Look who is 5!!

Five years ago we had no idea that halfway across the world a little girl was being born that would change our lives forever. 

Faith is full of joy. It exudes from her eyes, her smile and her laugh. She is a determined and exuberant little girl who loves her family and friends. 

She has blessed us in so many ways.

We are humbled and thankful that we were chosen as her forever family.

Happy 5th birthday, sweet girl!! You are loved!

Arthrogryposis Awareness Day

Join us in wearing blue tomorrow (June 30th) for Faith to raise awareness of Arthrogryposis. 

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” -Francis of Assisi

“The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.” Helen Keller

One Year Gotcha Day Anniversary

Gotcha Day (or Family Day) is the day adoptive families call the day a child was placed in their family. 

Today is our 1 year Gotcha Day Anniversary!!! 

It is amazing what 1 year plus a whole lot of love can do for a child!!

THEN:

One year ago Faith:

- was called Li Ren Lan

-had about a 3 word vocabulary

-spent her days in an orphanage crib

-weighed 18 pounds 

- was 32" tall

-wore infant size 9 month clothing

-could not walk

-drank from a bottle

-was diagnosed with "failure to thrive"

Now:

Now Faith: 

-has a new name

-speaks English fluently

-spends her days surrounded by siblings, a mommy and a daddy

-weighs 29 pounds (gained 11 pounds!)

-is 36" tall (gained 4")

-wears size 3t

-spent 4 months in casts, had 1 surgery and now walks!

-has bedtime songs, stories and kisses

-has heard how much Jesus loves her

-has a BIG extended family to love and spoil her

-is loved by a huge church family 

-has had her birthday celebrated for the first time ever

-has a light from within that shines through her eyes

-KNOWS THAT SHE IS WANTED, CHERISHED AND LOVED FOREVER!!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR + LOVE CAN MAKE!!!

11 Months a Serna

It is so hard to believe that Faith has been in our arms for 11 months now!!

11 months of kisses...

11 months of Faithy snuggles....

11 months of giggles and smiles.......

11 months of fun!! 

Faith's favorites are milk and animal crackers, Elmo, Mommy's lap, swinging, and anything sweet. She is so, so silly!! There is not a day that goes by where we are not laughing at her antics. She loves her brothers and sisters, her grandparents and her Georgie (her favorite friend). 

She also loves babies. A friend of mine sent a picture of her precious newborn baby and Faith loves to carry the picture around with her. A few days ago she told me that he is her baby and she is going to China to get him! (Because, you know, all babies are from China!)

And we can't imagine life without this little one.  

10 Months a Serna

Yesterday marked 10 months since Faith has been home!! 

She now weighs 29 pounds and is 34 inches tall. She LOVES Elmo, kittens and playing with play dough. She is talking sentences and cracking us up constantly. 

Health wise, we just had an appointment with her GI doctor and are going to be scheduling an endoscopy to find out why she has such frequent and loose bowel movements. That will be happening in January. Her feet and legs are getting stronger each day as she continues sleeping in her bar at night and doing PT exercizes 3 times each day.  

She is a little ball of energy and brings joy to all that she sees! Praise God for this little blessing!

Walking Faith

When Faith came to us she could not walk. She could hold onto our hands for support and take some steps, but she could not walk on her own. Slowly she became stronger and steadier, and braver and by the time we celebrated her being in our family for a month she could walk, though she walked on the sides of her feet. It looked very painful.

After months of the Ponseti Method of treatment for club feet, she is walking, running, and even starting to learn to jump - on flat feet! It is amazing and a little bit miraculous to watch the progression. I had to share it with the world! 

We are so proud of our tenacious little girl! She never gives up and never gives in. She is a true inspiration for so many. 

9 months a Serna

This Monday marked 9 months since Faith was placed in our arms! Crazy how fast 9 months can go! 

Last week we went to Scottish Rite Hospital for another visit - the last appointment there was a little disappointing. Her right foot had started curving again and she was walking with it twisted in. We were given physical therapy exercises to do with her 3 times a day, we had to keep her in the braces and she was given braces with a bar attached to sleep in at night. THIS appointment was good!! Her foot still has a slight curve (but it is getting better) and she is walking with her toes pointed to the front! Their main concern now is that her lower leg muscles are very under-developed from being in casts and braces for so many months. 

SOOOO......

No more braces during the day!! (Insert happy dance here.)

So, to celebrate, I thought I would post the pictures of her journey through the casts and braces!

Before casts:

Her first set of casts:

The second set:

The third set:

After surgery:

AFO braces:

Night braces (don't the look comfy? NOT!):

Faith was so happy to get to go to the shoe store and buy new "princess" shoes! Here are her feet now:

What a journey! She has come so far in just 9 months and she is a CHAMP!! 

I am working on a video showing her progression in walking....it will amaze you!!

8 months a Serna!

8 months ago, on the 25th, this precious girl officially became a Serna! 

She is growing so, so quickly. It is much like watching an infant grow in fast forward. And OH BOY, is her personality growing, too!

When she smiles so hard her eyes disappear, it completely melts me!

The big milestone this month has been potty training!! 

Faith's GI doctor told us that she may not be able to be potty trained. Because of her Hirschsprung's Disease, he thought she may not be able to control her bowels. 

We have found out that Faith likes to prove doctors wrong! By the second day of potty training, she was using the big girl potty like a pro. She still has the occasional accident, but she is doing AWESOME!!! 

This little dynamite of a girl has completely and totally turned our world upside down and inside out in just 8 short months - and we love every minute of her!!

The Casts are Off!!

After 10 1/2 weeks in serial casts, Faith is finally cast free!!!

On Tuesday last week we made the journey yet again to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. This time all of us went! We were all excited! We had all grown to hate those casts!! They did what they were supposed to do in molding Faith's feet, but all of us had been kicked or stepped on by the casts - and that does NOT feel good! Also, she weighed a TON in the casts and Mommy's arms, back and shoulders were tired!!! The night before the casts came off, we wrote Good -bye on them in 10 different ways. We were not sad to see them go. 

We were so excited, we got there 40 minutes before the clinic opened. Well, we were excited and the traffic was surprisingly scarce! Finally, it was time and Faith was called back. First, Mr. Anthony removed the casts from the Raggedy Ann doll she was given on surgery day. 

As soon as the baby's casts were off, Faith said, "Faith's turn" and was ready for me to put her on the table. Faith's turn was loud, though...she did not like that scary, loud cast remover machine at all! 

She had a lot of help and distractions, though she really just wanted to look at pictures of Pop Pop on my phone!

This is Faith's doctor, the fabulous Dr. Karol! We have loved her and everything she has done for our little girl!

Finally the casts were off!!! YAY!!!

Next we headed downstairs to get AFO braces. She will wear the braces during the day for 6 weeks. Then we will go back for a follow up appointment with Dr. Karol and hopefully get to ditch those braces, too! 

Her feet were smelly and pretty gross. She kept pulling dead skin off her legs and giving it to me. Yuck! 

Once her braces were on, the doctor had us go out to the waiting area and get her to try to walk around to make sure they were fitting right, but after 10 1/2 weeks, Faith's legs were pretty atrophied. She could not put much weight on them at all. 

When the appointments were done, we celebrated by going out for dinner! To our surprise, the waiter brought out a big chocolate brownie with ice cream....we told him later that it was a very special day and he said he knew we must be celebrating something!

I really wanted to do this, too....but I am a little too old to get away with it:

The best part of the day was when I put Faith in her bubble bath! She has been taking sink baths since the casts were put on and when I set her in the warm, bubbly water, she laughed and laughed!! 

It has been slow progress in the braces. We had a few days where Faith was very frustrated at her lessened mobility and there was a lot of whining and crying. Now, a week later, she is able to take about 10 steps at a time. Each day she gets a little stronger and can walk a little further. 

Here is a before and after of her sweet little feet: 

Before the casts - 

After 3 serial castings and heel cord surgery:

AMAZING!!