Certificate of Citizenship

Her official Certificate of Citizenship arrived today! 🇺🇸 I look at her picture below and I remember the day we took it in the last days of our time in Guangzhou. Even then, her facial expression is hardened, dazed and unsure.... a stranger still in so many ways, not sure of what her future holds and scared more than she let on. How far she has come in 6 weeks! 

 

Tomorrow, we go for her BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) hearing evaluation (momma got things done today on the phone!) and pick up the CD of her CT scan. Her hearing evaluation will take about 1.5 hours.  We meet with the ENT specialist on Thursday to go over hearing aid options and decide which device is best for her and talk about future plans on our road to ear construction and hearing.  It is an eventful week! :-)

Charity

****LONG POST ALERT****

One of the many things Jay and I knew going into our adoption process for Annika was that we were going to have some short-term but costly medical expenses to correct and reconstruct her ears and also correct her lazy eyes. Insurance is wonderful and we are VERY thankful to have it, but we knew we are also going to have lots of co-pays and our portion of medical costs for awhile. But, we also knew that the Lord had called us to adopt this precious little girl and that she was ours. So, when we stepped out in faith for the Lord to provide all the funds needed to bring her home (which He did!), we also stepped out, trusting He'd also provide everything she's going to need when she's home. 

Last August, Eli needed a minor outpatient procedure done. It was a sensitive and private area and to save him from embarrassment, we didn't post about it on social media. (The procedure went great and Eli is fine.) What I also didn't post about was that because we were in the adoption process, our finances were tight and we did not have all the money needed to pay our part of his surgery. The day of his procedure, as we checked in at the hospital, they asked us for payment, and we had to ask about a payment plan. We literally used $50 out of our weekly grocery money to put a deposit down that day. The lady in Registration kindly offered that we could also apply for Charity to see if we could get some assitance to help with medical costs. She said if we wanted to do that, then we could come back downstairs after Eli went in to surgery and ask to talk to the Financial person and fill out an application for assistance. 

Do you know how embarrassing and humbling it is to admit you need help? To ask for CHARITY? Jay and I looked at each other and we ALMOST said nah, we're okay. We'll figure something out. We'll put it on a credit card or something. Anything other than admitting we don't have the money to pay for our son's minor surgery. Anything but admitting that we don't have any extra money sitting around right now, saved up for such a time as this. Anything but admitting that we are CHOOSING to walk in faith and obedience of what the Lord had called us to do and adopt without going into major debt. Anything but swallowing our pride, humbling ourselves, and saying yes, we would like to apply for assistance. We almost said no thank you. Almost. But, we didn't. Because the love we have for our son - for all of our children- outweighs how we were feeling in that moment. As parents, we will do anything we can to get our children the help they need. So, we swallowed our pride, and when Eli went back for surgery, I made the (embarrassing) walk to the Financial office and asked if I could apply for financial assistance. As the Financial Rep asked me questions, I explained that we wouldn't normally need to ask, but that we were in the midst of adopting our little girl and all our extra money had been going to pay for the expenses. I explained that no, times aren't always this tough and it was only for a season. She congratulated us on our upcoming adoption, had me fill out a basic form and then said she would be in touch once the Board met and had decided if we qualified for charity. I thanked her for her time and went to join Jay waiting for Eli to come out of his procedure. 

Weeks later, we received notification from Cook Children's Hospital that we had been approved for charity and all our expenses were 100% covered for Eli's surgery. We also received reimbursement checks in the mail for what we had already paid! PRAISE THE LORD!!! OUR DEBT WAS FORGIVEN and Eli had gotten the medical help he needed! I cried tears of joy and Jay and I were full of thankfulness at the Lord's provision. And we had no idea that our Heavenly Father's goodness did not stop there....

Life has continued on since then and we have had a full schedule of doctor appointments, vision appointments, and just a busy life when you have four kids! December and January have been a blur of travel, adoption, getting settled in, and getting Annika's medical and vision needs met. Then this morning happened.... I took Annika into our pediatrician to have an ear canal looked at that was draining pus yesterday. As I was checking us in, the receptionist was asking me questions, confirming if all our info was still the same (same address, same phone number, insurance, etc). Then she said, “And I see you have Charity so you’re good and she's checked in”. I had been watching Annika make her way to a kids' computer when the receptionist said that and I turned from looking at Annika to stare at her... “What? OH! Yes, we applied for Charity when our son needed surgery and we were going through the adoption process and money was tight. That covered his surgery for us.” The receptionist then cheerfully said, “Ah. It covers everything Cook Children’s related and it shows it is good through October of this year.” The shock on my face was apparent as I said, “For all of my children?” “Yup” was her response. I then point to Annika as I say, “Even for all of surgeries and procedures she will be having?!?!” The receptionist smiled as she said, “as long as it’s Cook Children’s-related, it’s 100% covered.” I was all choked up as I realized what God already knew.... HE IS FAITHFUL TO PROVIDE! I croaked out a thank you and walked over to my daughter as we waited our turn to be called to see the pediatrician. I sat there in amazement at the Lord's continued hand in our lives as I realized all the appointments I've taken Annika and even Jadyn (her well visit) to lately that were at Cook Children's facilities and no co-pay was asked of me. I sat there in awe as I thought about all the appointments we are going to have between now and October and all the ones that are Cook Children's-related are COVERED! HOW GOOD IS OUR GOD????!!! How faithful is our Father? He is FULLY faithful to and able to provide ALL that we need! 

Not all of Annika's appointments, surgeries and procedures are going to be able to be through Cook Children's (i.e. her ear reconstruction will be elsewhere), BUT, that's okay. I'm not worried. God has provided every step of the way thus far and He continues to do so. He meets every need we have, whether it's an anonymous donation, or dinners provided for a couple of weeks, or a short term side job that comes up, or charity ... HE provides. Because, He knows what we need... before the need even arises. And I pray that every person who has given to our family... in action, in money, in time, in food... however it's been.... the Lord has used you to help us, to bless us.... I pray that the Lord will bless you a 100 times over in return! I pray that everyone who has contributed to the Charity fund at Cook Children's... however that works...that the Lord will bless them. I am in awe and humbled and overwhelmed with His Goodness. 

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Luke 11:13

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"
Matthew 6:25

To God be the glory....

Baby measurements and love

Going through post-adoption paperwork today and while making copies, I was wishing we had Annika's birth weight and measurements when she was found about 2 days old. I was feeling down that we didn't have that until I went back through her medical reports and FOUND her measurements! 

My precious daughter was born 11/25/2008,
Found on 11/27/2008
19.29 inches
6 lbs 9.82 ozs

And then my thoughts turned to her birth mom.....
Though we don't know the exact time or even for sure if her birthday was in fact 11/25, we do know that SOMEONE held on to her for 1-2 days. Surely it was her birth mom, maybe even her birth dad....Such a short time.... yet, I imagine she/they held on to her daughter and at LEAST for a brief second, loved her with all her being. I hope she did. And I hope that as she lay her daughter down at the entrance to the orphanage at whatever time of day it was, that she said a silent prayer for her baby. We will never know. It could have been total opposite...she could have been relieved to be rid of her, I don't know. I'm glad I don't know, because I can choose to think the birth mom laid her daughter at that entrance out of love for her. No matter her reasons or feelings, I am so thankful she did. Annika is the missing piece to our family that we never knew we were missing. She's my daughter, my treasure, and I love her with all of my being... and I'm so glad she's mine. 

Trip to the dentist and the first day of school!

What a big day this has been! Annika was so excited to finally get to start school today! But, first she had her first dentist appointment where she got a really report!  We absolutely LOVE our hygenist, Mrs. Sarah and our dentist, Dr. Lovering! Both of them greeted Annika warmly and were awesome with her! Mrs. Sarah even let Annika assist while Asher and I got our teeth cleaned too! 

Annika got to school about 10:30 am and we headed to join her class. She was went from excited to nervous pretty quick, but I stayed with her for most the day. Her teacher and her classmates are the best of the best! The patience, kindness and love that our school exhibits and exemplifies is above and beyond!  Annika has truly joined a loving school family and by the time 1:15 pm rolled around, I was standing outside of the class, looking in at my very happy girl participating and engrossed in math with her class! We are now home from school and she is excitedly making up multiplication problems and solving them as "homework". She is chattering happily away with her brother, Eli, and I can't help but smile at how happy she is. I think it's safe to say that she loves school and has had a great first day!

God is good!

❤

Hearing Test

Annika's hearing test today confirmed what we had already suspected... she does have mild to moderate hearing loss in both her ears. The great news is she can and does hear! :) In each ear she has equal hearing loss, but they are opposite in the level of pitches that she hears.... her left ear has moderate hearing loss of low tones and mild loss of high tones. Her right ear has moderate hearing loss of high tones and mild loss of low tones. She will have another hearing test coming up that will be more detailed and we will look at our options for hearing devices. 

Children with Microtia and Atresia are usually born deaf or hard of hearing, so early in our adoption journey, we began to explore the different options available in today's medical world that would help Annika hear better, if needed. We will be meeting again with the ENT specialist to go over our options and decide which one would be the best route for Annika at this time. Our ultimate plan is that she'll one day have ears like you and I, but we know it will be a multi-step process getting to the end result. We are excited that her world is about to sound much more clearer! 

January 12th

I'm catching up on blog posts, and January 12th was worthy of it's own post!  That day has always been special to us because it's Jay's birthday!  He is 38 years old and THE best daddy and husband around! When he got home that night, he was greeted by 4 very excited kiddos who had birthday balloons, cards and gifts in hand for him!  Each child had personally selected a card and gift for him and then wrapped it too!

On this same day, Annika was finally and officially able to enroll in school and will start on Tuesday, January 17th (which is my birthday, ha!) We received an immunization waiver in the mail and were able to enroll her in school.  We continue to wait on lab results for her immunizations, and I'm sure more shots are in her future, which we will slowly catch up on, but now she can finally start school.

And last, but not least....January 12th marked Annika's anniversary for being home with us ONE month! 

God's Word coming to life...

My soul leaps for joy at this moment! 

Annika's new Read With Me Bible and audio CD arrived today. (We previously ordered the wrong Chinese language 😣 and she couldn't read or understand). Today, though.... my heart and soul leapt for joy when she read the title to me and her face lit up as she asked, "Annika?" (For Annika?). Yes! And then when I put the audio CD in, she put the speaker up to her ear and just listened, fascinated. Then, when I showed her she could follow along In her Bible... she loved it even more! To see the words on the page and understand! She and I sat for about 10 minutes reading and following along. The fascination and curiosity on her face as she took in the stories of the Old Testament.... this is what I have been most excited for... this is one of the things I couldn't wait to be a part of in her life....to see her learning about the God who created the Heavens and the Earth... the One who created us, because He loves us... because He loves Annika. And she can now read and learn His Word! 

Adoption tells the story of God's love for us. Read on, my daughter. Read on. 

All to His glory...

#adoptionisworthit
#wecouldhavemissedthis

Getting ready to start school, doctor appts and more...

Annika's new classmates have been eagerly preparing and anticipating her arrival to their class. She met them on Tuesday, Jan. 3rd, and we have been waiting since then for our pediatrician to give her the last immunizations she needs to be officially enroll. January 5th, Eli came home with a folder for Annika from her new teacher and it was filled with drawings from each of her classmates of them playing with her! Melt. My. Heart!!! Look at her happy face. She is blessed to have such great fellow students and soon-to-be friends waiting for her.  She finally gets to start school this coming Tuesday and she is very excited and ready to be in school just like big sister and little brother!

And, this momma is blessed that Annika's teacher loves the Lord. She told me the other day that she had been praying over the Christmas break that the Lord would give her the new student HE wants her to have (our school apparently got quite the influx this week!), and when her teacher found out it was going to be Annika, she was excited. Y'all, I cried when she told me this. I couldn't help it. We continue to see God's Hand in this journey and to that I say....God is good! 

While waiting for Annika to be able to start school, she and I went up to her school one afternoon for a bit and met the ESL specialist for our campus. We spent sometime getting to know her and vice versa. Annika enjoyed our time there and hit it off with the ESL specialist. One of the things we really like about the specialist is she spent a couple years in living in China and she has a heart for the kiddos there. Annika will be spending a lot of time with her during school school days, so I'm glad Annika liked her! :-)

Doctor Appointments....

We went to the eye specialist on January 5th and learned Annika is farsighted, has a stigmatism and needs glasses. The doctor is hopeful that glasses will also help correct her crossing eyes, and we go back in a couple months to see how her eyes are doing. If the glasses do not help her wandering eyes, then we will talk about I muscle surgery at that time. The amusing part today was trying to fit her for glasses. She has no ears, a flat nose, and a head that won't hold a head strap on to hold up the glasses! 😜 She did enjoy trying different types on though and selected a pair of Hello Kitty glasses.  Once they come in, I'm going to work to create a headband with loops to hold her glasses on her head.  :-)

Annika had her appt recently with the ENT doctor and did great! This was just the initial appt to get the ball rolling on her other ear appts.  We learned that she does indeed have not one, but BOTH ear canals. Yay! We didn't think she had one on the right side, but she does, the opening is just tiny :). And we learned she has some infection in the other ear canal, so the Dr has prescribed some antibiotics ear drops. This past Friday, we went to our Children's hospital and got a CT scan of Annika's head so we can see what inner ear parts she has or doesn't have, and tomorrow we go back for a hearing test!  It is exciting to be going through these appointments so that we can see what our little girl needs to live a better and fuller life!  She does great at every appointment and is a good patient.  She knows that all of these appointments are to help her eyes and ears, both of which she desires to be better.  We have an appointment set with the craniofacial specialist on March 1st in regards to any reconstructive surgeries she'll need too.  The ball is rolling and it feels good to finally be helping our little girl. And I do believe she would agree. 

To God be the glory...

❤

School

School is in session....sorta.

Going into this adoption, we knew Annika would be joining her brother and sister at school one day once we were home, but as for when she would join them, we decided to play it by ear.  We didn't know how long she would need to adjust and settle in at home, how long attachment and bonding would take, and how she would react to new environments.  As a parent, an educator, and having a counseling background, I knew that we wouldn't really know until Annika was with us and even then, it could potentially be awhile before she's ready to start school.  Jay and I decided to make a plan and keeping in mind, it could change.  Back in October, we met with the team at school to go over facts we knew about Annika, possibilities and options, and laid out a loose game plan to begin finding out what the school would need to have in place and prepare for Annika's coming.  The meeting went GREAT and Jay and I walked out of there feeling hopeful and at peace that we were in the right place for Annika, once she was settled in and we felt she would be ready to start school.  The team we have at our school is incredible!  We are truly blessed that we have a great administration, staff and community at our elementary school.  Jay and I have said from the first day when Jadyn entered Kindergarten there that God has blessed us with an amazing elementary school.  It is not just a job to so many of them... it's a calling and it is plain as day that they love what they do and it shows!  I know it is not that way for so many people and their children's schools, and I wish everyone could have the experience we have with our school! When we met with the team that would be involved in the planning and preparing for Annika's transition into school, we met with people who listen to us as parents, hearing our concerns and expectations, answering our questions and working with us as team to formulate the best plan that Annika needs to be successful in her environment.  Over the last couple of months, we've stayed in contact and kept our team up to date on our adoption journey and how Annika has been doing since we arrived home.  The last several days, with the start of school approaching after Christmas, Jay and I had been continuing to pray (and still do) that the Lord would continue to guide as as we make decisions about when Annika should start school.  Attachment has gone really well and life at home has adjusted somewhat seamlessly.  What does that mean when I say it has gone well?  She has securely attached to us as her parents and her siblings.  Without a doubt, she has become loyal and loving to each of us and knows we are her family.  All four siblings are just that.... siblings! They play like siblings do, argue at times like siblings do, and have fits at times....just as siblings sometimes do.  :) All four have adjusted to one another and the bond we have as a family is inseparable.  Annika has no problem telling someone no when she doesn't want to talk to them or play with them or even wear something I've picked out. (ha!) She feels secure in our love for her that she can express her opinions and emotions with us in a safe environment. And based on how well she is doing and the interest she has expressed to us, Jay and I agreed we were going to move forward with enrolling her at the start of the Spring semester.

And Annika did really well yesterday.  She is usually timid as she enters a new situation until she feels comfortable, and then she leads the way and is eager to dive in!  She took in and observed her surroundings and the people in it. Sometimes, she interacted and said hi, other times, she would hide behind me and say 'No' to whomever said hi to her until she was ready to come out.  Sometimes, SHE led the way down the hallway and sometimes she followed as we toured the school.  She was very curious, a little nervous, and mostly happy to be there.  While there, we learned that she does need some more vaccinations in order to fully enroll in school.  We were able to spend a couple hours there though, which was good for her as an introduction to the school environment.  She was able to see her new classroom, her brother's classroom across the hall and her sister's classroom upstairs.  She got to see there were friendly faces when she met her classmates and teachers.  She was actually disappointed to leave about mid-morning, ESPECIALLY since she knew her brother and sister weren't leaving too and she let me know she was quite put out that she didn't get to stay!  Once our pediatrician gets all the blood work results in and we know for sure which immunizations she needs more of, then we will get those done so she can begin school officially.

Our plan at this time is to begin with half days for her.  Once we do placement testing, we will know exactly what extra support she will need while at school, but yesterday, our team was able to get a good glimpse of our little girl and they met again yesterday afternoon to make sure we were all on the same page and they are fully ready to embrace and welcome Annika as a new Liberty Eagle. Starting with half days will allow her to acclimate and make sure she's not getting overwhelmed.  We will continue to follow her cues as far as how she's handling it all, and we will make changes along the way as needed for her.  We LOVE our kids' elementary school and we are truly blessed that is not a "cookie cutter" school... every child is different and their needs are going to be different too.  Annika has a taylor-made plan just for her so that she can be successful...academically, socially, emotionally, physically.... So, at anytime if we need to slow down or even halt, we will.  We know there will be days when she has meltdowns. There will probably be days when school just does not happen for her. And there may even be days when she only gets through a partial day then is done for that day. She has been through a lot in her short life and she will continually be processing things from her days in the orphanage that we have yet to know about..... adoption into a family does not immediately fix or take away her past hurts and hidden scars.  Rather, we will be continuing to see the effects of those scars throughout her life.  And we will walk through them together with her as she is ready.  In the meantime, school is in session, she's itching to be there, and she has not shown us any reason to be concerned with her starting....we have complete peace about her being in school. She's ready and wanting to be in school, so we aren't holding her back! :)  

So, since we had time to fill while Jadyn and Eli are at school today, Annika, Asher and I went to daddy's work today to say hi and meet some amazing people there.  We made a quick stop for a treat on our way there too and took daddy a coffee. :)  Annika is now counting down the minutes (again) until it's time to go get Jadyn and Eli from school.  I know she is eager to be doing what they are and she wants to go to school like them.  Soon, my daughter.  Soon.

And with that being said, it's about time to go.  I know a little girl who will be first in the car. ;)


To God be the glory....
Shannon

scraped knees

This morning, Annika went to KiDZ Church for the first time. I stayed with her and as I watched her there, standing before me, I was in awe. I watched her take it all in, intrigued with each activity, having fun and participating....she is only just beginning to learn the love our Heavenly Father has for her.  And I am in awe and wonder as I see my little girl standing before me... in person.... finally. 

This afternoon, we enjoyed the nice Spring weather (someone please tell Winter to get here, please! I need some snow in my life!). The kids were riding scooters, playing ball, and spending time with our neighbor friends' grandkids currently in town. I had gone inside to catch a moment of down time while Jay stayed outside with them. I was sitting on the couch when Annika came in looking for me, tears streaming down her face and crying in pain. Sweet Jadyn had followed behind to let me know Annika had taken a hard fall on the concrete and had badly scraped her knee. As I examined the knee and consoled Annika, Jadyn fetched a bandaid and items for me. Annika cried and cried..... long after I had tenderly bandaged her knee .... she cried. I just held her, sang to her and rocked her, and I listened to the cry of hundreds knee scrapes and thousands of tears of years before now.... I heard the cry of a little girl who had not known the love of a mother's arms to rock away the sadness, ease away the hurts and wipe away the tears.... until now. My heart wrapped a little bit tighter around her as she cried for about 20 minutes as she let me caress her hair and hum "Jesus Loves Me" until she had emptied the reservoir of tears she had been holding in. And once those tears were gone, she sat up, looked at me, and pointed she was ready to go back outside.  And off she went to enjoy 2 more hours of beautiful daylight.