Prentending this is July 13, 2011!

Well, I am almost 2 months late blogging this! However I felt it was important to capture the memories our family had on this most important day. On July 13, 2010 Addison Hope Guo Ying Mervyn, truly became a Mervyn! That is the day that she became legally part of our family forever. Howard and I look back at that day and feel wonder and amazement. That God would truly choose us to raise this most this brilliant, silly, cheeky,beautiful & caring little girl. She has been such a huge blessing to our family. People often say how lucky/blessed she is to have us. And I can never seem to convey how it is US that are the blessed ones!

Riley and Addison's relationship has grown and developed into a beautiful friendship. They are truly sisters! Which includes some throw down rip roaring fights. And beautiful loving quiet play times where they could never imagine disagreeing with one another.(:

The above picture, is about an hour after we met our sweet girl, for the first time.....she was terrified. And being completely honest for the first 6 months we would see a variation of that same face. At first it was several times a day, then once a day, then once every few days. Well you get the picture. I can honestly say I haven't seen this look of terror on her face in many months! She is truly coming into her own, with our family. She willingly shows us love and respect. Also she is more than willing to challenge us (in a healthy way.)

Our life feels normal.....not the same normal as before, but a better normal! A new normal that includes the most amazing little girl. We could not imagine our lives without our sweet little Addy girl.

Oh and if you noticed that our sweet Addy now is sporting some new bangs.....well she and her darling older sister (note the sarcasm!) decided to play hair dresser. She has bangs starting halfway back on her head! lol! We are trying to grow them out, but it could be take a very long time, with how slow her hair grows:)

June/July Update part 1

Junk food, painting & America's Funniest Home Videos Party the night before surgery:)

Nathan in traction, playing video games. these were taken with my iphone:(

Peace out! Those glasses were from a crayola set that Paige (a fellow blogger) dropped off, along with a whole lot of candy!lol! Thanks again for visiting us Paige!

Well we have had a busy little life recently! Lots to celebrate and a few roadblocks, however all is well in the Mervyn household:)

On June 15th (the only reason I can remember the date, is that it was my 32nd Birthday!) Nathan fell on his way into the garage, coming home from youth. He unfortunately broke his left femur. It was very a very serious fracture, Howard took him immediately to emerg. I followed as soon as my bestfriend arrived to watch the other kidlets. Once I arrived the first thing that we noticed was Nate's broken leg was at least 4X's the size of the other! We knew immediately that he would be air ambulanced to Edmonton, sure enough by 4AM the next morning Nathan and I arrived at the Stollery Children's Hospital. Nathan was suppose to have immediate (within 24hours) surgery to insert a rod into the femur, however once we got to the operating room, the orthopedic surgeon's realized they didn't have the right rods, so we would have to wait for 4 days for the right rod to arrive.

Nathan hung around in traction for four days and I hung out with him, while Howard came home to managed the rest of the troops! Nate had surgery 6 days after he broke his femur and we were happy to come home and recuperate!

Its funny the second I saw Nathan in emerg, the first thing that crossed my mind was to question God! And in a split second a verse shot across my mind.... We know that in all things that God works for the good of those who love Him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

That verse became our theme verse for our 10 day stay in the hospital! The people we met were amazing! I felt like we were exactly where God needed us. We got to minister to other families in need. Nathan and I prayed for strangers! We became so thankful for all of our too numerous to list blessings! When Nathan went in for surgery, Howard and I had such a great peace, it's cliche to say....but it was beyond our understanding!!! Our precious wonderful church family gathered around us in prayer and service. We arrived home to a sparkling clean home! With the fridge full of groceries and the freezer full of meals! Nathan's youth group made him cards. It was just all so humbling and amazing!

Nathan is now recovering slowly....he is having a difficult time with physio, and his doctor has threatened hospitalization again if he can't show progress. It is taking alot of my time helping him with this, and just his general personal care. He is now 70lbs and difficult to lift on and off the toilet! We have had to stay mostly at home, as he is so heavy for me to carry in and out of the house etc. I have been trying to have friends over to play with to break up the kids monotony. I have been a little bit happy that our summer weather has mostly consisted of rain and colder than average weather!lol!

It has become a bit tiresome for the other kids, to be stuck at home as well. They are not use to having me so busy with Nathan. I have to say though they are all so wonderful and caring! Its so great for us to see how much empathy they have for their brother. What a huge blessing all of our kids are! Its such a privilege to be their Mom!

We head back to Edmonton, for some more doctor consultations on Sunday, and will be extending the trip by a couple days to have some "city fun":) On a side note, this accident encouraged ( I don't know if thats the right word!?!) Howard to have a meeting with his bosses and negotiate some terms of his contract. He is giving them 6 months to find a maintenance run, near town! That will allow him to be home at a "regular" time and be here on the weekends!!! Right now he is filling in doing just that! So he is home at 5 o'clock and we have him on the weekends! All I can say is God is good! Even in the valley's....especially in the valley's!

I am hoping to update the blog a couple times in the next few days! We have had our 1 year Forever Family anniversary, Josh's birthday and the end of school, lots to write about:) Sorry I have been gone so long!

A Trip to the Doctors

Addison, my bestfriend Jodica and I made the trip to Edmonton, so we could see Addy's liver specialist last week. First I have to say we had a wonderful time playing and shopping.:) The weather was great and topping that all off we got to meet one of my favorite bloggy friends, Paige for the first time! It was so wonderful to meet in person as Paige has been such a support through Addison's adoption and once she came home. It was so neat to see the girls play alongside each other. Paige has two lovely girls in Lilah and Zoe. Above is a picture of 3 of our sweet girlies.

On to the big news......Addison's appointment went really really well!!!!! Yay! Her doctor is amazing! He did a scan of Addison's liver to look at the health. He believes that her body is possibly fighting off this virus and just wants to watch her for the next little bit. We will head for an ultrasound at home and some more bloodwork, and then we will see Dr. Yap every 6 months for now, unless things change. He didn't believe she was a good candidate for some experimental treatments that are going on, because these treatments are aggressive and haven't really shown a marked improvement in the patients at this point. Dr Yap was wonderful with Addy and took the time to answer my questions. We never once felt rushed or like he wasn't listening to my concerns for our sweet girl. He is hands down one of the best doctors we have ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

I have to say that I am now sighing a huge sigh of relief!!! Praise the Lord! I thank all of you who have surrounded us with love, prayers and support. We appreciate each any every one of you, those that we know well and those that we know through our blog. We will keep everyone updated on each of Addison's visits. However our greatest prayer would be that her little body would fight this virus and clear it from her system without out any medical intervention....a very slim chance, however our family worships a God who still performs miracles daily. So I will trust in Him and His will for our sweet little Addy!

We're Back!

This post is a long, long, long time coming! I really haven't been feeling like blogging lately....however I know I'll be disappointed if I stop! So I'm going to fake it, until I enjoy blogging again!lol!

Much has been going on in our household. I guess the biggest event was our holidays. We returned a week ago from two weeks in sunny warm Florida. It was a great vacation and so very nice to have Howard with us for three weeks straight! We also had Howard's Mom come with us, which was really nice. The pictures I have added are from our family picture session at the Grand Floridian in Walt Disney World.

Our Miss Riley-roo turned 6 while we were in Florida. She had a blast getting hair, nails and makeup done with Addison at the Bibidibobidi Boutique and then dinning with her favourite princess at the Akershus Restaurant in Epcot. It amazes me that she is already 6!

I think our favourite day hands down, was getting away from the crowds at the park and heading to Clearwater Beach, near Tampa. The sand was like powder and the water was turquoise and warm, and it was a warm and sunny day. I think our next family vacation will be more beaches less theme parks! lol!

On the home front. We finally have an appointment for Addison with the pediatric liver specialist in Edmonton. I will be taking her on Friday to go see this doctor, with my sweet little girl and many questions in hand. It will be interesting to see what he has to say........ Its been a long wait and I just would like to move forward with whatever he decides to do, or not do. If that makes sense!?!

The kids are all doing really well. Addison had a fabulous time on her first family holiday. As much as she was happy to come home to her room and her stuff, she was asking the next day when our next holiday was!lol! We are working hard on her manners. Something I guess we would be doing with any 3 year old adopted or not. She had a few weeks of not sleeping well before our holiday's, but now she is back to being a lean mean sleeping machine.

I am hoping now that I have posted this post that I will back to posting weekly......we will see!

Happy 3rd Birthday Addison

Over the weekend our Miss Addy turned 3. We had a quiet celebration as she and Riley were recovering from a nasty cold. We all had fun celebrating Addison's day, and she was tickled pink to receive a Kai Lan backpack on wheels (her suitcase, lol.) Its amazing to see how far we have all come in the few short months she has been home. We are so beyond blessed!

For me, her birthday was a day of reflection, prayer and thanksgiving. I reflected on who my sweet little girls biological mother is, prayed for her, and gave thanks to our heavenly father that this amazing woman chose to carry our sweet baby girl and place her somewhere safe so she could be found, and eventually placed in our arms. My heart broke for this woman who we will never meet. I can't imagine the strength it took for her to make such a heart wrenching decision.

Our amazing little Addy is growing in leaps and bounds. Its hard to keep up with all her progress. The girl can talk your ear off! She is such a trooper. Spreading joy and laughter wherever she goes.:)

Best Field Trip Ever!

Really the title says it all. When the rest of the school was at the ski hill, for a fun day, Nathan and his buddy got to go on their very own special field trip! Usually they would stay home for these days, as its no fun watching everyone else have fun up the hill. However this year both of the boys aides, planned a fun filled day! They even got out to walk a bit as it was so warm out! Here they are on the way to the Pioneer Museum.


One of our local businessman offered his "bat cave" for the boys to hang out at for the morning! Its like a "man cave" on steroids with many vintage cars a kitchen, XBOX 360 and theatre screen!

Nate was trying to tell me that he needed this car, and it was for sale for only $25,000! LOL!

Yep! Best field trip ever! Car racing!

we are so blessed to have amazing staff at our school who love our kids. We have attended school's where the staff is just there for the pay cheque. Not this school, they make an attempt to include all the students in fun days, even if that means planning a whole different trip for the kids who can't go up the ski hill. So thank you! You certainly made these boys day.:)

How time flies!

I remember this day like it was yesterday! Nathan's first day of Grade 1 and Josh's first day of Kindergarten and our sweet little Riley! Sometimes it feels like you blink and they are Pre teens and almost 6! Oh how I love these little munchkins! And how quickly I forget that they were once little like Addison, it reminds me to drink up every second with them! Before I know it they will all be grown and gone!

Nate's "Friends" Birthday Party

Nathan really wanted a pool party this year, with his friends. And I have to admit we don't always have friends parties, for various reasons, one being we are usually in Montreal, Nathan has a fracture, kids are sick, etc. etc. However this year we did! It was important to our Nate boy that Howard was home, so we quickly planned his party for the day after we returned from Montreal. It was pretty basic! Swimming, pizza and an ice cream cake. All the boys were really well behaved and I think they all had a great time. :)

Our great big 12 year old! Well he will be 12 on March 25th.


I seem to rarely be in any of the birthday pictures....so here the "original" 3 are.:) Ugh totally bad picture of me! But Whatever!

Here are the group of boys in the hot tub... 12 is such a funny age! They want to be treated like an adult yet they love to play like little boys! :) This group of young men are so great! Most of them attend our church, and both Nate and Josh have a wonderful time when they all get together.

The birthday boy, makin a splash!

Montreal

One of the two snow storms we experienced while in Montreal. Don't you just love the old buildings in historic cities, like Montreal? I do they do my heart good.

Nate having one of the series of X rays he gets every 6 months.....doesn't he look happy to be having his picture taken? Lol!


This little boy was in awe of Nathan! :) He was ecstatic to find out he was sharing a hospital room with Nate. And in return Nathan was so super sweet, he helped his new little buddy in any way he could! It made me so proud to see him being so compassionate and nurturing. The boys were at the school that the hospital provides for kids while they are receiving treatment away from home. That way the kids can keep up on their school work while they are hospitalized. Can I just say how much we love the Shriner's Hospital!

Nathan and I arrived home last night from a wonderful trip to Montreal, to see his specialists and receive an IV treatment that strengthens his bones. (In case you are new to our little blog, Nate is our oldest child and he was diagnosed at birth with Osteogensis Imperfecta/ Brittle bone disease.) We had a great time despite the lousy weather that included alot of snow, rain and freezing rain. We ate at his favourite restaurant we toured around and shopped til we dropped. Oh yeah and we saw all his doctors. :)

We had a mixed bag of news this trip, Nathan's bone density increased by 5% Yay! And he grew quite a bit. However his femur bones have become too deformed, so in September sometime Nathan will be going for surgery to replace the rod in his right femur and insert one in his left femur. We are waiting to hear from his orthopedic surgeons receptionist to book the dates. The good things are that once our Nate boy recovers, he will be able to walk with less of a limp, we have alot of time to prepare for our trip and the surgery, he won't miss his summer "fun" being in a double leg cast. There are lots of things to be thankful for. And we are going to focus on that heading into Nathans surgeries.

Its funny, because I think at the beginning of this year, as I was "mapping out" what our year would look like, with trips, work, etc. I was very conscious about instead of me making plans, taking the time to pray and listen to what God had planned for us this coming year. Well it kinda looking like 2011 maybe the Mervyn family's year of doctors appointment and hospital stays! lol! Not what I hoped for, but I can't help but see how big we have been blessed! I was reflecting on some of the points we learnt in small group last week about Life being a test, a trust, life is short, and that we are not home yet! And thinking how true all those points were!

I have to say 5 days away from home was therapeutic for this Mama. I missed my family that stayed home. But boy was it great to have some time to just spend with Nathan! It also gave me some perspective on all of our family has been through these last couple weeks. I feel ready to be back and consider it such a privilege to be a Mom of 4 beautiful amazing children. Also I think it was a little eye opening for Howard to be alone with 3 of our munchkins for 5 days. :) They had a wonderful time, but my honey was glad our flight made it home last night! lol!

We still have heard nothing from the doctors about Addison. We were told 4-6 weeks and next week will be 4 weeks, hopefully we get an appointment soon! She is doing well, and survived 5 days without me much to my dismay! :) I am just kidding! I am very proud she did so well without me.

Nathan had his friends birthday party tonight, and that will be the next thing I blog about, but I want to enjoy my last night with my husband for 24 nights!

I want to thank you all again for your love, prayers and support. Your comments on this blog, facebook and emails have brightened our days and lifted us up when it felt we couldn't make one more step!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Ok I said in the last post that I would share this recipe. All of my kids love these, and really so do Howard and I. The best part are that they are only 150 calories and 6g fat per regular sized muffin! That is in comparison to 600 calories and 30g fat in a coffee shop muffin! My kids can make these tender little morsels disappear in record time! So I would suggest doubling the recipe. They are moist and delish with coffee. ;)

3/4 cups of bananas, mashed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips.

Preheat oven 375F Spray 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil.

Using electric mixer, beat together bananas, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl until well mixed.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir the banana and flour mixture together. Stir in the yogurt. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and bake 15 minutes or until done.

In like a lion out like a lamb?

SMILE!?!

We are again in the throes of winter! Like -45 with windchill!!!! I made the executive decision to keep all the kids home today......really shouldn't the world stop when its that cold out!?! We are hunkered down playing board games and the girls and I are going to make some banana chocolate chip muffins this afternoon. I might share the recipe later this week on the blog, my kids love them and they are low fat and low in sugar!

I am so very ready for real spring.....not a teaser. Only 6 more weeks and the snow should be gone!

Nate and I fly out on Sunday for a week of doctor appointments and his IV treatment in Montreal. :) I am really looking forward to going, it looks like the weather is ALOT warmer out that way. Nathan is excited to do some shopping and just have some one on one with me! (His words) I was a little surprised to hear him say that! And really lets be honest since Howard was gone for 34 days, leaving me with 4 children to parent. A week of one child will feel like a vacation! :) Nathan's leg seems to be getting better everyday, he started weight barring last week and now he is walking short distances! Yay!

Howard came home last week for four days. It was unbelievable how much we all missed him! Addison struggled a bit at first, which I totally expected. It was like she needed to test him. I guess her Baba passed the test because within 24 hours she was back to her regular self. Howard will arrive home Saturday night to stay with our 3 youngest munchkins when Nate and I are away. (This is the first time I will be away from Addison.) And then he will head back on the following Saturday. We are planning an early surprise party for Nathan at a local hotel pool for him and his buddies on Friday! Howard will be gone for most of the Spring. Legally he can't work more than 24 days and then has to have 4 days off......so that is what our lives will be until the end of April.......we think!?! Hopefully we all survive! lol! I know lots of families that live like this........but I really like my husband! And parenting 4 kids by myself is very very hard! I must not be made out of the same tough cloth. We are planning a vacation at the end of April for 2 weeks (that's the only way I can guarantee to have Howard home!) I am hoping we can have Addy's treatment decision made by the time we leave (April 26th) We also hope that this summer Howard will be home alot because he was so busy this winter/spring. I just have to keep remembering this is just a season and it will soon change. :)

Addison is doing really well! She seems really healthy and is as sassy as ever! lol! We have seen some regression in some areas, but with the stress of her diagnosis and Howard being away so much, of course we would see that. I am trying to just give her alot of attention and one on one. Which definitely creates a problem with Riley as she then feels left out! I am trying to find activities I can do with both my girls so they feel their love tanks are full. :)

I have made a promise to myself to have a baby sitter come in once a week, so I can have some Me time. Whether I feel like it or not! Tonight is that night! My bestfriend and I are heading out in the freezing cold to see a movie. I am blessed to have friends who love me enough to force me to get out! :)

So things are going well in our neck of the woods! Praying for warmer weather! And trying to find new activities we can do at home to keep the troops busy. :)

Singing In Her Bathing Suit!

So I was encouraging Miss Addy Bobwah, thats what we've been calling her lately! Not sure who started it our why it stuck. We all love the Disney movie Aladdin so, whatever! Anyways I was encouraging her to tidy up her toys, and she started singing this song from church while cleaning! So cute so I asked her if I could video tape her.....she usually stops all cuteness when I pull it out and stares at the camera, so much to my amazement she performed!

Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah hidey hidey hey God loves you in a very special way!

Messy hair, bathing suit while its -30, lunch on her face straight from Northern Alberta Canada the cutest Addison we know :)

-30 is swimsuit season?

Apparently at our house -30 is swimsuit season! For the last two hours my girls have been wearing their swimsuits and "riding" water slides!!! Also floating down a lazy river, and as I speak they are eating lunch in the "cabana" in their swimsuits :) I would take a picture however I would be horrified if anyone saw my mountains of unfolded laundry and dust bunnies that are taking up residence in my sitting/dinning room! Somehow the house work has become more than this Mama can keep up to! Yet here I am blogging about it and not just getting down to work! I guess I am hoping a cleaning fairy will magically appear! On brighter note the love of my life and probably my most favourite person in the whole wide world is coming home is 3 more sleeps :) In case you were wondering.....I am talking about my husband!


I just have to say we are all doing really well. Through this silly little blog I have met some amazing people! Two of which have experience in what Addison is going through. I am so thankful for their wisdom and encouragement. I have learned so much in the last couple of days and feel like we have some control over the decisions that will be made by Addison's specialist....maybe not control but information that will help with making the decisions that lay ahead of us. I have been encouraged by the fact the treatments side effects may not be as awful as our doctor and pharmacist has suggested. Yay! We will encourage the specialist to do a liver biopsy before starting treatment, and hopefully take our time in making this educated decision. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders and look forward to meeting with this physician and learning more about what is to happen. So thank you to both of these ladies! One of which I spent 2 hours on the phone with today! Its amazing what a little blog and some kind people who read it can do! Its funny because I thought we had 12 or 13 people read it and my family, and I was really just keeping this up for my family so they could see pictures and funny stories about what was going on up here. Yet through it I was able to glean some amazing support and information for Addison and her treatment!


All I can say is I am thankful oh so thankful for "normal." Our normal anyways :) I think next week all I will be thinking is gee I am so glad I am doing..... instead of being in the hospital with Addison :)

Happy Valentine's Day & a Change of Plans.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Riley, Josh & Nate were excited to go to school and take part in the festivities.....espically Riley since this is the first year at school. Today was Nathan's first day back since breaking his leg, so hopefully he will continue feeling less pain and able to attend the rest of the week! 2.5 weeks home was a long time!

Addison had another appointment with her Pediatrician today. I had been doing alot of reading about the treatment she was starting, and it contradicted what her doctor was telling us.....so needless to say I was a little concerned about his course of action! What we have decided on is that we will see a pediatric GI doctor in Edmonton before we start treatment (if we start treatment.). Addy's pediatrician said he would be more comfortable with that since this was all new to him, and well this Mama feels alot better about that. I hate putting off this treatment, espically if it should be started right away, however I don't see why they would rush something like this espically with the side effects that are involved, when the doctor isn't really sure if its the best course of action. I feel like we have been on a roller coaster ride this last week, with all that has gone on! There is a possibilty of the specialist just holding off on this medication and watching Addison. I like the sound of that! We will be bringing her for monthly blood test to watch her Liver enzymes etc. so they can see how things are changing. Something little miss was quite miffed at me about! She howled the moment we pulled up in front of the lab today!!! Poor little squirt.

So now I guess we wait and pray, we wait to hear from the specialist about an appointment, we pray that maybe he will decide to hold off on the treatment, that there really isn't that much damage done to her liver right now or in the next 4-6 weeks while we wait for an appointment. Lets be real, what I am really praying for is that her Pediatrician at home here is WRONG!!!! And my sweet baby girl won't need this at all! That is what I am really hoping for! I can't help but feel frustrated with this doctor.....he kinda sent us into a tailspin! Why didn't he say that we needed to see a specialist and that there was a possibilty that we should start this treatment? Why did he book her in right away? Didn't he know how scary this would all be? Well I guess not! And I really shouldn't complain! He was doing what he believed was the right thing, at that time.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your care, concern and prayer for Addison. It is amazing to see how many people love and want good things for my girl! I have to say this last week I have been thankful for the mundane.....like cooking, cleaning and doing laundry for my family! All of which you can not do from a hospital :) I am now thankful that our family only has one week in a hospital we love in Montreal not two weeks of hospital stays on our calendar right now. I am thankful for the wait! Weird I never thought I would ever say that! I will of course keep updating you all on what is going on with this once we know.

The Button

I have to say I am beyond overwhelmed and amazed by the encouragement and prayers our family has received from our dear friends we know, blog friends and strangers! The words of encouragement have brought me to tears as a read them. Good tears! Tears of encouragement, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We may not always hear Gods voice audibly or even through his word, but I have certainly heard him through your messages.

It has been difficult having Howard away at this time, not having him here to lead us and make decisions. But I have to say when I get to talk to him in the evening he is certainly a rock and a man of great faith, even if he says it only a few words. He reminded me that we have been through harder things than this and God has always seen us through! And its true God created it all the heavens and the earth, all of us on earth! He can more than carry us through! He is our provider, comforter, healer and deliverer! When I remember that, it comforts me to know the kids and I are not alone right now :) On a lighter note Howard will be coming home the night before Addy is to be admitted! Thank you God! Also we have found an insurance provider to carry Nathan and Addison's medical needs! A huge relief for our family! The only reason we are in between carriers is because we have started a company in January.

The only part of me being so open and honest about this situation we are in, is that I don't want this to discourage those people that may be considering adoption and more importantly the waiting child program. I had someone ask that if I knew then (upon referral) what I know today about Addison would we have not accepted her referral......ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! I have no doubt in my mind that she was meant to be in our family, she is our daughter and I love beyond what I could ever imagine! God started us down the adoption trail because we were moved by the thought of a child with brittle bone disease not getting the love and care they need.....and that was what we needed to keep taking each step towards the unknown. What God brought into our lives was the most precious, funny, joyful, loving and compassionate little girl with a minor need that turned into something greater. And I am so beyond grateful that God knows better than us!

Ok now that I have rambled! More about the button! My sweet friend Paige created a pray for Addison button for us! I have never met Paige in "real life" but through blogging I have gotten to know her and love her! your can check her blog here http://www.theriegelfamily.blogspot.com/ and see what she posted about the button. Thank you Paige! Hopefully we get to meet for real :) Anyways you can add the button to your blog if you like by grabbing the codes and adding a tool.

Also a family we travelled with, who is a Pastor of a church in Calgary is encouraging his congregation and others to pray for Addison this Sunday, as a national prayer for Addison day! So beyond humbled and amazed by such love from others! Thank you to everyone else that I can't even begin to mention, for you love and prayers.

Finally Miss Addison is doing well, we see no signs of sickness, and we will be seeing her Pediatrician again next week armed with many questions! Ideally Howard and I would like to speak to a specialist before going ahead with this treatment. We will see what happens! She is beginning to hate going to the doctors, and I can't blame her! Everytime we hop in the van she tells me "no needles! No doctors!" So I have to reassure her that no we are just going to the grocery store etc. She is so sweet :) We love her so much! Nathan, Josh and Riley are of course worried and wanting to pray for Addison's liver every night, I keep trying to reassure them that it will all be ok.

The lord is my Shepard, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and staff; They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

~Psalm 23~

Flying to China? And other stuff :)

I had to share this quickly, I know the pictures aren't great and both the girls are in their PJ's with bedhead! But whatever!

They were coming home from China with their new babies! Addison started this pretend play, and Riley followed along :) Riley even made a makeshift baby sling with two of her scarfs! It so fun to listen in on their games :)

On another note, Howard was able to have Addison added to our extended medical with no questions asked! Thank you God!!!! And he will be coming home for the week Addy is in the hospital! Which is a huge relief because I didn't want to rely on friends to look after the kids for that week, as we also have to go to Montreal from March 6 - 10th for Nathan's treatment and specialist appointments. And may need their help then! Things are falling into place. (insert sigh of relief) Our family certainly doesn't want to be partaking in this new journey, however this is the path God has chosen for us to travel, so we will do so with trust in him and him alone :) And try to remember that when we are in the really tough parts :)

Questions upon Questions

We have had a few questions as to why the medication will not be covered, well mostly politics! Addison was in the process of being added to our extended medical, however because we have started our own company, we only have 3 months of coverage left. I have been looking into other extended medical plans, but all of them have health questionnaires and will deny coverage for any existing conditions our prescriptions. Our best hope is if she can be admitted as an outpatient and the hospital covers the cost. I have talked to our GP and he said will have to push for that as she needs these injections. I must add though, we have had problems with that exact idea in the past with Nathan and his infusion, hence the reason we go to Montreal for treatment, not Edmonton or Calgary. The medication will be covered for sure, for the first week she will be admitted.

I guess what I know is, that God will provide our every need (not our every greed!) and as much as I trust he will provide, it still scares the heck out of me :) I guess that is me trying to take these problems and fix them on my own! Heh! I should probably stop doing that! Lol!

We have been told by both of our doctors that this is a condition that they have never dealt with, however they are consulting specialist's for instruction. So I guess we are the blind being led by the blind right now :) Right now I have more questions then they have answers for! I hope to have more conclusive information before we start Addison on this treatment.

I have to thank you all for the messages of encouragement on the blog, facebook, email and telephone! It means alot to us. It always humbles and amazes me, how everyday people can show Gods love through their hands!

Unexpected News From the Doctor.

As I sit here and contemplate how I am going to write this post, I am looking for pictures to add and chuckling at all the comical faces my sweet girls can make.

Addison and I have returned home from our last doctors appointment, a little stunned and overwhelmed. We have just had word that her body is attacking her poor little liver.....which means in two weeks from now Addison will be admitted to the hospital to start 4 - 6 months worth of anti viral injections. She will need to stay in the hospital for the first week of injections to make sure she has no major adverse reactions to the medication. And then we will be able to do the injections as out patients (hopefully) and come home.

Our pharmacist has warned us this medication can cause hair loss, nausea, lack of appetite, lowered immune system, aggressive behaviour, and extreme exhaustion, during the beginning of the treatment, however (hopefully) her symptoms will improve as the treatment progresses. We have been warned that the treatment is extremely expensive, so we are praying she can receive treatment as an out patient so that the injections are covered. I know the Lord will provide a way for us to cover these treatments, yet to say its not a concern, would be an understatement!

Addison's pediatrician has told us that if we can't get control of this she could be looking at a liver transplant in the next couple years! That gave me a bit of a jolt, and I am not sure if I heard what he said after that, for a few minutes!

To say that I am shocked is an understatement! It was on our radar as an off chance that this could be an issue ( like 5% chance) from the tests the orphanage was testing her for. As I sit and type this I have moments of peace and trust that the Lord will carry Addison and our family through this, and then moments of such sorrow and anxiety.

Howard is still away working right now.....we have seen him for one day in the last 2o days. Our whole family misses him immensely! We are hoping that he will take leave and come home for that week Miss Addy is in hospital, so one of us can be with our other kids, however if the injection is not covered, he will remain away so we can swing it. Also Nathan broke his femur 10 days ago and hasn't been able to go to school since it has happened. So to say that I feel like we are going through a time of testing, would be a huge understatement!

In amongst this gloomy post, I must say....Our God is good, ALL THE TIME! He will hold us together and carry our family through this trial. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these trials and momentary struggles we must endure here on earth are preparing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs anything we can face on this earth! Am I weary? YES! Am I troubled? YES! but I know that God says that He uses ALL things for the good of those who loves him! And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

You word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. ~ Psalms 119:105

The Lord is a good refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. ~Nahum1:7~

When you pass through the waters, I Will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fires you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God. ~Isaiah 43:1-3

Well my family, friends and bloggy friends if you believe in the power of prayer, our family would be humbled if you would lift our sweet Addison up in prayer. We are praying that this medication will heal her, that she will be 100% after this. That she will not succumb to the side effects of this medication and that she will be able to trust Howard and I as we guide, love and nurse her through this illness. Please pray for the rest of our family as well ( I think we may need it! lol!) Our other three kids will be quite concerned and I know this will be a trying time for them as well. I am hoping to have our laptop running at the hospital and will update you all, as we know things. We would like to make her stay as fun as possible. As we are only there in case she has a bad reaction, so if any of you have any ideas for entertaining a 2 year old who doesn't like t.v. Please, please, please message me in the next two weeks so we can prepare a hospital entertainment kit :)

"Cwazy Hair"

Thats how she says it....."Cwazy Hair." I was bathing Miss Addison last night and we made a crazy hairstyle. Addison loves cwazy hair! She insisted on being taken out of the tub so she could look in the mirror. As she looked in the mirror she started to laugh and said "Cwazy hair, like Mama's!"

Sheesh! tell me how you really feel Addison!lol! Yes I have curly hair, but apparently in her little world It is indeed Cwazy! So I guess that makes me her Cwazy haired Mama! :)

We're Still Here

Riley now has Addison's bug and is quite sick. So we are just trying to keep everyone comfortable and hang at home, which results in a truckload more housework for me :) We really haven't done anything that is interesting around here. Howard came home for 2 days and now he is gone again for 8 days. Nathan has been home with a "sore" femur. We have had some beautiful, exceptionally warm weather these past 5 days, so much so that I can see our grass in places. Although it is snowing as I type this. The big fluffy kind of snowflakes!

I am in the process of planning a trip to Orlando for our family, so that is helping this winter not seem so bad. We will be bringing Howard's mom with us, which will be really fun & certainly nice to have an extra adult. This will be our second trip to Orlando and this time we will be staying for 2 weeks. I have found a townhouse quite close to Disney and the boys are beyond excited to check out the Harry Potter theme park at Universal. We will be there over Riley's birthday and she is hoping to have lunch with Cinderella at the castle :)

So that is basically whats going on in our little world. Lots of just laying low. I'm still hoping the boys and I don't catch the bug the girls have. Hopefully my next post will be a little more exciting!

Moments when "it" hits you.

Miss Addy is very sick. She has a ridiculously high fever and is listless. I have been enjoying cuddling and rocking her in our rocking chair, she just snuggles right in and dozes off and on, I think these last couple days I will remember always. She keeps on saying "wo ai ni, Mama" with so much trust and love that it nearly breaks my heart.

I was talking to someone on the phone, and they asked "Is she always like this when she's sick?"

Well I couldn't answer that, could I? I honestly don't know! This is the first time she has been truly sick, since she has come home! We don't know how often she gets sick, or how sick she truly gets because we have only known her for 6 months! And as I think of that it breaks my heart. When she got sick in China, was she cuddled, loved on, had her temperature checked regularly and given her favorite juice to drink? Did she get sick often? Did she feel loved and nurtured when she was sick? Or did she feel scared and abandoned? As we have been home longer and longer I struggle with these "trivial" questions. Isn't a mom supposed to know these things about her child? I usually laugh it off and say something silly to hide my horror at not knowing what my sweet little girl likes when she is sick, scared, in a new situation etc. But its not funny, its tragic. I only hope that I can be who she needs me to be. And that Howard and I can teach her to turn to the Lord for her every need, when we fail.

So I guess in this odd weird way, I am treasuring the fact that she is sick, and I can be her mom and nurture her through this sickness. We can learn what helps her when she is sick and what doesn't. And we can teach her through our actions, not just our words that our family truly does love her! I am amazed and in awe of how all the other kids want to help her, play toys while she lays on my lap, bring her sippee with water, read her stories, give her hugs and nurture her as much as I do. I can see the love and compassion they have for their little sister and it makes my heart sing. Especially with Riley, she has hardly left Addison's side. I have to say their relationship has been extremely rocky lately, so to see this encourages me that a special bond will be forged with these two girls who God meant to be sisters.

Snowed In!!!!

I hope to post some pictures later, but the title says it all! We have been snowed it on and off since Sunday! I got stuck in our cul de sac trying to take the kids to school this morning, and was lucky enough to have neighbor push me back into my driveway!!! Needless to say we stayed home for the day :)

The best part of all of this snow (insert sarcasm) is that Howard is away, and will be away for almost another week. I think the snow piles on either side of our driveway are as tall as me! And I will have some wicked muscles from all the shovelling I have done in the last 5 days :)


My kids however think this is the best thing ever! Our temp even rose to +2!!! That never happens this time of the year! So they were out making snow forts and snowmen this morning before the wind really picked up. I need to remember to find the joy in all this white stuff. Its always so fun to watch as the kids scamper around and use their imaginations to build the biggest and best fort ever!

What do you all do?

I am putting a question out there to the other families who have adopted from China or are waiting to adopt. What do you all do to celebrate Chinese New Years? I am quite looking forward to it, and want to be as authentic as possible, I am just wondering what are your traditions? I hope you all can give me a few ideas :)

In Christ Alone (Cover) - Owl City [Download Link]

I am loving this cover of In Christ Alone! I could listen to it on repeat for hours :) Enjoy!

6 months today.

As you can see colouring is a very serious pass time in our home!

One of the many silly faces our girl makes :)

6 months ago today we saw this little face up close and personal for the first time, this was the first time I got to hold my baby girl and cuddle with her, the first time I got to wipe away her tears, and see her smile. My how far we all have come in just 6 months! When we met it was instant, I knew.....she was meant to be our little girl, however now its deeper than that, its like I can't even begin to imagine what our lives would be like without her now. Our sweet girl brings so much laughter, joy and curiosity into our house. She can cut a mean rug! She has the most hilarious facial expressions and is such a compliant child. Oh and loud, the girl is LOUD!!!

Addison has had to learn and overcome so much in these 2.5yrs of life, yet she is still full of joy and songs. One of my favourite moments of the day is when I catch her singing along with Chris Tomlin to the song "Our God." She and Riley are still learning what it means to be a sister and have a sister. Its an everyday battle for who will "rule the roost" for these two girls! However I see glimpses of the love and compassion they have for each other, and trust it will take time for them to come to terms with their new roles in the family.

This 6 months have flown by and I can hardly believe she has been in our arms for that long! We feel beyond blessed to have her in our lives, and can't wait to see what the next 6 months bring for her and our family.

Snow.....Yep we've got it!

We woke up to quite a dump of snow this morning. Riley she was in her glory! She loves the outdoors and is a huge help, she was the one that got our butts moving to go shovel our driveway after breakfast. The snow is still coming down so I expect she'll be really happy to go out again around 3PM and shovel for the second time today. I can't remember the last time we had a dump of snow like this, all at once. Its not so bad when its the weekend and you can just hunker down play games stay warm and keep the driveway clear. Addison likes being outside, however she gets mighty frustrated with the deep snow! Its cute to watch her.....trudge two steps, fall down, take 5 minutes to stand up, trudge two steps, fall down.....well you get the picture :) All I'm saying is Florida sounds mighty fine right now :)

What a week!

This has been a week of getting back into the routine of regular life. We are back to clean eating and schedules, early to bed and early to rise.

Our big news for this week is that Howard is in the process of starting a business. I am so excited for him and what it will eventually mean for our family! He will still be doing the same thing (industrial electrician) however now he will sub contracting to the company he works for. The nature of the industry is that when its busy its crazy busy and that will remain the same, however we hope that within the next couple years that once summer hits Howard will be able to stay home for the whole time the kids are off school. That would allow us to travel to see our families and camp etc. So needless to say this was a week on the phone with our accountant, bank, insurance company, car dealership etc. It also mean I will be doing the book keeping and paperwork for our company. I look forward to the challenge and learning a new skill. Howard hopes to have his new truck up and running by the first of February.

The boys are falling back into the school routine fairly easily. Riley is struggling immensely! Almost everyday I leave her at Kindergarten she cries and we have to pry her hands off of my jacket, hand, neck etc. I thought we would be past this by now, however it has gotten worse since the holidays. For me as a mom it is heartbreaking to watch. Funny enough she loves school! She is fine seconds after I leave. I am not sure what to do with her... we have tried everything I can think of! This week we started a prayer box that she decorated herself, anytime she has a worry, she comes to us and we help her write a prayer on a piece of paper, she puts it in the box and the idea is she now has to let it go and give it to God. I am hoping maybe this will help. I have never met a child with such anxiety at such a young age. She tries to control everything....its so sad to watch. So if any of you have any ideas on how to help her I am open to suggestions!

Addison is doing well she seems to be happy as a clam, although she has certainly missed her brothers and sister this week. Addy also had another first this week......the first time swimming in a swimming pool! I know how lame that we are finally going swimming! She was quite apprehensive for the hour we were there, but you could tell she really wanted to let loose and have fun, and just wasn't sure if it was safe to do so. By the end of our session she didn't want to leave so we will certainly have to head back to the pool soon.

Happy New Year!

2010 was a year that will go down in the history books of our family. It was a year our family grew from being a family of 5 to a family of 6. This was the year we met our precious daughter Addison face to face, and brought her home forever. It was a year of great adventure, for Howard and I. We travelled across the world, we learned to lean and trust in the Lord more than we ever had to in our lives. We learned the power of a whisper and the rewards in obeying His call far outweigh the "what ifs" and also that God has a incredible plan for ourlives, a role for each of us to play, and that He isn't finished with us yet! It was Riley's first year of Kindergarten, and we watched the boys grow and mature in leaps and bounds. My sister had her first baby a sweet little girl named Sydney. On the whole we had a year that was blessed beyond compare.

As we head into 2011, I look forward to it with excitement and hope. I was trying to plan out what the year would look like, and then I started thinking are these plans mine or Gods? I wonder what it is that God would have our family do this year? So this year I really have no clue what it will look like! We have some career paths that may change soon for Howard, and hopefully some family holiday's, but what else? I guess we can only wait and see!

I put together a little video of pictures of some of our favourite moments of 2010.....its LONG! So I don't feel bad if your not into watching it :) When I look at these pictures most of them leave a huge grin on my face, and it leaves me feeling thankful for all our family has been blessed with.

And because I love you friends, family, blogger friends and "lurkers" I pray the Lord will use you this year, may He write fantastic words in your story words that may terrify you if spoken to you today, words that He and only He would be powerful enough to speak into existence and faithful enough to see to fruition. I pray that you will be brave enough to obey His whispers and walk in the path He has made for you. I pray He blesses you and your family beyond your wildest dreams. This is also what I am praying for our family.