Post Surgery Isabella Pictures

     Isabella is getting better everyday except that she still can't seem to sleep through the night.  Her arm braces keep her from tossing and turning and she wakes up when she wants to move around.  We're praying for a speedy recovery so Isabella can rest and relax throughout the night. 

     We went to Augusta for Isabella's first follow up appointment with her surgeon and he said that she is healing well and her arm braces can come off the first week in November as long as she doesn't put her fingers or toys in her mouth.  However she will be able to stop wearing her braces the day before thanksgiving as her surgeon said that all of stitches should have dissolved by then.  Please continue to pray for Isabella and thank you to our friends and family for your support. 

Three Months with Isabella!!!

     Well it's been three months and Isabella is walking better and loves it when mommy and daddy chase her around the house.  She has such a great little giggle.  Isabella had her Cleft Palate surgery last week and she seems to be recovering well so thank you everyone for your support and prayers.  Please continue to keep praying that Isabella heals quickly.  Dawn and I are having such a wonderful time with Isabella.  Dawn and I would also like to thank Aunt Debbie and my Mom for taking the time and helping me and Dawn out during Isabella's recovery.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, both of you have been a real blessing!!  Some of the things that Isabella likes to do is pretending to talk on a phone just like mommy and daddy and it's just too cute to see!!  Also Isabella loves riding in her red wagon and sometimes Alex (Our family cat) likes to hop in and join her for a ride.

     We will have a number of post surgery appointments with Isabella's surgeon over the next couple of months so please pray that all of her appointments go well and Isabella is recovering as expected.  Dawn and I would also like to thank all of friends and family who supported us and taken the time to see Isabella.  I'll post some pictures soon so everyone can all see how Isabella is doing!!  Thanks and God bless, Frank & Dawn

One month at home with Isabella!!

Well it's been a  whole month since we have all returned from China.  Isabella has just been such a blessing to us.  Dawn and I have learned to make many adjustments while we take care of Isabella.  I figured out it was best to catch up on our TV programming after Isabella goes to sleep or takes a nap.  Often times, Dawn and I both end up taking naps when Isabella naps.  Isabella is now walking throughout the house with no assistance from us.  She is such an explorer.  It's a good thing her daddy baby proof the house.  Isabella also likes to go for a nice stroller ride around the neighborhood and parks.  This past week, we all loaded up the car and headed down to New Smyrna beach, FL to spend a week on the beach.  Isabella had a blast!!  She love the beach and water.  We made sand castles and other sea creatures.  Isabella and Dawn would sit in the water and wait for the waves to roll on in.  Isabella also had plenty of visitors too as Aunt Debbie and Annie came for a visit.  We also had a wonderful dinner with the Aunt Myrtle, Dan, Debbie, Dan Jr., Wendi and Robert.  We celebrated birthday's for Isabella, Aunt Myrtle and Annie.  We really enjoyed spending time with everyone and it was really nice for Isabella to see some of her relatives while in Florida.  This week we are going to Augusta for Isabella's consultation appointment for her Cleft Palate surgery.  Please keep Isabella in your prayers as we start preparing Isabella for her surgery's.  Thank you and God bless, Frank and Dawn.

Two Weeks Later...

Well it's been almost two weeks later and all three of us have adjusted beautifully.  Isabella has been busy visiting friends and family.  I have returned to work while Dawn has been staying home taking care of Isabella.  Isabella has been very happy with her new home and family.  She smiles a lot and really loves listening to music.  She has been sleeping well through the night and likes riding her rocking horse.  Dawn has been such a fantastic mom too!!  Isabella just loves her!!  I'm very blessed to be married to such a woman.  A few days ago, we found out that Isabella has developed Chicken Pox from the vaccine she was given in China.  It is a very mild case of Chicken Pox so please pray for her recovery.  Thank you everyone for your support and prayers.  Family life has been such a blessing for us and we continue to look forward to the days to come!!  More Pictures to be posted soon.  God Bless, Frank.

Pictures from China!

Thank you , thank you........TADA!

Thank you Lord for this beautiful little girl! She has already brought so much joy into our lives! We want to thank our friends and family for supporting us on this amazing journey! Thank you for your love and most of all your prayers! We could not have asked for a better trip! We were covered in your prayers and it was VERY obvious! Please continue to pray for our new family! We are in the process of unpacking and settling into a schedule with the baby. We had a wonderful arrival when we got to the airport in Jacksonville. Frank's mom, brother Jerry, his wife Maura, and their sweet daughter Emily came to greet us when we arrived. It was after midnight and we were wonderfully surprised!  When we got home we had several more surprises! Thank you Amy for the beautiful balloons on the mailbox and inside Isabella's room! We know this day was special but thank you SOOOOO much for making it obvious to the rest of the neighborhood that our baby girl had arrived! The gifts of love continued as we came inside to clean house (Thanks Lydia!), fresh meals, homemade cookies, a fridge with milk and eggs (Thanks Amy, Mikki, Lane, and Christy!), and the yard had been freshly mowed! (Thanks Don!) We were in awe of all the love that surrounded us!Thank you for making this moment so special! Isabella is doing fabulous! She loves her room and toys! Thinks the dogs are huge by her eyes but she is rubbing on Hannah more and more each day! She still hasn't said much about Gracie and Oscar yet! Thank goodness they are liking her more and more each day and are waiting patiently for the returned praises! We have probably 600 photos of when we were in China so be patient. I am slowly going through them!  It's funny how I don't have as much time these days with a 13 month old! (NO COMPLAINTS) I   love spending my time with Isabella and Frank!  Frank and I are adjusting to parenthood with ease.  We have gotten over our jet lag! Thank you Isabella for sleeping until 11:00 am the day after we returned home! I'm posting a few pictures of our trip and will post the rest soon! Thanks again for your sweet prayers, comments and love! We can't wait to introduce you to our special baby girl!

More on Isabella

Isabella continues to show us more of her personality each day. On Tuesday, Isabella ran fever all day from her 2nd round of vacations on Monday. She felt horrible and slept most of the morning. We did venture out later that evening when her fever went down and bought some great "squeaky shoes". Four pairs to be exact! On Monday before her vacinations, we went shopping at the Pearl Market. We bought Isabella a pearl necklace, braclet and earrings for her wedding day. Mommy got a pair of pearl earrings too! Overall we had a good time. Last night, we went on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River with friends. It was beautiful! The city was magnificent with the bridges and buildings glowing in the night. Isabella was pooped afterwards! Today, we took pictures on the "Red Couch" at the White Swan. We went to the U.S. Consulate to take our oath for Isabella and get her citizenship documents. We hope to go to the pool afterwards. Isabella loves her frog floatie. Thank you everyone for your prayers and the next time you will hear from us will be when we are back in the states. God bless, Frank, Dawn and Isabella.

***note***Frank is having problems sending pics, so this post did not have pictures.  They will be home soon so we will all see tons of pictures then!

Isabella day 5, 6 and 7

We are now at Shamian Island in Guangzhou. Our flight was long! She cried for about 3 minutes, and then she wiggled the other 2 1/2 hours. Oh yes, and we made the mistake of letting her feed herself rice. Dawn was covered in it! But, the island and White Swan Hotel are Beautiful!! The hotel is very clean and nice! Isabella has a bigger crib and is sleeping all night! The food is delicious! Yesterday we went to a medical clinic for immunizations and a medical check-up for Isabella. She weighs 18.2 pounds. She received four shots. Two in each leg. Mommy and baby both cried. Afterwards, we strolled around the island and did some shopping. Shamain Island is like Savannah in many ways. It's very artsy and has squares with local shops. Today we took Isabella swimming! The pool had a waterfall and was very pretty. A few more highlights...The White Swan Hotel had a special Barbie doll with a blonde Barbie holding a Chinese baby and a very nice letter expressing the hotel's gratitude about adopting Isabella. The hotel had a play room designed by Mattel just for babies and younger children. Isabella loved playing in there. Tonight we are going to Lucy's, an American theme restaurant and then more shopping. Did I mention they have great squeaky shoes? Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and we can't wait for Isabella to meet everyone when we return from China.

Day #3 and #4 with Isabella!!

Day three and four with Isabella is wonderful! She is such a sweet, beautiful blessing! She has a cold so please pray that she will get well before we fly home. A few things we have learned, she loves bananas, playing with her toys, and bath time. She has the best little laugh. When she does laugh she crinkles up her nose. It is too cute!! During our stay in Zhengzhou, we have been to the park and a Museum. Isabella is really good in a high chair. Mommy and daddy are happy about that. I have a few thank you's I need to give. Thank you Kim for updating our blog! Thanks Sharon for making Isabella this precious dress! Thanks Lori for this fabulous hat! She is too cute in this outfit! I hope you enjoy the pictures! Lori - I hope you are feeling better. We are praying for a speedy recovery! A few more thank you's. Amy, thanks for the "Sleep Sheep" and baby food! They both are a huge hit with Isabella. Geraldine, thank you for taking us to the airport at 3:30 am! The leggings you gave Isabella fit perfect! Thank you friends and family for your prayers! Please continue to pray! It's working!!

Cutie Patootie!

ZhengZhou Museum

Things are going well with Isabella

She is so sweet! The first day was unbelievable! She played, ate, took a bath great, slept all night 9-7. Both mommy and daddy were happy about that. Day #2 went well also. We finished our paperwork and she is officially a FEGEL! We have taken a lot of pictures of Isabella and we will share them with everyone when we return from China! Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we are looking forward to returning home.
Love Frank and Dawn.

We are about to meet Isabella!!!!

Today is Sunday, we have been busy over the past few days. We went to the Great Wall, the Olympic Bird's Nest and Water Cube. We went to a Jade Factory and Silk Factory. Last night we saw a Chinese Acrobat Show that was AMAZING! I am so proud of Frank! He has been so at ease in China! We flew to Zhengzhou today and are at the Crown Plaza. This hotel is nice! We went to dinner tonight with a big group of friends and we all went to walmart to get things for our babies and little ones. While we were at dinner, they brought in the baby crib............we are reallly doing this! Tomorrow is the big day!!! We will meet Isabella at 9:30 am!!! Keep us in your prayers! We pray that she will attach easily! I had more paper work on her today. They said she LOVES PUPPIES!!! Imagine that! She is going to fit in with Oscar, Hannah, and Gracie! I will try to get picture down loaded soon. It has been hard with computer issues! Thank you for your support & prayers! Keep them coming! God is listening and holding us in his hand! We feel very realxed and at ease........Let's hope we feel that way at lunch time!

Love~

Dawn

We're here in China!

We are enjoying Beijing! The flight over was long but smooth and we had GREAT seats! We slept as much as possible on the plane but we were still wiped out when we got here. We are staying at the Holiday Inn in Beijing and the room is nice and large. Today we went to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and went for a ride on a Rickshaw Bicycle. We toured a silk factory and bought some awesome silk pillows and sheets. We also bought some beautiful dresses for Isabella and Carson (our newest niece). At lunch we went to a Tai Restaurant and watched traditional Chinese dancers. We have met several families traveling in the group and are getting to know more about each of them as the days pass. We are counting down the days until we meet Isabella. We have taken lots of pictures and will upload them the next time we get on the computer. Tomorrow, we have plans to see the Great Wall and a Chinese Acrobat Show.

Please continue to send lots of prayers! We have received them! They are working! Frank has not been anxious and I have been really relaxed! Thank you Lord for your protection and Safety! Please continue to look after our family! Also, thank you for baby Carson! I hear she is beautiful! and I can't wait to meet her! I have a beautiful dress for you baby girl! THANK YOU LORD FOR ALL OF THE BLESSINGS YOU HAVE GIVEN US AND ALL THE WONDERFUL ONES WE ARE YET TO RECEIVE WITH THE BIGGEST BEING ISABELLA!

Love,

Dawn & Frank

We're Packing Our Bags!!!! Isabella is 13 Months Old!

Our bags are packed and we are ready to go and get our “BABY GIRL!” We will be leaving for China on Wednesday, July 14th. We will spend a few days touring in Beijing and then on the 18th, we will be traveling to Zhengzhou to get Isabella. We will get her on the 18th. This will be her "GOTCHA DAY!" She will officially be our daughter on July 20th. We will then travel to Guangzhou for her medical exam. We will be there a few days and then we will travel to Hong Kong. We will arrive back in the states on July 31st in Jacksonville, Florida at 11:15 PM. Please remember to keep us in your prayers as we travel and begin parenting Isabella. These weeks will be very busy and very exciting! Diane, my sister, will also begin motherhood this week. She should deliver her daughter Carson the day before we leave. I am so happy she will have Josh, Memaw, Aunt Debbie and Sharon to help her as she transitions into these new and exciting days! Thank you for being there for Diane and Josh as we travel! I would love to see Carson before we travel, but unless she gets her show on the road soon; we will have to meet in August!

Heavenly Father, please let this transition into motherhood be happy and as painless as possible for both Diane and me. I pray for guidance and patience for me, Frank, Josh, and Diane! I pray that you will provide us with everything we will need to provide the love, support and respect these beautiful little girls will need their entire life. I pray that you nurture and protect Diane as she is bringing Carson into the world! I pray that she will be ready and running when she begins her new life with this precious baby girl! I love you Diane! I am so thrilled and happy for you! I might not be here for the delivery, but I can assure you I will be here for the rest of Carson’s life! I am so happy I have my two best friends (you and Frank) to share this new chapter of our lives! I can’t wait for this new adventure to begin!

Getting Ready For China and Baby Carson!

WOW! I can't believe that we are finally packing to go get Isabella!!!! This journey has been long and emotional but we are almost at the end. WE look forward to the beginning of our new life with our beautiful daughter Isabella. She will be 13 months old when we meet her. We will fly out of Jacksonville, FL on July 14th. We will be back on July 31st. Please pray for us as we travel, start the newness of being parents, and as we come together as a family. We pray that Isabella will adjust to her new life with us, attach with ease, and that she will be HAPPY. We will be in the following cities in China as we travel. Beijing, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Please keep us in your prayers! Please pray for Diane, Josh and baby Carson as they experience the newness of their family and parenthood. I am praying that Diane will have the baby before the 12th so that I can meet Carson before we travel. Carson~ Hurry up and get here! Your Auntie D. wants to meet you! Diane and I will finally experience the joys of motherhood! I wish Mama was here to meet both of these little ladies. But knowing how WONDERFUL our God is, I'm sure she has already met and loved them before we knew they were ours! Thank you Lord for Carson and Isabella. I pray that you give us everything we need to be Great Godly parents! I pray that these girls will have long and happy lives!

God Bless~

Dawn

Celebrating Isabella's Life!

Lord, we ask that you protect our baby girl. We ask that she will be with Godly care givers until we can get her. Please protect her and keep her safe! Thank you for giving her to us! Thank you for the life she has already had and the one she will begin with our family! May her life always be full of peace and love!

Isabella's Birthday

On June 11th, Isabella turned "ONE". It was a bittersweet day for us. We were so happy that we finally had a daughter, and at the same time so sad that we could not be with her to celebrate her big day. I decided to bake a cake and celebrate here with Frank. We celebrated her birth and thanked God for giving her life and for making her our daughter! We sang happy birthday and blew out the candles. Birthdays are a celebration of life and we decided to celebrate from a far. We put out Isabella's picture and celebrated as if she was here with us! We plan on giving her another birthday party sometime this summer to celebrate with family and friends.

Baby Showers........

I am running several weeks behind on posting. To catch everyone up, we had a baby shower at the Wynn Reunion and a baby shower at the Harter's on May 23rd. This was a busy weekend! Diane also had a baby shower in Valdosta on Saturday. Frank and I were given lots of great things for Isabella! We are truly blessed by our friends and family! Isabella is going to be well dressed! Diane is at the end of her pregnancy with Carson. We hope she arrives before we leave for China. Today, we should find out if we will be leaving on July 7th or July 14th. It is also my last day of work at SAS. I have a huge list of things that need to be done before I can begin to pack for China.

WAHOOO! Our Chinese Letter of Acceptance is Here!

We are soooooo happy to tell everyone that we are officially approved to adopt Isabella Grace. Please continue to pray that we will be united with Isabella before her birthday on June 11th. We also are praying that God will provide the funds we need for Isabella's cleft palate surgery. He continues to bless us each day with more good news about getting one step closer to bringing home Isabella. We are preparing to travel at the end of May or first of June if possible! We both are thrilled and are so thankful for today's blessings!
Love,
Dawn & Frank

We Are Matched!!! Our Baby Girl Will Be Home Soon!!!

Dawn and I are proud to announce that we have been matched and accepted a beautiful baby girl who is 9 months old. Dawn and I ask that you keep her in your prayers as she will still need surgery for her cleft palate once she is home. Her american name will be Isabella Grace Fegel. This has been what seems like a long journey that will now be over soon. The next step for Dawn and I will be, of course fill out more paperwork and then travel to China in about 3-5 months from now to bring Isabella home. We would like to say thankyou to everyone who has already sent their warm wishes to Dawn and I. We will keep everyone posted when the time nears for us to travel. Take care, and God bless!!

Chinese New Year....

We are still waiting to be matched with our daughter. We have decided to name her Isabella Grace. We decided to join the Savannah Families of Chinese Children group so we could be with other families who have adopted children from China. On Valentine's Day we celebrated the Chinese New Year with the SFCC group at Chen's which is a great Chinese restaurant in Savannah. We had a fabulous time getting to know all of the families and really enjoyed all of the children ranging from 15 months to 15 years old. I've included a picture of me with Stephanie and Jamie, two of my former students who also are a part of the group. We had a great time and look forward to more activities with the group. More good news.......yesterday we found out that my sister Diane is having a little girl and is naming her Carson....... so Isabella will have a family play mate in July. Continue to pray that Isabella will be safe, healthy, happy, and with a Godly caregiver until we can be together.

Love,

Dawn & Frank

Isabella update....

We are still anxiously awaiting a child match. We had heard that there were only five more people to match before we would be matched with our daughter Isabella. We are praying that we will be matched before Valentine's Day! Isabella's room is ready for her! It is pink and is decorated with dragonflies, butterflies, and lady bugs. On a praise note, we are so happy and thankful that the families who have been waiting to adopt children from Haiti have been matched and have gone to Haiti to collect their loved ones! WHOOO- HOO! God has shown His glory in a devastating situation! We are praying that God will continue to take care of all the people who are in Haiti with the relief efforts. May God give them the emotional and physical stamina to overcome any obstacles while they are there and surround them with angels as they help!