Praise God !!! She is put of surgery and doing well! The doctor was able to do more of a release than he thought he would be able to under her chin, got her arm released in two places and did a bit of work on her nose. She will have big bandages on for a while so we won't necessarily see an improvement right now but it is all good!!!!

Cami had a restful night - although she would have rather stayed up and watched movies than sleep! They woke her (and me!) up at 5 and gave her the oral sedation. When they wheeled her into the surgical unit she was smiling and playing with the OR nurse! Surgery should take about 2 hours - mom, dad and Cami all survived the morning so keep praying!!

'Twas the night before....

There is so much to say about the night before surgery - and then there really is nothing to tell. We are at Grossman Burn Center in West Hills - and it is an amazing place. At first, the rules & regulations seemed really strict (no children under 12 to visit, 2 visitors at a time, strict visiting hours - except for parents of pediatrics) but what I have found is that it is the most peaceful and calm hospital I have ever been in!

We checked in this evening - and put on our matching slippers that my dear friend Mari surprised us with this morning when she also delivered 4 quarts of her delicious soup - frozen and ready to go with us! 

The nurses here are really amazing with these kids - 

 Daddy hanging out for a few minutes before he tended to the rest of the clan. This might be harder on him than it is on me! 

 Bundled up watching the Chinese version of Cinderella. No - not asleep! The flash on the iPhone makes her eyes close whenever I tried to get a picture! As a matter of fact - she is still rolling around ditching the sandman..

Tomorrow - our day will start early with a 5 am wake up call. They do all the pre-op and most of the post-op in the room for the burn patients which is really nice for us. Surgery is scheduled for 6 am and should be about 2 hours. 

In the meantime, this is my heart - and my prayer

I will exalt you, my God and King,
      and praise your name forever and ever.
 I will praise you every day;
      yes, I will praise you forever.
  Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!
      No one can measure his greatness.
 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
      let them proclaim your power.
  I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
      and your wonderful miracles.
  Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
      I will proclaim your greatness.
  Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
      they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
 The LORD is merciful and compassionate,
      slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
 The LORD is good to everyone.
      He showers compassion on all his creation.
  All of your works will thank you, LORD,
      and your faithful followers will praise you.
  They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
      they will give examples of your power.
  They will tell about your mighty deeds
      and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
  For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
      You rule throughout all generations.
   The LORD always keeps his promises;
      he is gracious in all he does.
 The LORD helps the fallen
      and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
 The eyes of all look to you in hope;
      you give them their food as they need it.
  When you open your hand,
      you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
  The LORD is righteous in everything he does;
      he is filled with kindness.
 The LORD is close to all who call on him,
      yes, to all who call on him in truth.
  He grants the desires of those who fear him;
      he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
  The LORD protects all those who love him,
      but he destroys the wicked.
 I will praise the LORD,
      and may everyone on earth bless his holy name
      forever and ever.

Surgery Prayers Needs

Through out the whole foster then adoption journey with Cami, the over whelming driver was getting her here as quickly as possible to get her first rounds of badly needed surgeries started. During the process, we were very intellectual about these major surgeries. They needed to be done. We have the best surgeon at the best burn center. No big deal - right? 

Wrong.

Very wrong.

Now that Cami is here, the intellectual has been over powered by the parent heart, and this is a very big deal. For everyone. 

Cami's first surgeries will be a two part surgery done 4 days apart. This Friday, January 13th, they will do the cut and release on her neck and do some reconstruction on her nose to ease her breathing. Tuesday January 17th they will do the skin graft on the neck cut and release. She will be in the hospital 4-5 days after that. It will be a total of at least 10 nights in the hospital.

Child Burn Foundation is generously providing us with an apartment for the time Cami will be in the hospital so that we may stay together as a family (so very important as the littles are still not yet recovered from Momma's mission to China!).  We are piecing together a plan so that someone will always be with Cami at the hospital and someone will always be with the girls. My mom is flying in for the first sugary and Ashlee will be with us from the second surgery and then for three days after that. 

We are making lists, packing bags, cooking food to freeze and take with us to ease meal preparation,  sorting out who will be where when and generally trying to relocate this three ring circus for 12 days to a place where we know no-one and don't know where the grocery store is (although there are 3 within a mile so I am sure we won't starve) - but it's the point of being out of our environment during such a stressful time. 

It is all good - but will be better when we are on the other side of it.

To that end - we are asking for prayer  - because all the physical and mental preparation can not even begin to equal what prayer will do for our family 

• Please pray first and foremost for God to guide the surgeon's hands and to protect our sweet girl during her surgeries and that the outcomes would be good.

• Please pray for our family - that we would be knitted together during this stressful time.

• Please pray for all the girls mental state - that there would be no anxiety for any of the girls. 

• There are some logistical issues we are also facing - please pray that God will pave the way to a smooth and uneventful hospital stay for Cami and her parents (we will be taking turns staying at the hospital unless she has a roommate, in which case mom will do the evening hospital duty). 

Thank you for standing with our family during this time. We will be updating during the stay - 

No Words for This

I do not even know where to begin this part of the story it is so unbelievable. So pardon me if this is not well written or clear - but here goes...

We knew that Cami had been in Hong Kong for surgery in 2008. From the discharge records we had, it looked as if she was there from May through November. We knew what hospital she was treated at but that was it. 

When we were at the orphanage, I asked about this time, but the only thing they could tell me was that the "Hong Kong Recovery Association" paid for her treatment. I tried to find out some information on them, but was unsuccessful and had felt like I hit a dead end. 

Until this morning.

Child Burn Foundation learned of a little boy living with his family in China who is in need of burn surgery. They family can not travel to the US, so the foundation has been working to find a surgeon in China. One of their surgeons in Iowa knows a surgeon in Hong Kong. That surgeon sent his file of work to the Burn Foundation.

There she was. 

Cami (then AI Liu) - in 2008. 

Not only did this surgeon operate on her, she lived with him and his wife son and daughter who cared for her while she was recovering. 

This is part of his email back to the foundation this morning- 

Tanya, this is incredible news. There is a God!.... Her sponsors though were some very well connected ladies who help to support the orphanage and were able to speak to the right people in the Hong Kong Government.

Ai Liu came to us a frightened and deformed little lady who was undernourished because she could not keep any food in her mouth.....because Ai Liu needed daily dressings she came to live with us for a time and you can see the picture of her and my daughter Alexandra sitting on the couch watching cartoons! My daughter and son David often ask about her and we have a picture of Ai Liu placed with other family pictures in our living room.

This is why your news is so wonderful as we got to know her as a young lady with a rich sense of humour and fun but also a fighting spirit....do send her love and warm wishes from David, Alexandra and Fun (my wife) who are overjoyed that she has found a family to take care of her.

This is amazing. I can not tell you how it heals my heart to know that during that time, she was loved. That someone cared for her. That there was a mom and a brother and a sister who tended to her. 

This is God - providing for His children. 

This is God - answering a mother's prayer that her child was well cared for and loved.

This is God - filling in the blanks on this side of Heaven. We are not promised this, but God - in his amazing merciful and infinite wisdom - does that for us sometime. He did not have to reveal to us who cared for her - but I am forever grateful that He did. Sone of the medical information will prove to be quite valuable.

I would love to share more about the little boy in China who needs burn surgery - and as soon as I have permission to, I will do that. I am humbled that his parents are trying to get him the help he needs in spite of the cost - that they have not left him to be found in the hopes that someone will take care of him.

I am grateful that some well connected ladies in Hong Kong saw fit to use their influence to help my daughter. If I could, I would lay my head in their lap and cry tears of gratitude and tell them that what they did mattered. 

LIfe at the Beach

warning: this post has lots of pictures...

For those who might be new to our House of Joy, we like the beach. We live about 30 minutes away, and we go fairly often (although not as often as this momma would like!) The New Year's came in with some wonderful beach weather, so we headed out there on Monday to introduce Cami to the Pacific Ocean - we are pretty sure she likes it! 

 But I don't think any of our children love it as much as Katie - this girl is pure JOY at the beach!!! 

never mind that the water was 60 - didn't bother her at all! 

 The cold water didn't bother Cami either - who decided after watching Vincent boogie board that she wanted to try, so with a little hep from dad - she gave it a go! 

 for having some limited movement in her upper body, she has a fairly good sense of balance....

 ...sort of. This spill shook her up, but after a little lap time with daddy and lunch - she got right back in again (without the boogie board this time!) 

 They love the beach - but they love it even more with dad! 

 Meanwhile, the Princess in training found the water not to her liking, so she busied herself with an alternative activity

 Even brother Matt was not too cool to hang at the beach with his old parents, their friends and his little sisters! 

 Becky and Uncle John have a special relationship - she sat in his lap for a long time while he told her  story. It has been such a blessing to us to have them here with us this week - I think that Becky will miss them most of all

 Paloma & Vincent spend a lot of time with the kids when they are here - and the girls absolutely thrive in it - 

the bathing beauties building their kingdom -  

Days like this, I sometimes sit back in amazement at all the good things that God has given me. Heaven knows I don't deserve them - especially based upon my past performances. But God - in HIs infinite wisdom and unending mercy - has granted me treasures on earth in my husband, my children and my friends. 

Isn't it amazing! 

Good Sport

Having Paloma here this week has been such a blessing - she is so good with the girls! She is patient and kind, and is building quite the fan club. 

She is also a good sport!!!