Successful Surgery

Rayanna's clogged-tear-duct surgery went great today!  It was very quick, and she handled everything well.  A few tears about the anesthesia mask, and she woke up pretty upset, but overall she was quite a trooper!  We have to do 2 oral medicines and eye drops for the next few days, but that should be it.  Then her eyes should be clear and bright!  Praise the Lord for an easy, successful surgery!

Pondering the Last 5 Months

Today, on December 21st, Rayanna is 21 months old.  On Christmas Day we'll have had her for 5 months!  Since I'm sure I won't have time to post then (and since it's just me and a sleeping Rayanna home right now), I thought I'd write down some of the thoughts I've had lately . . .

 . . . I think it's amazing how one little baby can bring so much fun and happiness to a family.

 . . . I think it's quite a blessing that she has no hearing problems and is catching up very well developmentally.  Whether a misdiagnosis or a miracle, we're so happy she's healthy!

 . . . I think my perspective has changed enormously over the past 2 years.  2 years ago I would've thought the clogged-tear-duct surgery Rayanna's having tomorrow was a big deal and quite scary.  Now I hardly even thought about it other than getting babysitters for the other kids!

 . . . I think 4 children is the perfect number for me to have, and I feel like our family is complete now.

 . . . I think it's surprising to find out how much I've missed having a baby and toddler!  We've flown through about 18 months' worth of "stages" in 5 months' time.  It's going so fast!

 . . . I think it's precious how snuggling a sleepy baby can ~pause~ all of life's cares and demands.  Holding her comforts me and fills me with such peace and contentment that I forget about everything else and just want to keep holding her forever.

 . . . I think it's fun and exciting to see how much three big siblings can love their baby sister, each in their own unique way, but all of them so affectionate toward her.

 . . . I think it's phenomenal how a child can be so completely bonded to her parents of only 5 months, and probably have no recollection of her life before she joined our family.

 . . . I think it's astonishing how much we love we can feel for this precious little girl that 5 months ago we had never even met!

 . . . I think it's unbelievable that we've only had her for 5 months!  It seems so long ago that we were in China trying to get her to take a bottle, so long ago when a bottle was the only thing she'd eat, so long ago when she could only crawl, so long ago when we had no idea of the fun personality hidden inside that quiet little girl, so long ago that we were a not-yet-completed family of 5.  It's only been 5 months, but it feels like she's always been in our family, always been a part of us.

 . . . I think adoption is a beautiful and amazing experience.  Of course, giving birth to children is beautiful and amazing too.  No matter how our children come into our families, they certainly are a blessing from the Lord.

Our first day together

Our little barrel of fun

And Baby makes 6!

Who, ME?!?!?

A couple of months ago I was asked by a lady at our church if I would consider speaking at our women's Christmas brunch.  She had read my blog and thought I had something to share.  As I read her email, I was already planning my response:  "No way!  You've got the wrong person!  I could NEVER do that!"  You see, I was the girl who would be physically sick the night before I had to give a speech in high school.  I was the one who hardly talked in casual conversation, let alone in front of people!  I've also been a very private person (until I started this blog anyway), and can share in writing much easier than by speaking.  But when I got to the end of the email, she said, "Now before you say 'no,' would you at least pray about it?"  So I was stuck.  What was I going to do, refuse to pray about it?  So I said I would pray, and I did.  And I felt that God was leading me to say yes, and to share what He's been teaching me through all our ordeals with Tabitha.  Never would I have imagined myself to volunteer for anything like that, but I was actually kind of excited to share!

Over the next several weeks as I put my thoughts together to share what God has been teaching me, I learned so much more! Preparing to speak was a real learning experience and a chance to grow closer to the Lord.  When the day arrived I was indeed nervous, but not nearly as much as I expected to be.  I'm really bad at estimates, but if I had to guess I'd say there were close to 100 women there, and I would've expected myself to at least be sick to my stomach if not pass out all together!  But it went OK, and I wasn't nearly as terrified as I thought I'd be.  I was really thankful for all the people praying for me and that God answered my request to survive the ordeal.  =)  I did survive.  I'm really glad it's over!  But I'm also glad I did it.  God increased my trust in Him through it, and I've had a few women tell me that what I shared helped them in some way.  I'm amazed that God would use a non-speaker, shy, flawed person like me in that way!

I was going to post the video here, but it won't work.  So I guess if you want to see it you'll have to visit me in person.  =)

Thanksgiving and "Christmas Tree Day"

We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving and so much to be thankful for!  We had our traditional pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, and then made our "thankfulness pages".  We started doing this when the boys were really little.  We each decorate a piece of paper with pictures, words, poems, or whatever we want, to tell what we're thankful for that year, and then I save them all in a notebook.  It's fun to re-read the old ones, like when Jesse was thankful for scissors and Ethan was thankful for the number 9.  =)  After a relaxing morning at home watching the parade and dog show, we went to Heath's grandmother's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  We ate way too much delicious food, but it was a nice time visiting with the relatives on that side of the family.

Each year, for as long as I can remember, the day after Thanksgiving has been "Christmas Tree Day."  When I was little that was how my family did it, and we've carried on the same tradition with our kids.  This was Rayanna's first Christmas-Tree-Day experience of course.  But it was kind of anti-climactic.  She didn't really even care!  The good news is she hasn't been attacking the tree ornaments like I thought she would.  We had a lot of fun getting all the decorations up, and thankfully there was no Stink-bug Surprise awaiting us this year like there was last year.   =)

I found a cute little advent plan online that we started December 1st.  Each night we read a Bible passage or a book and do a little activity or craft.  Then we open that day's door on our nativity calendar and take out the miniature ornament inside.  And at the end everyone gets a piece of candy.  The kids love the special routine, and I have to admit, I do too!  Today we started making some Christmas treats, and of course I have Christmas music playing most of the day to set the mood.  In those rare moments when it works and everyone's getting along and feeling the holiday cheer, it's delightful!

Now, if we could just get some snow . . .

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom turned 55 last month.  (Sorry if I'm not supposed to share that, Mom, but I don't think you'd mind.)  =)  Anyway, in honor of her 55 years and being the best mom we've ever had, the family all pitched in to send her on a special weekend getaway!  The whole thing was a surprise; all she knew was to keep the weekend open.  I flew out there (all by myself nonetheless), saw my family for a couple of hours, and then my sister Carrie and I kidnapped Mom and took her to the tiniest town ever:  Cambridge, Nebraska.  Population:  1,000.

We stayed at  a   the cute little bed and breakfast in town.  The lady who ran it gave us the whole history of the house and the town, and cooked us some delicious meals!  We had ordered the "quilting package", so during the day Saturday we went across the street to a cute little quilting shop called "Cottage Inspirations."  We had our very own quilting class and each made a table runner for Christmas.  It was really fun to have some time together and to do something creative.  For me, the best part of the quilting project was having 6 straight hours to work on something with no one interrupting me!  It was really great to have some time with my mom and sister, and I'm really glad we were able to do it.  Here's a picture of us with our masterpieces!
 

Happy birthday, Mom!  We love you.  =)

Jungle Safari!

No, I didn't actually go on a safari, but I did have a jungle-themed adventure!  I've never attempted to do any type of creative decorating in our house.  Ever.  But the boys' room was in desperate need of repainting, and I thought it'd be fun to do something a little different.  (I have to confess that Kelly's amazing decorating job in the girls' room inspired me quite a bit!)  We also found a used bedroom set at a good price, and I was excited to get that since they had always had random furniture in their room.  Their current favorite colors are orange (Jesse) and green (Ethan).  While trying to figure out how to make that work, I found these cute comforters that had both colors.

 That's when I decided to go with the jungle theme.  I actually had a lot of fun painting all the animals.

Heath did all the green paint, and he built the awesome book shelves.

So, for the first time ever, our boys have a cohesively furnished room!  Now . . . if we could just get them to keep it clean!!

6 Years Old!

Well, I'm a little behind, but our baby boy is 6 now!  Jesse's birthday was on Monday.  He's growing up so fast!  And there's so much about him to love . . . I love his sense of humor, love seeing him learn and grow, love the way he's becoming such a helpful and thoughtful kid.  He's a cute little guy, and we love him so much.  Happy Birthday, Jesse!

Michael

This is my brother Michael.  He's 27 and a Staff Sergeant in the Airforce.  He works in EOD, which has caused my sons to give him the nickname, "Little Bomb Boy."  Not sure how they came up with the "little" part since he's twice their size, but nonetheless the name has stuck.

Anyway, Michael deployed to Afghanistan last week.  He'll be there about 6 months.  I'm so proud of my little brother and the work he does.  I'm not at all envious though!  I like my safe little life here in rural America and have no desire to live in a tent in the desert or fight terrorists or dismantle bombs or anything of the sort.  But thank goodness there are people who are willing to do all of that.  

Michael's been to Iraq twice and both times has come home with nary a scratch.  We're praying the same for this time!  In human terms, Afghanistan (and especially the area he's in) is much more dangerous than Iraq.  But I have to keep reminding myself that he's no less in God's hands now than he was then.  Please join me in praying for his safety--physical, spiritual, emotional.  And remember to thank the military families in your life!

Knights & Dragons

Today we had a combined birthday celebration for Ethan and Jesse.  It was a lot of fun!  Since we're studying the Middle Ages, we decided to do a knight tournament as the theme.  Heath was the king (and he did an awesome job with it)!  And we had several young squires who were knighted for their brave and chivalrous deeds.

I even made a dragon cake!  I've never attempted anything that complex before, but since I had step-by-step directions I decided to give it a shot.  I was so impressed with how it turned out!

One unexpected addition to the day was SNOW!  Since living in Maryland I have NEVER seen snow in October so I would've never thought to worry about it.  But it snowed big, heavy flakes almost all day!  Fortunately, it was warm enough that the roads didn't get too bad, and almost everyone braved the weather and came to the party.  Our friends the Hills live in PA, so they just stayed the night rather than drive home through the snow (to their house without electricity).  All in all, it's been a really good day!

You Live, You Learn

Well, today we took a "field trip" that I planned a couple months ago.  We're studying the Middle Ages right now, soon to be followed by the Renaissance period.  I found out that Maryland has a Renaissance Festival . . . how perfect!  The 3 younger kids were free, and an acquaintance was able to get us discounted tickets.  So today, we drove to a town just outside of Annapolis to this festival.  But it wasn't nearly as educational or family-friendly as I'd hoped.  It was kind of like a giant outdoor bar with a costume party going on!  Many people were dressed in attire of the era.  Some costumes were beautiful; others were, well . . . strange to say the least.  (Sorry I didn't get any pictures.)

We only went to one show because we were just there for a half a day, and a lot of the descriptions made them sound pretty raunchy.  Most of the activities cost extra money so we didn't do them.  BUT . . . the kids did get to ride a pony and play on a pirate-ship playground, and we got to see a jousting competition and eat some turkey legs.  So, not a totally wasted day.  =)  The jousting was actually really cool and fairly educational, and the ponies were fun.  I'm glad we went, but I don't think it's something we'll be doing as a "field trip" again!

8 Years Old!

Ethan turned 8 yesterday!  It's hard to believe we've had him for 80% of a decade, that in 10 years he'll be an adult, and that he's half way to getting his drivers license!  It's amazing to see how he's been growing lately.  First of all, he's up to my chin in height, and wears shoes only one size smaller than mine!  But, it's not his physical growth that I'm most interested in.  He's really been growing and maturing in his character this year.  He's such a big helper with his little sister and with jobs around the house.  He's having a much better attitude about school and doing really well with it.  And he's old enough now that we can have a real conversation with him.  It's really fun watching him grow!

Happy birthday, Ethan!  We love you!

Welcome, Caleb!!!

OK, so I know this blog is supposed to be about OUR family, but I have some news that's too exciting not to share! Our good friends from college just had their first baby today!  They've been waiting many years for him, and we are so excited for them and so thankful that God has answered this prayer.  His name is Caleb.  Isn't he a cutie?!

Congratulations, Jen and Joel. We love you guys!

Random Updates

Since my last post, here's what's been happening:

Last Monday I took Tabitha to the Johns Hopkins cleft clinic. She has what's called venopharyngeal insufficiency. The part of the throat that's supposed to close off when we speak does not, which is why she has a nasally sounding voice. So they recommend a P-flap surgery to repair that. It's not urgent, so we're going to research it a bit and probably end up doing that next summer. Oh goodie.

Last Tuesday I took Rayanna to the opthamologist for her clogged tear duct. The doctor said that's definitely what it is, and since she's over a year old it's unlikely that it would resolve itself. It'll require a quick, 10-minute surgery to fix it. The earliest they can get us in for that is December 22nd though! It doesn't do any damage, but it is annoying for her to always have her eyes goopy and tear-filled. This week she had her 18-month check up. She was none to happy about the shots, but other than that things are good. She's gained 2 pounds in 2 months! And she's continuing to make good progress in every area of development.

Last Wednesday Ethan had an orthodontist appointment. He had several interesting molds made of his teeth, plus pictures and x-rays. I thought it was kind of cool actually. He'll be getting a retainer soon to fix his underbite. Depending on how that goes he may need further work done.

Sometimes I wonder how we manage to get ANY school done with all these appointments!

And, just in case Jesse felt left out, he's sick today! Just a fever so far; hopefully it doesn't turn into anything worse.

I have to say the most precious moment of the past week was when I looked out on the front porch and saw this:

The two kids who fight the most, the boy who hates to read, in this completely un-coerced, un-staged, spontaneous moment. That's the type of thing that makes it all worth it!

MY Baby

OK, so I know you're not supposed to be glad when your children cry. But this was special. . . today was the first time Rayanna cried when I handed her over to the nursery worker at church! She knows I'm her mommy!!! Never have a child's tears made me feel so happy! (In case you're worried, she got over it very fast and proceeded to be the happiest baby in the nursery. So don't feel bad for her or anything!) =)

Today's also the 2-month anniversary of Gotcha Day. It was two months ago we first met our beautiful baby.

The Boys

Our boys have some very different mile stones going on in their lives than the girls do. Thankfully, no medical issues (though Ethan will be needing some orthodontic work soon, which I'm sure will be an adventure). They've started this new school year with a bang! We're in our second week of school, and it's gone a lot better than expected so far! They've had mostly good attitudes, and (other than this afternoon) not as much fighting as had been going on during the summer. I guess if I work them hard enough they don't have time and energy for fighting! =)

We've also started some classes and activities that I'm really excited about. We rejoined CBS (Community Bible Study). This is a wonderful in-depth Bible study program with classes for the moms and the kids. Ethan's age even studies the same things as the adults, just at a different level. Ethan was very anxious about going, but once he got there he had a blast and can't wait to go back! Jesse and Tabitha liked their class as well, and Rayanna had the whole nursery to herself this week!

We also joined a homeschool soccer group. It's just once a week, which is perfect for us. Again, Ethan didn't want to go but ended up loving it! Jesse had a great time too, and I think they'll both really enjoy making friends on their teams. I know that PE is probably my weakest point as a homeschool teacher, so I'm really glad to have found something like this. I think it'll be some good fellowship for us all, as well as the exercise benefit.

Jesse also started Kindermusik, which I'm thrilled about. As a piano teacher obviously music education is important to me, and I just love the Kindermusik program for young kids! Jesse's been looking forward to it for the last couple years when Ethan was in it, and now it's finally his turn!

And, last but not least, Awana has started up again (not at our church, but the same one we've been going to the past two years). Ethan's in his last year of Sparks, Jesse's in his first year of Sparks, and Tabitha has started Cubbies. It's so great to hear them memorizing God's Word and see all that they're learning.

I think we have just the right balance. I don't like to be too busy as a family, but I also know that if we don't have enough going on we get stir-crazy. So far I think this feels just right. I'm excited for this new school year and all that the kids are and will be doing! And I'm very glad that as a homeschool mom I get to be involved in so many parts of their lives. They're growing up so fast, and I don't want to miss any of it!

The Girls

New accomplishments for both of our girls this week!

Yesterday, Rayanna had a developmental evaluation and an audiological evaluation at Kennedy Krieger.  The audiology tests showed almost everything normal.  One test (which I think measured the movement of the ear drum) was slightly different than it should've been.  (It made a broad graph rather than a pointed one, whatever that means.)  He said this could be due to the ear infection she had a few weeks ago, so he wants to retest her in 3 months.  Other than that everything is normal, and her hearing responses were within the normal range.  So she's definitely hearing!  Praise the Lord!

Rayanna's developmental tests showed her to be around a 9-month level, meaning a 50% delay.  This doctor also wants to see her again in 3 months to see if she's catching up.  Only then would she be able to determine if there's any disability or if it's just a delay due to lack of stimulation.  Our guess is that her delays are due to lying in a crib staring at the ceiling for her first 16 months of life!  We really don't think there's anything wrong with her that love and attention won't fix.  And, as if to prove what she can do, Rayanna took her first steps this afternoon!  Two steps all by herself, and then she stayed there without falling over! We're so proud of her.  :)

Tabitha, too, had a major accomplishment this week.  Heath was giving her a bath yesterday, when she said "Daddy, there's poopy coming!"  So he put her on the toilet, and sure enough . . . success!!!!!  That's exciting for any young child's parents, but for a child who is 4 years old and not guaranteed to ever have bowel control????  That's REALLY exciting!  Now, of course this could be a coincidence, just a fluke, so I'm trying not to get too excited.  BUT, it could also be a major answer to prayer and evidence that she will indeed have full bowel control one day!  Please continue to pray with us that that will be the case!

One more medical thing (as if there weren't enough).  Last week I took Tabitha to the ENT to check her hearing (all normal), her nose bleeds (nothing too concerning), and her nasal speech.  This doctor thinks that her nasal speech is caused by velopharyngeal dysfunction.He wants us to go to the cleft clinic at Johns Hopkins for further evaluation and possible surgery.  Hooray.  I can't wait.  I find my reaction almost comical though.  Looking back, I probably should've been a little upset or worried getting news like that.  And before all we've been through with Tabitha I probably would have been.  But it didn't even phase me!  I almost expected it.  Poor Tabitha . . . as if she hadn't had enough to deal with already!  That appointment's on the 26th, and Rayanna's opthamology appointment is on the 27th.  And that should be it for this month!

Bundles

I recently read Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas.  He makes a point about trials coming in "bundles," many problems happening all at once.  I liked what he said so much that I wanted to share a few paragraphs here.  I've often noticed that when it rains it pours, but I've never thought of it the way he explains it before.

We have only one way to become mature and complete in God:  We must develop the difficult but crucial discipline of perseverance.  Jesus said that only through perseverance do we bear fruit:  "The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." (Luke 8:15)


Paul says that character grows out of learning to persevere through many trials (Romans 5:3-4).  James tells us that we should consider it "pure joy" when we "face trials of many kinds (that is, bundles), because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  (James 1:2-4).  Without perseverance, James tells us, we remain immature and incomplete, half-baked Christians, if you will. . . .


There's only one way to develop perseverance:  We have to surrender to God as we feel pushed past the human breaking point.  We have to reach the threshold of exhaustion, [been there done that], and then get pushed even further [been there too].  One trial can help us deal with fear.  Two trials can lead to wisdom.  But perseverance? That takes a bundle of difficulties.  All of which means that parenting extremely demanding children feeds a spiritual need in our soul--to participate in the crucial discipline of perseverance on which our fruitfulness as believers depends.  

Medical Details

Well, for most of you reading this, the summary will be enough:  we're home, and so far things are going better than expected with the bowel issues.  My emotional state is improved (in large part due to my supportive husband), and so far no major catastrophes to speak of.

For anyone wanting the (not so pretty) details, keep reading:

Dr. Levitt expected that after surgery Tabitha would be hypermotile . . . meaning the bowels move too fast.  Usually for a few weeks patients are going too often, rather than not often enough.  For some reason, Tabitha is having the opposite problem.

We have learned that constipation is a major enemy of people with colorectal malformations.  Since the muscles don't work right, the person gets constipated.  Constipation stretches out the colon and makes it work even less effectively, thus leading to worse constipation, and on it goes.  So we're supposed to be very careful not to let Tabitha get constipated (which is part of the reason we do enemas).  BUT, in this case, Dr. Levitt said that having constipation rather than diarrhea right after this surgery, is a good sign.  Constipation is much easier to control than is its opposite.  So this could bode well for the future.

However, right now our main concern is getting her UNconstipated.  The enemas haven't been thoroughly working, though today there's been some progress.  Once that's taken care of, it could all change.  We don't know which battle we'll be fighting (hypermotility or hypomotility), or if she'll be able to regulate just by diet or will need enemas for life.  We are to continue enemas for the next couple of months while her digestive system learns how to function again after having the summer off.  Then we can stop the enemas and see if we can regulate her enough (with diet and possibly laxatives) to achieve potty training potential.  If that doesn't work out and it looks like she'll need enemas for life, they recommend getting a Malone, which is a valve through the tummy which makes it so that she can give herself the enemas without needing assistance.  But we are praying that she will be able to have bowel control and not need any of that.

In about a month, we'll get a kidney ultrasound done and sent to Dr. Alam so that he can plan the next step for her kidneys.  She'll definitely need one more surgery, but when and what exactly needs to happen are still to be determined.  It appears that (apart from a miracle) she'll always need to use a catheter.  That isn't as big of a deal as the bowel issues, so I'm not too upset about that.

Tabitha is doing really well and healing fast.  She hasn't had any pain medicine since the day after the surgery, which I find amazing.  I think I'd be on morphine and bed rest for weeks!  She's got a big long incision on her belly, but it doesn't seem to slow her down at all.  In another 10 days she'll be allowed to swim again, which I know will make her very happy.  And she's also very happy to be able to eat all the things she couldn't have with the ileostomy.  She's been through a lot, but never gives up.  She's a little trooper!

My Goal

This song meant a lot to me when we were waiting to adopt Tabitha.  Now its message returns as I wait to make it through all these medical issues.  My goal is that the attitude of my heart would match the lyrics of this song and that I would just take one step at a time in obedience, even when God's plans don't match my own.

Update on Tabitha

Tabitha's recovery has gone well.  She's eating real food now, and it's coming out in the right place.  =)  So I guess that's progress.  :)  Heath's been with her the whole time, with the rest of us just coming to visit.  I was going to spend the night with her tonight, but since I was having a meltdown Heath offered to stay again.  Why the meltdown?  I'm just really worried about what's coming up.  For the next couple months it appears we have to do enemas (hour-long process every day), strictly monitor her diet, go back to cathing every 4 hours, and STILL be dealing with messy diapers on a 4-year-old.  I don't even understand most of what's going on in her body, and I know it's temporary, but it feels like a step backwards.   I had been excited about starting our new homeschooling year when we get back, even with a new toddler in the house.  But now we get to add all this to our school year and outside activities, and I just don't see that working out so well.  Please pray that God somehow gives me the emotional energy to handle all of this.

Yesterday when we went to visit Tabitha she was feeling pretty well, but extremely emotional.  I think the medication is really affecting her head.  We brought her a big balloon, and she thanked us by demanding that Ethan give it to her now!  And she bit the head off anyone who touched her toys or balloons.  She was pretty mean and feisty the whole time, but then she got very sensitive.  The nurse came to check on her and asked if she needed anything.  When the nurse asked her if she wanted to get up, she said she'd do it tomorrow.  The nurse asked her to "pinky promise" and held out her pinky.  I told Tabitha to give her her pinky, and she looked down at her box of markers and said, "But I don't have pink!"  We all laughed at her cute misunderstanding.  But then Tabitha got all teary-eyed and said "You hurt my feelings.  You laughed at me."  Her emotions are fluctuating quite drastically right now!

The other kids have had fun at the hotel this week.  Rayanna absolutely loves the pool!  She has no fear, constantly dunks her head in the water and tries to get away from me and swim on her own!  The boys are having a blast there too.  We also went to the Cincinnati Museum Center today.  They have 3 great museums there, and we enjoyed them all!  I've also really enjoyed having my mom and my friend Kelly here for the extra help and support.  I'm not sure that Heath and Tabitha have had all that much fun, but they've accomplished what we came for.  :)

Looking forward to going home, but all in all it's been a good trip.

Tabitha's Surgery

I'm writing from Cincinnati (well, actually Florence, Kentucky.)  Tabitha's surgery was this morning, and all went well!  Her ostomy bag is GONE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Can you tell I'm happy about that?)  The surgery went smoothly, and her wake up was much better than last time.  Last time she woke up very angry; this time she was calm and not upset.  She's pretty grumpy and really wants to eat, but other than that she's doing well.  She's already started watching Dora DVDs, so all is well as long as no one gets between her and the TV!  :)  Heath and I are taking turns staying with her and staying at the hotel with the other kids.  My mom is here helping us too, which has been great!  Plus my friend Kelly and her boys are here, so everyone has a playmate.

Tabitha still has the catheter through her abdomen.  The urologist wants to keep it there until we're sure that normal cathing will work OK.  As long as all goes well, they'll take that out before we go home, and we'll be back to cathing every 4 hours.  My biggest concern right now is figuring out the bowel stuff.  Before her operation in May she had no chance of bowel control; now she has a chance for it, but we just have to see what happens.  They can't tell us for sure whether or not she'll have it.  For the next few weeks she'll probably have very bad diarrhea because of the colon not having worked all summer.  After that things should settle down, and we should start to figure out what we're dealing with.  Dr. Levitt thinks she may be hypermotile (colon moves too fast).  This is not what I wanted to hear.  That is very hard to regulate, and we'll have a lot to learn.  No matter what, she'll always have issues with constipation and/or diarrhea because of the way her colon works.  So we will always be dealing with some combination of laxatives or enemas or strict diet to try to keep things working right.  And it's not something that's figured out once and for all.  So I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of continued frustration on my part trying to deal with it all.  Once we get her system regulated, only then could we even hope to see if she'll be able to potty train.

So while we're figuring that all out we could very well be back to where we were when we first adopted her . . . constant poopy diapers.  Only now she's 4 instead of 2, so it'll be that much worse.  You know, I was sure once we got rid of the ostomy I'd never complain about anything else again, and I am indeed THRILLED to be rid of it!!  But please pray for me over these next few weeks...months....years.  I do not like dealing with any of this, and sometimes it just feels like a never-ending nightmare.  Fortunately, Tabitha usually takes it all in stride and isn't bothered too much.

We'll be here for the rest of the week.  We're hoping she'll be discharged on Friday, but we'll see.  Meanwhile we're very thankful that her recovery is going well, and for the fun stay we're having.  Hopefully all continues to go well.  I'll post again if we have anything new to share!

Tabitha in the pre-op room

Tabitha watching Dora after surgery

Lisa

Please be in prayer for my aunt Lisa.  She's my dad's sister, only 45 years old, and she was recently diagnosed with cancer.  She'll be having surgery on Monday the 29th, the day before Tabitha's.  You can visit her caring bridge site by clicking here.  Thanks for praying!

One Month

It was one month ago today that we met our little Rayanna for the first time, and it's been 3 weeks since we arrived home with her.  On the one hand it's gone really fast!  But on the other I feel like she's always been with us.  She has eased her way into our family with very little fanfare!

HOWEVER, the honey moon is definitely over.  While I'd still call her an easy baby, she's starting to show us she's not all flowers and bubbles.  For one thing, she has not taken a real nap this entire week!  A couple of days were my fault (letting her fall asleep in the car and trying to skip her pre-nap bottle), but the other two days there's no excuse!  The last few nights she's also waken up once or twice.  She goes back to sleep fairly easily, but after such a perfect start it's not fun to have that happening!  She's also been more grumpy.  While we can now put her down without hysteria, she's taken to the more usual toddler behavior of whining and fussing when she wants to be picked up.  She also would hardly eat today (except her bottle) and got very mad and loud when I tried to get her to eat her baby food!  But, nonetheless, she's usually still pretty content and happy.  It's just that I've had my bubble burst, finding out she's not perfect.  ;-)

She's continuing to become more interactive, and she's working hard on all her motor skills too.  She's pulling up and cruising all around now.  She's also starting to get inquisitive, which means I need to work on some more serious child proofing!  Until now she hasn't seemed curious about anything, but now she's starting to get into things.  Even though it's a hassle, I'm so glad to see her interested in her environment and learning new things!

She really is a precious little girl and a delight for all of us.  Here's a picture of our little sweetie, one month after gotcha day.  (I tried to catch a smile, but it wasn't happening today.)

Back Online! (And slightly shaken!)

Well, we finally have our cell phone and internet service back!  Turns out a tower was hit by lightning during the big storm Thursday.  I really realized how dependent I am on it when I couldn't use it for almost 6 days!  I couldn't contact anyone at all, for anything!  Couldn't pay bills, look up information, or even look at my calendar! I've always been one to value "real" things and want a hard copy of everything.  Only recently did I surrender to an all-online calendar and email storage.  Perhaps I should go back to my old ways!

Today we had (hopefully) our final ostomy problem.  We were at Borders perusing their going-out-of-business sales when Tabitha announced that her bag was leaking.  I figured she meant urine, since the valve occasionally opens by accident.  But, no.  Much to my dismay it was the OTHER bag.  Somehow the velcro closure had decided to open of its own accord, and there was liquidy poop all over the inside of her dress and running down her legs.  Fortunately we made it to the bathroom without an audience and were able to clean her up well enough to finish our errands.  It was my first shopping outing with all 4 kids, and it would've been smooth sailing if not for that.  GROSS.  Hallelujah....we only have a week left!

Anyway, the "slightly shaken" part of the title comes from having my first-ever experience with an earth quake!  Actually, I guess there was supposedly one here last year, but it was much smaller and I was asleep and didn't know anything about it.  This time was quite different!  Heath's mom (Stephanie) was here, and we were in the living room with the kids when the house started shaking!  My first thought was a wind storm, but it was perfectly sunny weather outside.  While it kept shaking, my mind raced through all the possibilities I could think of, but came up with nothing!  It only lasted about 3 seconds, but it was the strangest feeling.  Stephanie figured out what it was; otherwise I don't know if I would've ever thought of that.  I mean, this is Maryland, not California!  It turns out (if you haven't seen the news) that there was a 5.8 quake in Virginia, and it could be felt from New York to South Carolina!  Yikes!

In less dramatic news (but just as exciting to me), I have our school planning pretty much finished.  When we get back from Cincinnati we'll be ready to go!  Ethan starts 2nd grade, Jesse starts kindergarten, Tabitha starts preschool, and Rayanna hopefully continues to be an easy baby.  =)  I've got my schedule all made up.  It'll be great, as long as everyone cooperates and I don't plan on having any free time.  Ai yi yi.  It'll all be worth it in the end, right fellow home schooling moms?  =)

Our Cincinnati trip is just days away.  Besides the obvious excitement of getting rid of the ileostomy, I'm excited to see a couple of friends and my mom too!  It should be a good trip.  I had been worried about taking a trip so soon after getting back from China, but I think it'll be fine.  We've had lots of wonderful meals brought by families from church, Rayanna's been a pretty good baby, and this transition has gone much easier than expected.  I think this first family "vacation" might turn out to actually be fun!  =)

Offline!

Sorry if I haven't been responding to emails and phone calls.  Since Thursday afternoon we have had no internet or cell phone service at our house.  And since we don't have a landline phone that leaves us pretty cut off!  Assuming a Sprint tower went down or something but no idea when it'll be back.  Currently writing from McDonald's and in a hurry.

So if anyone needs to reach us urgently . . . I don't know . . . send a telegram????

=)

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors!

Before adopting kids I think our only visits to doctors were for shots.  (Well, that and the occasional need for dermabond and/or staples in our boys' heads.)  Since Tabitha joined our family we've become very familiar with doctors and hospitals though!  Rayanna seems that she won't need nearly as much medical help, and yet . . . we'll still have seven doctor appointments in her first two months home, not counting Tabitha's surgery!

Today I took the girls to get their hearing checked.  Babies in this country have their hearing checked at birth, but that wasn't done for our girls (as far as we know), and we have reasons to question hearing for both of them:  Tabitha because of her speech delays, and Rayanna because of the unexplained doctors' comments on her referral.  So I made an appointment for them both at the ENT for a hearing check.  I thought we were actually seeing the ENT, but I guess I mistakenly scheduled us only for the audiologist's hearing check.  It was really quite useless.  Tabitha was too shy to cooperate in the sound booth, and Rayanna just didn't react to much.  The doctor doesn't want to say that she has a hearing loss though, because it could just be that her developmental stage isn't where it needs to be for her to react as expected.  (The test they do on newborns can't be done on toddlers because they're too active; the child must be perfectly still and quiet while the device is put into their ears and the test is run.)

So, here's the plan:  the week we get back from Tabitha's surgery in Cincinnati, she'll go back and see the ENT this time.  He'll clean her ears and check her palate and nose, since she has sounded congested for a couple of months and always has a nasally voice.  Then, at the same visit, we'll go back to the audiologist and hopefully she'll cooperate with the hearing test this time.  For Rayanna, we're going to go to the Kennedy Krieger Institute, where they can do a test that actually monitors the brain waves to see if the brain is registering sound.  No cooperation required!  (They also have an international adoption clinic that will do a developmental evaluation and some other things, so hopefully we can do all of that at once.)

I also just called the opthamologist about Rayanna's possible tear duct problems.  The earliest they can get us in is September 27th, and the visit will take 2 hours!!  I can only imagine what "fun" things they have planned for her.  =(    Any volunteers for babysitting during these appointments will gladly be accepted!  Dragging four kids to doctor appointments is torture for all of us, the doctor included!  (Fortunately, I was able to drop the boys off with Heath at work today so they were spared the agony.)

On the 28th we leave for Cincinnati to get rid of those awful bags!  Hooray!  I am SO excited to be done with all that, and I know Tabitha is too!  She seems to have a small infection around the hole where one of the tubes goes through her skin into her bladder.  We've contacted her urologist about it; just pray it doesn't get any worse.  I'd like to make it these last 2 weeks without any further complications!

I'm actually looking forward to our trip out there.  We're all going so that we can be together as much as possible.  We'll switch off who stays with Tabitha and who's with the other kids, and we'll do some fun stuff in the area like we did when we were out there in February.  Also, my friend Kelly is coming from Illinois, and it'll be great to see her and her kids!  And my mom might even come too!  So we'll turn it into a big party for everyone.  =)

I'm hoping 2011 will be the last year of constant medical issues.  I know there will always be some things to deal with, especially for Tabitha, but I really hope it slows down!  Fortunately, none of this is life threatening, and all the kids are in very good health.  We're quite thankful for that!

The Things That Really Matter

This morning at church I feel like I really "met with God."  I hate to admit it, but even though I've been a Christian for almost 20 years and have gone to church pretty much every week, I don't always feel like I'm spiritually involved.  Sometimes I just go because that's what we do, you know?  I worship, I learn, I fellowship, but I don't always feel like much is happening on a spiritual level.  But every now and then I feel like God really does something supernatural in my life that wouldn't have happened on my own without the body of Christ.  Today was one such day.

Of course it was a fun and exciting day since everyone was eager to meet Rayanna!  I think she was a little overwhelmed by it all, but it was very exciting for so many people who'd been praying for her and helping us with the adoption process to finally get to meet her!  The service was a prayer and worship service, and we were led through the "ACTS" prayer:  Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  There was so much I needed to talk to God about in each of those areas.

God is so worthy of our adoration!  He is the only One who never changes, who is always loving, always holy, always perfectly and completely GOD.  And He is also the only One who really knows me and who loves me perfectly and completely.  Why do I take Him for granted so often?

There's always so much to confess to God.  It seems that no matter how many times I've confessed before, each day brings new opportunities for further confession.  Since we are also to confess sins to each other, I'll go ahead and share one of my main struggles.  I really struggle with anger as a parent.  I find myself yelling and losing my temper with my kids all the time, and failing to love them as I should.  One day this week was especially bad, and I felt like I couldn't even confess because I had failed so many times and repented so many times, but I just keep failing over and over again.  I kind of gave up on myself for a couple of days, thinking it would never change.  But this morning at church I felt God's grace reaching out to me once again.  I was reminded that I am RIGHTEOUS in His sight by the blood of Christ!!  Is there anything more amazing?  Why doesn't He get tired of me?  Why doesn't He give up on me?  Why should I be forgiven, when I've treated His forgiveness so lightly?  I can see why He forgives a new believer, who has only just realized their sin and need for a Savior.  But to forgive someone who's known Him so long and yet continues to fail over and over and over?!  That is truly AMAZING grace.  We sang "Our God" at the end of the service, and I was reminded that His power will indeed triumph over my sin.  I have the power of the God of the universe inside of me!  "And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?  And if our God is with us, then what could stand against us?  Our God is greater, our God is stronger; God, You are higher than any other.  Our God is healer, awesome in power, our God, our God."  AMEN.

Adoration....Confession.....Thanksgiving.  There's so much to be thankful for.  Our biggest rejoicing right now is of course over our new little Rayanna.  She is an absolute joy, and it has been amazing to see God's hand in bringing her into our family!  I tend to focus on what's wrong in life, knowing that pretty much everything could be better than it is.  But I need to take time to just thank God for the infinite blessings He has filled my life with.

And finally, Supplication.  The one is where we (I) usually spend the majority of our prayer time, right?  Rather than focusing on personal desires our pastor had us focus on asking for healing and the needs of the hurting.  I prayed for physical healing for my aunt Lisa, who has been diagnosed with what sounds like a very bad type of cancer.  She's only a decade or so older than I am, and we're all taking this news pretty hard.  I prayed for spiritual healing for a couple of people close to me.  And then we were to pray for the hurting throughout the world.  The hungry, the homeless, sick people, military families, and so forth.  I thought of my brother who deploys to Afghanistan next month.  I thought of the poor people who struggle even to find food.  I thought of the many orphans throughout the world.  I couldn't hold back the tears when I pictured those rows of babies in cribs at Rayanna's orphanage.  Will they ever have a family?  Will they have someone tell them how precious they are and how much they matter?  Will anyone tell them about Jesus' love for them?

This very special time of prayer and worship today, focused on others instead of self, forced me to put my petty little complaints in perspective; to quit my whining about what's wrong with "poor Erin's world" and focus instead on how I can pray for and serve those who are in desperate need; to stop complaining and sulking about my problems and instead praise God for who He is and the absolutely wonderful things He has done for me.  It realigned my thinking off of self and onto the things that really matter.

I really feel like God did a work in my heart today, and I'm eager to serve and praise Him this week with a renewed spirit and a heart of joy.  Thank You, Lord, for Your unfailing love and for Your mercies that are new every morning.  I love You.

Rayanna's Accomplishments

Rayanna had a very productive day yesterday!  She crawled all around the living room for the first time, pulled up on the coffee table to stand several times, and even willingly ate baby food!!!  She's on a roll!  She's eating much better, sleeping very well, and really coming to life!

Her ear infection is better, and her eyes are a lot better than they were but still tearing a lot.  The pediatrician wants us to see an opthamologist to see if she has a clogged tear duct, which would mean a quick surgery to fix it.  And Tuesday is our appointment with the audiologist/ENT to check her (and Tabitha's) hearing; I think we'll also do her blood draw that day for all the lab work to check for a million and one things.  By then we'll be done with the antibiotics and eye drops (which she HATES), and have nothing else until the next round of shots.

Here's a video of her laughing and crawling.  (Don't mind the dog.)

Our First Days Home

Well, so far this adoption has been 150% easier than the last one!  I don't know if it's the difference in the girls' ages, Tabitha's medical needs, their personalities, or just my frame of mind, but this time has been a piece of cake compared to the last one!

The big kids love their new little sister.  They all want to hold her and help feed her.  Tabitha's a little aggressive with her love, but other than that they're all getting along well.  Ethan's old enough that he can really help a lot, and even Jesse is great at entertaining her and playing with her.  We've had a few successful times of getting her to sit on the floor without being held!  Once Heath and I are out of sight she'll stop crying and be content for quite awhile.  I think she's very used to being alone in a crib, so once she can't see us she goes back to the complacency of her early life.  She's coming more and more alive though!  Last night I was tickling her and she just laughed and laughed.  It was so cute!

Ever since we got her, her eyes have been goopy, and the last couple of days she's had a fever.  Her doctor exam was today, and we found out that she has conjunctivitis (pink eye) and an ear infection!  Not to mention she's getting her molars.  With all of that, plus the huge changes she's undergone, it's unbelievable to me how good she's been.  She does get fussy, but nothing like I'd expect from a baby who's dealing with so much!  I can't wait to see what she's like once she's settled in here and healthy.

She's still not eating much.  I'm hoping once she feels better she'll have more of an appetite.  And we'll start working more seriously on getting her to eat solids.  She still refuses anything but her bottle, and even that she doesn't want very often.  Hopefully it's just from the sickness and stress, and she'll improve quickly soon.

Wednesday we go back to the doctor to check her tuberculosis test (PPD).  I was ready for a lot of screaming when the nurse pricked her, but she barely fussed!  She cried a whole lot more than that when I put her in her car seat!  On Wednesday, if her fever's gone and eyes/ears are better, she'll also be getting shots.  I hate to do that to her when she's just learning to trust us!  But since the PPD didn't bother her much I'm hoping the shots won't be a big deal for her either.

Heath's going back to work tomorrow, so the real test begins.  How to manage 4 kids?!?!?  But I'm not terribly worried since things have been going so well.  Honestly, I'm more worried about having to go back to managing Tabitha's ostomy and urine bags!  It's been SUCH a nice break from that while we were in China and then these few days while Heath's been home.  But I guess reality is about to come back, and I need to prepare myself.  At least it's only for 3 more weeks!!

I feel so incredibly blessed today.  Four beautiful children, the world's greatest husband, a beautiful home, wonderful friends, salvation by God's grace, and so many other things as well.  These past couple years (with Tabitha's issues) have been extremely difficult for me, but I feel like we're starting a new chapter of life, and it's gonna be a good one!

Home Sweet Home!

We've made it safely home and are now a family of six!  We got home around 1am last night (Thursday morning). I can't decide which was worse . . . the 48-hour trip and spending the night in the airport on the way there, or the 28-hour trip home with a "lap baby" and not feeling well.  I got a cold the last couple of days in China, and that airplane air is horrible!  Plus, when you're holding a baby and trying not to wake her up, it is VERY difficult to get comfortable!  I thought I would go crazy several times and was so tired I was physically weak and had to have Heath carry Rayanna lest I drop her!  We also had to claim and recheck our luggage at both layovers which just added to the fun.  But the long flight on the way home did have TVs for every seat with hundreds of selections, so that helped the time pass.  It was 3 hours from Guangzhou to Beijing, 13+ hours from Beijing to Newark, and then a 5-hour layover!  Our final 1-hour flight from Newark to BWI was delayed, but fortunately they were able to switch us to a flight to DC instead, so we got home about the same time.  However, our bags went to Baltimore, and we are still waiting for them as of 9:00 pm Thursday.  If we ever go to China again we are flying DIRECT, and maybe even first class.  At this point I think it would be worth every penny!!!

Heath's dad was nice enough to pick us up and drop us off at our house so we could sleep before getting our kids.  We dragged ourselves inside.  I noticed the boys' light was on so we went to turn it off and saw a note on the floor outside the girls' room:  "Beware!  Pink Inside!  Welcome Home!  Love, Kelly et al"  We opened the door and were absolutely astonished!  Our dear friend Kelly Hills had painted and decorated the girls' room!  She'd asked me awhile back if we were going to paint it since it was still blue from when the boys had it.  I said I'd like to, but I never got around to it.  And when Kelly paints, she means business!  It is absolutely gorgeous!!!  She even made curtains and added little accessories around the room.  I got all teary eyed standing there admiring it and knowing how much work she put into it.  What a wonderful surprise.  Today whenever I walked in there I just felt so cheerful!  It's really, really awesome.  Kelly, you are truly an amazing friend.

After this great surprise we then attempted to go to sleep.  But Rayanna lost a bit of her "perfect baby" status last night.  She would not sleep.  She just screamed!  And this wasn't her sad/scared cry, it was angry!  Didn't she realize how absolutely exhausted we were and that anyone in their right mind would simply pass out in bed at the first opportunity?!?!  At 2:00 Heath took her into the other room, and we were going to take shifts staying up with her so we could each get some sleep.  But, being the wonderful guy that he is, he never woke me.  So I slept from 2-10, and Heath and Rayanna slept from about 5-10.  I'm really hoping that's just jet lag and not a new problem!

Once we were all awake we went to pick up the kids.  They had a great time with Heath's parents!  Mom & Dad, thanks so much for keeping them for us!!  Everyone enjoyed meeting Rayanna (though she's been really crabby today due to her lack of sleep).  It was so good to see them after so long.  It was a very nice break, especially from the medical stuff, and I felt truly refreshed and excited to see them again.  We loaded up their truckloads of stuff and the dog and headed home.  The older kids have all been excited to hold Rayanna.  Tabitha's a bit vigorous in the attention she gives her, but everyone really likes her.  I think the fact that she's more of a baby than a toddler will make this transition a lot easier than the last one.  She can't really do anything to make anyone mad yet!  And she certainly isn't going to dominate the household like another little girl did a couple years back!  ;-)

We got some groceries, unpacked a little, and played outside.  It was so nice out this evening!  (Either that, or I just got used to southern China humidity and anything feels good compared to that!)  Now the kids are all in bed, and Heath and I are just waiting for our luggage.

Timeline results:

From referral to meeting Rayanna:  5 months and 4 days

Entire adoption start to finish:  1 year, 4 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days

I'm so thankful for each of you who prayed for us, encouraged us, supported us financially, or helped in any other way.  We appreciate all of you!  God has truly blessed us with four beautiful children, and a wonderful trip to China.  Safety, financial provision, health, joy . . . so many blessings that I know I don't deserve.  Thank you, Lord, for your amazing grace!

It feels good to be home, and I'm very excited to begin our new life as a family of six!

Our Last Day

Well, our time in China has come to an end.  Today was a non-eventful day....did a little walking around, went to the pool, had dinner at a "French" restaurant, and now we're packed and ready to go.  We head out from here at 8:30 tomorrow morning and get home in the wee hours of Thursday morning. 

 

This has been a really good trip.  Other than our night in the Beijing airport, everything has gone really, really well.  Rayanna is an absolute delight, we've had a very nice time here, made some new friends, and get to go home with a new daughter!  Praise God for so many wonderful blessings!

 

I was holding Rayanna as she went to sleep tonight, here in our quiet hotel room, and I got to thinking that it's the last time I'll have so much peace and quiet!  Having a baby who needs to be held all the time is one thing when she's the only child and you have no other responsibilities.  But when we're home with 4 kids and all of life's demands I know it'll be a lot more challenging.  I'm very thankful that she's such a contented baby...hopefully she will stay that way, and the transition will go well for all the kids.  I'm very excited to see them, and I know they'll love their new little sister!

 

Thanks for all the prayer and encouragement and for following along on our journey!

Monday

Today was a pretty fun day.  This morning we had our consulate appointment.  We had to leave at 7:10, which meant waking up Rayanna, but she did well.  We took the (quite anti-climactic) oath, which basically just says that everything we said on our documents is true.  We turned in our papers, and they'll have Rayanna's visa ready tomorrow.  After that we tried to go to an interesting market area, but it turned out to be a modern shopping area.  Loud, busy, modern, and expensive.  But the cool part was when we turned down a back alley and explored.  We got to go through these tiny little roads and see the "neighborhood."  That was very interesting.  The amount of contrast here amazes me.  There is old and new, rich and poor, andh one extreme is usually right next to the other. 

After we got back Rayanna took a really long nap.  When she woke up she drank a full bottle, and then about an hour later she drank another full bottle!  This second one was the first one she's cried for.  Every other time you can't even tell she's hungry.  She hardly ate yesterday, so she seems to be on an every-other-day eating schedule!  But we were very proud of her for downing two full bottles today!  =) 

For dinner, Clint & Angie (the couple who adopted the same day as us from the same province) came to our room, and we had Papa John's for dinner.  We just couldn't take any more of the humidity and decided to take the easy way out.  And it was good!  Well, Angie and I took the easy way out . . . Clint & Heath walked to Papa John's and got the pizza, but Angie and I stayed with the babies in the air conditioning.  Thanks guys!  :)   The babies played and even interacted a little bit, and we all talked for awhile.  Heath got Rayanna to laugh by tickling her, which you can see in one of the pictures.  After our friends left we went down to the pool.  I was shocked, but Rayanna actually enjoyed it!  She didn't smile, but she splashed around and didn't act at all afraid of it.  The water was pretty warm, so I'm sure that helped.

Tomorrow's our last full day here!  Yay!  This has been a really nice and relaxing trip, and we couldn't ask for an easier baby.  But I'm ready to see my other three babies too.  I'm glad we'll be going home soon!

Sunday

This morning we got to attend church!  We'd never been to church in China before, so I was really glad we got to do this.  It was a Chinese/English service, so most of it was translated for us.  The songs were not, but one of them was "As the Deer."  The rest were in Chinese.  I couldn't understand the words, but it was very beautiful.  The pastor spoke about prayer and how its purpose is not to achieve our own will, but God's.  After that a lady gave her testimony.  It's always neat to see Christianity outside of America and be reminded of how big the Church really is.  It's not confined to our country or our traditions, but encompasses people of every nation.  When we all get to woship the Lord together in heaven, won't it be wonderful?!?! 

For lunch we went to a Thai restaurant.  I'd never had Thai food before.  The noodles were very strange.  Wide, flat and slimy.  But they tasted really good!  This afternoon we rested in the hotel room and then walked around a bit and had dinner.  I don't remember having so much down time when we were here two years ago, but Heath says we did.  I guess I spent most of the time sick in bed, so it's all a blur.  We still have 2 full days here, and the only appointment is the consulate appointment first thing tomorrow morning.  I think we're going to be pretty bored!  And walking around the shops is dangerous because I keep buying stuff! 

Heath's feeling better.  But now I have a sore throat, so I hope I'm not getting sick!  Rayanna continues to develop her personality.  We don't know what she was like before we met her, so it's hard to tell if this is her normal personality that was just suppressed during the first few stressful days of meeting us, or if she never had much expression and is suddenly developing it quickly just from the change in her environment.  Either way, she is super cute!  Today we've had to coerce her to eat again.  Yesterday was the only day she's really been hungry and drinking full bottles.  Today she's uninterested again and cries if we try to make her drink her bottle.  But if she's hungry she doesn't act it--she seems very happy.  She hardly fusses and is pretty content as long as we're holding her.  She's getting much harder to hold though!  She's getting more and more squirmy, climbing all over us.  You'd think she'd want to get down and play around, but she doesn't.  Just loves to be held.  I'm really glad she's feeling secure with us though, so all the holding must be working.  She's actually played on the bed a few times today, sitting next to us instead of on us, so I think we're making progress! 

I'm starting to really miss the big kids.  I've been doing really well being apart (and actually enjoying this "vacation" from them), but it's been long enough, and I'm ready to see them!  I'm very thankful to be able to see them every day on skype though.  It's amazing that we can be completely on the other side of the world and see them in real time, live!  Everything seems to be going well there.  I know Mommom & Granddad are probably very tired, but I think they'll make it!  ;-)  The kids seem to be handling it pretty well too.  But I can't wait until we're all together again.

Well, that's all for today. 

I forgot the pics

These were supposed to go with the last post.

 

 

Saturday Shopping

We've had a very fun afternoon walking around the little island.  It's really nice and peaceful here, compared to the rest of the city.  You can actually cross the street without wondering if you'll make it across alive!  After Rayanna's nap today, we went out to do a little shopping.  I know some people love the shopping experience in foreign countries, but I hate it.  Everywhere you go, a salesperson leeches onto you as soon as you come near.  Not only do they want to show you every little thing you might possibly want to buy, but they follow you around incessantly!  I was trying to make a decision about something, but I couldn't even think because she kept talking to me!  When you finally do decide you then have to argue about the price.  Of course you get some great deals, but I'd rather just go to Target, shop in peaceful solitude and know exactly how much everything costs.  I also hate car shopping for all the same reasons, by the way. 

 

But we did to into two shops that I really enjoyed.  One was run by a husband and wife and their little 2-year-old boy.  The man played the calabash flute for us and made it look so easy!  He also had a CD of him playing, so we bought that.  It's really beautiful, soothing music.  On the way out, the lady gave us a free fan for Rayanna and gave me my choice of a free bracelet.  I chose the one in the picture just because I thought it was pretty, but after I chose it she explained the meaning and I realized it was a fitting choice!  The large bead means "happy family" and the four small ones are for 4 children.  Perfect!

 

The other shop I enjoyed was Jordon's.  I remembered him from last time.  I think it's the only place in the country where you can shop at your leisure and not be pressured to buy anything at all!  He does a free calligraphy of each adopted child's name, and he is very friendly and talkative.  He told us all about his experience in Nanchang and about growing up in the countryside.  When we were ready to go it was pouring down rain and thundering really loud.  He unwrapped one of the umbrellas he had for sale and told us we could borrow it!  Definitely the best place to shop in my opinion!

 

The other picture is a T-shirt that I found quite funny.  The caption means "Serving the People."  But the funniest part was that the lady saw me looking at it and said, "Very popular!"  I'm sure she has no idea why it's popular, which makes it even funnier!  I thought of several people who I'd love to buy it for, but we only have so much suitcase space, so I decided just to take a picture of it. 

 

After shopping we had dinner at Lucy's, the American-ish restaurant here.  We were going to have Chinese, but it was pouring rain and that was the closest thing.  We both got hamburgers and french fries, which were really good.  And, wonder of wonders, Rayanna let me give her a piece of a french fry!  At every meal we try to get her to taste something, but she never will (except for the first morning when Heath got her to try a bit of congee).  But this time she actually opened her mouth and ate it!  She almost gagged on it though, and refused to take anymore after that.  But isn't it nice that her first real food was a french fry?!.  She really didn't know how to chew it, so I think we're going to have to go through all the typical baby food stages:  rice cereal, Gerber baby stage 1, 2, 3, etc, before we can get to real food.  She's had two full bottles without coercing today though, so I think she's really making progress.  AND, I was holding her on the bed while we played with some cups, and she actually slid off of me a little at a time until she was sitting on the bed not touching me!  I don't think she realized it, but she was on her own!  Then a little later she'd been sitting/lying on Heath on the bed and ended up standing there pretty much on her own!  As soon as she realizes what she's done she grabs back on for dear life, but she's definitely getting more comfortable.  I'm hoping before we leave for home she can sit comfortably on her own without panicking.  Otherwise that first ride in a car seat is going to be very traumatic!

 

Tomorrow we don't have any official business to do.  We were supposed to go on a tour to the Folk Art Museum, but since we saw that last time we decided to skip that and go to the church here instead.  I'm very excited about visiting a Chinese church, since I've never had the opportunity to do that before!  They have a Mandarin/English service, and I'm not sure if it's mostly local people or tourists that go, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. 

 

I hope everyone is doing well back at home!  Thanks again for the comments and encouragment and prayer!