Pray for Ivy Joy

I usually don't post asking for people to pray.  Today there is a little girl and her mommy who need all of the prayers they can get.  Ivy Joy came to her family from China with a very sick heart.  Her family followed God's call to bring her home and love her for whatever time she has.  She has had multiple open heart surgeries since coming home.  The wonderful doctors in Boston have fixed her heart but she is having trouble waking up.  They don't know if the medicine has settled in her tissues and is taking longer to leave her system which could be why it is taking longer to wake up.  She is being seen by neurology to see if everything is ok and they are going to look at her heart to make sure it isn't causing problems.  I am asking for everyone to pray that Ivy wakes up today and that God gives her mommy the strength to keep going.  They have been through so much and she is alone in Boston with her daughter.  The rest of the family had to go home so she is on her own through this.  You can read more about Ivy on her families blog Loving life with Lexi and Ivy Joy.  You can find it on my side bar of blogs I follow.  She is a very special little girl.  It is truly a miracle she has made it this far. Let's pray that she wakes up and makes a full recovery. Thanks.

Consulate Appointment Confirmed

We received confirmation of our consulate appointment on Friday.  This has allowed us to book our international flights.  My dad and I leave on Nov.15th, Gotcha Day(The day we get Christopher) is Nov. 19th, our consulate appointment is the 28th and we return home on the 30th.  We will be home and together as a family for his 2nd birthday.  I am hoping our agency will have our in country itinerary to us later this week.

We have Travel Approval

I am so excited we received travel approval today.  We are now waiting for a date to be set for our consulate appointment.  We are hoping to be traveling November 15th.  We will know for sure sometime next week.  Then we will make travel plans.  I can't believe that in less than 5 weeks I'll be holding Christopher in my arms.  There are so many things to get ready for travel.  It seems like so far but it will be here before we know it.  

My poor girly is really stressing now.  She is afraid I won't come home.  She says it is hard to trust because her China mom left her and she's afraid I will too.  I am glad Tim is staying home with her. It will still be hard but dad is here and hopefully she won't feel so alone.  Thank God for modern technology.  I'll be able to use facetime or skype while I'm gone.  I am hoping to talk to her once a day.

It has been a while since I've posted so I'll also give an update.  Xuelian has been doing really well in school.  It has been a challenging year for her.  She is doing all of her work on her own.  In the past teachers would read things for her or rephrase questions.  This year it is all her and she is doing great.  Her teacher sent a lovely update saying what a great student she is and how impressed she is with how well she is doing.  She is a little upset because she is used to all A's and she has gotten C's on a few tests.  We keep telling her she is doing great and how proud we are.  Can you imagine only speaking a language for 2.5 years and having to go to school and keep up?  She amazes us all the time.

She has been having a great time playing soccer.  Her team won their first game last weekend.  They have improved every week.  She used to stand back and watch the other kids.  This weekend she was right in there fighting for the ball and doing a great job.
 

We have a busy weekend coming up.  Xuelian is going to a birthday party tomorrow and has soccer games on Saturday and Sunday.  We also have to fit homework in somewhere.  I'll update next week.