Happy Mother's Day!

Click the link below to connect to our new blog...

http://thekeeganfamily.blogspot.com/

Now that Cindy is home and part of our family we have decided to merge this blog into The Keegan Family blog. This will allow us to continue to post for our friends and family to follow and see not only how Cindy is adjusting but how all of us are doing as a family. We appreciate everyone who has followed this blog and supported us with your prayers and encouragement and welcome you in continuing to follow our new blog.

Being an adoptive mother…

Being an adoptive mother is not for every woman. She must possess not only a mother’s instinct but also understanding and appreciation of the situation that brought this child into her arms making her a mother or yet a mother “again.” The adoptive family came to be by circumstances, choices made, but most of all a gift He gave! The bond the adoptive mother has with her child grows over time. Day by day, touch by touch, with each tear, kiss, and memory made they became a family. Adoptive mothers have that special knack to let love grow.

Adoptive mothers know that she’s a mender of wounds, not just of the physical skinned knees with a band-aid and a kiss, but of the heart. She gives love, acceptance, and permission to ask and talk about the day her child was born and of her first parents.

Adoptive mothers are embracers, not only of the child with many hugs and kisses, but of the child’s heritage and history. She embraces the facts of her child’s past with strength for herself and the child.

She’s not only a memory maker planning family vacations, activities, and birthday parties, but also a memory keeper. Details of a birth, photos of the hospital, and of the parents who brought her into the world are kept along side the newspaper clipping that announced it all. All these things are kept in a special book that tells the whole story.

She’s a tier of shoelaces and of hearts. She weaves lives together into a tapestry of a new family, with many different brightly, colored threads showcasing their individualities and family origins. Together they create one unit attached to each other.

Adoptive mothers are experts at finding lost objects, but understand and validate the profound, deep loss left by adoption. She allows the tears to fall and grief to be felt, allowing the mourning of the mom not there. She is secure in knowing that she’s not a replacement, but a finisher of a race for someone who, for whatever reason, could not run any longer.

This role is not for the weak of spirit, or the easily wounded. Loving a child not born to her but calling them her own, but this is what she does, it is her calling. She is a mother!

Author Unknown

What a Busy Saturday!

Saturday was a very busy day for us all! We started out with taking Jadeyn to a birthday skating party for one of her classmates that was turning 4. This was Jadeyn's first time to ever go skating and Miata's second! What a challenge it was for us to try and teach both girls how to skate! After a little time Miata kinda got the hang of it and really enjoyed skating. Jadeyn on the other hand struggled quite a bit more trying to learn the whole balancing act of skating. She was a real trooper with her persistence of continuing to try over & over again! Throughout our time there she did get a lot better and was enjoying herself. Cindy on the other hand already knew how to skate so she really enjoyed spending time at the rink. Kasity wasn't with us because she was at a youth group function with our church.

After the birthday party we made our weekly trip to the mall for the girls to enjoy their Chinese luncheon! I don't think they will ever get tired of their weekly Chinese meal! Miata and Jadeyn have eaten here (almost weekly) ever since they came home and now with Cindy it has truly became a weekly lunch trip!!

Well after our lunch we headed home for me to get my van because I had to go to church to help out with the Amazing Grace Race. I was actually helping out in the kitchen with preparing the food for when they returned. Anyways, during the time I was helping at church Tim had to get the other girls ready for the next function we had to attend.

Our next function of the day was the Wilmington FCC (Families with Children from China) Spring Festival. We all had a really good time here and the girls really enjoyed playing on the playground as well as joining in on the other games they had prepared for the children. Ronnie and Pat Casteen was also there with there new 16 month old daughter, Isabella, whom they brought home March 26th! As soon as I arrived at the picnic I immediately went to them and asked if I could take Isabella from them, just to hold of course. Anyways, Pat said sure you can try. Well to their amazement she stayed with me much of the time! They said they were so shocked that she didn't cry and that she stayed with me because she normally will not go to anyone. She also went to Kasity and spent much time with her. We enjoyed holding her and playing with her and was glad it gave Ronnie and Pat a break even if it was just for a short time. Little Isabella is so sweet and precious!! They are very blessed to have this little girl as is she to have them as her parents!

What a busy Saturday we had but what a wonderfully blessed and fun Saturday it was!!

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

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Wow! How Time Flys By!

Like always I really had ALL INTENTIONS of posting over the weekend BUT AS ALWAYS...
There is so much to do as time quickly speeds by...

About schooling...
We continue to be busy each and every day with so much to do in helping Cindy adjust to her new American life. Though Cindy has been attending many classes at school we have still been struggling with much "down time" in waiting for a computer to be installed and loaded with the needed program for her to get up and running on for learning English. We are continually working with her at home and she is learning a lot but the need for a classroom setting and a teacher to work more one on one with her is needed most. Beginning tomorrow she will start attending this needed class and though her computer is still not up and running she will get the one on one help from a teacher with her book work materials. She is so happy about this! No more "down time" during the days! This has been very hard and boring for her!! As for Math, she is doing very well and is now having homework to do at night. It has become a nightly ritual for Cindy and Tim to check her math homework to make sure that her work is correct and that she is understanding the problems. Over all school has been enjoyable other than the extremely boring down time she has had to endure! In the pictures you see that Cindy really does enjoy her school! She enjoys sewing in Home Economics class and especially enjoys being with her classmates!


About her eating...
Cindy is now wanting to try most all foods and is also starting to like most foods. She has also learned to read the nutritional facts on the boxes so now she is trying to watch what she eats because she says, " I need to keep body fit!" She has now began walking, running, and riding a bicycle everyday to stay fit. Cindy really likes to go to the mall to shop and eat Chinese food! I couldn't resist taking this picture of Tim, Kasity, & Jadeyn as they sit and wait patiently for Cindy to enjoy looking in the many shops!


As for fun time...
The most recent excitement/fun the girls had was watching the hail storm we had two days ago, Monday! They had a lot of fun listening to the pinging noise (along with the thunder and lightning) and watching as the hail covered much of our yard! Cindy would say, "Oh very beautiful, I like!" They (mainly Miata & Jadeyn) enjoyed mom going out in the pouring down rain and picking up some of the ice balls for them to hold in their hand. I have to admit watching the hail storm was indeed a sight to see.


This weekend the Air Show was held here in Wilmington so we took the girls to a local park where they could play and still see the air show pretty well. Of course when the Thunderbirds performed it was the best! They really enjoyed playing and watching all the airplanes at the same time!

Last weekend the girls went to Lewis's Strawberry Farm here in Wilmington where they enjoyed picking two giant bucket of strawberries, which we all ate on over the course of several days! We also got to enjoy many strawberry smoothies made from those delicious strawberries! This years strawberries were by far the best we have picked since we have lived here, almost twelve years!


Planting Seeds...
Please continue to pray for Cindy to understand/comprehend what she is hearing and learning in her Bible class! She has a wonderful, sweet, gentle spirited Bible teacher who loves the Lord with all her heart and loves having this opportunity to teach Cindy in hopes that we will soon all see her one day also come to love the Lord! Cindy really loves Miss Hite, which is her Bible & Math teacher! She also really enjoys memorizing the bible verses Miss Hite assigns her and then later being tested on them!! She says, "I don't even have to think, I just know!" She learns it within a day and continues to say them everyday!!

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

Additional Pictures...

Just a snapshot of our family since we haven't yet had the opportunity to have a new family pictures taken.

More pictures of the girls having fun at Lewis's Strawberry Farm.

Special Visit!

Today we had a special visit from Bob & Pat!

They are one of the couples that was in our mission group this past summer and they are also the ones that blessed us so much in helping bring Cindy home! Bob & Pat emailed us to let us know they were driving from their home in Florida on their way to visit family in Connecticut and wanted to stop in Wilmington to see us! They are so special and so kind to go out of their way, about 1 1/2 hours from I-95 to get here and 1 1/2 hours to get back, to make a visit to Wilmington to spend the evening with us. When I told Cindy they were coming she was so very excited and couldn't wait to see them again. We all went to Red Robin for dinner and enjoyed talking and spending time together. We talked about many things one of which was China, Fushun Orphanage, and the children there. They are definitely going back again on the mission trip this summer, with Visiting Orphans, which will take place June 18th - 30th. The focus this summer will again be on the many areas of need the orphanage has. After last summer's visit and seeing how many older children are residing there, the focus this year is also going to be on trying to provide these older children with tools which will allow them to more effectively/efficiently learn English. Not only will it help them if they are adopted by American families but it will also help them if they are not. As I have explained in previous posts if one knows English in China then they will have much more/better opportunity in seeking a job. An orphan will already have a very difficult time in this area but by knowing some English they may possibly get a bit of an advantage in finding work. So needless to say it would be most helpful to provide them with adequate tools that will further the English they are already so fortunate to be learning at school! Anyways, today was indeed a wonderful blessing in having the opportunity to spend time with Bob & Pat and for the rest of my family to be able to meet them! They are truly a dear sweet couple who loves the Lord and also very much loves orphans of this world and seeks to help them by going, sharing the love of Jesus with them, spending time with them, and helping equip them with much needed items!!! I/we are very blessed and thankful that the Lord placed them in our lives and allowed us such a sweet friendship together! God is so good and blesses us in ways we would never imagine!


If you would like to help the children of Fushun Orphanage you can give a monetary gift to this mission trip and it will be used by the team leader in purchasing items once they arrive in Fushun. I am pretty sure your gift is also tax deductible but I will check on this and let you know for sure on my next post. I plan to post again this weekend and fill you in on the progress Cindy has made since my last post which has been very good and positive in many areas!

Visiting Orphans
Donations can be sent to:
Visiting Orphans
6723 Whittier Ave., Suite 306
McLean, VA 22101

**Please note your gift is for the Fushun Mission Trip.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

One Month Home...

Wow, it has already been one month since Cindy came home! Though I had all intentions of posting an update each week, as you can see time goes by so quickly and I didn't get a chance to post until now. I promise to try and do better at posting another update more quickly!

Well lets see... Where do we begin??
First let me say that Cindy has been adjusting very well. One of her largest milestones is that she is now eating American food! She has also found a few local Chinese restaurants where she enjoys some of their cuisines! So all in all we now have the food issues resolved!

As for other areas of adjustment...

At home... Cindy is doing great! She is so totally comfortable with her new home and new family that one would think she has been here with us for many years. We are all doing very well and still just cannot believe that everything has went so smoothly! Cindy has told us many many times that she loves America and especially loves American home! She enjoys going outside and playing with Miata and Jadeyn and also taking them for walks around the neighborhood. She thinks American neighborhoods are very nice, very beautiful, and very quiet! In China there isn't much beauty within the villages or the cities, although you do see a bit more in the cities especially in the tourist spots. There also isn't much quietness amongst the 1.3 billion people in China. Something else Cindy has expressed that she really enjoys is shopping! We have taken her to the mall several times and although we haven't bought much she really enjoys looking in all the shops and also now enjoys eating at the Chinese place in the food court. When we brought Cindy home she only had one ear pierced. She said that this was considered COOL in China. We told her that in America it is cool for girls to have both ears pierced. So needless to say on one of our trips to the mall we took her in a shop and had her other ear pierced. She was a little afraid at first but after it was done she said that it did not hurt. She said that when she got her other ear pierced in China that it really hurt so one can only imagine how they must do this there. We have taken her to a craft store where we've purchased her some cross stitching which she has now learned how to do and enjoys this in her spare time. She is a sweet girl and is enjoying her new life!

As for school... it is going well for the most part. We decided to roll her back one year to the seventh grade to give her an additional year (next year) in 8th grade. The reason we chose to do this is to allow her one full year to accomplish all she can in English before she enters into high school which is when a students grade truly counts and is looked at for college. We felt this would be best for her and allow her more time where she wouldn't be so stressed and over worked on learning English in depth (speaking, spelling, definitions, sentence structure, etc.) She is now attending several classes but we still do not have her totally involved in all of her classes as of yet. The school is now getting a computer set up and loaded with a Pacing Program which she will use for learning English. This program along with her teachers help should allow her to progress to where she needs to be so she can be prepared for high school. We are truly amazed at how much she has already learned just in the one month she has been home! She was already able to speak (a little) English but is now much more easily speaking it where most people can understand all she is saying. She was also already able to read and write English but is now working to improve those skills even more. As for Math, she is much more advanced than American 8th grade students so we are still working on which math class is going to be best for her because the one she is in now is much too easy. She was in Geometry in her 8th grade class in China so we may go ahead and place her in the 10th grade Geometry class but are still deciding at this point. Many times she has told us she really likes her school and her classmates which we are so happy about as this also helps her adjustment to be easy.

As for health... Last week Cindy had several appointments scheduled. I explained the dentist to her and what he was going to do as that was her first appointment. Well, Cindy did very well with having all the x-rays taken of her teeth and also did very well with having them cleaned, that is the good news! The bad news is that she has to have 7 fillings (ouch - for her and for us!!) They said that her teeth really wasn't that bad & the cleaning was fairly quick but it is just the lack of properly knowing how and being able to care for them which led to the cavities. The dentist said this is the number one problem they see with most all countries and therefore, needless to say, the need for teaching people how to care for their teeth in other countries is huge. Her next appointment was with the eye doctor. She again did very well with this procedure and her vision checked out at 20/20. She wasn't very fond of not being able to see the rest of the evening after having her eyes dilated but she was very happy with having; as she says it "My eyes very healthy but my teeth no good!" Her last appointment was with the pediatrician which she did very well at and all checked out very good. The only negative here was that she had to get two shots and if you remember she just got four in Guangzhou just before leaving China. Although she wasn't upset with this and actually said, "American shots no hurt, China hurt very much!"

As for salvation, church, and learning about Jesus... this is the area we need the most prayer in! We have been so blessed in having Eileen keep in touch with us and helping us/Cindy in this area! Though we know those in China have virtually no knowledge/understanding that there is a God much less anything about our great Heavenly Father and how He is creator of all things and how, because of man's sin, He sent His Son Jesus to save us, we now know that we truly didn't fully comprehend the difficulties associated with the vase lack of knowledge and understanding! It is very sad to see our 4 & 5 year old girls talking/explaining so much about our God and Jesus Christ and for Cindy to try and comprehend what they are saying yet truly don't get it or believe it. The barrier is large but of course can be broken down but it will definitely take time especially with the language barrier. We are so very thankful for the wonderful gift God has given us by sending us Eileen! Last weekend Eileen, Cindy, and myself spent five hours together! Almost this entire five hours was spent with Eileen talking with Cindy and explaining who God is, why He loves us so much, and why we need Jesus as our Lord and Savior. She started from the very beginning in Genesis with God creating all things to explaining who Adam and Eve were and continued to move through the basics for understanding. Cindy had many many questions but still has a very difficult time understanding/believing there is a true God and that Jesus was a real man and that the bible is more than a book and is indeed God's Word! She is definitely struggling with all that has been shared with her but I know the Holy Spirit is working and we just continue to pray for God to break down that barrier and allow her heart and mind to fully open to hearing, grasping, and most importantly accepting what she is being taught! Eileen has also been so wonderful in sitting with Cindy and I in a room above the sanctuary where we are able to see the service (yet not disturb anyone else) and she is able to translate what is being preached as well as the words to the songs being sang and also just in general about what is taking place during the service because all this is totally new for her and she doesn't understand anything that is taking place! Please pray for Cindy in this area as it is of most importance!!

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

On a different note...
This past weekend we also took Cindy swimming, along with the other girls of course. She had told us that she was afraid of the water and at first she was hesitant about getting in but she did. Tim spent time with her trying to show her how to kick and put her head under the water. She tried to swim little and she seems to be determined to learn, especially after watching the other girls swim and go under the water but of course this will take some time to learn. We spent about half the day at the pool until everyone was tired and then we called it a day. As the weather continues to get warmer I am sure we will spend many days at the pool.





Taking part in an easter egg hunt.









Cindy having fun with Miata and Jadeyn.









What sweet girls!





For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

Adoption Is Greater Than The Universe - John Piper

1st Week Home!

Wow, what a week! We started the week off with a bang with me going back to work and Cindy starting school!

Rewind to the week before I left for China...
The Sunday before I left for China our pastor called us down in front of the congregation to let everyone know that I was about to leave for China and asked that everyone pray for us and for Cindy as we were about to be reunited and she was about to join our family. Also he wanted those who may not know us to actually see who we were so once they saw Cindy they would be able to connect the family together. Anyways, following that service we had a wonderful couple (Tim & Eileen) approach us in the hall and introduce themselves to us. They live in San Francisco but are back in Wilmington for one year on deputation. Tim is an American (from Wilmington) and Eileen is Chinese! We talked for a bit and during our conversation they so graciously offered their help to us once we brought Cindy home! What a blessing sent to us just when we needed it!!


Once home from China...
After recouping from jet lag and time change for a couple of days we then, on Saturday, went to a "Welcome Home" party given to Cindy by some dear sweet friends of ours. Cindy was so excited and enjoyed every minute of the attention as well as the gifts! Even though she wasn't able to really talk to everyone, with full understanding, she still communicated the best she could and everyone enjoyed it! This was such a special time for her! It was also important for her to realize that there were a lot of people that have been praying and waiting for her to come home! She truly felt the love and support from all those who attended this social.
"Thank You" to the many who put this together for Cindy and for all who attended!!!


Once we returned home from Cindy's welcome home party and we settled in a bit, I went onto the computer to check my email and found one with the subject line reading "Fushun Friend!" Fushun was Cindy's orphanage so of course I proceeded to open it. To my surprise this was an email from a family in Missouri that had adopted one of Cindy's best friends, Lucy, (from her orphanage) about 1 1/2 years ago. Cindy's teacher in China (also Lucy's teacher when she was there) emailed Lucy to let her know that Cindy just arrived in America. She gave her my email address so they could contact us! I was shocked and thrilled to have received this email, the blessings continue to come! I was really tired so I waited until the next day to contact Lucy's mom. Once I did make contact with her I was able to talk with her about how, when, where, etc. to begin a normal process and routine with Cindy. Her knowledge was and I'm sure will be in the future very helpful since they have already been through this process and learned what works well and what doesn't. She was also able to give me much more information about some of the older girls from this orphanage. One bit of info. that she shared with me was that Cindy was part of the "4 Flowers." This is what they called 4 of the girls who were in the orphanage together, who were really close friends, and were all around the same age. Lucy & Cindy were part of the 4 flowers and also a girl named Linda, also adopted and now living in Missouri. Immediately my heart sank and my next question was, "Who was the 4th flower?" As I suspected the 4th was Betty, who still resides at the orphanage and will turn 14 in September! How devastating it must be to have watched three of your best friends be adopted and leave but yet you remain! I am so sad for Betty and just have to keep praying that she too will have the opportunity to be adopted! Please remember her in your prayers! Anyways, after I finished talking, Cindy was able to talk with Lucy!! They talked for about 1 1/2 hours!! Cindy thoroughly enjoyed talking with Lucy and since it had been so long I know they had lots to talk about! Wow can she carry on a conversation in Chinese! I know it must have felt so good to her to just be able to talk and actually have someone understand everything you are saying!


First full week home...
On Monday we were all forced back into our regular routine! That is all except Cindy as she was forced into a new routine and a new schedule!
Before the beginning of this week I had spoken with Eileen about her helping translate a standardized test for Cindy to be evaluated for school class and subject placement. I had already planned for Cindy to take this test because I wanted to find out exactly where she was in the various curriculum areas and I wanted it translated so we would know for sure that she totally understood each and every question and was answering it to the best of her ability! I had already thought this through but was clueless on how I was going to have this done, or rather who I could get to do this for me! Well that is where the blessing the Lord sent us through Tim and Eileen came in!! Eileen was so sweet in agreeing to spend Monday and Tuesday sitting with Cindy and translating the entire test that Cindy took! The Lord is so good in sending us who we need and what we need at just the right time when it is needed and we again are so amazed and thankful! We are still waiting for the result of her test to determine a game plan as to how we are going to go about beginning her in classes. Throughout the rest of the week I just plugged her into a few classes here and there. One class that I put her in was a 1st grade classroom where she could at least listen to phonics and participate in some reading. She said she enjoyed this class but she said, "children all little, little but me BIG" then she just laughed! I also had her in the media center working on phonics and English words using computers. She really does already know a lot but it will still take quite some time to learn more and to be able to put it all together. She is a very smart girl and we know with time Cindy will progress with leaps and bounds.


Tim took Cindy to several stores over the weekend trying to find things that she would try to eat and they purchased several different types of Chinese noodles and fruits. Cindy is a very picky eater and this area has been a real struggle because she still has the desire for her home cooking and is not very fond of American food. She has found a few things that she likes and the things that she don't like we feed to Jadeyn. Jadeyn is a very good eater and is willing to try almost anything and normally likes everything, so at least we are not wasting any food. Cindy wanted to make Tim dinner on Monday night so she wrote out a list of everything she needed and after he came home from work they went to the store and picked up the items needed. When they returned home and Cindy started preparing the food it was around 6:30pm. I had to run out and do a couple of things with Kasity and when I returned at 8:00, she was still cooking! Tim had a hard time trying to understand what she needed and some of the items that they had purchased from the store were not correct due to the Chinese/English translator not translating the words correctly. Cindy took a few bites of what she had spent two hours preparing and said "Don't Like!" and laughed and then fixed a cup of noodles for dinner. Tim sat down and ate most of it and we told her that no more cooking during the week. We told her that she can cook again on the weekend when we have more time to prepare. I think we will wait a few more weeks so we can both understand each other better before we try this again! That way maybe we will at least purchase the correct items to for a meal she wants to cook!

On Tuesday, we went to dinner with some friends at Texas Roadhouse and had Cindy try the Shrimp Skewers and rice. We hit a home run! Cindy ate everything on her plate and we now know that she likes shrimp.

Cindy is adjusting very well and is getting along very good with her new sisters. She will play outside with them and finds them very amusing. She is also adjusting very well with Tim. He is spending a lot of time with her trying to teach her English, playing games, and running her around trying to find things for her to eat.

We are still so amazed at how well she is doing and how happy she seems to be all the time!! We truly expected (and still sorta expect) that she will experience some culture shock but so far we have been blessed.

I plan to continue updating each weekend as to how the weekly progress is going as well as share the amusing things that take place throughout the week!



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. Jeremiah 29:11

Home Sweet Home!

Well we finally made it home and are now just trying to adjust!

All the flights we had to endure to get home were very smooth flights. Cindy slept most of the time on all the flights. We finally made it home about 12:30 am Wed. night/Thurs. morning. Of course Cindy wasn't very tired after sleeping most of the time we traveled so after we got in and got somewhat situated I just had to tell her good night and let her stay up. She spent most of the night checking out her room and watching her dvd's. She said she finally went to sleep about 5:00 in the morning and she slept until about 9:00 so that wasn't too bad.

On Thursday I let all the girls stay home from school so we could all spend the day together. We went to buy Cindy's some pants and a couple of shirts since about everything I had was too small. She really enjoyed the mall but didn't much enjoy the food there, even the Chinese food! She did eat some of the rice and about half of an egg roll but that was all. She is going to have a difficult time adjusting to our food because she has such a unique like in the Chinese food she is use to! She has already said, "I don't like American food!" Unfortunately she isn't going to have much of a choice and is going to have to acquire new taste or she will starve. After the mall I went to the small Oriental store here in our town and thankfully she found a few items she thinks she will like. This is definitely going to be a tough area of adjustment for her!

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing and trying to adjust to the time difference. Around 4:00 she became really tired but I kept telling her she had to stay awake so that she would be able to sleep later. Well about thirty minutes later I found her fast asleep! It's so hard trying to get your body adjusted to a thirteen hour time difference. Anyways we let her sleep for about 2 hours but then had to wake her up. Later she seemed to do better going back to sleep at a some what normal time.

Please just continue to pray for the adjustment process as well as the new learning process that we will all be going through! We greatly appreciate all of the prayers, support, and encouragement that has been shown to us!! This means more to us than you will ever know!

I plan to try and post updates weekly if possible so that you can continue to follow Cindy's progress.