big decisions

Josie may have undergone her surgery for no reason. At our last appointment, the surgeon called it a failure. She hasn't gained movement in her shoulder, but he'd warned us she wouldn't gain much. Still, I was glad she'd gained the stability to not have to worry about a posterior shoulder dislocation as she got older. Nope. Apparently he thinks the sutures may have torn (must have happened when she was still under anesthesia...perhaps as they were putting the brace on). Anyway, we'll do e-stim to try to get the movement, but the OT isn't too confident in that approach. Then we'll do a sedated MRI (it takes much more med than it should to get her sedated) and then he'll recommend another surgery...if there's anything left to work with.

But on a happy note, last week Josie was coloring as I was teaching Michael about the moon reflecting the sunshine to us at night. We were discussing how Jesus is the Light of the World like the sun and that makes us like moons. Suddenly Josie piped in with, "Josie Jesus heart." So I said, "Josie, do you want Jesus to be in your heart?" "Yes." "Do you love Jesus?" "Yes." "Do you want to obey Jesus?" "Yes." "Do you need Jesus to save you from your sin?" "Yes." So we prayed. Amazing to me she could comprehend so much after hearing His name for the first time 16 months ago. But at whatever level she could understand, she knew Jesus was a good deal.

Glasses!

Josie isn't falling anymore now that she can see the ground! Here are a couple of pictures of her new glasses. Apparently, astigmatisms are quite common and strong in many Chinese kiddos. Her "gotcha day" fell in such a rushed week, we didn't get to do the usual fancy cake, but she didn't seem to mind. It is so good to see her enjoy getting messy, rather than cry and act scared whenever a crumb dropped. She has become much more physically affectionate with all four of us too, giving out random hugs and kisses and just enjoying resting against us. She is also continuing to use her right arm more and more and is quite proud when she does a new task with it. She can even do some of her exercises on her own now, which is a great help to me in our morning routine!

Adoption Day!

above: Easter Sunday

below: Josie's third birthday

Today is the anniversary of our Josie officially becoming our daughter in Nanjing, PRC!!! It's been a year already! What a year too! Josie has come so far and so have we. She is singing her ABCs (with a few misses, but hey!), she's hugging her brother, chasing her dog, singing when she wakes up in the morning, smiling, trusting us.... She's also gone through Botox injections to her shoulder, an MRI, a tendon transfer, 6 weeks in a nasty brace, and glasses! The glasses was the biggest surprise; it seems she has a pretty nasty astigmatism. But now that she has them and can tell where the floor is, she isn't falling! She's very excited to have them (puts them on first thing in the morning) and is soooo cute in them! (I know, I know...I'll get a picture on as soon as I can.)



We have enjoyed watching her personality bubble up. She is very, very ornery and just grins the biggest grins when she's pulled something on one of us. She loves to giggle, to eat, and to run. She comes up with the family's funniest "walks" which we imitate on our way to bed after praying together at night. She has a "little old lady" walk which she brought with her from China. She showed Grams today but smartly answered it was not Grams. She is loud and bold and opinionated. She tells people she's three whether they ask or not (or if they ask HOW she is doing). She likes to wrestle with Michael and dress dolls with Chloe. Today she built a Lincoln Log house exactly like Michael was building. She imitates him no matter what he is doing. Usually it's good, but there are times.... She is three, you know!



But at the first anniversary mark, we'd all say we are so thankful to have Josie in our lives and cannot imagine life without her. She is a treasure and one we get to enjoy. To think we could have missed it. I'm so sad for all the families who have not risked, who stayed comfortable and spent their money on things they won't remember five years from now. Adoption is so worth it. She is so worth it. We are so happy you are home, Josie; we love you!

music video

The following link will take you to YouTube to watch a video. The video is great. At the end, there's a plug for supporting a non-profit. We aren't really endorsing this particular charity, though they are linked with Hand in Hand, which is now covering the special needs adoptions out of Nanjing Social Welfare Institute (Josie's orphanage). I'm posting the link because I wanted to share the video with you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC2rmCRQRKQ&eurl=http://chadtarajourney.blogspot.com/
Make sure you check out the video links in the upper right corner too!