Zane and his friend Taylor get a little practice for the not so distant future. (Wah! Wah!...not ready for this)
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Grinning from ear to ear.....
It CAME!!! Our LOC (Letter of Confirmation) came today. Tiffany from AGCI called about 1:20 to let us know that she had just received it from China. So it looks like the countdown is on. We should travel about 6 weeks from now! THAT'S JUNE!!!!!$2 VS $200
About 2 months ago Zane stepped on a pretty big stick. It went right into the pad of his foot right under his toes. I pulled out the stick and cleaned it out to the best of my ability. Then we waited for it to heal.
When he wears socks and shoes it doesn't hurt him but I noticed that barefooted he would always limp. So, on Monday I took him to the doctor. The Doc said that if there is something in there a Podiatrist would have to be the one to remove it. But he suggested an X-ray, antibiotics, a topical cream and soaking it in Epsom Salt. (let's cover all the bases here) We went to the hospital and waited almost 2 hrs to complete the X-Ray. Then began the soaking process 2 times a day. (The doctor suggested 4 times but Zane wouldn't agree to take the bucket to school,ha!)
The Doctor's office called to say that the X-ray didn't show anything in his foot. (of course this is the same hospital that said Trent's leg wasn't broken)
After talking with a friend she said to continue soaking it because the Epsom salt would cause his body to get rid of it. On the second day Zane showed me a black thing under the surface of the skin. So, with David operating the flashlight and holding the foot down, I began to prick the skin with a needle and what should appear but a good size splinter.
Hopefully now his foot can truly heal.
I've never bought Epsom salt before but apparently it has many healing properties. According to the bag it's good for soaking sprains, a laxative, and great on your shrubs and flowering plants, and I guess we can add to the list expelling splinters. Hmm! Who knew?
So $2 for the Epsom salt or $200 for the X-ray. I always do love a good bargain.
(No pictures for obvious reasons)
When he wears socks and shoes it doesn't hurt him but I noticed that barefooted he would always limp. So, on Monday I took him to the doctor. The Doc said that if there is something in there a Podiatrist would have to be the one to remove it. But he suggested an X-ray, antibiotics, a topical cream and soaking it in Epsom Salt. (let's cover all the bases here) We went to the hospital and waited almost 2 hrs to complete the X-Ray. Then began the soaking process 2 times a day. (The doctor suggested 4 times but Zane wouldn't agree to take the bucket to school,ha!)
The Doctor's office called to say that the X-ray didn't show anything in his foot. (of course this is the same hospital that said Trent's leg wasn't broken)
After talking with a friend she said to continue soaking it because the Epsom salt would cause his body to get rid of it. On the second day Zane showed me a black thing under the surface of the skin. So, with David operating the flashlight and holding the foot down, I began to prick the skin with a needle and what should appear but a good size splinter.
Hopefully now his foot can truly heal.
I've never bought Epsom salt before but apparently it has many healing properties. According to the bag it's good for soaking sprains, a laxative, and great on your shrubs and flowering plants, and I guess we can add to the list expelling splinters. Hmm! Who knew?
So $2 for the Epsom salt or $200 for the X-ray. I always do love a good bargain.
(No pictures for obvious reasons)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Ty's 100 Good Wishes Quilt
Ty's 100 Good Wishes quilt is off to a good start. If you want to see all the fabric's then click over to his site. Here are the directions if you would like to join in:
The colors are Navy, Brick red, Khaki, Lime green and butter yellow. Anything with those colors and appropriate for a boy will do.(please no flowers or ballerinas) Below are the "official" instructions. Thanks for being a part of this.
To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. These quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/energy of the people who wore these clothes when she is wrapped in the quilt . The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth will go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.
We would like to ask you to be a part of this tradition as we assemble a quilt for our new son, Ty waiting in China. Along with a piece of fabric please send a small note card with your good wishes, name and a small swatch of the fabric glued or stapled to it. We will make a book with the cards so he will be one day be able to identify where each piece of his quilt came from.
Ideas for selecting fabric:
100% cotton fabric is best, as it washes and wears better.
Purchasing new fabric is GREAT! There are so many types of prints to choose from. If you are purchasing new fabric have the salesperson cut only ¼ of a yard. (Or you can purchase something called a “Fat Quarter” at many stores like Michaels, JoAnns, WalMart.)
I only need about a 6” square but any remnants can be used for the borders. Don't wash it please
The color scheme is Navy, Brick red, lime green, khaki and butter yellow
Include a little note with your name and a picture if you've got one. A 4x6 index card will work fine.
Please do as many squares as your family would like. You can choose to do one square from your entire family or let each person choose their own fabric and send multiple squares.
Email or call me if you have questions dszkwalling@kingwoodcable.com
Due Date May 10th. (Sorry it has to be so early but I would really like to get the quilt made before our trip to China) If you live near me you can definitely hand it to me or if you live in Westlake and don’t want to mail it then you can drop it by Mom’s house.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
How much longer?
We get this questions often. And the answer is not a simple one.We are 11 weeks into a 12 - 17 week wait for our Letter of Confirmation. Then once that is received we will tentatively travel 6 weeks later. If everything goes as planned, means we will travel sometime between late June and late July.
Hopefully we will be home before the official start of the Olypmics.
The olympics begin 08-08-08.
August 8th, Hmmm....that date sounds familiar. Surely if the Chinese officials knew that was my birthday they would let me travel now. The number 8 is Very Lucky. So I must be too.
She speaks the Truth
Mia was happily eating a happy meal in the back seat
and I said, "Can Mommy have a french fry?"
Mia says "Yes, and hands me ONE"
I said, "Can I please have more than One?"
Mia replies, "If you break that one in half you will have Two"
and I said, "Can Mommy have a french fry?"
Mia says "Yes, and hands me ONE"
I said, "Can I please have more than One?"
Mia replies, "If you break that one in half you will have Two"
Friday, April 25, 2008
Interesting
National Geographic magazine’s May 2008 issue is devoted to China! I thought I would share some of the facts in this issue. If you have a chance go and pick it up!
1. China’s one child policy created a generation of only children that numbers 90 million.
2. 119 baby boys are born for every 100 girls.
3. The number of unmarried young men – called bare branches – is predicted to be 30 million by 2020.
4. 45 percent of Chinese women surveyed say they do not want to give up their careers to get married.
5. Three in ten Chinese families have grandparents living in the same household.
6. Beijing enforces a one-dog policy that prohibits pets more than 14 inches high.
7. China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy in ten years
8. China has the world’s highest number of annual deaths triggered by air pollution
9. Urban Chinese earn more than three times as much as those in rural areas, the highest income gap since the start of reforms in 1978
10. Public protests rose by 50 percent last year.
11. On in four residents of Beijing is a migrant from the country.
12. 67percent of millionaires surveyed say they are sacrificing health for money.
13. China has the world’s largest number of Internet users - 220 million – surpassing Web surfers in the U.S.
14. Authorities have added 171 new pop culture phrases to China’s national language registry.
15. Cell phones in China have grown from 87 million in 2000 to 432 million.
16. Today31 percent of Chinese 16 or older say they are religious, four times the official estimate a decade ago.
1. China’s one child policy created a generation of only children that numbers 90 million.
2. 119 baby boys are born for every 100 girls.
3. The number of unmarried young men – called bare branches – is predicted to be 30 million by 2020.
4. 45 percent of Chinese women surveyed say they do not want to give up their careers to get married.
5. Three in ten Chinese families have grandparents living in the same household.
6. Beijing enforces a one-dog policy that prohibits pets more than 14 inches high.
7. China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy in ten years
8. China has the world’s highest number of annual deaths triggered by air pollution
9. Urban Chinese earn more than three times as much as those in rural areas, the highest income gap since the start of reforms in 1978
10. Public protests rose by 50 percent last year.
11. On in four residents of Beijing is a migrant from the country.
12. 67percent of millionaires surveyed say they are sacrificing health for money.
13. China has the world’s largest number of Internet users - 220 million – surpassing Web surfers in the U.S.
14. Authorities have added 171 new pop culture phrases to China’s national language registry.
15. Cell phones in China have grown from 87 million in 2000 to 432 million.
16. Today31 percent of Chinese 16 or older say they are religious, four times the official estimate a decade ago.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Go Fish
The kids have been wanting to have fish. I grew up having goldfish so I thought it would be fun to set up an aquarium. We went to PetsMart and I had decided to let everyone pick out 2 fish for the tank. But then as we looked we found several guppies that we all liked. Then when I informed them that guppies reproduce easily and that we could have baby fish it was all over. Everyone changed their minds to guppies. With the advice of the store clerk we asked for 2 males and 4 females. (He said If there are to many males they will fight each other, (no joke here make your own up) )
So on the drive home the kids were excited and called Nana to fill her in on the new "pets" Then when I was talking to her I said I hope now that we can get them to breed. She responded, "Well as prolific as you and David seem to be you shouldn't have a problem" Ha! Ha! Yeah, thanks.
So about 3 hours later Zane says how many fish did we buy?6 . Well there are seven now? Seven? OK so the guy must have mis counted or slipped us an extra one.
Then that evening someone discovers there are babies. What Babies already?
So here is a break down of the last few days. People we are literally going to be swimming in guppies around here soon.
Day 1 - home from the store 6 fish
Day 1 +3 hrs 7 fish
Day 1 + 6 hrs. 7 fish 4 babies
Day 2 7 fish 5 babies
Day 3 7 fish 6 babies
I think the babies have been there all along but they are just now getting big enough to see. Maybe they came in with the tank water from the bag.
David says if we keep going at this rate we can open our own store. We haven't decided on the name for the store but we'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Another Teacher in the family?
Each student in Kaylee's class had to do a report on a country. Kaylee chose Scotland. She then had to present her project to the class. On her poster board she had a picture of the flag, Queen Elizabeth II, a guy in a kilt playing bagpipes and some examples of different plaids. She did such a great job. She remembered all of it and really seemed to enjoy "teaching" everyone. She even had a red pointer that she brought from home.
As a part of Scotland's traditions she told them how many people have Tea and Crackers. So I brought 26 glass tea cups and saucers. I had to scrounge around to get that many but locally goodwill had the last few I needed for .25 each. The kids all loved drinking tea from the fancy cups. We were also able to find some English Cookies at Fiesta grocery store
Sra. Buitano told them that they all had to drink with their pinkies up. It was fun watching the boys try this.Sunday, April 20, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Princess?
Mia is so into Princesses. Every day she tells me, "Mommy, I want to be a real princess." Of course I always tell her "Mommy thinks you're a princess"
Of all the princesses, Cinderella is hands down her favorite. But a few days ago she annouced, "I have decided to be Snow White. And mommy you can be Cinderella"
When I asked why she said, "Snow White has black hair like I do. And Cinderella does all the cooking and laundry like you do."
.....Hey wait...... maybe I want to be Snow White too!!! I could use a few working dwarfs around here.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
It's the week for 11
Our previous neighbor had a dog named Molly. She was a yellow lab that looked almost exactly like Rocket. (In fact several times we would see her running through our front yard and think Rocket was out.) She was young and had not been fixed. Rocket, who had never been a digger before, suddenly kicked it into high gear. There were about 3 days in a row that he and Molly had been found "together" On one such occasion I found them more than a little together. However, we won't go there because I am still trying to block the visuals from my memory. Plus, it may have been the most challenging disucssion I've ever had with Trent. I really did my best not to lie, but frankly he wasn't ready for the truth.
Fast forward two months.......... we went over to the old house to do some pressure washing and found out that Rocket had been the proud father of 11 puppies. 8 of them survived and they all were light brown/yellow like he and Molly.
They had sold all but 3 of them. The kids had a blast playing with the puppies. Mia was content with petting them and letting them nibble the edge of her dress.
Yes, of course they all wanted one. But the answer was a firm NO!
Fast forward two months.......... we went over to the old house to do some pressure washing and found out that Rocket had been the proud father of 11 puppies. 8 of them survived and they all were light brown/yellow like he and Molly.
They had sold all but 3 of them. The kids had a blast playing with the puppies. Mia was content with petting them and letting them nibble the edge of her dress. 
Yes, of course they all wanted one. But the answer was a firm NO!Monday, April 07, 2008
He's the Same Forward and Backward
Friday, April 04, 2008
Playgroup comes visiting
We had a few friends and moms over today for playgroup. It was a lot of fun. And since Gayla did such a great job of blogging it already, just hop over to her blog and read all about it.
But wait, read this first
Three things I need to add to the day's events are:
1. Apparently the middle of the hot tub is a little deeper than the step and Amy was the first one to discover this. So, her mom had to get all the way in, clothes and all!!!
2. The kids were served the PB&J's. I did serve something different to the adults(ckn. salad) Even though some of the moms acted like kids and refused to eat my ckn salad!!
3. I beat Deborah at a game of pool. (this was my first win ever) But who's keeping score?
But wait, read this first
Three things I need to add to the day's events are:
1. Apparently the middle of the hot tub is a little deeper than the step and Amy was the first one to discover this. So, her mom had to get all the way in, clothes and all!!!
2. The kids were served the PB&J's. I did serve something different to the adults(ckn. salad) Even though some of the moms acted like kids and refused to eat my ckn salad!!
3. I beat Deborah at a game of pool. (this was my first win ever) But who's keeping score?
FINALLY!!!
This girl has wanted a tooth to come out for months. I think the primary reason is the whole Tooth Fairy = CASH!!! So when one tooth finally became somewhat loose, she pushed and pulled on it, she tied dental floss to it, she ate the hardest apples she could find and then with a little assistance from mom the tooth finally came out.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Kaylee's Baptism
We had a special Easter this year. On Easter Sunday morning Kaylee was baptized. She was so excited and not nervous at all. 
A couple of weeks ago she asked David and I about becoming a christian. I had talked to her quite a bit before but she never was ready to pray to receive Christ. This time she brought it up and she was ready.
........buried with Christ in Baptism
.........Raised to walk in a newness of Life
A couple of weeks ago she asked David and I about becoming a christian. I had talked to her quite a bit before but she never was ready to pray to receive Christ. This time she brought it up and she was ready. 
........buried with Christ in Baptism
.........Raised to walk in a newness of LifeWednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Mud Bugs
We all enjoyed an afternoon of crawfish. Playing, Boiling and Eating them.
Kaylee was trying coax Mia into touching the crawfish. I think she finally succeded.
Of course the boys had no problems touching them. They tried to find the ones with the biggest claws.
I think Zane may have won the biggest claw contest.
It was time to move the crawfish from the ice chest to the pot. Mr. Butch reached in and grabbed two big handfuls of crawfish. He said, "Here Kaylee, can you help me? Just do this." He was really just picking at her but as soon as he moved over, Kaylee was right there grabbing two big handfuls as well. This girl has NO FEAR
It took the boys a few minutes to get up enough nerve to try it.
Mmm! Mmmm! Mr. Butch is finished boiling, and about ready to pull them out.
Everybody trying their hand at peeling them. The kids tried hard but Nana and Mrs. Eva peeled a lot of them for the kids.
Kaylee was trying coax Mia into touching the crawfish. I think she finally succeded. 
Of course the boys had no problems touching them. They tried to find the ones with the biggest claws.
I think Zane may have won the biggest claw contest.
It was time to move the crawfish from the ice chest to the pot. Mr. Butch reached in and grabbed two big handfuls of crawfish. He said, "Here Kaylee, can you help me? Just do this." He was really just picking at her but as soon as he moved over, Kaylee was right there grabbing two big handfuls as well. This girl has NO FEAR
It took the boys a few minutes to get up enough nerve to try it.
Mmm! Mmmm! Mr. Butch is finished boiling, and about ready to pull them out. 
Everybody trying their hand at peeling them. The kids tried hard but Nana and Mrs. Eva peeled a lot of them for the kids.Thursday, March 20, 2008
Bloggy Makeover
With everything in nature so fresh and new I decided I wanted to make-over the blog. I drool over some of the neat designs that other people have created. (NiHao Ya'll) But I found out that they Pay people to design them. So, being the tightwad that I am, I tried my hand at a new look. I'm pretty pleased with it. It needs a little tweaking but the overall look is there.
And it only cost me 2.99 for the patterned paper that I bought to scan.
If you're a scrapbooker you'll recognize it.....(K&Co)
Let me know what you think......
And it only cost me 2.99 for the patterned paper that I bought to scan.
If you're a scrapbooker you'll recognize it.....(K&Co)
Let me know what you think......
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Just a year ago....
Every morning Granny had cookies and coffee. The kids loved to gather around her chair and help her eat her ginger snaps. It was one year ago today that our Granny went home to be with Jesus. The kids and I had been in LA last year about this time for spring break and had just returned home when we got the news that she had just slipped away. The week we were here we had boiled crawfish and Granny ate them like there was no tomorrow. Which was really unlike her because for the past several years nothing had really tasted good.
We miss our Granny and talk about her often. She would have loved to see the azaleas blooming and all the amaryllis buds coming out of the ground.
I can only imagine what flowers she is seeing now.
Perhaps we'll have some boiled crawfish today.......
We miss our Granny and talk about her often. She would have loved to see the azaleas blooming and all the amaryllis buds coming out of the ground.I can only imagine what flowers she is seeing now.
Perhaps we'll have some boiled crawfish today.......
Monday, March 17, 2008
Casa Abre
It was casa abre at the kids school. (Or open house as most of you non-spanish speaking people would know it.... including me) We visited all the classrooms and got to see a lot of special work for Zane, Kaylee and Trent.
The science fair was also part of the open house. Zane's project won second place. He competed against 103 other 5th graders. We were all very proud.
Trent's class had just concluded a lesson on space. Here Trent is standing next to his alien portrait. He drew it during a listening activity. The teacher would say draw your alien with as many eyes as you have people in your family. Draw as many legs as how many birthday's you've had. It was really cute.
We dropped by Zane's class to see his animal habitat and special adaptation that he had designed.
Kaylee read us a book in espanol about the red hen. We also did a map skill activity with her.
The science fair was also part of the open house. Zane's project won second place. He competed against 103 other 5th graders. We were all very proud. 
Trent's class had just concluded a lesson on space. Here Trent is standing next to his alien portrait. He drew it during a listening activity. The teacher would say draw your alien with as many eyes as you have people in your family. Draw as many legs as how many birthday's you've had. It was really cute.
We dropped by Zane's class to see his animal habitat and special adaptation that he had designed.
Kaylee read us a book in espanol about the red hen. We also did a map skill activity with her. Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Throw me somethin' Mister
Our cousins in Slidell, LA sent the kids a Mardi Gras box. In it was all kind of "Loot" that cousin Gabe had collected from the parade. Mail is a big deal around here and when packages come it's like Christmas morning.
The anticipation....... I'm not sure what was more interesting, waiting for the box to open or waiting to see if Zane would cut himself with the knife.
Mia loved the beads and light up wand. NO they didn't throw Hannah Montana dolls from the floats. This was a birthday present.
Trent found the Frisbee first and claimed it as his own.
The anticipation....... I'm not sure what was more interesting, waiting for the box to open or waiting to see if Zane would cut himself with the knife.
Mia loved the beads and light up wand. NO they didn't throw Hannah Montana dolls from the floats. This was a birthday present.
Trent found the Frisbee first and claimed it as his own.
David and I searched and searched the bottom of the box for a King Cake but we never found one. What's up with that? We would like to formally request a Strawberry & Cream Cheese one for next year.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Houston we have a problem....
After a run in with a car.....Rocket is not ready for lift off
Wednesday evening as we were leaving for church Rocket actually ran into a car as he was running across the street to come home. We were all out in the front yard and we are very lucky that this is all the damage that was done. Because everyone saw the accident.
Here he is waiting for the Vet's office to open up the next morning. We made him an improvised splint and gave him a large dose of Ibuprofen. Kaylee made his pallet for him, complete with a pillow. Which he enjoyed very much.
He broke his Radius and Ulna. As you can see pretty severely. This kind of break requires surgery. A splint will not fix this. So David drove him from the regular vet over to the Orthopedic Surgeon !?!?! I didn't know this profession existed.
So here is the metal plate and 8 screws that are hoping to repair the fracture. He will have to be in a "cast" for 2 weeks then we return to have the stitches removed and change the splint out. The doctor said in 6 weeks he should be back to normal.
Apparently the trauma hasn't affected his positive outlook on life.Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Say cheese!
Mia is a photographer in training. (Or at least a scrapbooker) It's always fun to download the pictures from my camera because there's always a few surprises for me. She takes pictures of anything and everything. From the TV, her carpet, my rear end, the cat food, she doesn't care... she feels the need to document it all. Here are a few of from her recent photo shoot.
Her door
Rocket's nose
Her new kitchen
Her sock drawer
The cat in the cupboard
Her doorRocket's nose
Her new kitchen
Her sock drawer
The cat in the cupboard (is that a nursery rhyme?)
And a full shoot is never complete without at least 10 self portrait shots
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Miracle Monday
So, I was browsing through some blogs and happened upon one that was starting Miracle Monday. She wanted to use her blog to honor God and the miracles He performs in our lives daily. And for some time now I've wanted to share here about what happened to us in China when we first had Mia. Some of you know the story but I didn't post all the details on the blog during the trip because frankly it was somewhat SCARY and I didn't want anyone to not adopt because of a wrong impression someone might get. So, fair warning, this may be lengthy. But it's a great Miracle..... It's Mia's Miracle.
June 2005 - David and I were in Beijing on what we knew would be the trip of a lifetime. We had seen many sites including the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, etc. It was all new and wonderful to take in. But somewhere inside me I had the nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. I even told David that I felt like something might not go right with the adoption. I had heard about children not bonding to their adoptive parents and I thought this might be what was going to happen. That maybe God was preparing me for the fact that Mia might not bond to us. I was somewhat OK with this because I knew eventually she would. I even prayed that if any of the babies weren't going to bond that it would be ours. Our travel group consisted of mostly childless couples and I just couldn't imagine what it would have been like for one of them to have worked so hard and wanting children so badly and then the child reject you at first sight.
Then the big day came and we had our wonderful meeting with our new baby girl. She at the time wanted Daddy much more than me but that was OK because she was bonding to one of us. After a few hours of getting to know her the orphanage director came over and said she had a little fever. I thought she felt a little warm but I didn't worry to much. I had taken a prescription antibiotic with me, that was sure to cure even the worst ear infection. So we immediately started her on the medicine and Motrin for fever. The next day as we undressed her I saw puncture wounds in her feet and behind. Probably about six to eight. I was very concerned about what they had been giving her. She began to get more and more lethargic and was only awake for short periods of time. David and I took turns staying at the hotel with her while the other person went to complete paperwork. After more fever a rash developed and her lips were cracked and started bleeding. We knew it was time to call the International Adoption Doctor we had retained before leaving the states. We called her about 11 pm China time and She told us we needed to get her to the hospital to find the source of the fever. I was so uneasy with this I didn't know what to expect. It was obvious someone else had been medicating her and then I had been medicating her also. So, the next morning with great reservation on my part,we headed to our guide's room at 7am and asked her how we could get her to the hospital. Our guide said give me 10 minutes and off we went.
I had never encountered anything close to this experience before. The clinic process there is that you pay in advance for each service and then take a number. We first paid ($6) to see the "good" doctor. Then after waiting in line we were shoved into a room with 2 doctors and wooden desks. The doctor sat behind the desk and you placed the child up on the desk for him to examine. After his initial look at her he sent us for blood work. We then went to another window to pay and then another line for the blood work. When it was our turn we placed Mia's arm through the "bank teller" window and they took blood. Then we waited in another line for the results. We took the results back to the doctor and he and our guide had what seemed like a 30 min. conversation. We asked "What is he saying?" She responded with "She needs a heart scan" I knew there was more. We said, "be honest with us, we can handle it, WHAT is it?" At that point he turned over his paper and wrote Kawasaki Disease.
We had never heard of this. It is extremely rare and effects mostly Asian people. No one knows what causes it and it can be treated if it's not to late. (TO LATE??) Apparently if the disease has progressed for 10 days without treatment then it typically causes Aneurysms in the heart which leads to death. So we phoned the orphanage to ask when the fever had started and she had fever for 4 days prior to our arrival and we had her for 3 days. We got in line for the heart scan, the nurse tried to get us to give her sleeping pills and return in 3 hours. But at this point Mia was so lethargic that she literally just laid in our arms with only slight movement. The guide quickly pointed this out and the nurse said we could try. While we waited in line, our guide leaned over and said "You may have to choose another baby" We replied "NO we want her and we just want to get her well" I tried everything I had to get her back to the states for medical care but our paperwork was not done and she would not be allowed out of China much less into the US. And we didn't have days to waste.
Our only option was to trust in the medicine here in this hospital. Mia laid on the table and the technicians performed the echo cardiogram while David and I prayed harder than we had ever prayed in our whole lives. We couldn't imagine that our little girl who we barely knew might be taken from us already. The technicians confirmed that there were currently no aneurysms, no vessel damage and that her heart looked healthy. Praise God!
We were then escorted over to the PICU for treatment. Suffice it to say they don't do hospital the way we do. It was surreal. The head of the dept. came in and confirmed that it was Kawasaki and she even pulled out an English Medical text and let us read from it. Mia was then given a bed and an IV was started to administer extremely large doses of Gammoglobulin. She needed all of it in a short period of time. We were told we may have to do this a second time also. They initially wanted her to stay in the hospital for 3 days and we would not be allowed to stay with her. Our guide quickly stepped in and negotiated that we would stay all day and then be allowed to take her to the hotel to sleep and then return with her the next day for more treatments. That was all dependent on how she responded to the first round of medicine.
About 30 minutes into the IV It was a miracle before our very eyes, Mia sat up on the bed and begin to laugh and giggle and wanted to play. We could not believe the difference. Of course we had really never seen this side of her because she was sick from the beginning.
We stayed with her for 12 hours while all the fluids were pumped into her little body. One of our guides stayed with us as well. She sang Chinese songs to her and did little finger plays. It was so sweet to watch. Then as we were talking our guide (let's call her S) said,"Are all the people in your group Christians?" We looked at each other and said "Yes" (because everyone who adopts through AWAA has to sign a profession of faith) We asked why? She said, "because this morning when I left to tour with the rest of the group, they would not let the bus start going until they each took a turn praying for Mia and you guys. It took over 20 minutes" We were so grateful and just overwhelmed that they had all lifted us up while we had no idea what was going on.
Then S said, "Do you believe in Jesus?" We of course said, "YES" We asked if she did and she said she didn't know. I asked her if she had heard of the bible and she responded, "Oh yes! I have read the whole thing and I like the stories very much" The whole thing???? She has read the whole thing!!! David and I were about to bust out of our skin!!! So right there in the middle of a Chinese hospital we were able to share our faith with her. We're not sure if she received Christ at that moment but we could tell that she needed someone to tell her that Jesus is real and the bible is too.
Mia responded remarkably well to the meds and we were allowed to leave the hospital around midnight. We got up the next morning and returned for the doctor to check her and she was given aspirin to take for the following 3 months. We were to repeat the Echo cardiogram once we returned home. We brought home a happy, healthy little girl who is a literal Firecracker.
Looking back we can see that God ordains different things in our lives for reasons we don't understand. It's not always easy to walk through them but "OH the MIRACLES" that you can experience if you trust in HIM for every step of the Journey.
You can read more miracles here A Mom's Life.
June 2005 - David and I were in Beijing on what we knew would be the trip of a lifetime. We had seen many sites including the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, etc. It was all new and wonderful to take in. But somewhere inside me I had the nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. I even told David that I felt like something might not go right with the adoption. I had heard about children not bonding to their adoptive parents and I thought this might be what was going to happen. That maybe God was preparing me for the fact that Mia might not bond to us. I was somewhat OK with this because I knew eventually she would. I even prayed that if any of the babies weren't going to bond that it would be ours. Our travel group consisted of mostly childless couples and I just couldn't imagine what it would have been like for one of them to have worked so hard and wanting children so badly and then the child reject you at first sight.
Then the big day came and we had our wonderful meeting with our new baby girl. She at the time wanted Daddy much more than me but that was OK because she was bonding to one of us. After a few hours of getting to know her the orphanage director came over and said she had a little fever. I thought she felt a little warm but I didn't worry to much. I had taken a prescription antibiotic with me, that was sure to cure even the worst ear infection. So we immediately started her on the medicine and Motrin for fever. The next day as we undressed her I saw puncture wounds in her feet and behind. Probably about six to eight. I was very concerned about what they had been giving her. She began to get more and more lethargic and was only awake for short periods of time. David and I took turns staying at the hotel with her while the other person went to complete paperwork. After more fever a rash developed and her lips were cracked and started bleeding. We knew it was time to call the International Adoption Doctor we had retained before leaving the states. We called her about 11 pm China time and She told us we needed to get her to the hospital to find the source of the fever. I was so uneasy with this I didn't know what to expect. It was obvious someone else had been medicating her and then I had been medicating her also. So, the next morning with great reservation on my part,we headed to our guide's room at 7am and asked her how we could get her to the hospital. Our guide said give me 10 minutes and off we went.
I had never encountered anything close to this experience before. The clinic process there is that you pay in advance for each service and then take a number. We first paid ($6) to see the "good" doctor. Then after waiting in line we were shoved into a room with 2 doctors and wooden desks. The doctor sat behind the desk and you placed the child up on the desk for him to examine. After his initial look at her he sent us for blood work. We then went to another window to pay and then another line for the blood work. When it was our turn we placed Mia's arm through the "bank teller" window and they took blood. Then we waited in another line for the results. We took the results back to the doctor and he and our guide had what seemed like a 30 min. conversation. We asked "What is he saying?" She responded with "She needs a heart scan" I knew there was more. We said, "be honest with us, we can handle it, WHAT is it?" At that point he turned over his paper and wrote Kawasaki Disease.
We had never heard of this. It is extremely rare and effects mostly Asian people. No one knows what causes it and it can be treated if it's not to late. (TO LATE??) Apparently if the disease has progressed for 10 days without treatment then it typically causes Aneurysms in the heart which leads to death. So we phoned the orphanage to ask when the fever had started and she had fever for 4 days prior to our arrival and we had her for 3 days. We got in line for the heart scan, the nurse tried to get us to give her sleeping pills and return in 3 hours. But at this point Mia was so lethargic that she literally just laid in our arms with only slight movement. The guide quickly pointed this out and the nurse said we could try. While we waited in line, our guide leaned over and said "You may have to choose another baby" We replied "NO we want her and we just want to get her well" I tried everything I had to get her back to the states for medical care but our paperwork was not done and she would not be allowed out of China much less into the US. And we didn't have days to waste.
Our only option was to trust in the medicine here in this hospital. Mia laid on the table and the technicians performed the echo cardiogram while David and I prayed harder than we had ever prayed in our whole lives. We couldn't imagine that our little girl who we barely knew might be taken from us already. The technicians confirmed that there were currently no aneurysms, no vessel damage and that her heart looked healthy. Praise God!
We were then escorted over to the PICU for treatment. Suffice it to say they don't do hospital the way we do. It was surreal. The head of the dept. came in and confirmed that it was Kawasaki and she even pulled out an English Medical text and let us read from it. Mia was then given a bed and an IV was started to administer extremely large doses of Gammoglobulin. She needed all of it in a short period of time. We were told we may have to do this a second time also. They initially wanted her to stay in the hospital for 3 days and we would not be allowed to stay with her. Our guide quickly stepped in and negotiated that we would stay all day and then be allowed to take her to the hotel to sleep and then return with her the next day for more treatments. That was all dependent on how she responded to the first round of medicine.
About 30 minutes into the IV It was a miracle before our very eyes, Mia sat up on the bed and begin to laugh and giggle and wanted to play. We could not believe the difference. Of course we had really never seen this side of her because she was sick from the beginning.
We stayed with her for 12 hours while all the fluids were pumped into her little body. One of our guides stayed with us as well. She sang Chinese songs to her and did little finger plays. It was so sweet to watch. Then as we were talking our guide (let's call her S) said,"Are all the people in your group Christians?" We looked at each other and said "Yes" (because everyone who adopts through AWAA has to sign a profession of faith) We asked why? She said, "because this morning when I left to tour with the rest of the group, they would not let the bus start going until they each took a turn praying for Mia and you guys. It took over 20 minutes" We were so grateful and just overwhelmed that they had all lifted us up while we had no idea what was going on.
Then S said, "Do you believe in Jesus?" We of course said, "YES" We asked if she did and she said she didn't know. I asked her if she had heard of the bible and she responded, "Oh yes! I have read the whole thing and I like the stories very much" The whole thing???? She has read the whole thing!!! David and I were about to bust out of our skin!!! So right there in the middle of a Chinese hospital we were able to share our faith with her. We're not sure if she received Christ at that moment but we could tell that she needed someone to tell her that Jesus is real and the bible is too.
Mia responded remarkably well to the meds and we were allowed to leave the hospital around midnight. We got up the next morning and returned for the doctor to check her and she was given aspirin to take for the following 3 months. We were to repeat the Echo cardiogram once we returned home. We brought home a happy, healthy little girl who is a literal Firecracker.
Looking back we can see that God ordains different things in our lives for reasons we don't understand. It's not always easy to walk through them but "OH the MIRACLES" that you can experience if you trust in HIM for every step of the Journey.
You can read more miracles here A Mom's Life.
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