems sleeping thru the night but I'm not sure what causes that. She still is cautious around Paul, but she will play and goof around with him.(It's all men that she doesn't go to, not just Paul.) She needs to let him hold her and see that he isn't such a bad guy! Her personality has come out and she is a complete ham. If she knows she has peoples attention- look out for a show. I will try to have Paul attach some videos for you all to see a silly side of Mikenna. We will be going to Children's Memorial Hospital this month to have her ear checked out. The head of the dept. will be seeing Mikenna. (It is a female Dr., thank goodness.) We really do not know what to expect from this appointment. I just hope Mikenna will cooperate and that they can get an accurate exam. I am so thrilled that Mikenna is adjusting. Our girls are SOOOOOOOO in love with her and are still excited to show her off to their friends. We are all so fortunate to have one another. Summer is coming and I think Mikenna is in for a couple of months of a lot of attention. Have a great summer!

Mother's Day 2009

Wow! For several days I have had a host of many emotions! I can't tell you how many times that I have thanked God for all my girls! They are each precious and they were brought into Paul and my life thru nothing short of a miracle. I'll start with my JOY! I have been blessed with Melia, Brienna, Meriah, Madissen and now our newest- Mikenna! Paul is really out numbered, not to mention all those hormones flying around! Anyway, God has entrusted us to raise these girls in a godly home and to love Him. The desire of our hearts is that each of our girls would love Him with all their hearts. We know that the 4 older girls have put their trust in God's love and we hope that Mikenna will someday know of Christ's love for her and want Jesus to be her Saviour.
Since Oct. when we received Mikenna's picture, I have had a sadness for her birth mother. She will never know what happened to her daughter. I praise her for giving her the best gift- the gift of life! She could have chosen many different options, but she ultimately saved her life. I can not even fathom that she felt she had no other option than to abandon her daughter. The best we can tell, Mikenna's birth mother took care of her for the first 3 weeks of her life. She loved her, fed her and took good care of her. Then she left her in a very safe place for someone to find her. My heart aches for the woman that gave Mikenna her life. She loved her more than she'll ever know. She has missed all of Mikenna's firsts- her first smile, her first tooth, her first step, that first slobbery kiss and hug... what a sacrifice this woman made for her daughter to have life.
Last week, we received pictures of Mikenna's foster mom and the place where she spent her first 2 years. To be honest with you, until then, I really didn't have a connection to this woman. Now that I see her face and know that she helped to raise Mikenna and gave her love, I now know she also must be mourning the loss of Mikenna. She got to see all those first because 3 days after Mikenna was brought to the orphanage, she was placed with this lady. She really taught Mikenna a lot and we are grateful that she opened her heart and loved Mikenna before she came into our family.
So as you can tell, it was a mix of emotions that I celebrated my first mother's day with Mikenna. She is with her forever family that loves her so much. She has opened up so much in the 5 1/2 weeks that we have been home. We look forward to many firsts that we get to share with Mikenna.
As I close, I want to pray for all of Mikenna's Moms-
Dear Lord- My heart is heavy with the loss that Mikenna's birth mom and foster mom must feel. My hope is that somehow these women would come to know you as their Lord . They have both loved Mikenna and for that I am so grateful. You protected her from harm. You made her perfect and I pray that she will grow up knowing and loving you. Thank you for allowing me to be Mikenna's forever mom- Amen! Amen!

Church shower for Mikenna