Christmas Day

Christmas Day at the McDade household was fun! We woke up with our daughter jumping on top of us at 7:00 asking, "Is it time to get up?" Mark and I got up made some good coffee and went to look under the tree to see what Santa left Summer and Connor. Summer got some clothes, puzzles, games and a Polly Pocket doll house. Connor got a few things that Summer wrote on her list to Santa... He got a dump truck, clothes, and toys.




Summer's Polly Pocket doll house



Connor's dump truck!!!


As we watched Summer open her presents and some presents for Connor( since he is not here yet) I was overcome with joy knowing that God chose me to raise her and to be her mommy. I know God will choose the right little boy to become part of our family and I will be his mommy too. I can't wait for that day to come.

I am so thankful to God for everything during this Christmas Season at UPS. I have never jumped with Mark this early before (18 years). We made a lot of overtime money that we will use to travel to get Connor. Mark and I didn't give each other any presents this year. We want to save as much as we can. We will get something from Ethiopia when we go as part of our present. I am so thankful for God making it all happen. I am thankful we have great parents that helped out with Summer after school while I was jumping. Thanks Nana!!! I couldn't have done this without you. I want to thank my mom too. I am thankful that we made double the money that we thought we would make. God is Awesome!!! We worked hard, but it was Him who held us together. He helped me to not lose my mind while working 12 hour days hoping to get enough money in the Connor jar before referral. I give God all the glory!!

I am thankful that God let His Son be born to one day save me from my sins. I am thankful that God loves me that much; that He would let His only Son be born, live as human without sin and then die on the cross for ME!!! What present in the world could be better than that??? Not one.
That is what Christmas is all about--- Happy Birthday Jesus!!!!


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Summer's Birthday

This was Summer's birthday weekend. She turned six years old. She had a Chuck E. Cheese party. It was fun. However, it was packed with tons of people!! Too crowded!!!! I can't believe that she is already six. Summer mommy and daddy loves you so much. We are so happy God picked you as our daughter and for us to be your parents. You are a special little girl!!! You will be a great big sister one day!!! Time goes by way to fast-- except when you are trying to adopt. It seems like it just drags on and on.

Birthday Girl!!! Six years old!!!









After school at Nana's house.



About our adoption.... Mark and I saw this little boy who was a year old and tried to get him. He suffered from malnutrition and was only 14.5 pounds. I really thought we would get him. He was on a waiting list ready to be adopted so we put our name in the hat to be picked. Well, today we find out that another family was picked for him. When I got the email from our social worker I started to cry. I am working with Mark jumping (UPS- to make extra money for travel). Mark looked at me and he knew that he wasn't going to be ours. I am sad that we didn't get him, but there must be another child out there for us. I am so tired of the roller coaster of adoption. All the ups and downs. I wanted to scream at God and say why did you let me think we might get him? How much more can one person take? I wanted to just cry out loud to God and ask Why? Then I stopped and listened and said to myself why not me? I am not exempt from being hurt and there must be a reason why we didn't get him. I know God has a plan for us and it will be great when it is fulfilled. Shortly after I came to understand this; I received an email from someone that has adopted a child with malnutrition and she said that the little boy might have some problems that would be hard to deal with. I could feel God's hands on me. I could see Him saying I am not trying to hurt you, but keep you from harm.

I thank you Lord for everything.

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Received our I-171H Approval

We just received our I-171H Approval to adopt from Ethiopia. We are so excited to get this back so quickly. It only took 2 1/2 weeks. Now this week we can send our Dossier off to Ethiopia!!! So happy. I am so ready to get our Dossier sent to Ethiopia. It might not be too long now. What a great feeling!!! Please keep praying for us and our family that we will get a referral soon.


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A Day To Chill

Today is the day after Thanksgiving and we are so full of turkey and all of the other foods we had. All I could think about yesterday as Mark, Summer and I would eat at our family's house was the little boy we don't have yet. I wonder if he is even born yet and if so I wonder how old he is now? What is he eating right now? Does he have enough food to eat? Is he living with his parents or at least one of them? Is he being cared for, tucked in bed at night? Has he been hugged, kissed and told that he is loved? As I sit with my daughter on my lap I wonder if he is being held by his parents. I am ALWAYS wondering how he is. I hope and pray that he is doing great and being prepared for us to one day go bring him home. I am so thankful for all that we have.

We all helped decorate a Ginger bread house. We have so much fun doing this every year. Thanks to Nana for always buying us one to do. Summer loves decorating it and is very good at it. Maybe next year Connor will be here to help.









Today I received two books in the mail for us to read to Connor once he becomes part of our family. I am hoping Summer will be reading great by then and she can read to him too. We still are waiting for three more books to come.








They are such good books. I cried while reading both of them. I am so emotional when it comes to this adoption. Mark just starts laughing at me. He says, " I am sorry, but I hope you don't cry every time you try to read this to Connor". I don't think I will once he gets here. I am just on an emotional roller coaster and I hope one day it will level out some. I hope the waiting will end soon and our adventure will be a new one with us as a family!! I can't wait for that day to come!!!!!
Please pray for us and our family that we will get a referral soon!!


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It is Looking Like Christmas!

Mark and I have been working a lot during these past three weeks. We both work at UPS and it is peak season for us. I am glad because whatever extra we make we put up towards our adoption for travel. So we have been really busy in our household. We have five more weeks of this peak season and I will be so ready to rest after it is over with.

Last week our daughter and I made a jar to put extra money in. The extra money that goes into the jar is going for us to travel to Ethiopia. It says " Money For Connor " and she colored and drew some pictures on it. Summer went into her room, got two quarters and put them in the jar. She said she wanted to be the first to put money in it and that she is going to be a "big sister". I just wanted to cry. I am so glad that she wants a little brother. She has handled this adoption great. We have had our ups and downs, but we keep going. I will be glad when we get a referral and get him home.




My Aunt Kap called me to ask me if we wanted her Christmas tree. It was too big for her to put up this year. We said yes and went to get it. This is another way our family is saving money this Christmas. We are not buying a live christmas tree. Mark and I have always had a live tree ( 8 years). So this is something that we can do to save money for travel. Summer was excited about the tree because we put it up earlier than a live tree. We all had fun decorating it and thinking of how it is going to be once we get Connor here.




Our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree




Summer holding an outfit that she picked out for Connor (3T). Hopefully, he won't be bigger than that.

Please pray for us and that our adoption will be complete soon with a referral of a little boy. Please pray that we get all of the travel funds that we need to travel twice. Pray for the family of our little boy and that they will be comforted while making the decision to give up their son for whatever reason. Help them to know that he will be taken care of and that they will not be forgotten for the love that they have for their little boy. We will always keep them in our prayers and open to talk about with Connor.

We are so thankful for everything that we have. We want to thank God for everything that He has done for us. During this week of Thanksgiving we give Him all the glory.






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Home study approved for Ethiopia!!

Our home study is approved for us to adopt from Ethiopia!! We are so excited about it!! Our social worker sent off our I-600 approval to change to Ethiopia. It should not take too long for them to approve us. Whenever we get approved from the government we can sent our dossier to Ethiopia. We have everything that we need for our dossier except the approval from government. I hope it doesn't take too long. I am so ready for the adoption journey to be over with so we can start a new journey with our new son. It is going to be an exciting time once we get a referral and see his face. I know it is going to happen soon.

Mark and I have a manager at UPS who has adopted a boy 25 years ago. I was talking to him one day about us adopting and he told me that he had adopted. I would have never known this without him telling me. Mark and I found this out around the time we were thinking about switching countries from Taiwan to Ethiopia, but wasn't sure yet. After talking with him and seeing pictures of his son and his family I knew we needed to switch. It just felt right. Well, after we had decided to switch to Ethiopia to get a boy. He wrote letters for us (quickly) as a referral. He now is gone to have surgery on his knee which he will be gone for 6 months or so. Then when he comes back he might be somewhere else in the company. We truly believe he came to my work area to help us change to Ethiopia. I think God sent him to help us get our son home sooner. We started this adoption journey about a year ago. It has had it's own twist and turns, ups and downs, but God's plan is still going on. He has picked the child for our family and it might take some time, but we will be with him soon.

Summer's Halloween

Summer, Mommy, and Aunt Kathza went to Hope's Fall Fest and it was so much fun!!!!!! Man, I love our church. There is always so much to do for the kids and for us. Here are a few pictures of our night at Hope.
Starting our night at Hope.



Where is Summer??


Summer going down the slide



Summer getting her face painted



We had so much fun at the Hope Fun Fest!! We plan on going every year. I can't wait until Summer has a little brother to go with her. They will have a blast.

We all had a fun Halloween. Summer dressed up as a kind witch.



Summer and Mommy ready for Halloween.



Summer and Daddy ready for Halloween.


We all went to my mom's house and then to Mark's parents house to go trick or treating. It was so much fun!!! Summer got so much candy. It should last her the whole year!!!!

Summer carved her first pumpkin with the help of her daddy. However, she didn't want much help.

It is a little slimy and gooey!


So scary!!!!


We had so much fun as a family, just being together.

My weekend was almost ruined by my dad going off on me for adopting from Ethiopia. He just doesn't get it. This is something that Mark and I are excited about! He is going to have to try to get along with the idea and be polite about it. It is only going to hurt himself. Mark told me not to get too worked up over it. So I am trying not too. It just hurts that my dad doesn't support me and our decision to adopt. Please pray for him and that he will have his heart changed.

We are still waiting on our social worker to complete the update on our home study. Hopefully, she will have this done by the end of this week. Then all we have to do is wait on the I-600 approval to come so we can send our dossier off to Ethiopia.

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We are adopting from Ethiopia!!!

Mark and I have decided to change countries from Taiwan to Ethiopia. It was going to take us 3 1/2 years to adopt a healthy child from Taiwan. We didn't want to wait that long before we have another child in our home. I truly believe this is what God wants us to do. So here we go along for the ride.

We have been so busy this past month trying to update our home study for Ethiopia. It is stressful redoing everything that you have already done once. We are almost done with everything except getting a new marriage certificate and new birth certificates. We are hoping to get our I-600 approval for changing countries to Ethiopia soon. When we get it we can send our dossier off to Ethiopia. Hopefully, it will be by the end of December.

We decided to adopt a boy between the ages of 12 months up to 3 1/2 years old. We are going to name him Connor. His middle name will be part of his African name. We want to keep something that his parents gave to him. We are doing an open adoption so that he will not lose his heritage while living in the US. We have been working on his bedroom so once we have a referral we will be ready. Here is a couple of pictures.







We are still excited about this adoption journey even though it took a different turn. God will not give us anything that we can not handle and He knows what we need before we do. We are trusting in Him to complete this adoption soon and with a healthy little boy.

Please pray for us and our family during this time. Please pray for my dad that he will change his mind about this adoption and be supportive of us. He doesn't believe in adoption and I hope us adopting will change his heart!




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Thinking About Switching Countries to Ethiopia

Mark and I are really thinking hard about switching countries to Ethiopia. The wait with Ethiopia (maybe a year) is not going to be as long as Taiwan. Our wait for Taiwan now is going to be 3 years or longer. I just don't want to wait that long. Summer is turning 6 this December and I don't want them that far apart. If we would have known from the beginning we would not have went with Taiwan.

There are pros and cons with both countries: Taiwan is a little cheaper and we only have to travel once to get our child. However, we have to wait 3 years to get our child.
Ethiopia the pro is that we could get our child a lot faster, but the con is we have to travel twice and it is more expensive. So it is kinda frustrating to us.

Please pray for us that we will make the right decision for us and our family. Please pray that if we do switch to Ethiopia that my dad will be supportive of our decision. He does not like us adopting and will not like us going to Ethiopia to get a child. I don't care where we go or what sex the child is I just want another child to love and to become part of our family. If we go with Ethiopia we might not get Mia we might be getting a little boy. We are going to let them pick for us.

I will be meeting our social worker next week so we will know by then if we are switching for sure. I will post back next week.

Please keep praying for us during this time.



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What has been happening???

Summer started kindergarden last week. Mark and I both took off work to take her to her first day of school. We picked her up and took her out to lunch after school. It was a fun day for all of us. No more missing days at work for a while. She was a little scared the first day, but now she loves it. I am so happy that she likes her kindergarden class. I know she will do good at school and she will be around other kids all day long. Summer has been home with me for the last five years and now she is gone all day until I get her from school. This is her first full week at school. I already miss her not being here all day. I miss not having my little lunch buddy here with me. I know it will be great for her!!!!

Here are some pictures of Summer on her first day of school.

Summer you are so special to mommy and daddy!! We love you very much!!!! You will be a great big sister one day soon!!!! I cant wait for the day when we can all go to Taiwan to get Mia and bring her home!!!! It will be here before we know it.

Summer lost Her First Tooth

This past week Summer lost her first tooth. We went camping and when we got back home she lost her tooth. She is so cute. Here is a picture.


Her picture is a little close up, so people could see she is missing a tooth!!!

I can't wait until we get Mia.
Summer is going to be a great sister and I think she will help too. At times she might want everything that Mia has, but it won't last too long. She just wants a sister or brother to play with and to get into trouble with. I hope it doesn't take too much longer. I want another child too. I can't wait to see her face, to hold her for the first time, and to give her a kiss. I am soo ready, but it is up to God for when we are ready. Keep praying for us and our referral.

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Camping Trip Fourth Day

We got up early to float the river today. Something that I have never done. I was so excited. I have heard from Mark and his family how fun it is. Before we left we went to fish at our campsite and Summer caught her first fish.




Mommy with her fish!!! About time!!!! So happy to finally get a fish!!!!


Nana and Pockey Dey (Mark's parents) came to our campsite to pick us up for the float. They got there about 8:45 am to meet everyone else by 9:00 am. When we got to the river Uncle Joe, Kelly, and two of Kelly's friends came along with us. It takes about four hours to float from Spring Creek to the bridge.

Getting ready to float. Summer alittle worried!!!!





We stopped along the way to play in the water and fish.


Daddy and Summer at the river.



All that went with us floating. Then we had lunch after we played in the river.


The float was so much fun. Mark and I caught about 20 fish a piece, but threw back a lot.We only kept about 10 fish to bring home with us to cook. I have never seen so many fish coming up to the lure. I am hooked on fishing now!!! I want to go floating every year until I die. The scenery was so sweet. Here are a fee pictures of what we saw while floating on the river.








We all had alot of fun today. I thought we would flip the canoe, but we didn't. Not even when Summer stood up and when she almost fell out of the canoe. She did good until the end. Then she was done!!!! No more canoe for her so she says. I think she will love it once she get older. I know it is hard for a five year old to enjoy a canoe ride for more than four hours. After the float we went back to our campsite and cooked out hamburgers and hotdogs- just for us. Everybody else had something to do. So we went to bed a little after that and had a long night of the people behind us staying up late AGAIN!!!! Why are some people so inconsiderable????? Thinking that they are the only people out there. So we are going to try to sleep good, but getting ready for our beds back home.





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Camping Trip Third Day

We had a great time at the river. We decided to go to Maumee to fish. We stayed there all day. It took us about 30 minutes to get to Maumee.

Summer with her fishing pole.


Summer and daddy walking down the path to Maumee to fish.


Mark caught all of the fish. I had a couple on my pole, but they jumpped off.


We love it here at Maumee. It is so peacful and nobody here excpt the people who are floating the river. I would love to have a cabin down here sometime later on. After fishing all day we went back to the campground and cooked the fish Mark caught.


The fish were so good and so fresh. Summer was so good today and had a lot of fun. I can't wait until we get another child in our home. I love being a mom and I have alot more love to give.

Later on that night we went to this place called Rush. It was a mining town a long time ago. There are a few houses still there, but not occupied except by ghost.





Kind of scarey if you ask me. Also there is a campground down here at Rush. We walked around it and NOBODY was there. It was completely empty. Mark and I heard some chains and we got spooked, jumped back into the car and left. Summer didn't hear it and I was glad. She already gets scared about everything. The river at Rush is deep and dark. Later we got back to camp and went to sleep. Well, we tried!!! There was a campsite that had about 30 people on it right behind us. And yes they stayed up way past quiet time. Around 3:00 am.!!!!!!So we were alittle annoyed. I hope tonight will be better.


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2nd Day Of Camping

What a day!!!! We woke up at 6:00. Ate some breakfest then headed to fish. Mark and I both had a fish but couldn't keep it on. Oh well, maybe later.

Then we went on a three hour hiking trip to go to Indian Rock House. It was so neat to see how big something can be. We went inside of it and walked around. Here are some pictures of it.









We had alot if fun hiking.
Summer did really good and didn't camplain too much about be tired.









She is getting so big!!! I am so proud of her for doing so good. I wish Mia was here with us. Summer talked about her all day long saying how much fun she will have once she gets here. We just pray each day and wait!!!

Here we are seeing a waterfall!! The water is so cold!!!









After the hike we went to the river and played in the water and layed out for a bit. It was a great day camping. Then after dinner we drove to Flippin to get ice cream. I can't wait to see what we are going to do tomorrow. I love being with my family. Sometimes it is hard, but it is so worth it.

Us at the river playing in the sand.





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