Little Things

Lily had a week of awesome progress so I just had to share. Of course progress in Lily's world is marked in what, to most of us, are very small increments. But these seemingly little accomplishments are huge for her and have taken such incredible effort and determination on her part.
To put this in proper perspective let me just say that she had a horrible week in therapy last week! Lily who never cries about anything and hardly even complains cried through both of her physical therapy sessions to the point that I thought her therapist(Kelly) was going to start crying. Normally she is great for Kelly. We were all puzzled and worried, trying to figure out what we were doing wrong. Was she in some kind of pain, were her ears bugging her, her teeth are all in now so it shouldn't be that.....we had no idea what was wrong.
I could tell, when Kelly came in Tuesday morning, that she was nervous and worried about how Lily was going to do. No need to have worried. Lily blew us away. We have been working with Lily since last summer to help her figure out crawling. Well Tuesday all of the pieces finally came together. Now before you imagine her crawling across the room like a typical toddler, scratch that idea. She has come up with her own way of doing things, this may have been the source of the dramatic meltdowns last week! She wanted to do what we wanted her to do, but in a different way that felt safer to her.
Rather that getting fully up on her hands and knees Lily has devised several other options for propelling herself around the room.

The Frog - she will bring her knees up under herself just enough to push herself forward, sometimes coming almost full height on all fours, but not quite.
The Lever - this one is weird - sitting up with one leg bent and the other straight she will push off with her straight leg for leverage and scoot forward.
The Gymnast Scoot - this one is just crazy - sitting with both legs out in front in a really wide V, she will press into the floor through her heels and lift her butt off the ground several inches, somehow managing to inch forward?!?!?

Basically what we are theorizing (since Lily can't tell us) is that even though Lily has made great gains in strength she hasn't fine tuned the control of that strength yet. It would be kind of like driving a car that only had two speeds, dead stop or 90 miles an hour. That would be scary!! Up to this point we, without realizing it, had been asking her to go drive around town in that car:-) Being the smart girl that she is, she resisted until she could show us a safer and smarter way to get around town until we could get the car fixed completely. Because she doesn't feel like she can control her body in the traditional crawl position she has made her own modifications that allow her to move forward but still feel safe.
All of that isn't even the biggest little accomplishment she made this week, though. The biggest accomplishment for her has been finding the motivation/desire/inspiration, whatever it is, to want to move forward. To realize she doesn't have to stay where she has been put and that she can want something and fill that need herself. Tonight she was playing on the floor with her toys like she always does, but she realized she didn't want to play anymore and that she wanted Mike's attention. She left her toys and scooted over to where he was sitting in his chair and started batting his leg until he picked her up. Such a tiny little step forward yet I can only imagine the gigantic shift that is going on in her little brain, for her to realize this is a different world than where she came from. The world she was born into didn't allow for her basic needs of survival to be met, let alone wants, wishes, or dreams.
I think that over the coming days and weeks we will see a new, stronger, more vibrant, more expressive Lily than we have ever seen as her discoveries really start to sink in. To watch the transformation in her spirit is utterly amazing. We are so blessed that God has seen fit to allow us to be part of something so incredible and breathtaking.

Lily-an at 2 years 8 months

Everyday Improvements

At least it wasn't 3 months since last post! With everything going on I am surprised I remembered this. We (all 3 of us) are doing great. Jennifer has been getting busy in the shop. I have been working at my shop. The Healey will keep me busy through the summer. Most importantly, there is Lily-an. She is doing great. She is doing more and getting her strength. After the cast was removed she had no interest in wanting to crawl. She would just sit or lie down. Now, it is the opposite. She isn't crawling, but her strength/endurance is improved greatly. With her therapy sessions we have been working on strength and fine motor skills. Both, very important to crawling. She is on all 4's a lot. When we support her, she will go side to side but not forward or backwards. We have noticed her strength in her hips is weak. She gets a little wobbly. That is getting better though. Her legs are getting stronger and she loves to stand up. She sits very well and is well balanced. She sits on our knees with her feet on the ground and she will play that way for awhile. She really enjoys that. Her speech is doing great. She talks a lot now. Mostly for us. She is shy around others and doesn't say a lot. I should say, her talking is all kinds of noises. We are hearing more consonants sounds from her. She laughs and giggle a lot. Her non verbal communication is very good. She "tells" us when she wants more, when she is done and keep going. Her interest level in things going on around her is very good. She is aware of people, she looks up when you say her name or when she hears something. So much has improved lately. The little things that we are seeing are milestones. We enrolled her in a beginning swimming lesson course at the local gym. The first 3 times were not so good. We noticed a lot of anxiety. Other kids screaming, laughing seemed to upset her. We weren't sure what to do. One thing that we did notice is she was cold. She would latch onto us and wouldn't let go. She was so tense we couldn't get her legs straight. We knew this wasn't a good thing since we didn't want her scared of the water. We figured we would end up dropping out but then we started to talk about it and thought about a wetsuit. Do they actually make them that small we thought. Well, they do make them that small and even smaller. We located a company out of California that made them and ordered her a bright lime green one. It is adjustable so she can grow into it. We also ordered a headband that covers her ears. When we were reading up on the information provided on the website it was evident that little ones get very cold and get cold easily. Makes sense with Lily-an. There is no body fat on her. It came a fast 2 days later and the next day we ventured to the gym to try it. Let me say that some kids have absolutely no respect for others around them. That 10-13 age of kids. Kept bumping into us and well..... enough of that. Frustrating. Lily-an did great. She wasn't cold anymore and wasn't tense. We were able to move her arms and legs in the water and she seemed like she wasn't as anxious as before. After about 30 minutes we decided it was time to go. Lily-an was tired and figured it was time for a nap. Went to lessons a few days later and she was relaxed and doing very well. Then came the surprise when the instructor said it was time to "dunk" the kids. I was watching from the chairs and Jen was in the water with her. I didn't hear the instructor say that. I was watching Jen and Lily-an and all of a sudden under she went and out she came. Somewhat startled look on her face, rubbed her eyes and she was fine. Momma was more apprehensive than anything, I would have been too. Lily-an was playing with a beach ball and it went well. Lily-an was actually kicking her feet at the end and started to laugh. It was a good day. And, she was warm! Can't wait to see what comes out of her during the next classes. As the class was ending she started to kick her feet and actually was laughing. What a good thing. There has been so much change in her lately. Tonight we went out for some fish fry. She likes fish. One thing she has been doing a lot and that is grabbing at her food dish and pulling it towards her. Another one of those non verbal communication things she does so well. Well, tonight at dinner, she put her hands in the mashed potatoes. So then Jennifer took her arm and guided her fingers to her mouth and what do you know, Lily-an put her fingers in her mouth with food and sucked off the potatoes. I about fell out of my chair. We have been working on that for quite some time. She has such an adversion to putting her hands to her face but she proved me wrong. She did this a number of times tonight. I think it is time for things to get messy. We are going to start putting food in front of her and letting her go at it. Maybe that is why she has been grabbing at her food dish. She has been trying to say she can do it herself. Who knows. Something so minor, something we take for granted and don't even think about is such a huge deal for us. That is so important to her development to do that. That shows right brain/left brain communication, spacial, depth and more. We were so happy to see. Then she starts to laugh and giggle about it like she was saying "I told you I could do it but you kept moving that dish away from me". It will be interesting. She is growing and weighs about 22 lbs now. She eats anything you give her. Loves fish, yogurt, refried beans, Her hair may need a trim now. Will wait until it gets warmer out. It is growing and getting thicker. Maybe if we cut it a little it will grow like a weed then. Well, another week is gone. Lily-an is sound asleep and it is past my bedtime. Keep us in your prayers and especially Lily-an. God is doing such great things with her. I do believe God is putting in on our hearts about adopting another. That is still a few years off, but it is there. Every now and then we go to our agencies website and look through some of the pictures/information of the special needs children and they just grab you by the strings and pull. If we could, we adopt them all. So adorable. I don't know how we have been doing as well as we have been. Somedays we are so tired and wore out. We want to put as much as we can into Lily-an and make sure all her needs are met. I think Jennifer and I kind of let our needs go for each other at times. This isn't healthy. I have been trying to relax more. I have cut way back on EMS as I felt my stress level getting out of hand. I feel better now. I sleep better at night and I try to take time to relax. It has helped. I know God is sustaining us and giving us the strength to do what we do. 5 or 6 therapy appts every week plus our "jobs". We always do our best so both of us are with Lily-an during her therapy and doctors appts. Rarely, do either one of us miss. All I know is that I (we) can't picture our lives any differently than they are now. Take care everyone, God Bless.

Where did the time go?

Can't believe it was Thanksgiving since our last post. Hard to believe that was 2 months ago already. With everything going on for Jennifer and I we sometimes don't know what day of the week it is. Well, since the last post a lot has changed. For the good I might add. Lily-an finished her series of casts and had surgery on December 6th at Childrens in Milwaukee. She also had tube put back in that day since the first set had came out. They only lasted 6 months or so. Not really sure on that. The surgery was to help lengthen the achilles tendon. This is a very simple and short procedure. Her incision was about 1/4 long and that was it. Unfortunately, she had a cast put back on and she had to have it on 4 weeks. This was to allow the tendon to heal properly. Between both procedures she was gone about an hour. We were able to leave for home around noon that day. She recovered well and had no side effect. We started to notice some changes in her regarding her speech. It was long after the tubes that she started to vocalize more. She seemed much more expressive. Now that it has been 2 months since they were done there is a night and day difference in her. She is much more aware of her surroundings. She is very expressive if she is frustrated. She "talks" more. A lot of voice inflection. The tubes must have helped her hear. She is making more consonants now. We think her speech is coming along nicely. He left foot looks great. It has a much wider range of motion and the surgery was successful according the the doctor. She is working on crawling and so bad want to move around more. She get around quite well as it is but she know she can do it better. I think crawling is around the corner. We are noticing that when we try to help her, you can feel her legs wanting to move but her arms don't want to yet. She is getting stronger and her arms and shoulders are doing much better. She is determined. Sometimes I wish I could have her determination. She is strong willed that's for sure. Right now we have therapy 5 times a week and every other week, she has one more session where the coordinator comes and checks up on Lily-an's progress. They all have said she is doing very good and progressing very well. Once that cast came off at the beginning of January, she really started to move around. The cast kind of kept her in one spot making it difficult to move but once it was off, watch out. He did gain a little weight so that is good. Today she weighed in at 21 lbs 5 oz. She has gained about a lb since surgery so that is good. She eats like a horse and will eat about anything. Her chewing is getting better. Probably in part to all but one of her teeth coming in. We really don't think about it, but her muscles are weak also in her mouth, jaw, her tongue, cheeks, etc. They also need to build strength to help with chewing and talking. She is chewing food nicely and her muscles are building. You can tell when she gets tired of chewing. She eats whatever Jen and I eat. That is good. We don't have to mush it up any more. We just cut it into pieces that are the right size for her now. Easier for us. We still have to feed her but we have been working on that too. She now takes the spoon and will bring it to her mouth and feed herself. We just help guide it to her mouth. If we don't, she plays with the spoon and drops it. Than Oscar, our dog, gets to have some treats! He doesn't complain. He waits patiently under her chair. She hold her cup now and will drink out of it then put it back down. We help her hold it and bring it to her mouth and she does the rest. There have been so many changes the last few months it is hard to keep track of them all. Everyday is an adventure and we love it. Yes, we are tired a lot more. Sleep is precious for us. Lily-an will sleep 10-12 hours a night. Sometimes wake up at 4am laughing and playing, but give her a bottle and she is soon out, sometimes. We think we figured that out, she is hungry. We feed her a snack before bed and that seems to have worked. I don't know of many children, let alone, anyone else that wakes up with a smile on her face and is laughing and giggling. That is what we get to experience everyday. What a joy it is to share in her happiness. That makes everything worth it. No matter how much we are tired, sick, rundown, whatever, that smile and laughter makes everything else go away. Yes, we are busy. Most of our day is consumed and disappears because of what we are doing with Lily-an, therapy, drs. appts., whatever, but, we will not trade it for the world. We don't have a lot of time to ourselves or really with each other anymore, but that is life and that is what happens when children come into the picture. Especially one that has some needs and you have to be there for her all the time. I don't take anything for granted anymore and I doubt Jennifer doesn't either. Our life is our daughter in a way. We love doing it. Parenting is a responsibility and we can't take it lightly. We would not go back to our lives before we got Lily-an. We both say that. Life was good before, but empty in away. It isn't empty anymore. We do almost everything together as a family. Both of us are with her during her therapy, unless one of us in on an EMS run. We schedule our days around Lily-an and what is going on with her. It is so much fun watching her grow. She is blossoming in so many ways. It won't be long and she will be crawling and moving about. That will be sooner than later. Looking back over the previous year and everything that has happened, going on, whatever it may be has been a whirlwind. Days go by fast and time does disappear. But, we wouldn't change it for the world or want it any other way. (maybe the next post will be sooner than 2 months) God bless everyone, keep us in your prayers for strength, wisdom, serenity. God is good and we owe everything to him. He keeps us grounded and gives us strength when we need it. Most of all, He is working through Lily-an. She brings joy and happiness to everyone she meets!

A Thankful Day.

Hard to believe that today is Thanksgiving. That means winter is coming and the way it feels outside I would say it's close. We have had a very nice fall. Warm temps, a lot of sun, little rain. Until this past week. I think all that nice stuff is gone for now. Started thinking about Thanksgiving and what it means. Think back to the original settlers who started it and why they did it. Then I started to think about what I am thankful for this year. I am not a sentimental person or anything like that but I do reflect on a lot of things. I thank God for this past year first and foremost. I try to thank him daily so this is nothing different. We have a roof over our heads, clothes on our back, some food in the pantry and a few other things. I am thankful to be a father. I have a beautiful daughter who has taught me so much. I would never go back to life before her. Some people may look at us wonder why did we adopt a daughter with special needs. You had a choice, you could have had a "healthy" child. Well, God didn't have that in mind for us and if we had chosen to stay in the traditional program, we would still be waiting. Even with all the appointments during the week and the recent trips to Children's in Milwaukee it is all worth it. She brings so much life and energy to our house. She is rarely sad or unhappy. The smiles and her laughing can make anyone laugh no matter how they are feeling. It's hard to believe that a child with a very rough start in life has that attitude she has. I am thankful for that ray of sunlight she brings. Jennifer and I both agree that life is so much better now. That one piece that was missing for so long is no longer missing. Life is full of blessings everyone. Sometimes they are hard to see but they are there. I am thankful for a wife that puts up with me. I am a stubborn person sometimes. Must be that Norwegian in me. She loves me no matter what. We have been together over 20 years now. :) So thankful that Lily-an is growing, developing and doing so well. She is a strong willed child just like her Chinese name means. Who would have thought. So much to be thankful for this year. So much has gone on it feels like a whirlwind at times. But still thankful everyday that God has blessed our family so much beyond anything we could have imagined. I don't know how we do it somedays but we do. Thankful God is there to guide us through. Sometimes we have to make decisions, thankful that God is there to help with that. Thankful for a great year. Thankful in advance, good or bad, for the year to come.

A prayer for Lily-an

I can't believe how fast this past year has gone. I haven't blogged anything since we got home. I know Jennifer has been doing it but I haven't. She seems to do a better job at it than me. Today was a rough day. It was hard for Lily-an but also Jen and I. We knew going to Childrens today might be an upsetting day for her. Anytime a doctor has to look in Lily's ears or mouth, it is a struggle. She flat out does not like it. Well, after our last ENT visit in July the doctor recommended that she clean out Lily's ears. We opted not to because we knew it would upset her but also we had an appointment to get her legs casted for braces and didn't know what to expect and figured it would be too much. The casting went ok but she was upset which we expected, not bad though. Today, I had kind of had the feeling it wasn't going to be an easy day at the clinic. The nurse practitioner looked in her ears and said there was wax and she couldn't see the tubes clearly and thought they had come out. There was also dried blood. Not such a good thing. Well, she said she would have to clean the wax out so she could see. Oh boy, was that rough. Lily-an was one very mad child. She was pissed to say the least. The NP could only get a few small pieces of wax out and wasn't able to see a whole lot more. Lily-an was making noises we had never heard before she was so mad/upset. She had no bones telling us either. The NP prescribed a ear drop medication to help soften the wax and clean up the ear canal. We go back in 2 weeks for a follow up and we pray the ears are cleaner so she can see the tubes and ear drums. There is a possibility that Lily-an will not need tubes put back in if the ear drums look good and the fluid is draining like it should. We have to put drops in her ears twice a day she said. Well, 30 minutes later she was still upset. She was telling us what she thought of that. It is hard to hold your little one down like that. She doesn't understand and we can't explain it to her to help. It is just something that has to be done. I am guessing it will be done every 3-6 months now. I don't think we will have a choice. Maybe it will get easier.
Tonight went well. She fussed only a little when putting the drops in and then was her happy self. Then off to bed.
As for the ortho doc, he said there is a possibility that she won't need to have the surgery after the casting is done. If the foot stretches enough then she may not need it. The good thing is we talked with ENT and Ortho and they would be able to the 2 surgeries at the same time. That would be nice. It would be easier on Lily-an. Both surgeries would take 5 minutes total. Very quick to do. I am asking for prayer for Lily-an. We know God has his hand in all of this and is doing wonders in Lily-an we get to experience everyday. Pray for the doctors, pray for Lily-an that she wouldn't need either surgery - yes, we do believe in miracles, pray that Lily-an is comforted through the whole ear thing and the next 10 days with the drops. In 2 weeks that the ears are clear and the fluid is not built up behind the ear drums requiring tubes. She is one tough child. She will take it all in stride and if the surgeries are required, we will do it because we know it is best for her. Last but not least, pray for us the we have the wisdom to know what to do. Peace is always good for us. It was a stressful day for us.

Another First

Well, this wasn't a first that we were expecting to record today, but what parent is ever expecting to bring their child home in their first cast? Luckily no broken bones are involved!

Lily had a standard check up with her orthopedic doctor this morning to check the progress of her feet. She has been wearing new braces since July to help correct her foot positioning and to stretch her achilles tendon. When a child is born with club feet, basically the achilles tendon is to short/tight and this causes the foot to curl. The tighter the tendon the more severe and debilitating the condition becomes. The standard treatment is to have the infant wear a series of casts that increasingly stretch the tendon and then to maintain the position achieved by the casts by having the child wear braces at night until they are old enough to walk(Lily had this procedure done in China). Once the child is walking the weight of their own body will keep the feet properly aligned and the achilles tendon lengthened and they will no longer have to wear braces.

In Lily's case the casting/braces worked well on one foot but not on the other. Normally a child her age has been weight bearing on their feet for quite some time. Lily is not and that is probably a contributing factor to her left foot reverting to its old position.

Now in addition to the series of six casts that she will wear over the next 6 weeks, she will under go surgery to lengthen her achilles tendon. It is hard to have to put her through this, but this is something we have to do now otherwise we are risking her future ability to walk and run and play. The older she gets the less and less flexible and malleable her joints and tendons will become.

Lily has taken this all in stride. Not one single complaint out of her so far. Thankfully we only have to do the one foot. She is such a trooper!

Connections of the Heart

As Lily ushers in her second year of life I can't help but think about how different her life is today compared to her life in China. Even as she makes miraculous strides in development, in many ways they serve as a stark reminder of just how extremely deprived and damaging her first year and a half of life really was. Something as simple as walking underneath a canopy of trees is a stunning and delightful experience for her. Yet with all of the new and beautiful things and experiences at her finger tips, she still withdraws to her private, personal shell (though less and less). And while it may seem like every parent's dream to have a child the rarely if ever cries, for me, it is a gut wrenching reminder that humanity proved to her early on that crying does no good and no one cares anyway.
Our little flower is getting stronger and healthier every day, but it will take a long time and constant, intense care and love to help her set her roots deep to give her the stability she will need to bloom in abundance.
And in answer to the many unspoken questions and concerns - yes we know Lily isn't doing all of the things normal 2 year olds do. No we are not oblivious to her delays, nor are we glossing over them and hoping they will just go away. I think many people are worried that we are simply blinded by love and don't see the reality of how significant her delays are - rest assured we know. What we do have is a strong and deep faith that God will help Mike and I help Lily reach the full potential the He has in mind for her. I don't even try to imagine what plans God has for her, because if I try to do that with my limited imagination I might unwittingly inhibit a potential that is beyond my comprehension.
I hope this posting doesn't seem heavy and depressing because it isn't meant to be. Lily is such a tremendous joy and blessing. Every day she teaches me new things about love, life, strength, determination, and above all else, faith and hope. The scripture that we started this journey with is even more true and fitting today than it was then: Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

I cannot see the future, but my hope rests in God who brought about the miracle of this little girl in the first place and took us on the most amazing journey to unite us as a family.

New Month, New Adventures

Can we really be in March already?! Time gets screwed up when you have kids I am finding:-) It feels like just yesterday that we brought Lily home, and at the same time it feels like she has been with us forever.
Lily is changing so fast we can't even keep track of all of the progress she is making on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. She is getting so strong and she is really beginning to develop her own personality. She is sweet and quirky and a little goofy.
What can I say - we are so blessed by God to have this little firecracker of a girl in our lives. I can't even begin to describe what it is like to watch God working so directly and evidently in our lives - in her life.
Thank you God.

Jennifer

Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year 2010

Thought you all might like to see some pictures of a little girl who is blossoming into the most amazing little personality. I think it is pretty easy to see the difference from the pictures at Christmas time to the ones we took today.
Two weeks ago Lily had tubes put in her ears and the advance hearing test done that tested her brain stem response to sound (ABR test). Once again God has answered our prayers and shown us His amazing power of healing and restoration. Her hearing test came back with 99% perfect hearing. They are going to watch her right ear because at the very lowest tones there was a questionable response but they are fairly certain that is because of the considerable amount of wax that was in that ear in combination with having the tube inserted that was causing the questionable reading. Even if there is a small amount of hearing loss at the lower level it is not anything that will cause her any kind of impairment - most of you who have ever spent any time listening to rock and roll probably have more impairment than she does:-)
It is so easy to watch God answering prayers for this little girl because it is so easy to believe that she deserves to have these prayers answered. But God loves each and everyone of us just as much as He loves her and He wants to show us that, if we would just ask Him to come in to our hearts.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. " James 1:17

Jennifer

Praise God!

A lot changes in the course of 6 months! Last May/June we were looking at the file of a little girl who was stealing our hearts with her smile. A little girl who we were told had serious hearing loss and serious developmental delays and possibly mental retardation. We prayed a lot. God is this the little girl you have chosen for us? God are you sure we can handle all of these medical/developmental problems? What if she is too broken, God? What if we don't love her the way you do? We can't see the future, God, but we can see all of the big and scary what if's, so what if? We can't see where this is going God!

Back to the verse with which we started this journey:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

We could not see the beauty and purity of spirit that we have come to find that our Lily possesses. We could not see the inner strength she carries in her thin and delicate frame. We could not see her determination or her boundless joy and enthusiasm for life. We had no assurance of healing for her delays and physical difficulties.

Yet we hoped and prayed for all of these things.

On Monday Lily went for her hearing test. Not only can she hear in both ears, and pretty well at that, her hearing will be dramatically improved with the simple procedure of having tubes placed to remove fluid build up in her middle ear - a common problem that so many children have. She does have considerable fluid build up, and has probably had that most of her life. Because of her age and how long she has had difficulties the doctor will also do a more advanced, thorough hearing test at the same time as her tube placement to pinpoint exactly what she hears and the quality of that hearing. At this point it looks like any hearing loss she will retain after the tube placement will be minimal!

Lily is daily growing in strength and in personality:-) To think that we could possibly have missed the beauty and wonder of this little girl is an unbearable thought! Thank you God for giving us the faith we needed to trust in your plan for us and for Lily.

Jennifer

More Pictures

I especially love the picture of Lily with her cousin Parker:-) Lily seems so tiny and delicate, but look how long she is next to 3 year old Parker?!! She would be almost as tall as he is if they were standing up - LOL!!

Time Flys!

Well, here we are, nearly the middle of January already! Wanted to get a few pictures up from the holidays so here they are. Lily sailed through the craziness of Christmas without missing a beat.
She is continuing to gain strength and size. We weighed and measured her at the end of December and she had gained 2 1/2 pound and 2" in length since the end of November!! She sleeps 12 hours a night and takes a two hour nap almost every day. She eats like a horse, pretty much every two hours she needs food. I guess I would eat everything in site and sleep the rest of the time if I was growing that much too:-) She is at a total of 18 lbs. and 31". Of course she still looks like a string bean because she is growing in length so much, but she has definitely filled out.
Looking forward to meeting with the Ear/Nose/Throat specialist at Children's hospital next week for an evaluation of her hearing. Anxious to hear what they determine her hearing abilities to actually be. Other than that Lily is just plugging away at her physical, occupational, and speech therapy every week. She has a more complicated schedule than we do! - LOL
Enjoy the pictures!

Poem

From Dear Abby's column today, a request for a reprint of a poem that had appeared in her column before:

The author, Edna Massimilla, wrote it after her daughter -- a child with Down syndrome -- was born.

I have always found its message to be very moving and, when I spoke to Edna, she told me it was written to emphasize that every creation is for a purpose. She's in her 90s now and still writing poems and songs -- especially for children with disabilities. Read on:

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from Earth.

It was time again for another birth.

Said the Angels to the Lord above --

This special child will need much love.

Her progress may be very slow,

Accomplishment she may not show.

And she'll require extra care

From the folks she meets down there.

She may not run or laugh or play,

Her thoughts may seem quite far away.

So many times she will be labeled

'different,' 'helpless' and disabled.

So, let's be careful where she's sent.

We want her life to be content.

Please, Lord, find the parents who

Will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right away

The leading role they are asked to play.

But with this child sent from above

Comes stronger faith, and richer love.

And soon they'll know the privilege given

In caring for their gift from heaven.

Their precious charge, so meek and mild

Is heaven's very special child."

******************

While we feel quite confident at this point that Lily will overcome all of the delays and difficulties she is currently facing, this poem gets to the heart of why we decided to take a "risk" on a special needs child. After three years of agonizing waiting and frustration God showed us that we were actually the ones with special needs. That we had hardened our hearts to His beautiful and wonderful creation. Once we allowed Him to repair our hearts we were finally able to receive the precious gift He had in mind for us. Lily is exactly what the poem says "so meek and mild" and she is most definitely "heaven's very special child." We are extra special blessed in understanding that God guided our path in such a way as to allow us to choose this little girl for our very own, simply out of the faith and love He put in our hearts.

Lullabies and Laughter

The last couple of days have really seen Lily coming out of her shell. She went from being a nearly silent baby to babbling her fool little head off the other night. I can't even give an adequate description of the transformation we are witnessing in her. I will give it a shot, though.
Lily is rightly named for a flower. When we got her she was a tiny little transplant. She was long and spindly like a little plant that was growing and growing but had no sun to make it strong or nutrients to sustain its growth. She was wilted without water and no roots to anchor her.
We have spent the last few weeks pouring love on this little wilted girl and we are so blessed by God to be able to watch her come to life.
As the days and nights have gone by I had been searching for the right song to use as a lullaby. Lily - in spite of her supposed poor hearing - definitely responds to music sung to her. She doesn't really respond to music on the radio, but if you sing to her you get her attention. The right song came to me the other night. I just sing the chorus because it pretty much says everything I need it to say. I sing it as a prayer for her and a prayer for me, and it is such a beautiful picture of adoption.

Bind us together
Lord, bind us together
with cords that cannot be broken

Bind us together
Lord, bind us together
Lord, bind us together with love.

Info. Update

A lot of people have been asking so I wanted to let you all know that Mike and I are planning to stop at Target and Sears tomorrow and register. I think we are finally starting to get a handle on what we need and what Lily is going to need, sorry all of this has been in reverse order, but that's just the way it works with adoption I guess:-)
Also, Lily's full name is Lily-an Xiao Hua Thoreson. We know it's a long, slightly complicated name but we really wanted her to be able to retain her Chinese name. Xiao Hua is pronounced like sea-yeow wa and means "little flower". I sure she will hate us when she starts kindergarten and has to learn how to spell her name, but oh well, parent's perrogative.
We are starting on our 5th full day at home and things are going well. Lily seems to be adapting quite well. I think it will take her a coupe of weeks to realize that this setting is permanent. We did so much traveling and moving around in China, every few days there was a dramatic change in scenery for her. So the longer we are at home the more I think she will relax and come out of her shell. Overall she is a very content and peaceful little girl. She also seems to be quite a serious thinker. Her little eyebrows come together and she just has this intense look of concentration when she sees or hears something new. Yes, she is hearing things and seems to be hearing more everyday, which is amazing! We are very anxious to get her evaluated and find out exactly what is going on with her ears.
Oscar (our 4 legged baby) is adapting to her very well and has already established himself as her protector. She is pretty indifferent to him, but she will smile when he licks her face.
All in all, we couldn't ask for a better transition from travel to home.

Jennifer

Home at Last

Sunday morning here in beautiful, sunny Wisconsin!! It is so good to be home. We survived the 14 hour flight from China - Lily seemed to handle it the best of all. She hardly made a peep the whole flight. We even managed to get a good night's sleep the first night home. Spent the day unpacking yesterday and trying to figure out what "routine" and "normal" are going to look like for us now.
It was so wonderful to come home to chili in the crock pot and fresh cornbread, a stocked fridge, and a table full of gifts for Lily-an. Thanks to all of our wonderful friends who made our home so warm and comforting to come home to.
To all of our China friends - we hope you all made it home safe and sound. We look forward to hearing from all of you in the days and months to come, and seeing all the kids blossom.
Lily seems to be adjusting well. I am totally amazed by how easily she has adapted her sleep schedule. She loves the fresh air - we went for a short walk in the sunshine yesterday and she was very animated and excited. I have to say I love the clean fresh air myself, after all the smog in China, it is a much welcome change.

Jennifer

Coming Home!!!!

Yes, we waiting to board our flight.  We are at the Hong Kong Airport and will be boarding within the hour.  We are ready.  This trip has been very trying in many ways.  It has drained us physically and emotionally at times.  I don't there is anyway to plan for it.  You just have to go through it.  We did, we won the race and now we are coming home with Lily-an.  She is doing great.  We can tell she is stressed and anxious but she is holding in there.  It has been trying the last few days for her but we work through it and keep going.  We know we are in for challenges when we arrive home.  It will be very unsettling for her.  It will require time for her to adapt to her new surroundings.  The good thing about that is we will be familiar with it and we will be relaxed and we hope she will pick up on that.  We are looking forward to seeing our friends and "family" in Mayville.  We probably will be spending the first few days sleeping and adjusting and hopefully Lily-an will adjust to the different hours.  There has been so much that has happened on this trip.  Don't even know where to start.  The blogging was only part of what the trip was like.  We hope it gave everyone reading it a peak into our trip.  Jennifer and I experienced a lot.  We felt like fish out of water.  The food got old and we didn't have an appetite the last few days.  Here at the airport, we each got a sandwich and it was good.  The coffee wasn't even all that good but it worked.  Starbucks would get to expensive if we went everyday.  All in all, it was experience that we enjoyed.  Would we want to do it again, at this time - no.  We may change our minds in the future but right now, no.  Well, this is the last blog of the trip and of the adoption.  We don't know if we will continue the blog or not.  May start a new one.  We will keep everyone informed as to what our plans are.  From the bottom of our hearts, we thank everyone for everything they have done for us during the last 4 years.  Yes, 4 years.  Hard to believe.  The support has been fantastic from so many people.  First we thank our Lord for guiding and sustaining us during the good and bad times.  We owe everything to him first.  Second is our family and friends.  We have so many friends that we don't know where to start.  Our families have been great.  Even if they do live 500 miles away, they have done a lot for us.  God is good.

Last Day in Guangzhou

One last update before we leave for Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon.  Today we had our consulate appointment.  Very quick and simple.  They verified who we were and then after that everyone took an oath and that was that.  We are done, literally.  One more night here then one is Hong Kong then back home.  We are doing ok.  We are ready to come home.  Lily-an is doing great.  Again, improvements everyday.  We will take whatever she will give.  She is our little trooper.  That is it for now.  Will try to post while in Hong Kong when have a few more minutes.  We are getting all packed and ready tonight that way tomorrow we don't have to worry about it.  Take care everyone, until next time.

Only A Few More Days

Hello everyone.  Everything is moving along.  We are enjoying what time we have left- well, the best we can.  We are bored and ready to come home.  Not even the food is good anymore.  Doesn't matter if it is Italian, a burger or whatever, we just want to be home.  To have our own kitchen or our bed.  Lily-an is doing good.  She is doing better and better.  We are having fun with her.  She is a happy baby, unless you don't feed her.  We are at a Starbucks right now.  At least the coffee is good.  Today our reps took all of our paperwork to the US Consulate and everyone is good to go.  Tomorrow we go to the consulate and take an oath.  I don't know what it means but that is tomorrows only thing.  Then on Thursday we get Lily-an's visa and then after that we fly out to Hong Kong at 4pm.  We will spend the night there and then fly out late Friday morning.  Now it is just wait to leave.  We are finding things to do.  You really can't do a lot in the hotel room and it isn't set up to live in.  At least there are some tv shows we can watch.  Not everything is in Chinese.  Today we did the tradition of taking pictures on the Red Couch at the hotel.  That was fun.  All the babies, families and then the group.  Most children did great.  It was fun.  That is what the pictures are of.  Lily-an is bonding well and we are seeing improvement everyday.  She is smiling more and more.  Our little bundle of joy.  She is a blessing.  It is so peaceful to watch her interact, watch her sleep.  What an experience.  We are both blessed to experience this.  She is bringing us so much joy.  I don't think there is any words that can express any of it.  It has been a treat.  We are just enjoying visiting with other families here.  It is fun to see all the little babies and children here.  We don't feel like the white elephant in the living room like we did in Beijing or Zhengzhou.  Very friendly here.  We bought a stroller the other day because our backs were getting sore from carrying Lilly-an in the carrier.  She calms down and really enjoys it.  We figured if it lasts for the duration of the trip, that is fine.  She is happy in it.  She even fell asleep yesterday in it.  Yesterday we went to the Pearl Market.  It took us about 1/2 hour and realized it was time to go.  To much pressure to buy things and how do we know what is real or fake when it comes to gems or stones.  Everything look real but is it.  You walk in to a store and there are 3-4 people offering and trying to sell you.  You tell them no and even more people come to you.  We had enough.  So we walked out and headed down the street to a department store.  We were able to buy pj's for Lily-an.  She did good.  After a few hours out, we took a taxi back to the hotel and enjoyed the day.  We are doing well and look forward to coming home.  Until next time.  Take care and enjoy the photo's