What Mia thinks about all of this

I haven't shared this yet, but I'd like to talk about how Mia has been with the news of the adoption. When we first asked her months ago if she would like another brother or sister, she said "no." We asked her on other occasions to which she replied "no." Then one day I asked her if she would like another sissy or ge ge (older brother) to which she perked up and said "yes." One day my mom asked her if she would like a big ge ge or a little ge ge. I told my mom that ge ge is only used for big brothers. She asked me how to say little brother in Chinese, and I said I think it's xiao de. Mia exclaimed, "Xiao de?! Ugh," and threw herself in the floor. It was quit hilarious. Well, she is getting a xiao de, though he is only one month younger than her. I'm sure she will let him know that she's the oldest.

She is now ready to be the big sister. She has pretended to talk to him several times on her play phone. One day she told him, "We will come get you soon. It won't be long in the day."

She talks about him a lot. She even offered to share her room with him, before she knew he would be getting his own room. I'm sure there will be some jealousy and problems with sharing as with most siblings, but I believe Mia will be a great big sister to Yangkang.

Mia will be traveling to China with us for Yangkang. She has never spent the night away from me since her adoption in July 2012, and doing so would not be good at this time. She still often wakes in the night crying for me. 

A few people have shown concern over her going back to China, as if she wouldn't be safe there or that she could even be taken away from us. She is an American citizen and will be traveling with a US Passport, and as such, she is protected by the US government just as Brent and I are.

My concerns with taking Mia back to China are that she may grieve all over again, or that it will be hard with Yangkang at first, which will be hard on Mia as well.  

As for now Mia is ready to go get her little brother. She doesn't understand why we have to wait. I don’t understand it either sometimes, but I do believe in God’s perfect timing.

We are coming up on 60 days that we have been waiting for our LOA (letter of approval) from China. We are hoping to have it by Oct. 1. There is a holiday in China that is observed Oct. 1-7, and government offices will be closed during that time. Sometimes, they make a big push to get things out the door just before a holiday, and it seems that Mondays are often busy days for adoption related work in China. So, maybe we will here something by Tuesday here. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much though.

Earlier this week I requested a form from our adoption agency for a grant application. One of the questions that it asked the agency was projected travel date. We were a little bummed when we saw their response, Jan. 22, 2015. We really want to travel before Christmas. The sooner we get LOA, the more that becomes possible; hoping and praying.

                                                                LORI

Praise God

I was planning on posting this before we got the really big news. I can't help but praise God, because He is worthy. We received a generous gift from a couple in our church today -- a huge surprise. Then this afternoon we got an email stating that we have received a sizable grant from the JSC Foundation. Throughout this adoption, God has provided funds just as they were needed. I feel like our LOA is going to be here soon.


                                                                                                             Lori

Preparing

Our oldest daughter moved to the bedroom downstairs, previously our son’s room. He is only home for about 10 weeks out of the year and will be staying in the family room when he’s home. We hope to build a wall bed for him before the holidays. The same day Emily moved downstairs, Mia moved from a toddler to a twin bed; the same twin bed we originally set up before her referral, when we thought she would be older. We now have an empty bedroom upstairs for Yangkang. We don’t have his bed yet, but I have a bed along with bedding picked out for him. First, we need to give his room a fresh coat of paint and shampoo the carpet.

Besides these things, I have lots of little projects to sew/paint/repair, as well as the the regular nesting type cleaning and organizing. Brent has large projects underway. He’s building a storage shed, since we are outgrowing our home. The storage building will free up some room in the garage so the exercise equipment (previously kept in the family room) can go out there.  Also, we have water damage downstairs around window and under the floor that has to be addressed. The current window well needs dug out and replaced along with new pipes installed.

We have lots to do in a short time to prepare for Joel and to get our home back in order. It’s exciting and exhausting at the same time.

On the adoption front, we have been waiting 43 days now for LOA. We really hope to have it by Oct. 1. Our dossier has already been translated and as of last Monday it was in the review stage. After that there will be the match review, then LOA.

Right after we submitted our LOI, China sent us the requested x-rays of Yangkang’s neck. The very next day we received 2 surprise videos of him. After our doctor had a radiologists review the x-rays, we were told that while the x-rays aren't real clear, it appears that Yangkang has an extra half vertebrae on one side of his neck causing his head to tilt to one side. Our doctor was concerned that the neck malformation accompanied with the VSD could be a sign of a syndrome.  Other symptoms of this syndrome are kidney issues, scoliosis, hearing problems, and the inability to move the neck along with pain in the neck. The videos clearly tell us that he is not in any pain, he can move his head from side to side without any problem, and his hearing is fine. I believe and hope that the neck and VSD are separate issues and not a syndrome with other medical issues. We will not know specifics until after he is home. We, along with others from our church, are praying for Yangkang’s neck to be healed. Yangkang's name means hope for health. Our hope is in the Lord, who can do all things.

                                                                                                            LORI

Let Our Hearts Be Broken by What Breaks His