Today

August 18th, 2012, at 8:30 in the morning, Lydia went in for surgery.

It was a last ditch effort to save her struggling life, to grab at the window of opportunity and give her one last chance to live.

Since we began fighting for Lydia, she has been through so much. If you haven't yet, read her Amazing Story. This little one has fought more than any baby girl should ever have to fight.

But today, TODAY, Lydia lays on a bed in ICU recovering. Recovering. Finally, for the first time in her life, Lydia is in ICU not fighting, but recovering.

Her fingers will no longer be blue. Her body will no longer deteriorate. Her life will no longer be a fight.

Today, Lydia has had her heart surgery.

Let's celebrate!

Amazed, and Overwhelmingly Thankful.

It was just three months ago that Hannah and I first began searching, dreaming, and praying for a way to honor Liu Yi and Paige's lives. Their sweet lives touched ours, and because of it, we were never the same. 

We wanted to remember Liu Yi and Paige by helping Tabitha and Lydia, two little girls who also had severe heart problems, and were in desperate need of surgery. So we told their stories, shared their pictures, and then asked for your help. I think it's safe to say we could have never dreamed of this......

• Tabitha was miraculously healed.
• Lydia's live saving surgery is fully covered, thanks to your donations, prayers, love and dedication to helping the fatherless all over the world. 
• Lydia's acute medical costs are also covered from the remaining donations (she has been in the hospital for over a month with pneumonia) Wow. 

To say thank you just doesn't seem adequate. We are overwhelmingly grateful for your support throughout these three months, and absolutely amazed at how God has worked through you. 

Because of you, two little girls lives are forever changed. 

Thank you, for being a part of the miracle.

Something's Happening

Lydia has been in the hospital for nearly a month. She's been in PICU for nearly two weeks. Now, it looks like she may be released back to a regular ward. Heal, baby, heal!

And other things are happening too. Just check out that chipin! 77% is quite marvelous and I'm amazed. Can we do 33% in three days? Honestly, it's okay if we can't... I don't want to pressure anybody! But, if your spare change is adding up into something rather substantial, you're trying to avoid caffeine this summer and suddenly your coffee budget has a surplus, or maybe you are stocked in summer clothes already and don't need to go shopping...consider putting that extra cash to help save the life of a baby girl who has no mommy or daddy.

A little girl who is fighting for her life.

A little girl who needs us - you.

Something is happening, and you can be apart of it.

Why not?

Five More Days

Five more days until the chipin ends and our fundraiser is over.

Five more days, and this little "honoring" of Liu Yi and Paige will be over.

Here, though not in our hearts.

Lindsay and I are so grateful to those who have come along side of us and helped raise the amazing $10,400 that has come in so far. Thank you. We have raised enough for Lydia's heart surgery, and quite a bit to go towards her other acute medical costs... like this current hospital stay due to pneumonia.

If the fundraiser ended today, we'd be happy. Satisfied. Our darling angel's lives have been honored and honestly, that's all that we set out to do.

So, five more days. Who knows, maybe more money will come in? Maybe it won't... but either way we're excited at what has happened through this fundraiser. Lives are already changing...

Fundraiser Update

According to the ChipIn we have raised $4,507. This is a lot of money.

But guess what? We just received a check, which means that instead of our total so far being $4,507, it's...

$9,507

Yup. You read that right. So what does this mean? It means that we have only have $4,493 to raise in the next 18 days. To meet our goal, we need to raise $250 per day starting tomorrow.

Any suggestions on how to do this?

We could tell you that your car will last another month without that tweaking and polishing, but that Lydia is still in the hospital fighting an infection and until she gets better, surgery for her sick little heart is still far off.

We could tell you that your coffee will only last a few hours before it's either cold or forgotten. Lydia does not deserve to be forgotten.

We could remind you gently that caring for orphans is a command for believers, and that in order to cultivate a just society those who have nothing and are totally incapable of getting anything for themselves should be given too.

We could get down on our knees and tearfully beg you to remember and honor the memories of Paige and Liu Yi, and give Lydia a chance.

Or we could just leave you with this picture. Lydia being LOVED by her nanny.

So how about it? Will you think and pray about what you might do to change the life of this little girl?

And more importantly, will you SHARE this blog, this message and this mission, with those around you? Excite them. Involve them.

Change her life.

 

And the Winners Are...

Is this for me? Why, thank you!

 It looks sort of yummy...

Hey, why won't they let me eat these?

I'm sure that it's delicious...

Finally... oh scrumptious paper!

 Congratulations, Valerie, Jason and Emily! You will be e-mailed about shipping soon!

The Mother (and a reminder)

From March 18, 2012…

________________________________________

There is a woman out there somewhere who is still grieving.

She is grieving because one year ago she gave birth to a tiny, beautiful little girl. A little girl she didn’t keep.

Did this woman give her daughter a name?

Did she trace the delicate, fair skin of her daughter’s face, and does she still dream of her daughter’s round cheeks and button nose?

How many days did it take to sleep through the night without waking up to feed her little one, the one who wasn’t there anymore?

Does she know that her daughter was loved? That her daughter found a home and arms and comfort?

And does she know that her daughter is in heaven?

Read the rest here...

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Just a reminder to let you all know that our t-shirt raffle will end Tuesday night at 9pm EST. Get your enteriest in before then!

How do you get an entry into the raffle? There are multiple ways!

• Add our button to your blog: 1 Entry.
• Write about us on your blog: 1 Entry
• Post a link to our blog on Facebook/Twitter: 1 Entry
• For every $15 donated: 1 Entry

If you post about us on a social network, please leave a comment on THIS post with a link, so we can add you to the raffle! Then, Tabitha will be picking out three lucky winners!

 

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We've decided, and the money raised above Lydia's surgery costs will go toward medical expenses... like paying for Lydia's most recent hospital stay. She was admitted yesterday with a nasty case of pneumonia and is not doing well. She needs to get strong so that she can have her heart surgery so that she won't keep getting sick... a vicious cycle indeed.

 

Thanks for standing with us in this!