Seeing the World!

For awhile we stayed home just out of pure precaution. But now Abby is doing much better and we have been getting her out of the house now and then. We still ask for your prayers as Abby is struggling with some trauma issues. Overall she is a strong and sweet little baby girl and considering everything she has been through, she is doing great! Here are a few pictures to show you what we've been up to:




All dressed up to go out on the town.




Getting some fresh air.



Abby is learning to brush her teeth. We had asked in China how they went about brushing her teeth and were told, "Oh, no! No brush teeth until, 18 months....uh, 2 years old!" This is the first time she has actually opened her mouth and put the toothbrush in!




Cayden giving Abby some "guggers"




Enough already!




Showing off her hat.



Wrapping Daddy around my little finger!

Great Big "Thank You!" to Dickson Campers

Michael, Jawanna and Abby want to express their gratitude to James & Beverly Dickson, owners of Dickson Campers in Mobile, AL. They went above and beyond the call of duty in supporting us through our adoption journey and through the tough weeks of Abby's surgeries. Michael was paid his full salary the entire time we were in China getting our Abby and also while Abby was in the hospital in Birmingham. Michael offered to leave Birmingham to come back to work and the Dicksons told him to stay and take care of his daughter and his job would still be waiting.

Mr. James & Mrs. Beverly (better known as Uncle James & Aunt Bee Bee to Abby) have treated us like family. Thank you so much for the support and love you have shown our family. We are so grateful.

With Our Love,
Michael, Jawanna & Abby


"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction..." James 1:27

Thank You, Jesus! We're Home!

Here is Abby thanking Jesus that she made it home! Even at her young age, we are teaching her about Jesus, and she loves to lift her little hand in worship when we mention His name.





Making short work of a banana.






Abby's dainty little hand in her daddy's hand.


Our first few days at home have been wonderful..........normal. We had forgotten how sweet the word "normal" can be. For two days Abby had swelling, redness, fever and vomiting, which can all be signs that a shunt is being rejected by the body. But once again our Lord has been gracious and merciful and it has all passed over. She is already sitting up and starting to crawl again. The weakness from so many surgeries had caused her to lose a lot of muscle tone and for awhile she struggled to hold her head upright. Everyone keeps telling us how resilient little ones are and now we believe it! We still need prayer covering for Abby's emotions. She has lost so much and been through so much in such a short time. But she has also gained a lot:0) and we want her to know that we're her forever family and we're here to stay.

Once again we would like to thank all of you for your prayers, support, phone calls, emails, and encouragement. There were many moments we may have buckled under the pressure if it had not been for your prayers. So many of you out there have prayed and added Abby to your church prayer lists even though you don't know us....for that we are grateful. Thank you.

Heading Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daddy feeding Abby her last meal in this hospital! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!





Dr. Blount's nurse, Gigi came by to go over everything we need to know about caring for Abby with a shunt. She and Abby have become very good friends through this time.





All we have to do is sign the paperwork and drive off!

It's almost 11:30 and we're just about to leave the hospital. PRAISE THE LORD!

Going Home Tomorrow! HALLELUJAH!

Just a quick post to let you all know that WE ARE GOING HOME TOMORROW! In the morning, Gigi (Dr. Blount's nurse) is coming by to educate us about caring for Abby with a shunt and then we are hoping to leave by lunch time. It's late and we're all exhausted, so we will try to post more details after we get home. But in the meantime, here are some pictures that will tell you about our day:




We made new friends, Debbie and her precious daughter, Becca.



...and here are also new friends, Laura and her precious daughter, Ella.



Group shot of us all with Giggles & Jelly Bean.





And here is, Kristin, who introduced us to all of our new friends today.






Abby & Ella...what a pair!




Abby with her nurse, Mary, who has been a tremendous prayer warrior for her. We have come to love our sweet nurse.





Abby is sooooooooo ready to get out of this bed and go home! We did try to decorate her bed so it wouldn't feel like a "prison" to her.



Thank you all for the phone calls, emails and comments. The last 2 days have been very busy for us with taking care of Abby post-surgery, so we haven't been able to answer emails yet...we'll get to them as soon as we can. Thank you for
keeping up with us and praying for us through these last 2 1/2 weeks. We continue to give God glory for all He has done. This blog would have been a very sad story if God had not had His hand on our family. We will update again and give more details as soon as we possibly can. With Our Love, Michael, Jawanna, and Abby

Another Success!

Abby has been through Recovery and now she is resting comfortably in her room again. Dr. Blount said the surgery went very smooth and the pocket of spinal fluid on her back is already dissipating. She has 2 new surgery wounds, one on the right side of her head and another on her abdomen. As before, this is another "wait and see" kind of thing. But if everything goes well over the next 24 hours or so, we may be released to go home. We are watching Abby very closely and expecting good things.

Here are a few pictures of Abby when she was just waking up....again, our precious baby is already smiling and trying to play with us. Thank you all for your prayers.










Snuggling up with Paw-Paw



Abby & Maw-Maw Sonja



Visited by our friends, the Blair family.




Just playin' around

Ready to go.........AGAIN!

7:30 am Abby with the Anesthesiologist team that will be assisting with her shunt surgery.

It's 9am and we're in waiting room. Abby is having her surgery right now and we haven't received any word from the operating room yet. I wish you all could have seen her this morning. She was sooooooooo very happy and cheerful. She was giving out love to any and everyone we passed on the way back to surgery. Even though we've only had Abby about 6 weeks, she is so trusting. She never complains and always smiles and encourages US! She is a shining example of how trusting we should be with our Heavenly Father. We don't always understand the "why" but we just have to trust that He is doing what is best for us.


I will bless the Lord at ALL TIMES! His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Abiding in His Shadow........

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust..." Psalm 91:1-2

This morning we were completely caught off-guard when two of Abby's doctors came in to examine her and immediately said she would need surgery in the morning. The pocket of spinal fluid on her back did not seem to be any larger, but overnight it became very hard and tight. Both Dr. Blount and Dr. Pearson feel it is in her best interest not to chance her surgery wounds breaking open to release the spinal fluid and want to go ahead with the shunt surgery.

Of course we were devastated because this is not what we were believing God for...we were standing on His Word for complete and total healing from the first two surgeries. However, our main concern is for Abby as she has been through so much in the last month and a half of her little life. Not only has she lost everything she ever knew: her foster mother, her country, her language....everything. But now she has already been through two major surgeries and now faces a third within 2 1/2 weeks. She is a strong baby girl who smiles and has joy in her spirit. We don't understand why the Lord is allowing this.......but God is Sovereign and we are trusting in Him to get all of us through.

Please help us pray for Abby that her shunt will be successful, and that her body, mind and spirit will be protected through the next surgery. She will have a CT Scan at 5am tomorrow and her surgery will probably start around 7:30 am.

We want to give God the glory for these things:
*Abby has not had to be catheterized since midnight last night and now she is tee- teeing on her own!
*Her bowels are working great.
*No damage was done to her right leg during the first surgery and even her left leg (the one they said was hopeless) has improved!
*No neurological damage was done in either of the surgeries.
*Her sweet and joyful personality is unchanged!

Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

Blessing to You All,
The O'Quins



Abby's province is famous for their beef noodles and she loooooves her some noodles! We call her our little "Noodle-Head". Here she is watching fervently for the next bite.





Mouth open for the noodles........






Mmmmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmm Good! This is better than fried chicken!





This is Abby and Treva, her nurse for today. Thank you, Treva, for talking and praying us through a hard day.

Whose Report Will You Believe?

WAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The swelling is going down! The pocket of fluid under the surgery wound on Abby's skull is almost completely gone. And the pocket of fluid on her back has gone down to about the size it was when we first discovered it. God is moving and we give Him glory!

The day before Abby's first surgery, we had her dedicated to the Lord. Jawanna's brother, Jeremy (whom we affectionately call Uncle Bo) was leading worship that morning and he sang the song "Whose Report Will You Believe? I will Believe the Report of the Lord!"

Fifteen years ago our family had sung that same song around Jeremy's hospital bed. He had Eastern Equine Encephalitis and the doctors said he had less than a 1% chance of survival. Today Jeremy is married with 4 children and serving God! We believe his singing that song at Abby's Dedication was clearly a prophetic Word for us.







Abby sporting the new elephant outfit her Aunt Chere bought....what do you think, Aunt Ree?





Daddy and Abby kicked back watching their first football game together.







Less than 10 minutes into the game.............oh, well!

Continuing to Stand......

Here is Abby with Dr. Blount, the pediatric neurosurgeon who fixed her back (and very successfully!) Abby LOVES him!




Last night our friend, Nalini (Dashan's mama), came by to check on Abby....and boy howdy did Abby dole out the love! She just couldn't give enough sugar to Nalini!

*************************************************************************************

"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name....they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17a-18b

"...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matthew 17:20



This morning, both Dr. Blount and Dr. Pearson examined Abby's surgery wounds and found that the incision on her head had begun to retain some spinal fluid underneath and also the pocket of spinal fluid that formed on her back has gotten bigger. So far we have no leakage (Praise You, Jesus!) and that is a good thing. The doctors want us to stay at least one more night since we live so far away. Right now it is a "wait and see" issue and Abby's doctors are still speaking positively about her surgery results.


Thank you all for the outpouring of love and support. Thank you for standing in faith with us. "......and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:13

Out and About

Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. Psalm 42:8

Earlier today we sent out a "9-1-1" prayer request for Abby. Since then Dr. Pearson has checked her back and found no leakage from the lump that has formed. He said he is "not willing to call the surgery a failure yet." Well, NEITHER ARE WE!!! The good news is 1. The lump hasn't caused any leakage through the surgery wound, and 2. It hasn't gotten any bigger. We just checked it again at 12:30 a.m. and there still was no leakage, so Praise God!

The grandfather of a little boy in the Children's Hospital said to me, "These children are the ones going through so much and they're still smiling, so why should we cry?" That really stuck with me. Today has been a great day...Abby has been so happy and playful. To look at her you would never guess that she has just been through two major surgeries. And even though we are facing another tough battle, we choose to smile, not cry. We pray. We stand on God's Word. And we rest.

So, we would like to share all about Abby's day and who she saw, etc...it was pretty interesting and blessed!






Ready to roll with Daddy! This is Abby's first time sitting in a stroller WITHOUT THE DOUGHNUT PILLOW ON HER BACK! (Before the surgery, there was a meningocele the size of Michael's fist in the center of Abby's back.) It feels so funny for us as parents to just sit her in a stroller. Normally it would take both of us to do this. Now it is so easy since Abby's surgery.





Our camera missed the actual kiss...yes it was a good one!









Abby didn't quite know what to think of the cow ride!





This precious young lady, Kristin, was in the hospital lobby today and just happened to ask if our baby was adopted from China. When we said yes, she told us that she was good friends with Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter, Emily. They went to high school together. We were so excited to meet her and told her how much our Shaohannah's Hope Grant had meant. She let us take this picture of her and Abby together and we are hoping she can relay to the Chapman's how grateful we are for their generosity. How cool is that??????







Abby giving sugar to her new friend, Dashan. They both light up every time they see each other...it's a real heart connection.






Us with our new friends, the Patel family. We have all three just fallen in love with them.






Enjoying some mother-daughter time together.


**To all of you who have sent messages and comments to MADISON and her family: We took our laptop down to their room today and let them read your comments. We also told them about the personal emails and phone calls we have received. Madison's mom wept as she read your comments. Your prayers are making a difference. Thank you for caring and for encouraging this family. We do not have anything new to report, but will continue to post as we receive news. **

911 URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!

Dear Friends & Family And ALL PRAYER WARRIORS

Abby just formed a knot on her back that is right by the stiches where the meningocele was removed. The doctor thinks this is possibly a buildup of spinal fluid due to her body not being able to reabsorb it. If her body does not "figure out" how to dispose of that fluid, it will begin leaking out through her surgery wound and we will have to have a shunt put in.

The next few hours will be critical and we are asking everyone to intercede and have faith with us that this will be a complete work, not a partial one.

The O'Quins

The Day After Surgery..............

A BIG KISS FOR YOU ALL!

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask think, according to the power that worketh in us." Ephesians 3:20

This has been a day of thanksgiving and praise to God. Abby has had two major surgeries in 10 days...both successful! We have had the very best doctors and medical care here, but we also realize that it is only because our Heavenly Father has blessed the work of their hands that our baby is healthy and healed.


We did have a pretty big scare this morning....Abby's smile was lopsided and one of her eyes was not open all the way. Also, the bandage over the incision on her head felt wet which is not a good thing after this kind of surgery. That usually means that the body is not able to dispose of the extra spinal fluid on its own and a shunt will be required.

We were immediately sent up for another CT scan, which showed that all of Abby's ventricals had filled with spinal fluid and were bigger than they were before the surgery. The resident surgeon, Dr. Naftel, came in to check Abby's wound and found that the bandage had simply soaked up the Neosporin that was put on her after surgery. It wasn't wet at all (Thank you, Jesus!) and even when he pressed rather hard on the wound, nothing leaked out. He checked the incision on her back from the first surgery and it also was dry.

Abby has also run fever all day but that is pretty normal after major surgery. It was 101.2 early this morning. She was given Tyelnol but the fever is still at 100 this afternoon.

Abby's bladder is not working entirely on its own. She is able to void about half of her urine but is still being catheterized every 6 hours. If she is not able to void completely on her own by discharge, we will be sent home with everything we need to catheterize her ourselves.

We have not been given a discharge date yet, but we're hoping to go home by Saturday

PRAYER POINTS FOR ABBY:
*Please pray that Abby's body will begin to dispose of the excess spinal fluid on its own the way God created it to. Pray that there will be NO spinal fluid leakage from her head or her back.
*Pray that Abby's bladder will completely "wake up" and she will be able to void 100% of the urine on her own.
*Pray that the fever will break and that she has no infection from the surgery.






Dr. Carin Richards, (left), Brooke Talley LBSW, (right) and Leigh Anne Harrington LCSW PIP, (not pictured) from International Adoption Clinic were in the area and dropped by to see Abby today. What a happy surprise to see all of the wonderful people who have done so much for Abby...not to mention they introduced us to Dr. Blount, the pediatric neurosurgon who fixed her back. Thank you guys for caring so much about our precious baby. We love you all!






Daddy finally gets to hug Abby!








After 10 days of laying flat, it feels good to sit straight up. We take so much for granted....this is a major victory for Abby just to sit up!





When Abby's nurse, Teresa, saw how good she was feeling today, she said we could take Abby outside....which is probably the best therapy for her besides getting a big hug! Thank you for giving us the "go ahead" Teresa!






Mama wants to get in on the fun too!





Thankful and grateful parents!