First Sister Pictures

My Sweet Ying

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my little Ying-a-Bing? She is just such an amazing little person, and a perfect fit for our family. She is a very happy baby. She has the sweetest little grin that makes her look a lot like Popeye (again, showing my age here!). She is also very smart and curious. Tuesday night, just before bedtime, Miss Ying decided she was hungry. So, she went into the kitchen (walking, mostly), opened the cabinet where I keep the baby food, and pulled out a jar then sat down in the floor to try to figure out how to open it. She’s been eating a jar of mixed cereal and fruit most nights as a bedtime snack, and I guess she just decided that Mommy wasn’t getting to it fast enough for her! Man, does that little girl love to eat (again, perfect for our family). She has slowed down a little, but she still likes 3 meals a day and at least 3 snacks. Olivia loves to help feed her, and our motto has become, “Just keep the food coming.” Still, she is unbelievably tiny – 20 months old and wearing clothes meant for 6-9 month olds. But the abundance of good nutrition is paying off. She’s getting stronger every day and her hair is even starting to fill in.

Last night I was looking at her and I was surprised to realize just how much I really do love this child. My comment at the time was, “Could she be any more perfect?” How lucky am I to have hit the adoption jackpot twice – two beautiful, smart, sweet, absolutely perfect daughters!

She's Walking!

Miss Ying decided that Easter weekend would be a good time to go for a little walk. She started Friday with a short trip across the family room and hasn't slowed down. There's still a bit more falling than walking, but she's getting the hang of it! I love to see how proud she is when she makes it to where ever she was headed!

For those of you thinking about Flower, I am happy to report that she has the money needed for her surgery. She is in the hospital now waiting for the surgeon to determine when to operate. I’ll keep you posted.

Saving Flower

This photo is of a farming family in China. The little girl, six-year-old Flower, is dying of a heart condition. Her parents cannot afford the over $4000 it will cost for Flower to have this operation. Because she is not an orphan, she doesn’t qualify for free medical help. Fortunately, the good people at my favorite charity, Love Without Boundaries, believe “Every Child Counts”. They understand that sometimes, when Chinese parents choose NOT to abandon a child with a medical condition, they end up in need of help. Flower’s family needs help.

As you know, Ying needs surgery to save her eye sight. I am very fortunate because I have medical insurance that will pay most of her expenses. The highly-qualified ophthalmic plastic surgeon who will perform the two procedures she needs has an office 10 minutes from my house, and the hospital is even closer than that. Everything my child needs is easily within my reach. What a blessing that is! I can’t imagine how Flower’s poor parents must feel knowing that she needs surgery to save her very life and not being able to provide it for her.

No parent should ever have to stand by and watch a child die due to a simple lack of money. Never.

Sunday is Easter – a time to celebrate life. What better way to celebrate life than to give a child a chance to live? If each of us bought one less bag of Easter candy and sent that $3 to Flower, she would have enough money for her life-saving operation. Think about it – a bag of Snickers, or a child’s life.

If you want to donate money to help save Flower’s life, please visit the Love Without Boundaries site here.

"It is a poverty that a child should die so we may live as we please." -Mother Teresa

Ying's Eyes

Ying had her appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist on Thursday. He says her ptosis is so sever that she needs a type of operation called a frontalis sling procedure. Basically, they will have to make a sling out of tissue to hold up her little eyelids. This means she will need another specialist – an ophthalmic plastic surgeon. Who knew there even was such a person? The poor baby will also need a second procedure on her lower lids. It seems that she also has congenital epiblepharon (her bottom lashes roll in and rub against her eyes).

We have an appointment with “the lid man” on April 18th. I won’t know any of the hows or whens until after that appointment. Dr. G did say that Ying is near-sighted and will need glasses probably before kindergarten. Sigh. Poor thing. I just have to remind myself that it could be worse. At least she can see, and after the surgery, she will be able to see even better.

You may have noticed that I refer to Ying by her Chinese name. We started calling her Ying (pronounced “Ing” – like Inga without the “a”) in China because she responded to her name and is even able to say it. Olivia and I have decided that we really like the name Ying, and it just suits her, so Elizabeth is Ying and probably will be for a good, long while!