Sunshine in the Rain

Well, as things go with us these days, we have a little sunshine with our rain.

First the sunshine: Today, we received official notice from Immigration Services that they have received our "petition to classify Thuong Thi as an immediate relative" (I-600)! As they state, MOST of these cases are processed within 60 (business) days and when they give approval, we can travel shortly thereafter! Most families lately seem to be waiting about 40 working days for approval. This is a hard wait, but we're one GIANT step closer to our little girl! ----Whose name we've decided will be May Sen Thi ("Lucky Lotus Girl", if we've translated correctly!).

Now the rain: We found out from the Ortho Wednesday, that Luc will require another surgery on his arm. Somehow, the radius is dislocated again and they will go in on Monday to see what's going on. It's disconcerting, to say the least, that it popped out only one week after the first surgery. The surgeon is baffled and we are sick thinking about him going through it again.

If you're so inclined, please send Luc some healing thoughts and prayers. (And if you have a few left over, send some the way of US Immigration on behalf of his little sister!)

Surgery and I-600

Luc had surgery on his arm on Tuesday. The surgeon cut the ulna, inserted pins and a plate to hold it in place and popped the radius back into position. Eek! Luc did well, but it was an eventful week. We're all recovering from the lack of sleep! Mom Mom (Grandma) came for the end of the week while Steve had to leave for business (Thanks, Mom Mom!). (It was quite a relief to have her help--especially for the middle-of-the-night ER visit to split his cast when it was getting too tight.) Luc's arm will be in a cast for at least 4 weeks and then we'll see how he does from there. The plate will have to be surgically removed in about 6 months. Puts a little wrinkle in his summer plans!

Puppy, Saphira, and cat, Diablo, have been keeping him company on the couch! As Luc says, he's "just hangin' with the 'mals--That's animals to you, Mom". In spite of letting me know that I'm no longer hip(?!), Luc was a champ through the whole process. He lived up to his name and was incredibly brave and strong. Keeping him quiet and still, has, amazingly, not been as difficult as we thought it would. And his buddies, both human and animal, have come and quietly kept him company.

And as for Luc's little sister...
Yesterday, our agency let us know that they filed our I-600. Hooray! This is the immigration request for little Thuong Thi. We have NOT yet gotten word from USCIS (Immigration) that they received the file. Once we get acknowledgement of receipt, we wait for their approval. There are no guarantees for time frame, but, for many families, it's taking about 40-60 torturous business days.

As I write this, once again, the sun is shining through a pouring rain. This, we've decided, is the sign of her presence in our lives. We can't touch her or hear her laugh, but whenever we have word of her, the sun glints off of raindrops. Absolutely beautiful and gentle and peaceful. And in these beautifully quiet moments, I breathe deeply and I believe that she is coming home. I imagine that the rainbow we keep searching for is too large for us to see. That it is connecting us to her and that somehow she knows we are here and we love her.

If only the paperwork could keep pace...

Luc's Arm

Last week, we found out that Luc's radius is definitely dislocated at the elbow. When they took off his cast on the last day of school, the arm just didn't look right. He didn't have full range of motion and he was in a lot of pain trying to move the forearm. Looking back at the original films, it was apparently NOT dislocated originally. According to the surgeon, there have been a few unexplained cases of kids dislocating their arms while casted. (Hmmm....Were they all Wiggle Worm 8-year-old boys?) Luc is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. This will require general anesthesia (a sedative for MOM) and at least one night in the hospital. They'll try to manually put the radius back in place first, but if that doesn't work, they'll surgically cut the ulna in order to reshape it (make it less bowed) so that the radius can fit back in place. (I may pass out just thinking about it!) His recovery time will depend upon which option they end up having to do. Kids recover quickly, so, hopefully, he'll be back to normal summertime pursuits in no time. Please send him some healing thoughts and prayers!

On a very sweet note, Luc has been gathering toys and books for his little sister and has decided that he wants to sleep in his little sister's room until she comes home. We think we have a name for his little sister...we want to make sure that we have the translation correct before unveiling!

New Photos

Hooray! It's amazing to get to see our little girl again this morning! We are so grateful to those kind people gifting us with these precious glimpses into our daughter's life. It looks like she's "scootching" or at least doing an impressive push up! She might be ready for martial arts training already!

Conjunctivitis is going around the orphanage. Her eyes look a little puffy today, so I think that she might have a case. It sure is hard to not be able to hold her, but I am grateful to those who take such loving care of her.

On our side of the world, we updated our home study again. (I've lost track of how many updates we've done!) It is likely that it and our fingerprints will expire before we will travel, so we're making sure that everything is ready.

Luc's last day of School

It's hard to believe that our little boy just finished Second Grade! It seems only yesterday that Ba Ba (Grandpa) and I were meeting him for the first time amid the smells of orchids and the sounds of blaring horns. Nostalgia has, unexpectedly, overtaken me!

Luc is excited, of course, for summer vacation. Unfortunately, when his cast was removed, the arm did not appear to have healed properly, so we're awaiting the results of his CT scans and X-rays. In the meantime, he is back in a splint. He just can't wait until he can jump in the pool again!

A photo we hadn't noticed before!