Day 107

Rather than drag this post on and on about how we haven't received our LOA yet or whine about why we haven't received it yet, I will just get right to the point...



After 107 agonizing days, we finally got our...







I was actually in the middle of e-mailing a friend about how there were several LOA's being posted on RQ when the phone rang. As soon as I looked at the caller ID I knew.

Praise God! Andrew Isaac Hong Chun has officially been approved to become our son! Now we wait, again. I was told that TA is taking anywhere from 3-5 months. Lets pray we are on the shorter end of that wait time.

Elsa Update

Let me start by saying a big "THANK YOU" to each and everyone of you who said a prayer for Elsa and her family. For those of you who are new to my blog, Elsa is a little girl from the exact same orphanage in Nanjing as Mylee. In fact, she also lives in our town along with four other Nanjing cuties (there are a total of six right here). Anyway, we all get together twice a month, once with the kids and once with just the moms. We have so much fun and look forward to our times together.

Back in August we were all brought to our knees when we found out that Elsa had cancer. She immediately started chemo, became very sick, lost her hair, and spent countless hours in and out of the hospital. As a mother I cannot even begin to imagine the emotions Susan and he rest of the family must have been going through. My heart literally ached for them. Since August we have not seen Elsa (actually I was able to visit with her briefly during one of her chemo treatments), and we have only seen Susan a couple of times. We miss them terribly. Elsa is such a sweet little girl and her mom Susan is an amazing woman who I admire and am so blessed to call her my friend.

Elsa had a scan done just before Christmas. The result; two of the three tumors were completely gone and the one that was left was the size of a marble. Elsa's doctors sent her home for the holidays and scheduled another scan for January. That scan, THE scan was yesterday. I know along with myself other Nanjing moms were on pins and needles all day so I cannot imagine how Susan and the rest of Elsa's family felt. As of late last night we still had heard nothing other than the scan was done and Elsa did not have to be sedated.

Fast forward to this afternoon and I still had heard nothing. I ended up calling one of the other moms regarding another matter and she told me she had just gotten off the phone with Susan with GOOD NEWS!! Well, good news with a bit of a hiccup. The scan still showed the tumor, but the good news is that it has not grown or changed at all. Why is this good news? Because the tumor hasn't grown or changed that means it is not active and could just be calcified tissue. As of now Elsa has has once again been sent home to live her life like a normal child. She will go back for another scan in May and if the results are the same Elsa will be officially in remission.

This is such GREAT news and I am so happy for Elsa and her family. I am also happy for our Nanjing group because this means Elsa will be able to start coming back to our play groups and we will be seeing more of Elsa and Susan.

New Look

So I figured since Christmas is over I should probably get a new look for my blog. What do you think? I figured since we WILL be going to China at some point this year I would go with a Chinese inspired look this time. Obviously for us to go to China we need to get our LOA (which by the way, today is day 106).

This wait for our LOA is excruciating. In comparison to being pregnant, it is like being overdue. With Blake and Emma I was exactly two weeks overdue. I was miserable, tired, achy, and pretty much done being pregnant. For me the wait for LOA is much worse. I'm not really sure why. I think it is because we are all so excited to have Drew join our family. We see pictures of him and get monthly updates. We know he is in a fantastic environment, but it is not home. Although the physical aspects of being pregnant are not there, the emotional ones are and in some cases worse. Right now is especially hard for me because I feel like we are at a stand still. At lease once we get our LOA I will feel like we are finally moving forward.

I feel so bad for Gabe. He is only five so he doesn't really have a sense of time yet. When we started this process we kept telling Gabe that we wouldn't go get Drew until sometime after Christmas. Well, Christmas has come and gone and poor Gabe keeps asking me when he is going to get his little brother.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers that we get our LOA soon. Even if we were to get our LOA this week the earliest we could travel would be the middle to end of March. UGHHHHHHH!!!! Sorry I am venting, but I know many of you completely understand what I am going through right now having been through this process before.

I keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason and when God is ready to unite us with Drew He will but sometimes it is easier said than done.

This was the picture we received with Drew's December update. He looks so sad. I think he just wants his family.

Snow Fun

Last weekend we spend the entire day Sunday sledding with friends. Our good friends have a hill and a pond in their backyard and every year they make a snow ramp. They start working on it as soon as it gets cold enough and once there is enough snow they begin making the ramp and snow track. It starts at the top of the hill and goes down to the pond. Basically the kids ride sleds down the hill (track) and onto the pond. They have SO much fun.

I start back to school tomorrow and am not really looking forward to it. I have really enjoyed the three week break. I would so love more time to get more things done and I have a couple more books I would like to read, but hey, there's always Spring Break.

Still no word on our LOA. I think we are at day 105 or some ridiculous number like that. Once again I am hoping and praying that we hear something this week. I have pretty much accepted the fact that we will not be with our son when he turns 4 in March. I just keep reminding myself that God has a plan and He will reveal that plan in His own time.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying along with us that we hear something about our LOA soon. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers.

Enjoy the pictures...

Thankful Thursday..No Tetanus Shot Needed

So, I got a call today, no, not the LOA call, but a phone call from the school. Most parents get a bit nervous when they hear from their child's school. Around here it is a weekly thing. I can pretty much guarantee that Blake is going to call from school at least twice a week to ask if he can stay after for some activity. When Emma's school calls I know they are calling to let me know that she is "sick." So, I was a bit surprised when I looked at the caller ID to see that it was Mylee's school that was calling this time. I am not used to seeing her school's number so I will admit a bit of panic ran through me. Anyway, the first words out of the nurses mouth were "this is not an emergency, but a courtesy call to let you know what happened today." I was a bit relieved but not completely. She went on to let me know that Mylee had been brought to her office today because she had been bitten by another child on her cheek. Apparently a toy was involved. A toy that Mylee wanted and the little girl was not willing to give up. So, the result, Mylee was bitten on the cheek.

To be honest when I heard that I had to chuckle a little. The nurse said the teachers washed the area off with soap and water and the nurse had put a band-aid on it. She said "Mylee was so sweet about it, she didn't even cry." I thanked her for calling and and didn't really think too much about it until Mylee got home.

Mylee couldn't get off the bus fast enough to tell me what happened. She was so proud to show everyone her band-aid.

Me: "Mylee, what happened to your cheek?"

Mylee: "K bite my cheek."

Me: "Why did she bite you?"

Mylee: "K was playing with a toy. K doesn't say words and she bit my cheek. See?"

Me: "Are you okay?"

Mylee: "Yeah, Mrs. J took me to the nurse, I got a band-aid (pointing excitedly at her band-aid)."

Me: "Next time you need to ask nicely for the toy and not try to take it away."

Mylee: "Okay, but K doesn't say words and she bite my cheek, I got a band-aid."

Me: "Can I take off the band-aid to see your cheek and then we will put on another band-aid and some medicine."

Mylee: "I will show you."

And this is what I saw...

She was quite happy to show me her "battle scar."





At the suggestion of my neighbor I called my Pediatrician to make sure she didn't need a Tetanus shot or antibiotic. They assured me that she was okay and to just continue to put antibiotic cream on it.

As you can see, she doesn't seem to devastated about it. I on the other hand just hope that it doesn't scar.



LOA Update: Today is day 101:(

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Pictures

This is an update to earlier to day, no, we haven't heard anything on our LOA yet but I have had a couple of people e-mail me and leave comments about the extra little girl in the pictures. We have not added anyone new to our family (yet), she is my niece Riley.

I am finally getting around to posting pictures from Christmas. Rather than try to post individual pictures I just put them all in a slide show. Enjoy!

Oh, and tomorrow marks day 100 of our LOA wait. The average wait is 70 days. On the RQ chart I am second from the top. I honestly did not think we would have to wait this long. I am having to continue to remind myself that although I want Drew home more than anything, ultimately it is not up to me. Patience is definitely something adoption teaches you.

Enjoy the slideshow and please keep those prayer for our LOA coming.