Learn to accept the unexpected

This month has been super crazy for our family. Lots going on as always with a couple unexpected turns. Elle is doing great, trying to sign 'more' more and more. I love watching her realize people respond to her signing. Her thinks its so funny. Since her NG tube she has been even happier then before. She now has so much energy its hard to keep up. But we are loving it , well maybe not the shredding of books. Kendra was not to happy to have her new library book ripped. Oops,  guess we didnt put that one up high enough.
Now on the health stuff -After more test results and constant trouble with her NG we have decided to go with the G tube. Its a hard decision but one all her doctors keep pushing for. We were holding onto to the hope she would start to eat and drink again but we are now realizing that this road is going to be a long one. And with all Elle's sensory stuff she would do better with a G tube. We also found out Elle is having a hard time digesting food. We are making changes in her diet and putting her on medication to help. Only time will tell if it works.
In other crazy news, our 14 yr old son had a swollen foot. So we took him in and found out he bruised the bone and also broke his foot. He has to sit out a few weeks of football but will be okay in time. The same day my hubby came down with a bug at home with a fever and cough. And then we took Taya in for a knee pain she was having. They did xrays and found out she has broken her knee in two different spots and there is something in the back of her knee. (Most likely something to do with the injury). But the bone doctors here have never seen anything like it in 30 years of practice.  So off we go to Shiners in Spokane. We are praying they will have good news for us and she will recover quickly from this.
We had hope to have Taya's appointment and Elle's G tube surgery the same day but the odds are not looking good for that.

So if you think of it say a little prayer for our family. Also that the stomach flu that was at our house yesterday stops with only one kid being sick.

God knew all these crazy things would happen in the same week, so no surprise for Him. We also know He will be right beside us to walk us through no matter what comes our way. Leaning on Him when things dont go our way. Another lesson in progress of learning. .....

September

Where to start? Elle, has been doing good as far as bonding and making progress with gross motor skills but with feeding we have taken a huge step backwards. Elle, has always had her good days and her bad days when it comes to eating. She is loving trying new foods but doesn't eat enough to gain any weight. These last few weeks she has shown less and less interest in her bottle. Which at first we figured she would just ween her self off it and start drinking from a cup. This was not the case, she simply started to refuse liquid all together. This is hard because you need liquids ! As the weeks progressed this got worse. The day she got her tubes put in her ears she was so dry they needed give her iv fluids. After surgery she did really well for a few days and went right back to refusing fluids. This last week it turned for the worse, by Saturday night she hadn't had anything to drink since Friday morning. Dehydration set in we ended up spending 5 hours in the ER getting iv fluids again. She lost more weight again. Poor girl she can't afford to lose weight. We were back in the pediatrician office again yesterday morning,  she still wasn't drinking. Despite all our efforts new bottles, new cups, trying to spoon feed water, straws you name it .  In my heart I have known we were losing the battle but I really wanted to think she would turn around. Our first short term goal was to get her up to 725 calories a day , with a longer goal of 1020 calories (which is where she should be at her age and size). On our good days with Elle we are getting only around 400 calories before she loses interest in eating or drinking. Some days we would get 700 but these days were very few. All of this to try to explain why she has been diagnosed with failure to thrive. It's hard to explain because she is doing great trying foods just not great eating them. As her food therapist said she is still at around a 3 month old in eating,  she is suckling her food and not chewing.
So today Miss Elle got a NG tube put in. Its a temporary thing (hopefully) to try and get her body use to having calories and work on expanding her stomach. Also to keep her hydrated.  Which is huge! No more hospital visits for iv fluids. So far she is doing great with, no tugging or pulling on it. We are praying she keeps in tonight.

3 months

Wow, I guess I have some check up to do here. Elle is doing great busy, busy. She is now almost full time walking . She still has only stood up in the middle of the room a couple times. Yet, she walks almost all the time. She seems to understand more and more each day. She started giving hugs this last week, Love this! Still no talking but is starting to communicate more and more each day. Yesterday at therapy they wanted her to walk down the hall and she sat down and shook her head no, we were both surprised. She hadn't done that one yet. We held a shower for my baby sister this weekend.  when everyone started arriving she started to get really nervous, she wanted down and then started pushing me toward the stairs and wanted up when we got to them. That was huge she knew what she wanted and communicated it very well. We are just loving watching her . She started eating more food, its usually one day on, one day off. Her small motor skills are getting better, she picks up a fork and will eat small things off it. Its pretty exciting to see her eating more, she doesn't eat much at one time. We will keep working on it. We are also working on her drinking out of a cup, so far not a lot of success but over time we will get there. At food therapy we got her to sit in a chair with a tray, huge victory!! We now have that chair on a chair! this will help a lot with getting her to eat.
Elle, has another ear infection and bronchitis. Poor baby she has had this ear infection since we got home. We went to a ear nose and throat specialist. And we decided to put tubes in, her ear canals are very narrow. Lots of fluid behind her ears. She goes into surgery for the tubes later this month. We are trying breathing treatments to try clear up the whizzing. Praying that works, if not we may have surgery to remove her tonsils and anodes.


Elle's likes


her bottle
feeding her self with a fork
sitting in the grass
zipper pjs
her siblings
walking around pulling everything off the coffee tables and counters she can reach
opening all the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen, she doesn't pull anything out just opens them
music, she can dance right to the beat
climbing up on the couches
when her daddy comes home, love watching her do her happy dance each day when he comes home
fruit, she seems to really like real fruit not baby food fruit
dogs and cats, she loved my mom pug well we were there. he seemed to love her too.




Elle's dislikes
paper
water bottles
water any way, baths, putting her hands in water
getting messy, she hates her face, hands, or feet dirty
groups of people, but did pretty good in a group sitting in her stroller
loud noises
breathing treatments


Elle, still shows a lot of signs of autisms but each day they seem to be getting less and less. Less head banging, less whipping her head from side to side, less rocking. She is still a super star at our house. Her sibling still cant get enough of their baby sister. They hate watching her cry for any reason. After her breathing treatments each kid wants to love on her, feeling so bad for her for getting so upset. I love how God has glued this family together with this sweet little girl. They all agree on something, they love baby Elle. They still fight over who gets to hold her and they all want a turn helping feed her.
God has giving us such a precious jewel. I feel sorry for anyone who ever try's cross this little girl wrong , they will have 8 siblings to answer to.

5 weeks home

Busy, is a understatement.  This last week has been super crazy. Elle is doing great. We have gone to the PT, speech, vision, hearing, and genetics. All this last week well finishing up a crazy spring sports season. To be honest I hit my wall, yes we are doing great but this momma is tired.  There is a season for everything and this sports season is ending. I love watching my kids do things they love but the endless running is , well its almost over. I am not complaining just explaining :) I feel more rested today, my sweet hubby surprised me with a date night. He knew just what I needed, I do love him. <3

Back to Elle, with all the testing she is rounding out to be right about 5 months developmentally,  in some things  she is closer to 12 months others she test closer to 3 months.  Nothing has surprised us. We mostly just wanted a base line to see where we are starting.  And to see how far we can go. Her hearing showed moderate hearing loss, constant with untreated ear infections. This could be temporary hearing loss or permanent.  Time will tell, we are waiting to hear from our pediatrician to see if he wants farther testing or to put tubes in. She can hear just not much below a normal conversation level. This can sometimes affect how she is understanding what we are saying.

She is starting PT, OT and speech once a week. Which is busy but they are back to back appointments,  making it about a 2 hours once a week. Not so bad.  We see the nutritionist next week, I am excited to see him. I want a base to start off .

Elle drank her first bottle outside the house,  we were super excited about this. We watched a football game in the stands and she did great. I was worried the noise would be to much but she didn't mind. Of course we stayed on the far end and kept to ourselves,  just to keep things calm.

Elle's likes

Her siblings
Her mom and dad
The vacuum
Looking at her reflection in the fridge
Pushing buttons in the microwave
Licking everything
We have gotten her to lick some food off a fork, pasta! Of course she only licked about 1 calorie off it but its a start. We keep offering and every once and awhile she will try it.
Hats, everyone else's hats but her own ;)

Elle's dislikes

Doctor offices
Strange PEOPLE
touching water
Crinkled paper
Water bottles
Bathtime
Having her nails clipped
Different bottles, she will only drink out of a tommy tippee bottle
Spray sunscreens

Each day is a new adventure with her, we love watching her soak up the world around her. The kids are all still doing great with her. She gets lots of loving every day.  We are getting nap time down and bedtime. Nap time is doing better then bedtime.  Nap time is getting closer to the same time every day.  Bedtime not so much, we keep trying but she is all over the place with it.
Bonding is going really well, when we came home from our date night. She heard my voice and giggled and crawled right to me. With a big old smile and wanted to just sit with me. Then everytime she would look up at me she would giggle. Just love this little girl.

One month home

Wow,  one month home with our busy little girl . I tried to get a photo of her for the update and took 25, these 5 are the closest we could get. She never stops moving,  her new name is blurr ;)
We are doing well. Trying to finish up our crazy spring sports. Elle has been a great trooper going to all the games and practices.  I am looking forward to next week, 2 less sports.
We have gone to a few of the many doctor and therapy appointments, we have lined up. Finding out a little more about where to start.
We are trying to work out the schedule so we only have one crazy day a week but with two in 4 different therapies , well its turning to be kinda hard. We had our first speech yesterday,  she test mostly about a 3 month old and in somethings a 5 month old. I wasn't surprised. This one will take time, and we plan to put it towards the bottom of our list. OT is on the top along with nutritionist.
She is still making great progress.  She has now taking 10 steps at one time!! She is not always to happy to try walking but if you catch her in the right mood, she takes off.
She is exploring the whole upstairs now. Crawling down to the bedrooms and into the kitchen.  She loves doors, she giggles each time she pushes on it and it swings open.
We still can't get her to sit in her highchair. We have started putting random soft foods on the coffèe table to let her explore them. On father's day, we did a donut. She would grab it and crumble it up and then lick up the crumbs. She seem quite proud of herself. She is still a celebrity in our house, everyone still loves to play with her. Fighting over who gets to watch her, we are loving having a baby around.

Our biggest progress this week- for the last two days she has let me hold her well she drinks her bottle !! This is huge for us, 6 weeks ago on gottcha day we couldn't even touch her bottle let only her. Each day we make baby steps forward,  not alot of set backs so far. Her attachment and bonding is going great. She allows us to hold her for long periods at a time. She loves climbing all over us when we are watching TV. She is full of giggles. Her favorite thing is zipper pajamas,  not sure why but whenever you un zip or zipper them up it sends her into a giggle fit. And yes she is still licking everything. 

We went to the eye specialist last week. Found out she can see clearly about 2 feet in front of her. Which is better then we thought, she gets her glasses in a few weeks. They said with them she will be able to see clearly about 5 feet. We will go back in 6 months and see him again. Hopefully she will be a little more agreeable then. He felt comfortable with he saw but didnt get all he had wanted done. But with a girl how never sits still and is scared of strangers.  I think we did pretty good.

We are noticing her relax more and more.  She doesn't stress out as easy as she did. We have also noticed a big change in her swaying/rocking, she still does it but it seems to be less and less.

She is growing leap and bonds.  We didnt get her weight this week but last week she had gained 5lbs since we got home. This week are noticing her pants are all getting short on her. I can't to go in a couple weeks to the doctor to see how much she has grown. She looks chubber and chubber each day.

She is starting to use her hands more, she doesn't reach for much but we are working on it. OT will be very helpful with this. 

Elle's likes

To be home, its so cute she squeals And giggles when we turn onto our gravel road to go home.

Her mommy and daddy,  she seems to prefer us over anyone, love, love this

Her crib

Her hands

Her stroller and car seat

Sugar, this girl has a major sweet tooth. 

Doors, she can't reach the knob but if they are not latched she pushes them open

Licking, This one is getting hard because we have been going to doctor office after doctor office.  Its super gross to lick public floors. Hoping getting her glasses will help

Elle's dislikes

Her highchair

Anyone with a lab coat or scurbs 

To loud of music

Announcers

Fast bright lights

Big crowds

3 weeks home

I can't believe that it has only been 3 weeks, if feels like she has always been a part of our family. Elle, is doing great. We went to the doctor on Monday. She gain another pound! That means in a month she has gained 5 pounds. We were thrilled,  I have been stressing about how many bottle she gets each day. I guess I can relax alittle. She is doing great. We are meeting with a nutritionist next week, I want a little guidance on what we should be giving her. Only taking a bottle at 3 is hard. Although we are getting close to right amount of calories she should get at 3, I want to make she is getting the right calories. We have been to lots of appointments,  we drove to spokane to meet with a genetics doctor.  But as we were walking up to the door of the office they called and canceled. So we reschedule for the 24th. On Friday we drive back up to spokane to see a eye specialist.  I am excited to see him,  we have a idea of what she see but it will be really nice to know how much.
So far she still show interest in walking. She is up to 7 steps at a time.
Her climbing skills have gotten scary good. She loves to climb up and sit on the couch but this week she has decided that sitting on the back of the couch is fun, crazy baby.
We found that for nap time if we lay her in the play pen in the middle of the living room and turn the radio on she sleeps :) a big victory for us. She is in a much better mood when she gets a nap. We have tried it a few times at bedtime and it has worked the last two days.
Elle's likes-
Giggling,  this girl laughs all the time
Taking steps
Climbing on everything
Pulling hair
Her piano she got from grandma
The window by the front door
Licking shoes (super gross, now when we catch her with a shoe we say no, no, no. She thinks its funny and says no, no back. I think she think the shoes are called no, no's)
She still only says mama and no, no
Licking, one good thing is she will lick foods not many but she will try some
Her car seat
Her stroller
Buckles

Elle's dislikes
Loud crowds
Strange people touching her
Doctor offices
Her highchair
The walker
Bathtime
Sticking anything in her mouth
Drinking anything non sweet
Not being allowed to sit on the vacuum well we are vacuuming the rugs
The door in the van

She is expanding her territory.  She now crawls into the kitchen but only on her terms. She loves crawling down to my bedroom. Her crib is in there and she loves her crib.
We feel like a got a cheat card with this adoption. She is transitioning so well. Our kids are all transitioning so well. They can't help but pick her up , talk to her, play with her every time they walk through the room. She is showing great signs of bonding. She prefers her mommy and daddy. She turns to us when strangers try to touch her. She is starting to cry when I leave the room or crawl after me saying mama. So cute. She shows signs of recognizing when we get home. As soon as we turn on our gravel road she starts to giggle.
Today is the last day of school for all the kids. She is going to love having them home all day.
We had been watching most games from the car but recently have been sitting in the outfield in the shade and grass. The crowd doesn't seem to bother her from there. The announcer from the last game she didn't like. I guess she spoke to loud or maybe he had a annoying voice ;)
Over all she is great, she still gets nervous very easy. The littest thing throws her off and still when she gets to stressed she stops eating.  This is a hard one because we have lots of doctors appointments and she greatly dislikes them. But I am she over time we will work this out.

Week 2 home

Sweet Elle is doing much better. We went in for a recheck on her ears, they said they look better. We were happy , at lest we know we are getting better. She now weights 22lbs and is 33 inches tall. Phew, growing like a weed. She is eating better and better each day.
Today we go back into the doctor's office to work on referrals to eye specialist and what not. I am excited to see where she will go with OP therapy and physical therapy.  She has came so far so fast already.
Elle's likes
Her piano toy from grandma
Walking along furniture
Her siblings
Ace, the dog
Grass, it was so fun to watch her discover the grass. The first few times we sat her in the grass she was not a fan. She wanted up right away but third time was a charm. She pulled it and found it came out, you should have seen her face, so cute. Another first for her.
Elle's dislikes
Doctor offices
Strange people
To bright of rooms
Medicine
Sleeping,  we are working trying to find what works best to help her fall asleep. The car works great but she wont stay sleep when moving her into the house. Rocking, she thinks is to fun. Her crib she loves, which in turns doesn't work.  She giggles and climbs all over in there. She has fallen asleep in daddy's arms a few nights. Thank goodness she not crabby crawling around playing till midnight.  She is just not sleeping.  We will get it down at some point. Nap time is no  different,  we have laid her in her playpen in the living room a few times and that seems to work, sometimes.
Each day brings new firsts.  She crawled into the kitchen two days this week. She was so proud of herself. The second time she found the kitchen table and was thrilled that she could walk around it.
She said her second word, no, no...no surprise there. We have been saying it alot, trying to teach her to not lick shoes and other harmful items.
She still doesn't like her highchair,  maybe she feels like it's to high. She learn how to get back off the couch,  she can turn around and slide down . Another first :)
We are having a blast just watching her discover this big new world.

Urgent care

Ya, we ended up in urgent care.  Well the ER because she is special needs and just got in country. I figured she had a ear infection. So hard to read a child that you have only had for a few weeks. But I was right double ear infection.  Poor baby, she was so stressed out going in the ER. It was hard to get anything done.  Everything they did we had to pin her down.  She didn't want her temperature taken or any vitals at all. Looking in her ears was really hard. They had to pull out a ton of wax out. Poor baby screamed so hard she broke blood vessels in her face again. She has a rash covering her body, they think its non related to the ear infection. Who knows....my heart broke watching her stress like that but I knew we had to find out if she had a ear infection.  Every day she has been eating less and less. I knew we were getting close to dehydration, I was right :( She is dehydrated, they said if she doesn't drink her bottle this morning we have go get fluids. Her food aversions hard , she won't put anything in her mouth. So meds are a challenge, they gave her , her first dose by shoot. We are going to try sneak the rest in her first bottle each morning and if that doesn't work we have to go back to the ER for shoots again.
My heart and my head are overwhelmed with the whole thing. A ear infection by its self is not that bad but for Elle, its is. When you take nothing but a bottle, and you are in pain ever time you drink it,  you just stop eating and drinking. Dehydration is not something to mess with. I am praying she take the bottle this morning and we get headed on the right track. We go to our pediatrician this week....lots more medical stuff down the road for us.

One week

We have been in the states one week now. Crazy how time flies. Elle is doing great.
On gottcha day my heart broke to see her so set back. We knew going into this adoption that she was delayed but to see it first hand was hard. Living in a orphanage is no place for anyone. God designed us to live in families. Since gottcha day Elle has shocked us. The first day we could hardly hold her for more then a minute at a time. She would play with us on the bed but didn't want to be held. She was weak, when we got her. Sleep was a thing of the past, she didn't want to nap or sleep at night. She loved to sit in her stroller or crib. Lots of rocking and shaking. We also couldn't touch her bottle when she eat.
Now, holy cow this girl is a different kid. We now put our arms out to her to be picked up and she puts her arms up. She allows us to hold her for longer periods at a time. She has said her first word , momma! she loves to whisper it all day. Each day she gets stronger. She never stops moving.  She is on the go non stop. She still doesn't like to sleep much but is sleeping more each day.
The first few days home she wouldn't crawl any further then the living room rug, now she crawling down the hall and into kendras room. She pulls her self up on anything she can stand next to. Yesterday she kept trying to get on the couch , so I showed her how. Wow, she caught onto that fast! It tickled her pink she could do it. No, stopping her now. She doesn't know how to get back down but she loves getting up.
She shows interest in walking but is pretty nervous about it.
I won't be surprised at all if she is walking in a month or so.
She loves the dog, at first she loved to just pull his fur. Poor Ace is not fond of it at all. But after showing her just a few times to lay her hand flat to pet him, she got it. Ace, is not thrilled about having her follow him around.  She thinks it funny, giggling away crawling after him.
She still gets stressed really easily.  I went to Tayas softball game last night, had planned to stay in the car. She loves her car seat. Of course they were playing where I couldn't see anything from the car. I decided to be brave and stand in the outfield with her. She was not a fan. She relaxed after a few mins but decided it was to cold. And soon started to cry. We went back to the car, although she seemed fine after we got back in the car,  she was stressed.  She didn't eat for the rest of the evening. 
Time, she will need lots of time to heal. This world is so big and so many first. Any time she gets stressed she stops eating.  We will have to play it safe for sometime to make sure she gains some weight. 
Everyone is loving having her home. So far all the kids seem to be adjusting fine . You never know how transition will go but so far, it's going great. They love trying to teach her new things , she is a bit of a celebrity right now. Each new thing she does is celebrated by 10 big fans.
Eating, is going to take time.  She only drinks a bottle right now. She shows interest but doesn't stick anything in her mouth. She still loves to lick everything.  So we started to offer things to her she can lick. Sometimes she thinks it's great to play along and other times she won't even look at you. We are trying new things in her bottles,  smoothies. Adding different baby foods, greek yogurts,  fruits and hoping to add vegetables soon. I have to be careful how much I add of a new flavor or she won't eat for a very long time. It's a slow process but we have time. I am sure we will be in food therapy soon.
Over all she has done amazing since we got her May 12......our amazing,  quick learning, baby who is shooting for the moon :) we are blessed beyond belief.

Home sweet home

We have been home now since Thursday. It is so nice to have everyone together.  All my babies under one roof. Elle, is doing great. She doesn't mind the noise of all the other kids. Of course her siblings want to hold her none stop,  she does mind that.  More and more each day she will let them hold her. She has been pretty good about letting them know when she is done. She has amazed us more and more each day. Each day holds a first for her. She mostly only wants to stay in the living room. But yesterday she crawled over to the front door and the small window next to it, she was so proud of herself. She giggled and babbled about it. She hates the kitchen or any other room in the house. just to many changes I guess,  she sleeps in our room in her crib. She does love her crib. We are having a hard time flipping her time over. Lots of jet lag happening here. We are up at 3:30am, she doesn't like napping or sleeping much at all.  Yesterday we got her to take a early nap and she went to bed at 8pm, and slept till 4am. Progress!!
I am going to try to keep track of Elle's progress here on my blog.
So here goes-
Elle's likes-
She loves to lick everything
She now sits with us for at lest 20mins at a time
She now can get picked up without crying
She loves the pattern on our living room rug
She loves the dog
Loves hair
She now holds her arms up when offered to be picked up
She loves to push things of the coffee table,  the louder noise it makes when it falls the better
Her crib
Her stroller
Having her face washed
The TV

Elle doesn't like
Being held for very long
Eating
Loud noises
Bright lights
The kitchen
Any room besides the living room
Being moved to fast
Bathtime
Her highchair
Her walker
Lotion
Nap time
Bed time

Things that she is learning
To explore the world around her
To play with toys
To allow mommy and daddy to comfort her
To try different taste in her bottle
Getting her diaper changed without screaming
Getting dressed without screaming
To express her self

Over all she is such a joy to have,  we are blessed beyond belief to be called to have her in our family. I am loving watching each one of her siblings fall in love with her. God has big plans for this little girl and we are beyond privileged to watch her grow. We dont know all the challenges she may face in her life but we are happy to be the ones to come alone side her and go through them with her.
Hopefully today I will up load the pictures of our trip :)
Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Guangzhou

Guangzhou,  we went so fast. It hardly felt like we were there. The Garden hotel was huge very family friendly,  the staff was friendly and there was alot of other adoptive families there. We had a great time exploring.  Did alot of walking around. The pool was huge, Elle even got in one time. She thought it was funny to have her toes touch the cold water. I was able to hold her for about 5mins before she decided it was not fun anymore. She was happy to be back in her stroller. I need to down load a ton of pictures from our trip.
Elle, is changing so fast. Each day she is letting us hold her more and more. As she gets more comfortable she explores more and more.
For the first 10 days we had her she wouldn't cross over any floor, like from the carpet to the tile. She was so proud/guilt once she did, she didn't know what to think about sitting on the tile floor. She did love licking it, I am sure the cold tile was better to lick then the carpet. I can't wait to get her into the eye doctor to see how much she can see. Hoping she can get glasses and some of the licking will go away. Her  immune system has got to be very strong licking everything.

Medical appointment

Yesterday was our medical  appointment.  It was not a experience I very want to do again.  From the moment we walked off the elevator she started to cry. First they wanted to get a visa photo. She screamed and screamed the room was to bright and they kept the flash on the camera.  So everytime it went off she would scream harder. They wanted one with her eyes open. Ya, sorry not with that many lights on.
Next we had to wait to fill out paperwork before the doctor visit.  She continued to scream through that. At one point I tried to stand up and walk around and she screamed like she was being stung. Through sweat, snot and tears we got into the doctor's office.  We had to undress her which she hates. The screaming got enough louder then. The doctor looked her over,  she was very concerned about how delayed she is. About developmentally around a 7 month old. But I comfirmed we knew that and off we were sent to the next room. Here they weighted her and seen how tall she was. Soon after I got her back she was stress sweating so bad she drenched my shirt and was clinging to me for dear life. Next she had to get her blood draw for the TB test. I had to wait outside the room. Poor baby screamed so hard she broke blood vessels in her face. Her light skin shows so much. They had to poke her 3 times, each time she bruised badly. I was close to tears by now. Steven, had stayed back at the hotel with the big kids. I sure wish he had come. As soon as they cleared us, I ran down stairs with her. And tried to find the quietest darkest corner of the building.  She had been screaming for over a hour by then.  My heart was broke for her, she had no idea we had to be there. No idea if we didn't she couldn't get her visa. Plus with her low vision, being laid down over and over again next to the close edge freaked her out. She doesn't know yet that I would have never let her fall off there. Needless to say. we both were ready for a bath and a bed by the time we got back.
She did recover from the experience,  the pictures were taken before we left for the appointment. We couldn't leave the room for the rest of the evening but today she was back to Elle. Happy , smiley,  giggly Elle. We even went shopping and she did fine.

Elle first plane right

She did great, got pretty nervous taking off. During the landing she got very upset, but only silent tears streamed down her face. It broke my heart, she had to sit in her own seat. We have our medical appointment today . Lots of families here. There was bad weather landing in Guangzhou,  so our flight was delayed.  We didn't get settled into our room till 11pm. It made for a long night.

Wuhan

Wuhan, has been a adventure.  The weather has been just perfect. If fact the blue sky was out today and our guide took a picture.  She said we were very luck to see such a beautiful sky. There are some years where they dont see it at all. To us this seems crazy our big desert sky we get to look up at each day. A blessing we forget about to often.

We went the museum and East lake today. And the yellow cranr tower the day before. Wuhan , is beautiful.  East is one the largest fresh water lakes in China.  Very pretty, lots of locus growing and lily pads everywhere. The kids wanted to ride in a boat across but it looked to ruff for me. (I am not a boat person). Elle did great at the park.  You never know how she will respond to things. But with her hat and sun glasses on she was happy. She smiled and talked to herself as we walked along.

We are still struggling with feeding. She is doing better but not taking to many bottles. She eats no soild food. We can't even get a spoon in her mouth. I did sneak a straw in her mouth with some soda in it. She didn't know what to think of that.  She loves to lick everything,  do to her low vision. We tried to let her lick some ice cream but it was a no go.  She is getting more comfortable each day. Exploring her world just a little more each day. She does crawl but is not very fond of being on the floor. She loves to play in her crib or on the bed. Its hard to say how much she can see or not. Time will tell on that one. She loves to play and giggle. Being held is a new thing for her and she is pretty unsure about it.  She doesn't like loud noises, being picked up, any sudden moment or bright lights. Bathtime was not so fun neither,  she did calm down fast but not until she was dressed again.

Gottcha day

We have our sweet Elle. Gottcha day went well. She was waiting for us as we walked into the civil affairs office. At first she was not to fond of us talking with her, the nanny finally told me to try hold her. She cried and cried. She was none to happy to have a stranger hold her. She is so light,  much taller then we excepted. But for a 3 yr old she is still tiny. Daddy got his turn to hold her as I went to sign papers. She right away found his facial hair and giggled. As he came in the office to sign papers he tried to sit down and she would have nothing to do with it. She cried until we got moving again in the car.
We had to go to the police station to get her passport pictures. She screamed the whole time, poor baby.  So many strange places and bright lights shining in her eyes. As we waited for the pictures to print, she fall asleep in my arms. Such a sweet moment for me. It was so hot in there and my arms were burning before we got them were ready to go. I still cherished the moment,  shaking arms in all.
When we got back to the motel, she screamed until we sat her in the crib. Within a few mins she stopped crying. And smiled and did this crazy happy dance. She hadnt eaten since early that morning and was not to happy to take a bottle from us. We got maybe 3 oz down her before she fell asleep.
Over all we are in love with our sweet girl. So many changes ahead with tons of first.

One hour in 50 mins to go...

So far so good. Still can't get on Facebook but instagram worked. So will have to share that way. Trying the blog again. Not sure it will work either. So excited to finally get to see our little girl!! Our bag is packed ready to go get here. The guide and translator will be here in one hour to pick us up and bring us. Every thing so far has gone smooth. There is a pool here so the big kids are happy. We had plan to pass the time by,  by sitting by the pool but it was closed for cleaning. Steven and he kids went to find lunch. My stomach is a nervous , so I skipped. Its good to have some alone time before we get her. Time to think and reflect. The weather is beautiful,  75 degrees and sunny. Couldn't ask for better. Well next time I update, we will have our baby. Love to all!!! And a happy mothers day!

Beijing

We made it to Beijing. It was one long trip. 3 legs,  four if you count the drive to Seattle. Our guide was there to meet us at the baggage claim area. We took a long 45 min drive through Beijing. We are all so tired, we are struggling to stay awake . So we can acclimate to the 15 hour time difference. We need to get up early tomorrow morning so we can be up and ready for our guide. We are going to the Great Wall. We are all really looking forward to seeing it.
Our guide took us to a wonderful lunch and a nice walk through the city. I think we may all be to tired to eat dinner. Taya seems to be holding up the best out of all of us.

One more day

One more till we leave!!!! It all seems so unreal, even with the bags packed and weighted.  To think one week from today,  Elle will be officially ours. To think next Monday morning (Sunday our time) she will be in my arms, butterflies for sure. What a mother's day to remember for sure!
I still have alot on my lists but the most important things are done. Plane tickets bought,  hotel reservation are done, our guides are set up and our bags are packed.
We start our trip with a 4 hour drive to Seattle and then board our plane at 3:30pm. We get into Beijing Friday morning (Thursday night our time). Saturday we will go see the great Wall,  then Sunday we fly out to Hubei. Monday is gottcha day!!! And then our official adoption happens Tuesday. We have a couple more days and appointments there, then we fly to GZ, Friday.  Then Saturday medical appointment and Sunday is a free day. Monday, we go back to have the TB test read . Tuesday we have our consulate appointment and Wednesday morning we go get her passport and fly out at 7:30pm. We fly into LA and have a over night lay over , then back to Seattle.  And then make our 4 hour drive home!
A crazy busy schedule , I am sure it will go by in a flash.
We are all getting colds , right before we leave. Been giving tons of vitamin C out . Hoping to limit the colds. Please for our travel and for our little girl.  She has no idea whats about to happen, I am sure it will be all very scary to her. Pray she stays healthy and adjusts quickly. Can't wait to meet her.

May 7

We leave in one week!!! Its been so busy around here, I can't believe we leave in a week. I still only have one bag packed, still need to find a good travel bag, still need to get laundry done, still need to get cleaning done, and the list goes on. I take the two that will be traveling with me today to the doctor for thier travel appointment. I know we should have done this awhile ago but you do what you can when you can.
Praying for our little girl, praying she ready for this crazy transition into our family.  The kids are so excited to have her home soon. Her crib is up and her dresser is in her room. I will be setting up her first doctor appointment today, for when we get back.
I still need to get so many things done. One day at a time, trying to set a goal for each day. Laundry was yesterday , today is appointments and to redo my training packet. I did all 27 pages and my computer crashed and deleted it, ughh. Like anyone wants to have to redo 27 pages.  Oh well.....I guess I got to get it done.
Have a blessed day. Please pray for our travel and pray we all stay well. We have a couple kids with colds at home now and one using a inhaler.

My baby's birthday

Yesterday was a hard day. Elle turned 3, it's hard think she spent the day without us. We are so close to travel and my heart aches to have my baby in my arms. Counting down minutes till she is forever a Questad.  I have plenty to keep me busy but my mind and heart is half way acrossed the world. Her bag is packed and repacked. Having her always on my heart keeps me in constant prayer for her. Praying she transition into our family and our family transition quickly to having her home. If I could have gotten on a plane the day we had approval I would have.  The process of adopting is so long and hard, but worth ever minute. Over the last year our lives have changed preparing for her, her life hasn't changed. She knows nothing of her adoption and that someone is coming for her.
It's funny how when you look at your own adoption into God's family. We had know idea the big picture of what was going on. We couldn't see how God patiently waited for us to accept our adoption into His family. We couldn't see the Love God had for us.
I love that adoption has always pointed me back to God and what He has done for us. Adoption has taught me so much over the years. About grace,  love , forgiveness and has shown me over and over how much the Father has loved us. Has loved us through the healing times in our lives and through our stubborn times. The times we have refused to trust , refused to accept His love, refused to believe that His plan for our lives were what's best.
I can't thank the Lord enough for loving me and meeting where I am at . Allowing me time to heal and loving me through the hard times. And giving me a example everyday how to love those around me.

Puzzle fundraiser

We have some pretty awesome friends doing a puzzle fundraiser for us. The puzzle will reveal Elle's full name, and her home town. I have copied and paste her post here.


See this picture on the left? That there, my friends, is a puzzle of an adorable lil girl named Ellie...who is on the right, and who will SOON, like in 2 weeks!!!, be coming home to her new family, the Crystal Benjamson Questad fam!
We are doing a PUZZLE fundraiser for them, to help meet the final costs of their adoption.
You can HELP by buying one or many puzzle pieces, $10/piece, your name will go on the back of each piece you purchase AND your name will go into a drawing for a give-away gift when the puzzle is complete. We have 4 neat gifts to give away!!
There are 250 pieces to this puzzle...let's see how fast we can get er complete!
The Questad's leave for China in just a few weeks...let's join together and bless their socks off so they have less to worry about financially as they prepare to go get their girl! Isn't she a gem??
Please make your payment via PAYPAL to scquestad@aol.com and if you can, shoot me a message (maleigh23@yahoo.com) telling me how many pieces you bought so I can make sure your name goes in the drawing THAT many times!
Questions? Don't hesitate to ask!
And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE share this on your page!!! GO QUESTAD'S! WE LOVE YOU!!

Superman tee shirts

We are doing one more round of orders for the Superman was Adopted shirts so let me know if you’d like 1 (or 10!) 
These are super cute, everyone just loved them. We decided to do one more round. Email me if you would like one or more. There is red, blue , black and pink. Adult sizes s, m, L, xl, xxl. Childs sizes s,m,L and toddlers sizes 2T, 3T, 4T, 5/6 toddlers do run a little small.
$22.95 each, including shipping
Scquestad@aol.com

We're leaving on a jet plane!

13 days we leave!!! That's not a whole lot of time to gather everything up. But its just perfect, we will have our baby in our arms May 12. Forever a Questad! We are thrilled to have our travel dates and appointments all set up. God is good!! We will purchase our tickets today and get all our paper ready to go. our agency sets up all our hotels and travel appointments. Making travel much easier. We have our visas and passports , everything is a second :)
I guess I better go get packing! Have a great day, you we will!

Travel Approval!!!!

I can't believe that we got travel approval! We are beyond excited! we have waited just over 14 months to get the call. We are now waiting to confirmed travel dates and  for a consulate appointment. We have picked  a day and our agency has requested that day for us, now we wait to see if we get it. Once that happens we buy our plane tickets! We will then have a confirmed gottcha day for our baby girl. It's been a whirl wind of a day and we can't wait to hear back from our agency. They are saying we should know by Thursday.
Our house was buzzing with energy at the news. We have a bit more fast fundraising to get done . Ya, I know planning travel dates and fundraising. But oh well it will all get done in His time. He always finishes what He has started.
I have to say looking through Elle's clothes and trying to decided what to take is the fun part. Praying we bring the right size, if not I guess we go shopping or she wears clothes that are a little big. Either way she will be just perfect.
Praying for provision for travel. Making list in my head as I drive my kids to and fro. Wishing I had brought paper and pen along(side note to self put them in my van). making plans for the kids that will be home with grandma and auntie. Making more lists of groceries that I need to buy, but un fruitfully because I didnt have a pen and paper. Making list of stuff I need to clean before I go, and projects I would love to have done. But even with all that even if none of my endless list get done, my little girl will be home. In our arms forever and I am sure she won't care if my spring cleaning never got finished. My mom may care if I don't get groceries but Elle won't mind a little mess here and there. It's funny the more busy I feel the more mess my house feels and I know it hasn't changed since I lasted looked by it just feels that way. Any way enough rambling. Love you all and thank you all so much for your support! This couldn't have happened with your willingness to say yes. Praising the Lord for His love for our little girl and for picking us to be her family. 
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Genesis 1:31a I love this verse, God laid this verse on my heart after our first adoption , I had it painting above our family photos because He made this family and indeed it was very good. Feeling blessed beyond measure.
Good night!

Waiting for TA

Crazy, we finally gotten this close. The average travel approval takes two weeks. As every adoptive parent you want to beat average,  praying for a week or there about. I watch the big adoption boards seeing who got what and when, counting numbers over and over again. Looking at packing list and wondering what I need before we go. We are still praying for provision for travel, leaning on the Lord, that He always finishes what He started. He blessed us with two successful fundraisers this last week and we have a couple more to go.
My baby girl turns 3 this Saturday,  I am sad I wont be there. I know she doesn't know what day it is but I do. I wanted to be there for her birthday. Next year....I bought a stroller for her. A birthday gift of sorts.
God , always thinks of the little things. We had bought a few things for her but unsure of what size to really get. But God blessed us with two friends who gave us enough clothes to dress her till she is in a size 2T.
God has a plan for each step of this journey and we are praying He shows us which way to go. Each little detail He cares about.
We are plenty busy running kids to and fro.  7 kids in sports this spring has made time speed up. I love watching each kid play. Somedays things are moving way to fast for me to keep up and other days I am counting down minutes. 
I should go get kids ready for school, and check my email for the 100th time this morning.  Have a blessed day.

Our auction

Our auction is up and running.  Be sure to stop by and bid! Here are some pictures of items on our auction.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/268413099973674/

Fundraisers!!!

We are getting closer to travel! Doing some last minute fundraising,  we are a putting up a challenge of 150 tee shirts in 15 days.

http://questadclan.olivetreepromise.com/Families/Profile.aspx/105/questadclan/

Passing time...

This week has been so hard for me, we are on day 74. Waiting for one piece of paper.  I keep telling myself that Gods timing is always best. And I do know it always is but I am struggling to keep my head up durning this wait. I keep Window shopping,  filling my carts online and then deleting them. Its so hard to wait we have been in the process of adopting our little girl for over a year now. My prayer since we started was to have my baby in my arms by her third birthday. It is coming right up in April.  I known it is still possible to do but things are taking soooo long.  Please pray with me that we can have our baby by her birthday.  God is bigger then any paperwork and can move things very quickly if He choses. May this be His will!
My heart longs for her to be here. Each day that passes sets her back another day. She has regressed so much, and this momma's heart breaks with each passing day.  God keeps reminding me, ' for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope' Jeremiah 29:11
Leaning on His hope each day and trying to not get discouraged by each passing day.  He has a plan and we can't see the big picture. We can only trust, He does. He always knows whats best for ALL His children. Each day is a learning lesson for each of us, I guess mine once again is trusting Him no matter what.  :) she will be here before we know it . He will complete what He has started.

My baby....

We made it through yet another month, of waiting. This month has been harder then others. We have had trail after trail. Yes, they are small compared to what others are going through but they were still trials.
We got a update on our little girl. She is not doing very well. She needs her momma and daddy to come get her. We found out she has a few more delays then we first knew. She has regressed to being completely non verbal. Our hearts just break, my baby is hurting half way across the world and there is nothing I can physically do. Our sweet princesses has challenges and on paper its a bit overwhelming. We are very anxious to get her home and start the healing process. She will need lots of different therapies and lots of love to get her over the mountains she faces. We are connected with some great therapies here in town , God has connected us with a ton of people who will be helping us find the tools she needs to be the full person God intended her to be. We don't know all the challenges our little one will face but what we do know is that God will provide what she needs.
We had our therapist that we work with look over the video of Elle, she said if I hadn't told me her age she would guess our baby was around 7-10 months old, both in development and size. She says she can tell she has vision issues and wouldn't be concerned that much with her except that she is almost 3.Which that in its self is concerning. She realized she hasn't seen her or been able to evaluate her. But she was very positive and has giving us recourses to use. She did agree we will have a long road ahead. We realized she was tested at a hospital and the diagnosis could all be as they say and we are ready to face them .


Please be praying for our little girl. Please pray her paper work gets fast tracked and we can travel on or before her third birthday. Please pray for provision for all our up coming fees.


For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Days counting

Its crazy somedays, I spend more time each day refreshing my email and counting out time frames. I dont do well with waiting I guess. It's 316 days since I seen my baby's face for the first time, it's been 269 days since we had approval to adopt her, it's been 51 days since our dossier made it to country, it's been 32 days since we got logged in, and there is only 106 days till my baby's birthday! There are 23 days left to meet our goal for our lifesong matching grant. Ya, I know I guess I love numbers. I have counted out my time frame to get her home waaay to many times. I know GOD has a perfect time frame and we wait for Him to move things along. I lost track of how many times  refresh my email hoping to hear news that we move forward on our paperwork.  Christmas is always hard for me, knowing my little one is spending it so far away. It's cold where she is right now. Christmas day was -5 degrees out, brrr. Most orphanages dont have heat, hint the reason she was wearing several layers of clothing. If we travel in April it will be in the 60-70*, which sounds very pleasant. As days go by it may be May before we travel, my prayer is to have in my arms by her third birthday.