Wednesday, December 31, 2008

December 31, 2008




Reese had a good Christmas this year. She has been very "Americanized". She told us exactly what she wanted and all about Santa coming. As she opened her presents she kept saying, "mommy, I am very happy!" Reese has only been with us a year and a half but it feels like forever.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

November 26, 2008

Reese came home from school last Thursday with a fever of 103 and coughing up a storm. I called the doctor and she said that it was a virus that is going around. Well, after a weekend of fever and coughing until she threw up, Jeff took her in to the doctor and lo and behold, she had pneumonia!! She has been on antibiotics for 3 days now and has got her energy back. I imagine she will have no problem eating her Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

November 13, 2008

Reese is still loving school. She finally got her headband so that she can wear two hearing aids. The grin that spread across her face when she realized that she could hear better was priceless! She is still talking non stop and daily talks about "baby africa". What will she do when she is actually here?

Friday, August 22, 2008

August 22, 2008




Reese just loves the beach! We spent the day at Grand Haven yesterday and the girls had a riot. I think she would spend every day there if we let her.

August 22, 2008

Monday, July 21, 2008

July 21, 2008

Last week Poppy decided to teach Reese how to swim. We didn't know how she would do with the chaos of a real swim class with the noise. So her lesson started with a dive with no life vest and off she went. No more life vest for her!! The girl has no fear!!!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

July 6, 2008






Reese had a great 4th with swimming, parade, carnival and fireworks. She kept holding her ears saying it was too loud - what good did that do? We just turned off her hearing aid instead.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

GOTCHA DAY X ONE YEAR!!


It has officially been one year since we brought Reese into our family. She has grown physically and in maturity. It's hard to believe she is the same little girl we brought home from China. But she has not stopped talking or eating since she got here! We were going to celebrate gotcha day by going out for Chinese dinner but Reese got to celebrate by getting her tonsils and adenoids out! Lucky kid. We figured we would have a few days of silence - no such luck. She was talking an hour and a half after surgery. The next day she was running around and yelling. So much for the 2 week recovery time.
We have been deeply blessed by this little girl and she makes us laugh daily. The Lord gave her a strong personality that will carry her through life. God is good!!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Tarzan Soundtrack - You'll be in my heart by Phil Collins

We're one month from our gotcha day anniversary...how time has flown and how Reese has grown. This song has always reminded us of Reese. She has really soared...

Sunday, May 4, 2008




REESE IS 4!!!!! I can't believe my baby is growing up before my eyes. She is definitely not the same little girl we brought home 10 months ago! We had a fun little party with her cousins, aunts and uncles, and Ama and Poppy. She celebrated with a birthday cookie. She also had a party at school the day before with a "birthday melon". She's not a cake fan. She graduated to the 4-5 year old class at church too. Too much for me to take in! Only 5 weeks left in the school year and then summer school for Reese and camp and softball for Kendall. Just when you think you can relax....

Thursday, April 3, 2008




Easter has come and gone and spring is finally starting to arrive. The daffodils are popping up and the girls are able to play outside now and then. Reese has received her Baja hearing aids and is really liking it. She can do so much more with the Baja without it falling off like her other one did. She is wearing it on a sort of headband until she has her titanium screws placed. She yells "don't toucha my hearing aid!" if anyone tries to adjust it. The ENT looked at her CT scan and noted that she has huge hollow spaces behind her ear. If he were to try to open the ear canal she would have a gaping hole inside her head. So all the more reason for us to just do the Baja and not worry about the cosmetic part of her ears. She is a fiesty little boogger - she will deal well with anyone that decides to "comment" on her ears. The office is in the process of setting up her surgery and getting the ok from the insurances. They are able to do the two - tonsils and Baja screws - together. The surgery will last about 3.5 hours. Hopefully it is before summer so that it doesn't interfere with her love of swimming!
Enjoy the Easter pictures!

Sunday, February 10, 2008



Here is the latest medical update....We saw Dr. Daniels a few weeks ago - ENT - and he gave us 3 options. #1 - we can leave Reese's ears as they are. #2 - we can have prosthetic ears made for her which would look fairly real but would have to be redone every couple years because of fading, etc. and would be screwed into her head. #3 - we can have cosmetic surgery done in which cartilage would be taken from her ribs and skin grafts from her inner arm with a minimum of 10 surgeries to remake her ears. With all three of these options she would still most likely need a hearing aid. The aid that they would use would be a Baja. It has small titanium screws that go into her head right behind her ears. The hearing aid then just snaps on to the screws. This is far better than the one she has because it is bilateral. After much consideration and wisdom from Kendall - "Dear Jesus, help us to remember that you made Reese's ears like they are for a reason" - we have decided to leave her ears as they are, since she is a girl and can wear her hair down, and get the Baja. Reese had a CT scan done this past Thursday to determine the thickness of her skull and to check out her inner ears. Our next step is to have the screws put in. The doctor also wants to remove her tonsils and adenoids. she is a very restless sleeper and has a very narrow throat. He thinks she will breathe much better if we do the surgery. So, hopefully they can do the 2 surgeries together!
On a different note, we were able able to go to a Chinese New Year Gala last night. It brought back a lot of memories of China. There was singing, dancing, martial arts and acting. The girls loved it. Here are some pictures of the girls all dressed up for the Gala.