Almost One Year Home!

I cannot believe that in a week Anna will have been in our family for a year!  What an amazing, difficult, fun, crazy year it has been.  She has truly been an amazing gift to our family and always brings lots of pizzazz.  I still can’t believe that her foster home told us that she was a shy and reserved little girl.  Well that little girl is long gone!  She is a spunky, bossy, silly three year old.  Sweet as can be one minute and little miss 3 going on 13 the next.  Having 3 older siblings has definitely had an influence on her and she has no trouble getting into battles of “who can talk the loudest to get attention” with them.  Some days it is hard to remember that she hasn’t always been part of our family. 

Anna’s newest and biggest accomplishment is being potty trained!  She caught on really quickly and within a few weeks was having very few accidents.  Although she isn’t always accident free,  I’d have to say she has been one of my easiest to train.  Really this is nothing short of a miracle.  Back in January a nurse doing her urology testing told me that “THESE KIDS” can’t be potty trained.  Luckily, I held my breath and didn’t say what I wanted to, but let’s just say Anna isn’t “THESE KIDS” Yes, she has Spina Bifida, but she is her own person and she is a living miracle.  She shouldn’t be alive. She shouldn’t be able to walk and she shouldn’t be able to use the potty.  But guess what?  She is!  She shouldn’t even be part of our family but… She is! She has a God that is SO BIG!  And He has done great things for her.  One of her favorite songs is “My God is So Big” I love to hear her sing it because it is so true in her life.   I love that each and every day we can see God’s miracles and praise him for them.

This leads me into a BIG PRAYER REQUEST for Anna.  Last spring Anna had a baseline MRI done.  Initially we were told that everything looked fine.  Unfortunately, two months later when we met with the neurosurgeon we found out that wasn’t the case.  I won’t go into the details of the misinformation (not good.)  But what we did find out was that Anna has a significant build up of spinal fluid in her spinal column.  Realistically, a child with that much spinal fluid built up should have a spinal shunt put in to drain the fluid.  But as we determined earlier, Anna doesn’t follow the rules.  The surgeon looked at how well she is doing and didn’t see any reason to do surgery on her right then.  So, we decided to wait 4 months and have another MRI.  So this Wednesday, October 2^nd she will have that MRI.  For the last four months we have been praying for a miraculous healing.  Every night as I tuck her in, I pray that this next MRI will show a significant reduction in the amount of spinal fluid.  Would you please join us in praying for this miracle?  I believe Anna’s God is definitely big enough to do this miracle in her body.  Please also pray for wisdom in moving forward if we don’t get the particular miracle we are asking for.  Pray that we can trust God no matter what.

Anna’s walking is coming along really well.  She pretty much walks everywhere now with the assistance of a walker or forearm crutches.  She’s pretty amazing with the crutches since most kids her age aren’t coordinated enough to use them.  The crutches allow her to have more flexibility in getting around than just using the walker, but she prefers the walker for SPEED. She had her first “running on concrete and falling face first” experience a few weeks ago.  Not a fun result but nothing too serious. Last week we met with her orthopedic surgeon.  Her left leg (the club foot leg) has several issues because of how her bones grew wrong.  Getting her left leg corrected is going to take a lot of time, and it will probably never be perfect, but we want to make sure we are doing everything we can to get it in the best shape it can be.  As we move into the spring the next step will be to correct the bone malformation in her foot.  Anna’s walking is going so well that the surgeon wants to continue to improve that.  After that surgery she may have a surgery to correct the rotation of her tibia.  This second surgery will be more invasive, so we will wait to see how things go with the first surgery before moving forward with the tibia surgery.  Basically, the better she does the more surgery she gets.  Not really the reward you look forward to, but in her case it will bring greater benefit to her mobility as she gets older.

Last week Anna started a ballet class!  She is so excited about it.  We are very blessed to have a ballet program near our home that is happy to let Anna be involved despite her disability.  We are hoping that the class will continue to improve her balance as well as being a fun activity for her.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Anna and our family.  It is hard to put into words what this year has meant to us.  One thing is for sure.  It has changed us. Anna has brought us so much joy.   She has made us cling in faith to Jesus.  She has made our family more fun.  She has loved us even when we have acted unlovable.  She has adapted and adapted and adapted some more.  She challenges me every day to love more, be silly more, and to step out in faith more. She is a living, breathing, miracle and I am so blessed to be her mom.  Tonight as K.C. tucked her into bed he whispered "I love you" she sweetly whispered back "I know."   

Six months with Anna!

Well it’s been over six months since little Anna joined our family and what an adventure it has been! 

In January and February we had weekly appointments at Children’s Mercy getting Anna’s club foot fixed and checking that she had no kidney problems.  We are very excited about the amazing transformation of her foot and also finding out that her kidneys look great.  In March Anna had a baseline MRI of her head and spine to make sure that everything was the same as we had been told from the doctor’s reports from China.  Everything looks good and there shouldn’t be any surgeries in the near future.  We pray that she won’t need any more surgeries-ever.

Anna continues to amaze us with her incredible ability to adjust and learn and push her little body to the limits.  She can now stand on her own for about 10 seconds and can walk around holding on to something.  She even tries to walk up and down the stairs!  She loves to climb and recently started doing somersaults with a little push from behind.  She tears around the driveway with her walker and loves to be outside. She’s always cracking us up with her antics and as always is Little Miss Personality.  It’s never a dull moment around our house. 

Our latest news is that we bought a new house!  It has more space for our large family and we are pretty excited about our new pool!  We can’t wait to have friends and family over this summer.  We close next week and will probably move in after the kids finish school.  We’ll be putting our existing house on the market in a few weeks, so if anyone is looking for a completely remodeled four bedroom house in an awesome neighborhood in North Overland Park let us know.  Our new house is at 10037 Farley Lane and is only about 10 blocks from our old one.  We love this area and are really glad we found a house that meets our needs without moving very far.  We also love that the new house will be easier for Anna to get around in without all of the stairs our current house has.  Plus there will be lots of room for Anna's physical therapy in the finished basement.

We continue to praise God for the blessing of Anna to our family and for providing this new home for us.  K.C. and I also just returned from a four day trip to Miami courtesy of Sprint.  K.C. won an award for all of his hard work and was selected as being in the top 1% of employees at Sprint this year.  We are so thankful to some very special Grandma's, Grandpa's and Aunts for taking care of our kids so that we could go.  We feel very refreshed and rejuvenated after a long stressful year, and hopefully we will have some extra energy now to get ready to move! Anna did great while we were gone, and we continue to be so thankful to God for helping her to understand that she is completely part of our family and that mommy and daddy will always be here for her.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for Anna this winter during her casting and surgery.  Everything went so well.  It wasn’t easy for us, but she didn’t seem phased in the least.  She is well on her way to walking on her own and we are hoping to get her some crutches in the next few months to give her more opportunity to walk instead of crawl.  Her leg strength and balance improves daily and we look forward to the day we can post a video of her first solo steps.  She’s a true fighter and it will be exciting to see what she is able to accomplish over the next several months.

Anna flies down the driveway so fast with her walker that I make her wear a helmet so she doesn't get a head injury!

Post Surgery Update

I wanted to let you all know that everything went great today with Anna's surgery.  Thank you for all of your prayers. The doctor was able to get her foot into position with only lengthening the Achilles.  There was a possibility he would have to lengthen other tendons, but he didn't need to.  We had them give Anna a sedative before she went with the nurses, so she didn't cry when we handed her over to them.  Of course we both felt emotional, but we knew she was in good hands.  She woke up quickly from the anesthesia and we were able to head home by 11am.  By 12:00 she was eating snacks, crawling, and asking us to help her walk. She even got to go outside and enjoy the nice weather with grandma Gail. She'll have 4 weeks in her cast and then be ready for her leg brace.  It is possible that in a few years she could need another surgery if the bones don't grow correctly, but she should be good to go for awhile.

Please continue to pray for the healing process and for patience and endurance as she learns to balance and walk on her own after her cast comes off.

Blessings,
Michelle

3 Amazing months!

Well it's been over three months since we returned home with our little Anna Yinhuan and what an amazing, chaotic, blessed three months it has been!  I am still so amazed at how she has just joined right into our family.  She acts just like any other two year old and her language skills are beyond amazing!  No one can believe that she can speak as much English as she does and she's only been here three months.  I'm pretty sure that neither of my boys had her vocabulary at 2 1/2 and they were born here!  Sometimes the challenge is getting her to stop talking, especially in the car.  She definitely wants the attention and tries to tell her siblings to be quiet or stop talking so she can be heard.  In early December she easily transitioned to sleeping in her own bed at night, which surprised us.  She really seems to like going to sleep.  This is a huge answer to prayer because that was her biggest struggle when we first got her.  She is learning how to play on her own with her toys and especially likes pretend play like dolls, tea party, and making us food at her little kitchen. She's still not best friends with Chloe our dog, but since she figured out how to boss Chloe around she's been pretty happy.  With three older siblings it's the only "person" she can find to yell at!

Obviously I've had my hands full and haven't posted in two months.  I'm still adjusting to life with a two year old and three older kids, I feel like we are getting more into the normal swing of life now that the holidays are past. This month has been full of doctor visits and castings on Anna's club foot.  She will have surgery on Monday the 28th to clip her Achilles tendon and allow her foot to fully stretch into the correct position.  We got her fitted for a brace for her right foot, which we should get this week and she will be fitted for a brace on her left foot after her surgery, before the put on her cast.  Once she gets her cast off in 3-4 weeks she will have braces for both legs and be ready to learn to walk!  We are getting so excited for her. Anna's right leg has gotten much stronger in the last few months and she is able to walk with us holding her hand, holding onto furniture, and with her baby stroller/walker.

 Here she is just a few days after getting her first cast on.

Of course we had a great Christmas, and were so blessed to have Anna home for the holidays.  I think Christmas day was a bit overwhelming for her but overall she did great with all the family gatherings and lots of new people.  She wasn't sure what to think of getting so many toys all in one day, but she's enjoying playing with them now.  She is enjoying the concept of actually having things that belong to her.  She'll point to things and say, "Huan Huan de" which means- These are Huan Huan's toys.  She still answers more to her Chinese nickname than the name Anna, but she is learning to respond to her English name as well.  She sometimes calls herself "Banana" which is cute, and I can't help but call her Anna Banana sometimes. Anna's older siblings are still in love with her and big sister Esther often plays dress up dolls with her.  We feel so blessed every day to be able to be the parents of four amazing kiddos, and the addition of Anna to our family has been a special blessing.  She brings us incredible joy and her smile and courage in the face of adversity are an encouragement to us every day.

We would appreciate your prayers this Monday for Anna's surgery.  Please pray that she does well under the anesthesia and recovers quickly from its effects. Also please pray that she would not be in pain from the surgery.  Because of her nerve damage the surgeon thinks that she won't have a lot of pain.

Below is a link to a facebook album of some beautiful family photos that our talented friend Lisa Daniels took for us:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.561557480523228.130972.100000069425111&type=1&l=4fb86bce90

One month later

Today we celebrate one month of Anna officially becoming part of our family.  One month of being her mom and dad, one month of seeing her blossom and grow, and one month of precious, precious memories.  It hasn't been an easy month, that's for sure, but Oh the joy this little girl has brought to our family!  She has so much personality in that little twenty pound body and those eyes!  If looks could kill we'd all be dead!  

When we received Anna's updated information the day before Gotcha Day it said that she was scared of strangers but not afraid of anything.  We've definitely found that to be true.  Although meeting new people makes her a little worried, new experiences don't.  She is always up for an adventure and ready to put on shoes and a jacket to Go, Go, Go as her TV friend Kai Lan says.  Speaking Chinese has been such a help in communicating with her and she is picking up so many English words already.  She can say Esther, Micah, and Luke, and sometimes she'll throw in a K.C. or Michelle.  She can say shoes, all done, please and thank you, but the cutest is hearing her sing her ABC's along with her stuffed cow.  Here's the video.

It is amazing to see her personality come out in just a few weeks and to see how comfortable she is now with our family.  She never seems worried that we won't be there anymore and gladly lays down for naps and bedtime.  We still co-sleep with her at night and I just love waking up to her smiling little face and hugs in the morning.  She just loves her brothers and sisters and makes it hard for Micah to get his homeschool work done by calling out Micah, Micah, Micah to get him to play with her during the day.  We still just can't believe how easily she has transitioned into our family.  

I am loving having a toddler around again although managing the household with 4 kids is proving a daunting task.  I still have piles of papers to go through and travel medicines and misc. to put away. It just seems I never have enough time to get it done. I try to just get done what has to be done and pray for a day to get caught up.  Hopefully, this weekend will help with that.  Our first post adoption visit from our social worker as well as our first post adoption doctor's visit are this Tuesday.  We're in the process of making appointments with specialists in Spina Bifida and treating her club foot.  It will be a long process just getting with the doctors before we even start treatment.  Our biggest prayer request is that we would be able to see an orthopedic doctor before the end of the year so that we can have a better grasp of what will be involved in repairing her club foot, and bracing her legs so that she will be able to walk on her own.  Right now our appt. with the Spina Bifida clinic isn't until early January.  

We're looking forward to the holidays with a little one around again.  So much fun!

Here's a link to a Facebook album of Anna over the past month.  She's changed so much already.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.523897937622516.124975.100000069425111&type=1&l=292568ca3d

Alive and well at home!

Yes, we are alive and well at home!  Sorry you all haven't heard from me.  I honestly don't think I've even opened my computer in the past 3 days!  Thanks sooo much for your prayers for our journey home.  It was completely smooth and Anna only cried a couple of times during the 24 hours of travel.  Of course it was exhausting carrying her and helping her walk around the plane to keep her entertained, but she did at least sleep several times during the long 14 hour flight.  We got through customs and immigration in record time and on the last security check the security guards were very impressed with how efficiently all 6 of us got through the check.  They commented that we must have done this before.  YES, we most definitely had.  I should have kept a record of how many security checks we went through on this trip, and how many of our water bottles were confiscated!  The USA is a bit obsessive about the liquid thing!

We we welcomed home by family at the airport and with Welcome Home signs from those who couldn't make it. Anna was a bit overwhelmed by her new family members, but they just had to come and see her as soon as she arrived!

We are settling in well at home.  All the boys (including K.C) have had a rough time adjusting to the jet lag, but all of us girls have done just fine.  Anna really loves our house and her new room.  She loves her dolls and puts them to bed in a little dolly pack and play.  She loves exploring every room and having Esther carry her to see everything.  She's learning how to crawl up and down the stairs, but ever since we brought Chloe (our dog) home on Sunday she hasn't been as adventurous.  She enjoys the dog from far away, but up close is way too scary! Hopefully she will get used to Chloe soon so I don't have to keep her off the ground most of the time.  Chloe has actually been really good around Anna and hasn't tried to jump on her, which is saying a lot if you know our dog!

The kids are back to school, but looking forward to having Thursday and Friday off so they can catch up on missed work.  All their teachers tell us how much they talk about how excited they are about their new sister.  They all enjoyed China but were definitely ready to get home.  

Anna is doing much better with sleeping, even though she still has some night terrors, she goes down for her nap and bedtime willingly.  I've got her sleeping in her own bed for nap time which is nice so that when we transition her out of our bed it will hopefully be easier.  I think having her in our bed at night helped her not to experience jet lag because when she would wake up in the middle of the night she would see us still sleeping and see that it was dark and just snuggle up to us and go back to sleep.  She wakes up in a great mood and gives us the biggest smiles when she sees us in the morning.

She's still pretty attached to me, but is letting K.C. do more and more with her.  He gave her a bath tonight and got her ready for bed, which is how I am having time to write this!  Last night I was the last one to go to bed and it was only 9 O'clock! I think by tomorrow most of us will be functioning more normally.  It's been nice having frozen meals so that I don't have to think about dinner thanks to my sister Carla and Social Suppers.  It looks like we have several more people who want to bring us dinner which is soooo appreciated! Thanks everyone!

It's definitely not easy being new parents again, starting with a two year old, and dealing with jet lag, but knowing we have so many people praying for us and supporting us has helped tremendously.  We couldn't do this without you and the Lord by our side.

I'll end with a funny video of Anna with a new electronic toy.  It just cracked us up!

Saying goodbye to friends here and heading to the USA tomorrow morning

It's been hard saying goodbye to all of the families we have been on this journey with the past two weeks.  We had a huge group of 12 families adopting 13 beautiful children.  All the children have special needs.  We were so blessed to build relationships with families all over the US and hope to continue to see their children grow up through e-mails and facebook. Here's a photo of all of us!

Anna of course has no idea what is going to happen over the next twenty four hours.  Please pray that she wouldn't have any meltdowns on the plane.  That's a big ask since we had at least four today. Hopefully she got them out of her system.  We can't wait to get home with Anna and bring her into our everyday family life.  We are definitely ready to get out of a hotel!  Blessings to all of you who have prayed for this journey.  We are so blessed by all of you and by our precious daughter.  I can't tell you how many people here in China (both Chinese and American) have commented on how much she looks like us.  She is and always will be our daughter, and we are so thankful to finally bring her home and raise her to be a godly woman who loves others and serves God with all her heart.

Below is a photo of Anna and me taken today.  She reminded us of Dorthy in her blue plaid skirt.  Ready to go to Kansas! There's no place like home.  We arrive back at KCI at 5:30 on Saturday.   Hopefully we can give you all a personal introduction over the next month if you live in Kansas City.
See you soon!