Earthquake photos from Gabe’s orphanage Thursday, May 15 2008
Adoption 7:58 am
These are photos taken at the Hanzhong SWI.
Pictures from our China Trip Wednesday, May 14 2008
Adoption 6:47 pm
I’ve finally gotten around to posting the photos from our trip to get Gabriel in January/February 2008. You can find a whole bunch of photos here.
China Earthquake Tuesday, May 13 2008
Adoption 10:28 pm
Hi All,
I’m sure you have seen the news about the terrible Earthquake in China and the tens of thousands of people killed. As you know two of our children are from China. We received word today that all the staff and children in Gabriel’s orphanage are safe, but the building has been so seriously damaged that they cannot return. Until then the staff are caring for the children outside in tents (can you imagine doing that???). We have never had contact with Grace’s orphanage so we do not know how they are faring.
Gabriel’s orphanage is supported by a Christian agency called “Caring for China“. Along with the Chinese staff, there are also volunteers from Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and the United States. With their help they have made the orphanage one of the best in China. They specifically serve children with special needs. Gabriel was able to live in an apartment with a full-time “Auntie” and only four other children!! So many orphanages have 20 children to one staff person and the children are kept in one room. Gabriel also had the opportunity to attend preschool everyday. When Gabriel had life-threatening medical needs the staff there made sure he was taken to a specialist in Beijing for surgery (not once but two times). And most importantly, they loved my little boy the two years that I did not have him. They took pictures of him at birthdays and at Christmas and sent them to us. We can’t thank them enough!
At the very least, I ask for your prayers for these kind people and the children they protect during this difficult time. If you feel moved to do so, please feel free to make a donation directly to the Caring for China organization.
Here is a direct link: http://www.caringforchina.org/resources/donation.htm
If you would like, you can make your gift in honor of Gabriel Andrew DangHui Stanton.
Happy Mother’s Day Sunday, May 11 2008
Adoption 1:29 pm
Happy Mother’s Day Everyone!
After sleeping in until 9:30, we celebrated Mother’s Day by taking an outing to Frontier Park. I’ve also heard that grilled steaks are in the works for tonight. I’ll probably spend the rest of the day naping and studying for a final I have on Tuesday (Old Testament Prophets).
We had a scare with Gabriel Friday night. On Thursday we had taken him to the doctor for a fever. The doctor said he had a viral infection and that his throat looked pretty red. Late Friday night everything went from bad to worse. Gabriel screamed off and on for about 4 hours. You could tell his throat hurt because he couldn’t even suck his thumb and he was hoarse. We would finally get him to sleep and after 15 minutes or so he would wake up screaming. He was completely inconsolable, bow in his back, kicking, screaming and even hitting his head against things. He was obviously in pain. At about 12:30 am Andy took him to the ER. The doctor said the back of his throat was covered in bad sores and of course he had a high fever. The gave him a dose of anti-biotics for the infection, a dose of steroids for the swelling in his throat and a supply of baby loratab (painkiller) for the pain. For the rest of the night Gabe would sleep for about four hours until the painkiller wore off and then start screaming again. He repeated this behavior all day Saturday. Needless to say we were very thankful that with the last dose of loratab last night at about 10:30 he finally went to sleep and stayed asleep. This morning he woke up like he hadn’t even been sick. His only left-over symptons are a hoarse voice. Right now he is back to his happy self - hopping around the house stringing raisins, stringing toys and pestering his big sister.
I hope all the Mom’s out there have a Happy Mother’s Day!
Dana
P.S. A couple other pictures from our outing to the park:
Golf and Batting Practice Friday, May 9 2008
Adoption 10:01 am
Hi All,
Last Saturday we took Jackson and Gabriel to play miniature golf and later to the batting cages (thanks Aunt Rae for the invite). Below find some pictures.
Dana
Good news from the pediatric nephrologist Tuesday, May 6 2008
Adoption 7:54 pm
What is a pediatric nephrologist you ask????? A kidney specialist for kids. Gabe has had two kidney surgeries in his two short years and we needed to have an appointment with a Peds Nephrologist to establish a baseline for blood and urine tests. We visited Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri on Monday and he thought Gabe checked out pretty good. His blood tests and urine tests came back ok and the doctor took the bladder stone we got in China and is going to have the lab analyze it.
The nephrologist was a very nice guy and apologized for being “kind of tired” at our Monday appointment. He said he had been performing kidney transplants all weekend. I guess we are with the right doctor!!
Andy
Our Scientist Monday, Apr 28 2008
Adoption 9:04 pm
Hi All,
After school, while reading, Jackson came across mention of a certain lizard that interested him. He told his Dad he was going to do a report about the lizard and of course Dad helped Jackson turn it into a multi-media project. Jackson came up with all the information and even narrated the reprot. Andy just helped with the technical stuff. This wasn’t a school project, just something he wanted to learn more about. You can see a copy of the report at:
http://web.mac.com/andystanton/JacksonStanton/Video_Reports.html
We are really proud of Jackson and his school work. He is naturally curious and seems to have a real desire to learn - especially about Science. This wasn’t the first time he did something like this. He is always coming up to us and asking if he can learn about something new (penguins, ants, dinosaurs, art). He is our little scientist!
Dana
How do you . . . Thursday, Apr 3 2008
Adoption 9:04 pm
Hi All,
When we were at my mother’s house for Easter my sister Tracie and I took our kids to the park. Her son Rowdy wanted to swing in the same swing Gabriel and Grace did - so Tracie being a good mom oblidged him.
So, how do you NOT get an 80 pound preschooler out of a toddler swing???
Dana
P.S. Tracie I told you I would too post this!
