Christmas with the Wagner's 2006

Tyler and Wayne loving their new shirts.

Our goofy family picture!

Julia getting ready to tear into another present.

Instead of the 3 wise men, it's the 3 wise sisters. Me, Samantha and Theresa.
Cam and Aunt Pammy PEACE'IN OUT!

Theresa, Samantha and Tyler checking out the guitar

Yes, the kids outside on Christmas Eve with no coats. It was 43 degrees here today!

As you can see, there is no snow! The kids love these deer.

The kids in front of the tree.

Grandma and Anna opening their matching aprons!

Poppa showing how much he likes Christmas!

Samantha with her nutcracker collection. She has over 250!

Julia looking too excited about opening presents!

Daddy, Cameron and Mommy before the BIG ONE is opened!

Anna showing off her new guitar. She's the new Sheryl Crow.

A post that is long overdue...

Seeing how I couldn't post this back in November, I wanted to post it now. Enjoy!

Wow! It’s November 30, 2006. Just one short year ago today we drove up to the Civil Affairs building in Wuhan, Hubei in the People’s Republic of China. There we saw the most beautiful children entering at the same time. They wore matching outfits and carried glasses of juices with them. Oh how their lives were about to change.

Looking back, I realize that I had no idea as to what would happen that day. Wayne and I, Liz and Brion woke up in Beijing and would soon be taking a plane ride that would forever change our families. Until we heard “I have made an appointment at 4:00 pm to get the babies” from our guide, did we really get what was about to take place.

The only word I have to describe the feeling of seeing Julia for the first time is love. You know that feeling of your first date or when you walk down the aisle to your soon to be spouse, or maybe when you see you baby for the first time after giving birth. Here we were and it was happening again. I knew from the minute we saw her, she was ours and I would love her forever. The best part was sharing it with another family who felt just as we did. Even though both our families have older children at home, this was just as exciting as the day of birth of our bio kids. All the new parent anxieties, all the frustration of not knowing what your child really wants…all those things were present. But at the same time, Wayne and I just stared in amazement as she slept next to us. She was so beautiful. How could we have been so blessed?

As our days in China passed quickly, Julia and Isaac blended into our routines. It was hard and yet encouraging at the same time. I think we all just knew that everything would work out and that God had chosen the right children for us.


Today is a day, as well as Julia’s birthday, I think of 2 women in China that had so much to do with who Julia is and how she came to be our daughter. First, for the birth mom that placed her daughter in a place that she knew she would be found. She knew that her baby would be taken care of there. My heart aches her. If I could have just one wish, it would be to tell Julia’s birth family that she is safe and loved; that we will make sure she that she gets a good education and good medical care. You know, when I look at her smile at me, if I could just send that smile to her birth mom, because that’s her smile. And to the foster mom, we can’t possibly thank you enough for taking care of Julia. We know that you did an amazing job raising her for 2 years. Julia is a very smart and articulate girl. We believe it was all the things that you did with her that made her what she is today.

So what is life like for Julia now? Well, she loves Dora and Barbie. She loves to dance and color. She’s a very good kid who loves our family as though she’s been here forever. We still meet up with Liz and Brion. Isaac is just as cute as bug. Julia calls him “her Isaac” and likes to look at pictures of them together in China and of other times we’ve spent with him.

Our website plays the song “I knew that I loved you” by Savage Garden. For a while I thought I would change it, but really…it means so much to me and Wayne. We knew that we loved Julia before we met her and couldn’t be more grateful to God for placing the perfect child in our arms. So as you go about your day today; say a little prayer for Julia, for her birth mom and foster mom in China, and for Isaac and his family. November 30th is a special day for us.

With much love,
Melissa, Wayne, Cameron, Anna and Julia Wagner

More class pictures!

"The Boys" of Mrs. Smith's first grade. Anna likes the 2 boys on the far right. ;-)

This Anna and Sara. They both love to wear dresses!

Here are "The Boys" of Mrs. Dahringer's 3rd grade. Cam is in the white shirt on the left.

This is Damien and Cam at the party. Damien's dad works with Wayne.

Cam and Julia at Cam's party. He's such a loving big bro!

Anna's class party 2006

New Pictures!

This is me and my cousin Tom, we've been best buds since we were little

Here are the Aunties (and my Grandma)

Here are the monkies in the back of the truck before the Santa parade in Hart

WHOA! Blogger has gone whacky!!

Hey All!

For the past 8-10 weeks, I've had issues with Blogger/Blogspot. I can't seem to log in on my laptop (which is where all my pictures are). I have no idea what happened, but it won't load the log-in page. BIZARRE to say the least.

Soooo...now that we have high speed internet at our house (YES! I love you, Wayne!! Thanks so much for convincing me that we needed it!), I'm going to work on using our dinosaur desk-top machine to load some new pictures. Please be patient!!

Thanks so much and MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

The mighty hunter

Here is Wayne with the dear he got yesterday. It's a 6pt. with a 16 3/4 inch spread. It was a big deer.

Here is Miss Julia earlier this morning. She was baptized today. What a great day!

Adoption Poems

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 you one. One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it. The first gave you a need for love. The second was there to give it. One gave you a nationality. The other gave you a name. One gave you a talent. The other gave you aim.

One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears. One saw your first sweet smile. The other dried your tears. One sought for you a home that she could not provide. The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.



And now you ask me, through your tears,the age-old question unanswered through the years. Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?Neither, my darling. Neither. Just two different kinds of Love.
~~Author Unknown


THE ANSWER
Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously
My own.
Never forget
For a single minute:
You didn't grow under my heart
But in it.

Finally, new pictures!

This is Julia at the Harvest Festival Parade, waiting to see her GeGe (older brother)
There is Cam with all the other Scottville Elem 3rd graders marching as the future Scotville Clown Band
This was before the parade
Anna, Cam and Mitch at Poncho's Pond for their Halloween weekend
Julia in her butterfly/ballerina/fairy costume
Here is Anna with a scary guy at Poncho's

New pictures....NOT!

First, thanks to Shelly for her kind words about Sherman. He will be missed more than my words can be expressed. Losing a pet is like losing a child to me and no matter what happens you love them. I can tell that Riley is missing him to.

Well, as most of my regular readers may have noticed, I have had issues with posting pictures. My 2 programs that I like to use are not working worth a sh*t. It's been p*ssing me off too. LOL!

We'll miss you Sherman...

Well, we had to put our beloved Sherman to sleep yesterday. He was having some very serious bowl issues and was pooping in the house (sorry for the visual). Wayne and I couldn't handle it anymore and we decided it was best for him and for us. We will miss him.

I love this picture of Julia 

Yes, she is too cute!! 

Julia and Isaac on the turtle 

t Julia and some of her loot from Isaac 

This is Julia and her foster mom. It was taken in May of 2005. 

Julia's Birthday

I know in my last post I talked about just posting pictures, but…I thought I would write a quick update.

We still continue to be the busiest family in the world. We’ve had classes at church, family outings, school projects and we are now getting ready for the last camping trip of the year. Poncho’s Pond here in Ludington has a huge Halloween party weekend and it’s become a Wagner family tradition.

One a happier/sadder note, this is Julia’s birthday weekend. On October 14th she turns 3. I’ve talked at length with other adoptive moms about how sad it is that we have no way of knowing exact birthdays (as most kids aren’t left with a note) and that our hearts ache for their birth families. Part of Julia’s past is that we know that she was about 1 month old when she was left at the orphanage gate. I know how heartbroken that her mother is. I know that decision was not an easy one for her or her family. If I could have one wish, it would be to be able to tell them how beautiful their daughter is, how smart and funny she is, what and absolute joy she has been for our family. If I could only get a picture to them and show them how great she’s doing here. We also feel for Julia’s foster mom. From the pictures we got from Julia’s SWI (social welfare institute), it showed a really big birthday cake last year for her birthday. In Hubei, adoptive parents are not allowed to meet the foster parents. We would have loved the opportunity to meet the wonderful woman that took care of Julia for her first 2 years.

So in honor of Julia’s birth mom and foster mom, I’m going to repost my Kissing the Moon poem. Enjoy.

Kissing the Moon

Ever so quietly she tip-toes to the gate, she's dressed you in the finest outfit. She places you where she knows that you will be found soon. The tears flow freely down her red cheeks. She kisses you softly on the forehead and wishes the best for the baby she can not keep.

She waits, the sun is coming up. There is a man on his way to work. He sees the tiny bundle at the gate. He motions to the workers inside to come and open up. They take you inside. She hurries away; she knows that you are now going to be taken care of.

Somewhere she knows what your real birth date is.
Somewhere she knows what your real name is.
Somewhere she knows how much she loved you and wanted the best for you.
Somewhere she weeps knowing she missed your first tooth and your fist steps.
Somewhere she looks at the moon hoping that you will find your way to a family that will love you as much as she does.

Many miles away that family has made room in their hearts for the little girl that has touched them in so many ways.
Many miles away, that family is making room in their home.
Many miles away, they talk about clothes, and new names for the little one they have only seen pictures of. Soon they will travel across a big ocean. They know this is the daughter that was meant for them.

If there were some way to let her know how much that family will love and cherish her beautiful baby girl. They will never harm her; they will support her and take care of her. She will be loved as though she is one of their own.

When we look at the moon, we hope and pray that she is seeing that same moon and will know in her heart that her baby is safe.We love you sweet one. We love the one that did the hardest thing she's ever had to do. She shall live forever in our hearts as the one that brought us together.

Ramblings

Well,

It's been awhile since I've wrote anything about what we've been up to. One word: B U S Y!!!! We've been running from one event to another. Cam's b-day was 9/8, Wayne's is 9/19, we went to Great Wolf Lodge on 9/15-9/17 for my mom's birthday, then our anniversary was on 9/21 and Wayne went to a Michigan game with Cam on 9/23. Phew!

I've also been busy with speaking at local school board meetings presenting our DVD for special ed. I'm loving working with the PAC. It's been a great time. :-)

I hope everyone has enjoyed our pictures. I don't have tons of time to write, but will continue to load pictures.

Manuy hugs!

Julia and Kenny Jr. at our family reunion. Now, there's a cute couple..too bad they're cousins!!