Graham's AFP Level is NORMAL!!!

We got the results of Graham's AFP level from Friday. His new AFP level is 5.9! He is now in the normal range! We are so happy! He goes back on July 18th for more bloodwork and a CT scan to check to be sure the cancer is staying away!

Our Weekend in Pictures!!

Piper's Adoption Website!

A big thank you to Joe and Jennifer at My Adoption Website. They created Piper's website for us and they will be posting our updates for us while we are in China. They are waiting to get their travel approval to bring home their second daughter from China! We are so thankful that they were able to do our website!

Here is the website address: www.myadoptionwebsite.com/piper

Please be sure to leave a message in our guestbook while we are in China. We will be able to share all of your messages with Piper one day. The messages also mean a lot to us while we are so far from home!

One Week From Today!!!

Next Sunday we leave for China to bring Piper home! It is hard to believe that in a week we will be preparing to meet Piper in our hotel room! The packing is slowing beginning to happen around here! I still have tons to do before we leave. I did pack Piper's suitcase last week with some help from her big sister, Erik is busy painting Sophia and Piper's room. Sophia is so excited to have her little sister share a room with her. There are many things you can pray for while we are in China:

1. That we have a safe and uneventful flight to and from China. Erik is a little worried that he will be flying with a six month pregnant Mommy and a two year old!!

2. That both Erik and I stay healthy while in China. We also hope that Piper is healthy and her heart is strong and she will not get sick while we are in China with her.

3. That Piper find peace in her little heart that her new family loves her and will always be there for her. It will be hard for her to leave her foster mother.

4. That her foster mother knows that Piper will be loved more than anything in this world!! We are forever grateful to her for loving our little girl while she was in China!!

5. That Piper has an easy transition to our family! We are ready for you Piper!!

6. That Sophia, Graham, and Parker has a great time being spoiled by Mom Mom and Dziadzi while we are away.

7. That our cardiologist will be able to provide her with the medical care she needs when we get home!

We will be posting the address of Piper's adoption website very soon! It is in the process of being created!

Sophia's Class Picnic

Today was Sophia's class picnic at a local park! Sophia had a lot of fun playing with her friends and her brothers too! We had a picnic lunch together! Sophia also had an informal diploma ceremony with her friends! It was a beautiful day for a picnic! Sophia will miss Mrs. Pantazes and Mrs. Testa next year, but we will see them next year since Graham will be in their class!!

Mrs. Pantazes and Sophia

Mrs. Testa and Sophia

Picnic Fun!

Big Brother Parker!!

I caught Parker playing baby yesterday! I couldn't resist taking picture of our little sweetheart!! I can tell he is going to be the best big brother to Piper and baby!

Graham's Preschool Teachers!

Graham had a great year in preschool! Graham loved his teachers and he will miss them as he moves on to Pre-K next year! We are so glad that Graham was able to have Miss Laurie as his teacher this year! We think Miss Laurie is the best! We will miss her! We know we will see Miss Nikki next year and maybe she will be Parker's teacher too!! We missed Graham's end of year class picnic today because of Parker's appointments at the hospital today!

Miss Laurie and Graham

Miss Nikki and Graham

Parker's Palate Team Meeting!

Parker and I spend four hours at the hospital this morning for his palate team meetings. I spent about an hour with the speech therapist! She said that there are three areas we will need to work on with Parker. Obviously, articulation is one of the things we need to work on with Parker. We will also work on developing his oral motor skills as well as improving the nasality in his voice. All of these areas can be corrected with speech therapy.

I love the speech therapist at the hospital. She is very attentive to the needs of her patients. We may be able to go to the clinic that she runs at West Chester University. She would be able to oversee his therapy! I would love that! We also spoke with the palate surgeon and he is going to repair Parker's palate!! YEAH! I am so glad he feels that the surgery will help Parker's speech!! I am so excited for Parker! We also had his hearing checked! He is within normal range!! We had his ears checked by an ENT too! He has some wax in his ears, but it is not blocking his ear tubes. We have drops to give him once a week to help clear up the wax!! The ENT will be able to take a better look in his ears when he has his palate surgery this summer! If they need to remove the wax, they can do it while he is under anesthesia! We also met with the psychologist on the palate teem. It was a very productive day for Parker and a very informative day for me! I can't wait to get his palate repaired this summer! We are going to help our little man to communicate with us!!!!! Parker was such a trooper all morning! He fell asleep as soon as I put him in his carseat and we headed for home!

Onocolgy Visit!

This morning Graham and I headed back to the hospital to meet with the oncologist. Dr. Griffin was pleased with how Graham's AFP level has dropped since prior to his surgery to remove the cancer. His AFP level was 1764 before surgery and is now 9.5. We have to go this Friday to give blood again. This blood draw should put Graham's AFP level in the normal range. We go back to see Dr. Griffin on July 25th. Graham has to have a CT scan and bloodwork done a week prior to our appointment with Dr. Griffin in July. We will get the results of the CT scan and bloodwork at the appointment. Everything is looking good! We are so thankful that Graham has recovered so well from his cancer!

Precious Piper!

We received an update from China this morning about Piper! She is doing very well and is described as being healthy! She does not take any medicines for her heart! Just what her Mommy and Daddy wanted to hear!! Her favorite foods are soup, cake, fruit, and yogurt. She weighs 19.8 pounds and she is very tiny for being 26 months old. Sophia weighed about 20 pounds when we met her at 18 months. Parker weighed 25 pounds when we met him at 26 months old. She is close to her foster mom and will say hello to familiar people. She likes to watch t.v., listen to music, and play with toys. She is going to fit in just fine with her sister and brothers! We think she is the cutest thing! We are so in love with her and can't wait to hold her in our arms in just two weeks!!!!!

Dutch Wonderland Fun!

We spent the day at Dutch Wonderland today! It was the perfect day to go to the park! It was not too hot and not crowded at all! The children had a great time! Sophia tried several new rides today, but her favorite was the Whip! Graham loves the train and would stop and watch the train every single time the train rode by us! Parker loves all the rides and was fast asleep before we even left the parking lot!

Graham's Bloodwork Results!

Graham, Parker and I headed down to the hospital again this morning after we dropped Sophia off at preschool. Graham had to give blood again to check his AFP level. Graham was so brave this morning! He even got to go to Target and pick out a new car from the new Disney Cars 2 movie. He chose Finn McMissile. His AFP level went from 20 last Friday to 9.5 today! We are still not below 8 which is where we want to be, but we are close. We go on Monday to see Dr. Griffin! We should find out what our next steps will be for monitoring Graham.

TA is here!

We just got our travel approval (TA) from China! We are going to China to bring our baby girl home!!!!!!!!!!! Tenatively, we leave June 4th and come home on June 16th! We will get final confirmation on Monday!!!!! Here we come Piper!! 22 sleeps until we go to China!!!

Graham's AFP Level!

This morning we dropped Sophia off at preschool and headed to the hospital. Graham had to give blood again this week. He was so brave! He brought along his Cars bucket and race cars to the hospital! After he gave blood, we headed to Target to pick up a few things before we went back to preschool to pick Sophia up at 11:30 AM. The hospital e-mails me the results of his bloodwork through the My Nemours system. Graham's AFP level went from 57 last week to 20 this week!!! I think next Friday when we go back to give blood again, Graham's AFP level will be in the normal range! I can't wait to see that number next week!! We are so thankful that G-man is getting better! We go to see the oncologist on May 23rd!

A BIG THANK YOU!

We would like to send a BIG THANK YOU to all of Erik's co-workers! The entire R&D Finance group sent a huge bin of toys for the children. They gave it to Erik at his meeting on Wednesday! It is so overwhelming the amount of love and support Erik's co-workers have given to our family! The notes and words of encouragement from all of you were very touching!

The children were so excited to see Erik on Wednesday night we didn't show them the huge bin of toys. Erik put it in the basement! I didn't know he put the bin there. Yesterday Sophia went in the basement to find something and (even though Erik hid the bin of toys) Sophia somehow managed to find it! She kept bringing stuff up to show the boys. It took me a few minutes to figure out what she found! It was so funny! I told them they had to wait until Daddy got home to open everything up!

Needless to say, the huge bin of toys was a big hit in our house last night. Graham loved the Cars bucket and the race cars. He slept with them in his room last night. Sophia was amazed that Daddy's friends knew she loved princesses and Barbie! Sophia can't wait to fly her Barbie kite! Parker loved everything!

We can't thank you all enough for the generosity you have shown our family! Erik is blessed to work with very special people! We will forever be thankful to all of you!!!

Daddy's Home!

Erik was away overnight last night for a meeting! The children really missed their Daddy. Sophia missed her Daddy the most! She was very worried about where Daddy would sleep in New Jersey. She was convinced New Jersey did not have beds. We all talked to Erik on the phone last night before we went to bed. Sophia asked her Daddy all kinds of questions:

1. Did you eat dinner? What did you eat?

2. Where did you eat dinner? What was the name of the restaurant?

3. Where are you sleeping?

4. What does the hotel room look like? What is in your room?

5. What did you do at your meeting?

I think you get the idea of how many questions Erik had to answer last night! There were more questions, but I can't remember them all! The children are anxiously awaiting for Daddy to come home! They keep running to the window looking for Daddy's car!

My mom spent the night with us last night! My Mom came up yesterday to watch Sophia and Graham because I had to take Parker to the hosptial for his appointment with the developmental pediatrician. It was nice to have someone else here to help out last night! Thanks Mom Mom!

Mother's Day!

Today is such a special day for me! I love being a Mother! It was not an easy journey to motherhood for me, but one I would not change for anything! I have been blessed with three (almost five) amazing blessings from God! Each time I have become a mother it has been special and unique! I loved being pregnant with Graham and now being pregnant with our second little man! I loved that Sophia and Parker grew in my heart and that Piper is still growing in my heart! I love hearing Sophia talk about how she grew in my heart and how much I wanted her and how hard it was to wait to meet her! I love how Sophia tells me that Piper and Baby are growing in her heart now! Being a mother is the most wonderful thing in the world! It is also the hardest thing I have ever done! It is an awesome responsiblity to be someone's mother every single minute of every single day! There is not a minute I don't think about how to be a better mother to my children! I love you Sophia, Graham, Parker, Piper, and Baby! I would do anything in the world for you! I can't wait to meet you Piper and Baby! I long to hold you in my arms and whisper I love you each and every day!

Here are my two very special presents made especially for me by Sophia and Graham! They were so excited to bring me my presents to open this morning. Graham ate all my choclate kisses for me! Thank you for the two best handmade presents in the world! I love you!! I can't wait for my next Mother's Day when all five of my babies will be with me!

P.S. Erik was in charge of breakfast for the children this morning. Sophia ate a lollipop and pez. Graham ate chocolate kisses, a lollipop, and pez, Parker ate two lollipops! I think Sophia, Graham, and Parker want Daddy to be in charge everyday!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thank you for all you have done for me and all you do for me! You are the BEST MOM in the world! I am so lucky to have you as my Mom! I don't know what I would do without you! You have been a wonderful example for me! You have given me so much and sacrificed so much for us! I am proud to call you Mom! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!! I love you!!

Today we spent the afternoon with my Mom to celebrate Mother's Day! My parents took all of us to the Spring Fling at their church today! The children had so much fun! The children loved riding all of the rides! Thanks Mom Mom and Dziadzi! We had a great day!