One Little Signature

is keeping us from our referral. That's it! The orphanage and social worker confirmed that there was only one paper that needed an official signature before the referral can be sent. It may not sound like it, but this is very good news. There isn't something major holding up our case. We shouldn't be waiting for months. Everything that needs to be in her file is there. So that referral really will be coming soon!

Mary Moo with Wacap came back from Thailand this week. She did a tremendous job there. She gently nudged the social worker and she found out the status of our case. She took lots of pictures of her with the bear we sent and got video that we can see next week. Plus she did a very thorough observation report. I have her current height and weight and it looks like she will still fit into the many 18-24 months dresses I have upstairs for her! She is already potty trained which is great, but the kids tend to regress a little when they come home so maybe we will still get use out of the cloth diapers I bought. Kinda funny that I spent hours and whole days researching cloth diapers to find the best fitting, most comfortable, and reliable diapers on the market and she will not use them much! LOL. But hey, not having to clean poopy diapers is not something I am going to complain about! Jeff gave this news 2 thumbs up!

Now for some not so great news. Her hearing is worse than we thought. It is not just one ear. It is both. She can hear, but is hearing at 50 decibels in one ear and 60 in the other. It's considered moderate hearing loss. Normal every day conversation is around 60 so she will hear that fine, but whispers, soft voices, and soft singing (like mine) she won't hear without a hearing aid. This breaks my heart. I so hope with a hearing aid she can hear me sing to her! A silly thing to worry about, I guess, in the grand scheme of things, but it was one of the bonding things I was so looking forward to. They are giving her speech therapy so the orphanage is on top of things. This is good to know. She has 2 hearing aids and this was the first time we saw pictures of her with them in. We both cried. Maybe it was a stressful week for her and she is still getting used to them because she does not look happy in the photos and looks a bit tired. Cute, though. They dressed her in a pink outfit that matched the bear (on purpose, I wonder?) and her hair grows like a weed! Her bangs that were just cut in the pics from a few weeks ago are already grown out! We have a total of 9 pictures. Mary really took her time with the children, it seems, and we are really grateful.

There is a shot of her with the Build-A-Bear I sent where one nanny is holding the paw very close to her ear and the other is adjusting her hearing aid. I just wasn't thinking when I recorded it. I guess I didn't realize it was that bad so I recorded myself singing and talking very softly.  All the love and care I put into that and she may not enjoy it much because it is difficult for her to hear. Wish I had thought about that and recorded it all much louder. Ah, well. We know for next time.

So this was all a bit for us to digest last night, but the light of day has given us more clarity. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has one of the best ENT centers in the country. We know we can handle this and get her the best care. Jeff woke me this morning with coffee in hand and drug me to the computer, eager to show me all the near-invisible hearing aids out there and adorable little butterfly and flower accessories for the ear tube to make it fun for kids. He is so sweet. We are going to have to adjust some things here and there, but she will still be able to have a rich and full life. This we know for sure. We also know that we love her more with every passing day and can't wait to go get her!

And Jeff said it best...Hey, with a family as loud as ours,  she'll be just fine! :-)