Ryan drove down to Chicago, after we missed our flight home to Madison. And yes I admit, I lost it at immigration (after 24+ hours) of travel with a toddler, when the officer said you're going to miss your flight. What?!?!? They are boarding right now. Please can't we hurry this process along... sounds a lot like adoption right.... I had texted my faithful husband as the doom of missing our flight was approaching minute by minute. As the United agent booked us on the flight three hours later, I realized we would not be greeted by our family and friends and have a homecoming at the airport with pictures as planned. Again this is adoption, I should know by now to go with the flow..... Approaching the gate and saw the words flight delayed....all I could do is chuckle. I laughed and then cried and called Ryan who had already packed the car to come and get us.
So instead of the grand arrival and excitement at the airport...we arrived home around midnight and woke the other children up and had a party at home with our new brother.
Loves to play outside and we are so thankful for his ability to adapt into our family.
Helping his sister learn to read. And I have to say the other children
are so patient with him......for now.....
Feeling a bit sick but still willing to smile for mama!
James working hard on his homework.
Joseph being silly!
Jordan wants to be a Mommy more than anything in this world, so for now she has a little one to carry around.
Wen Xiang loves all the attention. Occasionally we have to advise the wagon puller to slow down a bit, don't push or jump so high.... do you want to guess which ones? Oh never mind, there must be something in our water.
Yep, she found a worm and reported it was dead.
Yes, he has sat on a bike, but has not had a ride yet---that I know about!
He's going to stick to non motorized things for a little bit!
Some people ask how is adoption going to affect my current children?
We are at the Chicago airport after the long travel home and Justin thinks I only have $20 cash left in my wallet to get us home. He's hungry because our international flight did not feed us the last meal. And the meals we ate...well airplane food. You get the point. I give him the $20 to get something to eat because I am holding the sleeping baby. He comes back with a bottle of orange juice. I asked him why he did not get anything to eat. His response was "I wanted to make sure Wen Xiang had something to drink when he wakes up."
Traits learned through adoption--Selflessness & Humility. Is it worth all the HARD?
A resounding YES!
Our family has been blessed 100x over in this adoption process. Thank you to all of you who continue to love our family in so many ways. The body of Christ is alive and flourishing. We feel so loved! On a side note....another family in the Madison area is about to send off to pick up their little girl early November. Pray for the Jones as they bring their sweet daughter home!
MEDICAL UPDATES
Wen Xiang--we are just peeling back the layers in understanding his complex heart. A few things confirmed so far. He has levocardia, which means his heart is on the correct side, but not all of the thoracic organs are in the correct position.
We know he has two ventricles with a large VSD (hole) and (an ASD hole) functioning as a single ventricle now because of the holes. D-transposition of the great arteries, pulmonary stenosis, and small pulmonary arteries
He has a right aortic arch, which has led us to some more testing (genetic). Please pray for these results to be negative.
The plan going forward a week ago was that we had time to figure him out, but as blood tests have shown his blood is starving for oxygen based on his hemoglobin levels. The tests we will continue to do will allow us to figure out the best course of action. Primarily, we need to be cleared by ENT to allow anesthesia use, which will allow us to have sedated tests. Pray for him to continue to trust us while we poke at him and for him to know how loved he is.
Speech- he has little to none. Don't get me wrong, he makes his wishes known! He makes lots of noise, but only "mama" and occasionally "dada." No Chinese words either. Pray as we start the evaluation process and treatment.
Jessica (Huahua) --Was cleared before we left for China from cardio for another 6 months!!
Joseph Feng Yu- Also was cleared before we left for China for another 6 months! And both these kiddos have two VERY COMPLEX congenital hearts. So scary for prospective adoptive families that they waited and waited and waited for a family. Trust- have faith in the one we serve! Their hard road is not over, but right now I bet they would say life is GRAND!
James--his next surgery is scheduled for Dec 22 to separate another two fingers. He is so resilient when it comes to this! James & Jessica played organized soccer for the first time this fall and are so proud of themselves!
Jackson--his plan is not to break anything :) He wants to make the entire basketball season this year!
Justin and Jordan-- Praise GOD for their good health!
