(New) Another Day at Children’s Hospital … Pictures Added

Lia Faith hasn’t slept very well since coming home in December. She’s was evaluated by an ENT at Children’s South early on and underwent a sleep study following that. The ENT subsequently recommended taking out the adenoids, a minor surgery, requiring only a few minutes. But that would have to wait until the meningocele had been addressed. So it was put off until now. Here's how it went. But first, a little education, courtesy of Texas Pediatric Surgical Associates – they had a good web site description of Lia’s condition. And since I had no clue what an adenoid was, I thought others might be interested in the information. Forgive me if this information isn't new to you. Just know that Lia is doing fine, but is staying the night here for precautionary reasons. And know also that your prayers for her are an amazing encouragement to us, grace from a Father who knows all and is all.





"What are adenoids? The adenoids are a single clump of tissue in the back of the nose (nasopharynx). They are located (in the adult) on the back wall of the throat (pharynx)...about one inch above the uvula (the little teardrop shaped piece of tissue that hangs down in the middle of the soft palate).

What do the adenoids do? The tonsils and the adenoids are mostly composed of lymphoid tissue, which is found throughout the gastrointestinal tract and on the base of the tongue. Lymphoid tissue is composed of lymphocytes...which are mostly involved in antibody production. It is clear that, in many cases, the tonsils and/or the adenoids become "dysfunctional" and are more of a liability than an asset.

Why are the adenoids removed? There are a number of well-established valid reasons for removal (called an adenoidectomy). Some patients will have more than one reason, but the most common reason for removal is oversized adenoids. The adenoids may be large enough to cause "mouth breathing", snoring, or even sleep apnea(blockage of breathing during sleep). This degree of enlargement may be associated with chronic fluid or infection in ears. Inability to breathe through the nose causes a reduction in smell (and therefore taste). This is most commonly seen in pre-school children but can exist as early as several months of age. If not corrected early on, the lack of proper oxygen levels can affect learning and other cognitive functions."



So, there you have it. This was the diagnosis for our little Lia Faith. Simple. And that’s created a lot of sleepy people around our house. Lia does OK so long as someone is with her constantly, but the minute you get up, she wakes up. As a result, sometimes our house looks like “Night of the Zombies,” with all the sleep walkers moving about. It’s probably a little spooky to the uninformed. We take turns “keeping” the girls asleep, sometimes resorting to one parent sleeping with each snorer and sleep walker. Lily sleeps a little better than Lia, but has also had her sleep routine disturbed. I’ve often thought about setting up a video camera to capture the overnight traffic up and down the stairs – it would be funny to watch, I’m sure. Just not right now! Where we start sleeping and where we wake up is like musical chairs! And there are never enough chairs. And yes, waking up in one is not an unprecedented event!



So, today, the ENT got his chance and did his thing. But Lia, ever the focal point of attention, decided to make sure we got our money’s worth by earning us all a night’s stay at Children’s. After the adenoid surgery, most children are sent home, but Lia's history (previous surgeries, sleep studies, and low oxygen levels), coupled with a mild reaction to the “I don’t care” medicine left the docs here with no option except to admit her. We discussed this medicine before the surgery and concluded it would be good to use it. Er, next time, we'll rethink that conclusion. So here we are watching two numbers, oxygen and pulse rate, go up and down on a monitor that makes her toe look like ET's finger!



The staff here is great, but they couldn’t calm our little Lia after surgery, so we were “invited” into the recovery room, where all manner of children were being cared for as they returned from their own surgeries. It was certainly a humbling experience, hearing their cries, and gives us more than enough to compose proper prayers. These children shouldn’t have to go through what they do. You could see in the eyes of each child a fear of the unknown and the pain they were dealing with. And for those parents, like us, “lucky” enough to be witnesses, you could see in their eyes a desire to trade places with their suffering babies. Please pray for these children and their families.





As for us, hopefully, we’ll all get to go home tomorrow and sleep in our own beds – all night. By the way, anybody got a copy of “Night of the Zombies?”




Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five

"Gotcha" Again ...

"Gotcha" didn't I! No, we're not on that path again ... at least not now. But today is the three year anniversary of our first date with our sweet baby girl Lily Grace. So each year, we try to remember that day and record for her a little of it...





Her little cheeks were as red as fully ripened tomatoes on a July vine, a product of the day's heat and her fear. She was scared and crying. She had already endured an emotional departure from her friends at the orphanage, her only home in her short little life, and then was subjected to her very first ride in a car. A ride that lasted way too long for her pleasure, the oddity of it completely outweighing the novelty. She cried and cried, as one of her favorite nannies tried to comfort her. By the time she arrived in Nanchang, her beautiful hair, adorned by sweet little bows placed lovingly by her ‘mommies’, was soaked with sweat. It was hot, hotter than any Alabama day I’ve ever endured, and there was no air conditioning anywhere it seemed. We were sweating before we even left the hotel that day.



We’ve already journaled how our usually, reliable electronic devices had responded with despair to the heat and humidity of Nanchang. Complete and utter refusal to perform their assigned tasks on a most important day, a trip to the China Center for Adoption Affairs in the provincial capital’s government affairs office to bring home God’s little angel, Lily Grace Xing Green. As disappointing as it is to not have pictures and video of the moment we first met Lily Grace, I believe it was God’s plan for it to happen this way. It forces us to try to remember every little detail, every word spoken and every look exchanged by a group of people, strangers before this day, yet now bonded by the love of a little girl named Jiang Yong Xing from Juijang City.



We will never forget the absolute love in the faces of the orphanage director and his assistant (both middle aged Chinese men) and the one nanny who had accompanied them on their journey to deliver an angel. Yet, the conversations and words of the day seem as far away as China itself is now for us. Maybe that’s because we were so absolutely in love with Lily Grace from the moment we saw her that we heard nothing but her cries for comfort and security, as she reached out to her new family and bid goodbye to her old.

Perhaps the strongest memory in my own recollection is watching Lily Grace’s mommy stare for what seemed like hours at her new sweet baby girl before reaching out and ‘snatching’ her from her nanny to comfort and soothe her hurts. Not that the nanny couldn’t do it herself, but it was now her new mommy’s joy and assignment. And then seeing Lily Grace begin to melt into her mommy’s arms and wrap her frail little arms around her, while I did my best to answer questions from the Chinese authorities about who we were and why we were there in the first place. Thank goodness for Sally. I remember Sally, the sweetest girl in China, helping us in those early moments with Lily Grace. Comforting her with soothing Mandarin tones and her funny little voice. Sally called her ‘the baby,’ over and over, though we certainly didn’t think of Lily as a baby, but more as a toddler. We would find out in the coming days, that Sally was right, Lily was still a baby, which was a great blessing to us and a key factor in her bonding with us, even before we left Nanchang.



I remember watching Austin, as he sat nervously in the CCAA chamber, wondering how his life had just changed and then watching him later in the hotel room, as happy as I’d ever seen him as he and Lily Grace became brother and sister. She fed him cherrios and laughed at him and he at her. They hugged and rolled on the carpet together as if they’d been separated at birth and now were reunited twins. I remember Granny and Memaw, with permanent smiles painted on their faces – I had often wondered how they would react to the ‘birth’ of a child unto them in a way not commonly experienced. And I saw in their faces many years of love headed Lily Grace’s way.



And I remember thinking on the way back to the hotel from CCAA what a wonderful day this was and hoping that I’d be able to remember everything about it. I remember as we returned to the hotel the staff and guests all stopping everything they were doing, just to see the new family. Smiles were the order of the day, some beaming, others more conservative, but there nonetheless. The faces of the Chinese staff of the Gloria who considered themselves our servants, but who were really our inspiration, were dripping with the one emotion, love, that is not claimed exclusively by any peoples on earth, but is shared among us all.



It seemed as if time were standing still as we made our way through the lobby of the Gloria and to the elevators. When we got there, there was an absolute stampede among those present to hold the honor of helping us onto the elevator and to our rooms. Even some of the other foreigners (there were no Americans) gave approving nods, accompanied by smiles of their own. I think it was all God’s way of telling us He was proud and happy in this moment. Seeing what He had been working on for a lifetime come to fruition in a moment frozen in time and recorded forever in the memories of those He privileged to be a part of His story, a story of adoption and of love. Happy Gotcha Day, sweet baby girl!









Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five

Our Flag Was Still There ...

Please forgive my opinions in this journal entry, but I can't help myself to make these observations as we celebrate our nation's birthday. We still live in the greatest country on earth, despite what some may say and have us believe. But there are cracks in the foundation that are cause for great concern. I believe our nation is being slowly convinced that we are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. I think that we as Americans would do well to take a step back and learn again to appreciate the meaning behind the words in the title of this entry. I'm afraid our nation's leaders have written them off in many ways and have conscripted our news media to convince us that it's for our own benefit. I hope that as we observe the annual fireworks displays in our local communities, we will think of those who have provided us the freedom, through brave sacrifices, to enjoy those displays.



I'm afraid the efforts and sacrifices of our soldiers are no longer understood or appreciated by too many of us. Without them, our two sweet baby girls, and many others like them, would never have the opportunity to dream of a better life as Americans. Anyone who has ever traveled outside the friendly confines of our most blessed nation can attest to the privileges we enjoy and the conditions others endure. To know that our flag is still there, here in America and in our embassies and consulates abroad, is a great comfort, but one that seems to be slowly diminishing.



Without our soldiers, our own country, even our local communities, would be less safe. Our privileges to worship a loving God without fear of reprisal would not exist. I'm afraid we don't pray enough for our soldiers - I know that I am guilty of that myself. Maybe on this 4th of July, we could each take a minute and read through Psalm 91 and lift the name of a soldier to our Lord, asking Him for a blanket of protection over that soldier.



I'm afraid we don't pray enough for divine guidance for our leaders - and as a result those leaders are making decisions that will diminish the quality of life for all who follow us, your children and ours. I've never viewed our Congress with anything but respect, but find myself more and more asking why they are making decisions as they are. And as for the Office of the President of these United States, I am simply confused and stunned by many of the statements recently expressed.



To say that we are not a Christian nation is simply to ignore history and the reasons for which our nation was founded - that's not my opinion, it is fact. In my view, apologizing to the world for American 'arrogance' does not make it easier for us to travel abroad and adopt children. Indeed, it makes it less safe and more difficult, as our nation becomes less respected around the world. I'm reminded of a couple of American journalists in prison in North Korea at this very moment and who appear to have been all but forgotten by our leaders and the very media that sent them there in the first place.



In the midst of all this concern, however, comes a small, still voice reminding us that He is in control and that all things are allowed to occur only according to His plan. He is our loving and patient God, providing the very air we breathe and the sustenance of our lives. So, what are we to do?



If we abide in Him and allow Him to abide in us as a nation, then we will continue to prosper and be blessed. If we pray and humble ourselves before Him, ask His forgiveness for our transgressions, and plead the blood of Jesus over our nation, He will be faithful and kind to us. And, as a Christian nation, we will still have the privilege of answering His call to care for the orphans of this world ... all 148 million of them. So, please pray for our nation today, as we celebrate its foundation, which is solidly based in Christianity, standing as a lighthouse to a lost and forsaken world. And pray that our leaders take notice of the circumstances of those orphans who greatly need a "Christian" nation to rise up and stand up for them.



May God forgive us for what we have done to His children in this world and may He yet give us the opportunity and privilege to respond to their needs, both in America and throughout the world. May God continue to bless America.

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five

Water Spouts and Water Sprinklers ...

Have one thing in common tonight. Both of them caused great excitement here at Waterscape. The water spout (sorry, no picture) happened early in the evening while Connie and the girls and I were returning from the Gulfarium. Austin and Daniel gave witness and said it caused a great number of people on the beach to go running for cover, even though it was a large distance away. Earlier in the week we had a tremendous rain storm that flooded the first floor. Thank goodness our room is on the second floor. Check out the pictures of the clouds that gave birth to the water spout. I'm surprised there weren't a few more water spouts from this storm.







And now the real reason why I'm up at 3 am! Water sprinklers. I learned something tonight. Actually, I learned two things. One, when the water pressure in the sprinkler system drops, it automatically triggers the fire alarm system, which calls the fire department, which sends fire trucks, which brings firemen, which causes great excitement ... And the second thing I learned? People ignore fire alarms at 2:22 am. In this great big 5 or 6 story condo with hundreds of rooms, there were only a handful of us who ventured out to see what was the matter and whether we should be concerned. Apparently, the water sprinker system let loose in the parking garage (whether on its own or with some assistance is still to be determined) prompting a full fledged response from the local fire department. Checkout the pictures of the firemen doing their job. It's a good thing the fire station is just across the street from us!







Good Night ... Hopefully,

Oh no! There go the alarms again!

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five

Four!!!!!

There was a time when a 47 or 48 on a 9-hole outing was a really good day. In fact, at the beginning of his high school golf team's season this year, the coach pinned Austin the '1' on their team. That meant that he'd go out with the top golfers from each school every competition. Sometimes, coach would give him a break and send him out with the 2's, just to keep his confidence up. And it worked.

"No, it didn't snow, that's dew!"

The season long challenge paid off, as Austin ended the season solidly in his team's '1' slot and regularly shot mid 40s on nine holes. The last match of the season, he was on track for a '39' until he ran into some trouble on the last hole an ended up with a 41. Still, pretty good for a freshman golfer who has basically taught himself the game. After the season, he continued to shoot well until he was forced to take a break by our busy schedule.






So, when Austin fired a 47 and 48 on two 9-hole outings this week and was disappointed, I reminded him that even with a month and a half layoff, he was still right where he had ended the season. Here's a few pictures of Austin's golf outing with his friend Daniel at Indian Bayou in Destin, Florida. Of course, the front nine is named the 'Seminole' course, a name that was certainly not lost on this would-be Florida State student. "Four!"

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five

I Couldn't Get a Good Picture at the Beach ...

So, these will have to do. Hello from Ft Walton Beach, FL. The girls really love the beach. Lily Grace would stay in the water all day if we let her - in fact she did today! And Lia Faith copies everything her big sister does, so she was right there with her. Austin also loves the beach, especially if he gets to play a round or two of golf at some really premier courses. I'd better finish this in a hurry, because his tee time tomorrow is 7:08 - AM! Anyway, more stories and pictures later, but for now, enjoy these after dinner, out by the pool pictures. We tried and tried to get the girls to smile, but we failed. However, after reviewing them, we decided that we had some real gems here - see what you think!







The girls were clearly in deep thought and communicating in a way not yet well understood by us. It's absolutely remarkable to see them do this from time to time. I think they actually realize that we don't understand and they're OK with that. Oh, but what are they thinking? What we wouldn't give to know those innermost thoughts that manifest themselves in the expressions on these faces.








Tomorrow, some pictures from Austin's golf outing and from the beach.

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five

You Don't Mean It!

"108 Johnson Street"

Lula Bell is 95 years old now, but you'd never know it, except for her simple surroundings and her timeless story. She lives in Andalusia Manor in Andalusia, Alabama and is a breath of fresh air in an age when time seems to pass so rapidly for the rest of us. For Lula Bell, time simply doesn't exist. "Guess how old I am!" she says during our visit. I'd already been informed that she had broken 90 a few years ago, so I had a good idea. But, after thinking about it for a minute or two, I smiled really big and said "Twenty-nine, I bet you're twenty nine, aren't you!" I thought she'd raise the roof with her laughter. She slapped her thigh so hard I worried about a bruise.




What a great blessing to see her laugh so genuinely. You know, I'm not sure that our generation and those that follow behind us fully understand and appreciate genuine emotion anymore. I think it's something that we've lost along the way ... and I bet God cries at that realization. But today, we got a glimpse of what it's supposed to be like. After Connie told her how pretty she was, Lula Bell smiled and told us she'd just turned 95. That means that she was born in 1914, just before the war, the first World War! What an unbelievable storehouse of knowledge and history must reside with this "young" lady there at Andalusia Manor. What changes must she have witnessed. How many presidents? How many wars? How many have come and gone on her watch?



Just who is this Lula Bell, you ask. Lula Bell is a 'grandmother' to me who I never really got to know because of life's circumstances. She's not biological, but adopted. Wife of my late grandfather, Herman Jones of Andalusia. Herman married Lula Bell after separating from my biological grandmother, and I never saw him again. I was very young and don't really remember seeing him much before the divorce. Yet, every Christmas we received a precious card from "Lula Bell and Herman" in Andalusia wishing us the best Christmas had to offer and sometimes accompanied by the invitiation to "Come see us!"

After Austin was born, Connie and I decided during our annual trip to the beach to detour through Andalusia and see where these Christmas cards were coming from. So, without much to go on, we began looking for my grandfather's house. Fortunately, Andalusia is a small, typical southern community where everyone knows everyone and is willing to help. It didn't take long to find our way to 108 Johnson Street, home of one Lula Bell Jones and her husband, my grandfather, Herman Jones. And so that year, we answered the invitation and surprised the Joneses of Andalusia. We only intended to stay a little while. You know, let the grandparents see the newest member of the family, exchange a few hugs and stories, and move on to the beach. Little did we know ...

Somehow, Lula Bell had got wind that we might come and so she prepared a room for us. Only God, himself, knows how long she'd had the room prepared, in hopes that it would soon host its intended visitors from the north. After a wonderful, hour or so visit, we announced that we'd should leave to continue our journey and Lula Bell insisted that it was late in the day and so we should spend the night. "You don't mean it!" she exclaimed at our intentions to leave. This was a phrase we'd heard Lula Bell say over and over as we told her stories of our lives to the north. "You don't mean it!" she would say at every pause. Grandfather didn't say much at all, his Parkinson's having pretty much taken control of his abilities. But you could see in his face the thrill of seeing his grandson again after so many years.

There was certainly no way we could turn down the offer to stay from such a sweet couple. And so we stayed. In a makeshift bedroom that doubled as a library. I remember looking through grandfather's modest library of western paperbacks, dominated by Clive Cussler novels. He must have read every western novel ever written. Of course, bed time was 6:00 pm, just after dinner, so we lay awake most of the night laughing at ourselves and wondering how we'd ended up here spending the night with people we had essentially never met in this tiny house at 108 Johnson Street, Andalusia, AL.



We slept on an old feather bed mattress laid on a hardwood floor. The windows were left open to invite in the moist evening air, in hopes of cooling the room enough to sleep. When morning came, we woke to the smell of every breakfast staple you could imagine. Lula Bell said she didn't know what we liked, so she cooked everything she had - no one knew anything about colesterol in those days and lard was the main ingredient of everything. So, we ate like royalty, or pigs depending on your viewpoint, until we couldn't possibly consume another grit. Lula Bell was literally cooking as we ate to replenish what was on the table. I wondered if she'd cooked their whole week's supply of food while we tried to keep up! After breakfast, we said our goodbyes, thanked Lula Bell for the hospitality, and went our way.



A few years later, the Christmas cards stopped coming and we learned that grandfather had been called home. So we came back to Andalusia one more time, this time to say goodbye to a grandfather we'd only recently said hello to. Lula Bell carried on with her life and we carried on with ours. Separately, I'm sad to say. Until today, when our paths crossed again. That trip through Andalusia years ago had identified an alternate path to the beach for us that works really well and reminds us of days gone by. So every year, we make the trek along AL 55 through Andalusia to Florala. I'm ashamed to say that we never looked up Lula Bell, always in a hurry to get to the beach.




In an interesting twist, we had decided to stop in Andalusia this year, not knowing how well Lia would travel. Furthermore, we spent the night in the same hotel we as when grandfather passed and that lead me to wonder about Lula Bell. So, we decided that we'd look up Lula Bell again and introduce Lily Grace and Lia Faith to the "young" lady who'd fed us so heartily years ago. We wondered if she was still living in Andalusia or if she'd been called home too. We wondered how many times she would say "You don't mean it!" if we were fortunate enough to see her. We wondered if she'd remember us. Through the grace of God, we were able to find Lula Bell and introduce her to Lily Grace and Lia Faith and reacquaint her with the 15 year old boy she'd fed one night years ago. Thank you God, and please forgive us for not visiting Lula Bell more often. She was a great blessing to us.




Oh, as our visit was drawing to a close, we told Lula Bell that we'd be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary later this summer. Her reply? "You don't mean it!"

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, Lia Faith (and Lula Bell)
Green, Party of Five