Living life ....

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 13 (the Surgeon Said Yes!!!)

2012-02-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

So here we go

Lily is going to have cardiac sugery.

Our cardiologist gave all of Lily's information to the cardiac surgeon at CHOP and he said he would recommend surgery, and soon.

He feels with the decrease in her pulmonary hypertension we have a window, and need to take advantage of that. We don't have a date yet, probably early May. They want to get out of winter, so to decrease the chance of her getting a cold.

The surgery she is getting is called a Glenn procedure, she will then need a second surgery, the Fontanne, about a year later.

There was a possibility they would do one big surgery, but because she still has hypertension and is considered high risk, it is safer to do two seperate surgeries.

Both surgeries will be open heart, and she will go on bypass.

So how are we feeling about this news???

Of coarse we are thrilled and excited, this is what we have been hoping and praying for, what the medication has been for, what the doctors had said would most likely never happen - so this news could not be more amazing.

On the flip side, we are nervous, not fearful, just concerned for our precious girl.

She is doing so amazing, so happy

What we know is that is it is a miracle that we are at this point, and we know that if God has opened this door, then we need to walk through it, trusting him all the way.

What we know is that is it is a miracle that we are at this point, and we know that if God has opened this door, then we need to walk through it, trusting him all the way.

the thought of jeopadizing that is unthinkable.

What we know is that it is a miracle that we are at this point, and we know that if God has opened this door, then we need to walk through it, trusting him all the way.

When we adopted Lily a year and a half a go, we expected to bring her home, and she would get the Glenn, and then the Fontanne, the pulmonary hypertension was not something we were expecting. When we were told she would very likely never get surgery and maybe only live until her teens or less - we started a journey we had not anticipated when we accepted Lily's referral.

Had we set out to adopt a child who may not live? No Way.

Would we have originally excpted her referral if that was stated? I honestly don't know.

What we do know is that there was a point after we had accepted Lily's referral that it wouldn't have mattered what news we could have recieved, she was now ours no matter what. When we recieved updated information on her saying she was delayed, couldn't sit, couldn't talk, we could have changed our minds, but for both Chris and I we knew it didn't matter. She was our daughter, and there was nathing that was going to stop us from bringing her home.

Does that mean it has all been eas? No.

There have been moments when we have said - man life would be easier if lily could talk, was out of diapers, and was well, but those are just brief moments. Honestly we have been surprised by what we have found we can handle, and the alternative for her is unthinkable.

Most of our momnets concerning Lily are filled with joy, love, amazement, and laughter, we feel so honored to have been chosen to be her parents and family.

This year and a half has stretched our family in many ways, we have seen the good, bad and the ugly about ourselves, but that's ok we have all grown, and are better for it.

We could not imagine our lives without this precious girl

Enjoying a gorgeous winters day in Williamsburg

2012-01-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

Hold on to her Benjamin

Run quickly

She's fast

Now you can't get away

Lily's journey to a stronger heart - 12 (cardiac cath) pt. 2

2012-01-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

HER HYPERTENSON HAS COME DOWN

wow just seeing those words brings on tears

We went into Monday with peace.

As we were sitting and waiting while Lily was in the cath lab, Chris asked me

"how was I feeling about the results?"

and my response surprised me a little, because I can honestly say I was not worried, concerned or stressed - I felt such a sence of peace, and even excitment and anticipation.

and it wasn't that I knew that the results were going to be better, I just knew that either way I didn't need to be concerned.

This is different to how I was feeling a few months ago - I had allowed myself to be consumed and overwhelmed by the what ifs, how long does she have, and how could I bare life without her. I don't know if it was the emotions of the holidays or what but at times it was not pretty (as some of my work buds can testify too).

As I began to get a grip, focus my eyes on my heavenly father, pray, and read the bible - those things that were consuming me, were replaced by peace. It is not my burden to carry, no matter what Lily's future is it is OK, my job is to love her, enjoy her, not miss a moment because of fear.

How much better is it when we cast our cares on Him

I had actually gone from a place of dreading the cath to excitement about it.

After the last time, we were prepared to hear anything - but you can imagine the joy we felt as the doctor told us the results.

Her pulmonary hypertension is significantly decreased - so what does this mean

well the doctors and surgeons and other very smart people will meet to discuss Lily's options over the next few weeks.

OPTIONS - wow we have options - last time we were being told, there was nathing else to be done!!!

They will discuss surgery - the question is when and what??

Thank you again for the continued love, prayer and support you all show to our family.

As far as Lily is concerned she is just HAPPY to be home.

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 12 (cardiac cath)

2012-01-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready to go CHOP for Lily's cardiac cath, which is on Jan 23rd. We will leave here Sunday to drive up, and she will spend Monday night in the hospital for observation post cath. We should return home Tuesday.

She is doing so well - growing, WALKING, happy, enjoying life

We were at Chop last Friday for a pre-cath visit, lots of tests - she was not happy!!The best part of the day was meeting another very special heart girl, Teresa, and her mom, Ann. You can read about Teresa here, on her momma's blog. Teresa has severe cardiac defects and is in a similar situation to Lily in that she has pulmonary hypertension, and therefore has been unable to have the life saving surgery she needs. We met a few weeks ago online when I was introduced to Ann's blog by my friend Jen, after a few emails back and forth we realized we were both going to be at CHOP on Jan 13th. Teresa is an amazing little girl, full of life, so sweet and chatty - her mom is also pretty amazing, she has 9 children, 5 of which were adopted from China, all with medical needs - go check out her blog and read about the miracle they are seeing unfold in little Teresa's body.

We are going into Monday with anticipation. We are anxious to know what is going on inside of Lily - from the outside she looks amazing - gaining weight, pink (except in the mornings when her hands and feet can look pretty blue), full of energy. It's what's going on in her heart and lungs that we want to know - and more to the point has there been a change in her PULMONARY HYPERTENSION after a year on medication????

We have peace in our hearts - and whatever the news is, we know God is in control - as someone recently reminded me of - He loves Lily more than we do.

I will update from CHOP as soon as I can, thank you for all your continued love and prayers for Lily and us.

Here is a video of lily expolring CHOP last Friday - enjoy (it still amazes me to see her walking)

Lily turns 4

2012-01-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

On January 4th Lily turned four

She wanted nathing to do with the party hats

Nathing to do with the cake

She hated the balloons and was more interested in the gift bags than the gifts

but she loved birthday kisses from her sister

and fun fast rides from her brother

how blessed we are to have you in our life sweet girl - you are loved so much

Happy Birthday

Learning to say goodbye to the control freak

2011-12-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

So tonight we planned to .....

take the girls to see Santa (which Mia has been desperate to do)

look at some lights

eat dinner out

well the reality of my life is things never go as planned

so instead ....

the line was Soooo long Santa was skipped

as we got a late start everyone was hungry and grumpy so the lights were skipped

dinner did happen, but not where I had planned

boys home to do homework

shopping for me at Walmart for Ben's school project and Ethan's play

girls already in bed when I got home

as you can see someone else was a little upset about our change of plans and not seeing Santa

As a bit of a control freak, learning to go with the flow and be flexible and not get grumpy when the plans that I have meticulously created in my head do not happen is still something I am working on.

(I know you are all thinking - isn't she supposed to be the mom and a good example to her kids)

Although I have to say I managed to not throw any childish tantrums, or state more than once that tonight wasn't quite the Christmassie family night I had planned - which is actually progress when I recall some of my other (not so proud of) moments.

The reality is we were together. We smiled, laughed, argued a little, maybe even annoyed one another a little - but we were family, together, growing - so who cares if our night wasn't the "perfect greeting card" evening - I am totally satisfied, and loved my not so "perfect" Christmas night.

Disclaimer : this is huge for me - if Chris reads this he will be using it against me the next time things don't go to plan (which will probably be tomorrow)!!!!

Happy Birthday to me

2011-11-22T14:32:00.001-08:00

So I turned the BIG 40 - last September

I have wanted a DSLR for a very long time

I have dreamt about them, drooled over pictures of them, and looked on enviously as friends take beautiful pictures of their children with them.

So it was decided by my hubby that I needed to spoil myself for my birthday and get a camera.

But they are not cheap (the reason I haven't bought one yet), and for those of you who know me, I like a bargain, I shop clearance, pick a restaurant by the coupon I have, and NEVER buy anything unless it is on sale.

So it has taken me the last 2 months to finally do it - of coarse it took a sale, a bundle deal, and the ability to split payments over a few months, but I am SOOOOO excited !!!

So when the UPS man rang the doorbell today, I felt like my kids on Christmas morning

I have no idea what to do with it - my biggest hope is to get pictures of my kids, especially lily that aren't blurred, and aren't of the back of their heads

Oh and the beautiful camera strap is a birthday gift from my amazing friend Adeye - who had faith that I would take the plunge - that strap has been looking at me for the last 2 months saying - GO FOR IT :)!!!

Watch out kids - momma's got a new toy !!!

Cheerleading and Fencing oh my.....

2011-11-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Love seeing my kids having fun

What is it about boys and swords?

Mmmm Mmmm Good

2011-10-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Lily enjoying her first freshly baked chocolate chip cookie

I think she liked it!!!

Miracle

2011-10-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

When Lily first came home with us from China she HATED water!!

At first we thought this was just a normal reaction - most adopted children from China have never been bathed in water, just wiped off with water. So sometimes it takes a couple of baths to get them used to it.

Well not Lily!!

For 12 months she has cried and covered her face through every bath, we didn't even attempt for the first 2 months to put her in water after the terrifying shrills she let out the first few times. We then just decided we would keep trying, we would have her in and out in 2 minutes - but the girl had to get clean - especially during Summer - wow can she sweat.

We couldn't even carry her into the bathroom without her crying

She wouldn't go near a pool this Summer

It quickly became obvious this wasn't normal adjustment, something had happened to our sweet girl involving water, something that made her SO terrified of it, that something we would never know.

Then gradually it happened - she started crawling into the bathroom

She started just whimpering during her baths not screaming

and then suddenly after 15 months

we got this

and this

the miracle of adoption, the restoration of a life, a child that was fatherless is no longer - the healing that takes place when love abounds is astounding - no wonder God commands us to take care of the orphan to be a father to the fatherless.

LOVE LOVE LOVE adoption

(note : we have an old house with old grout - it's clean just doesn't get white anymore :) )

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 11

2011-10-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I updated on Lily's medical progress, but to be honest she has been kinda moving on cruise control - doing so well and staying so healthy their hasn't been too much to say!!!

We went to CHOP for another appointment last week, to see Lily's cardiologist. It was a long day - we left our house at 3:30am and got back at 8pm. The main purpose of this visit was to make sure she was doing ok on her medication, and to discuss when we should do the cardiac catherization again - this of coarse is the million dollar question, the answer to which can not help but bring a little sick feeling to the pit of my stomach.

The purpose of the cath is to determine if her pulmonary hypertension has decreased enough so that she can get cardiac surgery, you can read about that here

The cardiologist was very pleased with how healthy Lily looked. How full of energy she was, and how much she had grown. Her oxygen sats are holding in the mid 80's which is great. Her EKG didn't show any deteriation in her heart.

All of this we already knew - you only have to look at her to know she is doing great - with the complicated heart defect she has, this in itself is a miracle.

She laughs and smiles all the time

She is going to pre K and loving it, there are 3 students and 2 teachers that are wonderful, plus OT, PT, and speech - God could not have blessed us more with a better situation for her to be able to develop.

So the discussion was - when to cath. There are two things to look at

One - not wanting to wait too long, because living with her defect can make the pulmonary hypertension worse - that is why she has it.

Two - we want to give the medicine she is on to treat the hypertension the optimal chance to work.

There is no way to definitively know the answer, we just had to look at the facts and make the best decision - well our cardiologist had to, and we had to agree.

So it was decided we would cath in Janurary - this will give her a year on the medicine, and six months on the higher dose.

We felt at peace about this, and agreed this was the right decision.

So what is it that brings that sick feeling?

It's the knowing !!

Either way it will be a big deal. If she can't get surgery then we are not sure what the next step will be. If she can get surgery then as much as I want her to have it - we are talking MAJOR cardiac surgery - with all the risks.

She is doing SO good right now, SO happy, loving life, we are all enjoying her so much - I am not sure if I am ready for the next step.

I know God has it, I know He has Lily, and I know He has us - holding on tight to all His promises, and placing my girl in His hands.

Ethan turns 11

2011-09-27T12:42:00.000-07:00

How can my baby boy be 11??? Ethan brings so much laughter and joy to our family. He is a clown, he makes us laugh every day with the crazy things that he says. He is compassionate and cares about others. He is social and wants to be with his friends all the time. He is active and adventurous, does things his way not always the "proper" way.

He has broken his arm twice and had stitches twice, so you may think this is a crazy idea for a birthday present, but it is something he has wanted for a long time. You can't wrap them up in cotton balls and protect them from everything - you've got to let them live and then say an extra prayer (or close your eyes and not look).

We will be getting a net

There are already plans to add water next summer (eyes closed tight - ER on speed dial)

My men

He finished the burger and got his picture on the wall

Wow - and grew a mustache???

We love you Ethan and thank God for you everyday, we are so proud of you and can't wait to see all that you are going to do with your life.

Back to school (Mia starts kindergarten)

2011-09-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Backpacks ready the night before

Benjamin leaves first - he is in 7th grade and although I did still go with him to the bus stop (something that is only permitted on the first day of school or in yucky weather when he wants a ride in the car - like today) there were no pictures and hugs allowed.

Next it was Ethan and Mia's turn

and of coarse today was a BIG day for Mia - Kindergarten

it always seems to rain on the first day of school

she has been so excited about today, and has never mentioned once not wanting to go

it all happened so fast - no time for tears (for momma)

and off we go

of coarse there is always time for a quick photo op

her sweet brother, who is in 5th grade and now gets to sit at the back of the bus - rode to and from school at the front with the kindergartners so that Mia could sit with him.

Lastly it was back to the house to get Lily ready and off to her preschool class, where she will now be going four mornings a week. She will get all her therapies there, today I stayed with her, but she did great. There are only 3 students in the class and 2 teachers so lots of one on one attention for miss Lily.

I tried to get a few pictures to remember the day - but this girl is on the move

forget posing

off I go

When they all came home - the reports were good.

Benjamin - "it was good", "yes, they were fine" - man can't the boy give his momma more than that.

Ethan was full of information and couldn't stop telling me about his day - how can 2 boys be SO different??

Mia said she loved school, that some of the children had to go to time out for talking but she did everything the teacher said :).
She did tell me when I was putting her to bed that she felt a little bit nervous today. When I asked her when, she said, "when I was getting dressed this morning, and when I was trying to make friends" ahhh man my heart could break, those tender moments when your children are clearly sharing something important with you are priceless. She had shown no outward sign of being nervous, but clearly there was more going on inside - I am so glade she shared with me. Praying that she makes friends quickly and easily and that her speech is not a hindrance, I know it is something that she is conscious about especially when other children have a hard time understanding her.
This girl has come so far and I am so proud of her - there are not words to express how much I love her

how much I love all my children - and how proud I am to be thier momma.

Momma, I'm going to love Kindergarten

2011-09-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Today Mia had Kindergarten orientation

Yes - they still have to bring a mat (Mia hasn't napped for 2 years)

She has been waiting for this day for a year - she wanted to go "so badly" last year

Her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs Miles, is the same teacher Ethan had - she's great.

When we left, Mia said, "Momma, I'm going to like Kindergarten"

I am going to miss this girl like crazy.

HELP - we've been burgled

2011-08-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

at least our kitchen has been ransacked

someone must have been hungry

who would do such a thing???????

caught red handed

where do you think you're going

you can run, but you can't hide

who could be angry at that face - I guess I need to shop for safety latches today :)

In need of your help

2011-08-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Coming together to help a precious little girl in a desperate situation - meet Liliana (not her real name)

She is elevens years old - Yes ELEVEN - due to neglect in an orphanage she has waisted away. She weighs just 10 lbs. She is in desperate need of immediate adoption. People are coming together to raise the $22,000 needed, so that the family that steps forward to adopt her will not have to worry about the money.

The fund raising just started today and it is already at $12,000

You can go here to read more and to donate, Adeye is offering some fantastic drawings, that those who donate are eligable for.

Sometimes we wonder how we (little old me) can make a difference - this is how, when the little bit we have is combined with the little bit many others have - then a life can be changed forever.

Chop Chop

2011-07-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

When Lily got her first haircut we decided not to cut her bangs, and to try growing them out....

well this girl will NOT keep a clip or bow in her hair

we have tried and tried

and the poor girls bangs were getting so long she could barely see

so today we cut them short

doesn't she look cute - or according to her sister "Chinese" - lol (hmmm didn't she already)

I think Lily is just happy to be able to see again

One Year with Lily

2011-07-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Over the last two days we have been celebrating the one year anniversary of Lily becoming.......

a part of our family

the first moment we saw her

the day she became ours officially

the amazing physical changes in her

from having to be supported by her sister to sit up

to pulling herself to stand

from being in the hospital and fed by a tube

to eating at the pool

we love you Lily and can'twait to see what we will be looking back at next year.....

This year has been a journey, full of joys and challenges. There have been times that we have needed the support of our family and friends, and moments where we weren't sure if we were strong enough for this journey. Gods grace has sustained us, and we thank him for every miracle we have seen in lily's life.

We love her more than words can express, she has changed our lives forever. We thank God for her every day, and that He chose us to be her parents and family.

The faster the better..... life is better when it is moving for this boy

2011-07-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

even if it's a little scary

and cold - that water was 50 degrees

Using those legs

2011-07-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sleep - why sleep

when you can stand

or climb

Lily is pulling to stand on everything now - and trying to climb out of her crib - she amazes us every day at how far she has come. One year ago on July 22nd we left for China to bring our girl home - I can not believe it has been a year!!!

Girl time

2011-06-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

I love these girls

I can not imagine my life without them

Although I miss Chris and the boys like crazy, I am so grateful for this time I am having with the girls.

The boys and Chris are in Nicaragua - you can check out their blog here.

Sweet Cousins

2011-06-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Mia and Molly - enjoying some girl time

Happy Fathers Day - to my sweetie

2011-06-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

He's a dad to two amazing young men and two beautiful princesses

He will always hug them- even if they think they are too old

He runs races with them - even if they beat him

He has loved from the first moment he saw them - even though they were not always his

He holds them and protects them

He acts goofy with them

He rides rides with them - even if he can't really fit

He is proud of them

His fathers heart is huge and it aches for those that are fatherless

I am the luckies girl in the world to have married a man that has become such an amazing father - I love you babe.

What a big girl

2011-06-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Lily is getting stronger and stronger daily. She is hitting the developmental milestones in the same order any child would - she is just starting a little later.

She can now get herself up and down from a sitting position, she is commando crawling everywhere - but her new and most favourite thing to do is to STAND !!!!

She loves looking out the window

Is that daddy?

She still has to hold onto something - but for this chick, standing is where it is at.

Look at those strong legs

Uno Tournament

2011-06-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

Family time

enjoying Sunday evening on the deck

A Week of Recitals

2011-05-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

First we had Benjamin's 6th grade band recital - so proud of him.

Today we had Mia's ballet recital - love watching my girl dance, she enjoys it so much.

Flowers from Daddy

Wow - we actually got a picture with Lily smiling (she laughs and smiles all the time, just never on camera).

Saying goodbye to the "Mullet"

2011-05-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

Lily's hair growth in review

July - 2010 - when they handed Lily to us she had no hair, not because it couldn't grow, but because they shaved it off in China.

September - 2010

October 2010

November 2010 - look how thick it is, it was never this flat, always sticking up

Christmas 2010 - it started to grow at the back - people stopped mistaking her for a boy (probably because I cold finally put a bow in her hair).

April 2011 - we have the "Mullet"

So it was time for Lily's first haircut

with a little distraction from food - this cooperative attitude lasted all of 5 min then it was a matter of trying to hit a moving target.

Introducing the "BOB"

Thanks Kym - you did amazing - how did you get it so straight on such a moving target?

Don't I look more like a three year old - not a baby anymore :)

Saturday night fun

2011-05-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

So we packed up the kids, our 4 plus 3 extra, and headed down to River Rock

paid $5 for parking

walked

got onto Brown's Island

decided to get in the food line

spent 15min deciding what everyone wanted to eat

when they announced they were evacuating because there was a thunderstorm coming

gathered the kids together

got off the Island(with the other 100's of people)

walked up the hill to the car (just made it before the sky opened up)

sat in line to get out of the deck

Little Ceasers pizza on the way home to feed 7 hungry kids

back to the house

rain has stopped

note to self - check the weather next time

that was a fun way to kill 2 hrs on a Saturday night :).

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 10 continued

2011-05-02T00:31:00.000-07:00

We drove to CHOP on Wednesday, and Lily had her appointment Thursday morning. We were able to get a last minute room at the Ronald McDonald House - what a fantastic facility, and wonderful organization, they took such good care of us.

We were at the hospital at 7:20am, first they took her for an echo, without sedation - not fun. She wanted nothing to do with it and screamed the entire time - I'm not sure if they got anything useful from it, but they said it was fine. Amazingly she was very cooperative for her EKG, she was also completely cooperative for her blood pressure checks - I think for the first time ever. Then we waited, and waited to meet with the cardiologist. Finally at 11am we met first with the nurse practitioner(Katie) and then the cardiologist. I had been corresponding with Katie via phone and email for a few weeks now, so it was great to finally meet her - she took a lot of time to explain things to us - she was great and you could tell she really cares. The cardiologist was also great - and spoke very frankly to us - which we appreciated - even if it wasn't all we wanted to hear.

So this is where things stand as of now: Lily's heart condition is very serious, and this is very much complicated by her pulmonary hypertension. In his opinion the odds of her ever getting the surgery she needs are not in her favor, but not impossible. Without surgery she may only live into her teens. His goal right now - optimize the medication she is on for the next 9-12 months giving it every opportunity to decrease her pulmonary hypertension and then do another cardiac cath and see how things look. He was very pleased with how she looks right now, and so we will continue on the medicine, go back up to CHOP in the fall for a check up and then probably recath next spring. So for now that is our goal - thinking to much about the what ifs is to hard, right now we are focusing on the next year, not the next ten years.

Nothing we heard was a surprise, but there is always a little part of you that is hoping to hear something amazing. We left feeling a little shaken - not because anything had changed, but just because every time a doctor tells you your daughter may only live into her teens it's a sobering feeling, and the reality of what she is facing is once again right there in front of you. Most days we don't focus on the future, but are looking at now, focusing on the daily miracles, enjoying the smiles and laughter, her quirky personality, and her many developmental accomplishments. Our home is just like everyone else. We are busy living life - faced with the continual challenge of keeping a home functioning amongst the craziness of life while trying to maintain a balance - making sure we experience all that life has to offer and not just let it pass us by. This journey we are on with Lily has challenged us as a family to be present in the moment, see what is right in front of us and to be grateful for what we have now.

All we really know for certain is God gave Lily to us, so that she could know the love of a family, and for however long we have the privilege to be her parents we will love her with all our hearts, give her every experience we possibly can, and be grateful for every moment we have with her - she has already been such a blessing to our family, we will be forever changed because she is in it. Don't get me wrong we are by no means giving up, we have faith for a miracle.

The video below is a song that does a good job at expressing how we feel about Lily, and the journey with her so far. Although I never carried her inside of me physically I carried her in my heart for months, and when they handed her to us in China it was like the day the boys were handed to me in the hospital - like this song mentions we knew from the moment we saw her she was fighting for her life (warning you may need a Kleenex).

Thank you all for your continued love, prayers and support - it means more than we can express.

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 10

2011-04-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I updated on Lily, but life has been crazy busy recently.

We are getting ready to take Lily to Children's Hospital in Philadelphia on Thursday. The appointment is at 7:45am so we will be driving up tomorrow. It is four hours away from us. They will do an echo, and EKG, and then we will meet with the cardiologist. The main purpose of this visit is to meet and talk with the cardiologist, so that he can examine Lily and she can become his patient. We are excited to move on to the next chapter in Lily's journey and feel very strongly that this is the place she needs to be. With the vast amount of experience and expertise they have at CHOP we feel that we will be able to confidently make decisions on advice that we know we can trust.

Lily is doing amazing, she is continuing to grow and develop. She can now get herself from the ground to sitting and sitting to the ground. She is all over the place and in to everything. Drinking from a straw and eating food. We are continually thankful for every little milestone we see her hit. It is amazing how your perspective on things change when you have a child with special needs. Things that seem so basic, are now such victories. The little things are big. She continues to bring so much joy to our family, her personality continues to come out, she is very goofy, determined, and happy.

Look at her standing with daddy

Beautiful girls

Daddy's girl

Quick update on Lily

2011-03-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

So it's been 10 days since her cardiac cath and I feel like life has been on fast forward. Thank you to all of you that have offered advice, prayers, words of encouragement, and information on your own experiences with your children with heart conditions. It has all meant a lot, and has contributed to getting us to the place we are at now.

We have been in contact with Children's Hospital in Philadelphia (CHOP). They are ranked number two in the nation for pediatric cardiology, and number one for pulmonology, they are only a four hour drive from us, they have been recommended to us by many of you, and we feel confident if there is another answer then that is where we will find it. They responded within two hours of us contacting them, we have already been very impressed with there professionalism, care and concern. On Thursday we had all of Lily's test results fedexed to them, once they have reviewed them they will set up an appointment.

It looks like they may do another cardiac cath. What we know about the last one is that they had a hard time sedating Lily, so she was awake and fighting through most of it, this could effect the accuracy of the results - we will see. There is a doctor at CHOP that specializes in PH, so we know that whatever we are dealing with we will have the expertise we need.

FYI - Lily is happier than we have ever seen her, laughing and smiling all the time -she makes this journey a lot easier to bare for her momma and dadda - rejoicing and thanking God for all the little miracles we have already seen.

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 9

2011-03-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

First we just want to say thank you to all of you that have prayed for us, sent us messages, and showed your love and concern for us over the last few days - it has meant so much.

I apologize for not posting sooner, but we have had a lot to process since the cardiac cath on Thursday.

As you know Lily has been on Sildenafil (viagra) to treat her pulmonary hypertension(PH)since early December. We have seen very positive results since she has been on the meds. Her oxygen sats have increased from the 70's to mid to upper 80's, she is less blue, full of energy and overall very healthy. Developmentally we have seen her learn to sit, scoot on her tummy, use signs to communicate, start to eat food and say momma and dadda (which she said first) - which you can imagine was indescribable to finally hear.

Because of her improvement our cardiologist decided we should do another cardiac cath to see how her PH was doing, we were all extremely hopeful it had come down - the results we actually got were completely unexpected and very hard to hear. Her PH actually increased and increased quite significantly. As a result our cardiologist told us, she would never be a candidate for surgery, and we now needed to just teat her medically and let things take its coarse - she has a hole in her heart which is getting smaller if this closes they would go in and place a shunt as she needs the hole - bottom line we need to provide her with the best quality of life we can for as long as we can. As you can imagine this was all very hard to hear, since returning from China and finding out about her PH we have always known that her diagnosis could be poor, but we had no idea we were there yet - surely there is more to try and do.

So after several days to process where are we now?

1. We know God is the same God yesterday, today, and tomorrow, He knew what the results were going to be, and He has Lily in His hands - this is all apart of the journey.

2. God gave Lily to us to be her parents, and as her parents it is our responsibility to advocate for her.

3. We are going to get second opinions, we will go see the top doctors in pediatric pulmonary hypertension and cardiology, and see what options we have. We may end up back here with the same results, but at least we will feel secure in what we are being told, and will know we did everything.

4. We have no idea how long Lily is supposed to be here with us, but for however long that is we are going to enjoy every moment, balance looking to the future with living now. What we know is - RIGHT NOW she is the healthiest she has ever been, she knows love of a momma and dadda, brothers, and sister, extended family and friends. She smiles, laughs and plays, and brings joy to everyone that meets her.

Thank you again - as soon as we have more concrete plans we will be letting you know - it means so much to know we are not on this journey alone.

Six months with Lily

2011-02-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it was exactly 6 months that we arrived in the US with Lily and she became a US citizen.

We have seen her progress so much in the last 6 months.

14.5 lbs - 25 lbs

Drinking only milk to now starting to eat food

Non-verbal to saying daddy and mom

Just laying down, to sitting, scooting, putting weight on legs, playing with toys

We can not imagine our family without her, we are thankful to God every day for the precious gift she is to us and we can't wait to see what she does in the next 6 months.

Medical update : her oxygen sats have remained in the 80's, her cardiologist has been very pleased with her responce to the medicine so he wants to do another cardiac cath in March instead of April to see if her pulmonary hypertension has improved. We are praying it has and they will be able to move forward with surgury.

WE HAVE 80's

2011-01-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

Lily's oxygen saturations have been in the 70's. We started her on medication for her lungs 4 weeks ago and we have waiting to see if her sats will go into the 80's.

What an amazing birthday present for our girl (she's not smiling because she doesn't like having her sats checked) :)!!!!!!!

She will continue on the medication until April when they will do another cardiac cath and see if her pulmonary hypertension has improved.

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 8

2010-12-10T01:30:00.001-08:00

I know it has been a long time since I have posted, life has just been very busy. There have been several updates on Lily's journey so I wanted to get you all caught up.

The last time I posted I said that they were sending her information to several other hospitals, we received several recommendations to include Children's Hospital of Philadelphia(CHOP) in that group as they have an amazing cardiac department there plus a specialist in pulmonary hypertension. Our cardiologist was in agreement so it was sent.

While waiting to hear news back Lily got another cold and ended up being admitted to the hospital again. Fortunately this was a much shorter stay, although it did take her several weeks to fully recover from the infection. Whenever she gets a respiratory infection she gets so blue and distressed especially when she coughs, it breaks my heart - it also means a lot of sleepless nights, as she constantly wakes up coughing.

Right before Thanksgiving we received a message from our cardiologist to come in for an appointment - this could only mean one thing - he had heard back. We had plans to go away to the beach for Thanksgiving with my family so we had to wait until we returned for the news - waiting was not easy.

Lily recovered from her cold just in time to go to the outer banks in North Carolina, her first visit to the beach. It was a wonderful break, we rode bikes, played football on the beach, ate too much food - but most importantly spent time together with our family, we had much to be thankful for. Lily loved riding on the back of the bike, she smiled and laughed every time we put her on it - it still amazes me how far this girl has come.

Last week was full of appointments. We met with early intervention to set up therapies for Lily, then on Friday we met with our cardiologist.

So here is the bottom line - CHOP agrees with our cardiologists that it is too risky to attempt surgery right now!!! So now what??? They have decided to start her on medication for the pulmonary hypertension the results of medications are varying,there are no guarantees it will do anything, but we are believing for positive results. The medicine she is getting is actually Viagra (hmmm - I know sounds strange), she will receive it 3 times a day. We have a monitor at home to measure the oxygen levels in her blood, her norms are in the 70's. What we are hoping to see is her oxygen levels increase into the 80's this would be a positive sign that her lungs are responding. They are going to treat her until April and then do another cardiac cath - they will then reevaluate her pulmonary hypertension and see if it has improved enough for surgery.

We felt encouraged by this news, it feels good to have a plan, to be doing something to help her, to have a goal. Yes it is hard to hear surgery is not an option, but we have felt that was the case for a while, what we were praying we wouldn't hear was that there was no hope. She has already shown us she is a fighter, she is improving in development every day. She sits, scoots, laughs, claps, waves, rolls, shakes her head no - and today for the first time ever - she put food in her mouth (fruit loops). She chewed them up and spat them out over and over again. Until now she has refused anything but her bottle - this is a HUGE step. 4 months ago she was doing none of these things.

So today we are thanking God for each accomplishment, for each step that may seem small to others but are huge to us and are huge to Lily.

Thank you for all your love and support.

Pictures to come soon.

My Girls

2010-10-26T02:30:00.001-07:00

Enjoying every moment watching them grow and blossom

Lily is loving being able to sit up, the world must look so different to her from this position.

Mia got to spend some alone mommy time at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens - memories to treasure.

Ethan turns 10

2010-10-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

Although this happened on September 26th, I have been very behind on blogging so I am playing catchup.

I am so proud to be the momma of my second son. He has always been my momma's boy and honestly has had the biggest adjustment with the adoptions of the girls, mostly with Mia's as it shifted him from being the youngest and my baby to being the middle child. So we have had our moments of jealousy and vying for attention, but these are not bad things, but things that have stretched his character and helped him grow. He loves his sisters, he is the one that plays games with them, chases Mia, and spends hours throwing Lily on the bed and tiggling her while she laughs and laughs. He is my son that still wants hugs from me, wants to be tucked into bed, and wants to snuggle on the coach.

Ethan lives life to the max - this boy does everything full on. He is the one that has had sutures 3 times, and 2 broken arms. Life is never dull when Ethan is around, he makes us smile and laugh and enjoy life right along with him.

I can't wait to see what he will do with the rest of his life, how blessed I am to be able to call myself his mother.

Look how far she's come

2010-10-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

From this ...

.... a child who weighed only 14 lbs 7 oz, a child who couldn't hold her head up, a child who only wanted to lay on her back and refused to even sit on our laps, a child who cried when we put her on her belly, a child who hated to go outside, a child that looked so frail you felt like she could brake, a child who hated her picture taken.

To this in just 12 weeks ....

... a child weighing 19 lbs 13 oz, a child sitting by herself, a child holding her head up without it shaking, a child that smiles and laughs all the time, a child who loves going outside, a child who loves her belly and is trying so hard to crawl, a child who smiles for the camera.

Thanking God daily for every moment of the last 12 weeks - and how far our precious girl has come.

Note : no news yet on the second opinions, but that's OK because we are having so much fun with Lily right now.

Lily's Journey to a Stronger Heart - 7

2010-09-26T01:54:00.000-07:00

Friday September 24th we finally heard back from the cardiologist. They had a big meeting that day with all the cardiologists and the cardiac surgeon to discuss Lily.

A lot of what he said to us is very medically confusing so I won't even try to attempt to repeat it here.

The bottom line is they have a LOT of concerns about moving forward with surgery at this point. The damage to her lungs from living with her heart condition could be life threatening if they proceed.

If they did nothing history shows she could live 15-30 years - the last 10 of which she would become sicker and sicker - is this something we are willing to accept - NO!!!

So what now - well there are options, medication or possibly another surgery to improve the issues with her lungs.

At this point nothing is ruled out not even the original surgery - our cardiologist feels if there is something we can do to give her a good shot at a longer, and better quality of life then we need to take it - we are in agreement so now he is sending her information to trusted colleagues at UVA and DC Childrens for 2nd oppinions.

So now we wait again.

Is this what we were hoping to hear? NO way
Did we ever think when we adopted her that she could be inoperable? NO way
Would we change anything? NO way

We love her, she is a Yeatts, no longer an orphan - we will fight for her, love her, and do everything in our power to see her strong and healthy.

As Christians we are trusting in God. We know He lead us to her. We know He has the power to heal her body. We know we are on this journey for a reason.

We are not in a place of dis pare, but a place of hope and faith. Of coarse this was hard to hear, yes we shed some tears, yes we asked God why.
We didn't have long to absorb the news or dwell on it, as almost immediately our house was over run with 8 boys, here to celebrate Ethan's 10th birthday - so it was off out to laser tag, and then a sleepover - this was actually just what we needed - lily was so funny and playful, enjoying every moment of it - and so we were gently reminded that daily we get to see little miracles in lily happening right before our eyes.

Where once she could not even tolerate sitting on our laps she now loves to sit in her boomba chair, holding her head up without it bobbing around.

Where once she only made one sound she now babbles, smiles and laughs.

Where once she was frail and only weighed 14.5 lbs she is now strong, and weighing 19lbs.

So now we keep on doing what we have been doing - living our life daily, seeing Lily growing and getting stronger. Enjoying every moment we have, not loosing the moments by being preoccupied waiting for doctors calls, and wondering about the what ifs, instead treasuring what we have been given - for she is a gift of immeasurable value.

Back to School

2010-09-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

Start of another school year.

I worked last night, but rushed home to give my new middle school kid a big kiss on the cheek (much to his horror) at the bus stop (don't worry the bus wasn't there yet) and send him off on this new adventure. He is so laid back about everything, here am I thinking it is this huge BIG deal, and he is like "it's just a day at school mom". When he came home I wanted to know everything all he said was "it was fine" urrrr you're killing ya momma.

and then it was Ethan's turn. He was all hugs, kisses and smiles. Non-stop talking and super hyper. When he got home he fulfilled his mommas need for knowledge, he couldn't stop talking to me about his day. How can two son's be SO different.

All I know is I love them both so much and am so proud of the men they are becoming.

Lily's journey to a stronger heart - 6 : Cardiac Cath

2010-09-02T16:28:00.001-07:00

First - Thank you to all of you that prayed for Lily today, and offered us words of encouragement and love we really appreciated it.

Lily did great she tolerated the procedure well, they only had to use her vein not artery which was great - less risk of complications especially post procedure.

So the results - the BIG question was, are her pulmonary pressures to high for her to recieve the surgery she needs? The answer was No - not a slam dunk no, but not an absolute yes (if that makes any sense). Her pulmonary pressures are not normal they are elevated (which everyone expected), but they are not so high that surgery is out of the question, they fall into a grey area.

So what now - well the cardiologists, and cardiac surgeon will look at all the information closely and then make a recommendation to us. The reality is that we will not have a concrete answer, what we hope and are praying for is that when they all look at the results they will look favourable for surgery.

We are thrilled that they weren't so high surgery was ruled out because there was some concern this could have been the case, we also felt good after talking to the cardiologist.

To make this all a little easier to understand let me try and explain simply what the pulmonary pressure is. If they do the surgery it will enable her heart to push blood out of it into her lungs, if the pulmonary pressure is to high it will stop this from happening and push the fluid back to her heart. The pressure in her heart needs to be stronger than her lungs. If we move forward with surgery there is no turning back - and there will be no guarantees on whether it will work until they do it. Without the surgery she will not survive long term.

So this is where we stand. The seriousness is very real, but we feel at peace, we have a strong sense of God being in control.

Today we are rejoicing, she is strong and a fighter. She is drinking so much more by mouth, and has gained another 8 oz. The cardiologist said everything else in her heart looked great for surgery, her vessels were a good size, and her heart was healthy.

Here is a picture of Lily sleeping when we got home she is now awake and playing like today was just like any other day. How proud I am of my sweet.

Our first family day out with Lily

2010-08-26T16:05:00.001-07:00

This is very rare - my nine year old holds my hand

Guess who was hiding behind our heads?

Ahhh in the arms of big brother

Yum chips - actually I just want the bag :)

Lily's journey to a stronger heart - 5

2010-08-26T15:54:00.003-07:00

Quick update - we were discharged from the hospital on August 20th.

Lily saying good bye to the nurses

She went home with an NG (nasalgastric)tube for feeds at night, they run continuously on a pump. During the day she drinks 4 bottles. As her weight increases we can increase the amount she eats. She is on a very strict schedule, as we don't want to feed her too much too quickly.

As of today she weighs 16 lbs and has gained a pound in one week. This is of coarse on our scale at home. On Tuesday we will followup with nutrition for an official weight check.

Thursday September 2nd she will get her cardiac cath - please pray for her that day as there are risks involved, but it is something that is essential before they will do surgery.

We are enjoying every moment having Lily home. She is so happy, and thrives on the constant activity in our home. She just loves to be right in the middle of her siblings enjoying every moment.

Lily's journey to a stronger heart - 4

2010-08-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Our girl is back - and we couldn't be more happy. We have had a couple of great days. She gained weight today - although it was slight we will take it.

We are starting to work towards discharge home - maybe tomorrow, maybe Saturday. She will come home with a feeding tube in her nose to help her continue to gain weight. She hasn't pulled it out today so that is progress, yesterday she pulled it out twice. I think she is learning - if she pulls it out it has to go back in :). Chris is learning all about the tube he has surprised me at how willing he has been to jump right in and do what needs to be done he is an amazing dad.

Here are a few shots of Lily's hospital stay - taken once she was feeling better.

Ethan holding Lily for the FIRST time

Such great big brothers helping push Lily around the unit - first picture of all 4 of my children together :)

Yes glasses are more fun to play with than toys :)

There goes those hands

Chillin

Ethan's race

2010-08-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I left the hospital for a few hours to watch Ethan run a 2 mile race. He came in second place for his age category ( there were only 2 kids in his age group :) ). I am so proud of him - he has a competitive side and endless energy so this was perfect for him.

Before the race

Some encouragement from his sister

Go Ethan

Mim and Papa

That was harder than I thought :)

Congratulations Ethan

Lily's journey to a stronger heart - 3

2010-08-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

So we moved out of the PICU yesterday - and we had a bad day. She coughed and fussed all day I would have to say I was feeling a little discouraged after our great day Sunday. It felt like we had taken a giant step backwards - but that's where we for that moment, and all we could do was love our girl and give her has much comfort as we could, pray and stand on the knowledge and belief that this too would pass, and it did.

With some help of some medicine she slept overnight for 6 hours straight without coughing once. Today she has played and smiled. We got a big mat for the floor and she rolled around and grabbed for her toys (you know - papers). She hasn't done this since we were in China.

It is hard to not be moved by what we see, to doubt so quickly when our circumstances seem to turn to the negative. Our God doesn't change - He is our rock His promises remain no matter how our situation changes around us. This is a lesson I feel I am continually be tested on - when will I get.

I wanted to share about the next steps for Lily. We need to see her gain weight and get stronger. We are scheduled on September 2nd for her to get her cardiac cath, she will be sedated for this procedure. They are doing this to look for pulmonary hypertension, and subsequently to determine her risks for surgery. The plan is for her to receiver the Glenn procedure then in 2 years she will have surgery again. If she has severe pulmonary hypertension she will be unable to get the surgery, and we will have to consider other options - this would not be the optimal choice.

Right now we are just trying to take one day at a time

-first get her over this infection
-second have her gain weight
-third have the cardiac cath done
-fourth look at all our options

Today has been a good day. It brings joy to our hearts to see our girl more like herself.

Tonight I am going home to spend some much needed time with my other 3 precious kids - especially my boys who have been so understanding and so willing to share there momma with a sister the have not even had a chance to bond with yet. Chris will stay with lily tonight, I think he is looking forward to hanging with his girl - in China he was with her 24/7.
We are all longing for the day when will be under one roof again as a family, but for now this is our knew norm (although a temporary norm).

Got to run - lily just pulled her feeding tube out - she must be feeling better :).

Lily's journey to a stronger heart - 2

2010-08-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been a crazy few days. Sorry I have not posted, I know most of you follow what's going on through facebook - although it is not a very detailed report.

So lets go back to Thursday - this was a bad day. She coughed the entire night Wednesday and all day Thursday. Every time her little eyes would close she would wake up with the most awful cough. She was SO tied and miserable (momma was a little tied too). I felt so helpless. Thursday night the wonderful nurses (Amanda and Pam) took Lily with them out to the nurses station so I could get some much needed sleep. She continued to cough, we gave her breathing nebulizers and benadryl (which didn't do much). At 5am they finally gave her some tylenol with codeine and she fell asleep.

Friday - she continued to cough but not as bad as the medicine was suppressing it, but she was tiring out, she was working harder to breath, she was so lethargic, I was getting very concerned. Her oxygen saturation's were dropping very low, so that evening they decided to try some oxygen. This is something the doctors had been holding off on as heart and lungs are very fragile and they were worried to much oxygen would force fluid into her lungs and cause pulmonary edema. Because we have no history of what has really happened to Lily over the last 2 years we don't know what her little body has already had to indore and if there has been damage to her lungs or not - the doctors are making decisions based on incomplete information.
Initially the oxygen seemed to ease her breathing her oxygen levels rose, we had her on the tiniest amount of oxygen, but after a couple of hours her breathing started to get really bad, it was so loud and she was retracting (using her abd muscles to breath), she also spiked a fever. They did a chest x-ray and her lungs looked worse - what we had feared happened she had pulmonary edema. At 3am we were immediately transferred to the ICU, she was given lasix to get the fluid off. They placed her on a high flow nasal cannula, which gave more pressure than oxygen. After a while her breathing slowed down.

Saturday - she continued to breath easier, they continued to watch her closer and adjust things as they needed, she actually began to relax and even play a little. You know I felt she was doing better because I even went home to sleep, and Chris spent the night with her. Ahhh much needed rest and a chance to see my other kiddo's - who have been just amazing through this.

Sunday - today has been like watching a miracle unfold. She has played - not with toys, but paper of coarse. I have had her up holding her and in her swing. She has interacted with me and smiled at me. She is on no oxygen (she actually pulled it off) and her saturation's are in the 70's normal for her (at her lowest she was 20's), her breathing is so much calmer. She still has a cough but it is so much better. I am so grateful to God.

Tomorrow we will probably go back to the general pediatric unit, and switch our focus back to her nutrition and gaining weight. We will probably be here for a good part of this week.

Later I will share about the plans for her heart, but for right now I just wanted you all to know the miracle we are celebrating.

The doctors and nurses have been amazing - we can not express adequately how grateful we are for the care they have given Lily.

I feel like this was a dry run for when she has open heart surgery, maybe that will be a breeze after this.

Thank you so much for all your words of encouragement and prayers - it really helps.

Lily's journey to a stronger heart

2010-08-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

And so the journey begins (a little sooner than we expected)........

So many of you have been so sweet offering love, prayer, and support all day I wanted to quickly let you all know what is going on as of right now.

Lily woke up this morning with no fever, but was still refusing to eat. We got to the clinic for our appointment at 10am as soon as they weighed her and saw she had lost weight from yesterday the doctor decided to admit her.

We are on the unit where I work so if we have to be admitted, this makes it a lot better - I work with an amazing group of people.

Since being in the hospital they have drawn blood work and placed an IV - our nurse, Shelly was fantastic she did it all in one stick, and there were a LOT of labs to send. When the results came back some of them were very concerning, so one of the labs was drawn again and the repeat looked much better.

We met with one of the nutritionist and it was decided Lily was at very high risk for refeeding syndrome. This is something that can happen when you increase a malnourished persons feeds to quickly. Because of this they said she needed to feed with an NG tube and nothing by mouth for right now. She is getting feeds continuously and they are increasing the rate very slowly. She will have to get blood work done again in 6 hrs.

Due to the feeding issues we could be here for an extended time.

Lily had a fever, but we didn't give any medicine and it went away by itself.

Lily's oxygen saturation's (this is the level of oxygen in the blood normal is above 92-100%) has been anywhere from 39 - 70. When she cries it really drops low, now I know why she looked so blue at times in China. This is her norm so it is nothing we have to worry about - crazy.

She is still very irritable, but with all that she has been through today who can blame her. I placed her in her crib and she started hitting her head with her hand - a reaction she had stopped doing about a week ago. It is hard to see her regress, but I know it is just temporary and it is her way to deal with stress. Her IV is in the hard that she normally grabs her ear with so this was making her pretty mad, but she soon discovered she could use the other hand and grab the other ear - smart girl :).

Chris is handling things at home - his mom bought dinner over tonight and my mom is feeding us tomorrow. We feel very loved and cared about. It's hard to be away from the boys so soon after returning but they are being amazing and handling things really well - I am so proud of them. Mia came and visited Lily and was very interested in all the tubes and wanted to know what everything was for. She was very loving towards her sister she is such a sweet girl - she melts my heart.

I am doing good - I know we are where we need to be, and as hard as it is seeing Lily go through all of this I know it will ultimately make her stronger. We know God has her in His hands and we are resting in that.

Thank you again for all your words of love and support - it really helped.

Lily Update

2010-08-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

This will be short as I am one tied momma, but I know many of you have wanted to know about Lily's appointments.

The pediatricians visit yesterday was fairly uneventful. Her weight was 15lbs 6oz so she has gained weight :). She checked her over, but knowing we were seeing cardiology the next day she deferred any further work up to them.

Today we saw the cardiologist. They did an echo of her heart, which is like an ultrasound. It showed that she did have tricuspid atresia, VSD, and ASD (which we didn't know about). He was positive about her heart and said it was favorable for surgery. Before they can do surgery they want to do a cardiac cath, she will have to be sedated for this, they will be checking for pulmonary hypertension. This will probably be done in the next 3 weeks and her surgery will hopefully be done in September. The focus right now is to try and get her as strong as possible and to gain weight - easier said than done. Over all it was a positive appointment - the reality and seriousness of her condition was certainly hard to hear, not that it was anything new it was just different when we were dealing with all this in theory and now it is all very real. We are very much attached to this sweet girl and to have to see her go through all of this is heart wrenching.

To be honest things have been tough since we got home. Lily is so not herself. She is constantly irritable, her cough is worse, and she started with a fever last night, that she has continued to have all day today. She has refused to drink from her bottle all day so this evening I have been feeding her with a syringe to get fluids in her and avoid an ER visit tonight.

Tomorrow we have an appointment with the international adoption clinic, where they are going to do blood work, a chest x-ray, and more of a head to toe evaluation, and we will also see the nutritionist to see how we can get more calories in her. I am very excited for this appointment as there are so many things going on with Lliy it will be good to have someone looking at everything. If she is still unwell tomorrow there is a chance she may have to be admitted to the hospital.

Right now we are just taking one day at a time.

Thank you all for your encouraging words and prayers,

We're Home

2010-08-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

We are finally home :).

We arrived home at our house at 10:30pm last night. Our flight was delayed in Chicago so we were home a little later than planned so some of our welcoming committee couldn't be there. It was amazing to walk out of the airport and see our boys, family and great friends. We were exhausted from our trip, but were so energized by the love and hugs from family and friends.

One of the best things about being home is to have our whole family back together again. We missed Benjamin and Ethan so much, but are so proud of them for being so great while we were gone.

Thanks to both our mommas we came home to a clean house, and food in the refrigerator :). My wonderful sister bought us lunch over today - if you know Chris you can guess what we had (chipolte) - thanks Abs and Steve.

Lily traveled well - thank you so much for all of you that prayed for her. She had no issues with her heart. She had moments where she was fussy, so we did some pacing in the plane. We didn't get much sleep so it was a long 22 hrs, but our beds felt amazing when we collapsed in them last night. Coming through customs at Chicago airport, we turned over the brown envelope, that they then open, checked the paperwork - and Lily officially became a US citizen. This was an emotional moment for me - it felt like the final hurdle of a long journey that started 1 1/2 years ago - we were coming home with our daughter :).

We were all wide awake at 6am today, but our now dragging, trying to stay awake until tonight (I have already taken one nap). Lily has been unusually fussy today, I think she is just exhausted from traveling, and settling into a knew environment. She is taking her second nap of the day - I pray she sleeps tonight.

It has been wonderful to start introducing Lily to her extended family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, I know there will be lots more introductions over the next few weeks.

We see the pediatrician tomorrow, and the cardiologist Tuesday. The rest of the week will consist of unpacking, laundry, hanging out as a family, and starting to form our knew routine with the 6th member of the Yeatts family :).

Here are a few pictures of our last moments in China

Traveling on the bus Hong Kong

On the plane to Japan

Japan

Lily right after she became a US citizen

Day 13 - Oath Ceremony

2010-08-05T03:42:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the US consulate. There was about 50 families there all adopting. We each had to have our paperwork verified so that the visa could be issued, and then we took a group oath stating everything was true. Tomorrow we will be given a brown envelope that we are not allowed to open. When we arrive on American soil we give this envelope to the immigration officer, and at that moment Lily becomes a US citizen. It was quite an emotional moment, of coarse I shed a few tears :).

A lot of the paper work we did in the US was all for this moment.

We are spending our last night in Guangzhou eating in our room and relaxing. Tomorrow we leave on the bus for HongKong at 4:00pm. It is a 3 1/2 hr drive. We will be up early the next morning to catch our plane home - wow I can't believe I am saying this.

This may be my last blog entry from China - we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone that has been following along and left us such encouraging words. I hope you will continue to check in and follow Lily's progress.

It has been an amazing journey, but we are all very excited to come home and see so many of you.

Day 12

2010-08-04T05:06:00.001-07:00

Today was pretty relaxed. We hung out at the hotel most of the day. We had to stay in our hotel room during the morning in case the US consulate had any questions. Chris took Mia swimming while Lily and I waited - no questions everything was good. Tomorrow we go to the consulate, for an oath taking ceremony.

We went back to Shaman Island again for dinner at Lucy's (it sells good American food :) , and a little more shopping. We are getting good at catching taxi's and getting around by ourselves.

While I was hanging out with Lily this morning I was just thinking about how much she is already such a part of our family. Although there are many things we don't know about our daughter, like her real date of birth, what her birth parents were like, or why they gave her away, there are things we have already discovered in such a short time.

This is what we already know

She HATES to get her diaper changed
She couldn't care less about toys - a piece of paper will entertain her for hours
She smiles when you tickle her
She hates her feet touched
She hates wearing socks
She loves music
She is stubborn
She loves to be held - when she wants to be :)
She loves to lay on her back and play
She knows what she wants
She looks good with her head shaved :)
She loves playing with her sister
She is the missing part to our family

We can't wait to spend the rest of her life discovering who she is.

Day 11

2010-08-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

I can post pictures again - not sure why :).

This morning we had a photo shoot with all the other adopting families in our group. A lot of the children wore traditional clothes that they had bought when we were shopping yesterday.

As you can imagine, Mia was totally in to it, insisting on incorporating her umbrella. Lily tolerated it, and actually did well, not covering her face for every shot.

Some of the families will start leaving as of tomorrow. It all depends on when you had your consulate appointment, some had it Monday, ours is not until tomorrow.

We have really enjoyed getting to know the other families - they are a remarkable group, all with a huge passion for orphans. Some are on their 3rd and 4th adoptions. With all the sadness and ugliness in the world it is inspiring to see such goodness, love and beauty.

We are going back to Shaman Island this evening with one of the other families for a little more shopping and to eat dinner. They are from NJ, and have adopted from Russia, Ethiopia and now China.

Enjoy the photo shoot

All 25 families

All the adopted children with some of the mommas

Family picture (just missing the boys :( )

This is the outfit she wanted - I wonder why :)

Benjamin and Ethan we are missing you like crazy - only 4 more days :).

Day 10

2010-08-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

We were very excited to wake up this morning to Lily having no fever and wanting to drink her bottle. She is still a little more cranking than normal (she's normally not cranky at all), but much better.

Her TB test was negative so no chest x-ray :).

We spent the afternoon on Shaman Island which is an area of Guangzhou that is very European looking and has lots of little shops. I great place to by all things Asian. We got some outfits for the girls. Mia had been wanting a beautiful, special jewellery box (her description) since she got here - so she found that :). We bought Lily a jade pendant to give to her when she gets older, Mia already has one - this is something that is very traditional Chinese.

It was a fun afternoon - very hot, we finally got a stroller as it is too hot carrying Lily around in the pouch. She did OK in it.

This evening we had a special treat and went on a dinner cruise with the other families. It was a great way to see the city, and something other than McDonald's to eat. Check out the pictures on facebook, and you'll see what we got to eat instead :).

Tomorrow will be a slow day, and then Wednesday we start the process of finalizing Lily's US citizenship, we will have the swearing in on Thursday. Friday we get the paperwork, and take a bus back to Hong Kong. Saturday we fly home.

Day 9

2010-08-01T02:35:00.000-07:00

This will be a short post today. We are still unable to post pictures.

Lily has had a fever all day, and has pretty much slept on the bed. She has actually just in the last hour started to perk up a little, it is 9:30pm here. She has only had one bottle all day, so I am hoping she will drink some more.

Chris and Mia went out this morning with the rest of the families, and Lily and I stayed at the the hotel.

I felt so bad for her, she didn't want me to hold her, she just covered her face with her arm and rocked herself :(.

I am praying for a better night tonight and no fevers tomorrow.

Tomorrow we go and get her TB test read, it looks negative to me :).

Day 7 and 8

2010-07-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

We are finally back up online, and in Guangzhou. I am unable to post pictures for some reason. I have posted them on facebook. Hopefully I will be able to fix the problem.

Day 7

It was strange leaving Lily's home province yesterday. I forgot how it felt to have driven that same road 5 days before with one child and now you have two. It almost feels surreal, and then you look down at this little girl in your arms and reality is right there in front of you. It is quite amazing at how bonded and attached you can feel to someone you have just met, especially when you never experienced 9 months of them growing inside of you. I guess that's why those of us in the adoption community like to refer to our children as being born in our hearts, a process that started the moment we saw her picture.

Lily did amazing on the plane. She played and smiled, drank her bottle, and even sat in the chair with Mia. In the last two days she has been sitting up on our laps, before she only wanted to lie down flat. This is great progress as it makes it much easier to travel. Thank you for all your prayers, we were very relieved and are feeling much better about our trip home.

We got to our knew hotel around 10pm we were so hungry and therefore very excited to see Mcdonalds next to the hotel. Even better there is a starbucks in the hotel :).

Day 8

Today we met 25 other families from our adoption agency. It is quite a site with all the children. The majority of the families are on their 2nd or more adoption - amazing to see so many children finding homes. A lot of the children have different medical needs, but some are also healthy. We have really enjoyed meeting the families and sharing experiences.

Lily had her medical exam this morning. It was crazy there, as there were families from other agencies also. Kids screaming, long lines and hot - not fun. The US requires all there shots to be updated so Lily had to get 3. This was actually good, some of the kids needed 6 :(. We were a little concerned about the shots with her weak heart, but nothing we could do about it. She also had to get a TB test, because she is over 2. We will go back on Monday to see if that is negative. The children here are vaccinated for TB so it can show a false positive. If this happens she will have to get a chest x-ray. She hated getting the shots and Lily and mommy shed a few tears. She did fine until around 6pm this evening when she woke up from her nap she was so upset and when I picked her up she was burning hot. Probably a fever from the shots. I gave tylenol and it eventually came down. Sweet baby I felt so bad for her.

We stayed in our room and ordered an Hawaiian pizza for dinner - everyone is already asleep it is 9pm :).

Benjamin and Ethan - Mia said today that she misses her boys. So does Mommy and Daddy. We will talk to you on skype later.

Day 6

2010-07-29T02:41:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day in langzhou, and our last day in Lily's home province, Gansu. Tomorrow we leave for Guanghoz. We are ready to move on, but it is a strange feeling to be taking Lily from her home, not knowing if she will ever return - I hope she does.

This morning we went to a park and zoo. It was fun but very hot. It is 104F here today which is the hottest day they have had in 45 years. Lily is doing OK, but gets exhausted quickly. Once we left there we went to a famous noddle restaurant for lunch - yes I attempted to eat the local food again - so far so good. the noddles were yummy.

Lily has slept most of the afternoon. I am not sure how she is going to do flying tomorrow. It is 2 1/2 hour flight so it will be a good test.

Chris and Mia have gone to get us dinner - KFC again, we know it's safe :).

Next time I post it will be from Ghangzhou we will meet up with 24 other adoptive families from our agency there.

Before we went out today I attempted to get some pictures of Mia and Lily

There goes the arm

She won't look at me

Gotcha before that hand goes up

Distracted with a toy

At the zoo

Jessica our guide spoilt Mia and got her this costume :)

Lily resting in daddy's arms

Clever daddy - who said he couldn't multi-task:)

Way to go Mia with the chop sticks - this girl had noddles for breakfast and lunch

Who needs chop sticks :)

Exhausted after a busy morning

Day 5

2010-07-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

Day 5 in China and day 3 with Lily. Today we did nathing. I spent the day in bed, I think our adventure out yesturday eating at the restaurant did not sit well in my stomach. I am feelling better now though and should up to getting out tomorrow.

Mia and Chris ventured out this morning, found KFC for lunch :). A little safer. Chris said they were quite the spectacle, everyone just starred at them and the security guard sat next to them while they ate. No one spoke English so he ordered from a picture menu. He ended up with 2 kids meals, I'm sure they were amused by this 6 foot 4 white guy eating a kids meal.

We watched movies in the hotel, my ingenious husband went out and bought a cable so we can hook up our lap top to the TV, and then we can watch movies and shoes from hulu and netflix etc. It has been great especially as we are spending a lot of time in the hotel and there are only 2 English channels.

Tomorrow we are going to the zoo in the morning it is going to be 104 in the afternoon.

Here are some shots of Lily today, both her and I hung out in our PJ's all day. She is getting more and more used to us. She is so curious, she skoots around the floor exploring everything, I don't think she ever had much more freedom than her crib.

It was really hard to catch a smile on the camera

Oh no the camera

Yes the camera is still there.......

This is her normal reaction to the camera coming out - she knows exactly what she is doing :)

Day 4 in China

2010-07-27T01:47:00.000-07:00

Today has been a lovely day. Lily slept great last night. We are all feeling a lot more rested. After breakfast Jessica (our guide) took us out for a few hours to have a little look at some of the city. We went to a park by the water. It was great to see and learn more about where lily came from. Although we are six hours from the town lily lived in, this is the capital of her province, Gansu.

I have been carrying Lily in the baby carry (the kangaroo pouch Andrea :) ), which once we get her in she falls asleep as does really well - plus it provides great bonding time for momma. Today we have discovered Lily likes to be tiggled - each day we learn more about our daughter :). She has been so much more relaxed today, she hasn't cried when we picked her up and when she was upset she was actually comforted by us holding her. These things may seem so simple but they are huge to us.

We went out to a restaurant for lunch by ourselves - it had pictures of the food so we didn't end up with anything to strange. Mia ordered spaghetti and it came with a fried egg on the side!!! Mia was very proud of herself because she ate all her rice with chop sticks :).

You can tell after a few hours of being out Lily is warn out, so back to the hotel to hang out for the afternoon. Chris's project - working out how to post some video -hope you enjoy a glimpse of Lily.

Here are a few pictures from today

A couple getting there wedding pictures taken - they do them before the day of the wedding

This is suppose to massage your feet :)

Taking a break

This is a famous symbol of the city - we had about 5 strangers taking our picture :) - we are quite the spectacle.

Chilling after a busy morning - got to get some hair girl - you're not supposed to match daddy :)

She is officially ours :) !!!!!! - Day 3 in China

2010-07-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

Chris and Lily are napping and Mia is watching a movie so I finally have some time to gather my thoughts and post some more details of the last couple of days.

We arrived at the hotel yesterday afternoon and two hours later Lily was bought to our room. I have to tell you that my first impression when I saw her was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not because I had any feelings of regret, or that we had made the wrong decision, it was actually the opposite. For both Chris and I the minute we laid eyes on her it was only confirmed in our hearts that she was ours. It was just a feeling of concern - she looked so frail and her color so grey, it doesn't help that her hair is shaved to her head :(. We were prepared for her condition but she looked worse than her pictures. I know for Chris his daddy heart just wanted to scoop her up and make her all better. How we wished we could be back home that minute and in the doctors office.

After talking to the orphanage director they explained that she was very exhausted as they had, had an eight hour drive to get to us. They presented us with a book as a gift and it had pictures of her just taken a few days ago where she looked a lot better. This was very encouraging to see. This all being said I would be lying if I didn't say I have concern about how the twenty hour trip home will effect her little body - please pray for this.

After the director and nanny left our guide Jessica (who is amazing) took us for a walk to get baby supplies, it seems nothing I have fits her. Then we had to go get her passport picture taken. She hated it, so it took forever to get a shot with her eyes open. We have discovered she does not like her picture taken (unlike her sister). Every time the camera comes out her arm goes over her face. We are having to sneak shots of her when she is not looking. We settled into the hotel for the evening so we could skype family and some friends back home - it was wonderful to see and talk to everyone. Lily played on the bed and began to look a little better. We even saw a smile, she held her own bottle(much to Mia's disappointment), she rolls around and grabs for her toys. Her color gets worse when she crys. She is long but very skinny, her arms and legs are tiny. We are taking things slow with her, giving her space. Except for going to the doctors she has never been out of the orphanage, not even outside to play, they were very concerned about her condition so she was very protected.

We fell in bed last night exhausted. So many emotions. This has been very different from our experience with Mia. We are taking our ques from Lily I want to hold and hug her but I can see how it stresses her. Our hearts are overjoyed to have her and we have a lifetime to smother her with hugs and kisses.

Mia is being an amazing big sister. Lays on the bed with her, plays with her and trys to feed her :).

So that was yesterday.

Today Lily officially became ours :). We went to the civil affairs office, and signed all the papers, were fingerprinted, and she became ours.

That took all morning and now we are relaxing in the hotel for the rest of the day. Because of Lily's physical condition we won't do lots of sightseeing. We will take things at a slower pace, and do some short trips out.

At the appointment we got a lot of time to hold her and love on her, she did well and responded to us comforting her when she started to stress. We are learning her coping mechanisms, and can see some typical behaviours that institutionalized children have in order to comfort themselves. She rocks herself to sleep - breaks my heart to think she didn't have anyone to rock her to sleep. We know the nannies loved her, they just have a lot of children to take care of.

Here are some pictures of the last two days. I will post all our pictures on facebook.

Our first moments with Lily

Mia could not wait to feed her

Exhausted

Playing

She is ours - we had to put our fingerprint on about 8 documents

Lily's footprint (I know her color looks awful in this picture) whenever she is stressed she covers her face.

Mia's fingerprint :)

There was one other family adopting plus the orphanage dircetor and nanny

Proud daddy

Playing back at the hotel

We have Lily !!!!!

2010-07-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

This is a really quick post as I know there are a few people wanting to see Lily before they go to bed - Pam, Amanada, and Tina.

I will post more in a little while - let me just say that we are completely in love with her. She had a very long day today and as very tied, she really doesn't want us to hold her so these are the best shots we have.

Hope I can sleep

2010-07-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

The day is almost here, one last sleep and Lily will be in our arms :).

This will be brief as we are exhausted. We had a great day touring Hong Kong. I'll post some pictures later. We caught the train to main land China with no problem. It is now 11:00pm at night, and we just checked into the hotel. We catch an 8:45am flight in the morning to Langzhou which is where Lily is. Sometime in the afternoon they will bring her to our hotel. She will stay with us and then Monday we will sign adoption papers.

Mia has been so excited all day, reminding me constantly that it is just one more sleep :). She was also very excited about something else today, but you'll have to wait until I can post a picture to find out what.

I'm off to bed as a mommy of 3 for the last time.

Benjamin and Ethan - can't wait to skype you tomorrow so you can see us and Lily we love you XXXXX.

We're Here

2010-07-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

After a 9 hour layover in Chicago (our flight was 5 hours delayed) and then a 15 hour flight we finally made it to Hongkong. When we arrived here it was 10:00pm Friday so 10:00am for you guys. Mia did amazing on the plane she slept for about 7 hours. We had an extra seat so she was able to lay down. Chris and I got some sleep. After only 2 hours of sleep the night before and a very busy 10 days it was great to just sit :).

We were very relieved to see the driver we had booked to get us to our Hotel waiting for us, we were a little worried with being so late he wouldn't be there. It was a 30 min drive to the hotel which is right on the water on the Island of Kowloon. The hotel upgraded us to a suite, and we have an amazing view of the water. Across the water is down town Hong Kong where we will be going today to sight see. How blessed we feel to have been able to start off this journey in such an amazing way. God is so good to us. We woke early 6am Saturday for us 6pm Friday for you.

Well the day is going and we only have today to see Hong Kong so I'll post more later. We are catching a train to main land China tonight - should be an adventure.

I am having trouble down loading pictures I'll try again later.

Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts for our family regarding the loss of Pop.

To Benjamin and Ethan - we love you boys, I'm sure you are having a lovely time at Grandma and Papa's we miss you and are thinking about you all the time XXXXX Mia says she misses her boys :).

my aching heart ........

2010-07-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today my 92 year old grandfather passed away in Australia. Although I have not seen him for 3 years I am so sad knowing he is no longer here. I grew up living a long way away from my grandparents, but the distance didn't matter I always felt very close to them, and treasured the times we did have together.

He lived an amazing life like so many others of his generation. Surviving years in a Japanese prison of war camp, to then emigrating his family to Australia from England. I remember him as always being a strong man, he was tall, and his presence in a room was felt. At the same time there was such a tenderness about him. He lit up when his great grand kids were around, he loved to give hugs and have the kids sit in his lap.

So tonight my heart aches for my Nan who is now alone after 70 years of marriage, for my mom who was so far away from her dad when he died, for his great grandchildren that won't get the privilege to see for themselves what a great man he was, and for myself who just misses him already.

I love you Pop and I can't wait to see you again some day.

and the winner is .......

2010-07-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

number 32 - LYNN HOPKINS

Congratulations Lynn - your ipod touch will be on it's way.

Thank you again to everyone that made this fundraiser so successful you guys ROCK :)!!!

Fundraiser update and more ......

2010-07-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

I can not say Thank You enough to everyone that participated in our fund raiser, whether it was by donating money on promoting it on your blogs and facebook pages.

We will be drawing the name for the winner of the ipod touch later today and will announce it here.

Directly through this fundraiser we raised a total of $3200 Wahooo amazing.

When I had the idea I was a little nervous we wouldn't even make the cost back of purchasing the ipod, how small our faith can be at times - but I guess that is all it has to be, like a mustard seed.

We could not have done it without all of you - and I know it had nothing to do with the ipod touch (well at least for most of you :) ), but because of your love for us, and or your desire to help Lily.

We have also received some amazing financial donations separate from the fundraiser which is why the goal on the paypal was decreased.

The love and support we feel from family, friends and even people that we do not even know has touched our hearts very deeply - you are all a part of bringing Lily home.

We hope you will follow our journey to China, we would love for you to leave us messages. We will update this blog as much as possible.

China is 12hrs ahead of the US. We will be getting Lily on Sunday sometime in the afternoon - so check in for pictures and news.

I can not believe we leave in just 2 days. Mia is beyond excited, to see her sister. We are going to miss Benjamin and Ethan like crazy, but know they will be well taken care of by grandparents and friends, and thanks to modern technology like email and skype they will be able to feel apart of it all.

Flights Booked

2010-07-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Our flights are booked - WAHOO :)

I can now go to bed and sleep for a few hours. Then up to start organizing and packing. Back to work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night, sleep Wednesday - LEAVE THURSDAY.

We just found out yesterday that we will be getting Lily on Sunday the 25th - WOW just 9 more days and she will be in my arms - unbelievable !!!!

Today is the last day to enter the raffle. Thank you SO MUCH to all of you that have participated - we have been blessed beyond words.

WE GOT OUR CONSULATE APPOINTMENT !!!!!

2010-07-13T08:39:00.001-07:00

Quick update, I have SO much to do. We got our consulate appointment today :) !!!!

Our travel dates are July 22nd - Aug 7th.

We are working on tickets, trying to get a decent fare.

I only have 2 other days I am not working, between now and when we leave - so lots to do, but I don't care I am just SO happy that I will be holding my girl in 13 days.

Mia and Lily's Room

2010-07-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is what we did today. I can not believe we have a crib up again, it makes everything feel so real. I even pulled out clothes to take to China for Lily. I feel a lot better now this is done - wow I can't wait to see Lily sleeping in that crib.

Mia is beyond excited and is counting the sleeps - lets pray we go on the 22nd :).

Our biggest prayer need right now is the plane tickets, buying them so last minute is SO expensive, the prices fluctuate constantly, but we can't book anything yet.

Although we have a lot to do - tomorrow we are having a fun family day, some time where the kids can have our full attention. It might be the last time for a while where we are that free.

Boots waiting for little feet to fill them

Added shelving to the closet to make more room for clothes and toys

Fundraiser

2010-07-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

5 DAYS TO GO still time to donate and be eligible for the ipod touch.

The Chipin will remain up until we go to China, but the raffle will end on July 16th.

WE HAVE TRAVEL APPROVAL

2010-07-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Our adoption agency called an hour ago to say that they had received an email from the CCAA saying we had travel approval. YAHOO :)

I think I am a little in shock. This is what we have been praying for, hoping for, longing for now it's here it's like, oh ???? we are actually going to China in 13 days :).

What does this mean?

Well - once our adoption agency receives the official TA in the mail next week they will apply for a consulate appointment for us in China. As long as we can get an appointment for the week of the 2nd - 6th of August we will travel on July 22nd. We can't by are airline tickets until we have the consulate appointment.

Unlike with Mia's adoption, I haven't done a lot to plan for our trip. It's kind of like having a second child, you are much more relaxed. With Mia's adoption, I had packing list 3 months before we went :). So now I need to put my skates on.

Our family is about to change forever and we can't wait.

I have to just add a quick fundraising report we are now over $2000 amazing, when we started this I was a little nervous that we wouldn't even make the cost of the ipod touch - oh how are faith can be so weak at times. I am overwhelmed by every ones generosity and the goodness of God in our lives.

This has been a week of good news. Chris found out he had been accepted into graduate school, and we got travel approval for Lily :). Just last week our life was filled with so many uncertainties, how quickly things change.

Lily just 16 more days and you will be in our arms.

8 Days TO GO

2010-07-07T20:18:00.001-07:00

Wahoo we have reached $1000. I do not have words to describe how all your generosity has touched our hearts - some of you are total strangers. It is often said "it takes a village to raise a child" well I can certainly testify for us that it has taken a village for us to get our child.

There are 8 days left for this FUNDRAISER, and the opportunity to win an ipod touch.

See previous post for instructions.

iPod touch jailbreak 1.1.3, originally uploaded by Wizard Monkey.

Getting Closer

2010-07-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

We just found out that our Article 5 was issued on July 1st, and is on it's way to the CCAA (Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs). The Article 5 is the final seal on our US immigration approval, and had to be issued at the US consulate in China.

We now ONLY need TA (travel approval). Our adoption agency AWAA said this takes an average of 2-5 weeks, but because they are asking ours to be expedited it could be quicker. I can't even think about 5 weeks - not even going there :).

Thanks again for all the activity with the fundraiser today - 10 days to go !!!! Keep posting it on your facebook.

Thank you Thank you

2010-07-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say a BIG thank you to those of you who have already given into our fundraiser either financially or by posting a link on your blog or facebook account. I know many of you don't even know us, I can not tell you how your generosity has blessed our family and touched our hearts.

Remember the fundraiser ends on July 16th - if you post this on your blog let me know so I can give you credit for it. Scroll down to see post below with fundraiser instructions.

No news yet on traveling to China, but we are hoping to hear something soon now that the holiday is over - maybe tomorrow :) ????

One Final Fundraiser

2010-07-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

We are almost there :) !!!!! This should be the month we travel to China to bring our precious daughter home. I say should, because if there is one thing I have learnt from adoption and that is things never seem to happen quite how you expect them to. None the less we are pretty confident the time is getting close, just typing that brings tears of joy to my eyes, I can NOT wait to hold my baby girl.

As all of you know that have been following our journey to Lily adoption is very expensive. Can we afford to raise another child? Yes we can. Did we have the $30,000 sitting in the bank that we have needed to bring her home when we started this journey? NO. Is she worth every penny, and all the sacrifices? Yes she is. The reality is we would not be able to do this if it was not for the amazing generosity, love and support of family, friends and even strangers. You are not all able to adopt, but by helping us you have played a major part in saving Lily's life, and for that we are so grateful. My heart aches for all the motherless and fatherless children in this world, how I wish they could all know the love of a parent - I know I can not save them all, but I know without a doubt Lily is ours, our family will not be complete until she is in it.

Travel to China, and travel in China this time of year is crazy expensive, we had hoped to use air miles, but that is not going to work so .........

Here goes one final fundraiser, please don't feel under any obligation to give you have already been so generous, we know times are tight for everyone, if you would even just like to spread the word on your facebook page, or blog that would be amazing.

HOW IT WORKS - we are asking you to donate $10.00 - that will earn you ONE entry in a raffle to win an ipod touch. If you would like to donate more, for every $10.00 you give you will earn another entry, there are no limit to the number of entries you can earn. Fundraiser will end on July 16th.

To donate go to our PAYPAL button, make sure you leave your email so that we can notify you if you win.

For the blogging world out there, if you link this to your blog, you will earn another entry, just leave me a message on here. For those of you on facebook, you will also earn another entry if you put this on your facebook page, I have created a facebook page called I am helping to bring Lily home - fundraiser. If you link this to your facebook page, leave me a comment under this post so that I can credit you.

Yard Sale Pictures

2010-06-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the Yard Sale .....

This is how my house looked for about a month before - I was very HAPPY to have the yard sale - everyones generosity with donations was amazing though - Thank you so much.

The help of some good friends :)

Fears

2010-06-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Our adoption agency sent a letter from our cardiologist today requesting our paperwork be expedited. Now just waiting to see what happens, things could move pretty fast.

Talking with the cardiologist again yesterday reminded me of how fragile and serious a state lily's health may be. There are so many unknowns. The only thing I do know is she is ours, and with God's strength we will be able to face whatever is in her and ours future.

I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say a little fear didn't creep into my heart when I spoke with the cardiologist yesterday, all the what ifs. When I shared this with Chris he reassured me that it doesn't matter about the what ifs. It doesn't matter if her future is to be long or short (but man do we pray for it to be long), what matters is she is the daughter God has given us she will no longer be an orphan, our family will be more complete, and we will love her with all we have. She has a destiny and no matter what it is we are now a part of it. Gosh do I love this man.

You see like with a lot of adoptions, I (the wife) first initiated the idea of adopting again. At first he was hesitant, life was good, Mia was amazing, what if this time it is harder. Once he knew this was what we were supposed to do(which didn't take long :) ) we discussed what we felt we could handle as far as a special needs adoption. He again was more unsure than me about what degree of physical need we could handle, which I totally respected it's a huge thing to take on, and both parents MUST be in full agreement. So we started the process, we received a couple of referrals of beautiful children with less serious physical needs, but didn't accept them (a heart wrenching experience) as we just knew they weren't ours. Then when Lily's referral came, with the seriousness of her condition, he barely blinked -I would even have to say he was for a split second more sure than me that she was OUR lily. He has remained certain through out this process he has been my rock, and I can not tell you how lucky I feel that I get to discover this journey of life with him beside me.

The road to adoption is not easy, it is full of many unknowns, but the rewards are immeasurable. The orphan crisis in the world is an epidemic, if you have questions about adoption, please ask me. If you know adoption is not for you, but want to help in some way, I can point you in the right direction.

One More Step Closer

2010-06-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

We are getting closer.

We arrived home from our family camping trip yesterday to find the last document we have been waiting for sitting in our mailbox. It was a letter stating that our immigration approval had been sent to the US Consulate in China :)!!!!

What next??

Now we wait for the US consulate to issue our Article 5, that then gets sent to the Chinese Center for Adoption in Beijing, and they then issue our travel approval (TA). Once we have that we buy tickets and go. Usually you travel with the next group that is going from your adoption agency, we know America World has a group going at the beginning of July and one at the end. If we need to travel outside of those dates we will use an independant company. This is what we did for Mia's adoption. There are pros and cons to both, either is fine with me, I just want to go and get my girl. Each of these steps usually takes about 2 weeks, but they are requesting for them to be expedited so who knows.

It is all becoming very real. We will very soon be in China holding Lily. Mia is SO excited to see her sister, she is very concerned about us having baby food, diapers and bottles for her. I guess we need to go shopping.

Thanks again for all your love, support and prayers, we know it is all in God's hands, our lives are about to change again, and we can't wait.

So Excited

2010-06-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

I just got a call from our adoption agency, to say that they have a team going on a mission trip to China, and they are going to be visiting Lily's orphanage. They will actually be there this weekend. One of the ladies has been specifically assigned to visit Lily, she will take pictures for us, and give her lots of hugs and love. Oh I wish it was me, but this is the next best thing.

This was great news today, my heart has really been aching for my baby girl today.

Please God don't let it be to much longer, this mommas heart is being stretched.

We Did It !!!!

2010-06-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce our yard sale was a HUGE success - we raised a grand total of

$2280

We still have a few larger items which we will sell on craigslist so the total will probably be a little higher. It was a lot of work, very hot, but very worth it.

Thank you again to all our wonderful family, and friends that donated items, prayed for us, and supported us.

A huge thank you to those that helped us on Saturday, Peggy, Sara, Kym, Barry and Adeye (she came at 5:30am and left at 4:30pm) - I don't know what we would have done without you.

It meant the world to us to see friends come by and support us, shop, and give so generously - it truly touched our hearts.

The rain held off until just after we packed up all the remaining items :).

Now that all the yard sale stuff is out of my house, I'm feeling the urge to clean, sort, and get the kids rooms ready for Lily - Benjamin is moving to his own room, and we need to make Mia's room, Lily and Mia's room, something miss Mia is very excited about.

FUND RAISING YARD SALE

2010-06-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 12th

8am-3pm

Fund Raising Yard Sale

Rain or Shine

If you live in the Richmond area

come on out and see us

Mayflower Drive, 23235

Update on Lily : We received our USA immigration approval on Monday to adopt Lily, she has been approved to become a US citizen. Our baby girl is coming home soon. Please spread the word about our yard sale.

For those of you who are new to my blog and don't know about Lily. We are adopting a 2yo girl from China, who has a serious heart defect. She is very weak and needs surgury soon. We are hoping and praying to go in July and bring her home.

Rain Date or Not

2010-06-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

So all week they forcasted rain for last Saturday. We waited until Thursday night to decide we had better reschedule the yard sale. It was a hard decision, as thanks to the generosity of friends and family our house is over run with stuff. As you can imagine I was pretty excited about finally getting everything out of the house.

Well Saturday morning arrived - Blue Sky and Sunshine - could the weather man be more wrong????

Benjamin said "I told you mom we should of just had it and trusted God" ummm from the mouth of babes.

Anyway on the bright side - I was completely exhausted last week, so an unexpected free Saturday was a blessing, plus we have more time to organize, as items are still arriving - Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

I can just feel Lily getting closer - I worked on travel documents today, visa's, flights etc. No date yet, but it's getting close.

So our yard sale is now JUNE 12th - RAIN or SHINE (it had better NOT rain :) )

Yard Sale and stuff

2010-05-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

I am crazy busy right now getting ready for our yard sale on Saturday. We are having it to raise money for the adoption. Friends and family and a few strangers have donated so much stuff, I have been so blessed by the generosity of so many. We are now praying for lots of people to come and buy everything.

Today has been a day to celebrate and rejoice. A friend of mine that I work with just received and accepted a referral for a beautiful little girl in China. I can not express how happy I am for them and how awesome it is to see another little one be united with their forever family. Seeing God's word and commands unfold is awesome. It has been such a privilege to experience this journey with them and to see how they have sought God's plan for their lives. If you want to follow their journey to China click here.

I have one more piece of exciting news. Next Monday the 31st one of my best friends, Adeye is moving back to where I live, I am so excited to be near my precious friend again, and her family. They just returned 2 weeks ago from the Ukraine with their two newly adopted children, and now they are driving across country with their 7 kids and 2 dogs. I am counting the days, but first I need to get through the yard sale :).

Updates

2010-05-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

Mia's 4th birthday - we had a Tinkerbell party - fairies and pirates

Ethan and Chris did a triathlon

I-800

2010-05-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

I sent in our I-800 today. I spoke with our case worker and he said it is taking about 16 days, we had been told 3-5 weeks so that is great. Praying it comes quick.

WE HAVE OUR RA !!!!!!!

2010-05-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

Introducing Qing Xiao Nan soon to be Lily Stella Yeatts

This is the first picture we ever saw of our daughter - the one we fell in love with, she is about 9 mo old in this picture.

These are the pictures we received with her update 3 weeks ago. As you can see she is very small. She only weighs 14 lbs at two years old. She is not sitting. Due to the fact that she is malnourished and needs her heart surgery soon the CCAA expedited our RA. We will travel to China by the end of July, but we are praying that the next steps will also be expedited and we will go sooner. We are desperate to bring our sweetie home and give her the love and medical attention she needs.
The social welfare institute where she is at has been amazing. They have responded to all our questions the next day, and have done further medical tests for us. They really want to see her in a family.
We are not sure of all that lies ahead with Lily, but we KNOW that whatever we are to face she is ours, and we will love her and do all we can to help her.

Update

2010-04-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, life is crazy, so here is a quick update, I will post some pics of the last few months soon.

Our paperwork was logged in to China on March 22nd. We are now waiting for our referral acceptance (RA). They said it would take 2-4 months, but it seems to be averaging about 60-70 days. 60 days would be May 20th. Our adoption agency recommended we didn't count days, well that is like telling me not to eat!!! I an obsessed with counting the days, following other peoples journeys and counting there days. We are really praying to travel in July, this is possible if we receive RA in 60-70 days. We then wait for travel approval (TA) which could come a month later. If that happens we will travel in July.

We are still raising the funds to travel, and haven't decided yet if we will take the boys. They would like to go so we will see - finances will be the deciding factor.

We are having a fund raising yard sale Memorial Day weekend, people have been donating items to us. My house is starting to look like a second hand store.

Ethan entered his first triathlon on Saturday. He did it with Chris (teams of 1 adult, 1 child). They canoed 1 1/2 miles, rode bikes 3 1/2 miles and ran 1 1/2 miles. He did great and had lots of fun. I was very proud of him. He even out ran his daddy :)!!!!

Mia turns 4 this week. She is having a Tinkerbell birthday party on Saturday. She is SO excited to have a birthday party and invite all her friends. She is also getting ready for her first ballet recital.

We are getting very excited to have our friends the Salems move back to Richmond in a few months. Adeye is in the Ukraine right now adopting their 2 daughters you can following her journey by clicking here.

Dossier

2010-03-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here it is, ALL our paperwork - it doesn't look like much here, but a lot of sweat and tears went into collecting it :).

Everything left for China on Friday via fedex, I just tracked it and it is somewhere over the pacific ocean. It should arrive in China tomorrow :).

DTC

2010-03-12T14:53:00.000-08:00

I have just one word to say

DTC (dossier to China)

Yahoooo, our paperwork finally went to China today :) !!!!!!!!!

What a relief to have that done. Now we wait for our RA (referral acceptance), it will take 2-4 months, we are praying for closer to 2 months. Then we wait for our TA (travel approval).

So now what - now we get ourselves ready, for Lily. I have a whole house that needs to be sorted one room at a time. Benjamin is going to move into his own bedroom, and we need to turn Mia's room into Mia and Lily's room.

We also have some funds to raise, so we are planning a big yard sale for May.

I can't wait to have my baby girl in my arms :).

Almost Done

2010-02-23T23:49:00.000-08:00

Monday I spent all day finishing up paperwork.

I had to make copies of everything, then mail all our documents, except for the I-800A to the US State Department in DC. I also had to enclose an envelope so they could forward the documents to the Chinese Embassy, plus another prepaid envelope so they can return everything to us. I was paranoid I would put the wrong address on the wrong envelope, I checked everything 10 times.

Then I mailed the I-800A to the VA state department, I have already done this with the other documents. Once we get that back we will hand deliver it to DC to be authenticated in a day.

I would love to have everything back so we could be DTC by next Friday, but I am not sure if that will happen. Our adoption agency only sends dossiers to China on Friday's so if not I will have to wait another week.

It was so hard to send my documents off and entrust them to the USPS - praying for there safe return without them there is no Lily.

FINEALLY !!!!!!

2010-02-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

WAHOO !!!!

We have out I-800A :)

This is the last document we needed so that we could be DTC (dossier to China). We now just have to send all our documents to the Chinese embassy, and US consulate to be authenticated then, it can all go to China.

Lily - we are one step closer to you :).

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On another note I just wanted to say that I am married to the most amazing man.

We have just returned from a lovely romantic weekend away, he planned everything, it was all a surprise. We had such an amazing time, it meant so much to just focus on one another, with no other distractions. Just what we needed with number four on the way. It is so important to take those times together, and it doesn't have to be a weekend away, or even a night out, sometimes it is just 30min, alone with no interruptions, where all your attention is on each other. I have to be honest I am not always very good at making that a priority - but my hubby is, and knows how important it is to the strength of our marriage, and consequently to the strength of our family. He is constantly reminding me of this. our marriage comes before our children - this is a hard one for us moms to get - but it's true, I just need to be reminded frequently :).

I have to give a HUGE thank you to my amazing sister, Emma and brother-in-law, Chad who took all our kids for 2 nights - love you guys.

Miracles

2010-02-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

Now that we have seen Lilly's face, the desire to want to just jump on a plane and go get her is overwhelming at times. For those of you who have experienced the adoption journey you know just what I mean.

We still need to complete our paperwork and be DTC (dossier to China), your dossier is all the necessary documents you need to adopt. We are only waiting on one official document and that is our I-800A, which is the US immmigration approval to adopt a foreign born child. To do this we have to be fingerprinted at our USCIS office, which for us is in Norfolk VA, a 2 hr drive. We had recieved an appointment for Feb 12th at 8am, but this was just not working out for us. When it comes to the paperwork if it is in my control then I want to make it happen NOW - some things are out of my control and I just have to learn PATIENCE and wait on others - not so easy at times.

So my plan, drive down to the office and just see if they will do it for us - hay it worked for Adeye. This weekend we had 14inch of snow, so I was a little worried on Monday that the office would be closed, you can't call them directly so I called the 1800 number - Yah NO CLOSINGS for weather. So off we went, kids and all, for a little road trip - we got there and guess what? A big sign on the door saying

CLOSED FOR SNOW

What!!!!! So reluctuntly we turned around and made the journey home - a little disappointed wasn't this supposed to work????

Then we had a choice do we forgot about it and resolve to wait for our scheduled appointment, or do we try again tomorrow the last free day we would have before our appointment. Of coarse I wanted to jump right in the car and go again, but life is busy and there was planty of things we could be doing with that valuble time, so without even trying to influence his decision I asked Chris to decide and what ever he felt was right to do, I would be OK with (yah right :)). Much to my relief and joy without hesitation, he said - LETS GO, if it means our daughter may get here sooner, then there isn't even a question - I love this man.

So off we went for a second time, praying to God that we would have favor. As we drove down I ran through all the conviencing arguments I would use to persuade the officials to do this for us - and I had some good ones, including bringing Mia in to make a plea for her sister.

Well we arrived and walked straight in - thare was NO one else there, a man walked up to us asked if we had an appointment - I said no, but was hoping we could get them done today - and before I could start on my list of heart wrenching reasons he just said SURE and we were in and out of there in ten minutes. The interesting part was that he said it had been VERY busy all day because of being closed the day before, but now it was empty so no problem - MIRACLE !!!

WOW so easy - God moved on our behalf and He didn't even need me(and all my conviencing arguments) He just made it happen, because he desires to see Lilly safe and loved, just as much as we do.

Referral, Referral, Referral !!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

We are VERY EXCITED to announce the referral of our daughter

Qing Xiaonan

soon to be

Lilly ? Yeatts

We received the referral call yesterday from AWAA. They immediately emailed us her information, and from the moment we saw her we knew she was a Yeatts.

She is two years old, her birthday is January 4th. She has a heart condition called a VSD and Tricuspid Atresia, which she will need surgery for as soon as possible. We are anxious to get her home and get her the medical care she needs, but we know we are going to have to wait for several months. Hopefully we will travel to China in July or sooner.

Until our referral is officially approved by China we can not post her picture, but she is beautiful.

Mia's Surgery

2010-01-20T17:35:00.000-08:00

My precious girl is having another surgery tomorrow. She is going to have her palate revised, which will hopefully help with her speech. She is also going to have surgery on her nose, to give it a little more shape, and open up her nasal passages which are very narrow. We of coarse think she is perfect just the way she is, and hate to see her go through more surgery, but feel it is necessary.

This girl loves to wear sunglasses she must own 5 pairs, but she has a hard time keeping them on because her nose is so flat - hopefully after tomorrow she'll be able to wear all the glasses she wants, I on the other hard will miss that flat nose.

I-800A Filed

2010-01-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

Today we filed our I-800A, which is our immigration approval to adopt a foreign born child. This is the last step in our paperwork, before it can all be sent to China. We now have to wait for a fingerprinting appointment, which we are praying will be soon. If we get a referral soon, we want our paperwork complete so that we can travel to China as soon as possible. It will still take 5-8 months before we can travel, and I know once we know who our daughter is, every day we have to wait will be hard.

Why Adopt - Why not??

2010-01-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe it is 2010. As I look forward to this year, the thing that is most prevalent in my heart, is that in 2010 I will meet my new daughter Lilly. People often ask us why we adopted Mia, and why are we adopting again, I think this video sums it up.

Mia Quotes

2009-12-08T01:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some Mia quotes that just melt her mommas heart ........

Mummy I missed you when I was in China ( this one completely caught me off guard).

Mummy I'm your daughter and you're my mommy, and daddy's my daddy :), and Benjamin and Ethan are my brothers, and my baby sister Lilly is in China.

Mummy I love you SO much.

You're a great mommy.

Mommy I'm your baby girl (she says with a big smile).

Mommy I miss you (she says this every time I come home from work, or even if I just run an errand without her - which isn't very often :) )

These aren't things she says to me occasionally, but she says at least one of these to me everyday. What a blesing this little girl is to me, she has filled my heart and life with such joy.

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Sooooo, I guess as I just said her name I had better OFFICIALLY announce that our new daughters name is going to be Lilly. We have not decided on the middle name yet. Lilly means beautiful and pure.

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Adoption update : We are still waiting on a referal. In November we recieved a referal, off the China waiting child referal list, but it was accepted by another family, before we could lock in on it. We felt totally at peace about it, as we new that she obviously wasn't supposed to be ours. A new group of referals came last week, but we didn't get matched that time. It is a different process than when we adopted Mia and at times I feel like I am on an emotional rollarcoaster, but I continue to try and keep my eyes on my father and remind myself that his timimg is perfect. We really want to travel to China before next August as Chris may be in school full time then - so we are hoping for a referal soon.

Two of my Babies

2009-10-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

Chris in Nicaragua

2009-10-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Chris just got back from another trip to Nicaragua. The object of this trip was two fold. One to bring art work home from the kids so we can have a fund raiser art auction for them in the Spring sponsored by our charity Kids in Crisis.

The second was to build additional rooms on the building to rescue two sisters. The girls mother was a prostitute and so are there older sisters, she asked us to take them so that they wouldn't end up in the same life style. There plight has been something that has been very much on Chris's heart - his daddy side kicked in big time, he was going to do what ever it took to help those girls. We raised money to help with the construction, so it was huge for him to be able to go there and physically build there rooms, and then meet them, hug them and tell them their daddy God loved them so much he sent someone far away to help them.

The kids painting

Building the rooms

Some of the kids that live there

Precious sisters

YAH !!!

2009-10-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today my British back ground check for the adoption arrived !!!!!!!!

Everything is now completely done for the homestudy - we just need the social work director to sign off on it.

Next step - apply for our immigration approval our I-800A.

One more step closer :)