Once Upon A Prayer

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

More than just a bow...

Well hello fellow Team Lily prayer warriors and supporters!!!

This is Emily Wittig, a friend of our dear Emily and Jacques Rancourt. I am pleased to be writing on their "Once Upon A Prayer" blog...a blog that Emily started almost 2 years ago with this convicting verse..."Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act." (Proverbs 24:12)

As Emily and Jacques learned of the very bleak fate of special needs Chinese orphans, they knew what they had to do. With heart and soul, and as God as their pilot, they began their adoption journey.
We have been so blessed to have been allowed on this journey through posts and pictures...yes, we have laughed, cried, and our days have been filled with hope and many, many prayers.

In May 2012, we know that God placed Mackenzie Ty and Lily Grace in the arms of Jacques and Emily. These precious, yet very sick little girls, would finally have family and home...a home full of love, wackiness, and one of serving the Lord.

As we have witnessed God's love and blessings for this family, we have been quick to realize that the journey is not over...it is one filled with many joys and many challenges, especially medical ones.
Most of you know that Lily Grace has been in the hospital with extended stays involving many complicated heart procedures and related issues. Her last stay spanned over 2 months and our prayers sometimes turned into pleas. Our God answered with, "Yes, Lily has more living to do."

Out of our love and support of Lily and family, and her love of a yellow bow, the LilyStrong bow and motto was "birthed" from our own JT Smith (Manassas Baptist Church goer)! We all loved it and were so ready to display it...our Facebook profile pics became a sea of bows...bows that stood for great love, hope, and strength!!

In continuing with this theme of love and support for Lily Grace and the Rancourt family, we now have shirts. Yes folks, WE FINALLY HAVE SHIRTS!! These LilyStrong shirts will be worn by many folks near and far!! The profits from the sale of these shirts will be donated through the Morning Star Foundation for Lily's mounting medical costs.

I have teamed up with "xPress It!", a family owned company that is also a part of our church body that care deeply for the Rancourts. They have been so kind to give us the best prices so more monies can be donated.

You will need to contact me at EJWittig@aol.com to ask questions or place your order. In your e-mail, please supply me with your address and preferred method of payment when you are ready to order. I will need those zip codes to calculate shipping. Locals can pay cash or checks. Out-of-towners can pay with checks and will have a Paypal option with added fees (to cover the paypal charge).

This is a preorder and once you have ordered and paid, your shirt will be made. We already have spotted LilyStrong shirt wearers and it's exciting,y'all!! We are called to serve and I think this is a fabulous way of doing so.

Listed below are the sizes, colors, and costs for our Lily Strong shirts:

All styles come in the colors of Coral Silk, Charcoal, and White.

There is an added color for Youth..."Lily's Choice" Green!!

Adult S-XL ($18.00) 2X,3X ($20.00)

Lady S-XL ($18.00) 2X,3X ($20.00)
The lady style is more of a feminine one

in the neck and sleeve and is more tapered.

Youth XS(3/4), S(6,8) M(10/12) L(14/16)

All youth sixes are $12.00

I look forward to hearing from you and request that you Facebook me and Emily Rancourt a picture of you, your family, or group wearing your shirts. I will include it in our LilyStrong Album.

Again, my contact e-mail me is: EJWittig@aol.com

WE ARE LILY STRONG!!!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Mackenzie Ty turns 4!

Four years ago today, a little girl was born in China.

This little girl had two things going against her from day one.

First, she was born a girl.

Second, she was sick.

Her birth mother bundled this precious little girl up in a yellow baby outfit, and wrapped her in a light colored blanket/quilt. She had no choice but to leave her newborn baby girl on a bench in the emergency treatment center of a hospital in Shanghai, China. On the bench next to her baby she left a bottle, formula, two sets of cotton padded clothes, and two sweatshirts. Perhaps the most precious gift she could have left for Jacques and I was this note:

English Translation:

This is a girl born on February 8, 2009 (Lunar calendar) at 7 am. Because our family is poor and cannot afford to seek medical treatment, I have no choice but to leave her here. Someone with a good heart please take care of her, my family and I will be extremely grateful. Because her illness may threaten her life, please do not delay. From, A Helpless Person

Today, as we celebrate Mackenzie's fourth year of life, Jacques and I are well aware that a woman in China will be wondering if her baby girl is still alive, and if someone with a good heart is taking care of her. My prayer today is that God will whisper into this woman's ear that not only is her little girl alive, but that she is absolutely thriving, treasured, and loved beyond what words can adequately express.

After languishing in the Shanghai orphanage for three years and two months, I remember that sinking feeling I felt the moment Mackenzie's 18 lbs of skin and bones were placed in my arms on May 7th, 2012. Her eyes were vacant of emotion, and her body was rigid from the unfamiliarity of a mother's touch. I kept wondering...could we ever break through to this little girl?

Almost 10 months later, and 8 pounds pounds heavier,

Mackenzie is still tiny but mighty!

Her joy and loving spirit leaks out of her all day long.

Happy 4th Birthday Mighty Mack!

We love you to China and back.

Thanking God for setting this precious treasure in our family!

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families."

Psalm 68:5-6a

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Baby Check Up!

Jacques and I spent all day yesterday at the Children's National Medical Center having the baby checked out. Jacques was very excited to be allowed to try his hand at the ultrasound machine, and he was even able to get some images that the technician was not able to capture! We are 28 weeks 3 days (today), and the baby is measuring at 26 weeks. The small size is very typical of baby's with Downs Syndrome, but the doctor was pleased that the baby is still within a "normal" growth curve. We also learned that there is a lot of extra fluid around the baby. Once again this is very typical of pregnancies involving a baby with DS since they do not swallow the fluid as well as other infants. The doctor said that this would explain my extreme discomfort, and constant tightness in my stomach. It is also the cause of pre-term delivery, so they will be keeping a close eye on the fluid levels over the next few weeks.

Next, we had a very encouraging meeting with the Director of the Down's Syndrome Clinic. We were told that this man was amazing, and with his 42 years of experience we feel confident that we are in very good and capable hands. Our family will be working very closely with this Clinic in order to maximize our child's potential.

Lastly, the baby had a fetal echocardiogram. The Cardiologist said that they got a lot more information and beautiful images since the baby was 4 weeks bigger. Our little one has an atrioventricular septal defect, which means that there's a hole between the chambers of the heart and problems with the valves that regulate blood flow to the heart. The baby only has one valve, and is actually completely missing the other one. The Cardiologist will be keeping a close eye on the one valve that the baby does have, since there is a chance that it could begin leaking. As long as this valve does not begin leaking, the baby will be allowed to go home from the hospital with us after s/he is born. We will use a lot of different medications to keep the baby alive for its first few months of life since it will be in heart failure. The baby will dictate the timing of the open heart surgery, but the cardiologist is hopeful that the baby can wait until s/he is at least 2-3 months old. Lily's surgeon, Dr. Jonas, will perform the open heart surgery.

Jacques and I enjoyed our almost childless day together, and laughed so hard we cried on several different occasions. Jacques and I make an amazing team, and there is NOTHING in this world that we cannot tackle together with the help of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Just ask us!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Cardiology Follow-up

Did you hear Jacques and I screaming

from the rooftops this afternoon?

Lily had a 3 hour Cardiology follow-up appointment today.

She was all smiles when we walked into the office.

However, as soon as they asked her to put on a gown,

my sweet girl freaked out and said,

"Mommy, we gotta get outta here!!! I need to go home!"

My heart literally twisted in my chest.
No child should ever experience this fear.

After a lot of convincing that we WOULD go home,
Lily finally calmed down.

This is Lily's "you better not keep me here" face...

Here is what the doctor told us:

Her lungs sound CLEAR...
(we left before they read the chest x-ray though)

Her heart still has a little fluid around it...

Her heart function is decent...

Today we discussed some midway and long-term plans for Lily, which as you can imagine is extremely overwhelming. Jacques and I have A LOT to consider. However, the goal for right now is to keep her HOME, help her pack on the lbs., and give her body a chance to recover its immune system. Our family is living for the moment, and enjoying every beautiful second of it!!!

God is the strength of my heart...Psalm 73:26

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Naughty Mack

For those of you who only know Mackenzie through this blog or Facebook, you may find it hard to believe that despite her sweet and innocent looking face, Mackenzie can be quite Naughty! For those of you who truly "know" Mighty Mack, right now you are vehemently shaking your head in agreement with me.

After being confined to a metal crib in her orphanage for the first three years and two months of her life, most of Mackenzie's naughty behavior stems from the desire to explore EVERYTHING and ANYTHING all at the same time. Very early on, Jacques and I learned that in order to keep Mackenzie and the rest of us safe, we would need to figure out a way to slow her down and put her in a timeout that was within our line of sight. So, when Mackenzie gets out of control, we tell her to sit down and put her hands on her legs. Perhaps this sounds silly to you, but it works really well for our Mighty Mack.

Yesterday, Mackenzie was being really naughty. Jacques headed down to our basement to run 5 miles on the treadmill. He knew he could allow the other three girls to play upstairs in the toy room while he was running, but Mackenzie could not be left unattended. Jacques put Mackenzie in front of the treadmill where he could see her, and told her to sit still with her hands on her legs.

Within only a few minutes this is what he saw...