a few more...





There are more, my computer is just being difficult right now...

So far, so good

I hate to get too excited since we had a short honeymoon period after the last sugery and then all heck broke broke loose but Brady is doing fantastic! After his last surgery, he would wake up in the middle of the night screaming but he slept soundly last night and didn't get up until almost 11:00 am (and neither did AnnaClaire-this time change isn't so bad!). He's asked for a few things that he can't eat and when I tell him that he can't have it, he says 'okay'. It almost makes you want to cry he is being so understanding and agreeable. He's being loving and even ran across the room to me today when I requested a hug. He doesn't seem to be in pain, which we are so thankful for.

MeeAll and Popaw came up yesterday to see Brady and give the girls their birthday gifts. I have a few pics that mom sent me from last night and I will post some later.

Thanks again for all the prayers! I am so blessed to have all of you. Why is God so good to me?

We're home!

Thank you for the prayers! We are always so touched to have so many praying for us. I truly means SO MUCH! I got Brady out of bed at about 5:30. He was in a super mood and even ran in the bedroom to tell Jeff goodbye. Jeff said he seemed so excited that he must have thought he was going to Disney World. We go to the hospital and they called us back and he did great until the hospital gown came out and then he started putting 2 and 2 together. They gave him the versed like last time but he didn't act as loopy (meaning there was no reaching up to touch things in the air that weren't there). When they came to get him for surgery he cried for me. It hurt my heart so bad that he was thinking I would just let them take him away, but it also made me feel good that he wanted to be with me. His doctor told me that the surgery went well. Brady had a lot of scar tissue but he said that it really only made the surgery more difficult and won't affect Brady in any way. He lengthened his palate while he was in there and of course closed up the hole. He expects it to hold this time. All in all, it was great news. They let me go back to recovery this time. I started to walk back there and I could hear a kid screaming like a banshee. Yup, that would be my child. He had about 5 nurses gathered around him and they couldn't control him. His arm splints weren't tied tghtly enough and he was ripping at his IV and the stitch in his tongue (His doctor puts a stitch through his tongue-ouch- and tapes it to his cheek). He reached for me when he saw me but then was peeved at me when I wouldn't let him pull at the IV either. They gave him more pain medication and he settled in and fell asleep on me. He's run hot and cold since. He was definitely holding a grudge yesterday evening and wouldn't respond to anything Jeff or I said or did. Then the nurse came in and gave him his pain meds and he immediately reached for me. He snuggled with me all night. He even peed all over me and I didn't have a change of clothes. I looked lovely walking out of the hospital with messed up hair and Brady's pee and blood all over me. TMI, I know! LOL Please keep the prayers going. He needs to know that we are here for him and that is forever.

Prayers Please!

This has been a very eventful week! Jeff and I celebrated our anniversary on the 4th. Our 19th! I have been married to him over half my life (where's my medal? LOL). Hard to believe. The girls are now officially 5 and 3. Even harder to believe! Seriously, how do you get them to just stay little? And now, in just a few hours I will take little man to the hospital where they will once again attempt to repair that WIIIIDE cleft palate. I am asking for prayers for Brady. Prayers that his surgery will be a success, that he will heal quickly, that his surgery doesn't upset our bonding. We have come so far since his last surgery. I really do not want to see that come undone. I pray that when he wakes from surgery he reaches to me for comfort instead of looks at me like I am the cause of his pain. We appreciate any and all prayers! I will update when I can:)

Almost Pretty

Jeff's in New York, the oldest two are at a party, Ryan's downstairs on the new Xbox Live and the littles are giving me a make over. I am covered head to toe in glitter, body spray, lotion, eye shadow, lip stick and who knows what else. Brady is right in the thick of it all. He painted my toe nails (I should say he painted my toes-it's more accurate) and then proceeded to work on his own. Allie sighed and said, 'Brady doesn't know he's a boy.' LOL She might be right. During the application of my make up she told me many times 'Mommy hold on, you are almost pretty.'

Anna's Birthday Party!

Brady picked out all his clothes head to toe with no help from us. He also had a Tennessee ball cap but I didn't get a picture of him with it on.



Anna (left) and Brady (right) at Shantou

the best I could get...

The kids had a blast at Fun Expedition for Miss Anna's birthday party. Anna was at Shantou with Brady and we were in China the same time as her (totally awesome and wonderful) parents. Bonnie (Anna's mom) knew what a struggle I was having in China. They left to come home a few days before we did and she actually called me in China from her house to check on me and give me a pep talk before our flight home (which I was dreading). We are so blessed to know Anna's family and feel that Anna and Brady are so blessed to get to grow up with an orphanage mate so close. We have a picture of Brady and Anna at Shantou together and want to get an updated one but haven't been that lucky yet:)

You can file this under Things I never thought would happen in my lifetime'

WOOO HOOOO!


Tennessee Tops AP Men's Basketball Poll
2008-02-25 13:22:42
By JIM O'CONNELL AP Basketball Writer



Tennessee surged to the top of The Associated Press college basketball poll for the first time Monday on the strength of its victory over Memphis in a Nos. 1-vs.-2 matchup.

The football team at Tennessee has been ranked No. 1 during four seasons, including two national titles. The women's basketball program has been a regular atop that poll since 1977, winning seven national championships under coach Pat Summitt.

Now it's the men's turn.

The Volunteers (25-2) were a runaway choice, receiving 69 first-place votes and 1,797 points from the 72-member national media panel after a 66-62 victory at Memphis. Tennessee is the 53rd school to hold the No. 1 ranking since the poll began for the 1948-49 season.

"The response has been overwhelming here," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said Monday. "The game Saturday, there'll always be a lot of talk of where were you when they beat Memphis to become No. 1? It was that kind of event so it will have some staying power, but for us there will be little staying power because we have to go play at Vanderbilt on Tuesday where they have won 17 straight games.

"The fact that men's basketball was able to get to this point just brings us in line with the other sports here, men's and women's, like softball and track and field. This is the expectation at Tennessee and that you can point to those different sports is why Tennessee is one of the finest athletic programs in the country and this only adds to that."

Memphis (26-1), which lost for the first time this season when Tennessee ended its 47-game home winning streak, had been ranked No. 1 for the past five weeks, the last three as a unanimous choice. The Tigers were No. 2 and received 1,682 points.

North Carolina (26-2), which was No. 1 in the preseason poll and for the first 10 weeks of the regular season, stayed third after wins over North Carolina State and Wake Forest. The Tar Heels received two first-place votes, while UCLA (24-3), which jumped from sixth to fourth after wins over Oregon State and Oregon last week, was No. 1 on one ballot.

There was some history made near the bottom of the rankings as well Monday with Kent State (23-5) moving into the Top 25 for the first time. The Golden Flashes were No. 23 after their 65-57 victory at Saint Mary's, Calif., on Saturday night.

Texas moved up two spots to fifth. Kansas, which lost at Oklahoma State on Saturday, and Duke, which snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over St. John's on Saturday, both dropped two spots to sixth and seventh, respectively. Stanford, Xavier and Wisconsin rounded out the top 10.

Georgetown moved up one place to 11th and was followed by Indiana, Louisville, Butler, Connecticut, Purdue, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Michigan State and Drake. The last five ranked teams were Marquette, Washington State, Kent State, Gonzaga and Saint Mary's.

Gonzaga (21-6) was the week's other newcomer. The Bulldogs, who were 14th in the preseason poll, returned after a nine-week absence. They have won 12 of their last 15, with the losses coming to Tennessee, Memphis and Saint Mary's.

Kent State entered the poll having won nine of 10, the loss coming at Toledo. Two of the Golden Flashes' losses this season were to North Carolina and Xavier.

Texas A&M (20-7) dropped out from 23rd, its first time out of the poll this season. The Aggies, ranked as high as No. 9 this season, have lost three straight — Oklahoma State, Texas and Nebraska, the first and last at home.

Kansas State (18-8) was ranked for eight weeks this season, including the last four in a row. The Wildcats fell out from 24th, having lost three of four, including losses to Nebraska and Baylor last week

tiny little mama brag:)

Little Miss Allie started Gymnastics about a year ago. She was what they call a tiny comet. She missed the entire summer while we adjusted to life with B-dog (Brady) and started back last fall. A few times they mentioned moving her up to comets but the tiny comets and comets do the same thing (sometimes even together in the same class), only the comets class lasts about 10 minutes longer and is more expensive. Um, no thanks. When we were in there on Monday I was watching her and realizing that she was able to do some things the other kids can't. After class her teacher came over and said to me 'she needs to move up' and I thought 'here we go again with the comets...' but then she said they wanted to move her past comets. She's bypassing comets and super comets and going to level 1, whatever that means. She's excited so I am really happy for her. When we signed her up after class I saw that the other kids in the class were born in 2000 and 2001-Allie was born in 2003. Man, I hope she can handle this!

I get by with a little help from my....sister!

 

Brady was too little to climb in the play structure so Allie gave him a little boost. Check out that smile! He was NOT a happy camper when she wasn't there at his beck and call though. He stood at the bottom yelling 'Allie....ALLLLIEEEE!'...and then crying. Goober.

Valentine Playdate

We celebrated Valentine's Day at Chuck E Cheese with some of our OCA friends. Brady LOVED Chuck E Cheese. Everyone around here is finally feeling better after being sick most of last week. I had all the little one's at the doctor's. That's a load of fun, let me tell you. Allie has serious doctor issues. I am sure we are talked about every time we leave;) FYI, according to the doctor's scales Allie is 36 pounds, AnnaClaire is 28 and Brady is 30. He feels like 40 though-solid as a rock. He's doing FANTASTICALLY. We are thrilled with the progress he is making. Hope we don't take a huge step back with his upcoming surgery. Last time we did, but he has made so much progress that I am hopeful it won't be nearly as bad as last time. He continues to amaze me with how clearly he can say things WHEN HE WANTS TO. Most of the time he's hard to understand but I know he can talk more clearly because I have heard it. After surgery, his speech should get even better. I have to say that his special need has been a lot easier than we anticipated. If you are someone who has considered a cleft affected child and thought it would be too much, I am telling you that Brady is pretty much a worst case scenario with an EXTREMELY wide cleft and it has been mostly a non-issue day to day. There are some cutie pies left on Children's House's current list that are in need of a mom and dad...:) If you are interested in checking them out, you can email me at loosclan@gmail.com and I will send you the link to view them.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

 

Haircut!

 

Last few hours of the Facebook Challenge

If you haven't already donated, please consider it. I have such a burden on my heart for these children. If LWB wins the $50,000, TEN children will have lifesaving heart surgery. Once they are healed they'll have a good chance of being adopted and to grow up knowing the love of a family. Isn't that worth $10?

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51591

Party!

Jeff took this pictures at a wonderful birthday party that we were at on Saturday.

PLEASE READ!

From Amy E of Love Without Boundaries...

My message is a bit long today but I hope you will read it to the end. We have just 24 hours left in the Giving Challenge contest on Facebook. 24 hours to try and stay in the lead. And we can’t do it without you.

As I type this, I am staring at the photos of 12 babies who are hurting because they were born with heart disease. Their eyes truly haunt me, first because they are orphaned and as a mother it is hard to accept that any child has to be sick without a mom or dad to comfort them….but second because I know that without surgery, the pictures I have of these children might be their last. Do you know how small a baby’s heart is? And how fragile an orphan’s life is when that tiny heart has a defect? These pictures are of children who are blue, children who are tired, children who NEED OUR HELP.

I also have on my desk the photos of children whose hearts we have healed. They stare out at me with pink cheeks and smiles, and in many…with their new adoptive families. THIS is what it is all about. Saving lives, giving a second chance, and allowing a child to find their family and know complete love.

In the next 24 hours we have a chance to give the GIFT OF LIFE to 10 more children in need. The charity with the most unique $10 donors at 12 noon PST on February 1st will win $50,000. Heart surgery in China averages just $5000 per child, so with that prize….ten children can have a second chance at life.

I am not going to ask you today to find 10 more donors, or even 5 more donors to help us. I am asking you to find just ONE person in your life that hasn’t donated and to ask that person to please help you save a life. For just $10. If all of us do this, we could have over a thousand new donors in just one day.

How often do we spend $10 on things that last just a moment?

$10 for two fancy coffees, $10 for a movie and popcorn, $10 for a dinner out. How about for today, for the next 24 hours, we all find $10 for something that will last a LIFETIME. $10 to save a baby’s life and allow a priceless child (who is orphaned and totally innocent) to get a second chance at finding a family to love them.

Find just one friend in the next 24 hours, and encourage them to join our cause and donate. $10 for the life of a child. Of all the money you have spent this week….this might be the most important.

Thank you EVERYONE for keeping LWB in the running for the top prize. We love our supporters and give thanks everyday for the amazing generosity, compassion, and kindness you show to those who live as orphans each and every day. We truly are a family, bound together by the belief that every child born on this earth matters.

Here’s the link! http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51591 Let’s do it for the kids.

Amy

hmmm

You know your teenager is playing too much Guitar Hero when your 4 year old starts singing 'Paint It Black' and KNOWS THE WORDS!

I signed up AnnaClaire for preschool this morning. We weren't sure if we would send her or Brady at all but decided to go ahead and send just her. I think Brady will benefit from one on one time with me and AnnaClaire would probably like an occasional break from him too. We'll see how it goes and if he is upset about not getting to go, we can take a slot when one opens up during the school year. We'll definitely send them both for 4 year old preschool.

Can you believe it is time to order Cameron's cap and gown? YIKES! I am off to do that now...

Go Vols!

Yes, my husband has lost his mind! That's what 3 teenagers and 3 preschoolers will do to a person. He's all ready for Tennessee's big game against Kentucky tonight. I'm so proud.

America's Next Top Model

 

 

From the Love Without Boundaries Blog

Next week, we have set Jan 22/23 as a one day Facebook fundraising day to help complete the funding for baby Yang's heart surgery. You can find our Facebook Cause through this link http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51591
With the Facebook challenge ending on Feb 1, our Director of Operations, Sheri Russon, came up with the perfect way to encourage our friends and family to help with the Facebook Challenge:

$10 can save 10 lives.

It really is that simple. A $10 donation can in turn allow us to finish the Facebook Challenge in first place, and can allow us to use the $50,000 prize to SAVE THE LIVES of ten innocent babies born with heart disease who are struggling to survive.

Please tell your friends and family about this wonderful opportunity in front of us. I just can't even begin to tell you the deep sadness that each of us at LWB feels every time we are given the news that an orphaned child's heart has stopped beating for the last time. We have cried so many tears knowing we were too late, and even more knowing that a child died as an orphan. It is so horrible to know a child has died alone…...without having a mom or dad to hold them when they are hurting or afraid.

We really can do this....but we need everyone's help. Let's all be a part of something BIG! Let’s work as a united team to give life to ten children who will not survive without surgery.

Let’s show 10 tiny babies who have been abandoned that they ARE important and that they are not alone. Let's all step out of our comfort zones in the next week and ask at least 5 friends to donate $10 to save 10 children's lives.

It is NOT about “winning” or the money to us, even though we have to keep bringing it up to finish the challenge in first place. It is about the very real fact that there are orphaned children dying with medical needs right this very minute....and how wonderful it would be that through this unique challenge, we can change 10 of their lives forever.


Thank you everyone! Remember…..$10 can save 10 lives. Let’s do this together and know we were a part of something truly GREAT!

You Guys Kill Me!

Yes, AnnaClaire is potty-trained. Just like her older siblings, she simply decided one day that she was ready. It's been so nice only changing Brady and not Brady AND AnnaClaire who always seemed to poop in tandem. We'll be going out this weekend to let her pick out a special treat. Brady's been telling me sometimes when he needs to pee pee but he is a ways from being trained. I really can't believe that AnnaClaire is trained because she is the first of my kids to be trained before age 3. Woo Hoo!

Sorry that our news wasn't a new daughter like some of you thought. Actually, since Jeff has started his own business we don't currently qualify (because we can't prove income) so I can assure you there will be no adoption announcements. We are happy to rejoice with you all who are in the process and to pray for those special little ones who wait.

Brady's surgery has been confirmed for Monday, March 10. He'll get to eat cake on his sisters' birthdays but he won't be able to have candy for Easter. I think the Easter Bunny might just bring all the little ones non edible treats this year.

Big News!

here's a hint;)

January pics

some misc. pics from the last few weeks

Bad Blogger

It's been a while. There is so much I missed blogging last month (Allie Day, Jeff's b'day, Ryan's b'day-13!!!, Christmas....). I'll get to it but for now just wanted to update a little. Brady FINALLY had his appointment with the surgeon today. It was originally scheduled for December 18th but his doctor was sick so it was moved to January 3 but the doctor was called into emergency surgery. I took him in today and he was treated like royalty. They really love him at that office. It looks like Brady's surgery will be March 10. They had said mid February but Allie's birthday is March 8 and AnnaClaire's is March 9. I didn't want them to get all the presents and Brady to not even be able to eat cake. I asked about mid March and the doctor said that would be fine. The big boys are out for spring break the week of the 10th so it will be a great time for the surgery.

I encourage you to check out my friend Tonya's blog. You may remember that we waited together through 2 adoptions and we were in China together when she adopted Ayla and we adopted Brady. Her precious Ayla had surgery in December and they discovered that she has cancer. Tonya is a picture of strength and faith. I wish I could be more like her. Anyway, she's updating frequently and I know that she appreciates prayers.

That's all for now:) It's good to be back.