Ground Hog Day

The year 2013 has brought our family many Friday the 13th's and Ground Hog Days.   We are anxious for this year to be over and 2014 to bring in a whole new sensational year.   We started 2013 out by having Pre-Approval to adopt a 10 year old girl from China.   Then during a "brief" physical for the adoption my primary care physician's PA reminded me that I was overdue on having my annual mammogram done.   She did a breast exam and I try to do breast exams every month or so.    I was probably 5 or 6 months overdue for my mammogram.   Imagine the shock to find out that I had a density in my left breast and they did a biopsy immediately.   It was not good news.   I had triple negative breast cancer which is a very aggressive cancer.   Fortunately we had caught it early.   It was 8 mm when first detected and 9 mm two weeks later when it was surgically removed.   That is a pretty rapidly growing tumor.   It we had not been actively in the process of adopting....we may never have found the tumor in time.   I shudder to think how differently things could have worked out.  

Of course, we had to stop our adoption while I started fighting for my life.   One lumpectomy, many doses of chemotherapy and soon radiation and the oncologist says that this will be behind me in less than a year.   In the meantime, I have thought about that little girl whom we were pursuing.   She is still waiting for a family.   She is getting older and no one is coming for her.    We still want to, but right now we have this little problem....it is called unemployment.   My 6 month leave of absence  ran out before my cancer treatment was complete.   I had asked several times if I could extend my leave of absence and was told "Sure, no problem!"   Well, seems there was a problem.   So now I must finish my treatment which is just about DONE!!   And then I can reapply for my job or a job and hopefully there will be one for me.  

In the meantime we are going to do some fundraising to help bring our daughter home.   I have made a T-shirt that shows three very important things about Chinese adoptions.   Ladybugs bring good luck, so the shirt has a ladybug on it.   There is also a saying about the "red thread" that involves an adoption from China and most importantly there is a passage from the Bible

Isaiah 43:5

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west"

One thing that has been going great this year is the girls doing Taekwondo.    They have consistently moved up each testing session to the next belt level and they did not disappoint us this last time.   They are now all blue decided belts.   Tessa did pretty good in her form even with stitches in her right big toe!!

We really are the luckiest parents!!  I can't imagine our lives without these beautiful girls in it!!