Six months home with Abbey

Can you believe six months ago I was freezing to death in Beijing? Now here we are broiling under the Mississippi sun. Where has the time gone? I must have fallen asleep...no.. wait... that must be someone else, sleep is something I only wish for these days!
Little Miss Abbey has definitely put an element of "surprise" into this crazy life of ours. She keeps me on my toes and is doing her best to give me an early heart attack. But, oh how I love this little 'firecracker' of mine!
i love her giggle
i love her smile
i love her messy hair
i love her short little toes
i love the way she reaches for my hand
i love her sassy walk
I cannot imagine life without her. She is just so full of life and has such a determined spirit. I know that determination will serve her well in the future when others may view her hand and foot as a hindrance to her abilities. I pity the person who tells her she CAN"T do something... boy are they in for a lesson and a tongue-lashing!!

Our family really has come a long way since January and I can finally say it is as NORMAL as it is going to get around here. MY normal is probably not what YOU would call NORMAL, but we have found a way to make our little family of 6 work for us and I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams.

Father's Day

Well it is June 19... Father's Day 2011. It is also the middle of summer here in Mississippi which means it is very HOT! Hot as in 100 degrees!
No, I am not kidding.
And, despite the soaring temps my sweet hubby grilled out this evening for us to enjoy a wonderful Father's day meal with my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law and of course our crew.
The kids and I gave Mike an outdoor anti-gravity lounge chair. We still aren't sure what the "anti-gravity" deal is all about, but he likes it and the kids say it's cool so... it must be cool!

I am extremely blessed to have Mike as a husband and "Daddy" to our kids. I am sure he had no idea when we got married that he would have 4 kids one day and travel around the world to bring 2 of them home! He also has to put up with me and my "Big Heart" and be the sensible one in our marriage. If not, then I probably would have packed us up and moved to China after we brought Madeline home. He knows that is where my part of my  heart lies... in China with all the waiting children who will never have a mom and dad to call their own.

Thanks Mike for loving me and loving our children.
You are a great DAD and I love you.

21 months old today!

That's right... she is growing up right before our eyes. This little stinker has turned my world upside down in more ways than one, but gosh.... I cannot imagine my life without her. She is such a blessing and has taught me a great deal about that "P" word... you know the one... patience! Abbey requires a great deal of my "patience" at times.
 Everyday is a new beginning for Abbey, and therefore what she did yesterday or the prior minute is all "old news" to her.
This girl is looking for the next thing to get into, to climb on, to take out of and put back in(this especially requires the "p" word from me).
She is on the move from the moment she wakes up calling "Ma-Ma" until she falls asleep in my arms at night. She never stops! 

Her spirit is one of a lively, happy little girl that has stolen her momma's heart. God is so good!

The Cast is Off!

As you can probably tell from the above pictures, yesterday was pretty traumatic for Abbey and MOM, too!
The cast saw was so loud, so that started her screaming right away. After that, she didn't want any of us  touching her leg. We convinced her to let me run warm water over it and wipe off some of excess skin.
She was OK with this, until Dr. Purvis came in to take a look. 
Our doctor thinks the surgery went very well and was pleased with the placement of her foot. NOW..... in order to keep he foot in the correct alignment she will have to wear braces on both feet at nighttime and during her nap. Abbey had already experienced braces in China, but this brace is different and will allow more movement of her legs. She hardly fussed this afternoon when I put them on her for nap


I just cannot tell you what a relief it is to have that cast off and our surgeries done with for a while. I feel like I can actually breathe now,... I have prayed so hard for the doctors, abbey, the other kids, myself and mike, everything. I feel drained and elated at the same time. Elated that it is all behind us, and drained because it zapped everything out of me----literally. This would have been so much harder if Abbey was not the "trooper" she has turned out to be. She simply amazes me. I thank God every night for making me her mommy. I am so lucky to be the mother of two precious little girls and two handsome boys. We are undeniably bubbling over with blessings!!!

Blessings

 

 

The man whispered, "God, speak to me" and a Chickadee sang.

But, the man did not hear.

So the man yelled "God, speak to me!" And, the thunder rolled across the sky.

But, the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, "God let me see you." And a star shined brightly.

But the man did not notice.

And, the man shouted, "God show me a miracle!" And, a life was born.

But, the man did not know.

So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here!"

Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.

But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way that you expect. 

~unknown~

Awards Day at School

 Yes, I know these pictures are not from Awards Day, but... I wanted to share them and brag on my kids.
Matthew received A/B Honor Roll and the Bible Verse Award. So proud of him!

Madeline received the Bible Verse Award for her class. Proud of her too!
Cody received recognition for the National Latin Exam at his school. Proud of him too!
So glad this school year is over. A lot of changes for the kids and for me, but in the end it was a wonderful year.

3 surgeries in 3 months

Yes, it's true.
March... 1st hand surgery
April... 2nd hand surgery
May 4... clubfoot corrective surgery
Enough already!

Abbey's clubfoot surgery was performed here at our local children's hospital. We met with the orthopedic surgeon shortly after returning from China. After reviewing her medical records (what little we had of them), he suggested we consider corrective surgery. Let me back up a bit---
Abbey had the Ponseti method of clubfoot correction done in China. The wonderful staff at the Hope Foundation was able to perform the serial casting and manipulation of her foot. The staff at Amazing Hands (the home where Abbey was placed in order for her to receive medical care) provided the care she needed and helped her adjust to her brace. After several months of wearing a brace to hold her foot in the correct position, she was finally able to wear it only at night. That is when we came into the picture.
On our Gotcha' Day, Abbey was placed in my arms and Tina (the house-mother who brought her to Zhengzhou) gave us her brace and instructions on how to put it on her feet at bedtime. She also mentioned the brace often came off during the night. We found that out during our stay in China that the brace did indeed work it's way off during the night and it did not seem to fit securely or comfortably on Abbey's feet.

Back to the present...
This led our surgeon to suggest a tendon transfer on Abbey's right clubfoot since the prior corrective measures had not maintained the proper alignment of her foot. Abbey's amniotic banding on her right foot also was a factor in proceeding with the surgery instead of repeating the Ponseti method again.
That being said... the surgery went well, but it was the 48 hrs after surgery that put me in tears. Abbey isn't able to tolerate any form of codeine/pain medication so that left us alternating ibuprofen and tylenol to help control her pain. She was hurting and my heart was breaking!
Pray, Pray, Pray and pray some more.

I think I have mentioned before that Abbey is one tough cookie! Her resilience and determined spirit rose to the occasion and we soon had our sweet and happy little girl up and going. Well, sort of up and going... she was either in the stroller or on my hip.

Guess which one she preferred the most??