Wednesday-A flurry of mishaps & delays!

It's been a very busy week in our family and a very long week at that.  Earl left on Tuesday afternoon for the Shriner's Burn hospital in Galveston,  to be in place for Arabella's pre-operative visit the following day (Wednesday).  Well, Wednesday was not a good day for Earl.  He was awaken early on Wednesday morning by the hotel staff banging on the door and asking if he intended to check out because the reservation was for only 1 day.  So, Earl went back and forth with the front desk, explaining the situation and further explaining that he called to confirm the reservation for 3 nights with check-out on Friday.  Once he worked through those details, the hotel further added, the room would be more expensive than we anticipated.  No big deal in the scheme of things but what a hassle to deal with in the early morning hours and especially given that Earl is NOT a morning person.  Then, to further complicate the day, as Earl loaded the kids up for breakfast, the van door would not close.  Upon inspection it was discovered the top wheel had come off the track and would require simple tools to repair.  The hotel didn't have any so Earl went to the nearest auto parts store.  I never asked HOW my family drove away from the hotel with children in tow and a door that remained open.  There are some questions, better left unanswered. 

Okay, in addition to the hotel staff banging on the door in the wee early hours and the van door not closing, Earl receives a call to say Arabella's surgery was to be pushed out by one day due to an emergency that involved her surgeon.  So....Arabella is going in for surgery tomorrow morning (Thursday morning) at 6:30 am.  They plan to make cuts on the inside the mouth and both exterior corners.  The actual procedure itself is said to only take 15 minutes but total from start to finish is estimated to be 45 minutes.  This will allow more mobility in opening her mouth.  Currently, the dentist is not able to dental work because her mouth does not open wide enough.  During the pre-op visit, the doctor started to discuss future surgeries and wanted Arabella's' feedback.  The doctor said she is looking at some quite intensive and uncomfortable surgeries to make the necessary revisions and repairs.

Among the flurry of mishaps and delays, also on Wednesday we received word from our current adoption agency; they were not able to submit the Pre-approval (PA)  as anticipated on Monday and required additional information prior to submitting.  China did a computer upgrade last week.  Anytime there's a computer upgrade there's always expected glitches here and there.  So, our PA was not submitted on Monday but thankfully, was submitted today--Thursday, June 6!  Our agency said approvals have been taking an average of 1-2 weeks but given the new computer system, it could potentially take longer.  Elijah is another step closer to coming home!!! 

Our Sweet Arabella!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks in our family and this evening, I hugged and kissed my family good-bye as they drive to Galveston for Arabella's first surgery. It saddens me to not be there for her during this time but as a school teacher, it's difficult (impossible) to take three days off work, when they are the very last three days of the school year....and, since we are going through Shriner's Burn Hospital for the surgeries, the options for surgery dates were slim.  It was either this week or not until late July early August.  We didn't want to delay it any longer than necessary, so, as I type this post, Earl, Sterling and Arabella are on their way.  It's about a 75 minute drive from our house.  I already miss them dearly!!

This procedure will be done as out-patient and she'll return to the hospital the following day to have it checked out by the doctor before they return home.  Earl drove down tonight to allow them beach time in the morning before her pre-operative visit.  The kids are excited about the beach time!

Today was the last day of school for both Arabella and Sterling since they will be in Galveston the remainder of the week.  Arabella loves school and was sad for the school day to end.  She has been blessed with great teachers who have each taken a personal interest and fondness of her.  They've been true angels and have made Arabella's first (complete) school year a very positive one!  Arabella continues to say she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. 

We are so proud of Arabella!!! She scored very high marks on both the state-wide assessment and an ESL assessment that is required of students who are English Second Language Learners.  As a matter of fact, one year ago her scores reflected that of an early beginner but this year, she scored very high and is classified as an advanced high rating in reading proficiency!  Arabella has been in our family for a short 16 months and this is her first complete school year.  Her math scores on the state assessment were amazingly high--she scored above the advance rating.  She's a very smart girl!

Before closing, allow me to share a picture taken this past weekend.  These are most beautiful children and I thank God every day for allowing me to be their mother!!!! 

A Surprise Blessing!

What a day!!  Our family started the day with a surprise blessing...information on Elijah!! When scanning our emails this morning, there was one in particular that stuck out because it had an odd subject line.  When opening it, I realized it was a message from Love Without Boundaries! 

Love Without Boundaries is a phenomenal organization in China.  They care for critically ill orphans and orphans with needs that cannot be met by the orphanage, such as cleft babies who require a special way of feeding with a specialized bottle.  While there are many, many orphans that are considered to be in this category, only a limited number are cared for by Love Without Boundaries, only because they have limited space and limited funds. 

It is LWB's vision to provide the most loving and compassionate help possible to orphaned and impoverished children in China, and to show the world that every child, regardless of his or her needs, deserves to experience love and be treated with dignity and care.

Here is there website, take a moment to check out the phenomenal work they do for orphans

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/who-we-are

Our son's life started out as a critically ill baby....when found at 1 week old, he was in dire need of surgery and without it would not survive.  Thanks to Love Without Boundaries, our son received immediate medical attention and a life-saving surgery.  He recovered at Love Without Boundaries and not long after, was rushed back to the hospital for additional care. Love Without Boundaries lovingly nursed our son back to health and is the reason for his bright smile, today!  Our son not only received medical attention but also received 1:1 nurturing care from a loving nanny at Love Without Boundaries.  We are very thankful to their endless efforts of love and care!

We learned that our son was in their loving care until he was 16 months old (which was the March 2013 time frame) and at that time, returned to the orphanage.  He is making strides in gross motor skills and language.  They also included a great photo of him wearing a beautiful bright smile!  While we only have a few pictures of him, those we do have all show him with a bright happy smile.

What a great day it is and motivation to continue the onward push for gathering all the mounds of paperwork necessary to prepare our dossier! 

A Great Memorial Day Weekend!

It's been a great holiday weekend!  We spent valuable time together as a family, accomplished much around the house, enjoyed time with friends and neighbors and started the paperwork to bring Elijah home. 

We started the weekend going as a family to see "Epic," Saturday morning went as a family to the library (and by the way they have books written in Chinese!), the kids swam, we visited with neighbors and found plants for the backyard.  Sunday was busy with a birthday party and great fun spent that evening at the neighbors house with friends and all day Monday was spent between finishing up the backyard, allowing the kids to swim and mom, completing the necessary paperwork to start Elijah's adoption!!  It was exhausting but a productive and enjoyable weekend!

It's funny that now on our fourth time with adoption paperwork, it's no longer a "couple moment."  We instead divided our time and conquered all that needed to be accomplished.  Funny, because with Sterling's adoption (our first) we did everything, together...everything.  Filling out paperwork, reading all the rules and regulations, etc.  Now that we've been through this 3 times prior and 2 children later, we divided our efforts.  Daddy worked in the backyard and watched the kids as they swam and I sat at the computer, kicking off our start to Elijah! 

Arabella wants to be the only girl so she's good with Elijah.  Sterling is more than excited with Elijah, he is elated!!!  I do believe God used Sterling to start planting the seed of adoption in our hearts.  For a few months now, Sterling has been asking for a baby.  He loves small children!  Ask Sterling what he wants to be when he grows up---he will answer with, "a daddy!"  Then, about a month ago, God started nudging at my heart......so, here we are starting the steps toward bringing home another little boy! 

There were multiple sets of paperwork to complete, 3 hours worth to be exact, a Letter of Intent to adopt (LOI) to submit, money to pay, a social worker to contract which is additional paperwork with a different agency, pictures to provide and pictures to be taken before Friday.  China is in the process of updating their computer system so our agency is not able to submit our Letter of Intent (LOI) until the computer system is up and running.  They anticipate June 1 to be the day and at that time, our agency can submit our LOI.  Letter of Intent is the initial steps to a China adoption.  This is how our agency will make the request on our family's behalf to request the adoption of Elijah.  I'm told it will take 1-4 weeks to receive a reply.  This first step is referred to as the "pre-approval" stage. From here, we start the paper chase of multiple and believe me it is many multiples of paper and documents. 

Okay, it's late, I'm exhausted and not making much sense so it's time to stop the blogging and start make my way to bed.  I pray everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend and to all those who have or are currently serving our country--God Bless You and Thank You!!

A Day To Remember

It's a great day!  Why?  It's the start of a holiday weekend and have 3 days to spend together, as a family. We are very close to finding a new speech therapist for Sterling and Arabella returned home from school today, with a special gift for Sterling! 

Arabella has done well this year in school and earned well over 200 tickets in class.  (Her teachers have a ticket reward system)  Arabella saved her tickets all school year and today, she "cashed" them in for the treasure box.  She spent the most tickets on a special gift for Sterling.  This was a beautiful gesture of love.  While she rarely uses the word love,  her actions today spoke louder than any words she could have used.  It's a great expression of love and how far God has brought our family.  When Arabella came home, for several months she wanted nothing to do with Sterling.  She would make fun of him, laugh at him and it gradually continued to get worse to the point she was physically aggressive toward him.  It was a very difficult and dark time for our family.  However, God intervened and with God's continued support, unconditional love, patience and adjustments within the family, God brought changes....positive changes.  Today, 16 months later, God has brought our family a long distance.  So, while this act of kindness may seem small to some, it's a big milestone for our family!  We praised her repeated for her efforts and told her she made Jesus smile with her act of kindness!   We are proud of Arabella....she's a true gem!!

Before closing,  we have one more reason this particular day is very special and will always be a day to remember in our family--and a day of great importance----no, not because the movie Epic was released (even though I have been waiting months for this movie to start playing) but rather, we are once again expecting and starting to paper chase for our next son!!  We received thumbs-up today from the adoption agency to start the adoption of a precious little boy!!!   This little guy is little...he is currently 18 months old.  We are elated!!!!  God is good....all the time!!!  More to come in a later post, it's late and I'm exhausted.

A Quick Year In Pictures

As promised, here are pictures:

It's definitely been a tough year but more importantly, a year filled with love and the joy of learning to become a family!  While at the start of our most recent journey, we weren't sure what the future would hold and wasn't sure how our new family dynamics would look and feel but fortunately, we've made great strides forward!  

Hello!

It's been a long while since our last post.  16 months to be exact and long enough, I'm having to relearn how to post a message and the other features that are now offered.  It's baffling.  It's been a rough year but God has stretched and grown us in areas and shown Himself like never before.  We are all doing well and continue to make adjustments as needed.  It's about unconditional love, flexibility, patience and understanding with lots of grace and prayers. 

Arabella loves school, has made a tremendous amount of friends and has won-over all of her teachers.  She's can be a ray of sunshine and has the most beautiful smile you've ever seen.  Her eyes light up when she smiles.  She is a good student and is already earning high marks in Science and Math.  She's still very tiny and doesn't weigh much, despite all the food and high calorie nutrition drinks we feed her.  :-)  She has learned to accept the American diet and now lives on more than simply noodles and rice.  She does have a strong personality and asserts herself often.  This will serve her well in life but for now, we are trying to tame it just a bit.  However, we also realize this is what kept her going in China and allowed her to survive the first 9 years of life.  We are proud of her strong efforts and all that she has accomplished her short 16 months within our family!

Sterling is coming along very well!  He is wrapping up Kindergarten and we have our sights set on first grade.  His speech and language is coming.  Speech Therapy 4 times a week is showing results.  We are proud of all his hard work and effort.  As many of you may remember, speech and language is a big part of our life and a part of our daily routine.  Sterling came home to us at 4 years old with absolutely no communication skills and no language at all...none...zero.  So, take someone who spent the first 4 years of their life with no language or communication skills and well, it's not an overnight fix.  Our brains are wired at birth for communication and there is something called the "LAD-Language Acquisition Device" and if it's not activated (or used) the brain starts to disconnect from it.  So, now at 7 years old, learning to speak/articulate words & phonic sounds, learning to build basic vocabulary and learning to process information heard is a continual effort.  Our speech therapist works hard for her money.  :-)  We are excited because we can now have simple exchanges of ideas/thoughts with our son!  We've come a long way over the last 3 years!

Earl and I are doing well.  We have each other, our family, health and jobs...we are truly blessed!  I'll post pictures once I figure out how to do it. 

Peace, Love & Happiness,
Sharee