So Far to Find You

Ok, so it's been a really long time since I've written a blog post. Time just gets away from me. When you have a three year old and teach kindergarten, there are very few dull moments. : )

Well, in honor of Lydia's second surgery, I thought I better post something!

Her first surgery went about as well as anyone could hope for. She woke up from anesthetic and when I went into the recovery room, she had already eaten one Popsicle and was on her second. It barely phased her that she couldn't do much with her right hand. When she tried to wash her hand the first time, she asked Brian to take her cast off. When he told her it had to stay on, she just went with it. She didn't complain and just tried to figure out a new way to do everything. She's pretty adaptable.

About a month later, her cast came off, which I think was more traumatic for her than the surgery itself. She did not like the noise the saw made and when she saw her fingers were dirty, she was NOT happy. She kept looking down at her fingers and saying, "Dirty". We took her out for supper at the restaurant of her choice - "Bear Noodles" AKA Panda Express and then went home for a bath. After she soaked in the bath and her hand was clean, she thought her new hand was pretty nice. It took her a few days to get used to using her right hand again, but she has really enjoyed the extra movement that she's been able to have.

Here we are again at the hospital waiting for Lydia's surgery to be done. She had a sinus infection a few weeks ago and woke up with a cough the other day. I was worried that she might not be able to have surgery because of that, but the nurse didn't seem to think that it was a problem. The anesthesiologist resident made me a bit nervous by saying that sometimes it takes a month for airways to open all the way after an infection. When the doctor came in though, she just asked about how long ago she finished her antibiotics and said that everything should be ok. : )

Last night at supper, Lydia asked Brian, "How long til March?" (She knew that her surgery is on March 1st.) He told her, "One dark-outside nigh-night." (This is how she keeps track of time!) After Brian told her that she started clapping and cheering. She told us that she was "A little bit excited and a little bit happy" about her surgery. For Lydia when she says "a little bit", it is so cute and it doesn't really mean a little bit. She was so excited that I didn't know if she would even be able to go to sleep. When I put her to bed, I told her that she had to go to sleep fast because it was still going to be dark outside when we had to leave for the hospital.

This morning when we turned the bathroom light on, she woke up, but she said she just wanted to snuggle in bed. She laid in bed for a little bit and then got up and got dressed and ready to go. When we left for the hospital, she kept telling us that we needed a flashlight because it was dark outside. : )

We got here and got checked in. The nurse in the check-in to surgery was the same one as the last time. In November, she asked me a lot about adoption. When we checked in today, she told me that she is engaged and getting married in November. Because she is older she said they have talked about adopting! She was concerned that she might be too old, but I told her she was well within the range to adopt from China. She said they have already talked about saving their wedding gift money for adoption expenses. : ) I gave her our name and number and the names of our agency and some others that we know are good and work in China. Who knows, maybe God put us here to encourage her toward adoption. There are no coincidences in life - God has it all orchestrated.

I'll post a picture later today of the "new cast". Lydia picked out orange this time. : )

Here are some pictures...