Chinese New Year 2015

Every Chinese New Year we celebrate with other families we traveled with to China. Our daughters are from the same orphanage, so the kids like to celebrate with their "China sisters".

We enjoyed having dinner with our friends and  reminiscing about our trip to China to bring home our beautiful children.

On Sunday we took the kids to see the "Pandas" movie at our science center's Omnimax Theater.
They thoroughly enjoyed watching and learning China's conservation efforts to save the endangered pandas.

Luke's Progress

We prayerfully made the decision last year to have Luke attend public school so he can receive the special services to meet all of his needs.

When we were adopting Luke we never knew there was a hearing impaired school about 30 minutes from our home.

It is one of the best hearing impaired schools in the nation. They are an oral/auditory language school.They do not use sign language.

Last spring we enrolled him in our school district so they could evaluate him and write an IEP.

They determined he should go to the hearing impaired school, but it's in a different school district. Thankfully, our district already had a contract with them and has several students attending there.

The people we worked with from our district and the hearing impaired school were wonderful to us. They went out of their way to make Luke feel safe and happy - from creating a social story about his school day to even visiting his bus and bus driver before the first day of school.

We have seen Luke progress in his speech in only the few months that he's been there. 

Remember Luke didn't receive his first cochlear implant until he was almost 5 years old and the second one was implanted about 3 months later.

When he started kindergarten in the fall he had only been hearing for about a year and he wasn't really saying anything at all.

Until that time he relied on his sight and sign language in order to communicate. We have to constantly remind him to rely on his hearing and communicate using speech. 

Formed habits are not easily broken.

Luke can now say: no, yes, bathroom, ipad, boy, girl, dog, mom, juice, pencil, scissors, glue, on, off, apple, boat, fish, flower, sun, I, the, and that.

He stills needs prompting and he will need many years of speech therapy, but we are so pleased and excited with the progress he has already made.

A Day at the Rain Forest

Since Luke had a day off of school, we visited the Rain Forest at our Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
We visit the zoo often because we have an annual family pass to our zoo. The kids enjoy the many variety of animals in the zoo and rain forest along with the many other activities to do here. Our adoption agency, European Adoption Consultants, has their annual picnic here as well.

Here are some other pictures from last November ( another day off of school) . We had great weather that day esp for November. It's ironic that we had a huge snow storm just a week later.

Our zoo has a new carousel, Luke always has to ride the coyote. He loves any kind of dogs.

Nathan

Rebekah

Hannah

 The animal in the background is the Red Panda from Asia. 

Luke always has to visit the wolf lodge every time we visit.

Enjoying the unusually nice weather in November.

Change of Plans

The last few weeks have been crazy in our household.

Nathan had cleft palate/lip surgery on Aug. 19 and had to spend the night in the hospital.

His surgeon grafted bone from his hip to fill in the hole in his palate. He also had more repair on the cleft in his palate.

Nathan's plastic surgeon said he had one of the largest holes and clefts he has ever seen.

10 days after surgery Nathan developed an infection and some of his bone graft had to be removed. We're not sure yet how much was lost, but he will need more surgery to replace the bone that became infected.

While all this was happening, Sarah started her first year at Cornerstone Christian Academy as a junior. This is the first time she has ever entered a school.

During all of this, the supervisor from our school system called us with a chang of plans. They were now considering sending Luke to Millridge Center The School For The Hearing Impaired. It's only about 30 minutes from our home and is one of the best schools in the country for hearing impaired students.

We're grateful for everything our school district has done for Luke. Being at Millridge has been wonderful for him and is where God has planned for him to be all along. Just think of how far he travelled from China to come to one of the best schools in the country for the hearing impaired. We only live 30 minutes from the school!

Luke really enjoys school and looks forward to going everyday. He has a very small class of 8 students and that includes first grade. Everyone can tell he is very smart and will someday learn to speak. The former speech therapist developed a program called Phonics in Motion which helps kids learn their phonetic sounds by putting a motion with each sound.

Duryea Family Update

Well life has been very busy with 7 kids. Just to give you a quick update:

Adam, our oldest, is 21 and he is going  to Kent State University. He is majoring in computer science/ game design and commutes everyday while he is earning his way through college by working at McDonald's where he is a crew trainer.

Ethan graduated from Cornerstone Christian Academy. He was the catcher of their baseball team and was awarded MVP this year. He also achieved many scholar awards. This summer, he is currently playing on the Lake County Captains Baseball Academy. He is very excited about attending Houghton College in New York this fall where he made the baseball team. He will be majoring in computer science.

Sarah will be a Junior this year and will be attending Cornerstone Christian Academy this fall for the first time.While she enjoyed being homeschooled, she is also looking forward to start a new chapter in her life. Sarah is involved in American Heritage Girls. American Heritage Girls is a Christian scouting program that builds women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country. She is currently working on the highest award in American Heritage Girls which is called The Stars and Stripes Award. It is equivalent to Eagle Scout. Sarah has a huge heart for missions and orphans around the world and plans to go into mission work in the future.

Hannah is 12 years old and continues to be homeschooled. She will be in 7th grade in the fall. She plays the violin and she loves to read and write stories. She is an excellent student and she loves learning new things. She attends Pioneer clubs at our church and she also is in American Heritage Girls.

Rebekah is 9 years old and homeschooled also. She will be in 4th grade this fall. She loves gymnastics and excels in it. She also is a very good student. She attends Pioneer clubs at our church and is in American Heritage Girls as well.

Nathan is 9 years old and homeschooled too. He will be in 3rd grade this fall. He is becoming a very good reader. When Nathan first began kindergarten he could not remember his letters or numbers. We worked very hard on his letters and sounds for 2 years. He has come a long way and we are very proud of him. He loves baseball and attends Brigades at our church.  He is in a new scouting organization called Trail Life USA.

Nathan had plastic surgery on his nose this past March. He was born with a cleft lip/palate, so his nose is very flat.  The doctor removed cartilage from the back of his ear to build up the tip of his nose. It looks beautiful!

Nathan will have another surgery this summer on his palate. The doctor will take bone from his hip and use it to fill in the hole in his palate. He also needs more repair on his cleft palate which will be done at the same time.

God is so good and he provides in miraculous ways!

Luke just turned 6 in June. He had both of his cochlear implant surgeries last year. His hearing is at normal levels. Even though he is not talking yet, he makes lots of sounds. He receives speech therapy from a cochlear implant specialist and can identify all of his 6 ling sounds. He can say 4 of them.

Luke will be attending our local elementary school this fall. They have set up a program for him similar to the special hearing impaired program at a school that is much farther away. The environment at our local elementary school is very warm and our school system has been wonderful and very understanding of Luke's situation.

We thank our Lord Jesus Christ for His care of our family and all of their needs. As this has been a trying year for finances, he is faithful and has proved His faithfulness and goodness countless of times.

Another Surgery for Luke

We have wonderful news about Luke. We just went to see his ENT surgeon last week for his check-up and he says Luke is ready for his next surgery on his other ear.

On August 26, 2013 Luke will have surgery on this right ear to remove the old implant and replace it with a new one.

I didn't expect it to to be so soon, but since Luke is doing so well the doctor would like to do it right away. The goal is to get him hearing in both ears as soon as possible. He is 5 years old now. It is very important to do this while he is young, so that he will learn to talk and be accustomed to sound.

Please pray the insurance company will cover his surgery costs. The cochlear implant will be FREE! It is amazing that the surgeon "went to bat" for us and convinced the manufacture to give us the second one for free. Our God Is AMAZING! God can do more than we ever ask or imagine.

A BIG THANK YOU to Luke's surgeon, Dr. MEGERIAN,at University Hospital's Rainbow Babies and Children for all you have done for us.

Happy 1st "Gotcha Day" Luke

One year ago today we were united with Dang Fengzheng to become a forever family. We were so excited and blessed to have you as our son. We can't imagine how scared you must have been to meet us. We sent pictures of our family to you in order to help you understand, but communicating to a deaf child about what would be happening to him must have been nearly impossible. It is difficult for any child to understand the how and why their world is being turned upside down, but can you imagine what was going through Luke's mind?

By the way, he had already been abandoned when he was 2 years old. He had already adjusted to a new life, and now he would be taken away from everything he was accustomed to and loved.

Thankfully, we have a God who can do more than we could ever ask or imagine. His specialty is changing the impossible into all kinds of possibilities. That is what he did for Luke. At first Luke didn't want anything to do with us but, after a half an hour or so he actually allowed me to pick him up and hold him. That's our God! I believe he whispered in his deaf ears that he was safe and these people loved him.

We are thankful to everyone who prayed, loved and supported us. We thank you and we love you for all you have done for us.

We thank all our family and friends who gave us financial support. We thank you for answering God's call.  

We also would like to thank our adoption agency, European Adoption Consultants, and especially Uncle Zhou, Chris and Karla for all you have done for us. We couldn't have done it with out you. Also, a big thank you to Adoption Family Legacy for the grant and loan you gave us. You are all a blessing and very special to us. We love you.

A huge thank you to the director and all the caretakers of the orphanage, and especially Levi for your wonderful care of Luke. He wouldn't be so well adjusted and bonded to us if it wasn't for your love for him.
May God richly bless you always for your love and kindness.

Today, Luke has become a sibling to his brothers and sisters. They play and have lots of fun together. We can't imagine our lives without him.

Also, we will never forget all of the families we traveled with. We love you and will never forget you. You all have a very special place in our hearts. It was wonderful to see Jim, Beth, Scott, Lisa and their little ones at the EAC picnic this year. We hope that we see all of you again.

Update on Luke's Cochlear Implant

Today Luke had his third mapping session. He'll have one more in August and he'll be finished for awhile. He is doing well with his new processor, keeping it on all the time. It will take some time before he learns to talk because he needs to process language. It's the same way a baby learns to talk. He is receiving speech therapy every week. His wonderful speech therapist is leaving for another position, so next week will be her last week. She is very special to us (she's originally from Hong Kong) and we wish her God's blessings.



Luke will probably have his other surgery this year. I was told the doctors' feel he is progressing nicely and should be ready to have the other implant put in this year. We pray again for the insurance company to approve it. It would be beneficial for us to have it done this year.

Luke's First Cochlear Implant Surgery

                                                        Monday, May 13, 2013

Today begins the start of a brand new life for Luke. Today is the day of his cochlear implant surgery.

We had to be at the University Hospital's Surgical Center at 6:45 am. Luke was the first surgery of the day which I was very thankful for since he was not allowed to eat or drink anything. How do you explain to a deaf child that he is not allowed to eat or drink? Thankfully he was very good the entire drive there.

We knew Luke might become upset when they started to prepare him for surgery because of the way he reacted to the sedation he received for the CAT scan. Well, as soon as they put the ID tag on his wrist and I started dressing him in his gown, he started to throw a temper tantrum. I don't know if he remembers something from his past surgery or if he was just scared. Either way we understand that this is a very natural reaction.So, the anesthesiologist had me carry him up to the restricted area and than he carried him to the operating area kicking and screaming. 

After only two hours the surgery was completed and is a success! They had two representative from the manufacture at the surgery also. They also turned on the implant to make sure it was working properly. It does work and Luke will be hearing as soon as his incision heals and the audiologist turns it on again on June 13, 2013. This will be a special day for Luke because he will really hear well for the first time.

The surgeon also said that he could see from the CAT scan that his nerves are alive and his cochlear is not deformed. His deafness could be genetic or could have been caused by a drug used to fight infection but can cause deafness. It was once used in the US in the 1940's and 50's.

On a previous post I mentioned the way God had ordained our meeting a young waitress who had cochlear implants at a Steak and Shake restaurant while we were praying about adopting Luke. When we came home from China we had our first visit with the ENT. He told us about his first cochlear implant patient and how she was going to college and is even a waitress at a restaurant. When we told him that we met her he couldn't believe it. We told him that this was God.  We believe that God encourages us by bringing people into our lives. In every step of Luke's adoption we have seen God's hand bringing us through and being with us.

Well, we were telling this story to the post-op nurse after Luke's surgery and some how it quickly was communicated to Luke's surgeon who happened to be preparing for the next surgery. He quickly came out of preparing for surgery to tell us that the young waitress we met was his patient too. He put in her second implant on the other ear. Everyone is so amazed at Luke's story and is in awe of God's hand upon this little boy.

Just to let you know that Luke is doing very well in his recovery. The next day after his surgery he was playing and back to his normal self. You wouldn't even know that he had major surgery the previous day.We are so thankful that God has given our nation such wonderful technology and the best healthcare in the world. We are also thankful that God has led us to use our resources to help a deaf orphan to have the miracle of hearing.

Update From Luke

I want to tell you all about how much fun my life here in America is.

I've been home for one week now.

I love my mom, dad, and all my siblings. 

This is the picture of when I saw my room for the first time. It's blurring because my family couldn't get a good picture of me. I couldn't stay still because I was so excited. 

I love playing dress up!

 

Ice cream and Popsicle's are my favorite! 

Baseball is fun! 

I love taking baths! In this picture I don't look too happy, but every time I look at this picture now, I laugh. 

We took a quick trip to grandma's and grandpa's house. I tried some spaghetti and a cupcake. They were both really good!

The other morning, I got my first ride on the lawn mower. It was so much fun! My brother even let me drive it.

The swings and sandbox are so much fun.

 Best of all, I even had my first squirt gun water fight with my brother and sisters.   

That's all I have for now! Thank you all so much for praying for me. I love my new life with my family.

Two Weeks Since Luke's Gotcha Day

Luke has had a lot of firsts, since his Gotcha Day.

His first time meeting us.

His first McDonald's Meal!
He loved it from the first bite.

First time being in an airport,

and first time flying on a plane, from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou.
He could not wait to get on the plane.

First doctor's appointment with us.
There will be lots more to come in America.

First time going to church.
What a blessing, it was in China.

First time being part of a family.
...and it will continue

 More to come later on.

Some McDonald's and Off To Guangzhou

Here is another update from my parents:

We got back from the orphanage and thought we would take a walk to the local area.  We stopped at a local park and then had Luke's first McDonald's meal.  Looks like Luke will enjoy the American (fast) food.

 This next part is a couple days later.

 After lunch, it was off to the airport to fly to Guangzhou.  The last step of the journey.  There we will get Luke's visa and final Immigration papers from the US embassy. Our guide Cindy was such a great help in Zhengzhou. She said that we being Christians are so nice to adopt Chinese children.  She could see the love of Christ through us and we will be praying for her.  Thanks Cindy for making the adoption so easy.  It made the transition for Luke much better than expected. God bless!

   

Update On Luke

Mom and Dad say that Luke is doing very well! They are having so much fun with him. He is a happy little boy, who is very smart. He knows a lot of signs and communicates very well. He even tries to talk.

We have skyped with them a couple times, and each time Luke seems very happy. Last night when we skyped with them, he was playing Fruit Ninja on my dad's phone. Each time he finished a round he would hold up the phone to the camera and show us his score. We did the sign for " I love you" and he signed it back! We cannot wait to get him here in America. 

I'll be posting more later. Please keep on praying for all of us.

~Sarah 

We're Going To China

In 8 days!

That's right.

On July 18th, 2012 we got a call from our adoption agency.
They said that we got our travel approval (TA) and they wanted us to leave on August 1st. That's in 2 weeks  from the day we received the call!

A week before we received the call, the agency said that we didn't have TA and we probably wouldn't be leaving until the end of August. Once you receive TA you usually travel within 4-6 weeks after that. But the adoption agency asked the US Embassy if we could be included with the group that is leaving on August 1 and they gave their approval. This is highly unusual!

Isn't that crazy?

Only God can orchestrate that!

So now we only have 8 days till we leave. And I have a lot of things I need to do before then.

Please pray for safe travel and safety for our children while we are away.
Pray that the transition for Luke will go smoothly and that he will understand that we are his Mother and Father.
Pray for our bonding with Luke while we are in China and that he bonds quickly to us.
Most importantly, pray for his young soul, and that he will one day understand that Jesus love him and is his Savior.

We give all our thanks and praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and for all He has done and all He is going to do.

Also, we got some new pictures of Luke. We haven't got any pictures of him for awhile, so he looks a lot bigger now that he is 4. 

Luke Turns 4

On June 21st we celebrated Luke's 4th birthday. Even though we don't have him yet we still celebrated with cupcakes!

Also, we had VBS that same week. The theme this year was Hometown Heroes. The kids had lots of fun dressing up as heroes.

Adam's graduation party was great! We all had so much fun!

For the 4th of July, we went to our Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Ed's cottage in Pennsylvania on the Allegany River. We all had so much fun. Thanks so much Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ed!