Emme Update

Almost 6 months since my last update...I think somewhere in there I fell off the blog mobile. And now there's a new format...so confusing. We have had 5 birthdays in the Smith clan since my last post! One sweet girl FINALLY got to celebrate HER birthday. Emme watched 4 siblings and one Daddy celebrate their birthdays. August the 10th was finally her special day. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she turned to her sister and said "What do you ask for when it's your birthday?". Wow...tears. What a blessing to be her Mommy and celebrate her precious life! We have had a great summer, just staying home and not too much running around! Right before the Fourth of July our Neurosurgeon called with Emme's MRI results from June. My stomach hit the floor when I saw the Caller i.d. and knew who was calling....and then I held my breathe for the results. And folks, our mighty God has His hand all over this. The Neurosurgeon said her MRI looked "FANTASTIC"!! F.A.N.A.S.T.I.C. He saw nothing that concerned him. The area he was worried about looked great. What we have seen that appeared to be growing on her head is not showing up in her MRI. She will have another MRI in December and if all looks well we will start the process to get her out of her 24/7 Dinosaur Egg helmet and into a "specially fitted plate for one tiny head" next summer. If things progress differently it will mean another surgery and treatments. Thank you for all those that have been praying for our girl. God has heard and showed up big time! Please continue to lift her up. Emme continues to do well with her adjustment and is speaking in sentences. Parker started Junior High this year and I've really been dreading it. Autism just plain stinks and change can be hard, but he loves it and is doing great. Trevor started Highschool and that means I'm getting old which also kind of stinks, mainly because I don't ever think about aging, but thanks to the whole Highschool thing and having another driver in the family it's all out there. I had two people ask me last week "How OLD are you?" Emphasis on OLD...after they found out Trevor was now in Highschool. So aside from Trevor now being grounded and a mumbled reply, life is good! (Trevor is a great kid and I'm super proud of the young man he is becoming). I do about 17 loads of laundry a day. I make huge quanitities of food for meals. I referee quite a few near wrestling matches. I now drive a big bus. And some nights fall asleep in the clothes I wore all day without brushing my teeth or washing my face. Yes, gross I know. (maybe that's why they asked how OLD I was) BUT I love our chaos! And love our big family. So blessed. Here are a few pics.... Birthday girl

The Highschooler

Sisters

Free Vacation Tour Guide

Tiny Yo Gabba groupie pondering his next move

I spoke with Emme's Neurosurgeon yesterday. They are not 100% on a diagnosis for her yet. BUT they do NOT think it is what they first told us!!! That means they don't think the mass was malignant!!!!!!! This is GOOD news! Praise Him!!!
They are leaning towards a blue nevus. They just sent it off to an expert in this area who works in San Francisco. We should hear from him in a couple of weeks. She then will have a MRI in 3 months to see if the part of the mass that was left has grown. If it hasn't grown she will be measured for a plate that will replace the back of her skull that was removed (which is pretty much the entire back of her head).
I am so thankful to be back home with my family for a while! I honestly can't believe everything that has happened since we got home January 22nd. And I am greatly enjoying the everyday normal routine of this crazy household.
I once again want to thank those of you who have lifted Emme and our family up to God this past month. I am humbled by the outpouring of kindness from my brothers and sisters in Christ and from so many I have never met before. Beyond humbled. People are praying for our sweet daughter all over the United States. Thank you. Words can't express what this has meant to us and to Emme.
Please continue to pray God's healing over Emme...pray the mass will not continue to grow. And praise our Everlasting Father tonight!!!! Here's a picture of two giggling sisters!

I will keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will rest secure...Ps.16:8-9

Libby's 5th Birthday!!

Today was miss Libby's birthday! She requested a Tangled princess cake. So her Mom (me) made her one. Her Mom would like to give a heads up to anyone who may try this cake in the future. When you are cutting the one hundred plastic thingys (may not be a word) that attach the doll to the cardboard make sure you are just cutting the plastic thingys. Not the back of the prized princess doll's hair. There was a moment of stunned silence from Emme and Libby who were watching the makeover.
Libby had a great day! We are beyond blessed to have such a beautiful and sweet little girl in our family! I can't believe she is five years old!

We Are Home!!!!

Emme was one very happy little girl Friday night! She had the biggest smile when she saw her Daddy at the airport! And it got even bigger when she saw her brothers and sister! She amazed the doctors and nurses with her quick recovery from such a major surgery. That is all God. So many of you have been praying for her and words can't express what that means to us. So many have blessed our family with meals, trips to the store, babysitting and sweet words of encouragement. Thank you.
While I was gone Colter managed to come down with pneumonia and Wade went in today and has Strep throat! The kitchen counter is looking like a small pharmacy.
Please continue to pray for our Emme as we await test results. They have sent it all over the country and no one has seen anything like it. She is sporting her new helmet that she has to wear 24 hours a day...yes, she even sleeps in it. This is to protect her brain as the surgeon removed a large part of her skull. I think she wears it pretty well....and yay for a quick fix to a bad hair day.
One night this past week I was really struggling and God brought Psalms 16 to my mind as I was paging through my Bible. What a great passage! And then a sweet friend shared a blog post her hubby wrote...www.lifeatbiggerdirt.blogspot.com. We travelled with this sweet family in January when we went to China. What a privilege to now count them as friends. His post really blessed this Momma's heart that night! If you get time go check out his post and read that passage in Psalms.

Fruit Bowls and Fire

Here are some pictures of Emme's plane ride to Guangzhou, eating at the McDonald's next to our hotel ( yes, healthy food is available all over the world), at her medical exam for the U.S. Consulate, in our hotel bathroom (she was soo very excited to see the bathtub!) She loves taking a bath!
And the last picture is what the hotel will give you when there is a fire (yes, fire...) It started in our hotel room from faulty lighting. We are now in a new suite...with a huge bowl of fruit. We are thankful Cody was there when it started and everyone is safe! So thankful for everyone's prayers. Emme is doing really well!

Travel Day

This is our last day in Henan...we leave for the airport at 3 pm and get in to Guangzhou tonight. Emme is doing really well and is such a sweetheart!

Emma's A Smith!!!

Monday morning, in Zhengzhou China, I watched a brave, beautiful little girl walk through the doors of the Civil Affairs office. There are no words that can describe that moment that you meet your precious new child for the first time...but God is so very good. And how humbled I feel to know He had this planned before time began. She is so cute, so smart and so funny. And is a perfect fit for our crazy crew!
As of Tuesday morning she is officially a Smith!
Today we drove over four hours round trip to visit Emme's orphanage and Maria's Big House of Hope.
We also stopped at Emma's finding spot which was in front of a hospital.
Touring the orphanage was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It is so hard to not break down when you see so many beautiful children that need the love of a family. The nannies were happy to see Emme, but there is no hope there. And no place for any child to live. We did see a room with children who had different neurological problems and one clearly had Autism. I will share more later, but right now my heart is so heavy for these kids. There is such a need for families to step out in Faith and open their homes and hearts to a precious child. They just need the love of a family.
Our last stop of the day was Maria's Big House of Hope. The moment you walk through those front doors you can feel hope and God's presence in that building. It was such a gift for me to see where our girl spent part of her life. The children are so very loved there. If you are not familiar with Maria's Big House of Hope you can visit www.showhope.org for more information on the life changing work they do in orphan care. And it is life changing. I am so very grateful to the staff and nannies at MBHOH. And grateful to all of those who support MBHOH. It was such a priviledge for me meet those sweet kiddos I've been praying for.
I will share a few pics and post more tomorrow. I did find my camera cord last night...in the bottom of my dirty clothes bag (which is where all camera cords go)
I am missing my family back home so very much!!

Hi From China!!!

I can finally post from China!! We are leaving the hotel at 9:30 to get Emme! 7:30 pm Central time! I can't believe this moment is finally here! I have been up since 3 a.m.! I will post pics as soon as possible.

Leaving For China!!!

We received Travel Approval December 23rd! I haven't had a chance to post because we have all been taking turns getting the stomach flu...again!! And one surgery and emergency dental visit thrown in there.
I am leaving the 4th for China and will be back home the 21st! We will meet our precious girl on January 9th and on January 10th she will no longer be an orphan and will be part of our crazy family. Pray for Emme as she is about to have her little world changed in so many ways. What a blessing it will be for us to welcome her into our family after praying for her for so many months! Looking forward to meeting some great families in our travel group, one who happens to be named Melissa Smith....(yes, there are two of us!) and who has a daughter at the same orphanage as Emme. She is also adopting a son too!
And pray for Wade as he will be holding down the Fort!(and possibly a kid or two!) We are blessed with an awesome church family and friends who will be feeding the crew and helping Wade out.
Next post will be from China!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!