It's A Wonderful Life

Yesterday Ressa and Jason were sealed together for eternity. What a beautiful blessing it has been to travel the beginning of their journey together. They were beautiful and so happy. I shed a few tears not because I was sad but because of the remembrances of what I have and the same covenants that Doug and I made so long ago. I shed a few tears for the loss of what we had as parents but know that we are blessed even more by adding Jason. Next is the reception so too much to do to expound on the ceremony just yet. Sadly we only took 5 pictures of them at the temple so we will have to wait for the pictures from the photographer.  Here is the only decent picture we have. Thanks to those that sent your wishes. It meant a lot to us as you could not be here to celebrate.

Our little Gideon is still in the hospital. They are hoping that he can be released in the next couple of days. I'm still waiting on the medical info that may not come. I do have to know what oxygen level he is on for the plane ride home. This whole thing is ridiculous   I can see why most families take the chance and don't do oxygen. There aren't many choices as far as airlines that will allow oxygen of some kind and even then the attendants on the flight may take matters in their own hands and remove the oxygen from the child. Crazy, but true! Please keep praying for us. For Gideon's health and for the knowledge we need to travel this road. So far we are walking in the dark.

Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I received this in an email from a Catholic newsletter I subscribe to. I am grateful for the gift of life that each of our birth-mom's have given. They chose to allow their child the opportunity to have life and all that comes with it. Without these amazing women 7 of our children would not be with us. Not only did they choose to give these children life but they chose to allow us to raise them. What an honor and blessing we have received. The greatest honor a mother and father can have is to be trusted with the care and nurture of a child. We not only are honored by these incredible birth families that have suffered much but we have been honored and trusted by our Father in Heaven to raise His children. We will give all we have and do the best we can to deserve this gift. Here is to the gift of life and selflessness because that is what giving life is, selflessness .

We got an email last night stating that our dossier did indeed make it to China! Our agency rep will now work on getting things done ASAP. I have made just a little headway with finding an airline that will allow oxygen. Cathay and Delta both allow it but their flights are not as good as Hainan Air going out of Seattle. They both cost quite a bit more as well. Cathay Pacific requires a 72 hour wait time and a reservation to issue an approval to fly. If they don't approve it then we have to start all over with another airline. We won't have the time to do that once we get permission to travel. Delta has a company that will approve the Portable Oxygen Concentrator for us but we will have to rent it for two weeks from them. That is a cost of almost $1,000. We could also continue to look for a Concentrator to buy used but that is still a good chunk of money. At least at this point we know we can get Gideon home.

Yesterday in primary, Hyrum was sitting on my lap. In Sharing Time they shared the previous video. This is a song we sing regularly and both Hyrum and Bria can sing many of the words. I took the opportunity to reinforce the concept that Heavenly Father loves Hyrum and is his Father. Mom, "You are a child of God and Heavenly Father loves you." Hyrum, "Me and Bria?" Me, "Yes, you have a Father in Heaven.You have two Baba's  Heavenly Father and Daddy." Hyrum looks back at me with a look of being pretty bothered and says emphatically,            "No, I want you mom!"

Following is a copy of an email we got today!!!! "Hi Doug and Deanne, I wanted to let you know I just handed your updated dossier to our FedEx driver. It is on its way to the CCCWA with an anticipated delivery date of this coming Monday, the 21 st . Yay! Our office will actually be closed on Monday, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday but I will certainly track the package first thing Tuesday when I come in and let you know the status then. We are very excited to have this package on its way, as we imagine you are as well. Myriam will certainly let you know as soon as she hears anything from the CCCWA." Our next step is the Letter Seeking Confirmation from China. Pray that it comes next week.  As far as we know Gideon is still in the hospital. No new updates today. We really need some direction and counsel on the trip home and the challenge with oxygen. Please pass the word on. We also could use an  Portable  Oxygen Concentrator that is FA...

I found out this morning that Gideon was supposed to be released Monday from the hospital. When they were getting him dressed to leave he went pale and had a hard time breathing. He is now still in the hospital and we don't know when he may get out. There is a concern for his breathing while traveling home. He most likely is not able to take very deep breaths so he can't get enough oxygen. If he is on oxygen the saturation level of the mix of oxygen can be turned up so there is a better concentration of oxygen even though he isn't breathing normally. We will need to carry a portable oxygen tank with us but that poses a problem. The airlines may not want the risk of a sick child on board and deny travel. This is turning out to be complicated especially for brain that is on overload right now. I have no answers and I feel like I am getting no where with this challenge. I just need to keep the faith. It's all in God's hands. That sounds so trite a...