PUZZLE UPDATE!!

I wanted to update you on our puzzle fundraiser.  I apologize for not updating sooner.  We have had people purchasing from church and I have been updating on Facebook.  It has been harder to blog this time around with going to the doctors for Yu Mei and looking ahead to her palate repair surgery.  This may happen right before we are traveling to bring our son home.  I homeschool my older two, so things have been quite busy around here.  I am hoping to be able to blog a little more and do some catch up, so look for some posts that will be coming. 

Right now, we are continuing to do our Puzzle Piece Fundraiser.  We have been completely amazed at how God has been providing with this.  Last week I was having a hard day thinking about the funds and how they are going to get paid.  With Yu Mei's adoption every penny was provided for and when we did our fundraisers he provided exactly what we needed at that moment.  He is continuing to do the same with our son.  When I went to the mailbox, there was an envelope addressed by someone I did not know.  I opened it up and there was a $500 check written out to us.  I had heard of those things happening to other people but never expected it to happen to us.  Later I found out that the check was from someone my husband had went to grade school with.  What a complete blessing. God knew I needed it right at that moment.  So, we have had 233 pieces of our puzzle donated so far.  We are almost halfway there to 500.  If you would like to donate, please click on the PayPal link to make your donation.  Each piece is $10 and we will write your name, favorite verse, or message you would like written on the back.  We are going to frame it so we can see both sides and so that we will remember each piece of who helped us bring our son home.  Here is what our puzzle looks like so far:

Adoption #2 Update: WE GOT A REFERRAL!!!

Jenn and I wanted to announce that we received a referral of a little boy 15 months of age from Northern Ch*na.  It is interesting to see how God works.  Prior to our referral Jenn had been following a little girls story by the name of “Lily”.  Lily has a heart condition and has been in and out of the hospital fighting a battle.  There was a facebook post of this little girl recently singing a son.  It brought her to tears as she listened to it.  She knew she needed to find the song.  As she put some of the words into YouTube she found that the song was called “All of Me” by Matt Hammitt.  He sounded just like the lead singer of Sanctus Real, which is her favorite group.  A lot of their songs spoke to her while we were on our adoption journey to Yu Mei (Piper—we are calling her by her Ch*nese name).  In searching, she found out that Matt Hammitt is the lead singer of Sanctus Real.  She started listening to the words and the meaning behind the song.  In searching she also found that he has a blog that he has because his son was born with a heart condition.  This song was written about his son.  The song talks about what it was like to go through a heart condition with his son.  As Jenn reflected on the words of this song it brought tears to her eyes.  You see we have been praying for little Lily for some time now.  She is a sweet little girl that was adopted from Ch*na and has been fighting a tough battle with a heart condition.  During that week we felt God giving us a new perspective of heart conditions.  It is interesting how God prepares the heart at times but we don’t always know exactly what it’s all about.

On Thursday December 6^th, we received the call for a referral of a little boy.  This little boy had a heart condition.  He is diagnosed with ASD which means he has a 5mm hole in the heart.  It is interesting because to this day I believe God prepared us for this little guy.  We began to pray and surrender to God for his direction with this little guy.  Jenn and I always told ourselves no matter what the condition we were presented with we would give it to our heavenly father.  You see God has already called him by name.  He has already chosen his family.  All we needed to do was surrender and allow God to reveal whether or not he was our son.  I met with small group that Friday night and we prayed for this referral.  We prayed God would reveal his answer to us and give us an overwhelming sense of peace.  Let’s just say that is what God did.  You see when we surrender our hearts to the father he reveals things that are not human like.  They are signs that can only come from him.  It was Saturday and Jenn was on the TV using YouTube to google Matt Hammitt’s song so I could hear it.  I was in the bathroom shaving and we were getting ready to begin our day.  Jenn yelled to me you have to come here.  We listened to a YouTube video of Matt Hammitt “Sanctus Real singer talk about the day his son’s heart stopped.  The day his heart stopped was September 14^th.  (not the same year as his son)  This was the same day our little guy was found abandoned in China.  The story of Matt Hammits son was incredible and they were able to bring him back to life.  Jenn and I and our girls were amused by how these dates lined up.  For some reason we didn’t put it together before but I mentioned to Jenn that we were in China that day our little guy was found.  As we thought back we realized that we landed in Beijing Ch*na on September 13 to go Yu Mei our first adoption.  The very next day we toured the Great Wall of China and our little guy was found abandoned several hours north of where we were.  Very interesting to see how God weaves a story behind life as we live it.  You see we serve a HUGE GOD….  A God that is merciful and is our great provider.  When we submit to his plans for our lives he reveals himself through a story that can be told to many.  If not told to many it is a story that can be imbedded in the heart to last for a lifetime…  We knew he was ours.  We knew we needed to formerly write our Letter of Intent to our agency.  We wrote it before we had our medical review with CHOP.  He was part of our family.

Here are the lyrics to the song “All of Me” by Matt Hammitt

Afraid to love
Something that could break
Could I move on
If you were torn away

And I'm so close
To what I can't control
I can't give you half my heart
And pray He makes you whole

You're gonna have all of me
You're gonna have all of me
Cause you're worth every falling tear
You're worth facing any fear
You're gonna know all my love
Even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts
But giving you all of me
Is where I'll start

I won't let sadness
Steal you from my arms
I won't let pain
Keep you from my heart
I'd trade the fear
Of all that I could lose
For every moment
I'll share with you

You're gonna have all of me
You're gonna have all of me
Cause you're worth every falling tear
You're worth facing any fear
You're gonna know all my love
Even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts
But giving you all of me
Is where I'll start

And Heaven brought you to this moment
It's too wonderful to speak
You're worth all of me
You're worth all of me
So let me recklessly love you
Even if I bleed
You're worth all of me
You're worth all of me

You're gonna have all of me
You're gonna have all of me
Cause you're worth every falling tear
You're worth facing any fear
You're gonna know all my love
Even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts
But giving you all of me
Is where I'll start

You're gonna have all of me
Cause you're worth every falling tear
You're worth facing any fear
You're gonna know all my love
Even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts
But giving you all of me
Is where I'll start
It's where I'll start

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50ygAc2qP5A

The following week we sent the referral file to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to be reviewed.  We already knew God’s answer for us but we wanted to be more educated on his condition so we knew how we could help him.  The doctor talked a lot about his file.  There is a good chance that since he was born with this condition that the hole in his heart could heal all on his own.  If not around the age of three or older they would do a procedure to close the hole in his heart.  Please join us in prayer for our little boy that God would heal his heart.  We know God specifically has a plan for our little one and we can’t wait to see his story be told.   A couple that we traveled with to Ch*na adopted a two year old girl.  She also had a hole in her heart like our little one.  I still to this day remember being in Guangzhou, Ch*na where we all were getting our children’s medical checks done by the doctor.  I remember our friend of this little girl running up to Jenn and I in tears telling us it’s healed….  Her hole in her heart was healed….  Awesome experience to witness as God provided a great blessing that day to this family.

Where we are now:

We have submitted our Letter of Intent (LOI) requesting to adopt him on 12/11/13.  We are currently waiting for our formal Letter of Acceptance (LOA) which is our official approval from Ch*na.  Our paperwork has been translated and needs to go through the review process and then approval state before we receive our LOA.  Currently we are praying that God would provide the funds to pay for our adoption.  We have seen him work with Yu Mei’s adoption and he moved mountains!!  We cannot post a picture of our little one until we receive our LOA.  If you see us please ask us to see his picture.  He is a cutie!! 

Currently we are doing a puzzle piece fundraiser to help with our adoption funds.  Each piece is $10.  We will write your name or favorite verse on the back of the puzzle piece.  We are putting it together as we go.  We plan on framing it so that both sides of the puzzle will be seen so we can remember each piece of “our puzzle.”  Thank you to those who have already contributed.  I will post a picture of our puzzle to show you the progress.  Please pray for us as we wait for our little one.  Since we have been matched we have received a $11,360 invoice that we are working towards paying.  If you feel led to helping us with our fundraiser please feel free to contact me or use the donate button to contribute. 

 

Here is another song Jenn found after we wrote this post tonight:

Trust by Matt Hammitt

Verse 1
Lest I'm tempted to forget
I'll tie Your love around my neck
I'll write Your words upon my heart
Lord I won't forget how good You are

Verse 2
I'll dwell upon Your faithfulness
I'll rest within Your promises
And when I'm walking through the dark
Lord I won't forget how good You are

Chorus
I will trust
I will trust You
I will trust You Lord with all my heart
And I won't forget how good You are
No I won't forget how good You are

Verse 3
You gave me everything I have
And my whole life is in Your hands
When what I fear is closing in
Lord Your faithfulness will never end
Your faithfulness will never end

Bridge
And even in the darkness
Even in the questions
Even when the hardest time of life are at hand
And even in the darkness
Even in the questions
Even in the times that I'm not meant to understand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maRMivc5vB4&list=RD50ygAc2qP5A

Orphan Sunday & The Start of our Puzzle Piece Fundraiser

Today was Orphan Sunday.  I woke up and emotions started flowing in the morning as I got ready to head to church.  Knowing that we have a little one halfway across the world and wondering what they are doing, if someone is loving them, if they are being taken care of etc. crossed my mind.  Also we had prepared for Orphan Sunday by picking a  video to be played at the beginning of church and an interview of two girls that were adopted from Foster care to see their side of adoption.  I was wondering how it would all go and if people would see a new view of adoption and orphan care.  It was very powerful and so moving!!  I cried even though I was there for the interview, I edited the video and then there in church I cried again.  There were many tears and I think that people were able to get a glimpse and see that the need is great.  After the message everyone who had previously adopted, those who have been adopted, or those that are in process of adopting or foster care got up in the front of the church and our pastor prayed over us.  It was amazing!!  Such a wonderful morning recognizing the least of these.  Thinking and praying for our little one who we already love so much.  Praying that we will know who our little one is soon.  I know it is all in God's timing. 

Today was a great day to launch our Puzzle Piece Fundraiser.  We purchased a 500 piece puzzle that we will be putting together as pieces are purchased.  Each piece is $10 and we will write your name, favorite verse or message on the back of the piece.  Consider purchasing one for your family or one for each family member.  We will put it all together and then frame it so we can see both sides of the puzzle and always see the pieces that helped us bring our little one home.  Feel free to send me a message or use the paypal link to make your purchases.  Make sure to tell me what you would like to have on the back of your puzzle pieces.  So far we sold 64 pieces!!  Please help us put more pieces together :) 

Speech & Language Evaluation

Piper has been getting speech since February after her first palate repair.  I love her speech therapist!  She is the sweetest thing.  Piper was doing really well with speech but lately has not been doing well.  She is extremely strong willed and if she doesn't want to do something....It just isn't gonna happen!!  She holds strong.  3 weeks ago she really was not budging.  She spent a good amount of time on the step and then finally came around when her sister came and was enjoying some games and activities with our speech therapist.  The last two times she has done AMAZING!!  Hearing her say the alphabet and hearing her put 2 and 3 words together has been so neat.  At night when I put her to bed she has been singing Jesus loves me and you are my sunshine.  It is the sweetest sound to my ears hearing her precious voice.  The challenge with speech has come because her palate is still  not fully repaired.  Our speech therapist is not sure what to do with her so she has been working on placement, vowels, picture recognition and similar words that have most of the same letters but a different ending sound.  We decided that it was a good idea to have her evaluated by a speech therapist at CHOP who deals with cleft lip and cleft palate on a regular basis.  We wanted to get her take on where Piper is with speech and make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can for our little girl.  She is so young and they learn so quick.  I just want to make sure that we are utilizing every possible avenue we can to help her with speech.  I know we have a long road ahead so it my job to do this. 

Today we went to CHOP for a speech evaluation.  Her receptive language is very well.  She understands so much.  If you give her directions she can mostly figure out what you are asking and then do what you tell her.  Her speech language is very weak.  It is hard to understand her.  I know her lingo and her 2 year old noises and I can figure out what she wants or needs.  I had really thought she was doing well with communicating until I actually paid attention.  Some of what she says is a noise or a gesture.  It is not always a word.  They recommended increasing speech to 2 times per week instead of the 1 we are doing now.  She recommended working on placement to get where your lips and mouth move in order to make the correct sound.  When her mouth is fully repaired then she will know how to say it.  She has also been saying the alphabet.  She recommended reading some repetitive books to her and having her try to repeat the part that is being repeated.  She recommended us trying to do play to show possession, show under the chair/over the chair etc.  She also recommended her going to a peer play group.  She recommended showing her picture cards to help her develop more words and being able to put the two together.  She also recommended signing with words.  We have done some of this already and it has really helped.  She would sign what she was trying to say first then when she learned the word she would say it and sign it.  Now for some things she just says the word and I know what she is trying to say.  I could see this being beneficial for her for sure.  All in all it was a good visit.  It was definitely helpful to have this evaluation.  We will be seeing her at our cleft team appointment in late October. 

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 :)