What does adoption cost? Faith

 

$33, 115.73 is what it took to bring Annika home. And God provided every single penny. Through so many people who supported us...for every person who contributed in so many ways.... your time, garage sales, pumpkins, shirts, donations, monetary gifts, flipping burgers, silent auction, a bunk bed, clothes, dressers, grants, friends, family, complete strangers..so many ways.... thank you. God showed up in BIG way to bring one VERY special and VERY loved little girl home to us. I am in awe when I look at this number and think... GOD did this! NOTHING is impossible for Him! I am overwhelmed with awe and gratitude. My heart overflows...

Where He guides, He provides. And holy cow, He provided the $33k it took for us to get our our little girl and bring her home. 

God. Is. Good.

Ears this year!

We have been going through several doctor appointments and phone consultations in the past week.  Ironically, you go to a new doctor and it leads to more appointments. Ha! (A little humor there.... it's okay to laugh.)

I'll try to keep it from being a mile-long post, so here goes!
After doing our homework and getting doctors' opinions and even 2nd opinions, we will be having surgery in the near future (hopefully this month) to remove the cholosteatomas in both of Annika's ears. She will also need ear canal reconstruction in both canals, and we don't know yet if that will all be done at the same time or separate surgeries.  Once her ear canals heal (approx. 6 months), we will be flying to California around Aug/Sept to have Annika's first ear done.  <3  About 3 months later, we will fly back to California for the 2nd ear surgery.  By the end of 2017, our Annika should have two brand new pairs of ears healing hopefully quite nicely on her head. (PRAISE THE LORD!!!) We are thankful that the doctors agree that this is medically necessary (and not just aesthetics) for Annika.  Insurance-wise, that will help!

Dr. Sheryl Lewin is a well-known plastic surgeon in the ear community and one of the best doctors out there in the Microtia world.  Her life work is dedicated to creating beautiful ears for patients like Annika.  We want nothing but the best when it comes to Annika's ears, so that's why we chose her.  She is located in California and we are looking forward to meeting her face to face this summer when we travel to California for the Earicles conference!  Dr. Lewin and Dr. Paul Bauer (our ENT specialist here) will be talking and communicating closely in regards to the surgeries he performs here on Annika as he prepares the way for Dr. Lewin to be able to make Annika two brand new ears.

Currently, we are waiting to hear back from Dr. Bauer, who we just gave the go ahead to move forward with planning her surgery for the cholosteatomas to be removed and ear canal reconstructions.  Dr. Bauer is an excellent doctor and well -renowned around here.  He has been INCREDIBLE with our family so far and Jay and I have been very impressed with his knowledge and genuine personality.

We took Annika today to another craniofacial doctor here in Fort Worth.  We got a 2nd opinion on Annika's ears, and he is sending us to meet with a geneticist and also put in an order to have a renal sonogram done on Annika. He said that a lot of times, children born with microtia often have problems in their renal system, so he just wants to rule that out.  She also has some minor things about her physical appearance that a geneticist could tell us more since we have no biological parent information. (See how going to one doctor appt leads to more medical appts!? ;)

Next week, Annika gets fitted for her hearing devices AND has a 2-month followup with our eye specialist, Dr. Hunt.  He will be looking to see if the esotropia in both eyes has improved since wearing glasses and discuss possible eye muscle surgery.  I took this picture today (isn't she beautiful? :) and you can see her eyes are still turning inward.

So, needless to say, we are in the midst of a TON of doctor appointments and life is just a weeeeee bit cray-cray around here, but if you ask Annika how life is....  She'll probably give you a thumbs up and a smile. :)  And I couldn't agree more.

God is good.

Chosen and Loved, even when life is rough

I intentionally selected this shirt for Annika to wear today.  Our precious girl has been processing a lot lately and dealing with inner turmoil.  She has started to let out anger at times too. Sometimes, as a parent, I get caught up in the behaviors of my children and find myself getting frustrated with them....and I forget to take a step back and assess what's REALLY going on with them.  Adopting Annika has helped me change my perspective more often with ALL of my children and to be a better parent.... When I change my perspective, that helps me to walk with her through hers. So many emotions and so much change for her little world..... she has so much to process and grieve and even re-learn... and we are here to walk through it together. 

She is a joy, she is a part of our family... Chosen and dearly loved.

Tomorrow, we have an appointment with her ENT doctor to go over the results from her CT and MRI scans last week and discuss what needs to happen next.

ears

It's been a long day and it was a bseh early start. But, Annika did well today for her outpatient procedure and tests and and we were headed home from the hospital by 12:45 this afternoon. We will meet with her ENT doctor in the next week or two to go over her CT and MRI. He told us that there is quite a bit of damage in both her inner ears. She has canal cholosteatomas (destructive skin growth and tumors) in both ears.  The CT and MRI will show us how extensive, but we are looking at canal reconstruction for both her ears along with surgery to remove the cholosteatomas in her middle ears.  Annika's doctor believes this is something she has had since she was a baby and has gone unnoticed and untreated all this time.

Jay and I have been talking to two leading doctors who are the best of the best in Ear Reconstruction. Each and every surgery/procedure Annika needs will go hand in hand with her eventual ear construction. So, our ENT doctor will be in close communication with the doctor who does Annika's ears. 

Lots of doctors, appointments and procedures... all for one VERY special little girl. 💗

We have quite the road ahead of us, but we know the Lord is with us and He has all of this in His hands.

Dedication Sunday and 2 months home!

Thankful....

Today, we had the privilege to stand before our church body and loved ones to thank everyone for helping us to bring our precious little girl home. We got to introduce her to all who hadn't met her yet. 

Thank you to our parents, my little sister and friends for being there this morning. That meant a lot to me. 

As I sat in church this morning, next to my parents, it brought back memories of growing up in church with them. It's been a long time since I sat next to them and it was a really nice feeling to be once again next to them in a church service. Thank you, mom and dad, for setting such a godly example and instilling in me a love for the Lord and serving Him.  I am thankful I had the opportunity to grow up in church and learning about God's love for me.  

We are thankful for our Pastor who is very dear to my heart. He is the one who married Jay and I nearly 11 years ago, and over the last 9 years he has dedicated and prayed over each of our children after they were born. Today, I am thankful he did the same today for our Annika. ❤ 

Words cannot express how thankful we are to the Grimmers who started up the Adoption Support Ministry at our church. They and the people in it have become family to us.  We are thankful for so many friends and family who came or watched online today. Kelly Murphy, thank you for coming and being there. You are a ray of sunshine, my friend! 

---

1 year and 3.5 days ago....

 

Exactly 1 year and 3.5 days ago, we first inquired for more info about "Bridget". I had already been looking at adoptable children since before Oct 2015. Some time in January 2016, I came across and saved "Bridget's" profile along with a few others children. I inquired about a small handful of others, but I always kept coming back to this little girl's profile, reading it....re-reading it.... praying... reading it again, poring over the picture, trying to "read" her facial expression and wondering what she was thinking in that moment....and then, on Feb. 2, 2016, I reached out and inquired for more information about the child who would become our daughter forever before the year 2016 was over.  

I'm so glad I clicked that button saying tell me more.... I'm thankful the Lord drew me repeatedly back to her.... I am so glad she's ours. 

On Sunday, Feb. 12, on her 2 month anniversary of her gotcha day and joining our family, we will give thanks and dedicate our daughter to the Lord in front of our church body. If you're nearby, we'd love for you to join us....

Calvary Chapel Fort Worth 

5617 S Diamond Oaks Dr

Fort Worth, TX 76117

10:45 am service 

#wecouldhavemissedthis

#inquiriescanbeawkward

#adoptingannika

#hashtagsarefun #soisridingthekrogerhorse

 

 

Hearing!

Yesterday, Annika had her 2nd hearing test which confirmed she has moderate hearing loss in both ears. The audiologist was wonderful and we discussed options on hearing devices, school accommodations, costs, and more. We meet tomorrow with the next ENT specialist and will decide which hearing device we will go with and then the audiologist will get them ordered. One of the decisions Jay and I will decide with the help of the ENT doctor is whether to implant the hearing devices now or later, and if we decide to do it later, then Annika will wear what’s called a soft band, which is a stretchy headband that the hearing devices click on to and rest on her head. There are so many decisions to make and Jay and I want to make sure we proceed carefully and do our homework thoroughly before making any surgical decisions. THE highlight of the appointment was Annika getting to try on a softband BAHA (hearing aid). Annika is NOT a headband kind of person and she was not at all thrilled about the animal-print headband. But, once the device was turned on, she got to hear for the first time in a way she never has! While she was wearing the BAHA, we went back into the soundproof booth and the audiologist performed another hearing test on Annika, this time through the speakers instead of headphones. I watched her expression and teared up as she heard my voice and responded. Then, as she responded to each sound or voice she heard at a soft whisper, I cried silent tears of joy for my little girl. 

Please pray for us as we navigate our way in the medical world and make decisions for Annika. Pray we make the right decisions for her and with her. She’s been a trooper and her world has already changed so much. She continues to thrive and grow. Her English is slowly increasing and every day I’m amazed at a new word or phrase that comes out of her mouth. 

I could spend hours writing about all the special moments and people in Annika's life! I could literally fill a book! But for now, let me highlight her buddy, Pierce. He is in Annika's class and he is one of her best buds. This kid has been through a lot in his little life. He and his precious family have known loss and heartache, but you''d never guess that when meeting him. He is one of THE most loving, kindest and passionate kids you'll ever meet. He's funny and he is one of Eli's and now Annika's favorite friends. Pierce has welcomed Annika into his school and class without hesitation and he continually shows her the love of Christ and friendship. God is using Pierce as one of the pieces of the puzzle of Annika's life, and I am so thankful for him (and his godly family). Because Annika had to leave school early yesterday for her hearing appointment, her incredible teacher let Annika and Pierce go in the hall and toss the football for a few minutes.... just so Annika wouldn't completely miss out on one the favorite parts of her day: playing football with her buddy, Pierce. 😍 Made. Annika's. Day. Melted my heart. 

<3
February 12th marks Annika’s 2 month home anniversary! Since it falls on a Sunday, we have chosen that day as the perfect opportunity to officially introduce her to our church body and dedicate her to the Lord. As so many of you have walked with us and supported us in our adoption journey, our church body has been just as amazing (remember our Family Play Day we had back in October? Our church body helped us raise thousands of dollars that day!) We want to stand before our church and say thank you, introduce her, and our Pastor will pray over our family. The ceremony itself only lasts a few minutes, but it is a big occasion and one near and dear to my heart. Our Pastor has prayed over our first 3 babies and presented them with a small New Testament Bible, which I have saved and treasure to this day. It means the world to me that he would also pray over our 4th child, no matter how old she is when she came to us. <3

God is good!