Lily Rose Update

Last week we got our first update on Lily in six months.  One of the hardest parts of the adoption journey is seeing your sweet child's face and then waiting and waiting and waiting to hear an update.  Our last update on Lily, besides getting her oxygen level, was in October, right before we said "yes" to adopting her.  You can imagine our joy at getting an e-mail update last week!

Unfortunately the news on her was a little discouraging.  We found out she spent a month in the hospital from mid-February to mid-March for a severe "infection of the tonsils" and "acute tympanitis" (ear infection).  We have no idea if her tonsils were removed and what else occurred in the hospital.  Of course my heart breaks that I was not there to hold her and advocate for her while in the hospital, but I pray that she had loving caregivers that did the best they could.

I continually remind myself that the Lord loves her even more than we do, and I take great comfort in this!!

After receiving the update, we requested a few new photos of her.  We are so grateful that the orphanage took the time to take 2 photos of her and send them to us just two days later.  what a gift!!

So here is our sweet Lily, just last week!

Please continue to pray with us for God's hand of protection on Lily while she waits to be joined with our family.  The update did say that her oxygen levels continue to be 81% and that she gets tired and must rest if she walks too much.  She is clearly weak and needs her next heart surgery soon!  We are thankful that God is on His throne and is overseeing this whole process.

We are Officially DTC!!

We finally received our I-797 on Monday.  Tuesday, Phil and I drove the paperwork to Raleigh to get the required authentication.  We then overnighted everything to a courier in DC who had the paperwork authenticated by the US State Dept. and the Chinese Consulate.  The courier overnighted the paperwork to our caseworker, in California, on Friday.  And Xiaoqing, our amazing caseworker, managed to get it out in the mail on Friday to China!!  

We are now officially DTC (dossier to China!!).  We are praying for a speedy LOA (Letter of Acceptance) which is the next step in this adoption paperchase.

Until then her sisters are eagerly awaiting her arrival (although her oldest 2 sisters aren't nearly as eager to pose for photos as these 3:)

Torie, Michaela and I went garage sale shopping today and bought Lily a pretty white bed to prepare for her arrival!  I can't wait to begin setting it up in the nursery where Lily and Isabelle will be sharing a room.  I guess that project will have to wait for a future Saturday.

Flower Girls

The last 2 weekends our family spent time in Atlanta preparing and then enjoying the wedding of one of my sister's sons, Andrew, to Rebekah.

The first weekend Torie, Michaela, Isabelle and I made the trek to Atlanta to help Terry (my sister) decorate her home for the 100+ person wedding reception which was held at her home. We decorated with tulle, candlesticks with white candles and flower petals laced in the tulle. The end result was simple elegance (at least that was the look we were trying to achieve!).

We returned this weekend for the wedding. Sarah Mei and Isabelle were so excited to be taking part in their first wedding as flower girls.

We got to the church at 3:30 p.m. for pictures. The wedding wasn't until 6:30 p.m., so lots of watching, wiggling, dancing and general busyness by the little girls ensued while they were waiting for the ceremony to begin.

AnnaGrace, on the other hand, had the right idea. She laid down in the back of the church and proceeded to fall asleep. Don't worry, we did wake her up for the wedding!

Andrew and Rebekah took the long photo shoot in stride!

And everyone says my sister and I look alike. Here Terry is with her husband, David, and their son, Andrew, and his new wife, Rebekah.  She is SO much fun!  It is going to be a blast having her as part of our family.

Finally, the moment, Sarah Mei and Isabelle had been waiting for arrived...they got to walk down the aisle. Isabelle was giddy with excitement until she actually started walking. Then she was very serious.

After all that anticipation, Isabelle was exhausted. Literally five minutes after walking down the aisle, she collapsed in Phil's arms and fell asleep.

Here the bride and flower girls show off their flower!  Thanks Rebekah for a wonderful day!

Isabelle's Upcoming Heart Cath

Isabelle visited her pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Hammill, last week. Her heart looks strong and the function looks good. That is always good news!

Despite the fact that she hasn't reached the perfect 15kg (about 33 lbs.), Dr. Hammill wanted to go ahead and send her records to Dr. Bradley, the cardiothoracic surgeon, to come up with a game plan for her next open-heart surgery.

After the specialists conferred, the decision has been made to have Isabelle's heart cath in June. She has to have a heart cath to measure her pulmonary pressures, to check the diameter of her inferior vena cava (and one other thing, which escapes me). If all 3 of these look good, they will schedule her next open-heart surgery, the Fontan for some time this summer or fall.

I can't wrap my mind around the timing of our summer and fall. How do you schedule an adoption trip to China, a heart cath, an open-heart surgery for Isabelle with an estimated 4-6 week hospital stay and then an open-heart surgery for Lily. It could be interesting!

Isabelle is blissfully unaware of any of the upcoming events. Last week she was outside on our porch playing in her sandbox when unbeknownst to me she figured out how to turn on the water.

She was so proud of herself! I found her sandbox full of water, and she was happily "watering" our deck and steps. Then she spent literally hours playing in the sand/water conglomeration. Entertainment is so cheap!

Did You Hear Me Screaming with Joy on Friday?

On Friday we got the most exciting call from Lifesong for Orphans.  A ministry, Jeeah's Hope out of Columbus, GA teamed up with Lifesong for Orphans to offer us a $4,000 Matching Grant to help bring home our sweet Lily Rose.  That means that Lifesong will match dollar for dollar any donation made to our adoption fund up to $4,000...which could bring us to a grand total of $8,000. 

Lifesong with Orphans is a 501(c)3 organization so all gifts are tax-deductible.  And 100% of the donations go towards our adoption - Lifesong takes out no administrative costs.  How amazing is that!

If you've never checked out Lifesong's website, now is a good time to do that at http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/   They have an amazing ministry not only to adoptive families but also to waiting children and to those who are left-behind.  They have the ECFA stamp of financial accountability which is SO important to Phil and I.  It means they handle their finances in an ethical and Biblical manner.

If you would like to be a part of bringing home Lily Rose, you can make a tax-deductible donation to our adoption fund, which will be matched dollar for dollar.  There are 2 ways to donate:

1)  Make a check payable to Lifesong: listing Horton # 1833 Adoption in the Memo Line and mail it to:
             Lifesong for Orphans
             Attn:  Horton #1833 Adoption
             PO Box 40
             Gridley, IL  61744

2)  Go to http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html  and Click on Donate.  Under the "Purpose" write Horton #1833 Adoption. 

In our time of harvest flood (see my earlier post), God truly showed Himself in a most amazing way!

Move Over Jimmie Johnson...

Last week we had a really fun outing. For Christmas, the girls and I gave Phil a Groupon to a racing school. (If you've never signed up for the Groupon deals, you should! It's a great way to get amazing deals, in your city, like Barnes and Noble $20 gift certificate for $10, discounted passes to local museums, etc.)

Last Wednesday, Phil, the girls and I went to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for Phil to redeem his certificate to have his "racing experience".

The day began with a short in-classroom course on racing safety,

then Phil rode next to an instructor to learn how to drive a race car....

and then after his instruction, Phil got to drive the race car, solo, for ten laps.

Although there are no speedometers in the car, the estimated speed was around 140-150mph. To top the whole morning off, a friend of ours, Ken Bumgarner is a professional photographer and joined us to get the amazing photos of Phil's driving experience.

We all loved seeing Phil drive (except Michaela who had to stay home, sadly, to participate in one of her on-line homeschool classes).

But Isabelle absolutely loved the day! She is still asking Phil, daily, if he is going to get to drive a race car again. Too funny!

Phil is a high school principal of a Christian school.  After "running herd" (as we say on the farm) over high schoolers all day and then coming home to chase after his five daughters, this was a great stress-reliever!  Move over Jimmie Johnson...I think you may have a little competition:)

More Adoption Thoughts....

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my last post!  They meant so much to us. We've received 6 of the 8 background checks for my mom (a huge praise God!!) and are still waiting on fingerprint dates. 


We received news that we will not be receiving a matching grant from Lifesong, that we had applied for a few months ago,  for our adoption expenses.  The economy has hit all non-profits and the grant agencies are no exception.  At first I was disappointed  and trying to figure how the Lord was going to provide the $12,000 balance that remains for Lily's adoption...

(This is a photo Phil took last May when he was on a mission's trip in Peru...it helps me visualize crossing the Jordan...see below)

....but as I was praying about this aspect of the adoption, the Lord showed me this passage in Joshua, where the Lord commands the Israelites to cross the Jordan to finally enter the Promised Land...

"So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of  them.  Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during the harvest.  Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.  It piled up in a heap a great distance away....while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground." 

Joshua 3:14, 15, 16a, 17b

I was reminded that not only did the Lord part the Jordan so the Israelites could cross on dry ground (as if that wasn't amazing enough!), but just to show His might and power...He did it during flood time! 

This adoption is "flood time" for our finances.  This is our 4th international adoption (3rd in 4 years), and we have already had 3 open-heart surgeries in the last 3 years and have 2 more coming up this year or next. 

We have no resources to "tap into" this time.  He will have to provide, and yet He is the Lord that parted the Jordan...and not just when it was at it's regular level...but just to remind us of His power...He parted it at FLOOD LEVEL!  

I love that I serve a God that is into the details...that comforts me in His word by reminding me who He is and who I am!   Yahoo!!  He's not worried that LifeSong didn't have a matching grant! He's not worried that our timeline is slowed down by a request for more paperwork.  He's the God that takes care of His people during Flood Time!

I'm doing a happy dance today!!  For when Miss Lily Rose will be in our arms!  And not for the seen...but for the unseen!  For the battle that is being wage in the heavenly realms on our behalf!  We know who wins this victory!

"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom."  Psalm 145: 3

Adoption Update

The last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for me.  At the beginning of the month we were blessed by Love Without Boundaries.  They are am amazing group who, in their words, " are a worldwide group of volunteers dedicated to improving the lives of orphaned and impoverished children in China."

One of the primary goals of LWB is to provide medical care for children waiting in orphanages.  They were able to get into Lily's orphanage and get an updated oxygen level for us.  As anticipated, her oxygen levels are in the low 80's, and they reported she gets blue with exertion.  Unfortunately the Shanghai orphanage is not one they usually work with, so that was all the information we received.  Although this was not unexpected, it's still hard, as a mother, to know your daughter is getting cyanotic with daily activities and you are half way around the world.

The week after that we were able to send Lily a care package via Ann at Red Threads.  She is a wonderful Chinese national who prepares personalized care packages and mails them to children in the orphanages.  We sent photos of each of us and Ann labeled the photos with our names and put them in a toddler's photo album.  We also sent a soft, pink cuddly blanket.  Ann wasn't able to get any updated photos of Lily for us, but we are praying that seeing our faces in the photos will begin to prepare our three year old for the transition into our family.

The downhill slide on the roller coaster came two weeks ago when the Dept. of Homeland Security sent us a dreaded "Request for Evidence."  In four international adoptions we have never received one of those forms.

We filed our I-800A - Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child form back on December 29.  The government offices are running VERY slowly right now and what took several weeks for Isabelle's adoption stretched out to 60 days this time.   So on February 24th we were notified that Torie and my mother needed to be fingerprinted and have background checks run on them....for every state they've lived in since they were 18.

It was disappointing on many counts.... 1)  My mother has never been required to do any of this in our previous 3 adoptions and is she really a threat to Lily Rose??   2)  Torie no longer lives in our home - but in an apartment on our land - so by the Hague Convention she typically wouldn't need to be fingerprinted.  3) And finally my mom has lived in EIGHT states since she was 18....that means 8 background checks which can take up to 30 days each.

All of this is very discouraging since it will postpone our adoption by at least one to two months. 

Our Senator's office, Senator Patrick McHenry's office was wonderful and petitioned our caseworker's supervisor.  However, that, along with a letter from our pediatric cardiologist stating the tenuous nature of Lily's health was not enough to dissuade the office to back down on their new requirements for our family.

I'm sure you can tell by the tenor of this post that I'm still not completely resolved to this new requirement.  However the Lord reminded in me in our small group Bible stud,y where we are watching  a John Piper DVD series, that He allows suffering and trials to come into our life to refine us like gold.  He wants to get out all the impurities...the straw....and make us like pure gold so He can use us. 

I can tell you, there's a LOT of straw in this girl right now.  Pray for me that I will be pliable in the Lord's hands and that I will have a heart of grace for all involved.  And most importantly...pray for our sweet Lily and her health as she waits in China.