Caroline's Special Need

I haven't shared this on my blog for the sake of protecting Caroline, but I made up my mind that maybe I could help someone else if I did share. Most people that are close to me know that to China Caroline is considered special needs. She was on the special needs list. We knew that the little girl we were going to adopt would have a special need of some sort, but we did not know what at the time. When we saw Caroline's file we immediately fell in love with her, we knew she was the one. Now came the hard part, to open up the file and read her medical report. To read what little information was provided to us. There it was the word lymphangioma. Lymphangiomas are malformations of the lymphatic system. These malformations can occur at any age and may involve any part of the body, but 90% occur in children less than 2 years of age and involve the head and neck. It was a foreign term to us so I began searching and searching for answers. I knew she was ours in my heart, but I was reading some pretty scary stuff. I gave her file to a pediatrician who gave us the worst and best case scenario. In the report we knew that Caroline had a benign tumor removed from her neck, but there was one left in her chest that was very close to her heart. I prayed, I cried, I read, I talked with my closest of friends and family, I stayed awake at night. What in the world did this mean for us? What did it mean for this little girl? Was she the one even though she had this special need...a special need we knew nothing about? A special need that scared us to death. We had three days to say yes or no to this little girl. A little girl that had captured my heart. Sometime during those three days we found peace. Peace that we could handle whatever came our way, peace that we could provide the best medical care possible for her, peace that she was ours!! So with that we said, "yes"!

Deep down I was scared to death. Deep down I'm still scared to death. I'm scared because the time is finally here. We are taking Caroline to Cincinnati for a MRI on Monday. The MRI should let us know what the next step is for her medical care. This is a trip I have been nervous about since I first saw the word lymphangioma. I have faith in the doctors there. Faith that they will do what is best for her. Do I regret saying yes to our Caroline? Absolutely not!! She is smart, sassy, strong willed and she is my girl. Is she special needs? I'll let you make up your mind once you meet her. Please say a special prayer for Caroline and the doctors as we go through tests Monday and Tuesday.

It was baseball and Easter for us this weekend

Home 3 Months Today.....Where Does Time Go?

We have been home three months today. In some ways it feels like we've only been home a short time and in other ways it seems like forever. Caroline is doing great and is so much more than we have ever asked for. Here are some things we have learned about her in the last three months: * She is oh so stubborn and strong willed! * Noodles and rice are still her favorite food. * Mexican is her favorite place to eat....no not Chinese :) * She loves her blankie and sleeps with it every night. * Potty training is not going so well :( In fact she has no idea. * She does NOT hoard her food in her mouth any more. * Luke sleeps with her every night. * She still takes a bottle at night before going to bed. * The dog and cat are her new best friends. * She can say...Mom, Dad, Cole, Uke (Luke), Reese, Nana, Pops, Milk, Coke, Water, Juice, Hutch, Eddie, Park, Maycie, Bath, Brush, More, Car, Baby,.....and plenty others I'm sure I'm leaving out. * She amazes us because she knows everything you are talking about. * She goes down a slide on her own, walks in the grass and loves to swing. Today we spent the entire day with cousins at the park and had so much fun. I'm so glad we all have each other and I know Caroline would say the same.

How Are You Doing

That is a question that I am asked on a daily basis...."How are YOU doing?" Please don't feel bad if you are reading this and have asked me this very same question because I know that you were just being sincere. So I'm going to answer this questions the best way I know how. I'm doing just fine. My house is still a mess just as the same as it was before we left for China. There is as many piles of laundry on the floor as before we went to China. There is as much chaos in the house as before we left for China. My car is still as full of fast food bags and cups just as it was before we left for China. I still spend some nights awake with the kids either because ones sick or peed the bed just as before we left for China. So how am I doing? I'm doing great......just the same as before China. Life has gotten busy, but I still find time to have some me time. I still find time to do a little shopping alone, to get my nails done, to go to the movie with friends, to go out to eat with my hubby (although not as often). So for me my life hasn't changed that much. My life has remained almost the same other than I have the sweetest two year old girl ever. She just fits in so well with us, in fact I feel like in some ways she has been with us forever. The next question I get asked is, "How are the boys doing?" The boys? The boys are fine. The boys play outside just as they did before China. The boys argue just as they did before China. The boys are still as rowdy as before we left for China. The boys have learned to love a little girl that had no idea what having brothers was all about. So, for our family our life hasn't changed that much. One thing has changed though and that's the way we see things. You see Caroline has made our family slow down and appreciate the smaller things. She points to the stars at night as if she's never seen them before, she listens to the birds chirping in the morning and looks at us for answers, she points to airplanes in the sky and wants to know what they are, she goes to the window and wants to watch the rain, she rushes out the door when dad comes home from work like its the first time she's seen him in a while. So...How are we ALL doing? We have a little girl who reminds us daily what life is all about and for that we are all doing just a little better than before we left for China:)