Thursday, January 31, 2013

The 12 Days of CNY: Day 2, Jace's Story

By Jace's Adoptive Mama--

Jace Yan Yin, the little boy who was always the most excited when other children at the foster home were matched with their forever families... The little boy who used to stare out the window and ask when his mama and baba were coming. At New Day he was given hope that his family would come one day. He was loved on and cared for with his complicated heart problems.

Back in the states our family seemed complete as we had 3 children adopted from China. But God had other plans for us and after reading Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman and seeing a story on Love Without Boundaries advocating for Jace a forever family we knew we were called to be that family. Family and friends questioned our decision to adopt Jace with his extensive medical issues. But we stood firm believing that God led us to Jace and that the one thing he wanted, a family, he was going to get.


So in January, 2011 we started the paper trail. I will never forget the pictures that New Day shared the day they told Jace he had a family!! What joy on a little boy’s face. And in October 2011 he joined our family. The first time we met Jace, he ran down the hall yelling , “My mama and baba!" there were lots of tears of joy! Since that time Jace reminds me frequently and maybe reassures himself this is for real by saying, “You my mommy forever and ever.”

Jace has had numerous medical procedures over the last year including a very complicated heart surgery. He has taken it all in stride, is incredibly brave and is making progress in so many areas and started kindergarten this last fall. Jace loves life to the fullest and gets so excited about things. We are so happy to share those moments with him. His medical needs are great but each day with Jace reminds us of how precious every day is with the ones we love.


We are forever grateful to New Day for loving Jace and teaching him to love. For giving him hope that he would have a family one day and advocating for him a family, and for being so attentive to his medical needs. We are honored and blessed to be his family. We have met so many incredible people and become part of the New Day family which has been an amazing experience.


1 Corinthians 13:13 says, And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. This sums up New Day Foster Home in one short verse.

Two Miracles (The 12 Days of CNY)

 

Colton arrived at NDFH almost exactly one year ago, on February 9th. Since then we have been exceedingly blessed to get to know this handsome, caring and creative little boy. He celebrated his 5th birthday here with us and will turn an exciting six years-old in May!

When Colton arrived we weren't sure whether his heart defect would require a second heart surgery or not, but after being evaluated by the fantastic heart-hospitals here in Beijing, it was obvious that he needed surgery sooner rather than later. Colton was admitted into the hospital for surgery New Year's Eve and had a successful heart surgery January 5th.


Colton's physical heart has been repaired, and for that we rejoice. But do you know that makes us the happiest? When we think of the heart-healing that's soon to happen for this sweet boy. On January 17th, Colton was matched with an adoptive family. He's going to have a family of his very own one of these days.

We're celebrating two miracles today. The first one is that Colton is home and healthy after his successful heart surgery. The second miracle we're celebrating is that Colton is matched with a family.

That kind of news puts the biggest grin on your face, doesn't it? Today, in honor of Colton's miracles, we're going to try to raise another $1,000 for our Acute Care fund. Let's make more miracles happen!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

One Amazing Story (The 12 Days of CNY)



Annabel... she's a little baby girl who has lived a miracle before our eyes. When her orphanage asked us to help her, we were unsure if she would even survive the trip from the hospital in her province to the hospital in Beijing.

But she did, and the way her story unfolded amazed us, and reminded us to believe in miracles.


Annabel has continued to grow, gaining weight and strength daily. Last month she got very sick and needed to be admitted into PICU with pneumonia. She was on supplemental oxygen and the doctors said that her lungs were very compromised. After being in ICU for nearly a month, Annabel was released December 14th from the hospital, but her health has since gone downhill and she's back in the hospital as of the 25th of January. It's pneumonia but we have great hope that Annabel will soon recover and be home.


Love and medicine have changed Annabel's life, and each time she's been in the hospital, it's the Acute Care fund that has been used to pay for her hospital bills. How has she been affected by this fund? Well, it's saved her life, and it's saving her life right now. Today.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The 12 Days of CNY: An Introduction

I'll never forget the day that one of our staff called the office. He was out visiting orphanages and monitoring our Formula Project with another colleague, and had just arrived at a newer orphanage we had only recently begun working with. He called because there was a baby who needed help.

This is always how the story begins. There's a baby who needs our help. And sometimes, sometimes we can't say "yes" because we don't have a bed available. Often we have to slowly set down the phone, saying a desperate prayer for the little one that may not make it. The decisions that Grace and Karen, our directors, have to make every sing day can be gut-wrenching and painful. The need is too great, and we are only a small community of Chinese and foreigners working together to save them one at a time.


babies emma lael and William
In each of the hearts of the staff here at New Day Foster Home, there is a deep burden for the orphan. We've seen their faces, cradled them in our arms and cried tears of sadness and tears of joy as they've been through and overcome trial after trial.

So, for the next 12 days, we are going to do something very special, and something very big. Here's the goal: Raise $12,000 in 12 days for New Day's Acute Care Fund. Our Acute Care fund is what's used when Lydia needs to be admitted into the hospital with pneumonia, for when Ella's in PICU in respiratory distress and for while Alea was waiting for months in the hospital for a liver transplant. This fund is so critical for an optimum-functioning NDFH, and it's getting a little bit too low.

Each day for the next 12 days we will be featuring a child who has benefitted from the Acute Care Fund, or will benefit at some point, or just has a pretty amazing story that we want to share with you. We will have givaways, sponsored by some very special supporters to NDFH, and we will tell the stories of children who's lives were changed by New Day. You'll get to hear from the adoptive mama's of children like Cora, who's miracle made us gasp....


baby cora
...and Levi, who was adopted recently and brightened our lives with his fighter's spirit.


baby Levi

We're going to have a lot of fun and hopefully raise a lot of money that will help save a lot of lives.

Join us!


baby will

p.s. the little baby that our staff called about wasn't able to come to NDFH because we didn't have any empty beds, but we arranged for him to be transferred to another home where he could get the care he needed.

A Second Christmas for Rebecca

With all of the packages that were mailed to China for the children's Christmas, it was too bad, but perfectly understandable, that some of the packages didn't make it all the way over. We thought that one of Rebecca's presents might have been lost, until it arrived at the post office last week!
 
She didn't mind the late arrival at all.
 
 
Check out that excited face as she opened up her goodies! When she first started opening up the packages, she wasn't too excited and didn't really know what to think. As son as she discovered that each paper-wrapped package held a present just for her inside, she brightened up and eagerly unwrapped each package.
 
 
Rebecca is as sweet as a little lamb in her new hat, and as cuddly as a pussy cat wearing her cozy new clothes.


 
Thank you, Church family, for blessing Rebecca today!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Always Up To Something


That content grin often makes its way on to Lucy’s sweet face.

Lucy’s energy and exuberance for life keep her active-often going from one puzzle to
the next, one color of play-doh (her favorite pastime) to the next, one toy to the next.
Her vibrant personality even shows itself when it’s time for clean-up. She sings her cute
version of “Clean up! Clean up! Everybody do their share!” when the teacher beckons
clean-up time. She’s always up to something.



All bundled up in the cold! More to play in! She looks so pretty in her red-themed
snowsuit.


Lucy wanted a helping hand across the snow.



Lucy has a bundle of creativity. She formed her play-doh into some “food,” and after
awhile she exclaimed with a sigh and a smile, “I’m full!”


Lucy eagerly awaits her opportunity to have a forever family who will take her hand for a
life time. We know her future is bright! Lucy, you are loved!

---
This post was written by our intern, Abi
Saturday, January 26, 2013

Preschool Days

Can you guess what we learned about in preschool recently?


Every day in our preschool class, we review the date and weather. We pull out the calendar and the children take turns placing the correct month and year magnet pieces onto the board. Next, we are ready to sing the “Weather Song,” where each child receives a cardboard piece with the state of the weather on it. When I say a child’s name, they count, “One, two, three!” at which we sing, “What’s the weather like today?” We go through each one until we figure out the weather report of that day. One child places it on the calendar. Then, it is time for our lesson.

Recently, we learned that T is for Teeth. We talked about what we use our teeth for: chewing, talking, and probably most important, smiling! We gave each other big smiles to show off our pearly whites. We also discussed that to have nice, healthy teeth, we must take good care of them and brush them daily. During our activity, we each colored and glued together big mouths and toothbrushes to learn how to brush our own teeth.

Noah got right to work on brushing his newly colored mouth.


He even started thinking about his own set of teeth and how he might brush them.


Then he showed off his artwork to rest of the class.


I think we can all be optimistic about the future of Noah’s oral hygiene.


The class was pretty excited about their activity and demonstrated how competent they were at brushing their teeth.


It was another successful and fun day of preschool!

---

This post was written by our preschool teacher, Amy
Friday, January 25, 2013

NDSouth: Welcome Chris, Hayden & Dani!

It has been an exciting few days here at New Day South! In less than 24 hours, we welcomed not one, not two, but three new children into our growing family! 

Chris is a 6 week old baby boy. If his cry is any indication of his personality, we have a little fighter on our hands. You can just see the determination to live in his bright, beautiful eyes. We cannot wait to see what a difference love will make in his life!
Hayden is 2 1/2 years old and is such a handsome little guy! He may be timid and shy at first, but we fully anticipate him to open up and be a great big brother to our other children. Once he has received his much needed surgery, we know that he is going to blossom into a sweet young boy. 
Dani circumstances are a first for New Day Foster Home! She is 21 years old and has lived in one of our partner orphanages her whole life. We are so excited to be able to help this young lady to get a fresh start. We know her future is bight and we are excited to play a small role in it.
Welcome Chris, Hayden, and Dani. We are so excited to have you part of our New Day South family!
Thursday, January 24, 2013

Staff Spotlight: Meet Beth

Over the summer we welcomed two new nannies to our staff, Laura and Beth. Today I'd like to introduce you to Beth, one of our "pink room" nannies. She lovingly looks after Esther, Lydia and Corrie and has spent a good deal of time in the hospital with Lydia as the poor baby fought through pneumonia multiple times. Beth is a sweet, sweet woman who is pouring her heart and soul into her work mothering these children.


When we hired her, we asked to her write down why she wanted this job... I'm sure that you will love to read through what she wrote, and it will probably bring you to tears like it did to us!


"I have a nice family with five people. I have a good relationship with my parents-in-law, a husband who loves me and cares about me a lot, and a daughter who is very nice. I taught myself how to be a childcare worker and I was able to get the child-care worker certificate. I had been working with children who were physically and mentally healthy, loved by their families and teachers and friend, got to enjoy sunshine and grass and fresh air and were living very happy lives. When I saw the children in New Day Foster Home, young children who all have special needs, I realized that they needed more help and care from families and our society. So I came to New Day in August 2012. Being a nanny here is my pleasure. I want the kids to feel loved through me. I want them to know that they are not lonely and that they are loved and cared for by many people."


And that's just what Beth does. We are so happy to have her working with us. The children are in such good hands.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013

NDSouth: Big Boys

Asa and Marshall are just a month and a half apart in age. Asa turned one in August and Marshall in October. These two boys used to be the "babies of the foster home" but not anymore. They are now the big brothers and are becoming toddlers! Asa is walking now and we have a feeling it won't be too much longer until Marshall is as well.


The weather has been so nice lately that we have been taking advantage of it and taking the kids on walks to get some fresh air.


Marshall is always happy to get outside and we are sure he will be running and playing outside by this summer!


Asa also loves going on walks and before long he won't have to ride in his stroller!


Marshall is a happy little guy with such a sweet smile.Hard to believe that just a year ago he was so tiny and frail.


Can you say "double trouble" when these two sweethearts start walking?

Our Asa is listed on an agencies waiting child list! For more information, check out the link here and contact this agency directly for more information on this sweet boy.

Wordless Wednesday: Girls and Snow



Monday, January 21, 2013

Michael Rocks Out

A violinist came to New Day last week and delighted the children and staff with his cheery music. Michael, especially, enjoyed the music and danced through the whole show!

 

He could not get any more adorable, could he?

Anna Rose's Amazing Story

One of our favorite things to do is to tell you the amazing and miraculous stories of our children. Today, please sit back and be amazed at the miracle of Anna Rose's life!

We were shocked to hear from Anna Rose’s doctor that her severe heart defect was not the biggest issue in her case. Her left bronchial tube had severe stenosis, making the risks of heart surgery great and the chances of her surviving heart surgery and being able to come off of the ventilator slim. Anna Rose was admitted into the hospital October 22, 2012 and her case was taken on by the top surgeon at her hospital. But even he was reluctant to operate, and he took time to perform tests and get to know her case as well as he could before surgery.

“None of the doctors wanted to perform her surgery,” said the nanny who lived with Anna Rose for the month she waited in the hospital, “they were all scared.”

Anna Rose waited in the hospital for a month, but her situation didn’t change and she couldn’t wait much longer for her heart to be repaired. November 21, 2012 Anna Rose went into surgery. It took six long hours, but according to the surgeons, was successful. The doctors had never been extremely concerned about her operation; it was the pot- op recovery period that they were nervous about. Anna Rose was on the ventilator for a week, but miraculously was able to be weaned off of it with no major issues. Her doctors didn’t rush her recovery, and she was released from PICU on December 10th. Still needing occasional oxygen and breathing treatments, Anna Rose and her nanny stayed in  the hospital for another two weeks, until December 25, 2012.



She was released from the hospital on Christmas day, the precious “miracle” of her hospital ward.



Saturday, January 19, 2013

Ella's Christmas

The week of our Christmas party Ella started having some pretty major struggles. We were afraid that we would lose her and she needed to be admitted into PICU the Monday before our Friday Christmas party. On New Year's Eve, Ella was released from the hospital, much recovered. We haven't had a chance to give her the Christmas goodies that you sent until just now, and I'm sure that you are going to love these precious pictures.


Ella's new toy, cute skirt and shoes will hopefully be apart of her daily wardrobe.


A hat and gloves? Why, thank you very much! These will keep me toasty and warm when I have to go to doctor's appointments. 


Whoever purchased this dress and hat ensemble for Ella knew her well. She looks amazing in pink and brown leopard print. 


A new hair bow and a cute jacket...


And oh, this one must be Ella's favorite! Her smile, which lights up our world, has been showing itself a lot more frequently these recent mornings. She's not without her struggles, but she seems to have her joy back.
Friday, January 18, 2013

I've Got a Foster Family?

 Xander just left to join his adoptive family, and his foster mama is so amazing, that she said she would be willing to foster another child! It's always hard on the foster parents when their little ones leave, and so we ask them each time their foster child leaves if they're willing to foster again. Lydia and her husband Pete fostered Miranda, then Caleb, next Xander and now... Hudson!


Hudson wasn't so sure about his new foster mama at first, but suddenly he lit up! Maybe she told him about all of the yummy food she would make for him?


You can read the look on his face, "Are you sure, Ma? Can I call you Ma?"


We're going to miss Hudson's glowing smile around the foster home, but we know that he's brightening up his new foster family's home right now with his giggles. His foster family is smitten with him and we can't wait to see the transformation that a family - even though it's temporary while Hudson waits for his forever family to find him - will make in this little guy's life.