Our Missing Piece

Helllllllllooooooo! Believe it or not, we are alive and doing well! It may have seemed as if we dropped off the face of our fine planet but we're baaaack! :) The time has come to resurrect our blog which was originally intended to update family and friends during our wild ride to Magnus in China.  We were shocked and taken aback by the interest from all of you!  We didn't realize how many people were following our journey, or as we like to call it, our red thread to Magnus.  Now, don't get us wrong...we're no professional bloggers but we have quite a group of dedicated followers.  It must be because Mags is so darn cute! :)

Our life as a proud family of SIX has been pure chaos since we've been home but we wouldn't have it any other way!  Since Magnus has attached to us quickly, we have been able to do a lot of family activities in the 3 months we have been home. We've discovered that he loves the park, especially the teeter totter and slide. He loves playing in our backyard where he jumps all day long on the trampoline. He would choose to read books with anyone who is willing to sit for hours on end and also loves coloring and puzzles. He is "all boy" as we suspected early on and likes playing with cars and trucks. And he still loves music, more than anything! We couldn't stop him from dancing if we tried. It's so crazy to see his little body hear a couple notes of music and rhythmically start moving. It's in his blood! We love it and expect him to become a full blown rock star and buy us a private island! :) He is obsessed with shoes. Yep, he fits in perfectly and challenges Eliza's "diva" status in the family! He is a little sponge and is learning new words every day and has recently started putting 2 words together. He says "please" and "thank you" all the time and we continue to believe he is a genius! And yes, he would still eat noodles and only noodles if we let him but is slowly and hesitantly trying more and more foods.

Pizza with chopsticks...what?!

He and Daddy are two peas in a pod and have the magnet relationship one sweet adoptive father told Mike would happen. He adores his sisters and follows them everywhere. They are the absolute best big sisters in the entire world. They have returned to their activities and are loving American life again. Luckily, the honeymoon period isn't over and they still swoon over Mags every minute of the day. And as for me, I have the most adorable shadow who showers me with countless kisses...even more so than before, if possible! Pure love!!

We are now besties with the staff at our beloved pediatrician's office and with several departments at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Magnus has charmed 87 doctors and nurses and counting...jk! He has had giardia, an ear infection, a couple of colds, and sedation at the hospital for 2 crowns (his teeth had never been brushed in China). Of all that we have going on, can you believe that 2 massive stainless crowns in his mouth made this mama cry?! Nonsense!

So, I'm sure you're wondering about his heart, right?? Well, some may be surprised to hear this since quite a bit has changed since our last post...we are headed to Boston on May 3rd. Why Boston?? Because Boston Children's Hospital has the #1 cardiac surgery program in the nation, and probably in the world. Our son, who means the world to us, will have a world class team mending his precious heart. One.of.the.hardest.decisions.we.have.ever.had.to.make! Since Magnus has multiple complicated congenital hearts defects (CHD), he requires a very complex surgical repair. We have always known about his conditions so nothing came as a surprise to us. After a lot of research, many discussions and some tears, we knew without a doubt that Magnus's heart has the best chance to be fully functioning at Boston Children's. So that is where we will go and literally put his life in their hands. We will then return to his cardiologist at St. Louis Children's who we adore.

Our very own Dr. Heart Throb!

Magnus and I will fly out on Tuesday, May 3rd. On Wednesday, we will meet his medical teams, have a chest xray, bloodwork, etc. On Thursday, he will have a sedated MRI, cath, and ECHO. He will be admitted, stay one night and be discharged on Friday. On Saturday, Mike will fly out to meet us and we will have 2 days to explore Boston. And then the most dreaded and anticipated day of Monday, May 9th will be Magnus's surgery day. I shouldn't be dreading it as I am because it will be Day 1 of the rest of his life with a fully functioning heart. But as you know, I am as honest as I can be and I am dreading it with every bone in my body. I am not fearful, I have faith in the Lord and fully trust Mags's medical team. But if I could skip over this part and the couple days following, I would. I am fortunate to belong to an outstanding group of China heart mamas who have practically held my hand and guided me through this process. I have relied heavily on them and cannot sing their praises enough. They have provided so much information and given me real expectations of how Magnus's surgery and hospital stay should go.

Because our children have the absolute BEST grandmothers in the entire world, they will be lovingly taken care of by them while we are away. This is what made our decision so hard. We have only been away from these girly girls together twice for less than a week -  New York and Curacao. I don't know who's going to be more stoic but I would say not to bet any money on me. I will rely heavily on seeing their beautiful faces on Skype multiple times a day!

Please pray for Magnus's surgeon, team of doctors and nurses. Please pray for Anya, Eliza and Juliette that they don't miss their mommy, daddy and Magnus too terribly. Please pray for our moms as they take care of our sweet girls. I humbly ask for your prayers over Mike and myself. We felt the power of your prayer in China! There's no way we found the strength and courage on our own. It was all from our Lord and you! We felt your love and ask for it again! And above all else, please pray that Magnus feels God's healing hand and that his guardian angel never leaves his side.

Our Magsy Moo has fit his piece into our family puzzle perfectly. We didn't realize we were missing such an important piece until he became ours forever! To Boston we go!!