Feng Yu's Cardiac Update

Rockin out in a dance party in the living room!    Both boys loves music and love to dance.

                                                      Snuggle time with Daddy

Nianjie was helping to document the dance party, as mom was taking pictures, he began taking them too.

                                           Jackson showing us some moves......

                                         Monkey see.......monkey do..........

The little boys have figured out the joy of remote control trucks and then ways to make them crash!  DOWN THE STAIRS!

 Yes, they really have begun to start to form a brotherly bond and love each other.   And this is what brothers do best-wrestle!  So thankful for their common language bond to communicate.  Feng Nianjie has been my interpreter many times for the little guy and he listens to him!

"No I did not pull the dog's tail......very hard"

Yesterday, Feng Yu had the first of many cardiac appointments.  We knew when we said "yes" to his file and asked the Chinese government for approval to be his parents in October 2014, we knew three things.  

                          1.  There were many unknowns about his cardiac health situation.

                          2.  He was meant to be our son.

                          3.  God is in control.

Having a child with any special needs can be taxing on your emotional health but finding out how your child's heart anatomy will affect the rest of his life can be overwhelming.  I felt at ease throughout the appointment as we learned how uniquely formed this little guy is.  How can his heart even be functioning?  As I watched the ECHO tech scan his heart for an 1 1/2 hours, way longer than usual, I could tell by her face she was perplexed. We have been in ECHO's before with Huahua's unique heart but this was taking a long time!  

 

So this is what we have learned so far...Feng Yu has situs inversus.  This is where his major organs can be mirrored (or reversed) position.  95% of the people with this condition have a heart condition. His heart has 4 chambers (good news) but the atrium and ventricles are flipped in the wrong position. The 4 chambers give me hope, yet there is a large ventricle septic defect (hole between the two of the them) currently so he functions as a single ventricle.  He has had the Glenn procedure in Ch*ina at 10 months, which routes the superior vena blood (from to the upper part of his body ) directly to the pulmonary artery which goes to the lungs and bypasses the heart.  That way the heart only has to pump a portion of the blood to his lungs.  But currently his blood in mixing of course because of the holes and leaky values (mitrial which acts like a tricuspid because it comes from the wrong atrium)  and the Aortic value is leaking.  So we have some more information to collect via tests in the 6-8 weeks.  We want him to settle in and get comfortable and us to get all the medical information possible before making the biggest decision of the little guy's life- which surgical route we will take.  One will give him a chance for a normal functioning heart but with big surgical risk and the other will be the safer route with a sure heart failure down the road (eventually needing a heart transplant).  Huahua is already in the second boat because she had no other option.  So we are thankful for this opportunity to give him a possible chance to save both ventricles, but fear the dangerous risk in surgery.  Pray for the doctors assessment of him and our ability to decipher what is the best route for him.

                  How appropriate his shirt would say.... JOSEPH FENG YU   "One Little TOUGH Guy"
                        We have a battle ahead of us, but we won't fight it alone.  God already knows the                                                              outcome and we stand with him and Him alone!

Settling into new family life

 Okay for all of you who follow closely-So sorry for the delay in this blog.  We are adjusting to life with six children and it's taking a while.  Just to make it clear---The boys are sweet, wonderful, and a gift but a lot of work!  I forgot how much energy little boys have :)

Feng Yu loves the animals and here is sharing some of his dinner with the cat.  We are working on how to properly carry the cat (not by the head!)  Good thing this cat is the most tolerant and forgiving.    Feng Yu did one day follow the cat all the way to the camp fire and then realize he was a long, long way from the house. He stood there crying until daddy rescued him.  Dad said he had quite a face of relief to see him.  Yikes that was only day 2 home- and we almost lost one!  See why I can't blog much!

 This guy, Nianjie is all about things mechanical.  He loves to figure things out and has taken to riding the bikes, and of course the little dirt bike too!  He follows Ryan around in the garage and is his little side kick!  I know it's hard to believe he has only been with us for a month, but Thank you Lord for preparing his heart, because he feels like he's been here forever!

 Feng Yu has a slightly quieter personality, but comes up with some wacky expressions.  He is like a clown behind the scenes.  Every now and then just explodes with silliness.

Jackson is brushing up on his  badminton skills.

 The trampoline is a huge bonding place.  We try to limit the amount of children at one time to avoid injuries  (Or at least only littles or bigs jumping at the same time).  The kids roll around and snuggle together.  Great investment in giggles!

                                                     Mama and her two new little boys!

 First night home we dove into the legos.  Both boys love puzzles and legos.  I cringe when at the thought that a simple label in Nianjie's file said he was delayed could have possibly kept families from bringing him into their family for the past 6 1/2 years.  Why do we label children with those awful labels, especially when he is clearly not delayed, just simply in need of attention, love, stability, a home, family and two parents to nurture him to his full potential?

 Believe in someone other than yourself, trust in the Lord to lead you and give us strength.  The days are long and our bodies are tired, but who wouldn't rejoice in this....

 Pray for us as we head to cardiology this week on Wednesday for his first appointment.  We will have his first ECHO and get a picture of his heart.  In all honestly, I am trembling in fear, for my hope is high for my son to live a long life, but I know when we said yes, the Lord already knew what would lay ahead.  Pray for miracles and his heart to be repairable!

Leaving China with Three less orphans...makes my heart smile.  But as every other adoptive mother knows there is a ache in our hearts that will never leave.  It is the faces of those we leave behind.  No matter how many we gather under our wings, no matter how many rooms we add on, there will always be orphans left behind.  In the quiet of the night we ache and mourn for the babies dying without mamas,  teens left out on their own to fend for their lives.  Why Lord, Why?  So we pray and fight for those left behind, because they need someone to advocate for them,  We challenge those around us to rise up and defend the fatherless.

This is the young boy (11) Justin be-friended  at the orphanage waving goodbye to us from the balcony.  My heart just sank, Justin sobbing in tears, knowing this boy probably will never have  a family.   As he ages out of the system at 13 he will go into "institution" for the rest of his life.   Are we followers of Christ, do these children's lives really matter?

James 2:14-17

Faith and Deeds

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Final week in Guangzhou

The weather started out hot, hot, hot!   Very summer-like and the kids enjoyed the pook for the first few days.  Our trip to the zoo was very hot and we were ready to go by noon!  We had planned on feeding the giraffe but the line was long so we passed as we watched others.

                          This fine shot was taken by one of the kids! Can you guess which one?

   Th strollers have been put to good use.  Between the heat and two kiddos with limited heart function, we could use a motorized vehicle on these long walks!  We have worn the wheels literally off one of them!

                        Dad's shoulders are another good mode of transportation! (anyone under 50 lbs)

                                           MISSING ONE KID?????????????

THERE HE IS!

 Yep!  These animals we find a nuisance at home---They have on display here at the Guangzhou zoo.  Took a picture for those of you who would not believe it.  The people were feeding them and the coons were of course loving it!  Maybe we can relocate the ones digging in our gardens and trash cans to the GZ zoo!

 An absolute display of one of God's beautiful creatures!

                                    No, the elephant did not poop on his head!  Sorry Jackson,
                                        mom should have got a different camera angle!

 Oh what fun to be had in a hotel bathroom!  This little guy climbs on everything and gets into everything!  I always wondered why people had those locks on their stoves--Joseph Feng Yu!  They were created for him!  One night he was found brushing his teeth like this!

 Nianjie is the clown in the bunch and loves that his toothbrush can stick to the mirror.  He was busting a gut after he discovered this trick!

We visited Shaimen Islands for a little shopping one day.  This is where you can bargain and find some good deals on local products.  It is a "western" style island  with "Lucys" restuarant adorned with many statues around the island.  We never have enough time to tour the island :(

                 The kids found a kitty to pet in this little store, which last year was called "Jessica's"!

                                                  Huahua going for a ride on the bulldog!

 These are the gardens outside our hotel in GZ.  There are beautiful with lots of fish for the kids to feed.  Tricks is to keep them from fallen in!  Mostly the little one!

Justin posting with a  statue.

 Our pearl river cruise was a bit chilly this time, but everyone still enjoyed seeing the lights of GZ and the Canton Tower.  It was not busy and the clown show was fun for the kids enterntainment.

                                               CANTON TOWER in the background

 

Everyone was able to spin the ball on their finger!

 This is what adoption is about!  Learning to live for others and not yourself.  We are all learning along the way.  It's hard sometimes, we are all selfish and self centered, but if we are going to live as followers of Christ then this is what we do.   We go further then we thought.  Reach our farther than we ever dreamed and not in our own strength but because we allow Christ to work through us.  We submit our lives to Him and His purpose for our lives.

 Has every day been a breeze?  Of course not.  We joined two children into our family in the course of two weeks.  We have new dynamics and everyone is learning there place and roles, while speaking different languages.  We have been travelling for three weeks, eating different food, sleeping in different places, all in a foreign land on the opposite time zone that our bodies are accustomed to.  We are tired, and at the same time we are blessed beyond measure,  Simply because we said yes Lord send me!

                It's easy to follow Jesus when things are going good-but our family has decided to follow through the storm and better allow the Lord to lead through the storm!

Thank you for all your support and prayers.  Our family will have many months and years of settling in as we bring our boys home.  These pictures may show the smiles, but as the pain of being abandoned is real and will  seeps through their hearts. We ask for prayers as we parents our children, that God would lead Ryan and I with the wisdom to know what is best and how to walk beside their pain and comfort them and lead them to the one and one comforter, their Lord and savior!

One final note.  For those of you who financially helped bring our boys home, thank you so much!  We could not have done this without you!  We have a few travel expenses to cover when we get home.  If you feel led, donations will be accepted through this website for about one more week.  Thanks you!  We leave Saturday morning for home (and about 24 hours later) will arrive home Saturday night about 8:30 pm at the Dane County Airport!