cherry blossom baby

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12 Join the joyous journey to my baby in China!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Pockets




Her favorite phrases are "I will do it" and "did it!" She has recently been putting up her hand like a stop sign and shouting "Back!" if I am giving unwanted assistance.
This is her idea of dressing herself in her pj's before bed. The pocket is really her sleeve since the shirt is on upside down and her little bootie is hanging out the back since she managed to get this on before I could get the diaper in place.

posted by Christi and Abbey @ 9:48 PM  

10 Comments:

  • At 4:50 AM, Blogger Truly Blessed said…

    Oh how sweet! What a big girl she is...dressing herself already!

    Her room, by the way, looks lovely. I don't think I've seen pictures of it. Is she sleeping in a toddler bed now?

    Christi, what a little beauty you've got there!

     

  • At 5:20 AM, Blogger Joannah said…

    She can do it! A for effort. :-)

    We have a picture of my sister when she was about Abbey's age after she'd dressed herself. Everything is every which way. It's hilarious.

     

  • At 7:43 AM, Blogger RamblingMother said…

    I must admit this is one of the most frustrating phases in toddlerhood, to me, the "I do it myself." Especially when I am in a hurry that seems to be the one time Glenys really wants to do it herself.

    Abbey is adorable and growing up way too fast.
    Beverly

     

  • At 7:55 AM, Blogger Donna said…

    She is just about the cutest kid ever!

     

  • At 10:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Christi, she is just way too cute! They grow so quickly. It is wonderful to see her so full of confidence and so happy.

    Rebecca

     

  • At 2:22 PM, Blogger Cherith said…

    Christi, I finally had time to listen to the audio from your previous post and I just have to tell you what a beautiful, moving story you have.

    I listened with tears streaming down my face, I don't think I can really explain how your story affected me but I am going to try.

    I would prefer not to post this in a public place as it is rather personal and will probably go on forever, but I don't have your e-mail address so please forgive me. I just want you to know how much your story means to me.

    My husband and I have dreamed of adopting from China for many years. We have 2 little boys and at the start of this story I was pregnant with our 3rd child, a girl. We planned to begin the process of adopting shortly after if not prior to the birth of our daughter. We very much want more children and we want our daughter to have a sister. We have always believed that at least one of our offspring resides somewhere in China.

    In, it was either Jan or Feb of 2006, my then 29 year old husband went to his cardiologist for a routine exam. My husband has a congenital heart defect. His particular defect is very rare, accounting for less than 1% of genetic heart defects. At the end of this particular round of tests, his cardiologist asked both of us to come together to hear the results. I was 6 or 7 months pregnant with our 3rd child at the time.

    I remember feeling like I was going to pass out just walking to this office. I KNEW it was bad news, they never asked both of us to come hear exam results. We always knew that surgery might be in my husband's future, but with me very pregnant with our 3rd child as well as having 2 and 3 year old boys at home, now was not the best time.

    We sat in the office and listened as a nurse calmly explained that Jesse's testing indicated his condition had deteriorated and he was suffering from severe pulmonary hypertension. She explained that the only surgical option available to us was a total heart lung transplant and that without this transplant my husband had, at the most, 5 years to live.

    I do not have the words to explain how this affected me. Even now as I type, I cry. I don't know how I managed to survive the next few weeks. The dark place I sank to after hearing this news is indescribable. Further research told us that not only was my husband likely to die, but that his death would be slow and painful.

    All I can say for certain is that God took care of my family during these months. I could not cry out to Him, I could only cry. I believe that I moved as half a person during these times. My mind shut off completely, unable to really process what we believed was in our near future.

    I don't remember exactly when it happened, but in looking for support online, Jesse discovered a community of adult congenital heat patients that included several people afflicted with his particular defect. Several people contacted him and explained that they too had received the same diagnosis and that it had in fact been an incorrect diagnosis. It was our first ray of hope in what was a truly bottomless pit of despair.

    We began a desperate search for information and alternatives. We consulted with many, many different doctors, ending up with the adult congenital heart defect specialists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Mn. Upon reviewing Jesse's information, they confirmed that we did indeed have a misdiagnosis and that while Jesse would need open heart surgery in the near future, he did NOT have pulmonary hypertension, the death sentence that had ripped our world to pieces several months earlier.

    Joy does not come close to describing what I felt. I was not excited about my husband having open heart surgery, but knowing that he did not have an illness that would slowly and painfully kill him left my broken heart filled with joy and thanks giving.

    I am also a teacher so we scheduled his surgery for the end of June, 2006. He would have plenty of time to recover before I started back to school.

    Our daughter was born on April 15th of that year.

    In the midst of all this, I only fleetingly thought of our plans to adopt shortly after the birth of our daughter. My dear friend Liz had been waiting patiently for over a year for her 2nd China referral so I was aware of the slow down and how the situation was changing. I thought that, given my husband's health issues, we might need to wait longer than we originally wanted, but that eventually, with a clean bill of health, we would be able to go on with our plans.

    Then came the new rules that went into effect in May 2007 and we knew it was over for us. There was little to know chance, given these new restrictions that we would ever be able to adopt from China.

    I had three beautiful children and a husband recently recovered from a life threatening illness and surgery so I truly did not have much reason to complain, but it still left a hole in my heart to know that this dream would never be realized. There are days when my arms seem to ache for a child that I have never met, never seen a picture of. It is difficult to explain and not something that I share very often as I have been met with hostility from those who believe that my ache for another child means that I in some way, shape or form do not appreciate or love the kids that I do have. I hope that I am communicating this correctly as I do not wish to cause anger or pain to anyone. My heart longs for this baby, this daughter from China. I cannot explain why or where the ache comes from, but my soul just seems to know and have decided that I have a child there.

    Although we come from different situations, I so very much understood and sympathized with your descriptions of how you felt about being a mom and your pain when you thought you had lost that opportunity.

    Upon realizing that we would likely never be able to adopt from China, we began researching alternatives, other ways that we could take responsibility for and help these children. We have discovered a number of charities that are now near and dear to our hearts. We also stumbled upon several websites that listed the blogs of expectant parents and tracked when referrals came in each month.

    I cannot adopt from China, but I can rejoice with those who can and celebrate every time I see all the beautiful faces of babies about to meet their forever families.

    Scrolling through the blogs one month, I happened upon your referral picture of Abbey. She stuck in my mind not only because she was such a darling little girl, but also because after years and years of researching Chinese adoption, her picture raised a few red flags in my mind and I just needed to know how her story ended/began.

    I remember reading your blog and seeing some very vague references to possible issues and the possibility that you might need to turn down the referral. I knew you could not reveal too many of the details, for both your and Abbey's protection, but I somehow got the impression that you might not be able to accept the referral and my heart just broke for you both.

    I remember praying one night as I put my baby girl in her crib that you would be able to accept Abbey's referral, that she would be one less baby left in a crib without a mommy to come if she called, to rock her, hold her, sing to her and love her. I pictured my daughter in such circumstances and I began to weep at the thought of little Abbey in those conditions when you so very obviously wanted her home with you. I prayed that night, with all my heart and soul that Abbey would be able to come home with you.

    I sincerely hope that you don't think I was weird or intruding on your life and privacy, I just so desperately wanted to see Abbey come home with someone who would love her no matter what. I just want you to know that there was one more person out there praying for you and for Abbey, someone that knew you only as pictures and words on the internet.

    Obviously we know how this story turned out. I have continued to read your blog and I love seeing the pictures and the video of Abbey as she grows and learns. She is SO TAN!! She is turning into quite the little California girl, isn't she? ;)

    Your story touched me in so many ways, but I think the most important thing it did for me was to show me that we should not completely give up hope on adoption. Despite everything that has happened in the last almost 2 years, my husband and I still very much want to add another little girl to our family. Parenting my daughter has thus far been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life and I pray constantly that I may have the opportunity to do it again. We have begun thinking about a domestic adoption of a toddler girl, but we both know that our heats are still in China. I will not sink into any kind of despair nor am I angry or sad about our situation, but your story reminded me that with God, all things truly are possible and that with God there is always hope.

    Thank you so much for sharing your story and your life with Abbey. I hope and pray that many others have listened to and been touched by your journey.

     

  • At 5:12 AM, Blogger Calico Sky said…

    Oh Christi she it utterly adorable! Thank you for your lovely email, I'll email you back this evening!
    I love her bedroom furniture!

     

  • At 4:32 PM, Blogger Our Journey To Eden said…

    Adorable! Thanks for sharing!

     

  • At 5:03 PM, Blogger Somewhere In The Sun said…

    Hi, I just found your blog. The video is so cute! I'm enjoying reading aobut your journey to your daughter.

    Lynn
    www.arnett9.blogspot.com

     

  • At 5:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Pretty soon we will be behind Abbey & not in front of her in terms of what we both can do! She is moving along at warp speed in her development--it is really unbelievable! She is quite the darling girl, if I do say so myself! Lots of Love & Prayers to both of you!

     

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