Big Snow!

For Chesapeake, this is an historic snow!! We had about 8 inches at last check, but the snow was still falling about 5 pm! When olivia woke up I told her there was a surprise outside---when she saw it she made the sign for cold and just grinned.

After breakfast, Olivia and I began layering on the clothing for our outdoor adventure. Tom wasn't feeling well at all today so it was just Olivia and I out in the snow for about an hour and a half. She "helped " shovel the driveway and slid down the front steps. I think the only reason she wanted to go in was the wind blowing stingy sleet on her face. Finally she had enough of the cold...me too! Here are a few pics plus some of Dutch and Gus romping in the snow!

"As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10-11

Adoption?

Came across this from another blog and thought it so very perfect! When others ask us why we adopted when our nest was almost empty with the finish line in sight? This is the answer...........Why wouldn't I? Although the process is arduous at best and we are unsure where the money will come from and the fears must be squashed over and over by my tiny measure of faith, God may not be finished with us yet!....

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Two Months is Too Long...

We've just celebrated Olivia's 6 month mark being home with us. The time has certainly flown by and much has happened. She healed very well from her surgery and the soft diet didn't seem too hard for her, thankfully. Thanksgiving was very memorable! Time at Granddaddy and Nomi's house in SC---Tyler, aunts, uncles, nephew, niece, Nana--so wonderful! Little did we know that in two weeks my father would be home with the Lord. Those memories are all the more precious. I very much wanted Olivia's grandfather to have more time with her. Yet it is amazing that in the two nice visits she had with him, he made such a lasting impression on her. She just last week carried his photograph around --kissing it over and over.

You know the Third Day song "I Wish You Merry Christmas"? Well, I so looked forward to this Christmas with Olivia finally home! It was wonderful but also difficult for all of us with Granddaddy gone. How do folks do it without the hope of life everlasting and full of glory?! First Christmas with Olivia, first Christmas without my dad. Bittersweet!

We were honored to have my mom with us for the holidays. I have seen a strength in my mom that I only wish I had---she is humble, trusting, and so brave. Christmas Eve would have been my parents 59th anniversary! What a legacy!

The new year came on strong. Olivia has speech therapy every Wednesday in our home---courtesy of Chesapeake County and we are so happy. Stephanie is great with Olivia, and Olivia looks forward to her visits.

I'll finish with a huge thank you to the Lord for all of His rich blessings!

Recovery and Get Well Wishes!!

Thank you to all the folks at JFCOM who have so richly blessed us! Olivia loves her giraffe and all of the wonderful things she received earlier in her "Welcome Home" box!


Olivia is doing great! Her nights are off still, but she is eating as well as can be expected with liquids only. She plays hard and expects us to as well! She left the hospital on Friday around noon with much pomp and circumstance. Waving and blowing kisses, she walked from her ward 4B all the way to the parking circle outside the entrance of PNH, I believe she was glad to go! We cannot say enough good things about the staff at Portsmouth and the quality of care was outstanding! We are so very grateful to our Heavenly Father for His provision and care! We truly believe that He chose Dr. Lim and Dr. Gessler to treat Olivia! We appreciate all of the prayers on her behalf and know that our merciful God hears and answers them! Thank you!

Happy Birthday times Three!!

With the celebration of Olivia's second birthday, we take this opportunity to also honor Alexa and Kayla! Alexa turned 20 in September and Kayla turned 25 last week! Our girls are growing up and so very beautiful! We were able to visit Alexa in October for Parent Weekend at Campbell...lots of fun! Kayla is far from us right now serving in the Middle East, but we get to talk often which is great! And Miss Olivia is on the road to recovery from her surgery last week and doing great! Enjoy a few pics! Sweet daughters, you are all so precious to us! Sorry we are still playing catch-up on the birthdays....


Parent Weekend with Alexa!

Alexa and Kayla this past summer!
Olivia's pre-birthday , pre-surgery celebration...more B-day pics coming from tonight's celebration! No cake though but plenty of ice cream...per Dr. Lim!

Operation Day

It is done...it went amazingly well...she is tired, sore, confused and resting with some very strong pain killers--but her pallet is now closed, tubes are in her ears and now she is on her way to recovery in the ICU tonight, and probably at least another night on the regular ward. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS--God's amazing fingerprints have been all over this adoption journey and this chapter has been no exception.













Since we have been going on about 3.5 hours of sleep since 3:45 am...I will be brief. Showtime was 0500 at Portsmouth Naval Hospital... after paperwork, changing into her cute hospital gown and some waiting, we moved over the Recovery Ward where we met the surgical team at 0715--what a wonderful group of folks--she had a plastic surgeon for the Pallet work, an ENT surgeon for the ear tubes, two Anesthetists, a surgical nurse, and a resident. They started work around 0745 by doing the ear tubes first (20-30 mins) followed by the Pallet surgery (3 hours) and then an audiology test (1 hour). We were blessed by having the Nurse call us about every 90 mins or after each phase for an update. We were able to join her in the Pediatric ICU at about 1:30 pm. She was basically asleep until 4:00 pm although you could tell she was somewhat uncomfortable. Even when she was awake she appeared quite groggy and confused but definitely recognized her mother and appeared much more comfortable in her arms. From the pictures you might be able to tell that she has enough cables coming out of her to be a computer. She has a full-time dedicate nurse in the ICU, so they were able to convince Susie to come home for a few hours sleep...she will return at 0730. By tomorrow they hope for Olivia to start drinking fluids and have some soft foods.

ENT said that her ears were quite clogged up with a very thick fluid and based on her hearing test her hearing we be quite improved and will help her in her speech. So this wonderful journey continues and thank you for your love and support.

God Bless you all.

Pre-Op

Wednesday, we saw Olivia's surgeon for pre-op information. Dr. Lim is wonderful...and Chinese. He enjoyed Olivia's orphanage book and read some of the Chinese captions to us.

The big day is Wednesday Nov. 4---the time will be decided Tuesday but most likely very early. Dr. Lim said Olivia has a complete cleft palate---meaning large and open. He had just done one the day before and said it should heal nicely. The surgery will be about 3 hours long and consist of three parts---correcting the underlying nasal area, then the muscle layer, and finally the palate. The muscle layer is the most important and troublesome. Without proper muscle function, speech will be difficult and nasal sounding. Also there would be leakage through the nose---we know that one as we have that now--lots! About 10-15% don't get muscle function in the first few months after surgery and have to repeat the procedure in a year. Please pray the muscles heal rapidly and function miraculously fast!

Dr. Gessler (ENT) will put tubes in her ears to drain the fluid and do an ABR to check her hearing---now her hearing is at about 50+%. His portion of surgery is about 1 hour. Both of these docs have exceptional bedside manner and are great with Olivia. So blessed to have them as her team!

After surgery, she will be in PICU overnight to monitor for swelling and keep her on IV fluid and antibiotics. The next day she will be given clear fluid and wear "no-no's" on her arms---basicly, splints to keep her from putting her hands in her mouth! I don't think she will be very happy about that---she likes being in control! We'll be feeding her etc. Please pray for understanding and peace on her part! Ours, too!! We hope to bring her home on Friday! At that point she will be on a liquid/soft food diet for a month! Good thing she loves yogurt and ice cream!! Thanks in advance for your prayers. We'll try to post pics from the hospital with updates!