Surgery day - complete

Everyone is exhausted.

Michael is doing much better. Still is very cranky if he is awake and we are not holding him. He was able to drink more and eat more which is exactly what we need him to do.

He melted down when Kerri left his sight to use the bathroom. He was somewhat distraught when I went down the hall to get water( not nearly as much as when Kerri left) Attachment? Yeah, he is making good progress.

We are pooped, we miss the other kids and we are prayer hard that we go home tomorrow.

We caught a glimpse of his first smile late tonight and I happen to catch it in video. He was mimicking us raising our eyebrows.

 

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers

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Surgery day - recovery

After 3 hours we just got to a room. Michael is doing well as long as he is being held and as long as he has his bottle in his hand.

The past 3 hours have been up and down with pain management and trying to get him comfortable. He did drink some of his bottle, but primarily took formula from a syringe.

In my earlier post I said the hard part is done. I should restate that the procedurally hard part is done but the hard part for Michael and us is just starting.

Off to figure out a way for Kerri and I to eat something. We are a little hungry.

Thank you again for the prayers. Please keep them coming. We have a bit of a journey ahead of us.

Surgery Day - All's Well

Surgeon just came out and said everything went fine.   He is still sleeping so we can't see him yet, but the hard part is over.

Thank you everyone for the prayers!

Surgery Day - Pre op

Today is the big day.

We had to wake up at 4:15, and get on the road by 5:15 to make it to the hospital by 6..   My Mom came down and spent the night so she could get the big kids to school today.  Huge thank you for the help!

Michael went back on time at 7:30.   ENT came out 15 min later to say the tubes went in just fine, her job here was done :)

We are currently waiting in the waiting room for results of the palate surgery.  Doc Brown is well known for this surgery and we are confident he is in good hands.

A couple pre-op pics:

He is able to find a smile even when he is hungry and not wanting to be awake yet

 As long as he has his pillow,  he can be comfy anywhere

 Just before heading back

More updates to come as the day progresses

-Adam-

3 Months

Today marks 3 months since "Gotcha Day" when we first held Michael in our arms at the civil affairs office in Zhengzhou. A quarter of a year, about 90 days. While it is still very easy to remember what life was like before bringing him home, we don't long for that. All 3 of our older kids love to play with Michael, they come up with ideas of fun activities to do as a family that Michael would enjoy. They all don't hesitate to pick him up and comfort him when he is upset.  He truly brings joy to our family each and every day.

We have been working on testing the waters of separation without jumping in too deep. He has hung out with a couple of dear friends for a couple of hours, and with my Mom and Dad a couple of times and has done very well. He did great the first couple of times in the child care area at the gym (Christopher was in the room with him) until this last time where Chris ended up having to hold him for the duration of Kerri's workout -- So Chris got one too.

This Thursday 4/25 is Michael's Cleft Palate surgery. We have be there at 6am, surgery is scheduled for 7:30 and should take about 2 hours. We don't know exactly how long he will stay in the hospital, but we are told to plan on a couple of days. We are not looking forward to putting him through the pain and recovery, but are looking forward to giving him the opportunity to eat normal foods and to be able to say consonants.   He is trying so hard to talk, but is put at an obvious disadvantage with his palate being open. We will post updates as we get through the surgery.

We do ask for prayers for a successful surgery, minimal pain ( this is known to be an incredibly painful procedure), and Speed recovery.   We are anticipating a week or 2 of rough going as he recovers.

He has become enough a part of our regular routine that we no longer have hundreds of pictures each week to sift through to put on the blog :) Kerri did get this awesome video of him ready and willing to show off his vocabulary.

He has been feeling a little off today,  we are not sure if it is teeth, or fighting a bug, or just anticipating having surgery in 4 days.  He woke up after falling asleep tonight,  which he rarely does.  So we put on a show to try to calm him down.   Ended up as a good opportunity to get some good iPhone pictures.  It is hard to tell from the pictures that he is feeling out of sorts :)

-Adam-

The Gift

 

Easter is a gift.  The most treasured gift was given many years ago on a cross.  I am humbled and forever thankful.  This Easter, I was surrounded by more gifts than I could have ever dreamed would be mine. 

 

Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

 

We colored eggs.  Michael wasn't quite sure what on earth we were doing.   "Explain this to me mama!"

 

No, I would not recommend tasting the vinegar.

 

This is pretty fun

 

That is, unless you are thirteen

 

Chris was a good sport.  He was going for vibrant colors.

 

My girl always have fun when it involves a craft of any sort. 

 

Notice the water.  I wouldn't use "graceful" as a word to describe this.

 

And of course, the aftermath.  "Now what?"

 

Easter morning, before church, Michael decided to acquire the new skill of turning on the bath water.  Very fun.

 

The look below needs no caption.

 

And the pure joy when successfully turning the water on for the fifteenth time.

 

 

 

 

Yes, my son is as tall as I am. 

 

It was so much fun to put together the baskets for these four gifts of mine.

 

"Do my eggs open too?"

 

Christopher is the master egg hunter

 

 

Hoping you had a wonderful Easter!

With love,

The Junges

Good for my soul

I cannot believe Michael has been our son for over two months now.   Time has moved so fast. 
He has been such a true gift to our family.  Every day comes with new challenges, new skills, new laughter.   I was talking with a girlfriend several weeks ago about our journey, and can I just say, my friends have been Jesus with skin on.  They rock.  In talking with this friend she was telling me about some of her prayers for us while we have been on this journey.   She shared with me the words that came to mind during this process for us. "Beautifully Complicated".  Incredible and true.   This road has been some of the most challenging and complicated that I have ever traveled.   And to think that I could have let fear stop me in my tracks, breaks my heart.   But I didn't.   And the beauty that our lives have been drenched in far surpasses the complicated.    It is good. 

But...

I needed my sister.   There are times throughout the year when not having my family here, hits me hard.   Going through this type of life changing experience has been one of those times.  Now just because we may live 1000 miles apart,  doesn't mean we don't still have coffee on a regular basis.  It just means we are on the phone and usually "on the go" and visiting while we drink our coffee. 

Several weeks ago, during a somewhat challenging week, I told her I needed her.   I'm not one to ask for help, but I did.  Keep in mind, her life is not dull.  This was not "convenient" for her.   She said "I'm coming". 

I picked her up on Thursday and for the last 3 days, I have been renewed.  We didn't do "big" things.  We did laundry together, stayed in every store we visited until closing, literally, and had coffee together for real.

She loved on my kids, who whole heartedly love her back.  Including Michael.  He reached for her hand the second she got off the plane. 

We listened to worship songs together, cleaned the kitchen too many times together, and drove through some snow storms that would probably have our mother stressed out.   We made homemade pizza and sat around the family room together.  We looked at pictures of our trip to China.

It's 5:30 am on Sunday morning and I'm writing this as she is getting ready for me to take  her to the airport.  The kids, husband, and dog are all sound asleep.   And when I look back on our weekend, all I can say is, it was good for my soul.

This was not taken this weekend.  We didn't take time to dress up like this.  :) 

This was in Seattle over the summer, but I love this picture.

Rachel and Aunt Jen.  Two very beautiful ladies!

We had to take a quick pic on the drive to the airport this morning.

Apparently all were exhausted from the fun this weekend. 

We love you Aunt Jen!