We're Home!!

Tim and Jadeyn came to Raleigh to pick us up at the airport and we made our two hour drive back home! We finally made it home at about 2:00pm! We were so happy to be home and back with our family!

As for our flights, well they were uneventful which is always good! We got to San Francisco's airport about 8:35pm and made our way to the gate where we then waited for about two hours before it was time to board the plane. We arrived in Chicago around 5:15am which was 3:15am SF time so of course we were tired! We had to wait another two hours before boarding our next plane to Raleigh. We made it to Raleigh at about 11:15am. As always I was not able to sleep on the planes! If I got one hour sleep that would be pushing it! Miata on the other hand slept pretty good on each flight. So I was actually up from about 7:00am Wednesday morning and finally went to bed about 9:30pm Thursday night! So approximately 38 hours with no sleep!!

That's alright though because the large Thanksgiving dinner that Tim and I made was well worth being sleep deprived!!

The picture above tells all!

Miata and Jadeyn really missed each other and were so happy to be back together!! They have never been apart from one another before except for a few hours at a time!

Today's the Day!

Finally it is almost time to depart and head home for Thanksgiving! Though we have been most blessed to have spent time with this wonderful family who so generously had taken us in during our time here BUT it will be wonderful to return home to the rest of our family!

Today was a day of rest for us. This morning after we got dressed we went to return the rental car and then had them drive us back to Arlene & Jack's. While Jack took Miata to Greer Park, just around the corner, I spent that time packing. Once they returned we had lunch and then Miata and I went back to the park to relax and spend time playing games (sitting on a park bench.) Not exactly Miata's favorite way of playing, of course, but unfortunately she still has a couple of weeks before she is allowed to engage in her type of playing! The most special thing happened just before we left the park and it was... God sent a very special woman (didn't even get her name) and her daughter directly to us! They walked right up to us and immediately started talking to Miata about her ear. I was able to engage in conversation at that moment because I was talking to my husband on the phone. I quickly hung up from speaking with him and zoned in on the the conversation between them. She was asking Miata many many questions about her ear and I begin to explain what she had done to it. Well this woman starting telling Miata how special she was and how God created her so special and perfect. Of course this boosted Miata's spirits and made her feel good. She then proceeded to tell us that her little girl was also born with something and asks Miata to guess what it was. Miata was a bit shy and didn't want to guess so she proceeded to tell us that her daughter was born without certain teeth (I have never heard of this!) She then explained that there is a special doctor that was going to make new teeth for her that he will then be able to fix the areas in her mouth that had these teeth missing! This little girl is seven years old and was such a sweet pretty little girl. Well she then proceeded to explain that that was not the only special area she was born with but that she also was born with a whole in her heart. She said when she plays hard you can then put your ear to her heart and hear the very loud swishing sound that her heart makes. Later she even had Miata do this so that she could really hear it for herself! Even more fascinating is that she shared with me the fact that when she was in college (she now works for a plastic surgeon) there was a doctor she studied under who was born without either of his ears!! This doctor pioneered the surgery of creating ear canals on patients who receive a plastic (a prosthetic ear!) She asked me if Miata's doctor was Dr. Roberson (I have a link on the right sidebar for him) and I told her I was very familiar with who Dr. Roberson was but that we chose to have a real (cartilage created) ear instead of the prosthetic ear for Miata and then would have Dr. Kesser complete the Atresia surgery for her canal. Anyways, Dr. Roberson studied under this initial doctor and later perfected this procedure as did Dr. Kesser. O.k. lets see, there are approximately 58,598 people living in Palo Alto! What are the chances that this woman would just walk up to us out of the blue with this type of connection to this situation?? Not a coincidence, no way!! After our short time together, about 15 minutes, Miata and I had to leave because Jenny was suppose to be coming by for a while this evening. As we begin to walk we got just a distance away and this little girl ran up behind us and gave Miata a very pretty little flower and told her to have a good day and just smiled at her. Miata said thank you and thanks for playing with me. As we walked hand in hand home I just reflected upon what had just happened and the overwhelming feeling of God sending us these special angels was most evident! Miata's spirits were lifted mightily and she really enjoyed these few minutes of talking and playing with this woman and little girl! I just thanked God for sending them to us and for all He has done for us on this journey to California!!

Anyways, it was a great day but also a day of rest before our long journey back home! We leave San Francisco at 11:10pm and arrive in Chicago at 5:05am. We then have a three hour layover there in Chicago. Next we leave Chicago at 8:08am and arrive in Raleigh at 11:00am. Whew, what a night of traveling it will be! I will post more updates once we are back home.

Thank you all again for all your prayers! We greatly appreciate them!

Last Post-op Visit

Miata and I started our day with a stop at the wetlands part of the Bay which is about 7 minutes away. We spent most of our time at the duck pond located within this very large area of wetlands. Miata enjoyed feeding the various kinds of ducks and also the pigeons & seagulls.

After the duck pond we made our way to the Children's Library which we have visited many days while we have been here. It is a really nice library filled with only children books and also has many different rooms containing different types of books, themes, and activities. I sure wish all cities had a Children's Library! These are the two favorite chairs by the fireplace that Miata and I continue to sit in and read books together, so I thought I would take a picture on this last visit before leaving tomorrow.

Later we finally made our way to Miata's last post-op visit with Dr. Brent. He removed the bandage from her ribs first. I was amazed that the cut was as large as it was, although it should just leave a small hairline scar. Finally she will be able to take a real bath! But no showers for a few more weeks. Next he removed the bandages from her ear and we (Miata and I) were finally able to see it. Miata didn't like it much. She thought it looked a little scary. Dr. Brent told her there is so many wrinkles in the skin because of all the bandages on it but that would go away along with the additional swelling soon. He then re-bandaged the ear (not the ribs) and she was released to be able to go home.

Oh yea, I did ask about the rib cartilage and what happens. The answer... It does not regrow! That area will always stay without cartilage but the muscle that had to be cut through to get to the cartilage will continue to heal and strengthen so the missing cartilage is protected. He said that when the child is thin and petite that lots of times they can suck in their stomachs and you can see the indention where there is missing cartilage. This is true also if the child grows up but is still thin and petite.

Anyways while we were in the waiting room we met yet another family plus again saw the ones from Saudi Arabia. The new family we met was from South Dakota. They were there for their daughter who was having Stage 2 surgery done tomorrow. The unbelievable part was that they also had their son with them who had previous been a patient of Dr. Brents!! Yep that's right!! He too had been born with the same ear deformity as the daughter!! He was about 3 years older than his sister and he had already completed all 4 Stages of this surgery! I commented to the mom that that must be extremely rare to have two children with the same deformity and she said indeed it was the chances of it are only 1 out of 20!! Well the son was most proud to come over and show us his completed new ear! Miata looked at it carefully and commented that it didn't look just like the other. I had to later explain to her that it will not look exactly the same rather it will always look a bit different but it is a functional ear!

Dr. Brent really really likes Miata and thinks she is such a funny and special girl! He had a lot of fun with her and her silly comments and funny faces as he was working with her ear! I have a wonderful picture of the two of them together but unfortunately cannot post it until I get home. Speaking of home, tomorrow is the day! Well actually the day we leave! Arlene will take us to the airport probably around 8:30-9:00 but we will not actually leave until about 11:30. We should arrive back in Raleigh around noon. Please pray for safety as we travel home just in time for Thanksgiving.

San Francisco Zoo

Today we went to the San Francisco Zoo. We spent all day walking through it and seeing all the animals. This zoo is so unique because you are so very close to most of the animals. You could actually reach over and touch or grab the animals you are so close! Many of the animals are not even contained. We had peacocks walking on the paths beside us and birds flying over us which are part of the zoo animals, even giraffes that we could almost pet, if they would have just taken a couple more steps closer to where we were standing. Of course the more dangerous animals are at a little further distance but still closer than I have ever been to them. Miata also enjoyed the petting zoo where she was able to pet, feed, and even groom the goats and sheep.

The most fascinating part of our visit to the zoo was seeing Dr. Brent's sculptures and having Miata's picture taken with them. One is titled "The Barnyard Watchdogs" which are actually geese of course. Another is a large lazy hippo which all the children love to climb on and slide off of. If you haven't read the article in the Almanac Paper (pgs. 12-14) you should!! This will enlighten you to how wonderful of a gentleman Dr. Brent truly is!! Again I have to say he is an amazing, very humble, wonderful doctor who loves what he has been doing his entire life which is sculpting & creating, along with that; using these gifts coupled with his profession of being a doctor to also sculpt and create ears for children with ear deformities!! Though you may not be interested in ears and ear deformities trust me you would definitely be interested in reading about one incredible man!!
Anyways, today was another day without pain medication so I think we have now passed that stage. Miata still has a long way to go for her rib area to be completely healed where she can again play and act as normal. I am not quite sure how that area, where Dr. Brent removed that section of rib cartilage, heals! I am only assuming that maybe with time the cartilage grows and fuses back together!? I plan to ask Dr. Brent this question when we visit him tomorrow for Miata's last post-op visit so I will post the answer tomorrow.

A few people have asked when we will be returning home. We were hoping to fly out tomorrow night after the Dr. appointment but unfortunately there were no flights available until Wednesday night so we will be taking the red eye back and will arrive back in NC, Thursday afternoon just in time to spend Thanksgiving with the rest of the family.

Chinatown,,,

Today we spent the day in Chinatown! Wow, I was totally amazed!! It is truly as close to China as you can get!! The look of it, the shopping, the restaurants, the people, their housing, etc. You actually feel as though you are in China! The restaurants even serves many items just as they do in China from choosing your catch from a tank to whole chickens hanging on strings. Everything in this area is written in Chinese even the street signs! We spent most of the day there going in and out of all the small shops, which are also just like in China! You can even barter with them! This is an entire (Chinese) city within the downtown city of SF. We saw the Chinese school and also spent a little time in the Chinese park. Here many older Chinese gather and play cards, exercise, and just hang out talking with one another. Miata really wanted to play on the playground but of course that is not allowed right now. Anyways, it's kinda funny that Miata definitely did not stand out rather it was me! All the looks were upon me walking hand in hand with this Chinese child. They were probably questioning why she had a bandage on her head and may even have thought what did that mom do to that Chinese child!? Anyways, aside of some of the stares, we really enjoyed our time here.

We later returned back to Arlene & Jack's for dinner. After dinner it was time for me to remove the tubes from Miata's ear! You may have questioned what those tubes were for so here's the answer... After Dr. Brent sculpted Miata's new ear then placed it under the skin (behind her existing small ear) he actually vacuum seals it (sucks the skin tightly to her head) placing the two tubes in to keep it vacuum sealed. I have been changing those tubes twice a day since the surgery. I had to pinch the tube together to keep the suction sealed then pull it out of the drainage tube (container) then place it into a new clean one. Then do the same for the second one. Anyways, Jack was playing cards with Miata so I ceased that perfect opportunity to remove them while she was occupied. I pealed the tape off and she didn't even question what I was doing for being so involved with the game (she also probably thought I was changing the tubes as normal.) Well with a downward motion I pulled the small tubes leading into that ear totally out in one motion. After they were out Miata looked up at me with the look of questioning in her mind "what did you just do?" I told her the tubes were out and she just smiled! Didn't hurt a bit! She is most happy to have these tubes out! As we have been out and about all the looks we (she) have received are of people mostly staring at those tubes. It is a rather strange look to have them taped to the bandage with blood going through them draining into the tubes. Oh, another great thing that happened today is that Miata needed no pain medication! So, again she is progressing nicely!

Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, etc.

Today we headed to San Francisco which is about a 45 minute drive. There we went to the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, and the Exploratorium. Unfortunately we didn't go on top of the Golden Gate Bridge but instead just went close enough that I could take a picture of Miata in front of it. Maybe another time when we are here for future visits we can go there and walk around on the bridge. Anyways, next I took Miata to the Exploratorium which is a very large, hands on, science museum. We spent several hours there while Miata explored all the unique fun things they have to learn and do. After our stop there we proceeded on to our next stop which was Pier 39 (click to see pics).) This entire area is so unique! It covers probably about 1 1/2 miles and had many many piers that you can walk around on and see the unique places on them. Pier 39 is one of the most unique with all the shopping, dining, entertainment, etc. It is also where you can see all the sea lions that have been rescued, saved, and then re-entered back into the waters. Miata loved watching them so we were there (just looking & watching) for quite a while. Anyways, after our long day in San Francisco we finally made our way back to Arlene & Jacks.
Miata is doing great!

Stanford University

Today Miata and I went to Stanford University, which is only about 10 minutes away, to walk around the campus and site see. Arlene had told us that it is a wonderful place to get out and walk around so I decided that would be great for Miata. I am suppose to keep her walking more each day to help with her rib area as it heals.

Stanford is a huge college and the campus is gorgeous! We walked around the grounds and also went into many buildings to look around. We went to the Stanford Museum which was wonderful. It is really large with much art work, sculptures, cultural artifacts, etc. We went in the Asia part of the museum which was great to see as well as the Rodin sculpture garden just outside the museum.

Later we walked down to the tower and in front of the tower was a very unique fountain because the water in the fountain was very pink:) Miata thought this was really cool. From the top of the tower you could see the entire campus, much of the surrounding area, all the way to the SF Bay! Pretty amazing to see.

Miata is doing better everyday and she is now taking very little pain medicine!

Post Op Visit

Today we had Miata's first post op visit with Dr. Brent. While we were in the waiting area a boy about Miata's age came in with his parents. Just so happens they were Chinese. Anyways he had just completed his last surgery, Stage 4, on both of his ears. There are many children born with microtia (ear deformity) that effect both ears, this is called unilateral microtia. This little boy had bilateral microtia but now thanks to Dr. Brent has just finished the last of his surgeries and now has two perfect ears! Pretty amazing! Anyways, Dr. Brent removed the bandage from Miata's ear area, all except the one covering her ear, and then re-bandaged it.

Next we went for lunch and then proceeded on to the childrens library, reg. adult library, and then to the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. We spent most all day at these places. I am suppose to have Miata walk more and more each day so this was a good way to do so. She could walk around the libraries but also take time in between to sit, rest, and read books. It also gave me time to update this blog. At the museum she was able to do a little of the hands on activities but some were too strenuous therefore I wouldn't let her do them. As for the animals, we didn't go outside to see them because at this point Miata was getting a bit tired. Jenny (Arlene's daughter) had suggested that we go to the Oakland Zoo maybe on Saturday and they would come with us. So I figured we could see enough animals then.

Later we met Arlene & Jack, and Jenny & her family at a very nice Chinese restaurant for dinner. The food was great! We had a nice time together during dinner and after dinner we went next door to an ice cream shop where the kids got some ice cream. Miata loved the cotton candy ice cream but was only able to eat a little of her 1 scoop because she was so full from the Chinese food!

Today was a good day and Miata is progressing well each day. The soreness in her rib area is getting better and I was able to cut back on her pain medication. She is a trooper!

Surgery Day!

To see how amazing Dr. Brent really is...
Scroll to the bottom of this page and watch the videos of the exact surgery he performed on Miata (but these are of another child.) Also go to the left side bar and click the links to read more about Dr. Brent. Especially the 1st link: The Alamnac - Article on Dr. Brent!!!! (pages 12-14)

We arrived at El Camino Surgery Center at about 6:00am this morning. After a short wait in the lobby we were then taken to the prep area where they had Miata change into her gown. Next they took her vitals and then just talked with us for a few minutes while we waited for Dr. Brent to arrive. Once Dr. Brent arrived they proceeded to give her the "sleepy medicine" or in her case the "silly medicine" because shortly after drinking it she did become a bit silly! But that is to be expected when you are in such "la la land." I kissed her and told her she was doing great and that I would see her as soon as she woke up. They then rolled her back to the surgery area (about 7:10am.) I proceeded back to the waiting area where I saw the little girl from Saudi Arabia now waiting too. Dr. Brent will perform surgery on her after he completes Miata's surgery. He performs surgery Mon. - Thurs. and many days performs 2 a day! This is the only type of surgeries he performs verses other doctors who also "try" to perform the same type surgery at times but also performs most other "cosmetic" surgeries on their daily schedules. It is amazing to see just how many children, all over the world, who are born with this deformity! Dr. Brent has a map, of the world, in his office that shows all the surgeries that he has performed on children per their location in the world. The map is covered in pins that point out these locations! (Hopefully I can add a picture of this soon!) Anyways, close to 11:00am Dr. Brent came out and told me that Miata did wonderful during surgery and that everything went great! I was very relieved at this point that is was over, at least the surgery part of it. The nurse took me back to the recovery area to see Miata. When she woke up she was in pretty good spirits but also in quite a bit of pain. The really cute part is that when she came out of surgery her stuffed bunny, that she took into surgery with her, also came out with her ear all bandaged up just like Miata's! During the next 24 hours we stayed in the recovery area in Miata's room/cubical. Miata did rather well but was also still dealing with pain during this time. She didn't have any pain in her ear area but rather in her chest area which is where they cut her open to remove a section of her rib cartilidge that he uses to sculpt and create her new ear. Dr. Brent had told me that she would be very sore in this area for about 5 days. They kept her on morphine up until close to time for her to be released and then they switched her to Tylenol with Codiene. That is what I will continue to give her for the next week to help control the pain in her chest. Dr. Brent came back and checked on her in the evening hours and then would come back in the morning to check on her again (before beginning yet another ear surgery) so she can be released. It was a rough night, not for her but for me. It is hard to sleep in a reclining chair! Anyways, around 8:00am the next morning she was released and we left. She was saying she was very hungry and wanted to go to McDonalds so of course I agreed! After McDonalds I took her to Target to buy her something special because she did so great during her hospital stay! We later proceeded back to our "home away from home" where Miata continued to rest throughout the day. Later Jenny (Arlene's daughter) and her family came by to eat dinner with us. They were so sweet to bring Miata a gift for doing so well during surgery!

Overall Miata did great as the pictures (hope to post more pics soon) will show. During her 24 hour stay she colored, drew, watched dvds, etc. The pain meds took care of the pain when it would come.

Thank you all so very much for praying for Miata! Your prayers are most appreciated! Please continue to pray for her healing.

Tomorrow I will take Miata back to Dr. Brent's office for him to check and rebandage her ear.

Rental Car & Pre Op Visit

Today, Monday, we had a very busy day. We started our day by having a rental car co. come pick us up and take us back to their office so I could sign paper work to obtain a rental car from them. After we finally got everything taken care of there, we headed out in our rental car to go to the El Camino Surgery Center (where Miata will have surgery) to take a tour and for them to show Miata around and explain what they would be doing to her tomorrow morning. Miata did great and they did a wonderful job showing us around, spending time with us, and getting to know Miata a little bit. After our tour there it was time to head across town to where Dr. Brent's office is located. This was Miata's pre-op appointment to get her ready for surgery in the morning. After meeting Dr. Brent I was even more impressed with him!! He is truly a fabulous, outstanding and amazing doctor!! Miata had the opportunity to meet a little boy (about her same age), in Dr. Brent's office, who had just completed his surgery a few days before. She also was able to meet a little girl (about 9ish) who had flown in from Saudi Arabia to have her second surgery with Dr. Brent. After our visit with Dr. Brent we then proceeded to the pharmacy to pickup the medications Miata will need after her surgery is complete. Our day finally wrapped up with us returning to our "home away from home" at about 8:30 pm, whew what a long day!

We are in San Francisco...

Well we are actually in Palo Alto about 30 miles south of San Francisco. We made it in late Saturday night. The couple that we are staying with are dear sweet people! We are so very fortunate that they offered us room and board with them during our stay here. Today we had the opportunity to go to church with their daughter and her family. After church we went for lunch where I got to talk with them more and get to know them a little. After lunch they took us back to Arlene & Jack's (her parents.) Their youngest son stayed the afternoon with us to play with Miata. I took them to a school nearby where they could play on the playground. They had a lot of fun together. It was so nice meeting this family and spending time with them. I am sure we will get together more.

Here We Go!

Actually by the time you read this we will probably have already arrived in San Francisco.

Where are we staying??

Well it is amazing how the Lord worked this out using one special woman that He has placed and used in our lives over and over again!

If you recall, I sent out an email in late September to everyone I know asking "Can you help!" A few of you responded with wonderful hearts of wanting to help BUT one that did help! She is our social worker that has worked with our family during the adoption of each of our three girls and also with all the post placements that are required to be done for one year after each of our girls come home. I did know that she was from California because she and Tim had talked about that since he too is from California and she probably told us at some point that more specifically she was from the San Francisco area but I didn't remember this at all! She emailed me back just shortly after the email went out to everyone to let me know that she was from this area and still knows many people who live in the San Fran. area but that it is a very large area with much traffic so depending on where the surgery was being performed and where you stay is very important because it could take a long time in traveling to get to and from the facility. I then gave the location of where Miata would be having surgery and shortly thereafter I had a confirmed housing arrangement!

Where? We are staying with Arlene, the sister (of our social worker) and her husband, Jack! Incredibly they live within a very few minutes (about 10) of where Miata is having her surgery!! They are a Christian couple who seem to be pretty amazing! They have done much ministry work in their area as well as outside their area, right now they are working on helping some people in El Salvador (a situation of people in need of help.) Anyways, she has offered to come get us from the airport (and take us back - which too is a wonderful blessing!) and she will be bringing with her a woman from Kenya who came to the US about a year ago (amazing story I hope to share later.) Even more amazing, her and her husband lived in "Chinatown" for 11 years where they worked in ministry! I really cannot wait to hear more of their work there and also to hopefully visit Chinatown!

On another note...
I have asked myself this question many time in the past and will probably ask it many more in the future! Why am I (are we) always so amazed when we experience God's mighty provisional powers at work in our lives?

He has blessed these girls over and over again and this is one more experience that we have the blessing to see Him at work in their life (and ours!) We have just been amazed at watching how their little lives have been transformed from once being an orphaned child with nothing! No family, no hope, no future to being our children; gaining their forever family and living & breathing His word everyday in the Christian school they attend, their church, and home. Adoption truly is amazing not only in the transformation of an orphan in need of nothing more than a "family" but also in the blessings us (families) experience by taking one of these precious children into our home as our own! I couldn't imagine not having these girls as part of our family! We are truly blessed!