Family and Friends at Meet Maura Get Together
at Wadmalaw!
Chris reading his sisters a book!
Maura at LiLi's classroom...LiLi and I did a
presentation on Ethiopia!
Traditional Ethiopian clothing and food.
At LiLi's dance recital
Precious LiLi
Sushi for dinner after her recital...her pick!
LiLi and Maura in the black cab
Anna...afternoon of graduation
At Magic Kingdom
Daddy dunking Maura Genet!
That smile is contagious!
Grammy dancing with Bella Boo!
Father's Day Celebration..George with his kiddos!
Sorry for the long delay in posts...we have been quite busy!! Before I update you on our lives...we have something really important to share! :) George and I will be traveling within the next three months to pick up our SON!! We started the adoption process last October for Thomas Baishi Ward Thornley. He just turned 10 on July 3rd and is living in Guangzhou, China. We will be taking our three younger girls to China with us, as well as, LiLi's Mandarin teacher to help with translation and with the kids while in China. We are very excited about adding another son to our family.
Our timeline is:
Nov. 17th Pre-Approval for Baishi
Nov. 23rd: Initial paperwork and fee to CWA
Feb. 26th: I800 A Approved
Mar 19th: DTC for Thomas Baishi Ward Thornley
April 8th: LID (log in date) for dossier
June 7th: LOA (Letter of Acceptance)
Anna C: Anna graduated from high school at the end of May. She will start college at The College of Charleston in the fall. She received two scholarships for her first year. She will live at a dorm on campus for at least the first couple of years. She is busy this summer babysitting for several couples, as well as, working at the church nursery. She is also volunteering at Camp St. Christopher for a week.
LiLi: LiLi finished her year at Friends Select School in Philadelphia. She received an excellent progress report for her Pre K year. She finished up her dance class at Koresh Dance Company and loved being front and center at her end of the year recital. :) She loves to sing and dance...and loves to put on shows for mommy and daddy.
Bella: Bella finished her year at Narberth Presbyterian Christian Preschool. She went to school on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9a-2:30. She was the youngest in her class by several months but had no problem keeping up. She finished her Little Gym class in May. her coordination is absolutely amazing for a 2 year old.
Maura: Maura continues to amaze us. She has learned so much of the English language in 3 short months. We have not had any meltdowns in about a month. She still gets a very sour look to her face and a major attitude when we discipline her (sometimes) but overall she is adjusting well into The Thornley Family. The only medication she is currently taking is a Vit D supllement. We did get her level rechecked and it is now normal...but we will continue the supplement for the next 3-6 months. She did get tubes placed in her ears bilaterally. Of course, when we got back to Philly and had her doctot appt., we found out that one tube had already dislodged..only 5 days after surgery. How frustrating!!!
The Thornley Family spent most of June in Charleston. We are busy trying to sell one house and renovate the other. We spent many days out at Wadmalaw (where our house is). The girls had a blast riding bikes, picking berries, going through the woods on the golf cart and much more. I think we are going to LOVE living there. The view is beautiful and it is so peaceful.
We also went to Orlando, Florida for a week. We stayed at a resort called Orange Lake. We took Grammy along this trip and we really had a great time. We spent most of our days in the pool but did take the girls to Magic Kingdom and Universal while we were there. The kids really enjoyed going to the restaurant and dancing to beach music. The crowd at the bar was definitely entertained by them.
We also took the girls out on the boat. Chris (george's son) and his wife, Alison, also came with us. This was Bella and Maura's first time on the boat. Bella had a blast but Maura wanted to "go home because she was hot". She was fine once they played in the water but didn't like the boat much! That will definitely have to change!
This weekend Maura Genet is getting baptized. Chris and Alison, as well as, my Dad and Terry, will be here to celebrate with us. Chris and ALison are her Godparents. We are really blessed that Chris and Alison are such a big part of the girls lives. They really enjoy being around them and especially love having an older brother. Funny story:
This morning on the way to summer camp, I asked them if they knew that Chris, Alison, G-Daddy and Nana were coming to Philly this weekend. LiLi says, "yes, we know, They are coming for Maura's baptism". I turned to Maura and said, "do you know why they are coming to see you this weekend'? She replied, "yes, because that man will be washing my hair". How funny!! We had already met with the pastor and explained what was happening and the meaning. At the time, we thoght she understood BUT I guess we have some more explaining to do.
Hope you all have a great summer. We have the movers booked and will be moving back to Charleston in August 12th.
Our timeline is:
Nov. 17th Pre-Approval for Baishi
Nov. 23rd: Initial paperwork and fee to CWA
Feb. 26th: I800 A Approved
Mar 19th: DTC for Thomas Baishi Ward Thornley
April 8th: LID (log in date) for dossier
June 7th: LOA (Letter of Acceptance)
Anna C: Anna graduated from high school at the end of May. She will start college at The College of Charleston in the fall. She received two scholarships for her first year. She will live at a dorm on campus for at least the first couple of years. She is busy this summer babysitting for several couples, as well as, working at the church nursery. She is also volunteering at Camp St. Christopher for a week.
LiLi: LiLi finished her year at Friends Select School in Philadelphia. She received an excellent progress report for her Pre K year. She finished up her dance class at Koresh Dance Company and loved being front and center at her end of the year recital. :) She loves to sing and dance...and loves to put on shows for mommy and daddy.
Bella: Bella finished her year at Narberth Presbyterian Christian Preschool. She went to school on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9a-2:30. She was the youngest in her class by several months but had no problem keeping up. She finished her Little Gym class in May. her coordination is absolutely amazing for a 2 year old.
Maura: Maura continues to amaze us. She has learned so much of the English language in 3 short months. We have not had any meltdowns in about a month. She still gets a very sour look to her face and a major attitude when we discipline her (sometimes) but overall she is adjusting well into The Thornley Family. The only medication she is currently taking is a Vit D supllement. We did get her level rechecked and it is now normal...but we will continue the supplement for the next 3-6 months. She did get tubes placed in her ears bilaterally. Of course, when we got back to Philly and had her doctot appt., we found out that one tube had already dislodged..only 5 days after surgery. How frustrating!!!
The Thornley Family spent most of June in Charleston. We are busy trying to sell one house and renovate the other. We spent many days out at Wadmalaw (where our house is). The girls had a blast riding bikes, picking berries, going through the woods on the golf cart and much more. I think we are going to LOVE living there. The view is beautiful and it is so peaceful.
We also went to Orlando, Florida for a week. We stayed at a resort called Orange Lake. We took Grammy along this trip and we really had a great time. We spent most of our days in the pool but did take the girls to Magic Kingdom and Universal while we were there. The kids really enjoyed going to the restaurant and dancing to beach music. The crowd at the bar was definitely entertained by them.
We also took the girls out on the boat. Chris (george's son) and his wife, Alison, also came with us. This was Bella and Maura's first time on the boat. Bella had a blast but Maura wanted to "go home because she was hot". She was fine once they played in the water but didn't like the boat much! That will definitely have to change!
This weekend Maura Genet is getting baptized. Chris and Alison, as well as, my Dad and Terry, will be here to celebrate with us. Chris and ALison are her Godparents. We are really blessed that Chris and Alison are such a big part of the girls lives. They really enjoy being around them and especially love having an older brother. Funny story:
This morning on the way to summer camp, I asked them if they knew that Chris, Alison, G-Daddy and Nana were coming to Philly this weekend. LiLi says, "yes, we know, They are coming for Maura's baptism". I turned to Maura and said, "do you know why they are coming to see you this weekend'? She replied, "yes, because that man will be washing my hair". How funny!! We had already met with the pastor and explained what was happening and the meaning. At the time, we thoght she understood BUT I guess we have some more explaining to do.
Hope you all have a great summer. We have the movers booked and will be moving back to Charleston in August 12th.
