Amelia's Journey

Where is Thumbkin?

2009-06-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

Couldn't resist posting this. Elise's dance class sings this while waiting for the mats to be put down in the room. Amelia loves to sing along....

I put my gobbles on...

2009-05-31T05:50:00.001-07:00

She might not be able to swim, but that's not stopping her from wearing her new "gobbles". Bless her heart...she's still terrified and in pain. She doesn't want to take the brace off because she feels secure wearing it. I'll be working on taking her out of it more often. Her fear is creating problems with toileting. We're trudging along.

When I get my casts off...

2009-05-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

"Hey Mom, I tell you something. When I get my casts off, I go to swimmin' pool, I put my gobbles on...."

Over the past couple of weeks, Amelia has been telling EVERYONE what she will be doing once she gets her casts off. She starts out like this, "Hey Mom, I tell you something..." and then proceeds with a list of things that she will be doing once that cast is off. It's very endearing until she does it four times in a row....during bedtime. I call that a ploy to put off going to bed, Steve doesn't. He encourages the conversation to the point of, let's say, delirium or is hysteria the word I'm looking for? Anyhoo, it's her thing...this is a video conversation she was having with her Auntie Candy. She didn't say, "I tell you something..." I never seem to be able to catch that part.

The past few weeks have gone relatively smooth. We got into a routine and I even managed to take the girls out to a couple of places with any mishaps. The biggest thing was all the stares we would get. I guess that HUGE purple arch between her legs and those purple casts were just too much for people to ignore. I started covering Amelia with a blanket, that helped. The only problem is the heat~the poor child was constantly hot. We've had the air cranked at our house for several weeks now (much to my dismay). We haven't been able to take Amelia outside until the sun goes does, etc. So being couped up in this house has been challenging for all of us. But we made it through it.

Ready to roll to St. Louie

Yesterday, we returned to St. Louis and the cast was removed. My sister made the drive with me and the girls. It's a tough trip to make in one day, but we did it. The took us into the exam room right on time and the cast saw quickly followed. Amelia is familiar with the saw, she's had several sets of casts removed. But this was different...that Spica was thick and it took about 20-25 minutes to get that sucker off! But hearing that final "pop" with the cast cracker, was music to my ears. Not so much for Millie! She was very nervous, scared, etc. I guess we still had one of the cleanest casts ever. I didn't think so since we had a couple of "incidents" over the past couple of weeks. But I guess that's nothing compared to what most kids do to their casts. All I can say is that I would have probably snapped if her cast smelled really bad for that amount of time. Thank goodness she was potty trained!

Very concerned right before the saw starts

Yes, she is screaming, but not in any pain and that is the "Arch" coming off!

Final snip and snap before the top of the cast is removed.

Kristina, the nurse came in to check the flexibility of her foot and things went to "heck in a hand basket in a hurry". Yep, the wailing and screaming began and I was scrambling for pain meds. Since this isn't my first trip to the rodeo, I made sure I packed the "leftovers" from the surgery~just in case. So I started grabbing bottles and syringes. I gave her what I thought was some liquid oxy and she started to settle down pretty quickly.

Waiting for her new harness....

The harness fitting was rather interesting and you'll see why when you see the harness. It's a rather odd device that will hold her legs out in the position that they have been in for the past six weeks. I guess it's not so comfortable to go back to the way things were right away so this device will give her support and comfort for the next couple of weeks. She wears it 24/7 for two weeks. She can come out for baths and small range of movement exercises. We were excused with some instructions and I started to pack up all the things that found their way out of the diaper bag over the past hour. Some of those "things" was the medicine that I brought with me. As I grabbed the bottle from the counter, I happened to glance at the label. Well, I thought I gave her oxycodone for the pain, when in actuality I gave her Valium. Yep, nominate me for mother of the year. Needless to say, by the time we left the office, Amelia was singing to her hands and very mellow!

After about an hour, we were ready to hit the road again. Everyone took a potty break and Amelia spent some time at her favorite "ball roll". We loaded up the car (after about 15 minutes of rearranging, packing the wheelchair etc) and got back on the road. The girls were asleep within 10 minutes~thank the Lord!

The drive home was pretty uneventful until we got to Indianapolis. Amelia announced that she needed to go potty. I found a McDonald's and whipped "Betty" off the road for a quick stop. I ever so carefully removed Amelia from her car seat and proceeded to the bathroom. It's safe to say that I developed a certain "system" for toileting over the past six weeks. It's also safe to say that system is no longer effective and I discovered that a little too late, like when I was standing in the bathroom stall with a limp toddler in my arms trying to figure out how I was going to get her out of this harness and sit her on the toilet. With the Spica, all I had to do was remove the diaper from the outside of the cast and sit her on the potty. Wellllll....now I need to FIRST remove the harness and then the diaper and THEN sit her on the potty. I got through all of that, but then I have to deal with Amelia being terrified and clinging to me for dear life. So much so, that I had to ask her to loosen her grip so I could breath. It goes without saying, the potty break was a complete disaster and we returned to the vehicle without Amelia relieving herself. I promptly gave her some pain meds and started back on the road.

Once we got home, unpacked everything and got settled. I carried Amelia upstairs to get ready for bed. It was too late to go through all the new care instructions with Steve, so we brushed our teeth and went to bed. Giggsey was very curious about Amelia's new apparatus. He was determined to protect her as soon as she came home. I was afraid he would crawl into bed with her for awhile.

Giggs, keeping watch...

Sleeping went well. Amelia woke up at 6:15 and I gave her Tylenol. After about an hour, I got her up and decided to give her a much needed bath. I knew it would be challenging and it was. She is very scared coming in and out of the harness. She doesn't want to be moved at all and cries whenever I try to move her legs and feet at all. I praying that diminishes as she becomes accustomed to not being in the Spica.

All the New Stuff she will wear for the next two weeks

Still has big smiles for Mama

She is now sleeping on the sofa. She has no interest in food right now and she does weigh a big whopping 27 lbs. She is light as a feather without her cast and harness. She feels so tiny and frail in my arms. I'll be glad when my Tiger returns. I thought she would be rearin' to go, but I guess that will be a little while coming. The next few days will be rather long since I can't see taking her out anywhere. It's like starting all over. Oh well, it's rainy today anyway and the house could use some work. There's always a bright side to everything. Whenever I leave that doctors office, I always stop and thank the Lord for the many blessings in my life and for the health of my children. Millie may seem to have so much going on, but I'd rather have this than some of the other things I witness there. You know what they say, everyone throws their troubles into a pile and you pull any one problem back out of that pile. You'll be glad to take your own problem back than to have to deal with someone else's problem. Such a very true statement!

Off to tend to the chicks and the hen house....until later...

Millie's post op check up

2009-05-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

Steve returned to St. Louis yesterday all by his lonesome with Miss Millie for a her post op check up. This appointment is generally scheduled at the two week point. But since we live so far away, they pushed us out to three weeks to grant us a bit of a reprieve from driving back so soon. For that, we say thank you Team Dobbs!

Anyway, I released control and let Steve take Millie without me! I know, people are fainting and gasping for breathe all over the country! Yes, it is hard to believe that I let this happen. Especially after the night time diaper fiasco (a story for another time). I did this for two reasons. #1~Dear Daughter Number One had a special Mother's Day Program at her school on that exact day that I really needed to be at. I'm so very glad that I didn't miss it. I forgot my video camera, but I'm going to touch base with some other mothers to see if they have Elise on video. She didn't disappoint, "Tacky" was in rare form! #2~Dear Daughter Number Two has taken on a bit of a "tude" lately~not using her manners, throwing her food and toys and just being very nasty. Sleep has been lousy and I've resorted to moving Amelia to the spare bedroom so Elise can get a peaceful nights sleep. I'm happy to say that Millie is coming around to my way of thinking, but it's been ugly my friends. I have explained to her on several occasions that her condition does not give her a license to be rude and mean to everyone around her. I think she got the message.

So back to the important part~the appointment. Steve said that Dr. Dobbs is thrilled with Millies hips and the x-rays look great. We win the prize for the cleanest cast ever and they ranted and raved about how great her cast looked. I'm still scratching my head over that because I haven't done anything except for what they told me. But, whatever, I'll take the compliment.

THE CAST COMES OFF ON MAY 27TH!!!! I'm beside myself with glee! Yes, it comes off and she will have to wear a harness for a couple of weeks, but the cast is coming off at the six week mark, not seven weeks! I'm thrilled. I have to get the details on the harness, but I think it can be removed for bathing and hopefully she'll be able to get into the swimming pool for therapy!

Millie is thrilled and knows that we have reached the half-way point of living in Spicaville! We are on the down hill swing~yahoo!

Now if I can just get my teenager to quit stealing the wheelchair and ripping through the house in it~Millie really doesn't like sharing it with him :-)

Tummy Time....

2009-05-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

If you know anything about people that are wheelchair bound or in bed too long, you know all about the possibilities of skins sores, bed sores, etc.

Amelia spends a great deal of time on her bottom or back. The potential for skin breakdown is pretty high. If we keep her skin dry (thank goodness she's potty trained) and rotate her position, we should be able to keep her from getting any sores. She did get one while we were in the hospital, but it is all healed now.

Putting her on her tummy is a challenge thanks to the St. Louie Arch. But we manage to do so a couple of times a day for about 30 minutes each time. We pile up pillows on the floor or on the sofa and she watches a movie. Thirty minutes is about all she can stand at one time. The pics tell the story!

It's a good thing....

2009-04-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

we are finished with visits from the social worker. No too sure how this method for securing Millie into her favorite "big girl" chair would go over.

But as you can plainly see, she's THRILLED to be using it.

So what's a mother to do when she just wants to make her baby girl smile a little bit???

You do what I do and get out all of your belts and strap the little monkey in. It was a delightful dinner with her at the table in her own chair and not the wheel chair. She even feed herself for the most part!

It was a banner day for Millie Moo!

Spicaville~Day 13

2009-04-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

So here we are, 13 days in Spicaville and this is what I know:
1) Millie is losing weight. She weighs 30 pounds WITH the cast and she weighed 28 pounds at her 3 year appointment on 3/25/08. You can't tell this mother that cast only weighs 2 pounds~no sirree!
2) Can't get her outside in hot weather, which we have had in the 'Nati over the weekend. She gets way too hot and sweats way too much! I'm praying the weather cools off and we aren't struggling with the "I wanna go outside" tantrums.
3) Bathing and hair washing isn't so bad. We seem to have it down to a nice routine. Her cast is staying clean and dry~YOORAH!
4) Millies appetite is way off (see #1). We were warned that she would need to eat frequent, small meals. I could understand that if the cast was tight, but I can fit hand hands all the way through the cast now. So, I know it is not too tight. Looks like I'm going to have to start finding some high calorie things for her to ear~Lucky Girl!
5) She's sitting up straighter in the wheelchair which makes it easier to put her at the regular kitchen table. I have her strapped in with bright green luggage straps (thanks Joan!). She looks very colorful!
6) We are off the meds except for a little bit of Tylenol when she goes to bed at night. She's sleeping very well too~for that I am very thankful!
7) Millie's frustration level gets really bad when other kids are running around. This makes for difficult socializing with Elise and her friends. Still trying to sort that issue out.
8) Finally, I'd like to say we have a nice rhythm going here but the second I do that, it will all fall apart. So for now I will say we are doing pretty well.

Thanks to all my friends that are feeding us! It really does help~you just can't imagine how much I appreciate it.

Blowing bubbles with Baba

The Sweaty, Outdoor look

This girl LOVES water way too much!

Enjoying the deck with Mama

Enjoying a "tea party" at the kitchen table

Spicaville~Day 6

2009-04-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

It's our second full day at home, out of the mother's womb, if you will. Coming home is a horse of a different color when it comes for caring for a child that is spica cast bound. Fortunately, we have a wheelchair that we can use and it has been awesome for moving her around the first floor. Second floor, if rather challenging. Adaptability will be the key over the next six weeks.

On Sunday, we made the trip to Ikea in search of an adjustable height table so Millie can sit at something and play. I've seen where other families have made tables and things like that. But I just wasn't off for that. I know you're thinking, yeah, you just wanted to go to Ikea. I can't deny that. I LOVE IKEA! So we found a marvelous table and then I spotted the cutest sets of play dishes for the girls and I snatched those up. They love playing tea party and serving each other so I couldn't pass them up. Ikea tends to rotate their children's items and you never know if something will be there the next time you come through.

The table works great and Elise even got a hot pink chair that will roll up to the table too. Roll is the operative word right now. Elise wants to push Amelia while she's in the wheel chair. That would be fine if Elise could see over the top of the chair, but she tends to drift to one side or the other and I don't believe that Amelia really appreciates the constant jarring and whiplash that her sister is unknowingly inflicting upon her. Elise's chauffeur license has been revoked until a little more healing is done. But, Millie has decided that "she can do it" herself and pushes herself around in the wheelchair. Yep, not kidding, check out the "Smilebox", last page is a video. She was killin' me.

Millie did get sick last night right at bedtime and she spit up her medicine. I was hesitant to give her more and she went to bed without any. Big mistake!!!! When she woke up this morning, she was a pain and it took about 2 hours to get her settled back down. It's no fun catching up on the pain meds. That won't happen again. I'm happy to say that she's resting more comfortably now.

I had to go through the task of "petaling" the back of her cast. Petaling is lining the inside and the edges of the cast with waterproof tape for protection. It was impossible to get to certain areas while she was in the hospital because she was so very swollen. Needless to say, when I put her on her bell, I was able to put my hand almost the entire way into the cast~that's how swollen she was. Her skin was a little icky so I left her resting there for awhile to "air things out" and then I lined it with tape. The meds had kicked in so she rested comfortably for about an hour on her belly. I have to admit, the sucker bribe helped also.

Tucker has moved his PS3 to the family room while I was gone. He likes the picture better on the new TV~gee~ya think???? I see more of him now than I ever have. He is no longer a cellar dweller. His skin doesn't have the pale hue that I'm used to seeing. I guess it's from all the sunlight he's now getting. He has also claimed the bean bag chair that Steve and Elise got for Amelia~again, check out the Smilebox.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The real test....

2009-04-18T18:11:00.001-07:00

As I enjoy a most beautiful glass of "Four Sisters" in the kitchen of my home, I gaze upon my two beautiful daughters as they compete for attention and realize the real test is now beginning. Gone is the safety and security of the hospital womb~where our only requirement was to be available for the doctors, therapists and nurses whenever they would call. Life has kicked back in and all that entails.

The ride home was uneventful except for the pit stop at the local Walgreen's to be sure we had pain meds for the 6 hour drive home. Pain management is the key right now and Amelia is scheduled for pain meds every 4 hours. She got a dose right before we left so I knew that I needed to give her another dose sometime during the drive home. The nurses told me that I could move it out to six hours, but I respectfully declined that offer and said I preferred the four hour interval. After standing around for about 45 minutes in St. Louis Walgreen's, we hit the road.

Millie was a champ and even slept for over two hours, a first for her in the car at anytime during any trip. I finally reached back to make sure she was still breathing. Upon our arrival, Elise glanced up from her bowl of ice cream and just glanced in my direction. She then proceeded to devour her before dinner treat. No hi, no nothing! Can you feel what I'm thinking!?!?

Then the competition began....grabbing of the toys and no sharing of new toys...blah blah blah. I bring in the wheelchair and Elise thinks she is going to push it around the house like she does Mamaw's wheelchair. Chaos reigns my friends. I was thankful the bottle had a screw on top and I didn't have to mess with a cork!

I finally got Millie settled in her new, red bean bag and she sat there for a bit. She eventually asked for the wheelchair and I think she prefers the height it puts her at. Giggsey was licking her toes and I don't think she cared for that. Again, chaos!

There were gifts from family and friends and lots of silliness going on. But we are finally settling down and thinking of heading to bed.

Please continue to pray for our adjustment at home. It will be so different and a challenge, for that I am sure. Millie continues to be very pleasant and amiable about her position or lack there of. I just pray that continues as her sister taunts her in that ever so passive aggressive way that she has mastered at the age of five.

Let the test begin.....I'm off to the wine cave!

Bustin' Out

2009-04-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

WE'RE OUTTA HERE! That's right, we have officially been released. Millie slept like a champ. Wish I could say the same. All those stinkin' alarms on the probes that are attached to her kept going off all night. The nurse finally took pity and removed the IV~thank you God! Millie is ready to roll. She's had her hair washed and been bathed for as much as she can be. She's done her bathroom business, much to every one's delight and surprise and now she awaits her chariot. It should be arriving shortly.

Next Stop~the 'Nati. Where I hope and pray there is a lovely bottle of "Four Sisters" Chardonnay awaiting this happy mother of four!

Our God is awesome! I Praise His Name for allowing me the privilege of mothering these children. I Praise Him for the gift of knowledge that He has blessed the doctors at SLC. I Praise Him for the gift of compassion and caring He has blessed the nurses and caregivers at SLC. But mostly I Praise Him for you, my family and friends for your gifts of love, prayer and support during this time. The next six weeks will be interesting, but I'm more confident than every it will go fast and Millie will heal just fine.

C U soon!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Last night in St. Louie?????

2009-04-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

It was positively GORGEOUS in St. Louis today. I was chompin' at the bit to get outside. So as soon as Millie had her breakfast and breathing treatment, we loaded up and moved 'em out.

Transferring her to the wheelchair is a bit of a challenge but not too terribly difficult. She's still rather light~relatively speaking, so moving her isn't too bad. She's just very bulky! The biggest thing is the element of fear that crosses her face whenever I pick her up. I know this will pass as she heals more, but it still is something we have to be sensitive about.

As you can see the pictures, it was sunny on the 8th floor rooftop garden. But was it glorious, you betcha! The spring flowers were in full bloom and the air was so warm. I could have sat for hours in the swing, letting the sun warm my soul. I did pick Millie up and hold her for a bit in the swing. She was rather apprehensive, but she soon feel fast asleep as we gently swayed to and fro. It was so lovely.

The sun was so bright...

This is the swing....

After our little stroll, I headed over to Panera for a much craved sandwich and then we had ourselves a nice little nap. It's the first real nap either one of us have taken. I crawled into bed with her and we slept for almost two hours. It was bliss. I must have been tired because I don't normally sleep that close to anyone, let alone sleeping in a twin bed with a three year old in a spica cast. Millie clung to my arm the entire time.

As you can see from the photo, she's got her arms behind her head in total relaxation mode. She's back to her old self, chit chatting with everyone and singing her little songs. She even said she wanted to go home today.

Big, Cheesy Grin~A girl has to have her hairbow

We took an evening stroll around the hospital and visited the garden for another swing and headed to the ball roll machine by Dr. Dobbs office. It's just not a visit to SLC without a visit to the ball roll.

Pucker Up....

Evening in the Garden~Self-Portrait

The Ball Roll

Millie asked to go home today, so I know she's feeling better. We've stayed a bit longer than anticipated due to the fevers. But we've been 24 hours without one, so we are bustin' outta here in the morning. I'm not sure of our exact plans~travel could be precarious, so we could be slightly delayed. We'll determine that tomorrow. She is definitely feeling better, the swelling is down for the most part and only appears when she is in the wheelchair. I've had to ask for some manners because Miss Millie has gotten a little too used to being "served". I made her eat her own raisins today and she was mortified that I would even ask that of her. We shall see how long that attitude lasts once we're back in the 'Nati!

Thanks for all the healing prayers! Our Millie is a trooper! I can say "ours" because she belongs to all my prayer warriors out there too! Can't wait to get home. I've got the wheelchair, car seat , handicap permit and everything else that I think I'll need. Steve is gonna faint when he sees all this stuff.

Ruby slippers are on....{click, click}there's no place like home, there's no place like home

Oh where is my toothbrush????

2009-04-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

Do you know the Veggie Tales song, "Where is my hairbrush?"? Well, Amelia has modified it to sing "toothbrush" instead of hairbrush. Yesterday was a day of searching for comfort and safety for Amelia. She clung to my finger almost constantly all afternoon. If someone walked into the room, she said, "hold my hand!!!". After awhile, I couldn't stand or stretch any longer for her to cling to my finger. She received a book yesterday afternoon and clung to that with one hand. After I brushed her teeth, she decided to cling to the toothbrush with the other. So she slept, all night I might add, holding a Diego book in one hand and a toothbrush in the other. Bizarro~that's all I can say.

As you can see, she's much perkier this morning. She had a great night, no fevers~Praise God! She's resting comfortably and for that I am thankful. The night nurses were amazing~didn't even hear them in the room. Maybe they read my blog~they knew my plans and decided to steer clear? Who knows! I don't care, it was bliss.

The doctors are still puzzled about the fevers since it is the only thing that keeps popping up. Her lungs are still clear, but she still gets the breathing treatments. We skipped the 4 a.m. treatment for obvious reasons. So we are due for another one very shortly. They may give her an antibiotic, but I hope not. Just praying the fever stays down.

Today's goal is to get her system moving...if you know what I mean. This will be problematic for Millie since she's potty trained and doesn't like going in her diaper. If she asked me once last night, she asked me 50 times if she could pee in her pants. Just imagine what's going through her mind to do the other. Poor little thing.

It's beautiful in St. Louie! We're heading to the 8th floor garden as soon as possible. I gotta get outside.

Thursday evening

2009-04-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

Another eventful and interesting day her in St. Louie! Fortunately, we don't have Nurse Cratchet tonight~good thing~I think I would have had words with her tonight. Or maybe I could take her down with a one-legged shot for (2)~put her in a cradle for some back points and then "pretend" I can't hold it and let her go, then I could throw her in a head & arm for another take down and pin her for the win! YEA! Or maybe not~maybe I could just ream her out, like I'm really good at!

Anyhoo, I'm back from my dream world now. We put Millie in a wheel chair today and she did great. But when we moved her back to the bed, all the swelling started up again~UGH! Poor little butterball! First the right side started to swell and then the left side followed. Then the fever started spiking again. But the good thing was that we had a visitor today, Nel the Dalmatian! Millie was thrilled. She kept yelling, "I like Giggsey!" Well, Giggsey is our dog at home and Millie does love him to pieces. It was so lovely to see a dog. Nel was so docile, not like our Giggs! But nice just the same.

Millie and Nel

Nel is a Superstar!

The parade of doctors, nurses, therapists, etc started and didn't seem to stop until around 5:30 p.m. The epidural was removed around noon and she's been on oral pain meds since then. We're staying on top of the pain and keeping the meds in her. She's a little shaky, but all in all, she's doing pretty well. There was a pressure sore on her back and we have to make sure she stays off of that now~so she's always laying to one side.

The temp keeps spiking, but we don't know why. They took another chest x-ray and it looks the same as yesterday. It's too early for there to be an infection. So they are running some cultures and we will know more tomorrow. Breathing treatments have been moved to every six hours~thank goodness. At least I won't have to square off with a nurse tonight about getting a treatment at 2 in the morning :-).

We have a nice, new wheelchair that was delivered to our room today. These folks don't waste anytime. I did fold and request a handicap sticker for my car. I hate doing that, but I think I'm going to need it. So we are getting that too. The only piece of equipment we are waiting on is the car seat. I'm hoping to see that tomorrow.

She's resting nicely this evening. One more breathing treatment before lights out. She wants to be holding my hand constantly and it's a bit uncomfortable. So I've passed off a toothbrush to her to give my arm a bit of a break. Her eyes are almost closed and she is totally fighting going to sleep.

Praying that her night is restful since she will be off the epidural and praying we can keep the temperature down!

Zai Jian!

Day 3 morning update....

2009-04-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last night was a little rough as you read from the previous post. Fortunately, the Valium calmed her down and she was able to rest.

The swelling was making it difficult for the Pain Management Team to see the epidural site. The following photos are of poor little Millie on her tummy, if you will, while they are trying to check the epidural.

With the aid of a few pillows, she's on her belly

Nurse Becky trying to calm Millie

Two sets of hands have to be better than one.

I had to stop a take a few photos of her in this position....it's not funny, but it is, if you know what I mean. I have affectionately dubbed the bar between her legs as "The St. Louis" arch. I asked them if they did them that way in St. Louis. It did solicit a bit of a smile from the doctor when I asked.

The Hilljacker in me almost came out last night with the evening nurse. We have had exceptional care and amazing nurses and staff...until last night. Last nights nurse kept taking her blanket away from her because she was running a fever...I thought my head was going to explode. Naturally, I promptly put the blanket right back where it belonged. Everyone knows how well I "filter" to begin with. I hope we don't have the same nurse tonight. If we do, I'll have to ask for another one. I don't really want a confrontation, but she drove me crazy...flipping on the lights in the middle of the night, moving way to slowly and taking the blanket away. Good Night Mrs. Calabash! The final straw was at 5 a.m. when I woke up to Millie saying, "I need my blankie!" I stumbled out of the incredibly comfortable bed ;-) only to find Amelia, lying in the bed, partially diapers, with no pillows to prop her up, no blankie to cling to and no nurse in site. YOWSA...you probably heard the sonic boom at your house. I determined that her bed pad was wet and needed to be changed. So I took one out of the closet and proceeded to change the pad and put her diaper back on. Well, I guess the nurse was searching for a clean pad, but didn't even look in our closet to see if one was available. I politely informed her that I found it, along with several others, in the room linen closet :-). I don't know if she caught my sarcasm or not. But the mere fact that she didn't return to the room before shift change tells me she did.

Millie is still getting a breathing treatment every four hours for now. They make take another chest xray to see how her lungs look. But so far, so good!

The epidural will be turned off (but not removed) in a little bit and she will be going on oral pain meds. This will be the ultimate test. She has not complained one little bit about pain up to this point.

Breakfast was a little better and she had some milk too. The swelling is down dramatically today, but the cast is still tight. Dr. Dobbs nurse, Kristina and his office assistant, Mary stopped by. I love these two woman, they are amazing and awesome! Kristina concurred that the cast is tight and said she will talk to Dr. Dobbs and bring him back up today. Like I said, they are amazing.

The wheelchair and car seat are being worked on for the trip home. I didn't realize they would give us a wheelchair to use. I'm pretty excited about that! I've worried a bit about how to move her about the house. So, lots of prayers are being answered!

Good morning! I'm less puffy today!

There's that beautiful smile that I so adore!

Bubbles are being requested and who am I to deny that??? So we're off for now. I'm sure this evenings post will be interesting since we will be adjusting to new pain meds.

Evening update...

2009-04-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

So this afternoon and tonight has been quite a bit more eventful.

Amelia ended up getting a blood transfusion. We knew this could be a possibility, but was hoping it would not happen. But her counts were low, she was still running a temp and she's swollen and look like a Sumo wrestler. Her eyes are mere slits in her face :-). We watched a movie together and she liked that. I wish I could hold her but it's rather awkward right now with the cast, tubing etc. Hopefully, they'll remove some things tomorrow and we can get a little closer.

The epidural is hidden under her cast which is very tight from the swelling. The pain management team is having a time trying to determine if the site is o.k. since they can't see it because of the cast. Three doctors were in her room this evening around 6 p.m. trying to decide whether to cut the cast and relieve some of the pressure on her lungs so she could breath a bit easier. After much debate and determining the best places to cut the cast, one of the doctors left to get the cast saw. When he returned, he informed the other two doctors that he phoned Dr. Dobbs and Dobbs said NOT to cut the cast. The look on the other doctor's face was priceless, especially when he said, "You called Dobbs?" "I was just gonna cut the cast and take the heat." I could literally smell the testosterone flowing in the room. Hopefully the swelling will be down and we won't have to worry about cutting the cast. But watching that exchange was worth a thousand dollars~I was looking for the popcorn and considering following them down the hall and see what transpired between them~I'm thinking "Grey's Anatomy" type of sage. O.K., I watch too much TV~sorry!

Her behavior is rather erratic this evening. She is very jerky, probably from muscle spasms. Sleep is not coming easy for her either. I asked for something to relax her, but they have not brought her anything. She has also tried to pluck her IV out of her hand~that wasn't a pretty moment for either one of us.

Praying that tomorrow the swelling is down, the temp stays down and we can get off this floor. Leaving the floor means taking out the epidural~that means pain management will change. Lots to think about there. She wants me to sleep with her, but that's not possible right now. She breaks my heart when she says, "I get down now?"

Well, our good neighbor, Valium, is on the way. The nurse told me to get in bed with her until she settles down. This outta be cozy!!!! Wish I could send a pic, but it's just me and her!

Good night!

Good Morning~First Day Post Op

2009-04-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

We had a restful night~gotta love that epidural!

She's having some breathing issues this morning~had a chest x-ray~lots of doctors checking on her. She had a breathing treatment, IPPB (intermittent positive pressure breathing), every four hours for 10 minutes. It's not her favorite thing, but she hangs tough.

There has been a parade of doctors in and out since about 6 a.m. A host of pediatricians stopped in and talked about her lungs. There is a place on the left side that appears to be either slightly collapsed or may be the beginnings of an pneumonia~hence the breathing treatments. We're praying it's neither and she's just struggling with the cast coming up so far on her rib cage.

She's eating o.k., but not much. I'm happy to report that there has been no "throw-up" since last night. All of her blankets are washed and back in use. But the craziest thing is the heated shower cap with shampoo in it that they gave me to wash the "ick" out of her hair. It was so cool. I put it on her head like a shower cap, scrubbed her hair around inside it, dried the hair and voila~the hair is clean. I can't tell you what a relief it was. All I could imagine was smelling barf in her hair all week~yeh, that just wasn't gonna work for me. It really is amazing the things they have available to use today. I wouldn't mind having a few of those shower caps for when I'm camping~don't suppose I could get any of those at Bass Pro or REI do you???? Then there's how much do those things really cost~I'll be checking the hospital bill and let you know.

She's still pretty swollen, but we've moved her around today. I even put her in a wheel chair and pushed her around the hall. We were not permitted to leave the floor since she still has the epidural. Which was a pity since it's beautiful here today. Hopefully, we'll hit the garden tomorrow sometime. She's resting over on her side right now and hopefully she'll blow some bubbles this afternoon. Right now we have her propped up on her side and she's watching "The Little Mermaid".

I'm hoping she'll nap a little and so will I. Seems like we've been going since 6 a.m., oh yeah, we have been. I also fell victim to the gift shoppe balloon trap~yep, I grabbed the Dora balloon and when I went to pay for it my eyes fell out of my head when she said $10~YOWSA! Thank you please, may I have another???? But she loves the balloon and holds on to it whenever I will let her.

Ronald McDonald House has a very nice facility on the 5th floor with food, lounge chairs, computers, showers and washers/dryers. I stopped by but ended up using the hospital laundry to wash the blankets. It's very nice up there though.

We're hanging tough. Thanks for the prayers. She doesn't complain at all. Her only issue is when we move the bed, it tends to scare her and winces a little. But she never says she hurts.

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Post surgery update....

2009-04-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

We're in our room and settling in. I have my slippers on and I'm all "connected". Here's what the doctor told me after the surgery:

"Recovery room ~ listening to the IPod"

"The Wiggles are the artists of choice"

Dr. Dobbs only performed the femoral osteotomies. He was so pleased with the position of the femur in the hip socket, that he didn't feel she needed the pelvic osteotomy at this point in time. There was not a great deal of blood loss so she did not need a transfusion. They will continue to monitor her blood counts in case that changes. So, the entire procedure went very well.

When I was heading into recovery to see her, they were coming after me. I guess she was having a bit of a meltdown and wanted her mama! Go figure~bless her heart. I quickly put the IPod earphones in and she quietly listened to The Wiggles. Then she wanted me to take her IV out of her hands and "get down".

They quickly moved her into a room, by herself~hoorah! I don't have a photo of the cast yet. I'll get that tomorrow~but it is purple.

I have her all snuggled in with her favorite blankets and big ole Dora balloon. She's resting very comfortably with her epidural and really only wants the IVs out.

Right now, she's watching "The Jungle Book" and eating some dinner. She's had a Popsicle and some soda. We will see how dinner goes.

Last, but not least, Steve and Elise are headed back to the 'Nati. Elise decided she needed to relax and watch TV just like Amelia was doing...like I said, she doesn't share the throne very well. Steve just phoned me a bit ago and said Elise was "out like a light".

Thank you for lifting us up. Tomorrow is cast care training. That should be a barrel of fun!

Until tomorrow~signing off from St. Louis~

Waiting.....

2009-04-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

"Getting her arm squeezed"

"In her hospital gown"

We arrived at the hospital at around 5:45 a.m. and started the check in process. We have our own, personal waiting room within the surgery waiting arrive. We can close our door and shut out the world, it's rather nice. They called us to the back at around 6 a.m. and began that process. We waited about another hour, talked to anaesthesiology and decided on an epidural for pain management.

The girls played around in the play room~Amelia was way too cute in her too-big hospital PJs.

Watching TV while waiting for the doctor

Hanging out in the playroom while waiting...

"Once last joy ride"

Drs. Wells working on patient Wells

Mom...getting the surgery details from the doctor

Finally, we talked to Dr. Dobbs at around 7:15, right after Amelia got the Versit (sp???). He explained that he will be doing the femoral osteotomies and then check to see if she will need the pelvic osteotomies. So we won't know until it's all over. They rolled her away without a hitch except for the one in my throat~she's a warrior, my little Millie Moo.

They have called from surgery a couple of times and things are going well. They have completed one side and have started on the other. She's been in there since about 8:30 a.m. ~about 2.5 hours. I'll keep everyone posted.

Our hero...Dr. Dobbs

Medicine has kicked in and she's just waiting to go.

Elise has been around to both gift shops and to Barnes and Noble. She is currently visiting the sibling play room with her father. She's doing great for someone who does not like to share the spotlight ;-).

12:30 p.m. UPDATE: Femoral and Pelvic Osteotomies complete! All went well. They are now putting her in the dreaded Spica Cast~that will take another 45 minutes. Now we wait for the doctor.

THANKS for the prayers~they are keeping things moving smoothly.

Finally here....

2009-04-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, tomorrow is Amelia's surgery. Naturally, there were a few hiccups in the original plan, but we are here, home is taken care of and now we try to sleep. I left the teenager in his Aunt's very capable hands. But guilt ridden, I baked him some brownies this morning before I left. You would have thought I left hims $1000. He must have thanked me twenty times. Then when I told him that I had scheduled his swim test for Northern Tier, he was Over-The-Top in love with me. Sometimes, I ROCK, but not very often. So goes the life of the mother of a teenager.

We have successfully made the trek to St. Louie without any a hitch. The girls enjoyed videos on the way here. Elise is capable enough to run the remote by herself, which she informed me of on numerous occasions.

I was more than happy to relinquish the reigns to that task. It's just not so easy for a woman of my age to reach into the back seat, try to look up and figure out what's going on with the overhead video player.

My little girl is growing up...not sure how I really feel about that.

We checked into a corner room-Yea! and proceeded with "The Breaking In of the Beds". Yes, the bed jumping began and ensued until we left the room for dinner. We went to a wonderful Irish Pub and stuffed ourselves. It was fabulous. The girls were free to roam a bit after spending so much time in the car and we enjoyed a libation or two. The only pitfall~Missouri still allows smoking~but we found a nice place that wasn't too bad for smoke. Thanks for the suggestion Patricia!

So now all the chicks are bathed and tucked into bed. We have to arrive at 6 a.m. St. Louis time~YIKES! I should be sleeping, but I thought I'd blog first. Steve is asleep with Millie and I get to sleep with the "Tooth grinder", better get out my earplugs! Should be a restful night ;-).

Good night from St. Louis!

Happy Birthday Girl

2009-03-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, the 15th was my precious Millie Moo turned three years old. It's hard to believe at times, but then I hear her talking away and it hits me like a ton of bricks, she isn't a baby anymore.

Steve woke her up and I could hear her shouting...."It's my birthday! It's my birthday!" Her excitement has been building since Elise's birthday last month. Everyday, when her daddy walks in she shouts, "Happy birthday!" It doesn't matter that it isn't her birthday or anyone elses, she just LOVES shouting it.

So I was treated to a day of Amelia singing "Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you." (she never gets to the "Dear Millie" part) incessantly.

We started the day off at the doctors office getting her physical (Jei Jei wasn't that lucky...she got two shots). Millie weighed in at 28.5 lbs (26th percentile) and is 35 inches tall (6th percentile). I think the doctor measured her at 33 and I remeasured her at home because I thought that was a little off. Turns out I was right.

We dropped Elise off at preschool and then we went to pick out the cake. Amelia picked out a "bus" cake much to the dismay of her sister who wanted her to pick out the Penguin cake. Then we began the search for her personal "Princess Birthday Crown". Luckily, we located one at odd lots and she promptly popped it on her head for the remainder of the day.

While she napped, Elise and I hung up balloons all around the kitchen table~she was thrilled at all the "birthday balloons"! Then she smiled and sang along with us when we sang Happy Birthday. She was more excited about the birthday cards than the gifts and she gladly let Elise help unwrap the gifts. I have never had a child be so completely and totally excited about having a birthday.

She was such a total joy on this day. My little sweetie that loves Max and Ruby and The Little Mermaid. She runs around the house with her magic wand shouting "Make it Pink" from Sleeping Beauty and still has a hard time using her manners. When she says, "I love you mom mom", my heart melts. I love when she hugs me and pats my back or rubs my hair. She wants so much to do everything for herself, but still struggles with some things that most three year olds handle easily. I know this surgery will hit her hard and I'm praying that her little spirit will prevail when she's stuck in the body cast for six weeks.

What a gift she has been to our family. Thank you God for choosing me to be her mom mom.

Happy Birthday Amelia SiYuan Wells~you make me want to be a better mom!

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Potty Training Bootcamp

2009-03-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

Since Amelia will be in a Spica cast for six weeks, we determined that it would be prudent and more healthful if she were potty trained. Mind you, she's being pooing in the potty for well over nine months. Yes, that's right, poo. But tinkling is another ball game. Not let me clarify a few things. It was very easy for me to pick up on her "morning constitution", so I started sitting her on the potty. Voila~she easily finished up her business. But she just started telling me in the past month that she needed to go potty. So potty she did. After her original surgery date was canceled, I call the nurse and discussed potty training Amelia. She said it would be very advantageous and help deter skin breakdown if she wasn't in a diaper.

I have dreaded this...potty training. I had a bad feeling about it, thought it would be a real battle with Millie. She can be pretty stubborn...this isn't one of those things you want to be doing battle over~going to the potty. So my preference was to wait until she really wanted to do it herself. So much for what I want!

I bargained, promised and threatened and Boot Camp began last week.Now let me give you the rules of Boot Camp.

1) You are allowed to sleep in a diaper/pullup and said item is permitted to be wet after naps and such.

2) You get one pair of panties a day. If you wet in the panties then you lose your pants and have to wear a long shirt the remainder of the day.

3) If you are wearing only a long shirt, you must stay on the kitchen floor since it is hardwood and not carpeted.

Simple rules! Easy to follow! So we began boot camp on February 21st. Amelia had one accident a day until Friday, February 28th. Then she decided that is was no fun to lose the pants and have to wear the shirt and stay in the kitchen. So, she is now dry for three straight days and going to the potty without me asking.

I guess that means she is officially potty trained. I have to say that I'm so very proud of her. She can't climb up on the regular toilet due to lack of muscle tone and control of her legs. So I brought in the little potty seat that we never used for Elise. This allows the girls the opportunity for "Group Potty Time". They say a pictures says a thousand words, so I leave you with that...a thousand words...
I realize this maybe inappropriate for the internet, but I thought it was kinda cute ;-)

Long overdue Update...

2009-02-28T10:08:00.001-08:00

CHINESE NEW YEAR~2009

Do you ever put something off for so long and then when you finally get around to it, you feel so guilty for putting it off that you put if off even longer? Well, that's what has happened to me. I put off updating and then I continue to put if off because I don't know where to begin and the vicious cycle continues.

So here I am, updating you on Amelia.

The casts came off without a hitch and her feet look terrific. Her toes even look different, long and straight. The doctor put Amelia in these walking shoes~rather cumbersome~that would give her support and help her walk. They warned us that her feet would be very sensitive and she might not walk for a couple of weeks with the shoes. It would be hard for them to predict how long it would be before she would walk barefoot.

So we put the boots on her and she even slept in them. After about 24 hours (if it was even that long), Amelia was stomping around the house in those cumbersome shoes like nobodies business. Within 48 hours, she chucked the boots and opted for her AFOs and regular shoes and she started wearing her Dobbs brace again. She hasn't looked back.

Gaining back her strength was our priority and fortunately, she did not revert back to some of her bad habits from before. It wasn't long before she was back to the same p0int as she was before the surgery.

During physical therapy, the therapist discovered that Amelia had a limb difference of about 1/2 inch~which is rather significant. Most people have some sort of slight difference in their legs, but not 1/2 inch. So we returned to St. Louis with this information seeking advice from Dr. Dobbs.

Steve and I both went this time~we did a power trip. Thankfully the weather held out and we didn't have to reschedule. Dr. Dobbs examine Amelia's feet and was very happy with how they look. We were thankful for that~so off to x-ray we went to get her legs evaluated.

We returned to the room and waited~the techs came back and said they needed to isolate her hips. My stomach churned because I had a strange feeling I knew what was coming next. When Dr. Dobbs returned to the room he informed us that she did not have a limb difference, Amelia has congenital hip dysplasia! I know about hip dysplasia, I've followed two families journeys as they have adopted daughters from China with the same issue.

My heart just aches for Amelia as we await surgery in April to repair her hips. At this point we know that she will need bi-lateral femoral osteotomies and there will probably be surgery on her pelvis. We just aren't sure of the pelvis yet. The surgery will address all the issues when we return. She will be in a Spica cast for 6 weeks~yippee. We have been prepping her for the surgery and the cast. I don't believe that she understand that it will be a body cast and not leg casts. I don't think she will be very happy.

We covet your prayers as we move forward with Amelia's surgery and recovery. Millie has the heart of a loin and I know she will be fine. It will just be so difficult for her to be completely immobile for six weeks after finally getting her feet flat on the ground. I worry about the pain she will be in. The hospital stay is several days long~another logistic nightmare of us. But we will enlist the help of family and friends and come through with flying colors, I'm sure of that.

I have loads of photos from Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm working on a slide show to post....keep watching!

One week left....

2008-11-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

In just one week, the final set of casts will come off. I can hardly believe it, but I'm so ready for that day to come. I'm actually releasing control and I'm going to let Steve return to St. Louis without me. Can you believe it? I'm going to stay home and attend some wrestling "stuff" with Tucker. He actually has his body fat assessment on that day and I don't want to miss it for fear of the outcome being bad. I don't think it will be bad, but I just want to be there.

So to think that in one week Amelia will have her first "real" bath in just over eight weeks, or is it nine? Who's counting anyway. I keep talking to her about it and she doesn't seem to really care.

She's adjusted to the short-legged casts pretty well. She doesn't care for the "shoes" and takes them off now. I just let her go and tell her that she'll just have to slip and slide around if she' doesn't want to wear them. Right now she's standing up on the hardwood floors playing at the vanity so she seems to have adapted just fine.

I'm working on getting things decorated for Christmas....trying to stay ahead of the game! HA HA HA HA HA....I crack myself up!

Holy Baptism

2008-11-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

After two cancellations, trying to arrange numerous schedules and not being successful, we finally had Amelia baptised on September 21, 2008. We schedule this event two times before and had to cancel both for various reasons, surgeries, casting etc. I decided I'd like to get it done before the casting and surgery this fall and set out to find a date. Unfortunately, Matthew was away at school, so we had to go forward without him. We have three amazing pastors at our church, so I never have a preference on who does the baptism. I just call the office, ask for dates only, no pastor schedules and we get who we get. Well, it seems that of all the times, our extension pastor, Jenn Lucas, was going to be at the main campus on this date and she performed the baptism. It was lovely and a long time coming. Amelia did very well and Elise was a little more than chagrined that she was not up on the big screen in front of the congregation. Fortunately, the very last photo was one of both of the girls at the beach, it's one of my favorite photos of them and I'm so happy they included it in the slide show.

We had the family come to the house afterwards for a nice brunch and it was a perfectly lovely day. We even had a few friends stop by to congratulation our girl.

So Amelia has had her first sacrament. I will continue to pray that she will experience many more.

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Look at me....return trip to St. Louis

2008-11-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

We just returned from good ole St. Louie and Amelia is now in her final set of casts. Hallelujah and Praise the Lord!!! This set is short-legged and she is now allowed to bear weight.

Elise wanted to go back to St. Louis so badly, so she went along this time. Fortunately, I was blessed to have my sister accompany me on the trip. I'm a brave woman, some might even say fearless, but traveling the six hours, alone, with two toddlers, is not my idea of fun or smart. So, the four of us piled in "Betty" (the name of my Envoy), and off we went.

Traveling this time of year is different. By the time we arrived in St. L, it was already dark and raining~yulk. We checked in and decided to venture out of the hotel and by pass Applebees for dinner. We trudged down Euclid and found a nice Pasta House, ate a delicious dinner with a lovely glass of wine and headed back to the hotel for some serious "bed jumping". Yes, that's right. Elise only wants to come along to jump on the hotel beds. I don't allow that sort of shenanigans at home, but someone else's bed is just fine to jump on. She had a little trouble getting her groove on and the first jump found her bouncing on to the second bed with too much momentum and hitting the wall. Couldn't help but laugh at that one. She quickly regrouped, reduced the height of her first bounce and landed the second bounce with a perfect 10. Amelia cheered her on since she could only sit on the bed and observe.

Once again, we had the "strategic" 7:30 a.m. appointment~no waiting~and went directly into a room when we arrived. Amelia starts to get a little weary since she knows the casts are going to be cut off. Mind you, the saw just makes a great deal of noise but it won't cut her. The gentlemen who was doing the cutting is so very nice and does an excellent job. As I sat on the table with her, I started to ponder the possibility that there may be things shoved down into those casts. Over the past week, Elise has caught Amelia storing various items down in her casts. I've retrieved a puzzle piece and a few other toys. I prayed there was nothing embarrassing down there. Fortunately, all that come out of one cast was a tootsie roll wrapper. She was probably trying to hide the evidence. It made for a pretty light moment.

Next came the tough part...removing the "buttons". I've renamed the buttons, discs. There is no way that huge, bump-of-a-thing, can be called a button. Silly me, thought they would just come in and snip the stitches and remove it. Ha~ Silly Me, is right. As I sat on the table, with Amelia between my legs, holding her feet up, the resident doctor just YANKED the first button off. I was shocked, so was Amelia. Fortunately, it happened so quickly, there wasn't much time for a reaction. She whimpered very so slightly, but continued to eat her goldfish. Then came the second foot. This one didn't work out so well. He couldn't pull the stick out. So he sat there, pulling and tugging on that "button" while I held her foot up. Amelia was whaling, Elise was crying and had to leave the room and things were starting to get a little dicey for me. Finally, he had the good sense to realize that stitch wasn't coming out and he cut it close to the foot. After he left the room, I had to head to the sink and get a nice, cold cloth to drape across the back of my neck. Candy said I was looking a little peeky.

After the drama, I took a baby wipe and cleaned her little toes, the toes that have been couped up in those darn casts for over six weeks now. Her skin was flaky and instantly started to fall off around her. Amelia started removing the larger pieces her self. As I cleaned her toes, I gently massaged her legs and took notice of her feet. I was thrilled with how straight they looked! It was is an amazing difference.

Now she is in short legged casts with blue velcro shoes and she is allowed to stand and try to walk. To say the least, her legs are very weak. But she's already standing and trying to take some steps. The casts are heavy and the shoes are bulky, but she is so very excited. The first time she stood up she smiles, looked up at me and say..."Look at me! I'm standing!" My heart exploded for her. Her spirit is amazing and her determination will be the force that has her running by summer time.

It's good to be home and sleep in my own bed. Steve is returning in two weeks to have the final set of casts and I plan on staying home. During the return trip~I finally figured out that I have been to St. Louie eight times this year. I guess I've been so caught up in the day-to-day work, that I just wasn't thinking about how many times I've driven there. Or maybe I'm just in a state of denial~a place I like to go to cope with stressful situations. I always return from denial, it just takes me some time. I'm giving up control and letting Steve do this trip. I will be hard for me, but I'm going to do it! Pray for me ;-)

Enjoy the trip pics. I've also included a video of Amelia doing a somersault in her casts. Nothing stops her. She can't wait to join Elise in dance class~won't that be a hoot!!!

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Somersaults:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSr-3YcBiuk

Button, button, who's got the button????

2008-10-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

Another trip down and a few more to go. Amelia's casts were changed this week and she got a new set. She wasn't suppose to get the casts completely changed, was only suppose to get a fiberglass overwrap. But between the two of us, we destroyed the old ones.

I love Dr. Dobbs' nurse, Kristina. I was feeling pretty bad about my motherly responsibilities when it came to keeping these casts in tact until she told me a few of her "worse" cast stories. After the the stories about fly larva, cockroaches and cast removal with a steak knife, I was feeling pretty good about myself.

The very nice gentleman with the saw came in and I had to sit on the table with Amelia and hold her. This requires that I sit behind her and straddle her. Thank goodness I can still sit that way! She's so dramatic...she whimpers the entire time he is sawing, but she can still eat a pretzel. Go figure!

He removed the top part of the cast and I was able to see her legs. Poor thing! She's lost all of her muscle tone, they are dry and itchy and kind of dark. I massaged them for her but was not allowed to put any lotion on them since that can lead to skin break down. Millie was still doing pretty well with everything~no drama~YET! Then they took the legs out of the bottom of the casts and she freaked out over the sutures on the top of her feet. "Look Mama! Look!" She kept repeating and pointing. Then came the bottom of her foot and seeing the "button" for the first time. I have a picture in my mind of a "button", a very small button on the bottom of my child's very small foot. I've got one word~YOWSA! That's some heavy duty button on her feet. IT'S HUGE!

All in all, everything looked pretty good. One of the sutures on the left foot looked a little infected so they treated that and the skin looked pretty good. No harm done this time. We just have to stay really dry for the next 2 1/2 weeks. They recasted her and put bright pink fiberglass on her legs. The button stands out on the bottom of her casted feet, and appears as a rather large bump. She's still not allowed to walk or stand and frankly I don't think she'll have the desire with that gigantic button on the bottom of her foot. The next set of casts will be short legged and walking casts! HOORAH! We're on the down hill side now~or at least I like to think so.

I have to admit, her attitude is amazing and she doesn't seem to be too worse for wear. She's a trooper, my Millie Moo!

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Two weeks down....two~four weeks to go

2008-10-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

We've gotten through our first two weeks with the casts, but not without incident. I can't blame it all on Amelia~I'm also to blame.

Relaxing in the hotel before dinner...she's very comfortable!

Sorry, I just can't seem to handle the sponge baths~that's what I'm suppose to be sticking to but I have failed as a mother in that department. She just gets so very dirty some days and I can't help myself. I bought two bags that were specifically made to cover a cast to keep them dry while bathing. So I put the bags over the casts, sit her on a stool in the tub (so she's not submerged) and give her a nice bath. Well, nice compared to a sponge bath (my grandmother called it another kind of bath ;-). But those bags don't work very well if there are holes in them, which I discovered on Monday night when I removed them after my version of a "sponge bath". Needless to say, the cast was very wet.

So, long story, very short...Amelia will be getting those casts replaced tomorrow in St. Louis by Dr. Dobbs nurse since between the two of us, we have destroyed them. Amelia played a pretty active part in this little incident too. For instance, she lays on her back, stick her legs up in the air, puts her hands down in the casts, by her toes and pulls on them. I've tried to capture this on film but have not been able to so far. We won't go into the break dancing and log rolling that she performs for people when she wants to show off. I'll also leave out the fact that she decided to crawl down the concrete drive a few times leaving a lovely trail of white plaster of paris.

Waiting for her "sponge bath", no one should be able to lay like that...especially with those casts!

So you see, it's not just me being a germ-o-phob mom, Amelia's done her fair share of destruction too! I had to re tape the casts within the first three days home due to all the crawling she was doing!

I've taken several trips to St. Louis with just Millie (yes, Millie!). Let me digress for a moment. We tend to give nicknames in the Clevenger family...every one's name seems to morph into something other than their Christian name. So Amelia has gone from Amealwah, to Mealwah, to Millie to Millie Moo. I know it sounds korney, but I love calling her Millie Moo. She does not like to be called by her Chinese name and will shout "NO", when I call her Yuan Yuan. But she likes Millie! Go figure!

Back to the trips. I decided to try the trip on our own and was delighted at the outcome. I was blessed to see a different side of my daughter when she was by herself. We were able to bond in a new way and I fell in love with a child that I had not seen before. So when people say that children act differently when they are without their siblings, I couldn't agree more. So, I've taken this opportunity to travel alone and get to know my Millie Moo in a different way. It's been such a blessing!

Next time I'll have to ask for two double beds...how am I suppose to sleep in a king size bed with her sleeping like that? I'm sure I'll figure out something. After all, I am the mother!

She's sleeping now and I'm heading that direction. We have the early appointment tomorrow and will be back on the road to home ASAP. It's a power trip, but worth every minute! I can't wait to see what color casts we leave with. Hopefully it will be pink or blue and we'll skip the orange this time.

You signed up for this....(my rant for the day)

2008-10-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

"You signed up for this!" or "This is what you wanted!"

These are things that I hear quite frequently when it comes to my adopted daughters. Let's face it, there are times when I'm overwhelmed and tired, sad and frustrated, crazy and mad. All very normal, natural feelings for any mother. But it seems that since my daughters are adopted, I don't have a right to feel this way according to some people. According to them, I should not vent my feelings concerning anything to do with them~particularly anything that may seem bad. It's almost as if feeling anything but pure, unadulterated love and jubilation in the fact that I have these two little girls is simply not allowed. Talk about sending someone on a serious guilt trip...this mentally send me right to the "express lane", "Do not pass go, go straight to martyrdom".

Before I go any further in this rant, let's get a few things straight. I LOVE my children, all four of them. I would lay my life on the line for anyone of them. I would go to the ends of the earth to provide for them the things that they truly need to be healthy and successful. There is no difference in any of them. But they are different; not one of them share a single strand of DNA! The girls share a mother and father, but not a birth mother and father. The boys are a product of both of our previous marriages~not related in any way. So you see, all four of my children are siblings through marriage, adoption and the love the Jesus Christ. But do you think anyone says anything like this to me when I vent about my son or stepson? Of course not...who would even thing of saying anything about that? Everyone knows how difficult teenagers and step children can be, but adopted children must be different, right??? WRONG, right now, my daughter is lying in her bed pitching a ROYAL fit because she doesn't want to take a nap that she so desperately needs after having surgery last week. But according to some people, I should just smile and be content with her misbehaving because I chose to adopt her. This type of behavior should not frustrate me one little bit. Things that make you go "Hmmmmm????"

This brings me to an even bigger problem (at least from my perspective). Many people in our society don't want to deal with those "bad" feelings. If you are feeling bad, you must have something wrong with you, so go to the doctor and get a pill to fix it. Please take note, that I know and believe that mental illness is a very real and painful issue. I would never begrudge anyone that seeks help for any medical condition. BUT, I also believe there are far to many people out there that are just popping a pill because society doesn't want to see any sadness or anger or any of those emotions that just make some people uncomfortable. I can't believe that it is healthy for a person's mental and physical being to not experience any and all emotions. To mask those emotions with a pill seems risky to me.

I have a few EX-friends that believe that because I simply express my emotions (good, sad, mad or indifferent), makes me bi-polar. That's right~bi-polar. Ask me where they got their medical degrees and I'd have to say they simple read one of those wonderful self-help books and decided that since I didn't fit into what THEY believe to be normal behavior, I'm mentally ill. We won't go in to the fact that they are living in loveless, self-serving marriages that are held together simple because they don't have the courage to face the tough and difficult issues and they don't want their Christians friends to think they are anything but perfect. Or that they chooses to limp through life pretending their families and lives are perfect, when I know for a fact that they aren't. I'm not advocating divorce or anything like that, but let's me REAL. People in glass houses should NEVER throw stones and these people have a catapult inside their home. As for me, you get the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. A spades, a spade to me baby. And I'm gonna tell you that. If that makes me mentally ill, then so be it. I'd rather be that than a fake. Because faking something ALWAYS catches up to you~sooner or later.

Another point, do you think these same people that say these things to me, say them to the parents that give birth to a biological child that has special needs? Oh, I think not, that would be so POLITICALLY incorrect! They would never say that to a biological family! They would offer support and empathize~never say, "Hey, you new the risk when you decided to give birth to this baby!" Just burns my backside when I think about it. Of course I knew my daughter had club feet. Did I know it was atypical clubfeet (in about 2-3% of clubfoot cases), with nerve damage in both legs? Did I know that she would be well over two years old before she would ever walk, let alone run? No, I didn't know any of these things! It wasn't stated in her medical records. We stepped out in faith, with God's guidance, knowing we could get through anything with His help. But that doesn't mean it's always simple or happy or gleeful around our house! Some days are just plain hard~when a teenager is grumpy because someone ate the last peach and HE thought it should have been saved for him (gotta love weight loss during wrestling season), the four year old is taking toys away from the two year old because she can and the two year old is screaming at the top of her lungs, MINE MINE MINE! Meltdowns abound, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! Welcome to the funny farm!

So the fact that I'm a wee bit older, with small adopted children doesn't give me the same rights as parents that have children in their younger years. Because let's face it, had the invitro treatments been successful and I had given birth to let's say, multiples, I would have faced the same scrutiny. "You chose to go through this!" It just doesn't seem fair to me.

Rest assured, I have my safe zones; friends that I can say anything to, that understand and let me say the things I need to say. For if I did not have them, if I couldn't say the things that I really needed to say in a loving, caring and nurturing environment, then I would have to medicated!

That's my rant for the day....please know that I love my children dearly, but they all drive me crazy to some extent! I guess that just really makes them mine! If you are so fortunately that this doesn't happen to you, then God bless you. You must have the patience of Job! I admit that I do not, but I pray for forgiveness and guidance on a daily basis. That's me, broken and imperfect. Only by the grace of God, can I be successful as a mother, spouse and friend. Kudos to you if you don't.

Isn't this a lovely way to come back to blogging!

ATTT Surgery

2008-10-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

Amelia had her ATTT (Anterior Tibial Tendon Transfer) surgery this week. Dr. Dobbs was very happy with the surgery and the flexation of Amelia's feet. We are so happy to have this behind us, but the next four weeks will be tough. She is not allowed to bear any weight on her feet for four weeks. For a little girl that has just started walking, this is devastating. She has been in plaster casts for the past two weeks to stretch her feet and tendons before the surgery and she actually got to the point where she could walk in them. I've included a video at the end of the slide show showing her walking. It's rather choppy, but you can get the jest of her attempt.

We covet your prayers for patience and acceptance during the next four weeks. I've been a little absent from blogging, I plan on changing that. Enjoy the photos from the hospital. They are a little grainy~must have had the aperture setting on.

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Happy Adoption Day

2008-07-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

It’s challenging for me to believe that an entire year has pasted since Amelia was placed in our arms. My brain has difficulty grasping the fact that we were in China, this time last year and became a family of six on this exact day. Then the haze clears and I realize where I am and what the date actually is ~ then I hear the bickering from two small, Chinese children coming from an unknown location in the house and reality hits and it hits hard.

July 16, 2007

This post has not come easy for me. I’ve agonized over what to include since I’m not sure of the audience. There are those that have never experienced a difficult child, or adoption and they can never begin to comprehend what this year has been like. I’ve even thought of not including a post since this year has been…well…less than stellar. However, there’s that part of my brain that understands the importance of said post. Ultimately, the most important person that will be affected by this post will be Amelia. Things need to be said so she knows and understands the importance and impact of this year on her and our entire family. So make the post I will with the caveat that it’s not meant to be anything more than a milestone that needs to be marked for my daughter’s sake. Like the content or not, it’s what the last year has been from my perspective.

July 11, 2008

I’d love to say this year has been a joy and delight, but that would be a lie. Those that know me, know lying is not an option. It’s been difficult and even grim at times. From the time we arrived in China last July, we have endured much more excitement than we planned for. From culture shock, early departures and disruptions, it was not exactly a happy trip. As anticipated, Amelia’s behavior in China was only a snapshot of what was to come when we arrived home. Amelia is a strong-willed child that wants what she wants and wants it now. If she doesn’t get it, she tends to voice her displeasure for an extended period of time. On a high note, that period of time has decreased from several hours to only several minutes of crying, screeching and whaling.

In her defense, I have to acknowledge the frustration that she has had to experience from not being able to walk. The weakness and nerve damage that she has in her legs has been far more than we anticipated. We’ve adjusted to this unforeseen condition and believe we are on the right track with her treatments. We will travel back to St. Louis this fall to start her treatments. We covet your prayers for all of us during this time. I’ll keep you posted when I know more.

I truly believed that we were prepared for the challenges of adopting a slightly older child and one that was in an extraordinary foster program. Amelia came to us very spoiled. I know that sounds contradictory to what everyone hears about Chinese orphans, but I would encourage you to check out Half the Sky. They have an amazing program in Amelia’s orphanage and Amelia definitely benefited from having the love and care of some amazing nannies. Believing I was prepared and then actually living through the experience are two very different things.

I believe I survived the guilt I was experiencing from the help and support of some very wonderful friends that I could open up to and that had experienced the same things with their biological children. This information helped to lessen the burden I felt over the “adopted child” label that I worried about. What a relief it was to know that Amelia not being my biological child had nothing to do with the struggles that we were encountering.

My social worker believes that Amelia is lucky to have us for parents. Her words to me were, “Isn’t she lucky to have you! If she would have had a first-time-parent, imagine the havoc she could have caused in their lives!” All I can say to that is, you might want to ask Amelia about that. But seriously, I have had to be very stern with her! It’s broken my heart at times, but I knew that if I didn’t stay the course, she would be running this house. And a two-year old running any household is not a good thing. I kept saying to myself, “If you don’t stop it now, what is she going to be like when she’s twelve???” Then all that would pop into my mind was some sort of “boot camp” for teens. Not a pretty picture my friends.

The physical impact this last year has had on myself has been nothing less than staggering. I have never weighed more, nor been in such rotten physical condition. I’m slowing getting into a workout routine and that is helping. The weight problem has to do with the “stress eating” that I have fallen in to. I’m not proud of the amount of time that my head has been stuck inside the freezer compartment eating ice cream directly out of the ice cream tub. I’ve laughed and told friends that there has been a lot of chocolate and wine consumed in our house over the last year. I said it jokingly, but there is some truth to the statement.

Our days are getting better. Amelia walking has helped her disposition tremendously. She clearly loves me and lets me now it continually. It’s rather sweet and I get so many comments from people about how much she loves me. I can’t leave the house for 10 minutes that she doesn’t chant, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy” and ran to me when I walk in the door. She would sit on my lap constantly if I would let her. But again, I have to put limits on her or she carries a little leniency to the extreme and would stay on my lap all day long.

I believe she has adjusted to our family very well and fits in nicely. She’s going to be our opinionated, stubborn child. She can sulk with the best of them and we often laugh at her when she plops down on the floor and stares at us with that “I-just-might-hurt-you” glare. What she still hasn’t fully comprehended yet is that I am more stubborn and more strong-willed than she is. I refuse to have my life dictated by a two year old, so the war wages on. I can see the end in site, but it still might be some months out. This troop refuses to pull out ~ God has placed this child in my life for a reason and I intend to stick around for the long term. I have fallen in love with her and I believe that she truly loves all of us. She tells me she loves me daily! It’s music to my ears, especially when we are having a tough day.

This post has gone on enough…I limit myself to two pages in Word~ I’ve reached that limit.
I love you Amelia SiYuan Wells. I’m glad God is allowing me the privilege of being your mother. My prayer is that I continue to do God’s will in my life and in yours.

Running through the sprinkler together...

Beach Vacation

2008-07-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a week at the beach...all six of us. We had so a great time...we hated to leave. Amelia was a trooper and enjoyed every minute of it!

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Bug bites and bubble baths

2008-07-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Bath time has turned into a sporting event at our house. If I so much as mumble "bath"...the hysterics begin. Clothes begin to fly...feet shuffle to the stairs...voices become high pitched while squealing "bath,bath,bath". Mind you, this is all Amelia. Elise doesn't become interested in the bath until she figures out that Amelia is heading upstairs and she might possible get one of her "favorite" bath toys. Yowsa...

I'm so excited that I can finally give Amelia a "horn". Her hair is finally growing and not so dry. She even has that "Don King" look in the morning. Makes me laugh when I first see her.

I know this is a little disturbing...but she seems to like it. The more bubbles, the better.

Finally, what's up with my kids and mosquito bites??? The first summer that Elise was home I took her to the doctor for what I thought was some sort of growth/reaction...it was a mosquito bite. Yep, boy did I feel stupid. Here I am...the mother of two boys ages 10 & 12 and I don't know what a bug bite looks like. But look at this poor child's cheek! This is TWO days AFTER the mosquito was shooed off the poor girls face. We try to make sure that they have on bug spray, but it was 4 p.m.~still way early! Lesson learned...all children must be appropriately doused with bug spray by 4 p.m. The sign is now posted in my kitchen

Summertime Playtime

2008-07-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of Amelia's first attempt at playing hopscotch. She so wants to be like her Jei Jei!

It's a rather long video and there's lots of other "stuff" happening~that's just a small window into the things that go on at our house! It's rather interesting sometimes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln2kl9gS4QY

And She WALKS.....

2008-06-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

The Morning Look

Yes, our little Miss Amelia is walking! That's right, she started walking with her AFOs on Wednesday, June 18th! It was so exciting and she was so beside herself with pride. The therapist was so proud of her! I was so shocked and surprised! We didn't even have to ask her to walk, she just looked up at me, smiled and started walking toward me. Suddenly, I felt this pressure in my chest. What could it be, I thought? Then I realized it was my heart, ready to explode for joy for my little girl. She fell into my arms and the pure delight on her face was something I will never forget! We hugged and laughed and cried all at the same time!

It really was one of those special moments that I will never forget! I'll never forget the smug little smile on her face right before she let go of the chair and walked to me. I'll never forget how that smiled changed when she fell into my arms and the transformation that followed. Amelia seems so much happier now that she is mobile. It really is amazing. Her gait isn't really pretty, for us, it's beautiful, amazing and incredible.

Doing Pullups...

Now she's walking all over the house without any help at all. She is even walking without the assistance of her AFOs. The AFOs give her a flat foundation to stand on, but they can also make her dependent on them. Imagine my delight when I watched Amelia walk to me without her AFOs. Another special moment.

I talked to the doctor in St. Louis and they were thrilled to hear she is walking. They also said that the more she can walk without the AFOs, the stronger her legs will get!

So hip-hip-hooray for Miss Amelia~she's motoring all over the place.

I just can't stand how cute she is!!!

First Haircut

2008-06-27T03:45:00.000-07:00

Lots of firsts this week, more on that later!!!! We went to Cookie Cutters and got Amelia's first haircut. She did great! She looks like a little girl now without that scraggly hair. It was hard for me to get it cut since it took so long for her hair to grow! I just love the way she looks!

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Riding the Carousel at the zoo....

2008-06-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Another trip to the zoo and Elise was adamant about riding the carousel this time. So, on the way out, we stopped and rode the carousel. I wasn't sure how Amelia would take it since she was clinging for dear life to my friend, Joan, on the train ride.

This shot is before the carousel started to move. Needless to say, she had her arm so tight around my neck I thought I might choke. With that in mind, remember that I am on the carousel with her. Are you getting the picture??? Yes, I was squatting up and down as her lion went up and down with Amelia's arm tight around my neck.

Looking at the giraffe's with Joan.

Cookin' with Cinderella

2008-06-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've been promising Elise for days that we would make cupcakes. Since a "friend" had passed on a "friendship bread" starter to me 10 days ago, today was the day to make our friendship bread. So after yoga and after we picked up Tucker from summer gym, I helped Elise with the recipe.

Well, it didn't take long for Miss Amelia to want in on the action. Before I knew it, she had crawled right up on that IKEA stepstool and was right beside her Jie Jie "helping". It really was a sweet moment. Elise was kind and generous with Amelia and Amelia was sweet and giving right back. It was a rare moment as they tend to want to bicker a little bit.

Enjoy the video. My Cinderella's are learning to cook!

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Summer time....swimming time

2008-06-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

Amelia has a new love....the swimming pool. I didn't think it was going to be so much of a hit with her on the first day. She was very resistant to being in the water without me holding her. But on day TWO...this is what we saw....

It was so refreshing to see that genuine smile on her face. As you can see, we are deep into the "What's that?" phase. She's also talking a ton. I can get a three word sentence out of her if I poke and prod. By the way...that sound in the background is not static. That is the sound of cicadas singing in the trees surrounding the pool. I didn't think we were going to get the little buggers this year. We were invaded about 4 years ago with a huge brood. But alas, they are EVERYWHERE around our house since we have long standing trees.

We have planned a family vacation to the beach. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it!

Control, Control, Control

2008-06-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, the battle continues. Just when I think that we are making progress and I grant a small liberty to Amelia~the battle for control starts to rage again. You would think that after ten months she would figure out that I won't give up!!! I can only imagine what the teen years will be like~maybe I'll be old and worn out by then!?! NOT!!!!

Here's the story...I'll attempt to describe this "event" with some humor. Believe me, it wasn't humorous at the time!

Saturday was Matthew's graduation from high school. The ceremony was in the morning and we were having an open house in the afternoon. The girls did not go~for obvious reasons~way too much confusion! So they stayed at home with their aunt. I decided to put Amelia down for her nap at the normal time and let her enjoy the last half of the party. My reasoning was that if I let her stay up until 2 p.m. then I might as well let her skip her entire nap~skipping naps is not a good option around her. It makes for grumpy and unpleasant toddlers.

I put Amelia down at 1 p.m. with little resistance (just the normal wailing when I leave the room). Unfortunately, people started arriving at around 1:30 p.m. and the noise level escalated way earlier than I expected. Naturally, Amelia voiced her disdain for the fact that she was napping when there was action going on in the house (she voices her disdain when there's no action) so this wasn't a surprise to me. As per my usual response, I ignored her "unpleasantness" since I refuse to acknowledge her nasty demands (it's more like screaming).

Fast forward about 30 minutes and I head to her room to change her into her party dress and take her down stairs. Imagine my surprise when I walk into her room and see her bare butt sticking up in the air as something drops from that bottom!!! Yes, she pulled her diaper down and pooed in her bed. This action still stuns me~I really don't know what to say about it. I still can't find any humor in it. If I had been even one minute later, who knows what kind of a mess I would have found. Fortunately, there was only a small amount of "stuff" on her brand new, very expensive brace! My head just spins when I think of it! Now imagine all of this happening when I have a house full of guests!?!

So I learned my lesson...I can't let her go to bed without her no-nos on. We put them on her so she won't undo her brace~if she undoes it, then she risks relapsing. A relapse is what we are dealing with now ~ which means more casting and surgery. As you can imagine, messing with the brace is unacceptable. But she continues to do so. She's a smart little girl~just very manipulative.

After this little "episode" I now know that she will pull down her diaper if she wants to. I guess that means she can pull her pants down for potty training. Looks like "Potty Training Boot Camp" is right around the corner!!!!

The battle rages on...it should be an interesting summer. Maybe the our one year anniversy will bring some progress~I'm not holding my breath!

New Brace and AFOs

2008-05-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

We did a "power trip" (there and back in a day) to St. Louis last week to pick up Amelia's new brace and AFOs. Steve went with me so I had someone to share the driving with~it made the drive much easier! We're already seeing a difference in Amelia's ability to stand~she'll even stand unprompted! We can't really see a big difference with the nighttime brace other than she can't really untie them. They are hook and loop tape so we are waiting to see if she tries to undo them. Hopefully she'll be walking without any help before long. We are also going to start physical therapy next month.

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Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

This was my first Mother's Day with Amelia. I always think of the girls birth mother on this day. It makes me sad and glad all at the same time. It's difficult to describe all the emotions surrounding this day for me. No psycho-babble today....check out the family blog for a slide show of some pictures of the day!

Battle of the Brace~sleeping~CONTROL....

2008-05-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

We've been experiencing "sleep issues" again. The past week, Amelia has decided to wake up in the middle of the night/morning and begin her "Mommy" call. Yes, she chants..."Mommy! Mommy! Mommmmmyyyyy!" Over and over and over again. If I do not respond in what she believes to be a "timely fashion", the screaming begins! And I do mean screaming! I had thought we were over the hump~ HA!!! I even went so far as to vocalize that we were getting along so well lately. I guess she showed me. Which is what so much of Amelia's behavior is about~Control!!!

Markell shoes on a Denis Brown Bar

Which brings me to my next topic....the dreaded brace that she wears 14-16 hours a day. It's a wonderful contraption~unlace, loosen bucket, force chubby foot in, wench down buckle, re-lace and wah-lah, you are finished. Can you hear the sarcasm???? Steve HATES this thing~he actually breaks into a sweat when he tries to put them on Amelia. I have sort of mastered it and can whip through it rather quickly.

Nice screw....wrecking havoc on my hardwood flooring....How does a little girl get that off after I wench it on. Do I need lock tite???

Amelia doesn't fight us on the brace. Well, not really~she uses a more passive aggressive way to fight us. She will bang the shoe/brace against the floor, mattress or whatever to loosen the massive screws on the bottom and then she takes the shoe off the brace. Imagine my surprise when I check her before I go to bed and find her shoes unscrewed!?!? It's very irritating.

I'm also a huge stickler on her wearing the brace 14+ hours. Honestly, she should probably be wearing them around 16 hours. We usually get 12 hours at night and then 2 hours at nap time. So I've been extending the time in the morning and right after nap time. It's been working out o.k.~but it means that I have to put the brace on her at around 7:30 p.m. since she is an early riser. Not such an easy task since summer is almost here and it's daylight until 9 p.m. So now the brace has been going on later at night which translates into wearing it later in the morning. Do you see wear I'm going with this???? Needless to say, we are in another transition phase that hasn't been much fun.

The new Dobb's brace is in and we will be getting it fitted this week. Amelia will also be wearing AFOs during the day and hopefully it will assist her with walking. If you do go to the link to check out the brace, know that there is some controversy about the bar and this video. If you know anything about braces and braces, the second brace is clearly too small for this little girl which will cause her to be uncomfortable. Amelia can crawl like a champ with this bar and she can stand quite well.

There is also another site you can check out . This is a family with three children~all born with club feet. She is a tremendous resource for families that are dealing with club feet. The biggest difference for us is that Amelia did not have the benefit of treatments during infancy, which is what US born babies get. Amelia was living with her feet for 16 months before any treatments. So the protocol is slightly different~like wearing AFOs during the day. Many people would say that this is not appropriate procedure. But since Amelia has nerve and tendon damage~her case is different. On and on I could go about the different perspectives.

So we are moving forward with the brace and AFO until we have the tendon surgery in the fall.

Earthquake in China

2008-05-16T05:08:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many, if not most of you, have seen the international headlines about the earthquake in China. Amelia is from Sichuan Province, Chengdu, to be exact. The epicenter was about 60 miles from Chengdu. Half the Sky is the US agency that provides programs for the children many orphanges around China. Amelia's orphanage happens to be one that benefits from the work of this great organization. HTS has been sending daily updates to anyone on their mailing list. This is the latest update that I have received....

Dear Friends,
I dearly wish I had more good news to report. The very best thing I can tell you is that we have not had a single report of injuries from the welfare institutions.

As of this morning (Friday) there were 19,509 people confirmed dead. The State Council today said there will likely be more than 50,000. Today’s government report describes one terrible scene after another: thousands homeless, thousands missing, thousands injured, thousands trapped or buried alive. Hope for survivors is dimming. There is an urgent call for body bags to prevent the spread of disease. There have been over 4,400 aftershocks.

HTS Director, Child Development, Ma Lang has arrived in Chengdu and sends this note:I am deeply touched by your moral and emotional support. I only slept twoof the past thirty hours. The first thing I did after landing was todonate some medicine to the Chengdu Red Cross. It was very much appreciated – exactly what was needed. They gave me a wish list for further donations: antibiotics for children and adults, medicine for diarrhea, cold capsules (not instant medicines that must be mixed in water), bandages, gauze, tape, iodine, cotton swabs, herbal medicine to stop bleeding and some for pain relief. Other much-needed donations include tents, tarpaulins, warm clothes and shoes. People in Chengdu are doing everything they can to help with the earthquake rescue. I saw all sorts of vehicles carrying things to the donation centers. I registered for blood donation and was put on the waiting list – the blood center was overloaded with donated blood and it’s difficult to transport the blood to the hardest-hit areas. More to come… Lang

Here is the confirmed information we have regarding welfare institutions:The following institutions not mentioned in yesterday’s note suffered no serious damage:Chengdu 2nd SWI, Chengdu 3rd SWI, Ziyang SWI, Neijing CWI, Chengdu SOS children’s village, Leshan SWI, Ganzi CWI, Guang’an SWI, Suining SWI.

The following report damage, but, again, no injuries. Your generous donations will help meet all of these requests for assistance:

Bazhon CWI – Severe damage to building; children are fine. Meishan SWI – Cracks in buildings, have evacuated all children (50+) to tents. They have adequate food, water and clothes but request 20 cribs and bedding. Guangyuan SWI – Damaged buildings, all children have been in tents for 4-5days, often in the blazing sun. They request food, baby formula water, diapers, bedding and other daily necessities. They urgently need drugs and food supplements to protect against disease and heatstroke.

Nanchong SWI – There was substantial damage to buildings, all children (100+, more than half under 6 years-old) are living in tents. They need more tents, disposable diapers, children’s clothing, wagons, cribs and bedding.

Deyang CWI – Dormitory for school-age children was severely damaged. Although the other buildings seem fine, pending inspection, all children and staff have been moved to tents. There has been constant rain and much that was pulled from the buildings has been ruined. They request bedding and children’s clothing. They still have disposable diapers left from our assistance during the winter storms but will be running out of those as well as infant formula in the coming days.

Mianyang Zitong CWI (update) – Children have been moved back from the military base to a safe building in the institution. There is adequate food and water but they request clothes, bedding, infant formula, diapers and medicine for colds. They are now caring for 66 children, 23 of them under 2 years.

Sadly, 24 new orphans – earthquake survivors - arrived at the institution yesterday. We are still unable to reach these orphanages: Abazhou CWI (52 children) and Mianzhu SWI. Please give what you can to help the children who survive go on with their lives.If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund,it would be great if you would do so at Global Giving.

My apologies forgiving incorrect information yesterday; the Ford Motor Company is generously matching EMPLOYEE gifts to Global Giving, not ALL! Still, it is an easy and convenient way to make a donation and helps HTS by handling processing of your gifts. Now maybe some other corporation would like to step up and match ALL donations?!http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

If you prefer to donate directly to Half the Sky, of course that’s fine.Here are the various ways: You can donate by calling Half the Sky (+1 510525 3377) or on our website:http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+FundIf you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate athttp://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at +852 25205266 or online athttps://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947Thank you for your tremendous support. Although it is heartbreaking towrite these reports, we are so honored to be in a position to help duringthis terrible time.

with love,Jenny
Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.

It really is a horrible situation. So many people in such a small area can only mean that injuries and the death count will continue to climb. Join me as we pray for everyone's health and safety in China.

Another trip to St. Louis, another unexpected outcome

2008-05-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

We just returned from another trip to see Dr. Dobbs in St. Louis and to say that my expectations were not met is an understatement. I've spent the last 24 or so hours processing what happened and I think I might be able to put everything that happened in to words. So here it goes.

Thankfully, we had an uneventful trip, arrived in the early evening before rush hour traffic, checked in and headed to dinner. We ate al fresco which was really nice for the girls. They could get out and run a little bit and after riding for 5.5 hours, they both needed to move around.

Dessert was Klondike bars in our room. I promised Elise a sundae but service was so terrible at the restaurant that we opted for something from the hotel convenience store over waiting and waiting and waiting for our waitress to return. I wouldn't say the Klondike bars were a success, but it appeased their desire for ice cream.

Naturally, I slept horrible. Lucky for me that Elise chose to sleep with Aunt Candy (he he!) and I had a bed to myself. I think I woke up every hour because I was so fearful of missing our 7:30 a.m. appointment. That would be a total nightmare, having to reschedule! Wow, I can't even go there!

We arrived in plenty of time and we were the second patients in the waiting room. The other family was a Chinese woman and caucausian man. They were very curious about Amelia in a sweet way. Amelia was more than willing to entertain them. It was a pleasant conversation~at least for me it was.

When we were called back to the exam room a Chinese doctor arrived to ask us some questions. Well, let me say that he hasn't been in the US long~I had a very difficult time understanding him and I caught myself almost looking at Amelia and asking her what he said. Yes, I know, politically incorrect~but I was struggling. You know how you have to really focus on the person talking, look them right in the face and run what they just said through your brain about 3 times before you can finally process enough of the words to form an answer? That's what I'm talking about!!!!

He looks at Amelia's feet, looks at her legs, has her stand etc. Then he orders an x-ray of her spine. As shocked as I was to hear this, I wasn't totally surprised. I had asked the doctors when we arrived home if she had a sacreal dimple~but she does not and her spine is fine. The head nurse was very attentive while Amelia walked down the hall to x-ray. I mentioned it to her and she said that she had never seen a gait like Amelia's before. Hmmmm....not sure what that means.

Finally Dr. Dobbs showed up and informed me that due to the abnormalities that were discovered in the EMG/nerve conduction study, he recommended that Amelia have the tendon transfer (Anterior Tibial Tendon Transfer (needed in 20% of club foot cases) - where the tendon is moved from the first ray (toe) to the third ray in order to release the inward traction on the foot) now and not wait until she is 3+ years old. Since the nerves and tendons are damaged, her foot will continue to return to the "turned-in" position even after being corrected with serial castings. I knew that she would probably need the surgery eventually, just not now.

My head is spinning and he continues to tell me that she would still need 2 sets of castings to stretch the foot and tendon to prepare her for the surgery. Each cast would be on 1-2 weeks depending on how often I wanted to return to St. Louis. Then the surgery would take place on an out patient basis. He assured me it's very minor surgery. She would be in and out within an hour. She would then be put into long leg casts for 4 weeks and after that, she would be put into short leg casts for 2 weeks.

Mentally, I'm calculating the number of weeks this process is going to take and I'm up to 8-10 weeks. We have been kicking around a family beach vacation this year. Matt will be leaving in the fall for college and we figure it's our only opportunity to go as a family of six. But Steve has said he won't take Amelia to the beach in casts since she won't be able to enjoy the water etc. and neither will we. My beach vacation is fading before my very eyes. The thought bubble holding all of this information has formed and ~POP~ it explodes. All those thoughts become words and start to spew right out of my mouth. Dr. Dobbs then tells me that we can wait to start the process this fall without any problems for Amelia. I think about spending 10-12 weeks inside my house with two toddlers, not being able to go to the pool. Only going outside if it's not too hot so Amelia won't sweat too much in the casts and for me~it's a no brainer! We're waiting! Destin, here we come!!!!!!!! Sorry, another thought bubble just exploded.

We did get Amelia casted for a new night time brace and her AFOs. I'm working on getting things shipped to me so I don't have to return to St. Louis. I calculated that for us to drive there, spend the night and eat, it costs around $500! Yep, not kidding! So hopefully we won't have to return for the AFOs and brace.

I can't say that I'm disappointed with the outcome of the visit. Just surprised and adjusting to a new direction. Seems we are constantly doing that with Amelia. But hopefully she can start wearing the AFOs and it will make her legs stronger and she will start walking. Then maybe, just maybe, she won't need the serial castings and can go into the tendon transfer. This would cut down the number of trips to St. Louis, etc. etc. etc.

That' it for now~but you never know what might change next....

Almost walking....

2008-05-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

This week, I have watched Amelia stand and balance for well over ten seconds. It's been so exciting to see the sheer delight and surprise on her face when she realizes what is actually happening. She will even take a step, but then falls down. Consequently, I don't count it as walking yet. But the standing is a very good thing! She's still pretty unsteady and you can tell she's really struggling to keep her balance. If you look at the next set of photos, you'll understand better what some of her challenges are ;-)

She likes the step stool

See how her feet are not flat....try not to notice the "budda" belly :-)

Our next doctor's visit will address this problem.

Look at that face. She is so shocked, but excited!

Trying to take a step....

She does a great job catching herself

I'm sure she will be back in casts next week. I'm also pretty sure that she is going to be less than pleased. We covet your prayers during this time....for ALL of us!

Digital Scrapbooking

2008-04-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with Photoshop and created this....

It's a photo of the girls at the zoo.

We are getting ready to head to St. Louis again. I'm sure there will be casts this time, at least I hope so.

On a positive note, Amelia has been standing a little all by herself. She can balance for about 10 seconds or so. Then she tries to take a step and falls. She will only try to stand if we ask her to. So, it's been a good week for her. I'd post a photo but I can't get to the camera before she falls.

EMG test results~from a layman's perspective

2008-04-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the big day for Amelia to get her EMG/Nerve conduction study. To say that I was worked up over it is an understatement. I hardly slept the night before last and I was a bundle of nervous energy all morning. I much prefer having test done in the morning~gets them over with! But alas, our appointment was at 2:45 p.m. I started to post last night, but I was so emotionally exhausted that I just sat outside and watched the girls play and then it was couch potato time to watch American Idol and DWS Results.

I was able to talk to the nurse in St. Louis to make sure I had the necessary information for the test and she did tell me that there were particular things that Dr. Dobbs would be looking from the test. She also said the test would not change Amelia's treatment plan, it would let them know if she would be more likely to relapse after treatment. Now I was really confused. I couldn't really understand why we waited to start the treatment, but it's too late now. This just goes to show how shocked I was when we got this information in St. Louis. No sense crying over spilled milk, if you will.

Naturally, they requested that we arrive 15 minutes early to "fill out" paperwork. So we arrived 25 minutes early since you never know how expressway traffic is going to be in Cincinnati and on the surface streets are always a crap shoot. Let me start off with saying one of my biggest pet peeves is having to wait around for a doctor. Drives me insane~especially when they tell you that if you are 15 minutes late for your appointment, you will need to reschedule. This is how the timing went:

3:15~called back to room by assistant. Room is very small for two parents and one toddler~big machine in middle of room, extra big bed~not your normal hospital bed (this was in a rehabilitation area so I image that many patients need the extra space on the bed). I can already feel Steve tensing up since he is claustrophobic. Can you see where this is going????

3:30~nurse arrives and starts asking us questions. The best question was, "Are you her legal guardians?" Oooh~I hear all my friends gasping, because you know me~I've got a bit of a "smart" mouth. O.K, I've got more than a smart mouth, I'm downright obnoxious sometimes. You know all those "thought bubbles" most of you have but keep them to yourselves? My thought bubbles EXPLODE and the words just pour out into the room much to every one's surprise ;-). I just stared at her for a few seconds with this look on my face, "are you kidding me?", it was a rather pregnant pause. Then I just answered, "yes". Again with this look on my face~"That was a really STUPID question!"

She was a very kind nurse. She just oohed and aahed over Amelia~"She's so sweet!" All the while I'm gritting my teeth because we've had one of those mornings where nothing has please Amelia and she spent most of it crying. Actually, most of it would be an understatement. By the time I changed her out of her PJs, she had cried so much that her pants were went from the tears and slobber dripping down from her face. She just took an ugly stance yesterday and wanted to be carried everywhere I went. Sorry sister, get those legs moving and build those muscles. Besides, my back is finally feeling great and I don't want to regress any.

3:40~nurse returns with the sedative to help her relax. She tells us she won't be put out, just relaxed. I'm beginning to freak a little bit since Amelia has has about a 20 minute nap. She also states that it takes about 20-30 minutes for the sedative to take effective and then the doctor will be in. Are you doing the math here????? Fortunately, she put a Dora video in for Amelia and she sat in her stroller and watched it. It didn't take long for it to hit her since she was so stinkin' tired to begin with. I didn't take my camera but I had my phone so these shots are from that. Not very good, but good enough.

Hey Mommy, that's Dora and Boots up there on the wall~weeeeeeeeeee!

4:10~doctor arrives WITH a resident doctor. Now there are five of us in the room~it's really really crowded now in this tiny room. We got through a series of questions~blah blah blah. I tell him what the doctor in St. Louis needs to know and he told me that it was stated on the referral, so I can relax over that little tid bit. They ask one of us to hold her during the test, we start to "paper-rock-scissors" for the job. The doctors were just staring at us like we were insane.

What's that guy talking about~electrodes what???

Amelia was great during the beginning of the test. She just sat on my lap and watched what the doctors were doing to her legs. She didn't like them taping the appliances to her feet, it annoyed her. She really didn't like them marking on her with an ink pen. She kept pointing at the spot as if to say, "Hey, get that off of me now!" But she never cried, only touched and jabbered.

These are my feet. I can pull them over my head.

The test took about 45-50 minutes. The sedative started to wear off towards the end of it. Amelia was pretty alert when they were sticking the needles in her legs to test the nerves. She started to whimper a little but kept it together. The only time she cried was when Steve left the room to call home since we were WAY over the time we thought we would be there and our cell phone was ringing incessantly from the sitter and from Tucker.

Finally, they told us that her muscles are in good shape. There isn't any problems there. The test did show that she had some damage to her peroneal nerve in her left leg at some point in the past. The nerve was repairing itself though.

Praise God! She does not have any problems! So now it's just a matter of getting her legs stronger so she can walk. I'll be contacting my friend who is a physical therapist for some advice! Thanks for praying for us! We head to St. Louis in two weeks. Hopefully the casting will start then and we can get those fiberglass casts behind us before the pool opens!

Uhhhhh, I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer

Tomorrow

2008-04-21T04:41:00.001-07:00

We head to Cincy Children's tomorrow to have an EMG/Nerve Conduction Study done on Amelia. This is not a procedure that I am familiar with, this is what I do know:

Getting ready for the big "cry", baba told her "no" about something...

The EMG / electromyogram is a test that evaluates the electrical activity in nerves and muscles. This test is helpful to determine if abnormalities exist in the way nerves transmit electrical impulses or abnormalities to the muscles themselves.

The EMG test consists of two parts:

Nerve Conduction Study / NCS which evaluates the speed and amount of electrical activity along a nerve

EMG study which looks at electrical activity in muscles at rest and also when they are voluntarily moved (if possible) to determine if the pattern of activity is normal

There are many things about this test that make me very uncomfortable~electrical current being sent through the muscle & pin electrodes being stuck in the muscle. ICK~this is going to be a real bummer for both of us.

I'm making sure that they will sedate her~otherwise, they will have big problems with me and Amelia. I'm talking sedation for both of us too ;-)

I'm learning to edit my photos....can you see the difference? This one isn't the best, I'm still learning!

I failed to ask the doctor in St. Louis how this test will impact Amelia's treatment of her club feet. Chalk that up to travel fatigue and shock at not being familiar with this procedure for club foot babies. But I am awaiting a call from St. Louis to explain all of this to me.

So please pray for an easy test tomorrow and that the doctors will find no abnormalities. To be honest, we think Amelia may have some neurological problems. She is not walking yet and we had hoped she would be. She has been out of the brace for four months now. Her strength is improving and she does balance while standing, but still no steps. Steve and I are not pessimist, just realistic. We are just trying to prepare ourselves for a different path than we originally anticipated. But we pray we are wrong and that Amelia just needs some intensive PT to get over this hump. That's another problem with older children and club feet, doctors in the US are accustomed to treating infants and not toddlers. This is due to the fact that we seek and receive medical treatment for this condition as soon as a child is born. Consequently, the doctors in the US do not exercise a different treatment protocol for older children and I have discovered it is different. Hence the reason we are now going to Dr. Dobbs since he does in fact treat older adopted children from other countries as well as treating children that have had incorrect treatment for club feet.

Digressing a little here....Dr. Dobbs uses the Ponseti method for treating club feet. Dr. Dobbs and other doctors around the US a treated by Dr. Ponseti himself in this method. It is very specialized and many doctors do not execute it correctly. Therefore, it's imperiative to locate a highly recommended doctor to treat your child. When we returned from China, we did have a doctor that was trained in the method, but she moved to Utah.

Amelia isn't feeling the greatest right now, she has a cough and a temp. Pray that she is well tomorrow and they will still perform the test.

Off to preschool with Elise!

Blingin' my blogs...

2008-04-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

My blogs are dull and boring. I use the templates provided by blogger since I don't know any better. But I've been following a few blogs that are just so pretty and I love looking at all of their new "stuff". So I decided it was time for some changes.

I've tried to find someone to bling my blog. But I get no response to my emails. I guess they are just overwhelmed with requests. So I decided I was going to give it a try. This is my first attempt. I'm going to try my hand at making a new Header tomorrow. It should be fun because it will involve digital scrapbooking and my new Photoshop software.

Woohoo...just another reason to be on the computer.

Found....

2008-04-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

Luke 15:32 "But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this sister of yours was dead and is alive again; she was lost and is found." NIV

April 14th, nothing significant about this day, you say. Except for maybe the fact that it's the day before tax day and everyone is trying to get into the post office to mail their tax returns. Don't people know about electronic filing and paying???? I mean seriously, this is ridiculous. I needed to mail a simply package today, unrelated to tax day, and I had to try not once, but twice to get into the post office. The first time, I couldn't find a parking place and the parking lot is set up such that if you don't find a parking spot the first time, you have to exit the parking lot, go back out onto the main road and try again. It's utterly ridiculous and I know why people go "postal". My second attempt was successful in that I found a parking spot, but the line at the self-serve kiosk was four people deep. But I preserved and got my package off for the Ladybug Spring Bling Swap. But I digress....

April 14th is Amelia's finding day. Two years ago, a kind man found her and took her to the local police station and then she was taken to Chengdu Orphanage. This day is always a sad/glad day. Sad that she was born into the situation that she was, glad that she was found and saved. So today, we give thanks for the kind man that took the time to save Amelia so that she could be found by us, her forever family! Praise be to God above!

I often think of her birth parents and what they must be thinking and feeling today. If I could, I would tell them this about Amelia SiYuan Wells:

Physically

~She weighs 24 pounds and is 31 1/2 inches tall

~She still has a soft spot, but it's now only about the size of my finger tip

~She can crawl and cruise, but does not walk yet

~Her feet look good, we still have a little ways to go to get them straight, but the doctor says that she will run like any other kid

~She has chubby arms and hands, a round face and a round tummy. She has no bottom and still can wear size nine month shorts and they fall off of her

~She loves to swing and go down the slide

~Her hair is finally growing a bit, I can't get a "water sprout" yet, but we're hopeful

~Her smile is brilliant and she shares it often

~Her eyes tell a thousand stores, from happiness to ornery & sadness to concern

~She LOVES to eat and will stuff so much food in her mouth that she can't chew

~Her verbal skills are amazing, she repeats everything-not such a good thing sometimes ;)

Mentally and emotionally:

~She loves her Jie Jie and Gu Gu's

~Tenacity is her gift, she never gives up

~She can cry a bucket of tears, but stops as soon as she's in her mama's arms

~Her temper matches her tenacity

~She takes a daily two hour nap and she sleeps through the night. Some nights she sleeps folded in half (it's weird looking)

~She loves to be held close right before bedtime and be snuggled

~Bath time is a favorite time of day

~She can go down a really big slide

~She adores Gordo, our dog

~She fears nothing

~Her favorite toy is her push cart~it takes her everywhere

~She doesn't have a favorite stuffed animal yet

~She did suck her thumb, but we've had to take steps against her undoing her "night-time shoe brace", so we have broken that habit

~Mama is her favorite and will cry if she doesn't get a hug and a kiss at bedtime

~She's learning to like reading books

~She uses the potty, but only when I ask (which is everyday, several times a day)

~She hasn't met a food she doesn't like, but water is her favorite drink

I would say that she's dearly and deeply loved by many. We are doing our best for her and pray that she grows into the beautiful person God has created her to be. We are still bonding and attaching and each day is better and better. I would say that she is more like me than any of my children. I guess that's why God laid it on my heart to adopt again~so I could get a taste of myself when I was young.

For as much as my heart aches for what she has lost, I'm ever so grateful for what we have found...A child of God, perfectly knit into our family!

May they find peace on this day and always knowing that she is loved beyond measure.

Yes, this daughter/sister/child was lost and now is found. Let us CELEBRATE!

Road trips, birthdays and test~Oh my...

2008-03-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Amelia SiYuan Wells turned two years old on Tuesday. I'm sorry to say that we have not had a proper party yet since we traveled to St. Louis to see a new doctor about her feet. We were up and out of the house on Monday and arrived in St. Louis on Monday evening. St. Louis Children's Hospital is right next to Barnes Jewish Hospital and we stayed in a hotel that connected to both hospitals by a sky walk. It was beautifully convenient.

The kids (Tucker, Elise and Amelia) did pretty well during the five hour drive. I was proud of all of them. Unfortunately, I failed to change Amelia during one of our gas stops and when we I took her out of her car seat at the hotel....she was slightly damp if you know what I mean. So I had to disassemble her car seat and wash the cover. I know what you are thinking...just leave it for when you get home! Well, that's a dandy idea except for the fact that I have an olfactory nerve that can smell a stinky diaper 1/2 a block away. A "smelly" car seat just wasn't going to work for me during a five hour drive couped up in a car.

Why is it that when children arrive at a hotel room, they must jump on the beds???? What's the deal with that? I'm hauling luggage into the room and all three of them are jumping on the bed. Well, Amelia is trying desperately to get up on the bed, so I pick her up and give her a bit of a toss into bedlam. She was thrilled! I just turned my back and acted like I couldn't see them. They were beyond thrilled.

Sleeping was another story. Amelia was in the portacrib and I was stuck with Elise. Between the flailing arms and grinding teeth. I got very little sleep. I did put a pillow between us to protect myself from any bruising, but I forgot my earplugs. Something I won't do next time.

The doctor visit went o.k. He wants Amelia to have an EMG/Nerve Conduction Study to make sure that all of her muscles, nerves and tendons are working correctly. We'll have that test at home and then return to St. Louis for casting. Dr. Dobbs thinks she'll only need a couple of sets *~hoorah for that! Then she'll need to wear AFOs (ankle-foot orthoses) while she is awake and where her other brace while she sleeps. So, we aren't any further than we were before. But at least she didn't have to have casts put on for her birthday. I plan on having a proper celebration for her this weekend. So watch for that.....

We attempted to go to the St. Louis arch but the wait was over 1 1/2 hours...that was not going to work with two toddlers. I'll have to plan better next time. So we just enjoyed the museum and took a few pictures in the park and headed home.

Enjoy the pics....

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

HE LIVES~Amelia's first Easter

2008-03-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

All things new.....

New daughter with her new Baba....
New daughter with her new Mama

New Jie Jie, New Mei Mei

New sisters...

New Life...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh7icqR9zEY

Praise be to God for all things new~for newly formed families, for old families that are new in Christ and for new love. For the new love that Amelia shows with her hugs, kisses, smiles and snarls. What a wonderful new addition to our family. Happy first Easter one of the loves of my life~Amelia SiYuan Wells.

for more Easter pictures check out the family blog....

www.wellsfabfive.blogspot.com

Easter Egg Hunt at the Smith Farm

2008-03-21T18:15:00.001-07:00

If you want to see pics of the Smith's Easter Egg Hunt, check out our family blog....

www.wellsfabfive.blogspot.com

Thanks Easter Bunny...buck buck!

My BFF...Jena

2008-03-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have a BFF...you all know what that is 'Best Friend Forever'. My BFF is leaving for a week holiday with her family on Sanibel Island. She will be flying out in the morning with her husband and daughter, Abby. This will be Abby's first flight, she's 17 months old. Abby currently has the croup~yep, that hacking cough that sounds like a baby seal with a fever to match it. She also has a bit of an ear infection~something every parent prays their child WILL NOT have when they fly. To top it all off~my BFF, has a bronchial infection and is on antibiotics. Needless to say, she ain't feelin' the best and she's a little stressed about her "vacation". But my BFF made time to come to my house today to drop off a "travel basket" for the trip to St. Louis! Yep, she made up this awesome basket with loads of goodies in it. (Sad to say, the Twizzler's are just about history since the girls LOVE them and spotted them INSTANTLY~and Tucker "rifled" through it too). My BFF always brings me something before a big event in my life~right before I left for Philmont~I had a gift bag filled with Heath Bars (my fav) and an "I can do it" Care Bear! My BFF thinks of everything!

Thanks BFF~you are "Da Bomb". Also, my BFF's mom is "Da Bomb" too (apple doesn't fall far from the tree). They have both offered to help me with driving or keeping Empress Elise during one of the treks to St. Louie!

God puts people in our lives to help us along on the journey~that's my BFF Jena and her mom. They are my special gifts from God! Thanks for being in my life BFF and BFF's awesome mom! Thanks for being God's hands and feet and lifting up your sister! I love you both!

Black Cloud

2008-03-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

We have given Amelia a nickname....Black Cloud! She's like a "Black Cloud" when she wakes up! What a crabby apple she can be. So we started calling her Black Cloud. Well, now she repeats it! To say it is hilarious is an understatement. It's now become a big joke. I'll call my friends and have her say it in the phone. This picture shows just how serious she can be at times.

I have no idea what the deal is with this table, but Elise did the same thing when she was little. Who knows, maybe it's a Chinese thing ;-)!

Amelia is getting better when she wakes up. I put "Baby Tad" in the bed with her and she seems to enjoy the interaction. Now I can hear Baby Tad talking instead of Amelia screaming for me to come and get her. Each day gets better......

St. Louis...HERE WE COME!!!!

2008-03-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

After lots of praying, surfing the net, asking for advice, culling information from groups, we made the decision to go to St. Louis and see Dr. Dobbs. He is a highly recommended orthopedic doctor that deals with older children with club feet. I have gotten ZERO negative feedback about him. He sounds like an amazing doctor with incredible gifts. It's not that I believe the doctor in Cincy can't do the work, I just know the Dr. Dobbs CAN do the work. He has a proven track record of many major successes with atypical club feet.

Our appointment is on March 25th, Amelia's second birthday. Poor little thing is going to get a "lovely" birthday gift. I feel so bad for her. She is so very close to actually walking and now she probably won't walk before her birthday. We are sad that she is going to have to start all over, but we are excited for her to get her feet fixed correctly and move forward.

We went back outside today...it was a little cold, but I took a few photos just so she could see where she was at at this point in time. Amelia has such tiny, tiny feet. She doesn't have a very sound foundation to hold up that belly and that melon head of hers. It's no wonder she tips over.

Strollin' with Pooh

Ignoring Momma

I Love You!

Amelia just started telling me that she loves me...music to my ears!

Progression of Amelia's feet

2008-03-04T17:46:00.001-08:00

I put together a slide slow of the photos that I have of Amelia's feet. I tried to put dates on the photos so you will have to roll your cursor over the photo to see the date. This is my first attempt using this slide show, so it's rather rough.

Sad to say....we've had a BIG setback

2008-03-04T03:41:00.000-08:00

Why is mommy soooo excited about this silly bow????

What???? You want me to be "happy" about this?

So, I've been looking at Amelia's feet and I don't really like what I see. I haven't really liked what I've been seeing for some time. So, I took a bunch of photos and emailed them to Dr. Ponseti last week. Dr. P is the doctor that pioneered the casting process for club feet. He's in Iowa City, Iowa~about eight hours away. I waited very patiently for a response and I got one on Sunday. He stated that Amelia's feet are not fully corrected and he believes that she needs three to four more sets of casts and possible another heel-cord release. So, we're looking at 6-7 more weeks of casts! I was devastated! I got this email after we had spent the better part of this beautiful Sunday, outside with the girls. Amelia had her Pooh push-toy and she walked and walked and walked up and down the side walk. It was so very sweet. She was DETERMINED to go where she wanted to go. I attempted to redirect her a couple of times and she promptly moved Pooh right back where she wanted to go. All the while I was thinking about how nice the summer would be, walking to the pool and getting to swim this year. But it doesn't appear that is going to happen.

What does "folliclely challenged" mean?

O.K, how's this for a smile????

I know, I'm just too cute!

So after I finished crying and feeling sorry for myself and Amelia, I started to realize how blessed we are that she is so very healthy! I know of a few adoptive families who have little girls with life threatening illnesses. We don't have that! We are so very, very blessed with good health. Now the decision part comes in...do I stay in Cincy and have the recasting completed or do I drive to St. Louis to a doctor that is highly recommended for treating clubfoot children? St. Louis is a 5.5 hour drive. We would probably have to do that six weeks in a row, once a week or so. My heart is saying go to St. Louis...I know I won't be disappointed. But I'm afraid I will be frustrated if I stay here.

Please pray for our discernment as we move forward with Amelia's treatment!

More photos of Amelia

2008-02-29T11:14:00.000-08:00

These were a few of my favorites....

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Pictures

2008-02-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

I FINALLY took the girls and had their photos done. This is just one of the many that I ordered. I LOVE IT!Thanks Laura at www.lauralainephotography.com!

Holy Schnickeys....Where have I been????

2008-02-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

I'm baaacckkk!! I know, it's been forever. I have no clue where the last five months have gone! I wish I could tell you, but I have "mommy brain". If you don't know what that is, I'll fill you in. It's a disease that occurs when you have children and they suck your brain right out of your head! So I'll try to do a quick synopsis for you.

Amelia's casts came off without a hitch on September 27th. Her feet look terrific. But she had NO strength in her legs whatsoever. She was also light as feather without those casts on, or so it seemed after hauling her around with those casts on for three months. We then had to get her fitted with her Denis Brown Brace and Markell Shoes. She wore them for 23 hours a day for three months. Yep, it was GREAT! Imagine a very precocious toddler who's movement is restricted because of this brace on her feet. Not pretty my friends. The problem we had was she was always wanting to stand up and there are these humongous screws on the bottom of her shoes/brace. Imagine the thought of those going across my hardwood floors. Again, not pretty and a source of many disagreements between the two of us. So we would wrap the shoes/brace in a towel or cloth diaper to protect the floors and to keep her from unscrewing her shoes. It worked for the most part. But there were many times when I caught her trying to put the screw BACK on her shoe. UGH....we do constant battle!!!

Hanging out with her shoes/brace on....

Now she only wears the brace while she is napping or sleeping so she ends up wearing it about 14 hours a day. She doesn't mind when I put the brace on, she's very pleasant about it. We tell her that they are her "special night time shoes". She actually tries to put them on by herself sometimes. She's a smart one!

Life without the brace is great. Amelia is a much happier child now. She cries less and laughs more. We are working on her leg strength. She is still not walking, but she cruises and pushes her shopping cart and other push toy all over the house. I tell everyone it's her "walker". Over the past several days, I have noticed her cruising more than crawling.

We have had to endure some serious behavior changes when the brace came off. Amelia has incredible upper body strength. She can pull herself up on to anything. When she would crawl, it was more of an "Army crawl" and she would just drag her legs behind her. Now, we make her crawl slowly and move her legs back and forth instead of pulling her legs along. She is really getting the hang of it and wants so much to please us. All we have to do is tell her to "slow down" and she will immediately start crawling correctly. Again, very smart little girl.

We have made some real leaps with bonding too. She actually sat on my lap a few weeks ago and cuddled with me. I was shocked and amazed. I couldn't believe it! She cries less when I leave her with a sitter too. Great strides made there. We even put her in the church nursery last week. YOWSA!

Her speech is amazing. She tries to mimic everything I say. I would say that her vocabulary is well over 30 words. She's only been here for 7 months too! Again, she's one smart cookie. We still do battle at times, but I have just resigned myself to the fact that she's just that type of child. She is rather unpleasant when she wakes up too. That's an eye opener for me since all the other kids were always so sweet and pleasant when they wake up. We're working on that though.

Her birthday is right around the corner. The festivities will be small since she is getting baptized a week later. I just wanted to post some photos for now so you can see her sweet face and see that she is growing SOME hair, but not much. Still no bows for Amelia!

Enjoy the pics.....

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Casts come off tomorrow....

2007-09-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/images/blogLogoSmilebox.gif" width=386>

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Well, tomorrow is the day and the final set of casts will be removed. We've been home exactly

two months today and Amelia has had casts since August 2nd, that's eight weeks. Holy cow, no wonder she doesn't like me some days.

I will say that we have made great strides in the two months that she has been home. She is a much happier and pleasant little girl. Of course as I'm typing this she is having a horrendous temper tantrum in her play area. Yep, she is royally ticked off right now. I'm sure I'll arrive to a puddle of crocodile tears and snot. Oh well!

She is much more ready to give up a smile when you come into a room. She still will give the occasional glare, but that mostly happens when I return from being gone somewhere. She is learning that we will come back....just in our own time and not in hers (which doesn't exactly make her happy some times.)

As a friend put it, "parenting these children is not for the faint of heart". She is so right. I knew what to expect, I had read all the material, heard the many stories. But experiencing it for yourself....you just can't imagine. One day at a time...each day gets easier and better. We do have set backs, but continue to trudge forward. For me, it's a matter of not being so hard on myself for setting boundaries and not letting her "run the show". It would be so easy to give into her screams, just to not hear them, just to make her happy. But ultimately, I know I will have to do it. Better to do it now than with a five year old...ICK!!!!!

We see a new doctor tomorrow. Amelia's original doctor has moved to Utah. I'm sad that she will not be here to see this through. I pray that the casts do come off and that her feet look terrific. I know she will still need the shoe/braces. I just hope that she doesn't still need the casts.

I'll be up bright and early tomorrow. Her appointment is at 9:05 and she has to have a good "soaking" before we go to soften the casts. That should be a barrel of fun at 7 a.m. On another good note, it does appear that Amelia had some type of parasite. We seem to have gotten the BMs under control after a round of medicine. Let's hope it lasts!

I'm off to attempt to reason with a screaming 18 month old...yes, Amelia turned 18 months yesterday.

Happy Moon Festival everyone! I'm going to try my hand at mooncakes tomorrow. I know it's late, but I'm still going to give it a try.

Oh where, oh where have I been??????

2007-09-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

you might ask. Well, I guess I'll tell you...I haven't the foggiest! That's the best I can do! The past six weeks have passed by me so quickly. There have been joys, challenges, successes and failures! I'm sure you want more...so here it is; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and let me tell you...it's been U-G-L-Y at times!

I am happy to report that I can successfully balance two girls on my lap at once. Hopefully this doesn't mean that my lap is getting larger ;-). But I do admit (much to my chagrin), that I haven't been to the gym since I returned from China. I do miss it, but don't feel comfortable taking Amelia to the playroom yet. Yes, I know, I could go at night, but by then, I'm totally exhausted! There are still some power struggles that occur when I'm holding one or the other, but they generally don't fuss too much.
First of all, Amelia is in her fifth and final set of casts. WOW, you say, where did the time go? Beats me...she had four sets of casts on for one week each and then she has this final set on until September 27th. Before this set was put on, she had a minor outpatient procedure to lengthen her Achilles tendon. They performed the procedure under a general anesthetic. I surprised myself at how upset I got when they wheeled her away. Maybe it was because I was there by myself (Steve was at home with Elise). We opted to not drag Elise out of bed at 0'dark thirty to go to the hospital. The doctor took less than 40 minutes and was out in the waiting room talking to me.

I just adored her doctor, Dr. VonStein. Unfortunately, she has moved to Utah and will not be here to do Amelia's follow-up visits. It figures that I would get someone that I really, liked and then lose her. But at least she was able to do the procedure and put her final set of casts on.

These casts are on for three weeks....and then we go into "Denis Browne Braces" or Forest Gump shoes as we have affectionately dubbed them at our house.

I'll be THRILLED to get rid of these casts. First of all, they are HEAVY...about 2 1/2 - 3 pounds. Let's not even go into how bulky and awkward they are when you try to hold her. Whenever they removed the casts at the doctor's office, I would snatch her up and snuggle her without those casts on. She always felt so tiny, but she did weigh about 20 pounds when we were in there about three weeks ago (that's without the casts). Now let's discuss the fiberglass that the casts are made of. Yes, fiberglass! Have you ever wondered what it's like to be dumped into a vat of insulation??? Hold Amelia for about 10 minutes and you'll feel the sensation! I thought I had some sort of strange disease contracted in China before I figured out that all the tingling and itching was from the fiberglass. On to bathing...WHAT BATHING??? You can't bath her with the casts on! She could only have a bath once a week, right before we went to the doctor. I would soak her in the tub for about 30 minutes to soften the casts and then we'd run out the door....dripping the entire way! But at least she got clean!

So let's talk bathing for a second....we are relegated to "sponge" bathes! Well, at our house, it's a "washrag" bath since I don't have any sponges. These bathes are o.k. if your child doesn't have extremely loose stool! Yes, that's right, I'm still battling the diarrhea! I am at my wits end with this. I have changed her formula three times, given her only bananas, applesauce and rice for DAYS and even put her on all baby food. Nothing has made a difference! It's unbelievable. I literally run to her room to try to get her out of the bed before she completely trashes it and I have to strip everything out of it and was it~this has occurred more than once. I finally called the doctor for something and will pick it up tomorrow. So couple the "no getting the casts wet" with diarrhea and you have one smelly little Asian! I do my best, but sometimes it's just not good enough. Amelia is so regular with her morning constitution, that I'm considering sitting her on the potty to try to cut down on the messes! It's an option at this point and a viable one!

Soaking the casts in vinegar water~SMELLYYYY!!!!

Having a cookie while I wait for my next set of casts!

I will say that the casts don't slow her down a bit. She wants to stand so badly right now. Unfortunately, I know that her little legs have NO muscle tone or strength what so ever. I know the physical therapy will help. But the braces she will get can only come off for 1 hour a day for the next three months. Yep, she has to wear them 23 hours a day. Part of that hour is going to have to be bathing too! I can't wait to dump this child into a big ole bubble bath!

Jei-Jei pushing Mei-Mei

As many of you may know, we've had some power struggles over the past six weeks since we have returned. I'll only elaborate on Amelia, the other kids will have to get their time on the family blog. Amelia came to us very spoiled from her home in China. She was blessed to be in a very fine orphanage where she was in Half the Sky's Hugging Granny's program. Amelia was obviously well loved and cared for. But, I don't believe that she was ever allowed to be put down. Because whenever I would sit her down to do something, the screaming would begin. And the tears, she can cry BUCKETS of tears. So many, that I was afraid she may dehydrate! And let me tell you, this child can peel the paint off the wall with her screaming! As soon as I would pick her up, she would completely stop crying and be totally content. Hmmm.....now this isn't going to work for me! So, the "behavior modification" began.

Long and brutal story, very short. Amelia is now a very good napper and sleeper. She goes down without a peep and sleeps all night long and takes about a two hour nap. We were lucky if she slept an hour during nap time and she would wake up and SCREAM until someone came to pick her up. It was the same with bedtime, she would scream as soon as we would walk out of the room. Steve actually put a baseball cap on the corner of her crib one night to quiet her down and he snuck out of the room. It worked too! It's been a difficult few weeks getting her to let go of the screaming and wait calming and patiently for us to come and get her. She's learned that her screaming gets no reaction out of us now and we see very little of it. When we do, it doesn't last very long. We've made great strides with that.

Now we're working on getting her to smile at us when she wakes up from naps and nighttime. She's not a very happy little girl when she gets up. BUT...at least it's not screaming herself hoarse. She just glares at me now. But as soon as I pick her up, she is chattering and pointing and semi-jovial! I try to get her to smile at me and I've made a complete fool of myself with her, but no luck with the smiles until I actually pick her up. I keep praying for it to get better and so are my many Ladybug friends. All the prayers are working, that's for sure!

We are getting into a rather nice routine since school started. Summer was rather icky since it was not a lot of fun for Amelia to get out in the HOT, HOT weather. I was trying to keep her from too much chafing with the casts and I kept her in most of the time. Taking her to the pool seemed rather cruel, although we did venture over occasionally, but not often. The poor little thing wanted to get in so badly. She would lunge forward whenever I would sit on the edge of the pool and try to get in. After a time, I also realized that the water and heat were making the casts even more irritating to me, so I gave up on the pool all together! Now if it would only rain! It hasn't rained here in weeks. It's only rained twice since we returned from China and that wasn't much to speak of. Everything is so dry, it's just horrible. Our rainfall is 12 inches behind normal, if that tells you anything.

Hanging out by the pool, no swimming....

We are going to walks in the stroller now that Elise is in preschool. It's nice and relaxing, I think Amelia really enjoys it. It also helps me to de-stress a little. Now that Philmont is behind me, I'm looking for a new physical challenge. Anyone have any suggestions????? I'm open for them!

It's been a challenging six weeks. I am thrilled to say that we have really turned the corner. I knew it would be difficult this time...Amelia is older and was in a very nice orphanage where I knew she would be very attached to her caregiver. She's had some strongholds to get over, but we are definitely getting there. I remember telling her right after we got home, "Little girl, if you think you're stubborn, you don't know stubborn! I'm the Queen of stubborn, sister!" I think she has finally gotten the message.

She laughs and giggles and says thank you! It's the sweetest thing too. She also has 11 teeth now and she can sign; please, more, milk, cookie, mama, baba, eat, baby and she tries her darnest to sign "Signing Time". She's brilliant, I tell you! Her biggest thing is to blow kisses and she gladly tips her nose up to me when I say, "Chin Chin Mama" (kiss mama). My greatest joy lately has been to watch is her excitement when Baba and GuGu Tucker walks in the door~the pure and simple joy of a child~there's nothing like it! It melts your heart to see it when it finally comes through and then the joy of knowing that the walls are coming down is a true answer to prayer!

It's a crazy life, full of crazy kids and family. But it's my life and I have to say, I do in fact love this life. God firmly planted me right in the middle of it knowing what was best for me! I still stand in awe sometimes when I take a step back and look at all that I have been blessed with.

Our God is an Awesome God with an incredible sense of humor sometimes!

Oh the things we see and feel, when we allow ourselves the chance to do so!

Orthopedic Visit and Home Update....

2007-08-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

We've been home a little over a week now and I think we have all readjusted to our local time...praise the Lord! I don't think it was as easy with Elise but they may have to do with when our flights arrived back in the US. We arrived home in the afternoon with Elise making it difficult to take a nap without sleeping for hours (which we did). This time we arrived home at 8 a.m. and we got home at around 10 a.m. We all took a very nice nap for around 4-5 hours and we still had a large portion of the day remaining to wear ourselves out.

Amelia is sleeping through the night and taking one nap a day. She DOES NOT LIKE being laid down. She pitches a royal fit at nap time and at bed time. It is getting better though. She will only scream for a short period of time now. I have to say that this little girl has one heck of a temper! I also think she has been very spoiled by her caregivers at the orphanage. All in all, she is very happy and has a ready smile to give (except for in the mornings, she's not a morning person).

Our day starts at around 7 a.m. although Amelia has slept until 8:30 on one occasion. I kept checking on her to make sure she was o.k....silly me. Elise is getting up early since she's in our room and she hears the shower running in the morning. I think we will move her back into her room this week. Sleeping seems to be staying in this particular pattern, so sleeping for Elise should be o.k. I know we will have to go with staggered bedtimes since Amelia goes down at 7:30 and Elise is up until 8:30.

I've included a link to a video of Amelia "moving" around. It's amazing how kids will conform and adjust to their handicaps. Amelia gets around great on her stomach. Check out her break dancing moves.....

Amelia break dancing....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPlsQDX4kOU

I had to go to the grocery with both girls. Something I've been dreading, but I had to do it. So I head out to Meijers for the excursion of the day. I spend about 15 minutes perusing the parking lot in search of the semi trucks of shopping carts...yes, the shopping cart with two seats. The shopping cart that should have a "back-up warning" sound when in reverse. Thankfully, Elise is great at the store and sat in the seat like a big girl. Amelia did well also. For our first attempt at the grocery alone, it went very well. Thank goodness!!! I told Elise is sets a great example as a big sister.

Riding in the 'DOUBLE' shopping cart

As far as adjusting to being a big sister and not the "Lone Empress", Elise seems to be doing well. She wants to help feed Amelia and I do let her when she asks. I thought this was a particularly precious photo of the two of them.

We visited the orthopedic doctor on Thursday to discuss Amelia's feet. I thought it would be a visit to discuss a treatment plan. And it was...for about 3 minutes and then she said they would cast her right away. WHAT!!!! I figured she would need surgery, but according to her doctor (that I really like), her feet are not that bad and should be fixed with a series of 4-6 casts.

So happy...right before her new cast

The casting didn't take long, we were out of the office within 45 minutes. Needless to say, my head was spinning. Amelia sat through the casting like an old pro. The doctor kept commenting on how good she was. Then I had to tell them about all the "treatments" she received in China and that this was probably nothing compared to that stuff.

So now she's learning to get around with two very heavy casts on her legs. When this is all said and done, Amelia will have the upper body strength of her mother. You should see her yank something out of Elise's hands....YOWSA! After getting over the initial shock of realizing her sister is rather strong, Elise hangs on much tighter to things!

Riding my pony in my new casts

Trying to move my feet around

Still lots of smiles even with new casts

Even with the new casts, she still gets around pretty well. The casts do not allow her to stand at all. I do help her stand, but she doesn't stand very long. She is currently pulling herself up on the trampoline in the basement without any problems what so every. She has proven to be very adaptable.

We return to the doctor on Monday for new casts. I'll be able to give her a bath before we go to soak the casts for easier removal. There is also another soaking that I have to do about 30 minutes before we get there. The casts will need to be wrapped in vinegar and water soaked towels for the ride to the doctor....YIPPEE!!! That should be an interesting visit. Get out the garbage bags....

I also thrilled to say that all of Elise's labs came back clear. She will need to have her Hep B shots, that's all. There was also no bugs in the stool, so I'm going to have to try using soy formula to help with that "issue".

See how quickly she adapts

New Locomotion...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBLh9a0-zOs

Elise is in "Potty Training Boot Camp". Yep, it isn't pretty folks. She's 3 1/2 years old and will not use the potty. I've given her until after our China trip and now the fun begins. She can't go to preschool without being potty trained. So we are stuck in the house until she "gets it". I have had to resort to long t-shirts and no pants at all. She doesn't care if her pants are wet or dirty. I've reached my limit and last resort. Yesterday was really tough, many accidents! Today, after three hours, no accidents. Let's see how the rest of the day goes.

She is less than pleased with her "situation", but maybe she'll finally get it. While in boot camp, there is no playing with friends, no sitting on the furniture unless it is the kitchen chair (that is in the kitchen on the hardwood floor) and no going to the basement with Tucker. I think the last restriction is what got to her last night. She wanted so desperately to play "Fort" with Tucker and she can't since it is on the carpeting...no accidents permitted here. So she whined and cried off to the bathroom without anyone asking her or telling her. Steve and I just looked at one another. So maybe the Gu Gu Tucker is the answer...We shall see.

Stuck on the "easy to clean" flooring...

Signing off for now....

Mystery Photo answer and another thought, "The Circle of Life"

2007-07-30T04:58:00.000-07:00

Sunset at Apache Springs....Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico

The answer to the final mystery photo was "Dried Up Sea Horses". I have NO clue what they can be used for. But the amount of "dried" items that you can find in China is far reaching and bizarre, to say the least. You try not to stare, but you just can't help yourself. It's like a train wreck, you just keep looking no matter how grotesque it may be. So if anyone knows what this might be used for, please let me know.

My phone rang yesterday afternoon and I answered it even though I didn't recognize the call. Not something that I usually do, but I felt that I needed to. It was my neighbor calling to congratulate me on my new daughter. She was sweet and kind and loving, but I could hear something in her voice. So finally I asked her how she was doing and she told me that her sister had just passed away from leukemia. She was devastated and sad and heartbroken. But she took the time to call me and say how very happy she was for all of us.

She went on to say that seeing the Celebratory Balloons welcoming our daughter home on our mailbox reminded her that another little life was here to love and cherish and grow in this place we call home. She said that it was a blessing for her to see those balloons and it lifted her spirits at the precise moment that she needed it.

Thank you God for Kelly! Hold her family in the palm of your hand and give them peace and comfort during this difficult time in their lives. We praise you for showing her that the gift of life is always a soothing balm for a hurting soul.

Please keep my friend in your prayers!

Doctor Visits, Transition, Domestic Bliss & Spicy Girl

2007-07-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

We've been home a total of four days now. Things are still in a bit of a fog...jet lag and all.

We visited the pediatrician on Friday. I finally got my wits about me and called Friday morning. I don't know why I'm being so hard on myself, I had only been home 24 hours. But since I was so "laid-back" during this adoption (Elise's appointments were all made BEFORE I left for China), I had not one appointment made. Fortunately, they squeezed us in on Friday afternoon. The appointment was during nap time, but I took it anyway. So, off we went, just me and Amelia. Elise stayed at home with her big brother.

Let's talk about that for a minute. Tucker has been home since we arrived. Matthew is at a leadership conference in New York and won't be back until Wednesday to meet his new sister. Elise is THRILLED to see her Gu Gu Tucker! The squealing and running and glee that this house is experiencing has definitely brought things out of the dormancy it has felt over the last two weeks. Hello Home! WE'RE BACKKKKK!

Although the squeals can be unnerving on little sleep, it's good to hear them playing and laughing and enjoying one another. But the best thing was when I arrived home at around 2 p.m. and found Tucker and Elise asleep on the sofa.....draped over one another. What a picture of love....my heart wanted to burst.

Teens show affection sporadically, the older they get, the less cool it is so kiss mom or give mom a hug. But with little sisters, you can kiss and hug and love all you want. That's cool and it's also a "chick magnet". Yep, Elise has been toted around by her brothers for the simple reason of attracting chicks. It's rather cute to see the girls swarm around him when he has her.

Sweet...sleeping Prince and Princess

Amelia received six, yes six, shots at the pediatrician. YIKES!!! I was totally unprepared for that. But I gotta say that she took it like a champ. Barely cried at all. I guess she's used to the needles for all that acupuncture she received in China. She weighed a little under 20 pounds (5th percentile), 29.5 inches tall (15th percentile) and her head is 18 inches round (37th percentile). Now tell me, why do I always get kids with a big head???? The doctor asked a bunch of questions concerning "on target" and I answered yes to all of them. So he said she looks good. He did order labs to have done and Amelia was kind enough to grace the office with one of her infamous bowel movements while we were there. After that little event, the doctor ordered a liver test too. Don't know why, don't care. Let's just get this runny stool fixed!!!

As for the shots....I NEVER watch my kids get shots. I close my eyes or look the other way. It works well for me. I don't get queasy or weak at the knees nothing! It's a beautiful thing for everyone involved. But now, the shots all make a kind of "click" when they are administered. HOLY COW....so six "click" later, I think I'm gonna fall over. Geez!!!! I couldn't get out of there quick enough.

I like the high chair....Elise didn't even care that she was using it! Break through????

Amelia is adjusting well to her new surroundings. She even is starting to reach out to good ole Gordo and try to touch him. Of course, Gordo could care less. He's such a gentle beast! That's why I love him so. Gordo was not too pleased with me when I returned. He totally snubbed me, wouldn't come up to me...NOTHING! I guess he was ticked off that I was gone an entire month this summer. So I gave him a big steak bone after dinner the other night. Needless to say, I'm the favorite master once again.

I also taught her to sign "please" and more". She's catching on quickly. I have to get the sign launguage DVDs out that are age appropriate for her.

We have an exersaucer that we have been putting her in so she can exercise her legs a bit. I probably mentioned that she has no muscle tone in her legs. But her arms are a different story. This girl is strong. I watched her try to lift herself out of the exersaucer the other day. It was rather disturbing!

Amelia does crawl, but it's not a pretty crawl. We have witnessed her new move that we have dubbed "the worm". Do you know the move I'm referring to? It's the worm dance move that people do across a dance floor...they literally roll across the floor in a teeter-tooter type of move. Amelia does that...it's rather hilarious. Since we have hardwood floors, she can fly! It sure gets her from point A to point B quickly!

Spicy Girl....Amelia is from Sichuan Province...home to the famous hot pot meal. This is a very spicy way to prepare food that Sichuan is famous for. You can see that in this blog...we enjoyed that one night. So when I tell people where Amelia is from I always hear, "Ah, she spicy girl!" So I take that as she will like spicy food. Well, after being home four days and experiencing a different side of Amelia, I'd say spicy has to do with her temper. Yes, she has quite the temper. WOW, can this little girl WAIL! It's unbelievable. She was such a good sleeper in China and as I expected, it went out the window in a hand basket when we arrived home. She will scream her head off when we put her to bed. The first three nights have been horrible. Up at 1:30 or 2: 30 a.m. and not really going back to sleep at all. She can be comforted and quieted down. But as soon as she is laid back down, the wailing continues. It's been a real battle of wills, let me tell you. I think it's safe to say that little Miss Amelia SiYuan was a bit on the spoiled side in the orphanage.

The bad part is that she is sharing a room with Elise and she's also waking Elise up. We are not fans of co-sleeping. I know many people do it and it's great for them. But it's just not for us! We have a king size bed and sometimes I don't think it's big enough for just me and Steve. Let alone, adding a toddler to it. We tried letting Elise sleep with us over the last few nights. But that was a complete disaster. She thinks it's playtime since Baba and Tucker always throw her on the bed and play on the bed. Not a good thing at 3 in the morning. Consequently, we made the decision to move Elise's bed into our bedroom, for the time being. It fits quite nicely into the bay window in our room.

Nap times have been just as disastrous over the last few days. Amelia is sleeping little and Elise is falling asleep and sleeping for several hours in the middle of the morning/afternoon. I'm not sleeping much either. Thank goodness I have the new Harry Potter book to read in the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, I finished it yesterday (only two days after I got it), so now I'm looking for more reading material.

So, last night was our first attempt at the new sleeping arrangement. Steve put Amelia down at around 7:30. She was literally falling asleep in his arms while he was outside introducing her to the swing set. So he carried her up to her bed and she fell asleep without a peep. I think I smell the problem...MAMA!!!! Elise slept in her bed in our room.

Results....Amelia slept until around 1:30 a.m., I went in and rubbed her back and she fell back to sleep. I think she woke up again, but I didn't have to go into her room at all. Then I heard her again at around 5:30 a.m. I got up, made her a bottle and gave it to her and she just now got up at 7:20 a.m. I'm also not a fan of bottles in bed, but that was part of her routine in China. A bottle at 6 a.m. and breakfast at 7:30 a.m. So, I'll continue with the bottle but I'll also start to water it down a little over time (thanks for the tip Karen!).

Elise woke up at 5:30 and was moving around in bed, hitting the handles on the furniture and talking to baby. I finally got her up at 6 a.m. and we came downstairs. She watched some Dora and ate some cereal and strawberries. Again, another success! Let's just hope it continues tonight.

I even slept most of the night and I feel pretty good today. Since I was up so early, I decided to start on the heap of ironing that is waiting for me. So, with a cup of coffee in hand and my Rowena iron, started the task at hand. Now, doesn't that just paint a photo of domestic bliss. Now if I only had my pearls on and a nice apron and a pound of bacon cooking on the stove, I could be June Cleaver! Those of you who know me well are laughing your heads off right now. Go ahead, I find it humorous too. I know what you're thinking too!

Amelia has an appointment with a doctor on Thursday to discuss her feet. I'm anxious for that appointment and getting this problem fixed. Keep that in your prayers.

I also ventured out to BabiesRUs yesterday to buy another stroller. We need a double stroller now since Elise still rides in one and enjoys it. So, I toiled over that decision for awhile before purchasing the one you see below. We'll have to kick the tires on this today and go for a stroll around the neighborhood this morning. Getting out will be good for all of us.

New stroller!

Elise is trying to help with Amelia and she is playing with her so much more. She plays pretend feeding with her and it's so sweet! She's coming around. I think it's done her a world of good to be back home with her "stuff". She's even sharing with Amelia. I think it helps that Tucker is playing with her. When I left for the store yesterday, there was a "tent" errected in the family room with Tucker and Elise inside planning sometime sinister, I'm sure.

I left the house with a smile on my face and a skip in my step. Jet Lag couldn't steal that moment from me. I tucked my new daughter into the car seat and off we went with Christian music floating through the car and no worries about any Chinese cab drivers cutting me off in Black Betty. Bet she would win that one!!!!

Home Again, Home Again

2007-07-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

jiggety jig! I always say that when I pull into the garage, no matter where we have been. Today, when we pulled into the garage, Elise shouted it out. It warmed my heart, made me smile and every so thankful to God for carrying us home safely!

Yes, we have returned to the Good Ole US of A with a brand new American Citizen, Amelia SiYuan Wells.

The flight went rather well. We got to sit in bulk head, so we had a bassinet for Amelia to sleep in. My camera died right before we left (not a shocker since it was on it's last leg anyway), so I wasn't able to get a photo of her in it. But she did sleep for about 6 hours of the flight~not bad! Elise did fairly well too. Once again, I'm not too impressed with China Southern service. The attendants will serve the dinner and promptly remove their uniforms in to street clothes. You don't see them again until the last two hours of the 12 hour flight, when they are serving breakfast. The seats in premium economy are very nice though, I will say that I am very glad we did fly that way. It made the long, long trip a little more comfy.

We had a 4 hour lay over at LAX to get through immigration and customs. No problem, we thought. Last time, in Detroit, we made it through in less than an hour and to our connecting flight. Yes, there was some running and some rude, American comments (made by myself, again, another shocker) made to the baggage handlers in Detroit. But we made our flight. We thought we would have not problem. Needless to say, it was a problem. We waited in immigration for Amelia's paperwork to be processed for almost two hours, another hour in the line to get through customs and then a nice, 15 minute walk to the United terminal to board our flight to Chicago. There was no time for anything to eat, to change the clothes (and I'm tellin' ya, I felt like I had been on the Trail for 4 days without a shower, ICKY!), NOTHING! By the time we got to our gate, they were boarding the plane and we were about the last ones on. LAX is a nightmare. I recommend anyone avoid it at all possible. Don't put yourself through it or if you do, make sure you have more than enough layover to make your connecting flight!

I purchased a new car seat for Elise and had planned on using her old seat for Amelia. I messed up and did not order the new car seat BEFORE I left so Elise could start using it before Amelia got here. Needless to say, she wanted NOTHING to do with the new seat. She jumped into my car and got into her car seat, buckled it and sat there quietly while we loaded the truck. This from a child who literally WAILED for the entire 15 walk from terminal to terminal in LAX. She was so bad, that EVERYONE was starring at us. I just smiled and kept trudging along. So Amelia sat in a car seat that was WAY too big for her. Hopefully we'll get this ironed out soon enough.

I expected a battle from Amelia when she sat in the seat, but she only cried a little. I recall that Elise SCREAMED the entire drive home from the airport.

In Elise's Big Girl Car Seat....

We arrived home at around 8 a.m., just an hour short of a 24 hour travel time. I have never been so happy to see an air strip in the middle of corn fields in my entire life. My very good friends, Karen and Gayla and my sister, her husband and my dad, were all at the airport to welcome us home and offer us rides. The only snag in the entire trip was that our luggage did not make the flight from Chicago to Dayton. Did I mention that we had less than an hour to make the connect at O'Hare airport? But we did in fact make it and I had time to get an iced coffee and an egg mcmuffin from McDonalds.

There were balloons in the mailbox welcoming us home! I'm not sure who put them there, but thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. No older kids were home though....one was at school and the other is in New York at a leadership conference. Tucker got home around 11:30 and finally met his new sister. Amelia was rather somber with him, but I think that's because she was tending to some business, if you know what I mean.

Sitting in the high chair. Elise doesn't seem to mind Amelia using this.

Naturally, we all fell asleep at around 12 noon since it was midnight in China. I think we slept about 6 hours, so sleep will be difficult tonight. That's o.k., I've already been to Barnes and Noble and have the new Harry Potter book that I could not find in China. So, I'm ready for the 3 a.m. wake up call to come and play!

The luggage arrive while I napped and I've unpacked and started the laundry. I'm saving some of it for the early morning, jet lag that is bound to hit. All of the gifts made it and did not break thanks to my husband superb packing skills.

Groceries have been purchased and I'm ready for bed. Hopefully I'll get a few hours of shut eye before either one of the girls wakes up. This is going to be a long week, at least it was with Elise. We'll have to spend as much time as possible outside. The Wesley's, our neighbors, did have gifts for the girls. It was very sweet and Elise was so glad to see her Tia Bella and Gray Bomb! She talked about them all the time in China.

As a final note, I would like to thank everyone for the emails. Unfortunately, there seems to be a problem and I didn't receive many of them while in China. There must have been some kind of filter in China that would not let them through. So, if I did not respond to your email, then it is safe to say I did not receive it. I would like to ask you to resend it to me now that I'm home. I know it's too late, but I'd love to have them for Amelia's life book keepsake. Thanks!

Time for a nap! I'll have some final thoughts on China and the trip tomorrow.

Farewell Guangzhou....Farewell China

2007-07-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

WHITE SWAN LOBBY... Beautiful

Well, our bags are packed and ready to go. I think I have enough clothing packed for the flight. I can only hope that we don't have any major accidents on the plane trip....praying we don't!

It's hard to believe this trip is almost behind us and we are getting ready to head to the Consulate for our "swearing in ceremony". Which basically will consist of a bunch of Americans, huddled into a very cramped room, an American will walk in and say they are all beautiful child. He'll have us raise our right hand and swear that all the information that we have submitted is correct. We'll say yes, end of "ceremony". Thank you for the VISA, Yippee, let's head home.

Red Couch Photo

We had one disaster today. We realized that we did not have Elise's backpack. Yep, Dora is MIA. This is a disaster of epic proportion. ALL of her coloring books, Leap pad, crayons, magna doodle, etc. GONE. I thought my head would explode. We did a HORRIBLE job keeping track of our carry ons on this trip. TRIP HINT....make sure each person is assigned the SAME carry on for the entire trip. It makes life easier. FORTUNATELY, we have located the backpack. We left it at the hotel check in and they are delivering it to our room at any time. Disaster averted!

Here's a question for you....How many Chinese people can you fit into an elevator? I ask this because the Chinese has NO personal space. You can be crammed into a vator and they'll keep getting on. It's unbelievable. The Americans laugh about it, talk about it and compare stories. The best I have heard is the Chinese man who literally straddled some one's stroller. It's almost like they don't realize another elevator is coming. It's the same thing with boarding an airplane. All I can think is, "It's the WHO concert all over!" Everyone runs to the boarding gate at one time and the rush is on! Do they think the plane will leave without them? They don't wait for the light to go out when the plane stops either. As soon as that sucker hits the ground and slows down, you can hear seat belts unsnapping and overheads opening up....'CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK'! What's the big hurry? The plane isn't going to take off again with them on it. I just don't get it!

Precious Chinese Art at the WS

We had a last minute POWER shopping trip. After that trip, we had to return the piece of luggage that we previously bought for a bigger piece of luggage. Sad but true. I'm happy to say I think I have everything. Oh yes, I could have bought more, but I didn't! I controlled myself a little bit. I'm sure I'll get home and wish I had bought more. We will not return for a very long time and it will probably be with our good friends, Tim and Debbie Summerford. We have missed them a great deal on this trip. I think I talked to Debbie four times...each time we had several laughs and giggles. It hasn't been the same without them! Tim and Debbie, start planning that Heritage Tour for about 10 years from now!

I've packed peanut butter sandwichs for the flight since the food is always questionable...our luggage is almost ready to go and we are going to grab a quick bit before we finally check out.

This will be my last post from China. As I type this my heart aches a little for leaving. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be going. But I'm sad for these Chinese children and the heritage that they are losing. Almost all of them will never know any more than what their parents know from their finding ads. A few lucky ones will discover more, but not many. I think of the parents of these children and what they must be thinking. Do they know their daughters and sons are leaving and going to a home in a country so much further away. A country so very different than theirs. How often do they think of the child that they gave up? I pray their choice was made for the child to have a better life and future. That's what the Chinese say to us, "Lucky little girl!" We say, "Lucky family, lucky parents!" "We are the lucky ones"!

During our last trip, I knew I would return for another child (I hadn't let Steve in on that information though). It wasn't as hard to leave! This time, I know this is our last child and final adoption. We won't be back for a long time. I'm good with that this time! So is Steve, if if I wasn't good with it, he said too bad!!!!

So this lucky family of now six, will board a plan to carry another Chinese daughter to a country, a home, a family and a ton of friends that waits to welcome her into the folds of their lives. A family and friends ready to love her and help her to be the best and most she possibly can.

CLICK CLICK...THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! My ruby slippers are on, my eyes are closed and my heels are clicking. I can smell the coffee on the stove! (That's what Granny would always tell me when I would ask her, "how much further till we get there?" She would say, "I can smell the coffee on the stove, Sissy!"

See you in America everyone! Thanks for following us. Thanks for the emails! Thanks for the love and support. It made life easier here, it brought home that much closer and it chased the homesickness away every single time someone sent us an email or comment!

Mystery Photo #12

2007-07-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

Hint....just keep swimming...

Answer to Mystery Photo #11...beetles in the market. Don't know what they are for, don't care to know either!

Last night in Guangzhou

2007-07-24T16:25:00.001-07:00

Our last night in Guangzhou was spent with our new friends...the Steins and the Reichs.

We met Nicole and Joseph at Lucy's for happy hour. Lucy's is great since it backups to a park and the kids can run around and blow bubbles and stuff. Joseph is from Amelia's orphanage and he is in almost every photo that the orphanage took. It was so sweet to see them together again. Amelia immediately recognized him and reached for him....again so very sweet.

First we had a great breakfast at the White Swan breakfast buffet. We "load-up" at breakfast since we don't know what we will be eating after that. The food is so, so scrumptious at the WS. They are meticulous too. Like the lady that is walking around with tweezers that picks up the empty butter and jelly containers from the table. I guess everyone needs a job.

In front of the waterfall at the White Swan

The "carp" in the White Swan fish pond

We hit the White Swan swimming pool to relax and beat the heat. It's very hot in Guangzhou, humid too! It's rather funny since all the people at the pool are Americans with adopted children. It's fun to sit and talk with all the families. All the other families in our group are at the Victory, so we don't see them much.

White Swan swimming pool

Please pick me up....

Waiting for the sunscreen...

HAPPY HOUR AT LUCY'S.....

Baba and his girls...

Bo Bo and Yuan Yuan (Joseph and Amelia), best buddies

Smiling for the camera, but holding hands first!

We had our best dinner yet at the White Swan Barbecue. It's a barbecue buffet that is outside by the pool, right along the river. There was beef, pork, seafood, lamb....absolutely any kind of meat that you could want and then veggies too! It was DELICIOUS! We pigged out (pardon the pun!). It was so relaxing even if it was hot.

The atmosphere was wonderful as we ate our last dinner in China. I watched the cruise boats going by and wondered what the people on board were doing and thinking. Were they like me, sitting with my Chinese daughters waiting to head home to their new country. Then I look at these beautiful gifts from China, my two girls and am thankful for the opportunity that the People's Republic of China has so graciously granted out family.

Then the moment is broken by a wail for more rice or ice cream. Then it's back to the task at hand...feeding two girls and myself. Life doesn't get any better than this.

Big and still ALIVE...shrimp anyone???

The White Swan at night...

Along the Pearl River

Lucy's Bar at night...

We leave tomorrow evening. There will be shopping and packing to do. Our swearing in ceremony is in the afternoon. Then it's off to the airport for a 9 p.m. flight to LA. I've got my ruby slippers and I'm ready to slip them on and start clicking the heels together. There's no place like home!!!

Good night from Guangzhou....

Mystery Photo #11

2007-07-24T16:17:00.001-07:00

This reminds me sooooo much of something from Survivor....

Answer to Mystery Photo #10...This is my beloved Magnum Ice Cream Bar! I LOVE THESE things....it's better than a Dove Bar, by far. I highly recommend you eat one while in China!

Orphanage Photos

2007-07-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

So many things can go through your mind when you see these photos. I encourage you to look at the faces of the children. Look at those smiles...they are very happy and content children. The only thing any mother could ask for.

Sleeping Beauty...

I sent two cameras to the orphanage in a care package for Amelia. I did get the two cameras back and she came to me in one of the outfits that I sent her (it fit, the other one was way too big).

I hesitated to post some of these photos. The methods they employ for physical therapy are very different than ours. I post these photos with one caveat....no matter how misguided you believe this to be, I believe they are doing the best with what they have. The nannies were very loving to Amelia.

Mystery Photo #10

2007-07-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

I first discovered this in Europe. Imagine my delight when I found them here, two years ago. Not available in the US...

Answer to Mystery Photo #9.....if you look closely, there are several boxes on this moped. They are shoes! So, I call this a traveling shoe salesperson! I know it's weak, but I thought it was funny!

Medical Exam...CHECK

2007-07-22T21:14:00.001-07:00

For the second morning in a row, I have woke up to sunshine. Yes, good ole sunshine. Something that I did not see in Beijing or Chengdu due to the amount of pollution. I actually know which way is East now.

The White Swan sits right along the Pearl River. We have a great view of the river traffic right outside our hotel room window. We sat in the lobby last night, right around sunset and watched the boats go by. One thing you can say about the Chinese, they love their neon lights! As you can see from the boats....

Cruising on the Pearl River outside the White Swan

Today was the "medical exam". For those of you who have been here, you know why I added the quotes. This exam is necessary for the child to get a US VISA to leave the country. It is performed by Chinese officials in a medical facility. This facility has a special room for the examination of Adopted children. You have to pass through the stares of the Chinese people that are waiting in the front of the offices.

We should be used to the stares by now...the first night in Guangzhou, we are walking down the street and a Chinese man is trying to get his son to stand beside me and take a photo. But he's trying to do it on the "down-low". So you know me....I stop him and say, "Hey, let me pose for that shot!" I stand there beside the poor young man (who is mortified by now) and smile nice for the camera!

Matching jammies

We walked to the Victory hotel and then to get VISA photos taken. Amelia sort of smiles for this photo. Unlike Elise who was wailing her her VISA photo. After the photo, we walked to the medical office.

Playing Mahjong

I missed this part of Elise's trip...I was lying of the floor of our bathroom (with Tucker) suffering from food poisoning. I got the scoop on the trip, but I wasn't sure what to expect.

Waiting for our turn....

First stop, was a lady that checked Amelia's feet. She seemed to be concerned that there had been some surgery. Of course there hasn't. But her feet are a bit scared up from the braces that the orphanage put on her. We haven't been putting them on her as tight as they did. When we got her, her poor little feet were purple from lack of circulation. We do leave the braces on her when she tries to walk so she stays on the flats of her feet, or sort of. Anyway, it will be good to get to an orthopedist. After some "hub-bub" over that, we moved on to the weigh in.

This isn't so bad....YET!

Well, Amelia did not like being taken out of my lap and being weighed and measured. As a matter of fact, I'm not so sure how they got a decent weight and measurement. But according to them, she weighs 19 pounds (which I can confirm) and she is 28 inches long or 73 centimeters. So for a 16 month old, she's below the 5th percentile on both. Well, at least she's consistent.

Getting ready for the weigh in. Elise is very interested in this part and what she has to say.

Wiggle, wiggle, squirm, squirm

Next was the hearing test...or sort of. There was a squeaky frog and a keyboard. I had to make Elise "stand-down" over the keyboard. She was vibrating with excitement thinking she was going to get to play with it.

Hmmmm...what is this thing?

All I can say is that the wailing and gnashing of teeth began. First, it was the ears. Hated that part. Second was the tongue depressor~nasty stuff I tell you. I can say that all "fresh" exam tools were used! I made sure they came out of clean wrappers!

Squeaky frog is not impressing Amelia!

Worse part...checking the throat!

We did stop at a small park on the way back to the hotel. Elise was thrilled, there was a slide. But we didn't stay long since the temperature is 102 degrees and the humidity is 80%. Amelia had fallen asleep by now and Elise needed lunch and a nap.

Couldn't tell you what this is. But Elise liked it!

Hoorah! A slide!

The troops are napping now and I've promised Elise a bubble blowing session when she wakes up. We have another free night, probably find the Papa John's and eat there. Who knows what we'll do. I'm dying for an American Hamburger. I'd like mine to moo at me when I bite into it too. That ain't happening here!

I need to hit the electronics store and buy a few things. We will probably head there later. Only two more sleeps in China till home!

HELLOOOOOOOOOOO Guangzhou

2007-07-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Ni Hoa!

We finally arrived at the White Swan after about an hour on the bus. Everyone else from our agency is staying at the Victory. Why stay at the White Swan you ask? Well, for me, I wanted to get Amelia the "Coming Home Barbie" that is available ONLY at the Swan! It's a special deal they have with Mattel and they offer every adoptive family one when they stay here. Plus, the White Swan will be undergoing renovations this year and rumor has it that they will be shut down for about 10 months beginning in November. I've yet to ask any employees about this, but I plan on it.

Getting here was a challenge since our driver seemed to not know where he was going. He did perform a few, exceptional U-Turns that quickly impressed me! That is until I realized that he was in fact lost and went the same why twice before realizing that he was going the right way the first time. The disturbing part about all of this was the fact that Steve is sitting on the bus, telling the driver where he should be going. How does he know where he's at? He was here two years ago, for two weeks. He surely can't remember! But he does and he was right about where to turn and everything. Steve is a human GPS! I wonder where the button is to mark the waypoint in his system?

We get to our room and we have the same room as last time, only two twin beds. We did score one of about 5 rooms that have an adjoining door. We will miss the convenience of a suite, but a suite is an extra $200 a night...YIKES! The Victory has nice suites, but not a Barbie and the breakfast buffet is not nearly as nice as the Swan.

As soon as we got our bags to the room, I walked to the mini bar to check out the drink situation. I wanted to fall to my knees and weep...there was a COLD bottle of Chardonnay in the frig. After commandeering a bottle opener from the hotel staff, I had a nice glass of wine while unpacking. I say "nice" since I have a devil of a time locating Chardonnay in China. Red wine is very abundant, but not white. Don't know why either. So the frig is COLD here. We had to request ice at the last hotel since the frig didn't seem to work well. Again, another bonus at the Swan.

On bended knee when I saw this!

Elise slept through most of the unpacking. She zoned out on the bus and we had to put her in the stroller. I think she slept like this for about an hour.

Panda watching over his sleeping master.

Happily playing in her crib while we unpack.

Dinner was the next order of business. We headed to Lucy's Bar and Grille. Another location that is frequented by adoptive families while in Guangzhou! Again, I scored another glass of Chardonnay and we enjoyed sitting outside (although it was warm) and let the kids run around in the park that adjoins Lucy's Bar. It was a nice and relaxing evening and something that we desperately needed.

Relaxing at Lucy's Bar and Grille

Ice cream and Coke Light (FINALLY)!

This morning was "consulate paperwork" morning. We dined at the famous White Swan buffet and Elise was enthralled with all the fish in the fish pond. I gotta say, those suckers are HUGE! I'll post photos later. The one I took is not very good! Then it was off to the Victory Hotel to complete paperwork. That lasted about an hour and then we walked back to our room. It is HOT, HOT, HOT here.

Playing in Amelia's crib.

Completing Paperwork

Elise and I ventured out to the pool to see what was going on. It's beautiful and we'll have to head down there later. It's very hot and the pool will be a welcome activity.

The White Swan Gardens...

Finally, when we did return to our room, we found the Barbie that I was hoping for. The best part is that we scored TWO Barbies since we have two rooms! We got two with Elise's trip, but I gave one to another family that had an older daughter with them. Not sure what I'll do with this one, I'm thinking EBay!

Coming Home Barbie

The girls are doing great! Elise plays with Amelia more everyday. She is still a bit jealous and wants to ride in the stroller when Amelia is in it or wants to be carried when I'm carrying Amelia. We've borrowed another stroller in Guangzhou, so Elise can have her own stroller. But there are times when it doesn't matter.

Amelia still favors me. She gets rather crabby and throws herself around when she's tired. But she's sleeping great and sleeps all night her in crib. I had to wake her this morning at 7:15 a.m. since we had a meeting at 9:30 and we needed to eat breakfast before we went. I'm sure the sleeping will be rough once we get home. The jet lag will throw a wrench into things. But I can at least tell that she won't mind sleeping in the crib by herself.

Elise is even taking naps. I think she's suffering from jet lag still! Amelia just laid down in her bed and fell asleep. Isn't that dandy! Keeping my fingers crossed that continues. Maybe Elise will fall asleep too!

We passed on the Guangzhou Zoo today...not a very good zoo in my opinion. It's something we didn't really care for the last time we were here. So, we're relaxing in our room while it's so hot and we'll head out later. I'm thinking Danny's Bagels tonight and shopping!

Trying to get a picture...it's tough sometimes!

Mystery Photo #9

2007-07-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hint.....you don't see many of these in the States any longer. Most of the time, we buy them the "self-serve" way.

Answer to yesterday's mystery photo....Brocade Loom!

Goodbye Chengdu.....

2007-07-21T20:40:00.001-07:00

Our final, full day in Chengdu was spent at the Panda Research Facility and then doing a "scaled-down" city tour.

We left the Pandas and headed to lunch at a typical Chinese Restaurant that caters to tourists. Naturally, there was place to shop right outside the restaurant. This was a shop that sells embroidery. But not just any kind of embroidery....this embroidery is done with silk thread and it has the same details on BOTH sides. It is very beautiful and also pretty pricey. Acquiring a piece of this embroidery was on my shopping list, so naturally I was excited to enter.

Demonstrating how the embroidery is done.

Sichuan Province is known for their embroidery and Shu Brocade. I wanted to make sure that Amelia has a piece of each type of art work for later.

Then we headed to the Brocade Factory. After a tour and a demonstration of this ancient art that is passed on from Master to apprentice, I shopped some more. Again, I got Amelia a lovely brocade scroll titled "Four Beauties". The scroll shows four beautiful Chinese woman from various Dynasties. I have them all packed away right now. I'll have to get them out later and send photos. It really is beautiful work. Again, not cheap, but something that I wanted Amelia to have.

Shu Brocade is done on a loom about 12 feet long. It requires two people to operate it. It all looks very complex and intricate and it is. There are approximately 800 silk threads that are the base of the brocade. I feel sorry for the person who had to string those threads!

It takes about 8 hours to weave 2 inches of brocade. YOWSA...talk about labor intensive.

A brocade loom, this man is doing the weaving.

This is the second guy working the loom, he is sitting at the top.

The second man pulls threads up and down...I think. It's all very intricate and complex. I couldn't quite get all the details. You can see the black, silk thread that is the base of the brocade piece.

Panda Brocade

Next stop, Jin Li Street. This is a famous street in Chengdu that is full of street vendors. To my delight, there was also a StarBucks and I treated myself to a Raspberry Tea Frappucino Drink. It was cold and slushy and delicious!

This street is a famous tourist spot. There were loads of people taking photos of each other and it was very crowded.

Entering Jin Lin Market Street (see the StarBucks on the left)

Silly self-portraits of Mama and Elise

Happy and content in the stroller...for now!

A look down the street. It is very authentic and interesting.

The Chinese Version of an Arcade Shooting Game. They were shooting real arrows....don't think you'll see that in the States!

On another note, it's good to know that there are some things that are the same universally. We got to see two women in a "cat fight" while shopping. It was like a train wreck, people were gathering all around them. I was waiting for the Yuan to come out and the betting to start. We didn't stick around to see the outcome, although I was tempted.

Chengdu....at night out our hotel room window. It's actually a little tame since the photo was taken at 10:30, many lights are turned off.

We spent the evening in our hotel room, eating pizza and packing. Amelia loves to play with the stacking blocks. She doesn't walk yet, but she will pull herself up to the table and cruise around. She does crawl, but she drags her right leg a little. It's really nothing that I didn't expect, but she'll definitely need some PT when we get home. She has braces for her feet, but it's only to help her walk on the bottom of her feet. Otherwise, she would be walking on the sides of her feet. She chatters up a storm and she prefers me over Steve. But I believe that is because I'm the one who feeds her all the time.

Speaking of eating....she's a real pig. It's like she doesn't have an "off" switch. She'll eat as long as you put food in her mouth. That leads us to our next problem...bowel movements. This maybe TMI for some of you, so skip this paragraph. When we got Elise, we cheered when there was a #2 diaper. She was so bad, that we went through about a 1/2 bottle of suppositories while in China. So, this time, I came prepared....suppositories, children's prunes and in abundance. HA! Don't need them this time. This child is eating rice and bananas for the duration of this trip. I only hope that she doesn't have anything serious like Giradia. On the other hand, Elise is lucky to go everyday three days. It will be good to get home and start regulating their diets a little bit better. (Just another tidbit, I had to change TWO poopy diapers while typing this! Where is Steve, you might ask? Well let me tell you , he's in the Beauty Shop getting a haircut, yep! That's right!)

Did I mention that stacking blocks ROCK! I brought one set and had to buy another set since Elise thinks everything is hers and she's having "issues" sharing!

A crowd waiting for a store to open....it must be like Walmart the day after Thanksgiving!

A picture of McDonalds...they are EVERYWHERE in Chendgu!

So is Pizza Hut!

I call this a "Bicycle Traffic Jam"! It's actually people on bikes waiting to cross the street at a cross walk.

I'm of the mind that all of the HUGE cranes are in Chengdu and Beijing. You can't count them, there are so many in the skyline!

We left for the Chendgu airport at 9 a.m. for our final leg of our journey...to Guangzhou to get Amelia's VISA so she can come home. I'm always nervous about flights and getting there on time etc. Our guide, Andy, took care of getting our tickets and getting us to security. Before we passed through, he stopped each one of us to say goodbye. He looked at me and said, "I know your baby will have a good life." I could barely speak to him to say thank you. I always wonder how they feel when one of their own leaves their country. Are they sad, happy or both? My heart aches for all that China will lose when they lose a daughter to adoption. At the same time, I'm grateful to parent these amazing beauties!

Our flight was only about two hours and Amelia slept for the first hour and looked out the window for about the last hour. She was very good on the flight. The only problem I had was when she wanted to get on the floor and I wouldn't let her. Then the power struggle began. I had to hold her extra tight and tell her "Bu", which means NO! She didn't like it, but she eventually gave up when she realized I was giving in. She did the same thing to Steve on the bus. I heard him say, "You're not going to win, so you might as well give up!"

We did have one little guy that cried almost the entire flight. Naturally, he was with first time parents. It never fails that they get the fussy one in the group. I feel so bad for them...then I sit there with two little girls that are happy and content. Let's hope that continues during the 30 hours of travel time going home!

First flight....not too bad of a traveler!

Next post....from the White Swan, Guangzhou China!

Mystery Photo #8

2007-07-20T07:19:00.001-07:00

I'm giving the food a break for awhile. But trust me, I have many more photos to share!

This art is not taught in any school....only from master to apprentice.

Answer to Mystery Photo #7...duck feet!!! No joke

Chengdu Panda Research Facility

2007-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today was the long awaited Visit to the Chengdu Panda Research Facility. It's a world renowned facility that breeds and houses the endangered Giant Pandas. Elise chanted all morning about seeing the Pandas...and the giraffes and the tigers and the elephants. I finally gave up on trying to explain to her that we were not going to the zoo. She'd figure it out eventually.

We left the hotel at 8 a.m. since we wanted to get to the facility early. The Pandas are much more active in the cooler weather, so we were trying to beat the heat.

Monument outside the Facility Entrance

I'd like to say were were successful in beating the heat, but alas....IT WAS SO HUMID....Humid like Houston or Miami, Florida! UNBELIEVABLE.

The "park" was beautiful. It was full of bamboo walkways that provided shade (not much need for the shade since the sun rarely peeks through the pollution) and some coolness from the heat.

Elise is so excited to see the Pandas.

We first came to the adult panda habitats. Did I mention it was so humid that my clothes are already wet after walking for five minutes and there is sweat dripping down my back? The air was so thick, I thought I was on top of Mt. Phillips again trying to suck in oxygen! Suffice it to say, the Adult Pandas weren't moving much.

This poor guy is sprawled on the concrete trying to beat the heat. Personally, I wanted to join him/her.

We didn't see ANY action from the adults and I was beginning to worry that this would be the trend. We walked around for a good 30 to 40 minutes and then we came to the panda cubs. This is where the action is. Let me put it into parental terms....do you know how your kids will keeping going in any kind of weather? Well, that's what these little guys were doing and they were unbelievably cute. I've attached a few photos and I've also attached video. Try to turn on the volume and you can hear Elise chatting in the background. You can even hear Amelia chanting mama or baba (I can't remember which).

We were also lucky enough to see a month old panda cub. It was very,very small. Photos were not permitted, so we couldn't take any.

Big Panda eating bamboo....waiting for a group of tourists to get their photos taken.

Panda cub walking on his jungle gym

Finally, the Pandas....but no elephants and tigers.

They have toys just like our kids do. But they are clumsy like Gordo!

Way too cute!

A Red Panda

Walkway of Bamboo

Panda's Swinging....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdvtYeMAXv4

Clumsy Pandas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhemYaQs6Hs

More Panda video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDWmim9y2iQ

It was a very busy day. I have more stuff to post, but I have to get to bed. We leave for Guangzhou in the morning. I'll post more from there once we get settled into the White Swan.

Elise and Amelia are trying to play together. Elise is coming around a little more each day. I do my best to give her special time, Amelia too. I actually was able to put Amelia down in her crib while she was still awake....she whimpered a little and then was out like a light.

Amelia laughs and giggles and pinches my nose. She really is coming around. She even showed a little bit of temper with me today. She wanted out of my lap in the van and I made her sit still. It's the first time she's gotten mad and cried. I didn't give in and everyone was looking at us during the ride. I just kept smiling! I told her she has a long way to go if she thinks she's going to outlast me! I define stubborn!!!

Big smiles after a big day!

Next post....from Guangzhou. IT'S TIME TO SHOP!!!!!

Visiting People's Park

2007-07-19T02:35:00.000-07:00

Today was another quiet day for us. We decided to take a taxi to visit "The People's Park" in Chengdu. It was built in 1911 and today is a lovely green space in the heart of Chengdu. There were many people there today. You saw woman doing what we would call line dancing, Tia Chi, some older men with their swords and then lots of grandparents with their grandchildren. Since it is summer break here, the park was full of children. It was a nice distraction today

Naturally, we draw a lot of stares in a city that doesn't see too many fair haired, Caucasians. I've had my photo snapped so many times, I feel like a star.

Line dancing?? Steve wanted to join in, but I wouldn't let him.

Monument to the people in the center of the park

Riding the carousel

A local woman gave each of the children a sucker. She was very kind.

Amelia's first ride...She wasn't too impressed.

Elise was in heaven to finally ride something like the brown horse at Meijers.

Getting ready for bed.

Tomorrow we will visit the Panda Breeding facility and tour the city. It is our last full day in Chengdu and then we head to Guangzhou. The girls are fast asleep. I hope Amelia sleeps through the night. She cried for about an hour in the middle of the night. I think she was mourning, nothing would calm her and it was such a pitiful cry. All I could do was cuddle her.

I've uploaded a video from today. Let me know if it works o.k. I have a few others I can upload if it goes well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytNoQOjjhw8

Mystery Photo #7

2007-07-19T00:09:00.000-07:00

More culinary delights from the streets of Chengdu....
Could you please run that through the garden....NO WAIT! I can't eat the garden here, I'll get TD!

Answer to Mystery Photo #6.....Spicy Rabbit Heads, it's true. HOWEVER, I don't believe Andy. I think it's RATS!!!!!!

The Water in China...ramblings of a mad woman

2007-07-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, it is unsafe to drink the water in China. No problem, you say. I'll just drink the bottled water. But let me pose this question and challenge to you. Try keeping your mouth shut while taking a shower! It's unbelievable difficult. Just try it the next time you are enjoying that hot water pounding on your body or your head. Don't let any water into your mouth.

Now let's discuss brushing your teeth. How many times do you rinse your toothbrush out in the tap water? HA! Try remembering to NOT put your toothbrush under the tap water before, during and after brushing your teeth! Try using a bottle of water to rinse your toothbrush!

That's your challenge for today! Good luck Grasshopper!

Mystery Photo #6

2007-07-18T09:32:00.001-07:00

Snack anyone...this is deep fried and served on the streets of Chengdu! May the force be with you!

Answer to yesterday's photos....pig brains! Yep, we didn't eat it but our guide did. Only because we dared him! Poor guy, he needs to learn to say no or just "stuff it" in American!