Monday, January 31, 2011

Moments with the Marshalls

I just love reading blogs written by other Adoption-Passionate Families.  Our Pastor and his wife just announced that they are adopting a child from Ethiopia.  Yay! We are so excited for them and plan to really encourage them this year.  If you'd like to read more about their journeys - visit the Marshall Family blog at http://www.williamandglenna.blogspot.com/

Saturday, January 29, 2011

March Madness

Lori will be arriving back in the States with us on March 5th or 6th (depending on travel).  We don't want to waste any time getting her hearing fully checked out.  So, she has an appointment on March 23 at Central Institute for the Deaf in St Louis.  They will be doing a full hearing assessment that day and making ear molds for hearing aids.  They will also determine over the next several visits if she is a candidate for Cochlear Implants.  Next Friday, I will be attending a full-day workshop to learn about children with hearing impairments and the services available for them in Missouri.   I am so excited to start this part of the journey with Lori.  Pray for us as we seek wisdom to give her the best options we can for her hearing.  Tonight - we snuck out for a quick date night and ran into a family we know who has a daughter that has a hearing impairment.  She was sporting the cutest pair of pink hearing aids you ever saw!  I'm so excited for Lori and what her future holds.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Ear Update - Miracles Still Happen!

(from Jay)

Today was interesting....inspiring!

Last week, while visiting my nurse practitioner, I had my NP and her nurse look in my right ear and then look at me in disbelief.  It was like they saw an alien in my ear.  Both said it was something they had never seen before.  My nurse practitioner said that my ear drum looked so severely perforated that she could see straight into my inner ear.  Judging by their response, it must have looked pretty bad.  They immediately went and scheduled an appointment with an ENT in Cape.  They were concerned that I might need surgery or at least time to heal...and all of a sudden my trip to China was threatened.  I couldn't believe that in the same week we got our travel approval, I was also

Brother, Can You Spare An Eardrum?

(From Jay - written Friday 1/21/11)


Have you ever gone to the doctor with something wrong with your ear? Did it by any chance result in both the nurse and the doctor looking into your ear with their otoscope and then looking away in silence with a puzzled look? Well, I did yesterday. It was quite troubling.

For those of you who don't know, we are a few short weeks from our trip to China...a trip that involves a long flight. Nothing wrong with that except that Camille and I have been battling fluid in our ears for weeks now. Something we are told that could cause big problems on a long flight. Camille got a clean bill of health yesterday from an ENT in Cape, and I went in yesterday for a followup on my ear. After having my ear 'flushed' for the first time (which felt like sticking a garden hose in your ear), the nurse looked through her scope, and then seemed troubled...quiet. As she walked out, I asked if everything looked alright. Her reply was, "well...I'm not sure what I'm looking at...I've never

Reflecting Over The Last Year

(From Jay)


For some time, we have talked about adoption. It was just loose talk, really. I must admit that Camille’s heart was attracted to it way before mine was. (God took His time with me…or I simply resisted.) Camille spoke it seems for years of adopting a little girl from China. It just seemed like one of those things you talk about, but that you know will never happen.

But then over the course of late 2009 and 2010, God began to place things in our path. After reading Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham, I was angry that we had not captured the vision for having a large family. Not because of the Duggars, or because of trends, but because, as Voddie put it, so that we could raise up a Godly army that could further the cause of Christ after we are gone. Like Voddie and his wife, we had taken matters into our own hands, and closed the door to having more children. We even explored reversing the damage

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Gotcha Day is Coming!

Well, it's finally here!  Can you believe it??  We received news today that we will arrive in China around Feb. 21 and will officially get Lori on the 23rd.  Eveyone is so excited and almost in disbelief  - its like we've been on a long, exhausting journey and have just topped the hill to see a warm, inviting place to rest just ahead. 






Also today - we received some new pics of Lori.  Check out her new hair-do.  They are letting her bangs grow out.  Chloe says that Lori looks just like she does in the morning.  So True!!  The little Chinese birthday cake for Lori's friend, Mark, is super awesome, too.