Why?

As may of you know, I recently had major surgery. I have good & bad days. Today, as I was trying to gather myself, cheerleader asked the question I have been dreading. Why am I here, Why am I from China? The boys have long been at school and she has only watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the T.V. Where did she come up with that question? I had gone over this so many times in my head, asked friends how they had answered the question. All of this I could not remember for the life of me. I told her she lived in China & needed a Mommy and I lived here & needed a little girl. This simple answer seemed all she wanted. The next question was "Why did I pick this house"?

For most families the question is "How did I get out of Mommy's tummy" and "How did I get in there". There are tons of books on how to answer that question. But when your adopted child asks, each child needs their own special answer. Because each child came to that family differently than any child came to any other family. Why did you adopt, Why did you chose a girl or a boy, Why a certain agency, Why a certain country over domestic?

I gave Cheerleader a simple answer to a huge question, she is 3 and that is what she wanted. Please pray that as she grows I am able to give her huge answers.

WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MYSELF!!!!!!!!

Well here I am in all of my glory! Everyone wants to know how I am doing. Words cannot express my feelings because I am so swolen, you cannot make sence out of anything I say! My family thinks I am crazy for putting this on the blog, but my blooging buddies have a deep understanding of why I am doing this! This first pic is right after surgery. My lips are grossly out of shape but the outside of my face is still pretty much the same. The inside of my mouth is swollen shut. When I woke up I found that I was not wired shut, I could breath, and I did not feel claustrophobic! Praise Him, Praise Him, my prayers were answered! It was my early Easter miracle!

This is me day 2. I am that blob under all the ice packs. They were my best friend. This was my nurse Hill, he gives GREAT drugs!
Can you believe I had to travel to Parkland for an X-ray looking like this. I got some of the strangest looks. Sad thing is, I did see some women having their X-rays done that their face looked like mine due to their boyfriend/husband.

Since I had only been out of bed once, to go to Parkland, and that was a bad 2 hr. experience, my pain was unmanageable, and I got the spins looking sideways I got to spend a second night. Praise Him, Praise Him!

These are the pretty flowers my Sister & her family brought me. I could not have them in my room because I was on the bone marrow ward. I was on the 7th floor where Head Coach usually works. I had people I knew taking care of me! My niece drew me this picture on her visit, she is always so good her artwork! It is hard to believe she will be turning 10 yrs old this next week. She was born on my anniversary!

This is a going home pic. Face starting to swell. Lips, is that what those are? Angelina Joli, eat your heart out!

And this is what we came home to, SNOW!!! It snowed all day! Nothing stuck to the ground but it was beautiful! Can you see the giant Easter eggs in the bushes? As for now, much is still the same. Went to the Dr. on Tues. and he is happy with the surgery and the swelling. I think I look like a monkey and my Mom agrees. Facial swelling will take several weeks to go down, bone & inner will take several months to a year. Today I started to turn greenish yellow from the bruising. Maybe I will update you with a greenish-yellow monkey pic!

M.G.M. Day 3 !

On day 3 we visited MGM Studios, it is a park dedicated to everything about movies. You can take back lot tours, learn about special effects & sound. You learn the magic of movie making. And for those keeping track, today was purple day!
When we first entered the park the first "characters" we met were "Tow Mater" and "Lightening McQueen" from Cars. They drove themselves around and "road" music was playing on their radios!

Outside of the Star Wars ride we ran into some Storm Troopers. The ride was really cool.

Toy Story has been one of the boys favorites for years, so seeing Buzz & Woody was a real treat.

Running back wanted his face painted "REAL BAD". I tried to talk him into a partial painting, nothing doing, he wanted the whole thing. The man was able to do the whole thing in about 10 min. I could not believe how good it was. Running back got so many comments all day, he looked sooooo cool. He would have painted his face everyday if he was able. He had his painted at 9:00 in the morning, and it stayed ALL DAY! We had to wash it off with soap & water at midnight so he could go swim at the hotel! That was the best $12.00 face painting ever!

One of the best shows we saw was the Paris Stunt Cars. Mini Coopers raced & slid around showing precision maneuvers we could not believe. Both boys agreed that both their Grandfathers would have loved the show. Smoke, the smell of burning rubber, engines revving & fast car chases, what more can a man want.

We saw how the newest cartoon movie, Meet the Robinsons, was made and ran into the Incredibles! Everyone had their pic taken but I only posted mine because we all know that Moms are truly incredible!

While waiting for dinner our "Mickey-Jack Black-Tiger" fell asleep. He was so cute that I was not the only one who took pictures of him. Several people asked if they could as well. He was clueless until he saw this!

We ate at Hollywood & Vine a 50's inspired diner. The food was great, of course.

After dinner we had reserved seating for the Fantasmic laser-light and water show. WOW, it was the best! I cannot put into words the feelings we had during & after the show. I remembered things from my childhood & wondered if my kids feel the same thing. Of course, it is the Magic of Disney! It is never ending!

Look!!!! The face paint is still on 11 hours later!

P.S. What color will we be wearing tomorrow?