Match Day Has Finally Come

Matt and I have been flying on a cloud since Tuesday around 2pm.  It was at that time that we received the call...there is a baby girl in China waiting for us!!!

I happened to have the day off work, so I was home.  Bonnie, our social worker, called and told me that we had been matched with a baby girl...that's right, a GIRL!!!  I couldn't believe it since we had been thinking since we started the process with China that we were getting a boy.  Bonnie told me a little bit about the baby girl and asked if we wanted her to email us on her file.  "Heck Yes!!"  At that time I called Matt and told him to get home immediately.  He was at work that day and I swear that was the longest 25 minutes waiting for him to get home.

Once Matt was home we opened the file and started reading about our little girl, Jiang Jiao Tian.  We received her information both in Chinese and the English translation as well as several pictures.  Her estimated birthday is July 2, 2011.  We learned that she had been abandoned at approximately 3 weeks old.  She was found within half a day and taken straight to the hospital due to frequent vomiting.  Once at the hospital she was diagnosed with an intestinal atresia.  She was then transferred to another hospital where she underwent surgical repair of her atresia.  Since that time she has not had another further problems with vomiting or trouble going to the bathroom.  She has been at an orphanage in Shanghai, China since August 2011.

She is currently almost 14 months old and she is beautiful!!  She has big dark eyes and pouty little pink lips.  She is still very small, but growing every month.  Her diet consists of milk, milk cakes and porridge, fruit, and something called fish mud.

The orphanage looks very clean and Matt and I learned that it is a staple orphanage in China-one that helps set standards for all other orphanages in China.  She gets a bath every morning.  And from there it looks like she spends a good deal of her time playing, sleeping, and eating.  At the end of her report from the orphanage it states, "she is a lovely girl, we all like her."

We were really impressed with the amount of information we received on our girl.  We have discharge summaries from both hospitals, growth and development measurements and information, as well as a report from the orphanage.  The only other notable medical issue is that she does still have an open foramen ovale (hole in her heart).  We have a recent echocardiogram report and the hole is quite small and states that the hole is closing.

After we looked at her pictures and reviewed her information for about 2 hours, we went ahead and sent in out letter of intent.  We knew right away that this was our girl.  We loved her from the moment we heard about her.  Since that time we also had a physician review her medical information.

We have decided to name our baby girl Ava.  At this time we are not sure about a middle name, we want her to have a Chinese middle name.  Matt and I have talked about her middle name being Tian which means "heaven", but we found out from Holt that she most likely doesn't go by any of her given names and probably has a nickname.  So we will wait to decide on a middle name.

To our sweet Ava, we have never experienced a love like this.  We can't believe how much we love you already from a picture.  We are so thankful that God has kept you safe and provided the medical attention you needed.  We are thankful that your mom left you in a place where you would be found quickly so that you could receive the care you needed.  We are so thankful that you live in an orphanage with caretakers who also love you and are taking good care of you until we can be with you.  We CANNOT wait to hold you in our arms and love you all the days of your life.  We will continue to pray that God will protect you and keep you until that day; it is coming baby girl.  We are on our way.
Love, mom and dad  

    

Glacier National Park~Vacay Summer 2012

Matt and I were blessed with being able to take 2 weeks of vacation this year.  It is a very special year because we were celebrating 10 years of marriage!!  I still can't believe how quickly time has passed and just how different our life is 10 years after marriage than I had planned.  What a journey it has been with many highs and lows, but it is so exciting to be able to say that Matt and I are happier, more content, and more excited for the future with each passing day.  I am so thankful for a guy who stands besideme, who has helped carry me through some difficult days, and challenges me to see the world differently on a daily basis.  We are definitely not the same people we were the day we married and I am very grateful that we have grown together.  We definitely don't see eye to eye on everything, but I think that is how we continue to grow as a couple~challenging each other's perspectives and respecting each other's opinions. 

When we first start talking about where we wanted to celebrate our 10th anniversary we talked about another trip to Alaska and Peru, but in the end we decided we were so hopeful that a trip to China was coming soon that we wanted to save our money for that trip; so Glacier National Park seemed to fit the bill.  We'd been told by people who have been there that it was as close to Alaska as you'd get in the lower 48.  Let me tell you, we were not the least bit disappointed with Glacier.  I recommend it to anyone I meet: gorgeous scenary, lots of wildlife, and miles of hiking. 

Our first stop was Grand Teton NP.  We spent a couple of days there to break up the long drive to Glacier.  We had been to Teton several summers ago, but we only spent a couple of days there after Yellowstone and felt that it wasn't near enough time.  We love the Tetons.

7,000 feet straight up from the valley.  They are very impressive looking mountains.  I can't help but see a very creative God when I see these.

Hanging out at Teton Marina.  We spent all of our evenings here.

We spent my 31st birthday swimming through Firehole Canyon in Yellowstone NP.

We picked up Bobby about 10 days into our trip.  He spent 3 days in the park with us and then helped us drive back.  We made the most of those 3 days in Glacier: 2 12 mile+ days and kayaking.

Our first glimpse of the Many Glacier area: our favorite spot and home for 6 days.

On one of the many trails.  Matt and I counted that we hiked approximately 80 miles on this trip.  It's a lot, but it's awesome to think that we are getting to see places that very few others see.

A mama black bear and 3 cubs!!  We have never seen so many bears and never 3 cubs!!!  Bear watching was definitely a highlight.  We never did see bears on the trail only safely from the road.

A hungry black bear eating berries. :)

We went to Canada for a day.  This is us at Waterton Lake.

Big bull moose at Cracker Lake.  The only people at this lake were us and one other couple.

Hike to hidden lake.  This was as far as we could get on the trail.  The park service had closed it passed this point because of lots of bear activity on the lake due to trout spawning.

Ptarmigin Tunnel trail.  From the lake we hiked up the trail you can faintly see in the background: 3 switchbacks that lead to the tunnel through the mountain to the interior.

Funny story: on this day we were the only people in this hanging valley.  We had seen some signs of bears but hadn't seen an actually bear. Most of the trail was in the open, but there were parts taking us through thick brush taller than us.  At one point, we started to go through the brush calling for bears to let them know we were coming-the last thing you want to do is surprise a bear.  Just as Matt pushed through the front bush we heard a growl.  All 3 of us in unison starting walking backwards thinking there was a bear on the other side when all the sudden we realized what we were hearing was a helicopter who had just come over the ridge you seen in the picture!!  Talk about bad timing.  It certainly got our hearts racing though. 

Dressed for our 10 anniversary dinner at Many Glacier Lodge.  This was after 3 days of hiking and camping.  Meaning 3 nights of no shower!!  I think we clean up pretty good in spite of that.

Grinnell Glacier hike on our 10th anniversary.  Absolutely gorgeous!!

Kayaking on swiftcurrent lake.



Jack~In the Clear

We went and saw the vet again last Friday to have lab work and see how Jack is responding to the medications.  Since he got sick and was diagnosed with a bacterial infection early in the summer we have been seeing the vet on a regular basis.  They really have been keeping a close eye on him and I can't thank them enough for that.  Friday we received great news...Jack's labs were perfect and Dr. Dritely couldn't be happier with the way that Jack has recovered.  Dr. Dritely felt comfortable enough to clear him at this time!  Jack will be on his steroids for another month to appropriately taper him off the medication, but he didn't feel that there was a need for another follow up visit at this time.  What a relief!!

Jack spent the last 3 weeks with his Grandma and Grandpa Fuller while Matt and I were on vacation.  This always works out so well because we don't have to worry about boarding Jack and they live on a farm so Jack gets to run and explore daily~he gets to go on a vacation too.  And if need be, Grandma and Grandpa Angell are close by too if he would have needed some "down" time or if Fullers needed a break.  Jack obviously was spoiled rotten because the scale at the vet showed he gained 4.5 pounds during the last 3 weeks!  This is only okay at Grandma and Grandpa's house :-)  Anyway, Jack's energy is much better since before we left for vacation and he definitely has that Jack sparkle in his eyes again.  That makes us happy and grateful parents!!  Jack went for his first run since getting sick this morning.  He made it slightly over half a mile before he stopped.  But we thought that was a great start and we don't want to push him too much at this time.  We'll take it slow, but it's so good to see him acting like his old self.