Merry Christmas 2016!

"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."

Galatians 4:4-5



Merry Christmas Eve!

Another tradition . . . new jammies on Christmas Eve!

Love these kiddos!!! Merry Christmas!



Traditions

Traditions are created to bring families together, to build lasting memories, and to give us things to look forward to. Children love traditions, especially at Christmas! What a joy it is to include our little Presley into our Christmas traditions this year! She is loving every minute of it, being a part of this thing called "family"! Here are just a few of our favorite Christmas traditions . . .

Decorating the trees (we set up 2 trees, a little tree with all of the special ornaments, the ones the kids have made over the years, the ones collected from memorable places, or gifts we have received, and a big one with all of mommy's pretty ornaments)

Presley was excited when she found her "P"!

It's all finished!

Then there is the big tree . . . what fun to help daddy unwrap it!

Let the decorating begin . . . ta da!

Decorating cookies . . . this year we did gingerbread and sugar! Yummy!



We got the big boys in on the action!

Christmas crafts . . . the girls loved making stained glass to give as gifts and painting pinecones that they collected this year!

 

We always love to get out a jigsaw puzzle . . . people gather around the dining room table at various times to work on it, and it usually includes random moments of bursting out into song! We love it! This little sass decided to get in on the action!

Well, those are just a few of our traditions as we enjoy this season. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will include more! It is now just 2 days until Christmas, and we are all looking forward to the celebration! Our favorite tradition of all is simply being together as a family, remembering what this special day is all about!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6


"Fancy Girl!"

Three months ago today, we met our little Presley for the first time. She flashed us her dazzling smile, and our lives were forever changed! I will never forget the first video we saw of her, wearing her fancy pink ruffles. I predicted that she was a "fancy girl", and it turns out I was right! Our little Presley is indeed fancy! Currently, her favorite phrase is, "I need fancy!" Apparently, this family needed a little bit more "fancy" in our lives!

Dear Lord, may this sparkly little girl shine for You all the days of her life!



The Results

The heart cath is complete, and we are so thankful to have it behind us! Presley handled everything beautifully, and we couldn't have asked for anything more. We checked in bright and early at 6:00 a.m., and our little patient got all prepped and ready to go!

Presley drank her "sleepy juice", so she was in a pretty happy place when the anesthesiologist, who was so kind, came to carry her away. That was the hardest moment! We were then able to remain in our private prep room because it was also to be Presley's recovery room. This was a blessing! We received an update about half way through that everything was going well, and Presley was stable. The entire procedure took almost 4 hours, and then the doctor came to talk to us.

She gave us the news that she believes Presley is a good candidate for a full repair of her heart! This is the best case scenario, and we just stood there and rejoiced. Our girl is definitely a complicated little thing, and the surgery will be difficult and the recovery long. Our doctor wants to send us to a hospital where the surgeons have experience with this type of surgery as well as a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. She knows that we are from southern CA, and so she wants to try to send us there. This would just be such a gift since we are so familiar and comfortable there. Our doctor handed us several pictures of the inner workings of Presley's heart, and she proceeded to explain it all to us. I have to admit that our minds started to gloss over, and so we will need some time to continue to understand it all as we process the situation. However, we learned that the surgery Presley received in China saved her life, and for that we are in awe! We know whose hands are holding our precious girl's heart, and our trust in Him is absolute. Presley's life is a gift to be cherished, and we are just so thankful that our God has entrusted us to be the parents of this amazing little girl!

Presley returned to the room, and we were so relieved to be able to be with her once again. Although she was very groggy, she opened her eyes briefly to see that mommy and daddy were there right by her side!

She became alert pretty quickly, and was amazingly content. She didn't like all the hook ups, but she tolerated them and was a good little patient. Presley's oxygen levels usually hang out in the 70s when compared to a normally functioning heart which should be close to 100. So she received some extra oxygen, and she then had to lie still for the next 5 hours. The cath went into her neck and leg, and she needed to keep her leg flat and still as to avoid any bleeding or clotting. We settled in for the afternoon, and Presley began to drink some fluids. She said she was hungry, and her food request was pizza! "Monkey George" and pizza made this girl quite happy!

Around 5:00 we received word that we could be prepped to go home! The first step is done, and our hearts are so thankful! Presley has to stay calm for the next few days (easier said than done!), and now we will wait to see how the plans for her surgery unfold.

"Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again; REJOICE!" Philippians 4:4



Heart Cath

Presley's heart catheterization is scheduled for early tomorrow morning. This is the first step in receiving answers about our girl's unique and special heart. We are expectant as we look forward to the known versus the unknown, yet at the same time we are dreading the process. We know what it feels like to have our baby whisked away from us to the operating room. I don't think that moment will ever be okay with this mama's heart! We know that our precious Presley has already endured two surgeries in China, and she spent a significant amount of time in the hospital. While we are so grateful that she received the gift of surgery, she endured it alone, without her mommy and daddy by her side. The hospital scene may stir up unpleasant memories for her, and we have no idea how she will react. But this time she will absolutely know without a shadow of a doubt that mommy and daddy are with her always and forever. And every day of her life we will continue to speak truth into her heart and mind that Jesus is with her,

 and He will never leave her or forsake her! 

We believe that our precious Presley will be in good hands humanly speaking. However, our trust does not ultimately lie in the hands of the surgeon but in our God, the Maker of heaven and earth. He created Presley, complicated heart and all. We believe that her life will bring glory to His name! Our sovereign, good God is in control of every detail of our precious daughter's life. Where else can we place our trust, but in His ever loving, faithful hands!

 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" John 6:68

So, tomorrow we will take this step that God has planned for us. We will pray fervently for the Lord to give us His perfect peace even when our hearts are feeling the effects of the storm. As Presley trusts us to take care of her, we pray that she will learn to trust in her Savior (a.k.a. her "Baby Jesus"). We pray that this sweet, sassy face will return quickly after it's all over!

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." Psalm 107:8-9

2 Months Ours!

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful!" Proverbs 15:13



Presley's Heart

We are in the preliminary stages of discovering exactly how unique is our little Presley's heart. She had her first visit with our cardiologist a few weeks ago. Based on the echocardiogram, the initial diagnosis is . . .

Complete AV Canal: A large hole in center of the heart affecting all four chambers where they would normally be divided. When a heart is properly divided, the oxygen-rich blood from the lungs does not mix with the oxygen-poor blood from the body. A CAVC allows blood to mix and the chambers and valves to not properly route the blood to each station of circulation.

Double Outlet Right Ventricle: The aorta connects to the right ventricle (the chamber of the heart that pumps blood to the lungs), instead of to the left ventricle (the chamber that normally pumps blood to the body). Both the pulmonary artery (which carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs) and aorta (which carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body) come from the same pumping chamber. No arteries are connected to the left ventricle (the chamber that normally pumps blood to the body).

 Pulmonary Atresia: The word "atresia" means "no opening." With pulmonary atresia, the valve that lets blood flow from the lower-right chamber (the right ventricle) to the lungs has not formed or is closed. Instead of following the normal route through the lungs, oxygen-poor blood travels directly from the upper-right chamber (the right atrium) to the left side of the heart. This oxygen-poor blood is then pumped back into the body. The lack of oxygen-rich blood makes the fingers, toes, and lips appear blue, a condition called cyanosis.

Although this information is a lot to take in, none of it was surprising. It actually revealed that the report from China was accurate. However, the specifics of Presley's anatomy cannot fully be known until she has a . . .

Heart Catheterization: A procedure used to diagnose and treat cardiovascular conditions. During cardiac catheterization, a long thin tube called a catheter is inserted in an artery or vein in your groin, neck or arm and threaded through your blood vessels to your heart. 

This is scheduled to take place in exactly one month. Presley will go under anesthesia in the hospital, and our doctor said the cath should take approximately 3 hours. It is meant to be an outpatient procedure, and she should be able to go home later that day. But depending on how Presley handles everything she may need to spend the night. We are praying fervently for our precious girl! Presley loves to pray!!!

The results of the heart cath will give us more detailed insight into the intricacies of Presley's heart. And this will hopefully and prayerfully lead to surgery possibilities. A big question about whether or not Presley has two ventricles has already been answered from the echo. She does in fact have two good sized ventricles that are pumping well. This could be good news if she is a candidate for a full repair. However, being that she has no interatrial septum (the wall of tissue that separates the right and left atria) a full repair may be extremely difficult or impossible. There may also be other possible surgical options to make her heart as functional as possible for as long as possible.

We know that our precious girl is in her Father's hands, and He knows the plan! We trust Him completely! Since we have been down the hospital/surgery road a time or two, we know it will be so hard to watch our baby suffer. We love our little Presley so very much, and yet God loves her even more! His will be done in her life, and may His name be praised no matter what!

"I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever."

Psalm 86:12

"Spunky Spice"

 I mean just look at her! We have been home with this little "spunky spice" for 1 month!

There is a big personality inside this tiny little body!

Our precious Presley is doing amazingly well considering all of the change that she has endured. We love her to pieces, and we can't imagine our lives without her! She is fitting into this family so well, and she loves everyone! Her attachment is going very well, and that is such an awesome answer to prayer. I had prayed that the Lord would give me an instant love for this child, and I have to say that she is very easy to love!

She is high energy and pretty much runs everywhere she goes! She is constant entertainment, and the cuteness is absolutely unbearable!

 She is mama's girl and a little cuddle bug! I get to lie down with her every night as she drifts off to sleep. As her little hands reach for my neck, I cherish every moment that I get to hold her in my arms. Presley is also a talker . . . she talks non stop in both Chinese and now English= Chinglish! She is understanding a ton already which is extremely helpful. She is really good at charades, so communication doesn't have to be only verbal! However, she has picked up many words and phrases already and is capable of getting her point across. Some of her favorites are, "one minute", "go car", "come on", "dinner's ready", "Bible", "pray", and "I love you"! She doesn't like to be told "no", so we look for as many ways as possible to say "yes". She is a bit of a control freak (which is totally to be expected when you have never had the chance to make your own choices). We are patiently teaching her to trust mommy and daddy to help her make good choices and to accept that she can trust us to be in charge. We are trying to rely on the One who has complete control, and we are constantly asking Him for wisdom and guidance. We have already seen changes in Presley in just over a month since she became our daughter. She is still very active, curious, and busy, but she can now focus for longer than 5 seconds to enjoy an activity. She can get easily overstimulated, so keeping her world small is extremely important. We did take a trip to the pumpkin patch and made it through without a meltdown.

Our three China dolls took a brief stroll through our neighborhood last night for trick or treating, a.k.a. "tu tu fee". Presley must have been thinking, " these people sure have strange customs!"

 But she was very pleased with the results!

Presley likes things to go a certain way, and she always has a plan. We are working on flexibility within structure! Her little unpredictable self likes everything to be predictable, exactly the way it was the time before. She is smart and learns very quickly! She adores her sisters, so she is learning so much by watching them. To sum it all up . . . she is "sugar and spice and everything nice"! She is our adorable Presley, and we love her so much!!!