Finding the other end of our Red Thread

Sunday, April 13, 2014

3 month reprieve

Audra's GI doctor has been consulting with some of her colleagues...and, together, they can't come to a consensus about what to do with Audra.

She a condondrum!

Some of the doctors think it is in her best interest to begin tube feedings....
and others doctors think it is safe to wait and watch, very closely.

Friday's verdict...we will wait and watch closely!

Her doctor said this is a conversation we are going to continue to have each and every time we meet.

And that's okay with me..

For now, we have 3 more months!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

ears, tummy, and more...

Last week Audra had another ENT appointment. And we finally have a plan for the surgery to repair her ruptured ear drum (called tympanoplasty...which will hopefully improve the hearing in her "bad" ear). It is scheduled for June 16th and she should be able to go home the same day....but we are talking about Audra, so who knows?!

On Tuesday she got her much-anticipated, very-own, pink-sparkly...hearing aids!!!
Pink glasses...pink hearing aids...she is my Pinkalicious girl :)
On Friday I will take Audra to the Audiologist to have her new hearing aids reprogrammed to "turn up" her world a little bit. Every little bit counts. She is talking more each day.

Heard most often from her is...
"up please"
"stop it"
"I know"
"no way"

She can also say the names of all her family members.
We're getting there :)

Earlier this week I got a phone call from Audra's Immunology doctor. All of the results from Audra's very extensive blood work has finally come in....and everything is normal. So, they are no closer to figuring her out, and they remain concerned that Audra does have an underlying immune disorder that they just can't identify or test for yet. So, for now, we'll keep keeping on. And time will tell.

Tomorrow Audra has a big day at CHOP. First, she will have a breath test to {hopefully} help her GI doctor learn more about the malabsorption she seems to have.
Then, Audra will see the dietitian, and finally she has an appointment with her GI doctor. Multiple times over the past year, the topic of tube feeds for Audra has come up. I have always managed to put it on the back burner...until now. This is the day we WILL have to talk about it. And make some difficult decisions.

I'm ok with the tube,
I'm ok with the pump,
and the equipment,
and the supplies

I'm just worried that with tube feeds Audra will lose interest in eating by mouth,
or worse...
I'm worried she will need a special, very restricted diet, that won't allow her to eat as she is used to...
whatever she wants, whenever she wants....and eating is what she LOVES to do!

I'm praying for direction to know what is best for Audra.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Our 1st Familyversary

One year ago today...

Audra came into our lives, by quite literally...walking into our arms.

She stole our hearts that very instant and we have never been the same!

We had been preparing for and looking forward to that day for a long time...but she hadn't. Her whole life changed in an instant. I can't even begin to imagine how scared she must have been.

After a long train ride from her orphanage, on April 8, 3013 in a crowded civil affairs office in Guangzhou, China...she became ours, and we became hers! {forever & for always}

What a brave little girl she was (and still is!). She had to leave all she ever knew, and come with us...people who looked very different than she was used to, and spoke in a language she didn't understand. We had prayed long and hard that her heart would be open to our love, and that she would feel some comfort amid all the change she had to endure that day. She didn't cry, and she came to us willingly. For that we were so very grateful.

As Sean and I walked out of the civil affairs office with Audra in our arms, we looked at each other, smiling, and said the very same thing...

"She is so beautiful!"

We felt like the luckiest people on all of the earth at that moment.

Just look at the a difference a year makes...

April 8, 2013

April 8, 2014

Today she is wearing the same ladybug sweater that she was wearing one year ago today.

2013...

2014...

Happy 1st Familyversary Audra.

Friday, April 4, 2014

1 year ago today...

...our travel journey began!

April 4, 2013

We were finally on our way to get our girl,

Audra Qi Jia

I remember being so excited and so nervous at the same time...

I had never flown longer than 2-3 hours...

By the end of our travels (20 some hours later!)

we would be on the other side of the world...

I would miss my other children at home terribly...

I loved this little girl so much already, having never even met her,

and I prayed that her heart would be open to our love...

There were so many unknowns about the journey we were about to begin.

But we boarded that plane in New York City bound for China

with our eyes shut and our hearts wide open,

and we never looked back!

We were headed to our destiny, our girl, and our future.

Nothing else mattered.

And nothing could hold us back.

The precious little face we had been staring at in pictures and videos for the past 4 months was waiting for us on the other side of the world.

And we couldn't wait to get to her...

to hold her,

to kiss her,

and to shower her with the love bursting from our hearts.

Without ever seeing or touching her in person,

she was our daughter.

It is an indescribable feeling!

We were able to share our journey to China

(and our entire adoption journey)

with Sean's brother, Tim, and his wife Dawn,

who were traveling to adopt their new little girl, Charlotte, at the very same time as us.

What an amazing blessing!

Below is a travel video I put together a while ago,

but just recently figured out how to upload to this blog!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sleeping Beauty...part 2

Back in October I first posted about Audra's uncanny ability to fall asleep...anywhere...mid-anything. We stumble upon her...sound asleep, in unusual places, and in unusual positions.

These are just cat naps for her though, because as fast as she falls asleep, she wakes up even faster...and resumes what she was doing! Crazy girl!

The kitchen floor is a favorite spot of hers!

On the cozy, brand new carpet in the family room

Waiting for dinner at the table

Even in the middle of playing!

And without a doubt, she falls asleep in the car

every.single.time!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

...on ice!

(I started this post two and a half months ago...better late than never!)

Lots of exciting things have been happening "on ice" around here.

First was..."Disney on Ice"

I took Maura and Audra to see the show on January 1st. A fun way to start the new year!

Charlotte, Uncle Tim and Aunt Dawn came too!

Mickey (in traditional Chinese dress) and Mulan were a favorite:

And there was a Chinese Dragon dance!

Maura's BFF Tori was there too...

she was just four rows in front of us with her parents!

All the girls were spoiled with Mickey balloons from Uncle Tim

And finally...today...(yes, two and a half months later!)...we had another adventure on ice...

"Audra on Ice"

It was just as thrilling...but in a completely different way!

She was excited to put her skates on. I found a tiny pair of size 6 ice skates at the local children's consignment store for just $4.25. I couldn't pass up the bargain!

I was surprised at how well she was able to stand on the skates. She was even walking around in them a bit.

Once she was on the ice it wasn't so easy for her!

But she wouldn't give up!

Daddy would do a lap with her, then give her (and his back) a break. And she kept asking to skate some more. Which I was so surprised about. She is usually fearful of new things, but she wasn't scared of ice skating one little bit.

Our weekend was jam-packed full of fun...

here are just a few of the things we did:

Audra's 1st time bowling:

She wasn't too interested in it at first, but then was willing to give it a try after seeing all the other kids celebrating their strikes and spares. It was bumper bowling, so there was a lot of celebrating going on :)