Our BIG Announcement & the Start of Our Journey

Well, it is time to let you all in on something big that is going on here at our household.  We are ADOPTING AGAIN!!!  We are truly really excited and are once again stepping out in faith following the path that God is leading.  I will tell you how we got to this point in our lives and how God has led us over the past months.

 

Last July, before we brought Piper home, I was in my house and I prayed to God.  I prayed and told him that we do not even have our daughter home yet, but I would be willing to adopt again and reuse our paperwork if that was part of his plan for us.  The one thing that was hindering us was my husbands income.  We were just at the max of what Ch*na requires.  I told God that there was nothing that I could do about that.  I prayed and let it be in his hands.  A month later, my husband was called into his managers office.  They were changing his position and giving him a decrease in pay.  With my cleaning one day a week, we were still making what he had been only I needed to clean.  Where as before this money faithfully went into the adoption account.  He called me and I was upset but I had a peace that I just cannot explain.  A few days later, he received a call from a guy he had worked with years ago.  He told him he had heard what had happened and that there was a position open at his work with exactly what he does.  Jon got his resume together and sent his application in.  While this was all going on, we were waiting for the final travel approval and steps of our adoption to be able to get the green flag to get on the plane to get Piper.  We had delay after delay.  I was so ready to get on the plane and get to Piper but I had to embrace the delays anyway, even though it was hard.  God had every bit of the delays as part of his plan.  Every delay we had it was for a phone interview, or a call that came in for an interview.  Jon was interviewing both Monday and Tuesday before we left for Ch*na last September.  They told him not to worry and to check back in when we got back from Ch*na.  When we got back, Jon checked in and they arranged for another interview.  He then received an e-mail saying he was going to get an offer.  We waited for a week for the offer to come through.  I will never forget when he opened up the e-mail with the offer.  It was EXACTLY what we needed to adopt again.  I was completely speechless!!  I didn't know what to say but I knew what that meant.  I knew he had opened the first door for us.  O how God knows what we need and when we need it.  I firmly believe God moves mountains and has a special place in his heart for orphans.  Time has passed and Jon has been with his new company for 10 months now.

Jon and I are trusting and praying.  We ask that you join in and pray for us during the pursuit of this adoption.  At this point we feel we are going to adopt a boy with special needs.  We are also not quite sure of the age yet.  We are praying and waiting for God to reveal this to us.  We are going to act on faith and let God put that special one in our paths.  He already knows who our child is.  It is hard to fathom that.

Our dossier went off to China this past Friday, which means we are officially DTC as of 8/30/13!!  This means that our agency can start looking for a child for us.  It’s hard to imagine that our child is alive and in an orphanage in China waiting for us.  It’s hard to believe that we are doing this again.  Please pray for our family as we wait to see what the next chapter of our life is.  We will keep you posted as we continue our journey.

 

"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we don't know what to do.  God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act."             Proverbs 24:12

 

Post Op Appointment Today

Just got back from CHOP. We had a really good visit!! Her doctor and I discussed all of my questions and concerns. She wants to wait at least 4 more months before we do any other surgeries. She agreed that we need to move our appointment to meet with the cleft team at CHOP earlier to discuss all of her needs. Our speech therapist is having a hard time knowing what to do with Piper, so she is reaching out to the speech therapist there and we are going to arrange to meet and also get our speech therapist here involved. One of my concerns was whether there was something blood related or immune related that we needed to look into to see if this is why she is not able to heal properly. She doesn't think there is anything genetic there but agreed that we should look into it to be sure. She wants to have the doctor that she works closely with at CHOP also evaluate Piper and make sure that together they are making the best decisions for her next... surgery. Without asking, we are getting a 2nd opinion. As we left, Piper ran out the door towards where the doctor usually goes to after our appointments.  Piper RAN out to say goodbye to her doctor. She was not there because she was talking to the coordinator about what needed to happen for us. Piper started crying and laid on the floor. She was so upset. Her doctor came around the corner and wondered why she was crying. She reached for the doctor and she took her over to her box of stuffed animals. Piper just loves her!! She is always so good with her and makes the time to truly care about her. This is another reason why I KNOW we are with the right doctor. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray as we approach these next few months with genetics, speech and her next surgery.

We get to go home!! YAY!

We did the same drill today.  Around 7 AM the nurse took her off of the IV fluids.  All of the sudden today, Piper really wanted to drink some on her own and also really liked the broth and noodles of chicken noodle soup.  She wanted more and more of that.  Today the nurses and I all felt comfortable that it was safe for her to go home.  Her doctor came in to see her once again.  She had a piece of the alloderm (fake layer of tissue) hanging from her mouth so she had to snip it to remove it before we left.  It took 4 of us to hold her down.  She screamed and screamed.  I felt so bad.  I took Piper for a wagon ride downstairs to go to the pharmacy to get her prescriptions filled.  We went upstairs and then we waited for a while until they had all of her discharge papers completed and once they were ready we were free to go.  The girls and Jon came to pick us up.  She was so happy to see her sisters.  I think she will do so much better once we get home. 

Peeking out into the lobby

Our favorite nurse!!  She was amazing :)

Surgery Update

It has been a tough couple of days here at the hospital.  Piper does not want to drink or really eat still.  Looks like we will be here again.  Her swelling has gone down some which is good.  She is wanting to look at her books and play a little.  She has sores at the corners of her mouths which look like they really hurt.  They gave us a Neosporin cream that is 10 times stronger than the regular Neosporin.  Hopefully they start to heal soon.  Please pray for her to eat and drink so that we can go home.  Here are some pictures from today and then below an update/discussion I had with the doctor.

 

 

Today the doctor came in and she told me that the tissue did not look well.  It was dark which meant that the blood was getting to the tissue then stopping.  It wasn't coming back out and flowing to and from the tissue like they would like to see.  She said we can only hope that the layers underneath are doing what they need to be doing.  I started to tear up.  I said I was sorry and she had tears in her eyes.  She said I had no reason to be sorry.  She needed to apologize to me 1000's of times.  I asked her if it would ever be closed through  my tears.  She looked at me with tears in her eyes and assured me that her mouth would be healed.  She told me that she really cares about Piper and she said trust me I have had many sleepless nights over this little girl.  Lots of anxiety.  She said she had laid awake and questioned and went over the surgery again to see if there was something she could have done differently.  She always came back to that what she did in surgery was the best at that time.  I trust that she has always done what was best for Piper.  I know that some people have questioned if we are with the right doctor to have this happen a second time.  People questioned whether we should get a second opinion or not.  I know that when we first met the doctor for the first time, I had wanted to see another doctor in the practice.  His wait was pretty long and we wanted her to be evaluated sooner than later.  I prayed that God would give me a sign, peace and comfort that she would be the doctor to perform the surgery.  When we were there for the first time, she spent so much time with me and answered all of my questions.  I never felt rushed or that I couldn't ask any questions.  At the end, Piper went up to her and wanted her to pick her up.  That was what did it for me.  I knew she was the one.  Piper didn't go up to anyone like that.  The more time I spend with her, the more I know she is the right doctor.  Today proved that again.

When we were finished talking about Piper, she looked at me and said I just need to ask you.  You have 3 beautiful girls, what made you adopt?  I see parents who adopt who cannot have children, or older parents who decide to adopt later but I am curious why did you do it.  This was a moment I feel God gave me.  I was able to tell her our story and how God led us to adopt.  She just looked at me and said she is a very special little girl.  We are truly blessed.

3 days after surgery

Well, they took her off of the IV fluids today to see if she would drink or eat on her own.  She still has no interest in doing either.  We have tried baby food pouches, ice cream, popsicles, yogurt, milk, chocolate milk, formula etc.  She doesn't want any of it.  So they will put her back on IV fluids again after dinner time.  We will be staying overnight again.  Please pray for her comfort and that she would drink some on her own.  You will see in the pictures that she is taking some sips from her cup.  It wasn't enough to let us go home though.  She will get there.  Thank you for your prayers!

Day After Surgery

My little one is so swollen today.  I feel terrible that she feels the way she does.  She had no clue what was coming to her when we drove to the hospital yesterday.  We have been doing a lot of cuddling and snuggling.  I love this part.  She still does not want to drink or eat.  I can understand when I see her.  She looks like she is just so uncomfortable.  Poor baby.  Please pray for her comfort and that she would be able to drink.  She is still on IV fluids.  Tomorrow they will take her off of the IV's and see if she will drink a little on her own.  We did manage to take her for a wagon ride.  This was a distraction for a little until she was due for meds.  She really fights taking the medicine from the nurses.  It is certainly a task day or night.  We have to really hold her down to get them in her. 

Piper's 2nd Palate Repair Surgery

Piper had her 2nd palate surgery June 5th.  I was so scared and nervous only because we had just did this all in January.  I was so scared because I knew what it was like the first time and seeing my baby girl come out of surgery was really hard to see.  My mother in law came with to be with me while Daddy worked.  He was going to leave later and come down and spend the night and the next day with us.  That was definitely what I needed this time around.  I was so thankful for my mother in law's company that day.  It helped having someone there to talk to and be with during our wait.  We had to get to the hospital by 6 AM.  I woke up, picked up Piper out of her crib, and along with her binky and blanket, I carried her to the car.  We arrived at the hospital and I got her all ready in her little gown.  We met and talked to the doctors.  They said that the surgery was going to be 2 1/2 hours.  When it was all said and done it was 4.  We got our hourly updates and she was doing well each time.  When it was time for us to be able to go back, I all of the sudden was not feeling well.  I started getting really nervous about seeing her afterwards and trying to do it all over again.  So my mother in law asked for a snack.  I had to munch because I felt like I was going to pass out.  Once I ate I felt better and then took a few deep breaths and went back.  I tried to prepare my mother in law for what she was going to see.  We went in and my little girl was definitely having a hard time.  The nurse told me that she had attempted to rip out her IV a few times and she was so strong it took 3 nurses to hold her down.  When they handed her to me, she immediately calmed down.  They said it was the calmest that they had seen her.  That just melted my heart.  She knows her mama!!!  She just laid in my arms and she allowed herself to rest.  After a bit, she woke a little and we offered her some popsicle.  She loved the popsicle.  I think she had 3 in the recovery room.  I was impressed.  This was definitely improvement from the last time.

The doctor ended up repairing the hole in the top of her mouth, which was the unrepaired side.  She took all of the tissue she needed from her cheek and used alloderm which is an artificial layer sandwiched between her tissue.  She was so swollen when I went back to the recovery room.  It just broke my heart to see her like that but I know every bit of it is a gift.  That is what my mother in law kept saying.  She is right.  She is here with us and getting the care she needs.  Please pray for her healing and that she would not be in a lot of pain.  God definitely is giving me strength, more than I thought I had.  Somehow I just keep going.