Year's End

Christmas at our house was a little crazy, a bit chaotic, and tons of fun.  On Christmas Eve one of my sons made puppets to use to illustrate reading the Christmas story.  Emery was VERY concerned about getting to sleep so that Santa would be able to come. For the one non-believer kid in our family it was a bit more difficult to get to bed with the others:)    Christmas morning was a blast.  Emery opened one present and savored it.  She looked at it, examined it.  Exclaimed over it.  It was a new doll.  So we paused all of the present opening to encourage the boys to not just move on to the next gift after a quick 'Thanks'.  After a couple more presents Emery was asking, " 'nother present, please?"  Ah, well it was a nice thought at the beginning.

We went to Christmas morning church and left a bit of glitter on the pew from Emery's Christmas dress(we got it off!)  Who knew little girls dresses with sparkles shed?  Somehow, we didn't take any pictures of everyone in church clothes, so we will be restaging that event:)!

While there was plenty of hustle and bustle, baking and making, wrapping and buying, singing and reading and watching Christmas movies,  I was struck by the fact that last year we had barely started the process to adopt Emery.  We made Christmas ornaments for her so that she would have some this year to put on the tree, and she did.  And I was struck by the fact that I could not have necessarily predicted this exact path, and it is one so much greater than one I might have thought I would choose.  It has been a great and crazy year.  I am looking forward to a year that is maybe a little bit less crazy but just as great!

And my focus even more this year is going to be about something I was reading in John.  When it talks about how Christ is the vine and that we are the branch and the branch can't produce fruit on its own.  Well the closer the branch is to the vine the stronger it is and the more it can carry.  I feel like my plate has gotten pretty heavy and full so obviously I need to be moving a little bit closer to the source of my strength in order to carry it a bit easier!  So that is my continued, carry-over goal for 2012.

May God bless you and yours this year.  Thank you for your help and prayers for our family in 2011.  We have been so very blessed.

:)

FEBRUARY 8TH!!!!


Need I say more?




Heart surgery is scheduled:) 

Life As We Know It

First, the good news.  Have I mentioned that I really loves Seattle Children's?  I really do.  They are fantastic in so many ways.  I called yesterday ti check on where we were at since it has been a month since Emery's second cardiac cath.  I KNOW they will call me when they hear an update, but still it has been a month, so I called just because it felt like at least I was doing something.  I talked to the resident who has gone above and beyond for us.  Seriously a FANTASTIC doctor. We went over a few things that had been going on with Emery's health and pretty much ended with no new news but the hope and expectation to hear within the week.  Then last night he called me with an update.  Stanford has a surgery plan for Emery, has officially accepted her to be put on their schedule and we are FINALLY moving forward, although still waiting for a surgery date.  We should know the date within a week.  Our next contact should be with Stanford's surgery schedulers and there are no new tests or retests that need to be done before the surgery.  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  He called right when he heard the news.  How incredibly nice:)


Emery is having so much fun waiting for Christmas.  She doesn't quite understand that we have to wait.  Every day has the potential of being Christmas for her, which is kind of funny.  She also knows that it is Jesus's birthday and is convinced that Jesus is coming to our house so that we can sing Happy Birthday to Him.   She got a stocking and thought we needed to two for Santa's two feet that must be sooo biiiigg.  Complete with hand gestures.  She loves the advent calendar, although I don't know that it is because there is a countdown or because she gets a piece of candy every day, probably the latter.

We are making big steps in attachment.  My husband is out of town and she really misses him, that is a good thing.  We countdown to when he will be back and she understands that.

I am still not her favorite person, I might never be, and I am OK with that.  Some of my sons would definitely prefer my husband to me(I don't blame them!) but we are so much better than where we were.  I look back and am amazed at the progress that has been made.  She will let me help her, and looks to me for help now.  She doesn't try to go with every other woman or man available.   I can now say no and it is ok with her.  It is nice to be moving away from the media entertainment phase. There are still things to work through and time to spend and places to improve but we are on the right path I think.  Last week she told us that she wanted her China family, her sisters and ayis and not us.  I hurt for her.  To me, that is a normal thing, one I have been waiting for.  I don't think it was truly a rejection of our family but a expression of grief for the loss that she has had, and she is finally able to verbalize some of the things that there are to grieve for.  So we are back to the crying at night for a variety of reasons, that are all completely understandable to me at this point and she lets us hold her and comfort her and it is so much easier to work through than when we held her like a rigid board or rubbed her back while she sat up perfectly straight and cried quietly.

We are grateful for this season of the year, and this season of our lives.  We feel so very, very blessed.