Summer's heart...

As you know, Summer has ventricular septal defect in which she has a hole in the wall between the ventricles of her heart. When we first received her paperwork it stated that the hole was 4mm. We had discussed her situation with a pediatric cardiologist and he felt like she would probably need surgery but also stated that it "might" still grow over as she grows. Well...we took Summer in for her appointment last week and they did an ultrasound and echocardiogram at the appointment. Her doctor then came in and discussed her situation with us. He drew a diagram of her heart and showed us exactly where the hole was located. He stated that it is in the membranous portion of the ventricles which is an area which is not "as likely" to close over on it's own. HOWEVER....much to his surprise there is tissue growing over the hole and it has actually shrunk down to 2 1/2mm in size. He said that is actually a very small hole and she could probably live a long life even with a hole that size without doing surgery. However, there was some concern that the blood was not only being shunted into the Left ventricle from the right ventricle but also some up into the left atrium. This is very uncommon and he felt like it was being caused by the tissue that was growing over the hole acting as a cup and causing some of the blood to go up into the atrium through the valve. The only concern with this is that the atrium is very low pressure and stretchy and they do not want it to become too enlarged with blood being pushed into it. So they will monitor this situation. He seemed to feel like the shunting up to the atrium could change as soon as that tissue grows a little bit more. Long story short....SHE DOESN'T NEED OPEN HEART SURGERY YET!!! We are so excited. I think in my mind I was very prepared to have to do it right away but once we got home...the more I thought about it the worse it sounded!! So we are just tickled and praising God that we don't have to cross that road yet, and further, that we may not at all. I feel like God has truly answered all of the prayers that have gone up for this little sweetie.

Speaking of sweet...can I just tell you how sweet this little girl is!!! I just can't get over how special she is. She loves to play and giggle and be tickled and interact with us. She loves to snuggle but also loves to get down and motor around. She is standing up on her own for long periods and it's almost as if she has this DRIVE to walk. She tries over and over and just laughs and laughs!! She is sleeping through the night and goes down beautifully. We rock her and then sit in the room with her until she is asleep. She is so cute because even after lying there for 5-10 minutes with her eyes shut...she will often peek to make sure we are still there! She is waking up happy now instead of crying and just lights up when you walk into the room to get her. The boys fight about who is going in with me and they usually both come!! Jed had some initial difficulty being replaced as the baby. He never took it out on her...just on me!! But he is really coming around and is playing with her often and she just loves him. He lies on the floor and says..."climb on me Summer"....and does she ever. Caleb has been smitten since day one. He is more "in her face" and we have had to remind him that even Summer has a "space bubble". He loves to push her in her stoller and, of course, has to stop every few minutes to kiss her head or cheek!! The other day he wanted to push her on the dirt road by our house. He loves riding through the pot holes on his bike and he figured she would LOVE it too. I let him and he pushed her through each pot hole but at slow motion. It was so cute...of course, he was talking NON STOP to her the whole entire time. He still continues to call her Xiayue and I just think it's adorable.

These past few days I have just had such a peace about where God has us. My heart is sooo full. It feels like there was so much unknown and so much change during this whole year and a half process. I didn't feel worried about it but did spend much of my time thinking about who my daughter would be. Well...I think we hit the jackpot!! I am soooo enjoying having my 3 kids at home with me!!! We are having so much fun just sitting out in our yard and playing! When I think back on those first weeks with Summer I can honestly say I never thought it could be this good this soon. She is literally a different child after just a few short weeks. She literally went from being almost catatonic ,that first week, to laughing, giggling, smiling, crawling to us as fast as she can and almost walking a few weeks later. I've also noticed she is quite sensitive. She has always liked hitting her hand on almost anything and has started to do that when I feed her a bottle...only she is hitting my face. It's just a fun thing and there is no malice behind it. I just take her hand and rub it on my cheek and say "soft, gentle"...and she often rubs it softly after. Well...the other day she wacked my face pretty good and I gave her hand a little sqeeze and said "no hitting". I literally didn't even raise my voice and out popped that poochy lip (other wise known as "Jed lip") and big tears welled up in her eyes. So I am glad that God gave me such a sensitive little boy (Jed) to prepare me for my little girl!!
As I think back on this experience, I truly believe it is one of the most fulfilling and amazing things we have ever experienced. It equals giving birth to both of our boys. God has truly blessed us with this precious gift. It has just been mind boggling to see this little girl change. And I know she is changing each day as she learns to trust us a little bit at a time. Every once in a while, she will give me a look like "I am still not 100% sure about you"....such a reminder that trust and attachment is such a learned behavior. It is so eye opening to realize how important that first year is. And it is just a reminder to continue to meet each of her needs in a loving and nurturing way so that she can feel a sense of security which will truly give her a freedom to be whoever God wants her to be. So as you think of us...we would love your continued prayers in this area. I would also like to encourage anyone who is "toying" with the idea of adopting... to please go for it!! It may seem like a huge leap of faith...and it is...but what better way to grow your faith??!! We are continually reminded that "He who began a good work with be faithful to complete it" whenever we look into our daughter's eyes!! When I think of the things that the Lord has shown us and taught us already...I can't imagine what it would have been like if we had never gone down this road. I love that quote by Mark Twain....

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. "

This has truly been a faith journey. I would love to talk with anyone about this if you have any specific questions. I would also HIGHLY RECOMMEND Small World Adoptions and Kathy Storro. What an amazing...and hiccup free journey our China trip was. We felt soooo taken care of and never once had a worry while in China. So...as I step down of my soap box I will end with this..... I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.---1 Samuel 1:27