Journey to Jackson Kuan

CT Scan

2011-08-03T16:57:00.000-04:00

Today was Jackson's CT Scan. He did AMAZINGLY well!

The technician didn't want me to give him the Rx to make him sleep.

Kurt was able to get off from work to help rock him to sleep. He's THE MAN!!!

You Rock!

Jackson was asleep but then woke up just as Kurt was putting him onto the table.

He didn't move a muscle!

I stayed in with him during the scan and I could only see his little eyes move every once in awhile.

Tomorrow after 12:00 we can go pick up the copies of the scan on CDs and mail to Dr. Roberson in California.

We will then wait for him to contact us with the rating score for Jackson's atresia surgery.

We honestly have no expectations for whether or not he is a candidate for the atresia surgery.

This determination will set the course for ear reconstruction surgeries.

Thank you to all of our friends and family that were praying during the CT scan. Your prayers were felt!

Trusting Him

2011-08-02T09:48:00.001-04:00

We have begun the journey for ear reconstruction for Jackson.

It will be a long road.

We have decided to pursue the Medpor method.

We Skyped with Dr. Reinisch in California a couple of weeks ago.

He was very informative and was able to answer our questions and concerns.

Tomorrow Jackson will have the CT scan completed.

Please pray for us. Our pediatrician did not request a sedated CT scan.

We will be giving him a prescription medication from our pediatrician to enable him to be still for the procedure.

Please pray that the medication will enable Jackson to remain completely still so that they can get a perfect, readable scan.

This is just the first step in finding out if his hearing will be able to be restored.

Once the scan is completed, we will mail a copy of the scan to Dr. Roberson in northern California. He is the Doctor that will determine whether or not Jackson is a candidate for atresia surgery. This is the surgery that would make ear canals for him. If he IS a candidate, we would have the ear canal surgery first on one ear and then the outer ear reconstruction using Medpor with Dr. Reinisch. And then 6 months later, we can reconstruct the 2nd ear.

I must confess that it is beginning to get harder noticing the staring at Jackson because of his microtia and the fact that he does not have a right ear. At first it didn't really bother me, but I guess that as each day passes, I know the day is going to come when Jackson notices and is able to tell us that it bothers him.

We don't really know how much he understands about his ears right now.

Please pray that as we begin this journey that everything will go smoothly with our insurance.  With each atresia repair, there is a very LARGE amount of money that has to be paid upfront to be reimbursed later.

Money that I'm sure very few families have sitting around in their bank account or even available on a credit card.

But, with that said, I know that God will provide every last cent.  He did with the adoption. And when we tried figuring it all out on our own, God would always whisper to me, "Trust me."

So, we are beginning this new journey Trusting Him!

Trusting that He has every detail figured out.

Trusting Him that every penny is accounted for.

Trusting Him, once again, in His timing and not our own.

Trusting Him that His Word is Truth.

Trusting in His incredible love for Jackson and the life that He gave to him at the moment of conception.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,  plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Baha, at last!

2010-11-24T12:56:00.001-05:00

We finally had Jackson's fitting for his Baha! He has been doing so well with it. We were approved for 2 but for some reason our audiologist said that she will not order the other one for another year. We have Cochlear looking into this for us. But for now, we are thankful that Jackson has access to new sounds. His Baha is programmed specifically for his hearing. We are prayerful that this will be life-changing for him!

just because...

2010-11-23T21:39:00.001-05:00

I'm so adorable and loveable!

Catching up with the Noodle Master and more!

2010-11-05T15:17:00.000-04:00

We have a lot of catching up to do.

Jackson has transitioned beautifully into our family!

He is excelling at school and is loved by all.

We are still waiting on his bilateral Bahas to arrive which should be any day now.

Below are pictures from our very American attempt at celebrating the Autumn Moon Festival.

For some reason I was thinking it was a week later that what it was, so it was last minute planning.

Thankfully, Jackson is easy to please with food.

We enjoyed a very big pot of noodle soup! Watching Jackson eat it reminded us of our time in Guangzhou whe we ate at the little deli and noodle shop outside of the White Swan Hotel.

The Noodle Master at work

Now we're talkin'!

This wasn't quite what my mom had planned for this year's festival. Let's see if I like it...

ummmmm.....not so much!

operation i.d.

2010-09-19T16:59:00.000-04:00

We decided that since Jackson is unable to give any identifying information about himself that we would look into purchasing an i.d. bracelet for him. We searched the internet high and low, emailed bloggy friends who are friends of Kurt's cousin in Michigan (Hi Rachel!) and then received emailed pictures from our friends in Jacksonville, whose daughter wears an id bracelet due to allergies.

We finally decided on a bracelet for our little man. And now this mama feels much better as he rides the big yellow bus away from my school each morning 10 minutes down the road! He wears it at all times and does very well with it on. He now likes to hear it jingle on the car window, his car seat arm rest, across the dining room table, down our footboard to our king size bed...you get the picture!

The information was simple: on the front with the Medic Alert we have his first name and last name and then the words Hearing Impaired with the word "over" on the next line. It flips over easily and has his birthdate, No Known Allergies (since at this time we don't know of any but since he is adopted, there could be something), our cell phone numbers and our first names. It's stainless steel and wasn't too costly. But the best part...

We feel much better knowing that someone could contact us if our little man was separated from any of us or from someone at school.

7 months

2010-09-05T09:03:00.001-04:00

7 months ago on February 2nd we finalized adoption papers in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, Peoples Rebublic of China. Fast forward to September 2nd, we had our court hearing to "readopt" or "refinalize" what was done in China, here in America. Although Jackson became a Swartzlander in every sense of the word 7 months ago, we decided to go through this very simple process here in the US so that we would be able to get Jackson an American birth certificate (which I believe is a Certificate of Foreign Birth) and then we will be able to apply for an American Passport!

Our attorney was wonderful. He and his wife have 2 adopted girls from China. He provides his services free of charge to families that have adopted from China to refinalize everything. We only had to pay the court fees! What a blessing for our family! In all of the years that he has been doing this, Jackson was THE VERY FIRST BOY that he has represented!

Jackson and his "out of the blue" goofy grin! with our attorney, Mr. Pappas

Our family with Judge Piggotte

Outside the courthouse

Jackson and Kurt

a little someone turned 3

2010-08-26T20:11:00.001-04:00

Sunday was Jackson's 3rd birthday!

He had a blast!

More details on our family blog, but here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

Bilateral Bahas

2010-08-26T18:57:00.000-04:00

On Friday, we received a phone call from our insurance company that they had APPROVED Jackson for the BILATERAL Bahas!!!!!! We just couldn't believe it! As things usually go, we will be thrilled on the day that we are walking out of the audiologist office with them on! We will probably be RUNNING hoping that our insurance company isn't waiting for us to tell us they changed their minds!

I have spent this past week calling back and forth between Shands and FL Health Care Plans trying to get FHC to send the paperwork to the correct fax. It finally arrived today at Shands but UNFORTUNATELY the audiologist is on vacation until Sept. 8th and nothing can happen until she comes back.

But...on the bright side, our little man is getting what he needs and soon!

Help for the Hurleys

2010-07-20T08:08:00.002-04:00

My friends, the Hurleys, over at www.5hurleykids.blogspot.com are down to the final days of raising money to bring home their son Waid from China.

Their story is full of compassion and selflessness!! When we were adopting Jackson, somehow our families managed to connect...we were with the same agency. Throughout the adoption process, Kurt and I were preparing ourselves that we would have to travel without a group because it was a Special Needs adoption. I was thrilled when Janet and I were able to contact each other and we had hopes of traveling together to bring our sons home! Although the timing didn't work out for us to travel together, the Hurleys did manage to travel just a few short weeks after us to bring home their son Wes.

At some point during their adoption, they felt called to seek pre-approval of a blind little boy whose file was about to be returned to China. Sometimes when this happens, the children are not able to ever be adopted! This leaves them with a desperate life on the streets, begging. Kurt and I witnessed this with our own eyes. The experience was painful.

Kurt and I are thankful that God called us to adoption. Thankful that His plans were bigger than ours so many years ago! And although God does not call everyone to adopt a child into their home, He does call us to do something!!! What does that look like for you or your family?

I can't begin to tell you what it felt like when people gave out of their hearts to help bring Jackson home! I still weep when I think about people listening to that still-small voice and then acting out of obedience and love to the Lord!

In James 1:27, God's Word says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

We did what we were able to help the Hurleys bring Waid home.

Will you please pray about what God would have you to do?

Will you please pray for others to hear what God would have them to do?

Will you please pray and send this post around to your friends so that the Hurleys can bring Waid home??

His time is running out!

Sunday Snapshot:{Beachin' It}

2010-07-19T09:38:00.014-04:00

Last weekend after dinner, we took the kids to the beach. This was Jackson's first time! Saying that he loved it would be an understatement!

As I looked out across the ocean, I was reminded of a little boy that only 5 1/2 months ago was on the other side of God's creation...waiting for us...waiting for a mama...waiting for a daddy...waiting for a sister...waiting for a brother...waiting for a chance at life...the life that God had created him for.

It was a thrill for this mama to see her littlest son captivated by God's greatness!

loving the wet sand!

finding such joy in the simple things in life

laughing as the cold rush of water came upon him!

happiness in playing with a big sister

What beauty there is between a father and a son!

A daddy to call his own!

Doing the things that dad's love to do with their sons

looking forward to what's coming next in life

The first BIG wave for Jackson!

We're looking forward to sharing many more FIRSTS with our lil' man!

broke, again

2010-07-08T23:15:00.000-04:00

We decided on Monday to send Jackson's BCA back to Otic*n. We have been watching it work sporadically, thinking that it was just needing a new battery.

If you held the microphone up to your mouth and spoke, the oscillator would work perfectly. But, for anyone else talking in the room, Jackson wouldn't hear ANY of it! The microphone would not pick up sound from even an arm's length away. We also couldn't get any feedback with it.

Our audiologist is asking for them to REPLACE it instead of fix it again. We're hoping to have it back tomorrow because our 6 month post placement meeting with our amazing social worker is on Saturday morning.

We've noticed that when Jackson doesn't have his BCA, he is rather grumpy. I guess I would be, too, if I didn't have my glasses on!

Jackson has been working really hard at trying to talk. He now will call "Maggie" (our 85 lb. Lab) in from outside. He's saying Mama more often. He says "Mour" (more) and my favorite is UT OH! I think we even got an "AMEN" out of him at dinner!

everyday life and more!

2010-06-26T10:09:00.000-04:00

I've decided to go ahead and officially begin posting about our family at Big Crazy Love.

I will blog about the WHOLE family there and leave Jackson's website to just post about specifics regarding him.

I hope y'all will continue to follow on both! Or if you're just following Jackson's Journey, I hope you'll stop over at Big Crazy Love to see how he's doing on a day to day basis!

So over there, you'll see more of this

Jackson helping me cook!

and more of this

Jackson getting his own bib and putting it on to tell me he's ready to eat!

(which by the way, he eats a 10 piece McD's chicken nuggets pack by HIMSELF on soccer night)

and you'll see a little of this!

(His picture which I finally had made into black and white to add to the kids' bathroom wall!)

See you over at Big Crazy Love!

Sunday Snapshot: {Father's Day}

2010-06-21T10:21:00.014-04:00

Hey mom, do you remember what today is? psst, it's Father's Day!

So OFTEN, he gets lost in the shuffle. (sigh, and as I look at the pictures from this weekend, he was lost, yet, again)

The hot and humid weekend began on Saturday at Jadon's soccer tournament at UCF, which from previous hot and humid soccer tournament weekends we have experienced before, caused me to ~~suffer~~ and stay at home with Sydney and Jackson to ~~shop~~ clean. Kurt and Jadon left the house at 6:45am. Jadon's team won 2 and lost 2 which brought us to Sunday-10:00am game, win/lose determines the rest of the day.

That one 10am game kept us at the field until 1:30pm. We enjoyed a little bit of

sunshine!

and soccer!

The heat is easier to beat because of Kurt who works hard to set up our tents and packs the cooler and bought a few

Frogg Toggs to help us poor lil' fans

to be able to cool off and not feel like

the soccer star!

Because it is HIS day, by the way, and we want him to enjoy Father's Day during the times when the kids act like

THIS! Thanks to DAD!

And on Dad's Day, he was able to watch

this!

and

This!

And after he drove the "fun-bus" home full of sleeping children and their one-hot-sweaty mama,

we gave Daddy time to shower and rest. And by then, it was time for his choice of dinner because it is HIS day, after all.

But, Mama had to sweet talk Daddy out of his favorite place to eat!

And even though it is Father's Day, Mama had her children to think about.

So, Daddy in all his sweetness, as usual, thought about the rest of us, on his day and instructed me to bring us here!

Our local- sit down- Chinese restaurant.

But, we did do some standin' so that we could get these of our Daddy, since it is

HIS DAY!

Daddy with his lil' girl, Sydney! She was only 5 days old on his very first Father's Day!

(and if we would have had a digital camera back then, I would have posted some great pictures of that!)

Daddy with his sweet and tenderhearted son, Jadon!

And Daddy with his lil' man, Jackson. Now, otherwise known as, Action Jackson!

T-rouble with a CAPITAL T just waiting to happen!

And a LOT of LOVE goin' on here!

Jackson showed us that he's still got it goin' on with the chopsticks!

We enjoyed a great meal of Beef Lo Mein, Mongolian Beef, Pineapple Chicken, Shrimp Lo Mein and Sweet and Sour Shrimp! And everyone was happy, even Mama, especially since we didn't have to eat at Taco Bell!

We couldn't escape the hugs that Jackson likes to give to everyone!

(Even if strangers still think he's a gal!)

We headed out to the local

to pick up movies that Mama would end up, inevitably, sleeping through!

So, as Daddy, picked out movies for his day, I waited with the troops in the fun-bus, where

who-knows-what

was causing the big kids to make such an uproar and leave

our lil' man questioning us crazy Americans!

Thank you, Kurt, for ALL that you do EVERYDAY to make our lives a little bit easier! God has truly blessed our family with a wonderful, thoughtful, devoted, and loving husband and father!

We love you!

Happy Father's Day!!!

God is into the details!

2010-06-16T21:53:00.003-04:00

I was very worried today as we were leaving for Shand's. Even more so this time than I was for Jackson's first audiological evaluation. Kurt took the day off and we all headed out for the 2 hour drive to Gainesville.

I think I was more concerned this time because of all the confusion with insurance and wording. Previously I had posted that we were wanting to go back to Shand's at Hampton Oaks because they have a Baha Clinic. This is the same audiology department that did Jackson's initial hearing tests. We were needing the Baha Evaluation and the wording on the the insurance referral was "Bone Conduction Hearing Aid Evaluation"...which this was technically not, although they did evaluate his BCHA.

Before we pulled out of McD's parking lot, we prayed for safe travel and that God would work out all of the details that needed to be worked out.

We needed to arrive at 3:10 for his 3:30 appointment. We arrived at 3:00, completed paperwork and then proceeded to wait until 4:00 to be seen. At first it seemed as if the appointment was starting to go downhill before it ever got started. We aren't sure if the audiologist and the student-audiologist (Shands is a teaching hospital) were trying to feel us out for what we knew or what we wanted and it almost seemed as if they were going to talk us out of the softband Baha, just as Jackson's pediatric ENT tried to do. But...God is into the details!

The audiologist told us all the basics about the Baha and also about the new Oticon that basically does the same thing as the Baha. After all of that info, I discussed the problems we have already had with Jackson's Oticon classic 380P and the problems that we are having with it now. I also told her that we were unable to have Jackson tested with this Oticon on and we wanted to be sure that he was getting the gains that he needed in his hearing. Not a problem.

Jackson and I headed to the testing booth. He was tested first with his own Oticon on and then was tested with the Baha. He did so well, but was starting to get tired towards the end of the testing. It was about 30 minutes of testing.

We headed back into the fitting room, and opened the door to my wonderful husband and the big kids playing a mean game of Go Fish with the JUMBO playing cards. (The kids were AWESOME, by the way!!!) We spent the next 55 minutes discussing his results, the educational setting, insurance, Early Steps, etc. etc. etc.

Jackson was first tested with his Oticon on when he was fresh and alert. He tested in the normal range!!!! Then he was tested with the Baha and tested BETTER than his Oticon...even with being tired and losing focus!

Kurt and I made sure that at the beginning of the evaluation we stated our desire to fit Jackson with Bilateral Bahas. Our concerns for safety and being able to localize sound, also the data that is coming out with children showing better results with speech perception in noisy environments. She totally agreed with us and would be requesting insurance to cover bilateral Bahas.

We discussed his testing that would be happening with the school system tomorrow morning and what type of placement would be best for him. Although she could not come right out and say her opinion, Kurt and I both feel that she was advocating a language based class (our district it is considered half day ~2 1/2 hours) and then getting outside additional services if insurance would cover them. We also discussed that due to his being in the orphanage and not having had exposure to many things, he is technically delayed in so many areas...if you remember, he wasn't even walking when we first met him. We really feel at this point that he has needs that need to be addressed in those areas as well. He is catching up fast, but we know that this will take time. Do I think that he will be caught up by August, "nope". We want him to get all that he can get now. As most parents do, we want what is BEST for Jackson, and there are still just so many concerns. These details we are leaving up to God.

We finally have a definitive answer as to what is the next step!!! She and Dr. Antonelli will write everything up and send the request to our insurance to request the bilateral softband Bahas. And from there we wait on insurance to approve. More than likely we will be denied numerous times and this will take us months to get through. One family that is in the same Microtia/Atresia Yahoo Group, just got their Baha approval after 18 months of battling the insurance! This is why we paid out of pocket for Jackson's Oticon. We were not able to get him a loaner softband Baha today and had we not had the ability to purchase this Oticon back in April, we would be applying to different places to get a loaner bone conduction aid. (Which are hard to come by)

We left the office at 5:25 just in time for a huge storm coming through. We quickly grabbed dinner across the street and started the 2 hour trek home in the storm. Most of the gas stations were closed because there wasn't any power, so the poor big kids had to wait until we got home! Alas, we pulled into the driveway, big kids went potty, got the kids ready for bed and here I am!

Did I mention that we left the diaper bag at home???? Apparently Jackson had removed it from the foyer where all our things were and left it in the middle of our bathroom floor!

God left me 2 diapers in my purse! I just love my God that is into the details!!

great day~another step closer

2010-06-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

After 2 days of phone calls on Thursday and Friday last week (of course), today we received the phone calls we have been waiting for!

Jackson has an approved referral back to the Baha Clinic at Hampton Oaks at Shands for his Baha evaluation. His appointment is on the 16th, just one week from tomorrow!

We are currently researching the benefits of bilateral Bahas in children with bilateral microtia/atresia. From what we've read so far, there is a benefit of localization (being able to tell which direction a sound is coming from, which Jackson has none now) and also an increase in speech perception in noisy locations (classrooms!!!our home!!!!!life in general!!)

Our research has also been showing us that the FDA and Medicare has identified the Baha system as a prosthetic device. Hopefully this will help with getting our insurance to pay for the cost of a system (and possibly 2 Baha systems to wear bilaterally)

Jackson is doing well in his auditory training therapy sessions, but they have ended due to school being out for the summer. Diane has given us amazing websites to help us continue his therapy. One of those sites is called "The Listening Room" They have many great highchair activites, songs, and games all organized according to stages of development.

Jackson has begun using "mama" more appropriately in the past few days! Tonight it was a joy to hold him and rock him while he was looking up at me continually saying "mama", "mama", "mmmm" "mama" and then he would start to giggle! And his giggle, by the way, is contagious.

We know that his speech development will be slow. Please pray that we continue to find joy in the small accomplishments he has!

School is officially out for students tomorrow and then I have two days left of work. My plan is to get our family blog up and running. I haven't decided yet if I will continue Jackson's blog about his continual journey with microtia or if I will leave it as is and just post about everything on the family blog. My original intention was to have Jackson's blog just about our adoption process and travel. But then it became such a great way to update family and friends about his progress. So...there arrives the thought of our family blog.

Any thoughts, my bloggy friends? Do you prefer blogs that have everything all mixed together or separate family from the journey? I'd love to hear what you think!

Calling it a night!
"Mama"

Denial Approved-kinda

2010-05-25T16:17:00.000-04:00

We received a phone call yesterday and a letter today from our insurance company that they would approve our previously denied request for a "bone conduction hearing aid evaluation"...What? Not quite what we requested. We had requested a referral for the Baha evaluation so that we can get Jackson his Baha. Once Shand's calls to set up the appointment, I will clarify with them that we are needing to make the appointment for the Baha evaluation. Some families have just had it done as part of the normal procedure when they have the audiological exam done. I'm not quite sure what the difference is between having his hearing tested unaided and then aided with a bone conduction hearing aid...other than the fact that they would use a Baha instead. Any families out there with this specific experience know the difference? We would love to hear from you! Hopefully we will also be able to get a loaner Soft band Baha during this process.

Today I also had the transition meeting for Jackson. This meeting is the transition between our Early Intervention (Early Steps) program to the PreK program with our school system. We are waiting for appointment times for the school system to do their testing to determine the best placement in the fall. The team really feels that although he is delayed in areas due to being in an orphanage that he will catch up and that his "true" disability is the hearing impairment which would qualify him more for the Language Impaired Program which is part time. The other part of the day he would be in a prek program with his hearing peers (these peers would actually be younger than him by approximately 6 months because Jackson is not potty trained). This would probably be best as well due to being behind.

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T21:19:00.001-04:00

I get choked up when I think about writing this post. To think that God gave me the desires of my heart. The chance to celebrate Mother's Day, again, as a NEW mom! How blessed I am. How humbled I am when I think about Jackson's birth mom. And greatful that God had provided a way...to work something so good out of something so bad. My heart aches for her and for the decision she had to make, no matter what the reason was. I can only pray that a piece of Jackson remains in her heart. I pray that God will somehow let her know how loved he is. How safe he is. How happy he is. And I pray that she will know that a part of her will always be carried with us in our hearts!

My children are known for playing practical jokes on me! There's no mercy, not even on Mother's Day! I thought we would be able to get out of the house on time for church, but everyone insisted that I open my Mother's Day cards and gifts. No surprises there...until Jadon asked me if I would smell my flowers! And there it was!!!! Hidden so well between the stems! Beware my sweet little ones!!!! It will show up when you least expect it!!!!

Friday Nights

2010-05-11T21:05:00.000-04:00

There are plenty of Friday nights around here that end with Chinese Food. We always make it a point to provide chopsticks for Jackson (and everyone else)! For a short time, Jackson stopped using them. I guess because it was much quicker to eat with his hands! But, I think he's back in full force! What-do-ya-think?

These would be Jadon's cheeks STUFFED FULL!

MIA

2010-05-07T22:35:00.000-04:00

Sorry that we have been Missing In Action. Between school, work, strep throat, Jackson's appointments, soccer, dance, homework and our 95 degree weather, I have been finding it hard to post.

Jackson had his Early Steps evaluation a week ago. He obviously qualified for Speech/Language services and also Hearing Impaired services. His results from what was evaluated is technically invalid due to the fact that he has a hearing impairment and has no language, whether it is Chinese or English. But...it was a step in the right direction. We are assuming that after more evaluations for the school district, that he will possibly only qualify for the 1/2 day Language Impaired Program. We have contacted the preschool where Sydney and Jadon went and they will have room for him in their part-time program if it turns out that way.

This Tuesday, Jackson will have his first speech therapy session at home with the Speech/Language Pathologist. It will be interesting to see how this all works out. I will have to have Sydney to dance by 5:30 and then be back home by 5:45 for Jackson's therapy. Jadon is starting up 3v3 soccer again and practices will also be on Tuesdays at...5:30 We'll get it all worked out though.

Diane, our Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf, will be servicing Jackson for his hearing impairment. She will be focusing on Auditory Training. I am very excited about this. She will be using the S.P.I.C.E. kit. About 10 1/2 years ago, she and I and 2 other hearing impaired teachers traveled to St. Louis to CID, Central Institute for the Deaf for our training in SPICE. All of us had been trained in manual communication through our Deaf Ed. progams in college. It was AMAZING to see what these children were able to do with the hearing that they did have! It was a wonderful new perspective.

Almost 2 weeks ago, our pediatrician sent in a referral request to our insurance so that we could go back to Shands audiology for a BAHA Evaluation. Apparently, we were unaware that you had to have this specific eval in order to be able to purchase the BAHA. The audiologist on our health insurance plan does not provide this service. Unfortunately, our insurance denied this request, but STRONGLY encouraged us to follow our dr.'s recommendations...don't you just love it??? So, we are joining the rest of the ranks in the insurance battle for our child! The sad part is, I called Shands to inquire about the cost of the eval. if we just came in and didn't file a claim with our insurance, and it really wasn't an outrageous amount of money. I probably pay a quarter of that in my insurance premium in 1 month!!! It is something that we can afford to do on our own, but it does all add up, especially if we have to purchase the softband BAHA out of pocket.

Jackson has had a difficult week. We're not quite sure if the Honeymoon period is over or if he has just been grieving lately. I think part of the problem has been that he has been on antibiotics for quite some time now to try and rid him of chronic sinus infections. This is his 4th course of antibiotics. (Two 10 day course folled 2 weeks later by another 2 10 days) If after taking this last dose he gets another sinus infection, our dr. will be requesting an MRI. I'm not sure how much is related to his microtia/atresia/anotia. He has been getting angry frequently this week and then just sobbing and wanting to be held.

I love to see his bright eyes and smile when I walk in the door after work! He just BEAMS when the big kids and I come home! They chase each other all around the house! They play ring-around-the-rosey, dance to music, and Jackson loves to play up on Sydney's bed when she's in her room.

I guess that's about all we've been up to lately.

I'll keep you posted on his progress with speech and auditory training!

As Jackson would SAY...."Nigh-Night!!!!"
In Christ,
Stacy

Back In Action

2010-04-26T21:41:00.002-04:00

Jackson's BCHA returned from Oticon this afternoon and we were able to drive and pick it up before the office closed. Apparently the amplifier inside the hearing aid itself stopped working.

We ordered a new cord to keep as a spare because, typically, that is the first to break, if anything. That arrived, too, and Oticon threw that in for free!

When Jadon was telling Jackson that we were going to get his hearing aid, Jadon signed "hearing aid" and Jackson got THE BIGGEST smile on his face! He tried really hard to get the box out of my hands when we were leaving the office.

Once we were home, I attached the aid to one of the new soft headbands I had purchased online. The first one that I tried was purchased at Me and My Bow . It took a few times to train Jackson again not to take it off. I really like the fabric of the headband, it is a softer cotton material, much like the Goody headbands that I buy for Sydney. The only problem was that the width of it was not quite deep enough to hold the hearing aid portion of the BCHA. It seemed to be really soft on Jackson's head and THAT I like! Before Kurt came home, I switched it to another band that I had purchased from Huggie Aids. This one is made from a suede material and is even thinner. It is designed similar to the BAHA softband. I really liked this one. Although our favorite has been the Adidas Sweatband that was adapted by a sweet family I met on our Microtia/Atresia Yahoo Group that was so kind to send us 2 of her son's extras!!! Thanks, Dianne!!!!!!! We'll see how Jackson does with the Huggie Aid headband tomorrow.

We jumped right back into the routine of Jackson wearing the aid until he was put to bed. When I took it off to put his PJs on he was not too happy with me. After PJs were on, I began to put it on him and he leaned forward to let me do it! He said his "GoodNights" to everyone and gave them kisses and we headed off to his bedroom to rock in the rocking chair. Usually I would have taken it off at this point because the old style of head band would hurt him to lay back in it, but I left it on. I turned his "Night-Night" music on and began to rock him! He did not move a muscle! He has never really fallen asleep when we rocked him, but I think he was almost there! I tried to sit up to take the aid off and he grabbed my arm to let me know not to move ANYWHERE! I rocked a bit more and decided I had to because my arm was falling asleep! He started to get upset and cry that I had taken it off and was trying to reach for it on the side table. I rocked him a little bit more to calm him down and then he pointed to the crib!

WOW!

I am sad for Jackson and all that he has missed for almost 3 years! But so thankful that God stirred our hearts to adopt and took us on this Journey to Jackson!

headband from Me and My Bows

Not-so-great attempt at a group picture

softband from Huggie Aids

One Week, 2 Days...

2010-04-19T19:22:00.000-04:00

and it just stopped working!

We're baffled!

Kathy, our audiologist, is baffled!

So off to Oticon it goes!

Jackson's bone conduction hearing aid is an Oticon Classic 380P. It is a traditional air conduction aid that has been modified on the inside, minus the ear mold, attached to a wire on one end with an Oticon oscillator on the other end.

We are still waiting to have Jackson's report sent from the Pediatric ENT at Shands to our pediatrician. Once they receive it, we will find out what needs to be done to request our insurance to pay for a Softband BAHA.

So, until then, Jackson sits, unaided and a little off his game! (We really think he was starting to actually like it!)

We sit waiting for the first bill to pay for it!

We are praying it will be back by the end of the week!

Time for Reinforcements

2010-04-12T00:06:00.000-04:00

I mentioned that we will be adapting sweatbands to accomodate Jackson's BCHA so that he doesn't have to wear the metal headband. But until we get our sample, we've come up with the next best thing. It actually has worked out quite nicely. It's only a temporary fix. We are going to order an extra cord for the hearing aid, so that we don't have to take apart this original headband. While Jackson had on the BCHA Kurt just tried on the sweatband over part of it. We think it has done the trick...for the most part!

Jackson is still able to take it off, but not as frequently. He wore it for almost 2 hours at the soccer field before he ever messed with it.

I have found a white headband, which is not our color of choice. And I have found a black headband, which is what we prefer. Somewhere, here at the house, in a bag, and put in a place where I won't forget where it is, is a really snazzy FSU sweatband that I picked up for him when the big kids and I drove to Tallahassee to the Secretary of State's office. Maybe soon I'll find it. Who knows, maybe I'll find some other things while lookin' for it!

It's Time!

2010-04-11T23:55:00.000-04:00

We waited as long as we could to cut Jackson's hair REALLY short! It's beginning to grow on me.

I don't know if I've ever seen that much hair come off of a 2 1/2 year old...come to think of it, Sydney didn't have any hair for a couple of years and I think I took her to have her "hair cut" just so I could finish the page in her baby album.

It has actually kept his hearing aid on just a little bit better.

The haircut may only be for the summer. Or we may keep it that short. Or we may let the top grow just a smidgin' more.

We'll see...

"It's all good, Mom!"

It's Still Working

2010-04-11T23:46:00.001-04:00

Well, we have managed to survive our first weekend with Jackson's hearing aid!!! Such a big accomplishment, if I must say so myself.

He really is doing remarkably well keeping his hearing aid on, but there are times when he's had just about enough of it. Jackson is so fast! It is a round.the.clock.watch at our house...you never know where you might find the hearing aid next!

We've found it...

here...

and here...(minus water)

and here!

Otherwise, it's usually on his head! He has learned how to shake his head "no" to make it fall off! It falls off when he's rough-housin'...which he LOVES to play rough! It falls off when he's tryin' to snuggle up to you in bed, or on the couch, or just in your arms when you're holdin' him! He has even asked for it a couple of times!

Me and My Edamame

2010-04-09T22:29:00.000-04:00

Jackson has been teaching us the art of eating Edamame! We first discovered that he possessed this skill when we first arrived home. We were eating green beans and he picked every single bean open and ate all of the little beans inside. It took me awhile, but then I realized that he must have eaten edamame in China. I did find some edamame at Publix that hadn't been shelled yet. And sure enough, he picked one up, bit down on the stem and pulled if off down the center and opened it up to get the soy beans! Then later he would just squeeze them and the little soy beans would pop right out! He's a barrel of laughs!!!

Day 2: Jackson and Mr. Basil

2010-04-09T22:20:00.000-04:00

Today was the 2nd day (or rather first full day) of Jackson having his BCHA. We really didn't expect much today, but when I called home at lunchtime, my mom began to tell me how WONDERFULLY he had been doing with it all morning! We decided that it would just be an expectation and routine for him that when he woke up, before we would take him out of his crib, his BCHA would go on. No fusses with it this morning! As soon as we got home, we were greeted by our sweet little man. He SO loves to be outside and he was quite taken by Mr. Basil and a pinecone. Mr. Basil is very special to our family. He was a beautiful plant that has been around for a couple of years now, but we just can't seem to part with him. Although he might be replaced with Mrs. Basil that now sits in our kitchen! Sydney has volunteered to take care of her since Mommy didn't do such a great job with Mr. Basil (who by the way was named by Jadon a few years ago).

Jackson is already starting to show a response to our speech. Just tonight, we were leaving my parents house and Kurt asked Jackson, "Jackson, are you ready to go home?" Jackson then looked at my dad and waived bye-bye and started to walk towards the door. We also began to notice this just a day or two before getting his BCHA...we will say to Jackson, "I Love You!" and he tries sooo hard to say it back to us...it is definitely 3 words that he's trying to say and it does sound like the first word is a close approximation to "I".

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

2010-04-08T22:41:00.000-04:00

I'm not quite sure exactly what or how I expected the first few moments to be when Jackson heard our voices in the "normal hearing" range. But I can tell you that it wasn't what we got. I wish now I would have taken a picture of it. It was heartbreaking, but it was a good thing. He was hearing us and HE-DIDN'T-LIKE-IT...ONE BIT! Between the crocodile tears, the nose running, the drool just dripping from his mouth and the sweat coming off of both of us, we were a soggy mess!

This lasted for about 25 or 30 minutes as we adjusted volume levels and sweet talked him. All to no avail...until...the receptionist ran to the office next door and brought back a DUM-DUM pop! We had brought dum dum pops to China with us on Gotcha Day but never gave him any because we just felt like he wasn't ready for them yet. Well, today I was ready to try anything!

It settled him down enough to tolerate the bone conduction aid for another 30 minutes while Kathy gave me a refresher course on all of the parts and we discussed options we could try to alter the headband. This headband CLEARLY is not going to work. It might be ok if he is sitting ABSOLUTELY still...and I can tell you...that AIN'T happenin'! I'm thinking that silver duct tape might do the trick! I was able to get a picture of Jackson sitting with Kathy.

I think that by the time we left, we were both covered in a pretty sticky pink color! He wore the hearing aid on the drive to the soccer field for about 10-15 minutes and then I had to pull over to get out and get it from the back seat since he pulled it off. I was able to coax Jackson to wear it on the soccer field and he managed another 45 minutes with it on. After soccer practice and dinner, we went to Wal-Mart for reinforcers...DUM-DUM pops and jelly beans. I figured I would get the dum dums first and give him one (I know I'm not supposed to open the bag before paying for it, but we have a 2 year old here and it didn't need to be weighed). I told Jackson that if he wanted the lollipop, that he would have to wear his hearing aid. He pointed his finger at that bag of lollipops and I put his hearing aid on and opened up the dum dums and we were two happy campers! I think we walked around for 30 minutes while he sucked on that pop. I sang the "Lollipop,Lollipop" song to him while he had his BCHA on and he would just laugh and laugh and laugh! I did manage to get a few pictures of him in Walmart! Which will be a great reminder to NOT give him the BLUE dum-dum pops!

We'll see what tomorrow holds. My mom will be with him all day. We'll see how many jelly beans are left when I get home!

Jackson's Even Bigger Day

2010-04-07T22:25:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow will be an even bigger day for Jackson. After school, the big kids and I will go pick him up and take him to get his new Bone Conduction Aid. I received a phone call today from Kathy that Jackson's BCHA (Bone Conduction Hearing Aid) had come in! I was so suprised!! We weren't expecting anything until next week. After meeting with Kathy on Monday, we decided to go ahead and purchase a less expensive BCHA while we wait for the dictation and referral to come back from Dr. Antonelli at Shands. (As of today, Dr. Ahmed's office-our pediatrician-has not received it.) This will allow Jackson to have hearing after 2 1/2 years! We are praying that because Jackson's microtia/atresia is a congenital defect that insurance will cover a Softband Baha. If they don't then we will go from there. The hearing aid that was purchased was made by Oticon. I do not know yet which one it is, but will be sure to find out when we go. Kurt and I have received many tips from fellow parents of children with microtia/atresia on how to adapt various headbands (sweatbands, cloth headbands, etc) to fit and hold an BCHA. We will be working on that this weekend.

Please pray that Jackson will adjust to the new sounds he will be hearing for the first time! Please pray that he will have a desire to wear his new headband and aid. Please pray that our voices are comforting to him!

Sydney will be getting a crash course in using the video camera tomorrow. I want to at least have something on video of Jackson hearing my voice for the first time! I can't wait for him to hear the words, "I love you!"

Thank you for lifting our sweet little man up in prayer! Thank you for continuing to follow our journey!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-07T22:10:00.001-04:00

What a beautiful day it was here on Easter Sunday. Jadon was the first to get up and find the Easter baskets and even snuck a bite off the "hiney" of his chocolate animal. (I found a cute 3 pack of miniature chocolates...1 owl, 1 porcupine and 1 squirrel) Next up was Sydney and then Jackson. After the others took a quick peek at their baskets, we hurried and got our Easter Sunday Best on...and LO AND BEHOLD!!!! we were ON TIME for church!!!!
After church we headed to Cracker Barrel for lunch. We decided not to cook this year and to just relax because everyone on my side of the family was going in all different directions. Sydney and Jadon were great sports to agree to wait until after Jackson's nap to begin the egg hunt. It was a grand time!!!
I'm thankful that with every passing day, Jackson will learn more and more about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Jadon (6 years old), Sydney ( 8 years old), Jackson (2 1/2 years old)

Stacy and Jackson

Jackson waiting ever-so-patiently

Jackson and Kurt

The Three Musketeers

Jackson and his 1st Easter Basket

Jackson kissing his Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Egg

Jackson decided to dump out the Easter grass and make a new hat for himself...

and for me!!!

Let the games begin!!!

Such a serious Easter Egg Hunter!

Now he's got the hang of it!

OR NOT!

Taken a break!

Could he be ANY cuter???

Spring Clean-Up

2010-04-02T21:52:00.001-04:00

We spent most of this afternoon cleaning up the lawn. We have had a hard winter here in FL thanks to Global Warming. Jackson had a blast helping us. He really is a great little helper. He LOVES to help us, no matter what it is we are needing to do. It is really sweet to watch him. Suprisingly, he knew exactly what to do when scooping up the dead leaves and grass to put them in the bags. Then he just started laying in it all!! He will have a great time in the fall leaves at Grandma's & Grandpa's if we ever make it back to Michigan in the fall! The kicker was when he started stuffing it all down his shirt!!!!

Yesterday~2 Months

2010-04-02T13:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday marked the 2 month anniversary of the day Jackson was placed in our arms.

Our lives and family have been blessed by this sweet, charming, and silly little boy!

Monday morning we go to our local audiologist, Kathy~the audiologist that I used to work with when I taught in the hearing impaired program~ to be fitted with his amplification. We are not sure what we will end up with, so I will be sure to post about that. I was planning on taking pictures of our trip to Shands, but forgot!!! I will try my best to get pictures of Jackson with Kathy, our audiologist!

Easter Bunny Picture 2010

2010-04-02T11:24:00.000-04:00

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words!

Jeremiah 29:11

2010-03-31T13:32:00.000-04:00

"For I know the plans that I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I have prayed this verse over Jackson's picture since we first saw him just over a year ago on March 5, 2009. I prayed this verse over him when I first held him in my arms and will continue to pray this verse over him for the rest of his life.

We serve a mighty God that hears the cries of
the oppressed
the broken
the orphaned
the hungry
the tired
the silent
the lonely
the deaf

I believe in answered prayer whether or not it is the answer we are looking for.

I believe in rejoicing and praising God in the bad times
as well as
the AMAZING times!

I shed tears today when the audiologist held up his audiogram through the glass in the testing sound booth!
Jackson's hearing test was an answer to our cry for Jackson!

His unaided results (what he hears without hearing aids) was in the moderate range (40-45db loss) This puts him right in the middle of what's called the "Speech Banana" (where speech sounds fall in decibels). With a bone conductor hearing aid on, Jackson's aided results put him well above the normal hearing threshold!!!! This means that with bone conduction hearing aids he will hear normally!!!
I am thankful for God and his plan for our little man!!!!

Also, Jackson does not have any indicators of other sydromes that might be related to Microtia/Atresia.

If you have been praying for our sweet little Jackson, please remember topraise HIM tonight for answering our prayers!!!

Where do we go from here?
We are waiting for a call back from our pediatrician's office to find out if we need a referral to Timko Hearing Aids. Thankfully, one of the audiologists that I worked with for 8 years in the school system now works for Timko! We are ready to get our little boy some hearing!!!!

Ready For Tomorrow's ENT Visit

2010-03-30T23:33:00.000-04:00

Kurt and I are anxious for tomorrow's ENT appointment for Jackson. We are hopeful that he will have significant improvement in his hearing with a BAHA because he loves to press the side of his head onto our face and mouths as we are talking or singing to him. He seems to be recognizing certains words that we say without a sign language cue.
Please join us as we lift Jackson up in prayer to the Lord that he will not have any other associated syndromes or problems. We know that we will be prepared for anything that happens, but for Jackson's sake, we hope that there won't be anything else involved.
I was finally able to get Jackson's Social Security Number/Card issued on Monday...it only took 2 trips to the SS office. We needed his Certificate of Citizenship, 2 documents from China that were translated and notarized in China (Birth Certificate and Adoption Decree), his Chinese Passport, and my driver's license...not to mention we had to fill out the SS application. We were originally told that we only needed his COC, adoption decree and my driver's license.
I have tons of pictures that I want to post to catch up on the past couple of weeks. Hopefully tomorrow when we come home from Shands we will have more information about Jackson's microtia/atresai/anotia and can post more pictures!
Blessings,
Stacy

Making Peace

2010-03-30T15:16:00.001-04:00

A Little Bit of This ~ A Little Bit of That

2010-03-30T15:15:00.001-04:00

Here are the kids with our 2010 Census form. I had actually filled it out a week ago, but just got around to taking a picture of it and the kids! Ok, trying to figure out the new blogger and uploading pictures. I guess I will just add them and then type. Jackson likes to wear Kurt's baseball hats and always put them on sideways. He is so busy that we're having a difficult time capturing the smiles because he's so fast...we've even had the occassional turn of the head when he sees the camera coming out. We enjoyed dinner at Outback to celebrate my uh-hem39th-uh-hem birthday. My sister-in-love Angela, hosted a baby shower to welcome Jackson, and of course you could find him at the table of goodies! We spent the day on Sunday outside doing yardwork before the rains came...2 days of worth. Jackson enjoyed the swing today. Jackson will now sit and play on his toddler bed and loves anyone to lay next to him and pretend to sleep. And of course, how could I not post a picture of Jackson tootin' his own horn!!! He will use anything and make a horn out of it and walk around pretending to make music!!!

ENT Referral Date

2010-03-10T16:43:00.001-05:00

Hurray! We received the phone call from Shands and have an appointment for Wednesday, March 31st. Although this is later than what I would like, it is during our Spring Break and I won't have to take a day off of work.

A FEW OF HIS FAVORITES

2010-03-06T20:59:00.002-05:00

These are just a few of Jackson's favorite things! He loves his stacking cups, his board books and his boxes. When we were in China, Jackson had a prized possession...his empty shoebox that he would put his toys in, carry around, then empty out and then sit on the box to play with the toys. We still have that box, although it is not the one pictured. It is now missing it's lid...I just can't part with it yet. He still loves to put his toys in it, but he does also love any type of bag...Target, Walmart, Publix "Green" bag, baby gift bag, etc. He puts EVERYTHING in it and then totes it around! And then he plays the dump and fill game!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub!

2010-03-06T20:55:00.001-05:00

Love Me Some C*L*E*A*N Baby!!!!!

When EAST Meets SOUTH!

2010-03-06T20:30:00.002-05:00

I introduced Jackson to his first bowl of cheese grits! And it was a pleasant one at that! He L.O.V.E.D. every tiny morsel of gr*t in his bowl! So glad that this southern girl has a grits eating partner!

Can you tell he is a character? And, by the way, I unfortunately do believe that Kurt and I were the ones to ruin his impecable table manners while we were in China...when a child will eat 3 plates full of food with chopsticks and it takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R! We told him he could use his fingers! Besides, isn't that what they're for???

Oh, yeah, my little man also loves him some fried okra!!!!!

Referral Approved!

2010-03-06T13:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we received our phone call from our insurance that Jackson's referral was approved to go to the Pediatric ENT. We will be going to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. We now wait for the appointment to be scheduled and for the phone call.

More, Please, and All Done!

2010-03-04T12:38:00.002-05:00

We are still waiting to hear about the approval of Jackson's referral to the Pediatric ENT at either Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital or Shands. Apparently when the dr. writes URGENT on the referral, the health insurance carrier gets to determine what is urgent...and urgent to them is a matter of life or death.

So in the meantime I thought I would post about how well Jackson is learning sign language. These are pictures of him signing, More, Please and All Done! There a has been a couple of instances where Jackson will come up to you or stop while he's playing and look at you. Then he will start waving his arm and babble. Then he looks at you like you should have understood everything he just signed. He get's E.X.C.I.T.E.D! when he learns a new sign and will use it over and over again. He recently did this with the sign for COLD!

One Month TOGETHER

2010-03-03T14:51:00.004-05:00

Monday, March 1st, marked the 1 month of Jackson being placed in our arms. During this month we have all come so far! Everyday, when Kurt comes home from work, he remarks about how much Jackson is growing and changing.

We often talk about how "shut down" Jackson was on that cold February day. Little did we know how warm and snuggly our new little boy would be!

Jackson is so much like Jadon, it is amazing. He is ALL boy and doesn't stop moving! Although, he does go down for naps and bedtime fairly easy.

He is beginning to take to Maggie, our 80lb. Chocolate Lab. Everyday he asks, by pointing to Maggie and grunting, to go see her. Last night he even laughed as he was petting her with us.

We have been so graciously blessed by our Little Man! We look forward to our lifetime being filled with his warmth, smiles, kisses, hugs and even taking over our bed! We will have to try and get pictures sometime of how methodical he is in staking his claim in our King size bed!

Lovin' Life

2010-02-24T17:06:00.005-05:00

Jackson is so full of life!

He is settling in beautifully!

He keeps us in stitches daily! He is very much like his BIG brother!

He is into EVERYTHING!!!!

He can now spontaneously sign and use correctly the following signs: please, more, eat, daddy, poo-poo, stinky.

He understands the signs for these and also the signs for no, mommy, wait, sit-down, dog, sleep, all-done.

His Giardia test came back negative. This is a very contagious parasite that many of the kids come home with.

He is now officially on our health insurance, so we are waiting for our appointment to the Pediatric ENT. More than likely the first visit will be a consult with a general diagnosis, but then it would not surprise me if we have to make another appointment for the MRI/CT Scan. I'm not sure which one they will do.

I think we're all on the same time zone now.

We will be getting his hair cut soon.

He doesn't like for me to leave the room, but we've been working on this. He did very well staying here at the house for an hour with my mom while I went and picked the kids up from school.

He loves to be tickled. He will lay on the floor and lift up his shirt and pat his belly to tell you that he wants you to tickle him.

e still loves to eat and he has enjoyed all of the yummy meals that our friends have been bringing over! Thanks, guys!!! You have all been so generous and thoughtful!!

He asks everyday, numerous times a day, to go and see the dog. This is BIG! He is still afraid of the dog, but everyday is a new day!

We bought a crib and a changing table. Hopefully Kurt will be able to get it all together this weekend. It will be awhile before Jackson is sleeping on his toddler bed and we feel more comfortable with him contained! We will then start having Jackson nap in his room and then hopefully transition his nighttime sleeping to his room.

So much to get done today! The dust has collected since my in-laws left and we are so thankful for all that they did for us while we were gone!

I will try to post more often! Hopefully Kurt can figure out what's wrong with our desktop not being able to read our disc from the camera. I'm having to use the netbook, also, to complete the posts.

Last thought for today...the other day Jadon says to me, "Thank you for adopting Jackson!" It just melted this mommy's heart!

Spam Blog

2010-02-15T17:23:00.002-05:00

We want to apologize to everyone again about all of the spam posts. We have changed all of our passwords and disabled our ability to post via email. If this doesn't work, we will be contacting blogger to see if it can be fixed!

Stacy

Home, Safe and Sound

2010-02-13T03:16:00.002-05:00

We arrived home safely tonight. It is now 3:16am and I am the only one still awake. We will post more tomorrow about our flights.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

It's GREAT! to be home!!!

Last Post from Guangzhou

2010-02-11T01:45:00.001-05:00

Today was a beautiful day as we walked around the Flower Market. The Flower Market only happens 5 days a year here in China. We were able to briefly watch the opening ceremony. We walked around and looked at all of the beautiful flowers for sale.

We were also stalked by the papaparazzi the entire time. Many of the other families in our group were taking pictures of them taking pictures of us.

We are packing to fly out to Beijing tonight. Please keep us in your prayers.

We hope to post one more time from Beijing before we fly out! If we can't, we want to thank all of you for following our journey and for your prayers!

See you all stateside!!!

All our love,
Kurt, Stacy and Jackson!!!

Oath Ceremony

2010-02-10T08:31:00.001-05:00

This afternoon it became official that Dang HeKuan is now Jackson Kuan Swartzlander!!!! We went by bus to the US Consulate here in Guangzhou to have our official Oath Ceremony.

Jackson is now officially our son in the eyes of the United States of America! When we touch down in San Francisco, California, Jackson will officially become a citizen of the U.S.of.A.!!!!!

His little world has already changed so much! All of the families tonight joked at dinner that all of our newly adopted children will be expecting breakfast buffets when we return home!

Jackson missed his nap, but was able to fall asleep on the drive to the consulate. It was blistering hot, but in keeping with Chinese custom, we have tried our best when in public to keep his arms covered and legs covered. I truly think that is why so many of the new babies are so fussy with their new parents is because they are soooo hot!!!!

Tomorrow morning (Thursday morning-your Wednesday evening) we will be going to the flower market. Apparently this only happens 4 or 5 times a year in China. One place we wished we would have had time to visit was the medicinal market!

Tomorrow afternoon we leave our hotel here in GZ for the airport. We will fly from GZ to Beijing and will be staying at the Sino-Swiss Hotel. Our flight doesn't arrive in Beijing until 10:00pm. We are unsure as to whether we will be able to post anything. It will depend on our internet access in Beijing!

Our flight home will be leaving Beijing on Friday afternoon at 1:40pm and arriving in San Francisco some 13 hours later. We will have a 4 hour layover. This should hopefully give us enough time to clear immigration with the infamous "Brown Envelope" and get through customs to recheck our bags and catch our flight HOME!!! We are expected to arrive in Orlando at 9:15pm on Friday 2/12!!!

Red Couch Tradition

2010-02-10T08:12:00.001-05:00

It is a tradition for adoptive families to take pictures of their newly adopted children on the "Red Couch" at the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island.

This morning we went with the Hoaglands by Taxi to the island to take our pictures and to finish shopping!

We are finding it difficult to get Jackson's attention while taking pictures and then when we do have his attention, it is difficult to maintain it. We have found that Jackson can recognize the sound of laughter and will look up from what he is doing and begin laughing along with you.

These are a few of the better shots!

love me some noodles!!!

2010-02-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

After shopping on the island this morning, we stopped for lunch at the White Swan Deli. They have a delicious noodle and pork soup. Although it was probably close to 80 degrees and we were sweating it still sounded good.

Jackson is a little noodle pro! Kurt isn't too bad himself.

Sorry there aren't more pictures of me, but I seen to be having some seriously B.A.D. hair days here in GZ...maybe I should have left my hair longer for the trip so I could just pull it back in a ponytail!

Advertising Hackers

2010-02-09T16:12:00.000-05:00

Please over look any advertisements posted to our blog. We are not posting these, apparently advertisers have hacked in and posted. We will remove them as soon as we are aware of the postings. Thank you for taking this journey with us!

Gotcha Day and 1 Week Later

2010-02-08T22:49:00.001-05:00

We wanted to show you how much Jackson has adjusted in just one week's time.

He is a sweetheart!

He is funny!

He is obstinate!

He is loving!

He is a tease!

He is a great eater!

He is CLEVER!

He is smart!

He is handsome!

He is LOVED!!!!

He is OURS!!!!

I don't know what order the pictures were posted, but you will be able to tell the difference between the first time we held him on Feb. 1st (Gotcha Day) and yesterday Feb. 8th!

We just got word that we passed our Consulate Appointment!! Another BIG milestone! Jackson will be issued his Visa. Tomorrow we have our Oath Ceremony at the US Consulate!!!!

Our little boy is COMING HOME!!!!!!!!

We are so thankful that we were obedient to God's calling on our lives! No journey is easy, but it is always worth it!! So many people have commented on how blessed and fortunate Jackson is to have us adopt him. And as much as that may be true, it cannot measure the blessings that he has given our lives and our family! We are anxious to get him home to Sydney and Jadon so that our family will be together as one!

The Robitussin has arrived!!! Thanking Jesus for our wonderful guides here in GZ that have helped us every step of the way!!

Both our guides, Jennifer and Sarah, told us yesterday how much Jackson looked like Kurt. They even said "He is definitely YOUR child!!!!" Isn't God good????? ALL THE TIME!!!!!!

Be blessed!
Stacy

Various Pictures-1

2010-02-08T07:16:00.000-05:00

TB Test

2010-02-08T06:03:00.001-05:00

> Today we went back to Shamian Island
> to the Medical Exam office to have Jackson's TB test read.
> We have been worried about it because it was getting
> bigger. When we woke up this morning it was smaller, so we
> continued to pray that he would pass. If he didn't, then
> he would have to have a chest xray.
>
> When it was being read, they had to mark it with a pen so
> that they could measure it from point to point. Praise the
> Lord!!! He passed!! It was right at 10mm the limit!!!!
>
> I can't remember if I posted this but Jackson had to have 4
> vaccinations. The day after the vaccinations he was
> running a fever of 101.4 and not feeling well. He was a
> trooper as we traveled to a tomb of a dead emperor that was not stroller
> friendly. It was also raining ALL day!
>
> After the TB test was read, we boarded the bus to go to Yue
> Xiu Park to see the "5 Rams Statue". This is the symbol of
> GZ. I will have to post at another time it's
> significance.
>
> We then went to the Pearl Market, only to find that it was
> closed already for Chinese New Year. Our guide made some
> phone calls and then took us to another store that sold
> quality pearls. We were able to purchase pearls for
> Jackson to give to his bride and a strand of black pearls
> for myself and another special little girl in our life! I
> don't think they were as inexpensive as they would have been
> in the other market, but we really wanted to get them.
>
> We may do a few picture only posts because we have so many
> photos that we want to share.
>
> We do want any other families that are following our blog
> and are coming to GZ soon to know to bring short sleeve
> shirts and a lightweight jacket or sweat shirt.
> Nothing is worse than being too hot!
>
>
>

Feb. 6th Medical Exam Day

2010-02-06T04:13:00.001-05:00

Today was a sad day for Jackson! He was not very happy being at the Medical Exam office. But, we survived.

The weather outside was slightly breezy, but VERY humid, as you'll be able to tell by my hair!! I don't know if I've ever seen my hair this out of control!

Jackson ate a great breakfast, but was grumpy this morning.

We rode the bus with all of the other families from WACAP to the island and walked through the White Swan hotel. The inside is beautiful, but the outside has much to be desired.

We began our walk to the Medical Exam office and that is where the humidity began! I forgot to mention that we were able to borrow a stroller from our hotel for Jackson which we are so thankful for! It was a long week carrying him around everywhere. But, I know it was great for bonding!!! So wish we would have just bought the Ergo carrier!!!

Once we walked into the Medical Exam office we knew that we were in for it. I'm not sure if there was air conditioning, but there was at LEAST 30 other families in there with us! Plus, all of the other family members they brought with them. And then there were strollers and crying children!!! A doctor's office nightmare!!

Our guide was wonderful getting us where we needed to be. And this is where the crying began. Jackson weighed in at 11.7 kg which converts to a whoppin' 25.79 pounds and was 82 cm long which converts to 32.3 inches. After weight and height we went to the medical exam room where the female doctor began to examine HIM! Once she removed his diaper to check him, she gasped and started laughing, saying "It's a Boy!!!...I thought it was a girl!!!" She must not have read that on his medical reports. So, she had to call in the male doctor to check him out.

Then we waited to see the ENT. He examined both sides of his head for his ears and used the otoscope to look into his little ear and then made notes in his file. Jackson had no response to the little keyboard that he played, but did respond to the squeaky rubber duck that he snuck around to his little ear. Then the wait began for his vaccinations and TB test.

Jackson required 4 vaccinations and his TB test. This was hearwrenching to have to hold him for them all. I love our nurses at home who do this with such expertise! Please pray that Jackson's TB test will be negative. We go back on 2/8 to have it looked at. If it is positive, then he will have to have a chest xray.

Thankfully we were able to watch them open the vaccination boxes from the refridgerator and we were given all of the boxes to bring home to Dr. Ahmed along with his shot record from the orphanage and the Medical Exam office.

We ate lunch at a deli/noodle restaurant. Kurt and I enjoyed the Rice Noodle with pork soup. We thought that Jackson would love it because he was hungry, but started his next tantrum. He wanted no part of the noodles. It seems that the tantrum begins as something small but turns into grieving. It is difficult to listen to the sobbing to the point of almost vomiting. But we know that this is all part of the process and we continue to pray that he will allow us to comfort him.

The best part of today was getting Jackson's chops. This is a traditional Chinese stamp that has his American name and the characters for his Chinese name. Jackson was born in 2007 which was the year of the Golden Pig. So his chop has a pig on top.

Jackson just woke up from his 2 hour nap and we have given him Tylenol. It seems that his little legs are hurting him.

Tomorrow is a day of sightseeing. We're not sure where we are going. We have not yet been to the Pearl Market. So, I hope that is where we are going. We are trying to buy gifts for Jackson to give to him on his birthdays. We probably won't be able to do a gift each year, but we would like to buy a strand of pearls to put aside for him to give to his wife one day. (And maybe a strand of black pearls for Mama, too!)

Passport and Flying to Guangzhou

2010-02-06T03:42:00.001-05:00

We had to have our bags packed and ready for the BellBoy to pick up at 9:00am, with hopes of leaving to the airport at 9:30am.

As of 9:15am, Sarah, our awesome guide was still at the office trying to get Jackson's passport issued! Fortunately, she had a friend, who had a friend, must have been God, and Jackson's passport was issued.

We left for the airport by 10:15am. Thankfully our flight had been delayed by 30 minutes because the Hoaglands were having issues getting through security. Apparently one of their checked luggage had been flagged because it contained a small can of hairspray.

We made it in time for our flight. Jackson did wonderfully. He did have a couple of tantrums on the plane but they centered around food. He didn't like being buckled into the seat and had soon figured out how to unbuckle. This was the first time that he has tried to bite me

The Garden Hotel

2010-02-06T03:34:00.001-05:00

We are in heaven!!!! This is probably the most spectacular hotel we have ever stayed in! We have a suite with soo much room!

We arrived here on Friday, Feb. 5th at 4:00pm The surrounding area is awesome! It seems to be very Americanized and feels safe! We even have a Starbucks!

Jackson had his first McDonald's experience and seemed to love the chicken nuggets except for the batter it is fried in. After dinner and a stop at the 7-11 next door to buy bottled water, we headed back to the hotel to bathe Jackson and get him to bed.

Jackson still doesn't like taking a bath very much, so I actually got in the bathtub with him and the toys and he did ok, until it was time to wash his HEADFUL of hair! I forgot how slippery babies are in the tub when you are in there with them! It would NOT have been a Kodak moment!

The outside of the hotel is decorated for Chinese New Year so we will probably head out there to take pictures of the decorations with Jackson in them.

We do wish that this hotel was on Shamain Island where all of the shops are. I was hoping to avoid anymore Taxi rides while here in China!

Pictures of Airport and Flying

2010-02-06T03:24:00.001-05:00

Pizza Hut

2010-02-06T03:13:00.001-05:00

As I said earlier, Jackson loved the Pizza!!! We had a difficult time catching a taxi back to the hotel, but we eventually got back so that we could put Jackson to bed and pack up for the next day's departure to Guanzhou.

We should have received Jackson's passport on this day but for some reason there were delays. We weren't even sure if we would have it to fly out. Thankfully the Hoaglands are Christians and they had been praying fervently, as well as Kurt and I, and my mom!

Last Night in Taiyuan

2010-02-06T03:06:00.001-05:00

Our last evening in Taiyuan was spent with the Hoagland at Pizza Hut. Jackson loved the pizza with everything on it! He is really such a sweet boy even though he continues to have tantrums. The tantrums usually stem from being told "No" when he throws toys or has something taken away from him. The pictures are of our hotel in Shanxi. We had planned on getting a picture of our TINY room...but we ran out of time/forgot. We literally only had the walking space between the end of the bed and the dresser/desk. Only enough room for one person to walk by at a time.

Last Day in Taiyuan

2010-02-04T02:19:00.001-05:00

Today is our last day in Taiyuan. We leave for the airport at 9:30am. We have been here in Taiyuan with another family, the Hoaglands. They have been wonderful and have been an answer to our prayers. This is there 2nd adoption from China. Our guide, Sarah, has been a God-send! She is a lot of fun, personable and funny. We will miss her greatly when we leave.

Tomorrow afternoon, we meet up with Mark and Leslie that we spent our time in Beijing with. They adopted a 3 year old girl that just had cochlear implants. Their entire family is deaf. I am looking forward to seeing what Jackson's reaction will be when he spends time with them. When he is tired, he gets angry when I try and sign simple things to him! We're hoping that they will have advice for us! We will also meet up with the Goreckis. Kerri and I have been emailing each other for a few months now. She has been wonderful during the torturous wait for our Travel Approval.

Hopefully we will have a better internet connection in GZ. It has been especially difficult not having the video portion of our Skype working with Sydney and Jadon. We miss them terribly and can't wait to get home
to them!

Thank you, Angela, for getting our posts onto our blog! It has been frustrating not being able to share all of the details in length! Our hotel room is TINY!!! We literally only have one walking path in our room. That is between the beds and the dresser area which we could not unpack our suitcases because there aren't any drawers! The lights are frustrating because they are on motion sensors and are not very bright.

Jackson had his first ice cream this afternoon, but of course we forgot to bring the camera. We also forgot to bring wipes for clean up! He really enjoyed it and wish we could have captured the moment he was waiting for more with his tongue hanging out!!!! Have I mentioned that we have to hide the food in our room! HE LOVES IT!!!! It was vanilla, so maybe tomorrow in GZ we can try chocolate!!!

Our next post will be from GZ. Please pray for Jackson for his first airplane ride!!

WE ARE IN LOVE!!!!

2010-02-04T02:03:00.001-05:00

Is it too obvious?

Jackson is so smart! Although he is small, we often forget that he is almost 2 1/2 years old. He LOVES books! We know that he has been read to. He was very quiet this morning after his bath and then I gave him his book to look at. His eyes lit up and before I knew it, he was turning the pages and babbling away. We still are not sure what he can hear. We know that he heard Kurt sneeze really loud! When he wants to read, he will get a book and make his way to you and show you the book and turn around and back-up into your lap.

We went to Wal-Mart today (yes, we traveled all the way to China, just to go to Wal-Mart)bought Pampers, shoes for Jackson, a Chinese New Year decoration for him and foam blocks. He was so excited when we opened the package of blocks. He sat and played for a long time with them. He was even stacking them with Kurt. When he was done playing he INSISTED that HE be the one to clean them up. We have seen much evidence that he was raised well over the past year and a half with his foster family. We also received everything back that we sent in his care package. He also new what everything was. When we get to Guangzhou, we will develop the pictures from the disposable cameras.

A Little Bit of Sunshine in China...

2010-02-04T01:51:00.001-05:00

to brighten our day!

All Smiles!

2010-02-04T01:45:00.001-05:00

We hope you enjoy the pictures of Jackson. He is attaching beautifully to both of us. He is beginning to show some "True Colors" by getting upset with us and having little tantrums.

Our posts will be small because we don't think blogger is handling the overload of our sweet boy too well.

He's more than we could have dreamed for!

It's Official

2010-02-03T17:50:00.005-05:00

I won't be able to write much,> because it's too much to send with the photos, and I know> all that you really care about are the pictures anyway!!> > I don't know if the pictures are posting in the order that> I send but in hopes that they do, I'll give a brief> description of each!> > Jackson is an official RedWings fan!!!> This boy can use some chopsticks! He is very> methodical in how he uses them and can put away a plate of> food!!!!> We had to wait about 30 minutes before our appt. with Civil> Affairs, so we are waiting to go in.> I love this picture of Kurt and Jackson together waiting to> make it official in China's eyes!> Jackson LOVED watching us put our thumbprints on a> gazillion signed papers. He would laugh and laugh and> tried to get the red stamp pad. We were unable to get> a picture of them stamping his handprint on everything,> because the Civil Affairs Officer came and stood in front> when it happened.> > What a great day!!!!> >

Drive to Datong

2010-02-03T17:45:00.005-05:00

We had a 3 1/2 hour drive to Datong,> the city where Jackson is from. We are relieved to> have made it there safely because our driver kept falling> asleep through the mountainous terrain!! And everyone> else in the van that spoke Chinese was sleeping, too!!!> > Enjoy the beauty of the countryside!>

Jackson's Finding Place

2010-02-03T17:43:00.004-05:00

We were able to visit Jackson's finding place. He was found at the Datong Station (train station) in the waiting square near a flower bed.

Orphanage Visit

2010-02-03T17:41:00.004-05:00

We were also very blessed to visit the orphanage where Jackson spent some of his time. I am not able to post most of the pictures because they are of the children that Jackson was with. I can't wait until all of these babies find a home. I did see two that I know have a home and their mommies are coming real soon to get them!!!!!

Wednesday February 3

2010-02-03T17:32:00.006-05:00

Today is our free day. We did not get back from Datong until 9:30pm. After we ate breakfast we went with the Hoaglands, the other family here with us in Shanxi from our agency, to the "Foreigners Bookstore", by taxi and then took the taxi to the mall. It was too upscale and so we took a taxi back to the hotel. Kurt and Jackson are taking a nap and I'm fighting with our internet connection to be able to post these myself.I'm hoping that my sweet sister-in-law, Angela, is able to get all of these on our blog!Jackson is doing well. Today we saw his cleverness...he and Kurt were playing with the toys. When he saw that Kurt was coming near him, he took all of the toys and scooped them up so they would be in front of them and kept his arms around them. Once he understood that Kurt wasn't going to take them, they played. Jackson finally started hiding them under our hotel bed and would started laughing!!!He is very well natured and mild-mannered. If he doesn't want something he will let you know. We have introduced quite a few signs to him, hoping that by

Driving To Datong

2010-02-03T01:47:00.001-05:00

We had a 3 1/2 hour drive to Datong, the city where Jackson is from. We are relieved to have made it there safely because our driver kept falling asleep through the mountainous terrain!! And everyone else in the van that spoke Chinese was sleeping, too!!!

Enjoy the beauty of the countryside!

Gotcha Day-Part 2

2010-02-01T10:48:00.001-05:00

Introducing our son, Jackson Kuan Swartzlander!!!!

BirthPlace: Datong, Shanxi, China
Birthdate: August 22, 2007
Given Name: HeKuan

We were scheduled to get Jackson at 3:00pm but they were stuck in traffic. It was well after 4:00 when they arrived! He did so well coming to me and then to Kurt. He was very somber, but was continually checking things out in the room. There were 2 other families getting their children.

We did not leave there until after 5:00pm. Once we were back at the hotel, we had to finish up other paperwork because we WILL be traveling to Daton tomorrow morning. Kurt and I have totally given this part of our journey over to the Lord. It is a long drive and we had been denied previous requests to go.

We went to the Chinese restaurant in our hotel for dinner. We hand fed Jackson the inside of the dumplings until he was ready to eat the dumpling itself. When the fried rice came, we put some on his plate and before we knew it, he had picked up his chopsticks with his left hand, turned the plate with his right hand and started shoveling in the rice!!! It was hysterical!

We colored for a little while this evening and he even made himself laugh quite a few times. He would even start to smile when Kurt kissed his neck.

He can walk but we think he was always held and carried, so we will be practicing that everyday.

His little ear does have an ear canal, but the ear covers it quite a bit. We have not been able to get him to turn to his name when called, but turned when Kurt clapped behind him a few times!

He is wearing a size 18month and weighed approximately 9kg. with the clothes we put on him (overalls and a shirt and shoes) We have a scale in our bathroom...how convenient!

Our post will be very late tomorrow, because of the traveling. Hopefully when we have the free day we will be able to post more pictures.

Thank you for the prayers! Today has truly been miraculous!

Gotcha Day!!!!

2010-02-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Day 2- Hutong

2010-01-31T08:54:00.001-05:00

After leaving the Forbidden City, we went to tour the silk factory. We thought this was very interesting...we were able to see how they take a silk worm cocoon, soak it in water,find a single thread of the silk and then thread it through a tiny hole to attach to the machine to spin it. We learned about double cocoons and single cocoons. After the intense sales chase, we were off to Hutong. These are the flat houses that we toured and road in a rickshaw. The rickshaw ride was fun, but touring the flat houses was depressing. It is also sad to think that although Jackson has been in fostercare, which is the best situation for him, it is possible that he has been living in something like the flat houses.
The pictures are of us riding in the rickshaw, a view of the outside of the flat house and the kitchen.
After visiting Hutong, we went back to our hotel to rest for a little over an hour. Then it was off to the acrobatics show. This was enjoyable, but we were ready to head back and pack up.
Tomorrow morning we meet our new guide, Cherry, and she will get us to the airport, help us get our tickets and then send us on our way through security to catch our flight to Taiyuan (pronounce Tie-yen). This is the capitol of Shanxi and is where we will get Jackson at the Civil Affairs office. We are hoping that when we arrive, we will have time to check into our hotel room, freshen up, and then pack a backpack of much needed Cheerios, DumDum lollipops, a couple of toys, some diapers and anything else we can think of.
Our next post we will be honored to finally introduce our son, Jackson Kuan to you. We will probably start the posts with the earliest picture we have of Jackson at 1 year old, then 20 months old, 25 months old, and then Gotcha Day pictures-29 months old.
Please pray that we have a safe flight. Also, Jackson will be riding in a van from Datong with another little boy who is being adopted from his orphanage and will be living in Sweden. It is about a 3-4 hour drive. They will be exhausted and hungry, I'm sure!! Please pray that the Gotcha Day transition will go smoothly and that Jackson will allow us to comfort him when he grieves.
We miss everyone and are so thankful for each of you! Thank you for your prayers and your words of encouragement and wisdom this past year!
We are looking forward to sharing this miraculous moment in our family's life with you all! (This is much better than inviting you all into the delivery room with me!) HA!
It is our prayer that our call to adoption and our journey will somehow touch your life and that you will be forever changed! God has called us all to take care of the orphans and the widows! Please ask the Lord to show you what He has planned for you and your family! You might just very well be God's plan for an orphan!!!
Tomorrow there will be 1 less orphan in the world, but only because we w

Day 1- The Great Wall

2010-01-30T05:10:00.001-05:00

After the Jade Factory we headed to The Great Wall. It was simply breathtaking, and then we had to climb it!!! Unfortunately I was not able to make it to the top. Between the cold weather and my body still adjusting to the time change, it just wasn't happening! Kurt did make it up. We were able to get beautiful pictures of it and the surrounding area.

While at the Wall we ran into the adoptive family that we met on our flight. They had just been at the Jade Factory.

We hope that you enjoy the pictures. I'm not sure how crisp the pictures will look. It is extremely hazy here.

Tomorrow we will go to The Forbidden City, Tiennamin Square, visit a flat house and ride on a rickshaw. In the evening we will go to the acrobatic show. Then back to the hotel to pack! Our little mini-vacation before getting Jackson is almost over.

We were able to Skype again with the kids. Please pray for Sydney, she has caught a stomach virus from school. She really did not look good and I'm sure us being gone is not making her feel any better!

Day 1-Jade Factory

2010-01-30T04:55:00.001-05:00

Our first day started early. We woke up at 2:15am and then were able to go back to sleep until 4:15/4:30. We got up and turned the tv on and were able to find something on HBO to watch. After getting ready we headed down to our hotel restaurant for breakfast. I was already feeling adventurous, so I ate some traditional Chinese breakfast foods with my scrambled eggs....fried rice and fried spaghetti! It was YUMMY!

We met our guide and another WACAP family that we are traveling part of the time with. The entire family is deaf and then I realized that one of the grandmothers in the group was a woman I had worked with at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind when I went to Flagler College. It truly is a small world!

We went to the Jade Factory and learned how they carve the jade, the reasons for the different colors of Jade and also how to identify the glass "jade" and the marble "jade" and the authentic Jade.

We spent quite a long time walking around looking at everything they had. There were many beautiful pieces. While shopping you were constantly followed by a salesgirl...and I mean followed as in right on your heels. We did make a small purchase for Jackson.

The weather is cold, but not unbearable. We're not having to wear long-johns, so it's all good!!

We Have Arrived In Beijing!!!!

2010-01-29T06:08:00.001-05:00

We arrived right on schedule this afternoon at 4:31pm in Beijing

We are thankful that the flight is over. It was very easy getting through customs and immigration and we walked through the thermal scanners without a problem.

The ride to the hotel was quite fascinating! 6 lanes of traffic without really having any lanes! And it appears that red lights are optional!!!

Tomorrow morning we meet with our guide at 9:00am to visit the Great Wall! We are hoping to tour with the other WACAP family that is staying in the same hotel. They are a deaf family that is adopting their daughter who is also deaf. I guess I will be brushing up on my skills tonight!

We are unable to view our blog, so we hope that it all turns out ok. We do not have any pictures yet to post.

I forgot to mention that when we were able to get out of our seats on the plane and stand for about 30 minutes we were able to view Siberia! It was breathtaking!

Sydney and Jadon, we love you and miss you! Mommy and Daddy are safe!! Do a great job in school today and Jadon, good luck at your soccer tournament! Put the moves on them!!!

When we got on the plane this morning, Kurt surprised me with a 10 year anniversary card. Our anniversary was Dec. 4.th. When we were first married, we dreamed of going to Alaska for our 10 Year Anniversary. Before we decided to adopt, we decided to go to Charleston and just do something small. But when we began the adoption process we joked that we would be going to China instead!!!! (And be having another baby!!!) He then surprised me with a necklace that I had been looking at for a year! I had wanted it so that I could wear it on Gotcha Day for Jackson! It has his photo on it! I was stunned!!!! Kurt is going to take a picture and try to post it! I must apologize for the way I look!!! We just got in from the airport and wanted to see if we could blog!!!!

Thank you for your prayers!! We have felt God's blessing and covering on us throughout the trip.

We are going to head down to the lobby and take a few pictures and see what is here.

Blessings! Stacy

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

2010-01-27T20:34:00.002-05:00

We are packing the suitcases in the car.

Heading out to OIA.

Kids just finished playing charades with Oma and Grandma!

What a hoot!

If we don't post tomorrow before we leave from Chicago, we will post once we are in our hotel in Beijing.

Thank you for all your prayers this past year! We have felt His covering over our lives! Thank you for joining us in this calling on our lives!

We love you all!!!

Stacy and Kurt

24

2010-01-27T08:24:00.001-05:00

Today's number is 24...24 hours! or 1...1 day

We are set to leave at 8:00am TOMORROW!

We were awake until 2:15am...for those of you that know me...my bedtime, if I had my choice, would be 8:00pm!

So, this morning, it called for a large Coke AND a large sweet Tea from Chick-fil-A! I'm not liking the thought of NOT having a sweet tea to start my morning, but I'm banking on finding the local 7-11 that all of my bloggy friends have been stopping by while in China to find a Coke or at least a Diet Coke.

Our bags are mostly packed.

We are a walking pharmacy!

We are a walking vending machine!

We are a northern winter clothing store!

We are a mild FL winter clothing store!

We have diapers,

wipes,

nose suckers,

stacking cups,

bubbles,

balloons,

books,

crayons,

dvds,

and so much more!

Now all we need is our

SON!

We are 121 hours away from our son, our little brother, our grandson, our nephew, our cousin, our neighbor, our brother in Christ, a child of God!

This little boy is getting so much more than a mama and dada; he has an entire forever family waiting to hold him, tickle him, kiss him, and just stand in awe of a miracle right before our very eyes. And he's even getting...

a dog!

But with all of that, our son is losing all he's ever known.

And it will be heartbreaking!

Please pray! (I will send out another post of specific prayers requests for our family and our son!)

We are still hoping to upload a practice video clip.

Still so much we feel we need to do...

but it's time to let some of that go!

All that matters is that we're going to get our SON!

5 More Days!

2010-01-23T19:02:00.004-05:00

Can you believe that we only have 5 more days until we head out?

Today was spent packing my suitcase...well, it turned out to be Jackson's suitcase! We decided to go ahead and go to T*rget to buy Jackson his own little suitcase with a cute rocket on it. After running errands and picking up the last minute items, except for the travel Charmin toilet paper that no one in town seems to have right now, we arrived home and starting looking at Jackson's new suitcase. Boy, it sure looked bigger in the store! I managed to fit a few pairs of jammies in it and a few outfits, but everything else were the gifts that we take to give to our guides and the officials to show our appreciation. I'm praying that Kurt will have extra room in his suitcase to accomodate my clothes, too! Thankfully, on our return flight we will be able to check a full size suitcase for Jackson. You can pick them up in GZ for next to nothing!

Kurt is making the final electronics run. Skype is set up on all of our computers. We were practicing in the house, checking video, sound checks...gotta say I love it! We usually use MSN Messenger with Kurt's parents in Michigan. 2 THUMBS UP for SKYPE!

Kurt's parents should be arriving on Monday evening. We're hoping Sydney can make it just 2 more days with a sparkling, clean room!! Well, maybe not sparkling, but probably the best it's looked since I cleaned it while she was gone this summer!

We will try to do a test of posting video to the blog before we leave. Stefanie over at NiHao Y'all just returned from adopting their sweet Vivi and was able to post a brief video each day. It is truly remarkable to see the progress these little ones make each and every day that they are with their Forever Family!

7 Days and counting....

2010-01-21T20:23:00.002-05:00

We received our Travel Itinerary tonight.

It's beginning to feel more REAL!

1/28- Fly out of Orlando 8:00am

1/29-Arrive in Beijing 4:25pm (3:25am 1/29 back home) PEACE NOVOTEL HOTEL

1/30-Sight-seeing in Beijing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong Tour

1/31-Sight-seeing including the Great Wall

2/01-Fly to Taiyuan, Shanxi GRAND SHANXI HOTEL
GOTCHA DAY!!!!!! Pick Up Jackson Kuan in the afternoon!!!!!!!!!

2/02-Adoption Processing

2/03-Sight-seeing in Taiyuan

2/04-No arranged activity

2/05-Pick up notarized documents and Jackson's passport. Fly to Guangzhou
GARDEN HOTEL

2/06-Medical Exam for Jackson, to include TB test

2/07-Sight-seeing in Guangzhou

2/08-Medical Exam follow-up: TB test read and prepare documents for visa interview

2/09-Visa Interview with the American Consulate at 10:00am

2/10-Oath Ceremony at American Consulate

2/11-Pick up Jackson's visa in the afternoon. Fly to Beijing and stay the night at SINO-SWISS
HOTEL

2/12-Depart Beijing 1:40pm to San Francisco to Orlando
Jackson becomes a U.S. Citizen once he steps off of the plane onto U.S. soil!!

9 Days and counting....

2010-01-19T16:05:00.002-05:00

Our flights are reserved and we are packing our bags!

We tried hard to get flights out of Daytona, but the logistics of everything wasn't in our favor.

So instead, we fly out of Orlando on Thursday, January 28th at 8:00am to Chicago. After we change planes we fly directly to Beijing and arrive at 4:24pm January 29th (China time) China is currently 13 hours ahead of us, so that will be 3:24am on Friday, January 29th for all of our family back home! On the flight back, we will fly out of Beijing on Friday, Feb. 12th into San Francisco, have a 4 hour layover to get through immigration and customs and then we'll catch our plane to Orlando and arrive at 9:15pm on Friday the 12th.

We should be receiving our travel itinerary soon. Once we have that, we will post it so that you will have a better understanding of what our trip will entail. We do know that our "Gotcha Day" will be on Monday, February 1st. This is the day that we are given temporary custody of Jackson for 24 hours. On Tuesday, Feb. 2nd, we will sign all of the legal documents in China that will be binding. And then we can post pictures of our sweet Kuan Kuan!

It's so hard to fathom that one year ago Kurt and I were praying again about this calling that God had for us. And here we stand, ready to go get our son. Our son that God had planned for us and called by name from the beginning of time. The child that I have cried out to God for, for the past 5 years. The child that God answered my prayers with.

Only 9 more days!

IT'S TIME!

2010-01-12T21:05:00.002-05:00

WE GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! our TA arrived last night!!! We are so excited and just thrilled to have this final step completed. We are waiting for our CA (Consulate Appointment) to be made. Our agency is trying to get the appointment for Feb. 2 or Feb. 3. If either one of these dates are available, then we will be leaving on Thursday, Jan. 21st and return Feb. 5th!!! Yes, you read that right!! It is only 9 days from now! If those dates are both full, then we will try for Feb. 9th or 10th and then will leave on Jan. 28th and returning Feb. 12th.

We are happy with either scenario. Soon we will be meeting our son for the first time!

Right now, we are quickly finishing the painting of his bedroom door. I have one last load of baby clothes to wash! I LOVE walking into his room...when I open the door all I smell is DREFT! Sydney and Jadon both had sensitive skin and mild eczema so we were unable to use Dreft or any sweet, baby-smelling lotions!

We will keep you updated on what our official travel dates will be. Thank you for your prayers! Please pray that the weather will start warming up in Beijing. We really want to be able to do the Beijing tour when we arrive, but the weather is quite unbearable right now. Last week the Beijing airport was closed due to snow! Please pray for Jackson. Everything that he has EVER known is going to be gone, but he will have the one thing he has NEVER known...a FOREVER FAMILY!!

GLOBAL WARMING AT IT'S BEST IN FL!!

2010-01-09T10:57:00.002-05:00

Well, when most children sleep in on Saturday mornings, our children have been bright-eyed and bushy-tailed since 6am! The weather forecast of possible sleet and snow was even a little more exciting than Christmas! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!!

"Is It Time?"

2009-12-31T09:56:00.004-05:00

A child sat on Jesus' lap in the the splendor of heaven. The child asked, "Is it time?" Jesus parted the clouds, looked and said, "No, not yet child." The child asked, "When will it be time?" Jesus replied, "When lessons are learned, hardships endured, and loneliness lived, then it will be time." Time passed. The child asked, "Is it time?" Jesus parted the clouds and looked and said, "No, not yet child" The child asked, "When will it be time?" Jesus replied, "When maturity is reached, self-worth affirmed and spirits strengthened, then it will be time." Time passed. The child asked, "Is it time?" Jesus parted the clouds, looked and said, "Their love is strong and their hearts are open. Yes, now it is time -"Your family is ready." ~Author Unknown

busy bees!

2009-12-27T22:39:00.005-05:00

Kurt and Jadon worked hard today to put together Jackson's closet. It is now fully installed and my sweet husband even hung some of the jungle animals on the wall!

Tomorrow will be day 11 in our wait for TA. We are expecting to receive it in the next couple of weeks. Once we have TA we should be traveling approximately 2 weeks after that.

We had a wonderful Christmas. The kids enjoyed opening a few Christmas packages for Jackson. We're looking forward to all that God has planned for our family in 2010!

Unless we receive our TA, I probably will not post until after the new year. We pray that God will bless your family abundantly in 2010! We pray that God will show you where you fit into His plan for the orphan!

Stacy

Updates on our little Kuan Kuan

2009-12-21T20:53:00.002-05:00

We also received an update on Jackson. With all of his L-A-Y-E-R-S of clothing he now weighs approximately 24 lbs and is 32 inches tall. Tomorrow he will be 28 months old.

Article 5

2009-12-21T20:50:00.001-05:00

And so you ask "what does that mean?" Well...we are in the final stage of waiting! Our Article 5 was issued and picked up on 12/17 to be delivered to the CCAA. Once the CCAA receives our Article 5 they will issue our Travel Approval. This can take anywhere from 3-4 weeks, according to our agency. We will probably travel 2 weeks after we receive TA!

One Step Closer

2009-12-08T17:02:00.002-05:00

Today I called USCIS to check on the status of our I800 application. The I800 is the approval to classify Jackson as an immediate relative. We received our I800 approval on Friday, 12/4. It was then sent on 12/5 to NVC, National Visa Center. From here it is cabled to the US Consulate in Guanzhou, China. This meets up with our LOA, and some other papers, gets stapled together and signed and becomes our Article 5. A worker from WACAP then picks up our Article 5 and delivers it to the CCAA. From here we wait approximately 4 weeks to receive our TA (Travel Approval).

Kurt and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on 12/4!! What a wonderful anniversary gift for us both!

Care Package and more.....

2009-11-30T19:07:00.003-05:00

Today we mailed Jackson's care package. We included 2 sign language board books, Good Night Gorilla board book (the kids' favorite), Crayola triangular crayons and a drawing pad, a Fisher Price camera that works much like a view master, although you don't put in any discs. We also included a little notebook for the foster family to write down special memories or events in Jackson's life since he has been living with them, a wooden Thomas the Train, a chunky Tonka truck, Werther's Original candies for his foster family, a disposable camera, a letter translated into Chinese, his very own "Night, Night" blanket and a Sassy photo album with our pictures in it. The pictures are also labeled in Chinese so that his foster family can try to communicate to him, using the sign language books, who we are. I did not include anything that could not be replaced, just in case he never gets the gifts. Often times, you will send a package and they only come back with the photo album and maybe a toy that you sent.

We also received our notice from USCIS that they have received our I800 application. We are hoping to have that approval in a week or so.

We purchased the Baby Signing Time DVDs to begin working on our sign language more. We will put these on our laptop to have for Jackson when we travel.

If you have been following the "Weather In Datong" widget that is off to the right of my blog, then you have noticed that it is already very cold in Datong. This morning I awoke with a heavy heart and felt God's Holy Spirit nudge me to pray for Jackson. Specifically to pray that he would be kept warm. I have enjoyed our little 2 day cold front that we had for Thanksgiving, but so often I take for granted how cold it gets in other places. Being a Florida girl, I have only experienced "cold" in Wyoming and Colorado in December, but not for an extended amount of time. Please pray for all of the orphans who are already in the beginning of their winter right now! I do not know what Jackson's living conditions are. But what I do know is that the temperatures in Datong (January/February) can get to 25 below zero. Please pray that when Jackson goes to bed tonight, that he has a full belly and warm blanket! Please pray for God to prepare his heart. Please pray that God will fill his mind with memories of his foster family and that one day he will be able to recall those memories of his life in China. Please pray for his foster mom, the only "Mama" that he has known. Pray that God prepares her heart for Jackson to leave.

It's Gonna Be A JUNGLE In Here!

2009-11-30T18:54:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned how wonderful my husband is??? I need to find a before picture, meaning BEFORE there were walls and doors to close off this bedroom. Kurt added walls, extended tile, added french doors, installed a new ceiling fan, texturized new walls, painted, pulled up old, NASTY carpet, installed the flooring, painted baseboards and put back in (which all has been a work in progress for quite a few months) and at the end of the day when I asked him at 11:00pm if he felt up to hanging the curtains, he said "Yes" with a smile on his face and a sweetness in his voice! And never showed that he was annoyed as I followed behind him and swept up the white drywall on my new floor! He is more than I deserve!!!!

Jackson's bedding is the Baby Cocoa by Lambs and Ivy. I can't wait to start hanging the wooden animals on the walls and putting the stuffed jungle animals we have purchased into his room. We are going to buy a toddler bed and then a dresser that matches Jadon's furniture. We hope he will just love it!

HELLO PERGO!!!

2009-11-30T18:46:00.003-05:00

After much hemmin'and hawwin' we finally decided on the Pergo laminant. It's beautiful, don't

'cha think?? Although it is not the best acoustics for a hearing impaired child, it IS the most practical for our family. The process to install was not difficult at all, as long as your walls are straight! But, it's all good we worked out the kinks! It's so shiny, and cool to the feet and most of all, doesn't have a lick of dog hair on it! The french doors shut to Jackson's room and is off limits to the dog! We are very pleased with our purchase!

GOOD-BYE CARPET!!!

2009-11-30T18:32:00.002-05:00

I can't say that we shed any tears as we pulled up the carpet. We have only been in our house for 4 1/2 years, but our carpet has sure seen better days. I'm sure our 2 1/2 year old chocolate lab will be sad to see it go. I have never seen a dog that could roll back the carpet (since construction of the bedroom) while you weren't looking, snack on some carpet padding and then roll the carpet back in it's proper place undetectable...except for the evidence on her whiskers and green padding scattered here and there! The kids had a great time helping! We're looking forward to trash day tomorrow...I'm not sure I can have carpet again after seeing what's under it after only 4 years!

We Said "YES!" Again!

2009-11-30T18:11:00.003-05:00

When we received our first LOA, our last name had been mispelled! We were quite concerned because we didn't know how much of a delay this could cause. Our agency has been wonderful and assured us that everything would be fixed quickly. We sent our I800 application which is our application to classify Jackson as an immediate relative. Our case manager contacted CCAA to request a corrected LOA and we received it the night before Thanksgiving. It was in the Fed Ex box Friday morning and at our agency this morning. We are so relieved that this is completed and on it's way to China! It will meet up with our I800 approval (which we are still waiting for) that gets cabled. Then the process continues to our TA. A few blogs that I have read have a wonderful explanation of the process from this point on. I will dedicate a separate post to that soon.

Painting and More Painting

2009-11-30T17:44:00.002-05:00

Kurt's dad (Grandpa) came for a week's visit and helped us paint Jackson's room. I just love the color and am pleased with our choice. Jackon's room will have a jungle theme.

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!!!!!

2009-11-13T18:37:00.003-05:00

FOR OUR LOA!!!!!!!!

We received our phone call tonight from WACAP at 5:34pm while on the soccer fields! Our case worker is estimating travel in 2 1/2-3 months! That puts us in February!!!! Exactly one year from the time we decided to adopt!

We just started painting Jackson's room tonight and I'm sure we'll be up for quite awhile this evening!

Our God is faithful and His timing is PERFECT!!! Please pray for Jackson because I'm sure they will start transitioning him soon and preparing him for our arrival. From what we know, he has been with the same foster family for over a year!

DAY 84 and praying!

2009-11-09T18:52:00.003-05:00

"but these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! for it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3

The Lord layed this scripture on my heart on Day 79. God's timing has been perfect from the moment time began! The past ten years of my life have been the fruit of God's perfect timing and His perfect plan...my husband, Sydney, Jadon and now, our "very clever" and cute Kuan Kuan! I find great peace, comfort and assurance that our LOA, our TA, our flight, and our Forever Family day "will not be late by a single day!"

TEST POST

2009-11-08T16:22:00.001-05:00

This is a test to see if we are able to post on our blog via email!

Preparing for China soon.

Painting to begin soon and decorating Jackson's room!

We received an update from a family that just returned from Datong with their

daughter.

Apparently our little Jackson is "very clever" and cute!

The End of Day 71

2009-10-27T23:34:00.003-04:00

Tonight is the end of our 71st day of waiting for our LOA.

We are hopeful to hear news soon!

We received an email from our case manager with all of our last set of papers to fill out and send back. These papers are usually completed at the same time you receive your LOA and then returned. We will be mailing ours back to our agency tomorrow evening so that they might have time to look them over before the weekend.

Although, it's not our LOA, it's movement and it's one step closer to bringing our Jackson home...One Step At A Time!

As soon as we have our LOA we will send Jackson a care package with our pictures!

Blessed Beyond Belief!

2009-10-27T18:37:00.010-04:00

Sydney and Jadon selling lemonade and chocolate chip cookies to help bring their little brother home!

We even had dogs come by and purchase items...I believe 4 or 5 dogs came!

Grandma taking a break...did I tell you that FL was setting record high temps for October???

People are still coming...

and coming...!!!!

The final hour I finally get a chance to sit down!

Sydney, Grandma, and Jadon napping after a long day...now DISNEY!