Praise God! He has provided a new heart for sweet baby Brea...and at the perfect time! (As He always does!!) She'd been having troubles with bleeding yesterday and while she was being prepped to go back into the OR to stop the bleeding the transplant doctor called to say they have a heart for Brea and it's a PERFECT match!!!
Brea was taken into surgery within the past hour and they've begun to prepare her to receive the new little heart which should arrive at the hospital (from out of state) around 8am Central time which is 9am here. Surgery is expected to take until about 1pm CMT.
I think one of the reasons the family has grabbed onto my heart (sorry, couldn't think of another way the phrase it) is their faith and testimony that is shining through this entire time.
Today while her little girl is in surgery, her mom is not only asking for us to pray for Brea, the doctors, nurses and all involved, she's also thinking of, praying for and asking us to pray for the family who has just lost a young child in order for Brea to have life. So at this time I ask you to please do the same. Please remember Brea and her family but also the family of the child who died in order for Brea to have life.
I will keep you posted as I hear more.
**Update #1 @ 10:30am **
The heart arrived safely (after a little delay because the flight ran into bad weather) but the heart was not compromised. PTL! One of the OR nurses has seen the heart and said it's 'pretty.' Ahhh...
Brea's old heart has been removed and she is currently hooked to a heart/lung bypass machine. The doctors have started to put her new little heart in.
A few days ago Mary (Brea's mommy) mentioned that the helicopter landing pad was above Brea's room so they often heard the helicopters coming and going and prayed. Today the arrival of that helicopter indicated that Brea's heart had arrived! I can't imagine how that must have felt.
Thank you to all for your continued prayers for all. God is in control!
**Update #1 @ 10:30am **
The heart arrived safely (after a little delay because the flight ran into bad weather) but the heart was not compromised. PTL! One of the OR nurses has seen the heart and said it's 'pretty.' Ahhh...
Brea's old heart has been removed and she is currently hooked to a heart/lung bypass machine. The doctors have started to put her new little heart in.
A few days ago Mary (Brea's mommy) mentioned that the helicopter landing pad was above Brea's room so they often heard the helicopters coming and going and prayed. Today the arrival of that helicopter indicated that Brea's heart had arrived! I can't imagine how that must have felt.
Thank you to all for your continued prayers for all. God is in control!
** Update #2 @ 1:30pm **
Brea's new heart is in and beating! Praise God!!!
While doing the transplant surgery the doctors found a blood clot the size of an adult fist. They are still trying to determine the source of the bleeding so that they can fix it. Because of this, Brea is still currently on the heart/lung bypass machine.
Please pray for the doctors as the search for the source of bleeding. Also, for wisdom as to whether to close up her chest wall or leave it open for 48 hours. This is a common practice due to the swelling that can occur during the surgery.
Thank you for the prayers you have already offered up for sweet Brea and also for those that are yet to be offered up to God. She's doing great but the next 48 hours are crucial.
** Update #3 @ 3:50pm **
Brea is out of surgery and her new heart is beating like a champ! Mommy and Daddy have seen her and say her toes are pink and she has better colour than she has had in a while! Praise God!
Thank you for continuing your prayers for this precious baby girl and also for the dear family that lost a child in order for Brea to have life. I pray that God will hold them extra close today and give them the comfort only He can provide.
** Update #4 Sunday @ 6:15pm **
Thank you for praying!! God is answering prayers! Brea is doing AMAZING and is already off the ventilator and was blowing kisses this morning! As can be expected she's uncomfortable when she coughs but overall is bright eyed and happy!
Another answer to prayer has come in the availability of a room for Mary across the street at Ronald McDonald House. Can you believe she's been sleeping in a lounge chair in the waiting room for the past 6 weeks? I'm sure we'd all so it given her situation but she is thankful for the room at RMH.
It is anticipated that Brea will be in the hospital for another 10-14 days and then will be released to live at RMH for 30 additional days. After that she and mommy will need to remain in the Little Rock area for 3-6 more months. Please pray for all the logistics involved in this.
Also, they are having difficulties with insurance covering their medical costs. Please pray that minds will be changed and that existing and new costs will be covered.
Also, please pray for Brea's big sister and brother who are currently living with family in another state (their home state) while mommy and daddy are with Brea.
Thank you for praying! God is hearing our prayers and answering them! Praise God!!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Waiting Mommies...Take 2!

It was a real treat meeting more new mommies who are also waiting. But, speaking of waiting, it won't be long now for Liz! She found out yesterday that she will be leaving in 2 short weeks to meet her precious Ava!!! What an exciting time that will be! Looking forward to following her journey to Ava online. As we chatted Liz talked about one of my concerns....how do we pack all the stuff we need to take and still somehow pack all we'll need for 1 week in 1 suitcase that weighs 44lbs. or less?? YIKES!!! When Sharon and I went to Vancouver in January I 'downsized' and my 1 week suitcase for lil' ole me weighed 55lbs! Oh man...I'm in so much trouble! :o) The flights to China aren't the problem as I can take 2 suitcases with a bigger weight limit but once in Beijing I'll board a domestic flight within China to spend a week in Hannah's home province and that's where the suitcase, carrying all I'll need, all Hannah will need (including clothing, diapers, food, medications, etc.) can weigh only 44 lbs. Hmmm...don't tell them yet but I'm sure I'll be begging space in Mom, Dad and Norma's suitcases! ;o)

It was great meeting you Liz, Cari and Mystery Mom 'R'! See you on May 12th at the next Waiting Mommies Dinner!
Note: If you're a waiting mommy in the area and want to join us on May 12th please know that the invitation to attend is open to you! Please email me and I'll put you in my email group to send you more details. So far we have over 20 people on the invite list and acceptances from people in both Canada and our US friends! Too cool! This little group is growing...growing!
Labels:
Waiting Mommies
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
RRRoll Up Ramblings

For those new to my blog and living outside the Canadian borders you may not know what 'Roll Up the Rim' is all about. Basically, many Canadians are Tim Horton's coffee drinkers. We're hooked on our Tim's just as many of my US friends enjoy their Starbucks. Ahhh...now you can relate! Anyway, once a year in the late winter/early spring they have a contest called 'Roll Up the Rim' to win. You can win cars, iPod's, $$$, TV's and the all important coffee and donuts.


Here's a demo of the first time I tried Norma's Rim Roller:
You can see I needed practice. So I've practiced 11 (yes e-l-e-v-e-n) times with my new Rim Roller and have not won anything since!! I have a defective Rim Roller! It only rolls up 'Please Play Again' or, as we prefer to refer to it 'Please Pay Again'.
So there you have it folks. The latest and greatest in this year's Roll Up the Rim contest. I'm happy to say that I've won 4 coffees and 2 donuts from the umm...*cough* *cough* 51 coffees (yes...I keep track!) I've bought! If you're wondering how this might be affecting me I'd say, 'Not at all!' and here's a picture to prove it! :o)
Labels:
Ramblings,
Roll Up Fun
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Brief Brea Update

Another special prayer request today is for insurance to cover the Berlin Heart. The insurance company has given them 2 (impossible) options to cover the cost of the Berlin heart. God is bigger than any insurance company so we're praying that He will intervene and that the cost will be covered.
For more details on how Brea is doing, please click here.
Thank you for praying!!
Labels:
Praying
Saturday, March 24, 2007
1 Year LID Celebration Gifts for Hannah and Mommy!!

Yesterday and today have been wonderful days of celebration! Little things like sharing a coffee with good friends. Norma and I do this almost every day yet I still cherish the time this wonderful friend and I share together each day. After work yesterday afternoon it was coffee and cookies with a dear friend that I sang with for a number of years. I left her home with a song in my heart after sharing wonderful conversation together, and a car full of clothes for Hannah! (I'll post ore about that later.) This morning Joy and I went for coffee and enjoyed starting our day together. (Hmmm...can you tell it's Roll up time? But that is for another post as I have many fun things to share about that!)
Today for lunch my mom, dad, my brother Dave, Uncle Tim and Aunt Chris went to The Mandarin and enjoyed an amazing Chinese buffet lunch together. Still stuffed and it's 5 hours later!



Thank you so much for all the good wishes and congrats that were sent my way this past couple of days. I am so thankful for this place where I can celebrate with friends old and new!
Celebrating 1 year logged in, 1 year closer to Hannah....and friendships!!
Labels:
celebrations,
Friends,
LID,
nursery
Friday, March 23, 2007
Celebrating!!! 1 YEAR LIDiversary Today!! *** Video Added ***

Yeah!!! Celebrating being 1 year closer to my precious Hannah!
Praising God for His faithfulness and the patience He is granting during this longer than anticipated wait.
As promised....a perfect video to celebrate this wonderful day! A blast from my past and possibly yours too. Found this a few months back and was saving it for today. Enjoy!!!
Labels:
celebrations,
LID,
the wait
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Please Pray for Brea's Heart Surgery Today ** Updates At End **

Today's surgery is orchestrated by God above as the Berlin heart machine has not received FDA approval for normal use but the FDA did approve it for her! He also opened the doors for the machine to be brought from Germany and also the surgeon to come from Germany too! God is so good.

Today, we're lifting Brea and all those involved in her surgery before the throne of grace. Our God is an Awesome God!!!
** Update #1 from Brea's blog 11:47am **
The OR nurse has updated us several times and her chest was opened around 9:30 am. Her VSD (her special need) was repaired first and her heart began to beat again as soon as the heart bypass machine was unclamped. The VSD repair was needed so the Berlin heart could work properly. We were told that they would use a patch to repair the VSD but when the surgeon got to it the repair only required stitching! The OR nurse said the Berlin heart was being primed when he left the OR to update us and they hope to have at least one of the canulas (sp?) installed by noon.
This is only a portion of the update. Further information available here.
** Update #2 @ 2:15pm **
The Berlin Heart is in and working great! The surgeons are just now closing her chest and we will be able to see her around 3:00 PM central time. I will update again as soon as I have more information and have seen her.
Thank you for your many prayers. Please continue to pray for healing, recovery and for little Judah.
THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR ABUNDENT BLESSINGS!!!!!
Praise God!!! Thank you for praying and your continued prayers!!
Labels:
Praying
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Her note said, 'Hey Cath,
Just to let you know that our tradition carried on again this St. Patrick's Day. The kids and I picked out some flowers (including green carnations, of course!) and delivered them to Grandma and Grandpa's grave this afternoon. It was the first time the kids really understood why we did it and it was interesting to realize that this is the 10th anniersary of our tradition. Can you believe it? Where does the time go? Hopefully, time will seem to move just as quickly in your wait for Hannah. Can't wait until the day you and Hannah can join us in delivering the flowers. Have a great day!
Love,
Bridge :)'
OK, Is there any question why I cried? I love Bridget and her kids so much. She and I are the only girl cousins in a sea of boys and are amazingly close considering there is almost 10 years between us in age and we have never lived closer than 400kms from one another. We're just close because we're family and we make the time for one another when we are together.
Found out today that Bridget, her hubby and 5 great kids may be coming to stay with me Easter weekend. Yeah! It will be sleeping bags from one end of my house to the other...and I wouldn't have it any other way!
Love ya Bridge!! Hope to see you in a few weeks!
Labels:
Family,
holidays,
traditions
Waiting Mommies Dinner #3

(It's tough finding places for larger groups that take reservations. Does anyone have suggestions for a place close to the 401 in west-end TO? Next time we're trying to head west but I'm not as familiar with places out there. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.)
Last night our fun group was our photographer 'D', and (back row l to r) Andrea, Michelle, Paula, myself, (front row):Jill, Kathy, and Laurie.

I often think when making reservations for these dinners how fun it will be to say, 'A table for 16 please...8 adults and 8 highchairs!' Hmmm...wonder if the wait staff will be as excited to see us then when leave enough food to feed a small country on the floor around our table? ;o)

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful gifts but even more for your friendship! I look forward to these evenings and am so happy to be getting to know each and every one of you...even when I can't remember your names! LOL!!
Mark your calendars ladies - Saturday, May 12th is our next dinner!! Time and location to be announced later. Invite your friends...the more the merrier! Another fun thing is that by the next dinner our camera-shy friend 'D' can be revealed as she will have her referral! She'll be a MOMMY! We're all so excited for you 'D'!!! Praying for you as you receive your referral in the next few weeks. Wahoo!!!
Until next time friends....
Labels:
Waiting Mommies
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Meeting Baby




Congrats again Kristy and Darin. You have a beautiful family!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Please Pray for Baby Brea
Breann is a precious 21 month old baby girl who joined her forever family in October of 2006. Brea was born with a small hole in her heart so was a waiting child. Sadly she has now contracted a totally unrelated virus that has attacked her heart. She is on a ventilator and sedated much of the time.
She was diagnosed last month with Dialated Cardiomyopathy. One third of all children with this condition will recover with medication, one third will not respond to medication and will need a heart transplant or will not survive and one third will regain some function and will live on medications for the rest of their life. Her family, friends and church family are praying that Brea is in the 1st one third of the equation.
Brea is currently on a ventilator and many medications and has also been added to a heart transplant waiting list. She and her mommy are at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, AR while her daddy, sister and brother are in Louisiana. Please pray for this family as they are separated at such a difficult time in their lives.
Our God is a God of miracles! Please pray for little Brea as we wait to see what God has planned for her.
I have also added a link to Brea's website to the top of my sidebar. Her mommy updates her situation daily and provides specific things we can pray about.
Thank you to all of you who lift this little one up in prayer to our Lord!
She was diagnosed last month with Dialated Cardiomyopathy. One third of all children with this condition will recover with medication, one third will not respond to medication and will need a heart transplant or will not survive and one third will regain some function and will live on medications for the rest of their life. Her family, friends and church family are praying that Brea is in the 1st one third of the equation.
Brea is currently on a ventilator and many medications and has also been added to a heart transplant waiting list. She and her mommy are at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, AR while her daddy, sister and brother are in Louisiana. Please pray for this family as they are separated at such a difficult time in their lives.
Our God is a God of miracles! Please pray for little Brea as we wait to see what God has planned for her.
I have also added a link to Brea's website to the top of my sidebar. Her mommy updates her situation daily and provides specific things we can pray about.
Thank you to all of you who lift this little one up in prayer to our Lord!
Labels:
Praying
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
March 'Break'??? **update: video added**

I in turn decided it was time to finally tackle the main floor redecorating I've wanted to do for the past 3 years. I liked the wallpaper when I first put it up but tired of it a few years ago. Just hadn't been brave enough to take on this job. You need to know how much I dislike painting. Not sure why. Just don't enjoy it at all.



My friend Norma had stopped by one night last week and helped me decide on a colour. 'Calming Retreat.' Sounds perfect and I like the colour on the small chip. Hmmm...sure hope I like the walls as well. Time will tell. I'm fairly confident that I will though as one of the biggest hang-ups I'd had about this project was selecting a colour I'd be happy with. Once she showed me this one I was excited to begin!

Now, if you know me you'll know I'm the Queen of Procrastination! Oh baby am I ever! I procrastinate when I have to do things I like so working up to something I'm not looking forward to is so much worse!
Case in point: Knowing I was going to start this project on Saturday I still called Sharon Friday afternoon to see if she might want to hang out on Saturday. She called me around 9 and before you could say 'wallpaper' I was out the door for a day of shopping fun! :o) See...p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-i-o-n! (I didn't confess my Home Depot shopping to her until we were on our way to the mall. :o)
We had a great day shopping and visiting together and I arrived home around 6pm. Did I start then? Nah! It was the night of daylight savings time so instead I told myself it was kinda like 7pm and really too late to start. (Read: Procrastinating.)
Sunday afternoon I finally started prepping by cleaning out some cupboards and bookshelves that would need to be moved. It felt so good to be starting!


So here's where we're at: Cabinet and bookcase have been cleaned out and moved. Majority of the wallpaper's outer layer is gone. Next steps: Prime and paint the first wall, move the furniture back and then begin to make my way around the room stripping the walls of the paper backing of the wallpaper then priming and painting.
Ugh...lots to do! Anybody wanna go for coffee or shopping? I'm available! LOL!!!
PS - Thanks for the help Boo!! You're the best helper ever!!
Here's my Little Helper in action!
Labels:
Around the House,
Rebecca
Monday, March 12, 2007
Thank You to my SP and the 'Mystery Gifter!'

February's gift theme was 'Cuddle Me Close To Your Heart - Bedtime and Snuggling Items.' My SP sent a wonderful selection of bedtime items. Firstly, a Dora CD called 'World Adventures.' (Can you believe I've never watched an entire Dora episode? Bet I won't be saying that 2 years from now!!!)
After we watch the CD it will be bath time and pajama time. She sent an absolutely adorable penguin pj set with a cute hooded robe. I've wanted to pick up a robe for her and now she has one. Thanks SP! (My friend Krista is penguin crazy!! I'll think of her as well as my SP when Hannah wears these adorable pj's)

Thanks SP! Once again your gifts are perfect!! Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and kindness!

I also received another treat in the mail last week. I went to the mailbox and this fun surprise was waiting. I love ladybugs and this cute magnet now holds a prime spot on the fridge where I can see it daily. Thank you Mystery Gifter!! I won't blow your cover...just wanted to say thanks!!
Labels:
gifts,
ladybugs,
Secret Pal
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Reminder...
Happy Birthday Dad!!

I'll have none of that! Happy Birthday Dad!!


Happy Birthday Boo!!
Love you both tons!
Labels:
celebrations,
Family
Thursday, March 08, 2007
CELEBRATING!!! My Dossier is in the MATCHING ROOM!!!



I anticipate the wait in the Matching Room to be about as long as the (almost) year I've been in the Review Room but surprises could happen and it could be sooner. As things are playing out now, I anticipate receiving Hannah's referral in January or February of 2008 and holding her in my arms for the very first time in March or April of 2008! My adoption journey is more than 26 months old now so 12 more doesn't seem too bad.
All in God's time. His perfect time! I'm willing to wait however long it is as He continues to lead each and every step of the way.
I want to say THANK YOU to all reading this who are supporting my adoption journey through your love, prayers, caring, questions and support. Each of you are very important and I am so thankful for each of you. Some family have known me since, well....before I was born. Other people have become friends with over years and still others are new friends who I've met through this amazing journey of International adoption. It's a long process but I wouldn't change one moment of it! I'm learning, growing, being stretched and more than anything, being reminded daily to trust God as He leads and directs each step.
'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. '
Proverbs 3: 5, 6
Labels:
CCAA,
celebrations
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Welcome Sweet Baby!
What a difference a few hours can make!
My friend's daughter had a beautiful baby girl last night. Her 3yo daughter and I played, sang songs and watched Blues Clues at home while Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital. Here's Mommy at 5:15 last evening and just a 'short' 5 1/2 hours later (says the babysitter who was hanging out at the house, not giving birth) their beautiful baby girl entered the world.
Isn't she precious? She's a tiny little munchkin although Daddy said this morning that her lungs work just fine!
Here's a proud big sister holding her new baby sister. Aren't they adorable?!!
Congratulations Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Papa! Can't wait to meet your beautiful daughter/granddaughter!

Congratulations Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Papa! Can't wait to meet your beautiful daughter/granddaughter!
Saturday, March 03, 2007
It's an Odd Kind of Feeling

Case #2: A few weeks back there was a refinery fire. I've heard of it happening before but don't remember being directly impacted as we have been this time.
Last Saturday the tv and radio stations were mentioning that there could be some sort of gas shortage coming up due to the refinery fire but they didn't seem to be saying enough to cause panic...or in my case, cause me to fill up my tank. Yes I put in $25.00 which took me to about 3/4 of a tank and figured I'd wait for the prices to come down before completely filling up.



They say it's getting better and I hope they're right. Time will tell...as will my pocket book as I'm sure they'll use this excuse to keep gas prices high for a very long time.
I'm not sure how far spread this shortage is. I think it's limited to Canada but might be wrong about that. Have you been affected?
Labels:
misc dribble
Friday, March 02, 2007
What a Treat!
Living on my own I quickly realized when I moved in that I was capable of doing more fix-it stuff around the house than I originally gave myself credit for. Within the first week of moving into the house my VCR went on the fritz so I purchased a new one. Rather than wait for Dad or one of my brothers to hook it up I gave it a whirl and voila...Tool Girl was born!
Don't be too impressed...my skills are very limited and I still need to call on my dad or brothers to help me out (although lately I've decided to add CJ) to my list of fix-it (aka...hellllp) buddies! Man...that girl can do 'bout anything! Too bad she lives 8 hours away! :o(
Anyway, back to the original reason for this post. One skill I haven't attempted yet is to learn how to do anything electrical. To be honest, it scares me to death! In order for me to install a new light fixture it would involve shutting off the power supply to the entire city if not half my provice just for me to feel comfortable that I'm not going to electricute myself! Oh yah....they call me Tool Girl! LOL!
One night this week when a piano student arrived her dad came with her. Pretty normal occurrance. Some read; some sleep; some work, but not this guy. He arrived and asked me to put him to work! We've been friends for years and I knew he was serious so I quickly ran to the basement and pulled out these 4 light fixtures that I'd purchased over 2 years ago but just hadn't had anyone to install them yet.
Voila! 45 mins. later 4 new light fixtures and one very happy piano teacher! And the best thing...he told me to keep track of any other little repairs I need done and he'll take care of them next time. Wahoo! Gotta love it when you can create a 'Honey Do' list for someone else's honey!
Thanks Mystery Man! I asked if I could take his pic but he said he was blog shy. :o)
Don't be too impressed...my skills are very limited and I still need to call on my dad or brothers to help me out (although lately I've decided to add CJ) to my list of fix-it (aka...hellllp) buddies! Man...that girl can do 'bout anything! Too bad she lives 8 hours away! :o(
Anyway, back to the original reason for this post. One skill I haven't attempted yet is to learn how to do anything electrical. To be honest, it scares me to death! In order for me to install a new light fixture it would involve shutting off the power supply to the entire city if not half my provice just for me to feel comfortable that I'm not going to electricute myself! Oh yah....they call me Tool Girl! LOL!

Voila! 45 mins. later 4 new light fixtures and one very happy piano teacher! And the best thing...he told me to keep track of any other little repairs I need done and he'll take care of them next time. Wahoo! Gotta love it when you can create a 'Honey Do' list for someone else's honey!
Thanks Mystery Man! I asked if I could take his pic but he said he was blog shy. :o)
Labels:
Around the House
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Praying This Will Be Me This Time Next Year!
Holt International has created this beautiful video! If you haven't had the opportunity to see any 'gotcha day/family day' videos...or even if you have...you'll want to watch this movie. It's a beautiful snippit of what happens in the lives of babies and families the day they meet. You may want to grab a tissue before watching.
Praying for Hannah already and they day that we will meet one another face to face for the very first time!
Praying for Hannah already and they day that we will meet one another face to face for the very first time!
Labels:
Forever Family Day
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