The answers to your questions

Here we go!

Where is Ivy, her SWI looks amazing!


Ivy is in Hangzhou CWI. CWI as opposed to SWI means it is children only. It stands for Children's Welfare Institute.  Lexi was in an, SWI, (Social Welfare Institute) there were elderly people as well as disabled adults. All separate, but all there in one institution.
The province Ivy is in is a very rich province so the locals can afford the fee's one pays for having a second child. That being said, the kids being abandoned all have some sort of a special need. Ivy's orphanage has a great number of kids with very serious heart conditions. Many have already been adopted and are living examples of the miracles our God is capable of!
Ivy was abandoned at 3 months and I am certain that her birth parents would have kept her had they not discovered that her heart was very ~special~ and was NOT going to heal on its own. I hope the CWI will share with us if she was left with a note or any personal items. She was so fat and rosy when she was found. Those first photos we have of her...... there is no doubt in my mind that her birth mom loved her dearly and took very good care of her.
The CWI gets a lot of donations from the wealthy locals. A recent visitor at the CWI said that while she was there a BMW pulled up to the grounds, a well dressed Chinese woman got out of the car and dropped off bags of diapers and formula.
You can see by her bed that she is certainly in a comfortable place. I do not doubt that she is still with us because of where she is.

Who is going to China??

I must have 30 emails with this same questions haha!
It's a really good question. One I don't have a complete answer for yet :)
I will tell you this much,
I am going to China! Bryan will stay home to take care of the children.  Lexi is staying home. My Big Girls are staying home. My son may be coming with me.... we have his passport ready but it will depend on what is going on with school once we get close to travel.
My dear friend (who I will keep private for now so she doesn't feel any pressure) may be traveling with me. Again, was we get closer to travel we will know if the dates are agreeable with her schedule.

When do you think you will travel?

We are still praying for January. We really do not have any gaurantee of any dates though. I know that Chinese New Year could cause us to be going in February. That would really be so sad for Ivy. She has waited her entire life for this surgery. Please join us in prayer, that whatever God's plan, we would be still and know that His plan is always best!

What are these bracelets we have seen on facebook and around church?? Are you doing a fundraiser?

Our 15 year old daughter created " A HEART For Ivy" bracelets. Knowing that the upcoming surgery is going to be a Big One.... It had been heavy on her heart to do something. I came home from my week visiting my mom, to 400 red bracelets that she is hoping to sell. Right now she has sold 40.  So if anyone here would like to buy a HEART FOR IVY bracelet, there are plenty to go around!! The Bracelets are 2.00, then add .50 Cents if you need it shipped. So 2.50 :) You can use paypal.com Click send money and make sure you send as GIFT or Paypal keeps a large percentage of it. Then put in the email address of recipient: missmary5@cox.net
I wish I were savy enough to put a paypal button on my side bar to make this easier..... but I'm not.
Anyway, wearing the bracelet is a great reminder to be lifting Little Ivy in prayer. We all wear ours every day and I think my precious daughter Cassidy has a heart of gold for moving forward with this idea.

I hesitated to use this picture for several reasons. The main one being that it is pretty scary and I don't want to freak anyone out, especially my family. But the reality of it is that this is her life. This is the amount of oxygen she is living with. I won't sugar coat anything here, this is not good and that is where my faith needs to outweigh my fear. And it does, now, it didn't always though. And so, day in, day out, this is how she lives. She needs to be home, she needs surgery, she needs a mommy and a daddy, sisters, brothers aunts and a loving grandma! I know she is being cradled in the palms of my Fathers hands, I know He loves her, I know.

Thank you everyone for loving on us through all the sweet emails, encouraging words and prayers!! We get a lot of "Your such good people to be doing this". No, we really aren't. We are just like all of you. Blessed to be called, blessed to be used, blessed to be forgiven, blessed to be the ones who will walk beside Ivy Joy through whatever God has planned for her. We are Blessed.