Part III Q&A

How was the conference??
We had a GREAT time!  It was wonderful meeting families that I’ve spoken to only via email and forums in the past, and putting faces to the names of some that never post their own pics ;).  It was a treat to listen to Dr. Capone speak about behavioral things with Ds (specifically leaning toward kids with Ds and autism) and to ‘tour’ the expo center where different vendors displayed their products for education, advocacy, and just plain fun for kids with Ds!  I was able to SEE some of the Talk Tools items and ordered another Honey Bear (we had one but…) and a cup with a ‘cut out’ in hopes of getting the boys both off the bottle SOON!  I loved some of the reading materials for teaching a child to read and learn sight words and plan to look into those more in the near future, and made some wonderful connections with a group that we had a God-ordained meetup with!

What is this about a Ukraine Mission Trip??
Yes, we’re headed to Ukraine!  Reece’s Rainbow’s Connecting the Rainbow director, Shelley Bedford, and I will be doing a quick trip in the end of September to meet up with a conference being put on by the group mentioned above (more later!) and we’ll also be meeting a group that has opened a “special needs club” for families of special needs children in the region that we adopted from :).  I’m looking forward to being back in Ukraine for a short time, and to getting to meet some of the birth parents in Ukraine that have decided to RAISE their children with special needs even when the culture they live in expects for them to give up their children.

What’s the update on Monroe?
At the moment, no real news.  He does not have a committed family right now (an anonymous comment was left saying he did, I didn’t publish it because that is not the case).  Many inquiries have come in but Andrea has not gotten a commitment.  If you are interested, PLEASE inquire!  And continue to pray for Monroe and for his forever family!

Will Monroe be able to be adopted after he’s transferred?
I am not 100% sure.  We know where he’s being transferred, and although we’ve had “some success” in that part of the country, we haven’t had any adoptions from the specific place he’s being transferred.  It’s a 50/50 in my eyes, though I guess the chances could be better.

You had a lot of issues with Micah with feeding and bowels and such.  Is all of that straightened out now?
YES!  Micah is pretty much 100% NORMAL now in that area!  Thank God!  That was a very difficult time, but the antibiotics seem to have taken care of the H. Pylori bacteria and he is now even… occasionally… going on the potty!! 

Did you find a kids’ toilet that you liked that was plain?
YES, but then we hated it :(.  I bought one that had a small soft ‘ring’ insert and a seat and a bucket and a bowl that could also be used as a step-stool.  There were many varieties including a ‘plain’ one at Wal-Mart.  BUT… for Micah (he got the new one) to sit on it, his little tinkler almost ALWAYS was over the front of the TINY little ring!  So if he had success, it was on the floor.  It lasted a week until I got frustrated with it and we ended up with a “Frog” one that doesn’t have a lid.  Small sacrifice!  It was $12 and it works better than most of the others (except the seat can’t be used later on the toilet, which I don’t care about!).  The front is high enough to catch any ‘stray sprays’ that our little boys tend to have.  The only drawback is that the kids can’t get on and off of it easily.  Which can be good if you have an escapee!