The fact that she is now safely in our home is a huge answer to prayer; however, when we look at her, we can see just how desperately sick our new daughter really is.  Blueberry lips.  Pale skin with a bluish hint around her lips.  Bluish fingernails.  It simply means that her heart is not putting out enough oxygen; it is scary to see her in this condition.

Now the really frightening part begins:  endless trips to the doctor's office.  To and from the hospital for tests.  The scheduling and preparation for serious heart surgery.  Time spent by our daughter's bedside as she comes out of anesthesia.  Worrying about seeing her hooked up to a whole plethora of tubes/monitoring equipment, not knowing if she is going to pull through the first critical 72 hours post surgery. 

Then the recovery, which will take weeks, even months.

Poor Lilyanna is not going to understand the reasoning behind these strange people doing bad things to her, things that cause pain or discomfort.  Lilyanna is not going to understand a thing that people are saying to her or talking about:  she knows very little in the way of English.  She's also a little kid, not even four years old yet.

Until that time comes (starting this week, on Wednesday; she has her first checkup here in America with our primary family pediatrician), we are going to have to comfort our daughter and reassure her that we are now her family and that we love her very, very much.

Lilyanna arrived on October 21, just four days ago.  We have already fallen head over heels in love with her.  She is perfect.  Ten fingers, ten toes.  Shiny, jet-black hair that falls to her shoulders, bangs fringing her round, moon face.  Huge, uptilted eyes of dark brown.

 Lilyanna is absolutely beautiful!!

Ricardo has already claimed his little sister as his own.  He is a very proud big brother who has stated that he will do everything possible to make her happy.  He keeps calling his friends, telling them all about Lilyanna; now kids, big and small, keep coming to our house, so they can get a peek at the new family member.  It's crazy!  Not to mention, the adults:  aunts, uncles, grandparents, family friends and acquaintances. 

Lilyanna hasn't been here even five days, and already she's getting spoiled rotten!  The livingroom has exploded in a sea of packages and bright shiny toys:  it looks more like Christmas morning than six days before Hallowe'en!

Looks like Christmas came early to Valdosta, Georgia, to the Hughes residence!  LOL

Lilyanna, meanwhile, is taking it all in stride:  a little Chinese child meeting her brand new American family.  Everything is still so big, so new, so unfamiliar to her:  she just stares at everything (and everyone), wide-eyed and openmouthed:  she really doesn't know what to make of things just yet.

I will keep everyone abreast as Lily has her tests (and, eventually, her surgery); I won't keep anyone in the dark.  I will also write about Rick, Ricardo, and myself, so you can see how we are coping with the difficult days that surely lie ahead for us.  I will have to have our church family keep us (and especially Lilyanna) in prayer; we can really use a miracle about now!

I will go now:  Lilyanna is crying again; Ricardo says she messed in her diapers.  *sigh*  Almost like having a baby all over again!  Don't mind, though; we are more than thrilled to have a brand new daughter to love and cherish as our own!  Take care, and may God bless you; He's certainly blessed us by bringing us this little angel-girl from China!

~Love, your friend, Gloriana Hughes.  :)

*To be continued.*