Lucy's Hurricane Birthday Party

In one week we had an earthquake and a hurricane.
Saturday was Lucy's Eighth Birthday .We celebrated by having a Hurricane Birthday party ! She was so excited to ride her new bike but unfortunately with all of the rain that had to wait . We ended up having to take Teresa to the ER around 8:00pm because as the girls were cleaning up getting ready for bed , Emilia decided to wing a toy at Teresa and it hit her in her cheek , went through her cheek into her mouth , poor baby . So during the middle of the hurricane we went to Hopkins where luckily it was empty . We were in and out in no time . All patched up and good as new. I'm hoping she does not have too big of a scar on her beautiful little face.
We only lost power for about 16 hours, so it wasn't too bad.

Luckily the sun came out today and Lucy could ride her new bike!

Five years ago when we adopted Lucy I had no idea what we were in for . Her adoption opened the eyes of my heart. Mary's adoption was so easy and her special need was uncomplicated. But with Lucy we had no idea of ALL her medical needs before we adopted her . We were told she had cleft palate and torticollus and that's all. I know with any adoption you have to be open to all of the unknowns and with Lucy there were so MANY.
She came to us very sick . Once we arrived home she spent the first 2 weeks in the hospital . Her Doctors said she would not have lived much longer had she stayed in China .
Before we left for China to adopt Lucy we had contacted China Care ( unknowingly the same orphanage that Teresa would soon be in ). We asked if we could do anything to help . At the time they were in need of supplies being delivered to China. So they sent us the supplies and we repacked them into 6 suitcase and delivered them to CC in Beijing when we arrived. While there we toured the home and had the privilege of playing with all of the children . God was slowly opening our eyes to the tremendous need for orphans. Little did we know that our sweet Teresa would soon be in this same home receiving life saving care !
As we left the China Care Home we were very moved by all of the children left behind without families to love them .
Several days later we traveled to Lucy's Province to meet her . What a little fire cracker she was . As sick as she was she tried everything she could think of to make us laugh so we would love her. Lucy's story is very sad . No child should have to endure the tremendous suffering that she experienced in the first three years of her life.
I would like to think had we known of her health before her adoption that we would have still gone through with it . It was very scary for a while . Today she is doing fantastic . She still has major health concerns but she is thriving and growing.
Four years ago when we returned to China ,we went back to Lucy's orphanage. We toured the orphanage and were able to see where she had spent so much of her early years. We also visited her abandonment site.( this is where she was found) We were there exactly 4 years to the day that she was abandoned. As I stood on the dirt road and watched all the people walking by , I couldn't help but think that just maybe one of these women might be Lucy's Birth Mother . Did she come back every year on this anniversary ? I can only imagine the pain she carries in her heart . She loved " Ya Ya Mei" so much . Lucy was found with a birth note from her birth Mother. This birth note told us so much about her Birth family . We know that she was dearly loved and that she had an older sibling . We also know that August 27, 2003, is her exact birth date and time. Her Birth Mother named her " Beautiful little Sister " .Lucy was born with bilateral cleft palate and torticullis. Her head was severely deformed and fused to the side and her mouth was completely open going through both sides of her nose. She was anything but beautiful, but her birth mother ( and I ) both thought she was the most beautiful child we had ever seen .

Today she is a very happy 8 year old .She still has moments from her past ... She becomes my shadow at night ,following me every where because she is still haunted by her past . How I wish I could erase these terrible memories for her. I know God is slowly healing her memories and filling them with love.

I am in awe at how God was preparing us for Teresa and how HE lead us to The China Care home just before Teresa would arrive . Our connections to China Care are only made possible by God.

China Care/Half The Sky Foundation are amazing organizations that help to save the lives of so many children in China. We are forever grateful to them for taking care of Teresa .