(See below for the Christmas reference :) ).
This morning I got a call from a VERY sweet woman in a position to make decisions... and she APPROVED US FOR COVERAGE FOR EMMA'S CONTINUED THERAPY!
Yes, this is our Chirstmas Miracle for our little Ukrainian girl (and yes, she's still Ukrainian not just by heritage but by citizenship too as Ukraine recognizes a dual citizenship until the age of 18-- at which time she can "choose" her citizenship... but that's not what we're talking about here is it? LOL)
Now... we continue to pray for a grant that I applied for which would fund a 3 week INTENSIVE therapy program for Emma which is supposed to accomplish what would typically be established over the course of a YEAR! What a gift this would be for our big girl, she has SO MUCH potential, but finances are holding us back as it is $4500 for this 3 week course.
In other news, Emma scared me really good by shoving too much food in her mouth and choking. I reached in and got what was visible, but she was still uncomfortable and not breathing quite right. I tried to give her a drink, no go. She was breathing, but obviously not RIGHT. I turned her upside down and hit her back a few times (infant Heimlich) and nothing... I put her back down, not sure she was REALLY choking... maybe just upset that she had? But I tried again... HARD. SOMETHING was wrong...
Sure enough, out comes a wad of bread almost the size of a golf ball. THAT wasn't in her mouth! YIKES! Though she wasn't interested in finishing lunch (understandably), she did sit with me a while and about gas me out (swallowed a good bit of air I'm guessing) and eventually decided she loves me again and snuggled with me a minute... then drank a bottle of milk.
I know she packs her mouth but I hadn't caught the first pieces going in that got lodged... I only noticed the bits she still had in her mouth. She hadn't choked before (not REALLY... tho we've had to stop her from packing her mouth already) and I guess we either have to STARE at her or give her only a bite or two at a time for now... SCARY!
The Cornish Family... Chasing God's calling...
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Tomorrow is Christmas! A very Merry Christmas to you all!
No, I'm not off my rocker (today). Tomorrow is the Orthodox Christmas celebrated in Eastern Europe!
No, I'm not off my rocker (today). Tomorrow is the Orthodox Christmas celebrated in Eastern Europe!
This is one of many Christmas trees in Kiev! This one is in Independence Square. Another was near the Podol area where we stayed. I took a pic of the one by us being taken down! LOL
The "Holy Supper" is tonight, on Christmas Eve, and sometimes little bits of hay is on the table cloth as a reminder of the manger in Bethlehem.
The Holy Supper begins after a child sees the first star in the East- a symbol of the trek of the Wise Men. Families pray and a traditional Christmas greeting is given- "Chrystos rodyvsya!" or "Christ is born!" Family answers with "Slavite Yoho!" or "Let Us Glorify Him!"
Traditionally, families attend church on Christmas morning. Services sometimes start before midnight on Christmas Eve and are offered also on Christmas morning. It's customary, too, to have a spider decoration on the Christmas tree! And during the Christmas eve dinner angels deliver gifts beneath the Christmas tree.
So... a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!
Monday, January 05, 2009
Today's been BUSY!
I don't feel like I accomplished much (though sometimes making it through the day with 4 little ones is a HUGE accomplishment in and of itself...) but so much went on just in small doses...
K went back to school and we had a DECENT day after school. Nothing to write home about, but not the problems we were seeing before. PRAISE GOD and we continue to pray he has now adjusted and this next semester will be a positive experience both at school and at home for him.
I got an e-mail this afternoon which rocked my world a bit as an adoptive family learned of some 'overlooked fees' and spent some time trying to figure that situation out... a few e-mails, IM's and ultimately a "big" letter sent to a "big" guy and I hope it all is worked out quickly! I realize that's all a bit random... but there you go :)
I had the pleasure of talking to one of the adoptive moms from RR on the phone (it's always neat to hear who they are rather than just type back and forth!). Their situation was a bit different from most adoptive families and we just needed to talk through it with the help of IM so I could shoot off questions to a few other people while we chatted and answer the questions I didn't know. I enjoyed our chat and a few very good things came out of it. That conversation will change the way some things are done with what I do in RR.
I realized after that phone call that the human voice is a good thing. See, I'd LOVE to just e-mail with people and have everything work out just fine after shooting off answers that way... but I realized today that sometimes 30 minutes on the phone can answer a week's worth of questions-- and can bring up things that you wouldn't otherwise know to even ask about. As a result, I'm now offering to have a quick phone 'meeting' with the current folks I'm working with to help them feel more secure in their current part of the process as well as to give them a good understanding of where to go from there.
Over the past few weeks I've developed a handbook of "all things Ukraine" which is over 30 pages long and in detail outlines the process from start to finish including different variables along the way, costs, travel tips, packing lists, and so much more than that which has all been compiled from this blog as well as other adoptive parents' experiences. My hope is that this, too, will help smooth out the adoption process for people.
I'm doing a lot of work up front, but hopefully in the end the answers will be more available to people and I will be able to make a phone call to initially connect with families in the beginning, guide them through the handbook in the middle, and answer questions as we go (which will be less because of the handbook...) and then help them make their final preparations in the end before they travel. Can you tell I'm really enjoying doing this?? :) :)
Tomorrow I'll have a QUIET house for 2 hours in the morning and no, I'm not making phone calls during that time! :) Emma will be the only one home and we're going to lay on the floor and read books. Maybe I shouldn't say that... I've said it before and it's really yet to happen... :)
K went back to school and we had a DECENT day after school. Nothing to write home about, but not the problems we were seeing before. PRAISE GOD and we continue to pray he has now adjusted and this next semester will be a positive experience both at school and at home for him.
I got an e-mail this afternoon which rocked my world a bit as an adoptive family learned of some 'overlooked fees' and spent some time trying to figure that situation out... a few e-mails, IM's and ultimately a "big" letter sent to a "big" guy and I hope it all is worked out quickly! I realize that's all a bit random... but there you go :)
I had the pleasure of talking to one of the adoptive moms from RR on the phone (it's always neat to hear who they are rather than just type back and forth!). Their situation was a bit different from most adoptive families and we just needed to talk through it with the help of IM so I could shoot off questions to a few other people while we chatted and answer the questions I didn't know. I enjoyed our chat and a few very good things came out of it. That conversation will change the way some things are done with what I do in RR.
I realized after that phone call that the human voice is a good thing. See, I'd LOVE to just e-mail with people and have everything work out just fine after shooting off answers that way... but I realized today that sometimes 30 minutes on the phone can answer a week's worth of questions-- and can bring up things that you wouldn't otherwise know to even ask about. As a result, I'm now offering to have a quick phone 'meeting' with the current folks I'm working with to help them feel more secure in their current part of the process as well as to give them a good understanding of where to go from there.
Over the past few weeks I've developed a handbook of "all things Ukraine" which is over 30 pages long and in detail outlines the process from start to finish including different variables along the way, costs, travel tips, packing lists, and so much more than that which has all been compiled from this blog as well as other adoptive parents' experiences. My hope is that this, too, will help smooth out the adoption process for people.
I'm doing a lot of work up front, but hopefully in the end the answers will be more available to people and I will be able to make a phone call to initially connect with families in the beginning, guide them through the handbook in the middle, and answer questions as we go (which will be less because of the handbook...) and then help them make their final preparations in the end before they travel. Can you tell I'm really enjoying doing this?? :) :)
Tomorrow I'll have a QUIET house for 2 hours in the morning and no, I'm not making phone calls during that time! :) Emma will be the only one home and we're going to lay on the floor and read books. Maybe I shouldn't say that... I've said it before and it's really yet to happen... :)
Yay! I got it!
I know not so long ago I was debating switching ped offices- and I honestly don't care for SOME of the ped's at the kids' office... but I am glad that I have stuck it out. I really DO like our current ped and the office has been great about accommodating us.
For instance... this morning just a few minutes ago I called and said "in the midst of the sick visits, I haven't scheduled my 2 'healthy' kids' well visits... and they need school physicals to be updated. Um... quickly... Brianna starts school Wednesday and K's was done at the same time as Bria's last year.
Tomorrow at 3 they can both go in :) I also scheduled Emma's next well visit where she can 'catch up' on the rest of her immunizations as well (we were holding this off until post-op and then had other stuff going on with her so... now it's time).
Also- below I was asked about 50/50 reverse mainstream. The pre-k class that Brianna's going to be in is aimed at kids with special needs and thus has a PT, OT, and ST that are "part of the class learning team" for the classroom and these skills are worked on every day (even when the therapists aren't there too). Brianna also has 1:1 time with these therapists (well, not OT yet, she has to have an eval for that one... which means maybe NEXT year ugh).
Anyway... the 50/50 reverse mainstream means that 50% of the kids in her class have IEP's and that 50% of the kids do not. It's reverse mainstreaming because the 'typical' kids are brought into the "ex ed" environment instead of the kids with IEP's being brought into the regular classroom. I love the idea for pre-k :) I believe there will be about 8 kids on the days Brianna will go and their numbers are almost always exactly 50/50 so it will be 4 kids with IEP's and 4 typical peers :)
For instance... this morning just a few minutes ago I called and said "in the midst of the sick visits, I haven't scheduled my 2 'healthy' kids' well visits... and they need school physicals to be updated. Um... quickly... Brianna starts school Wednesday and K's was done at the same time as Bria's last year.
Tomorrow at 3 they can both go in :) I also scheduled Emma's next well visit where she can 'catch up' on the rest of her immunizations as well (we were holding this off until post-op and then had other stuff going on with her so... now it's time).
Also- below I was asked about 50/50 reverse mainstream. The pre-k class that Brianna's going to be in is aimed at kids with special needs and thus has a PT, OT, and ST that are "part of the class learning team" for the classroom and these skills are worked on every day (even when the therapists aren't there too). Brianna also has 1:1 time with these therapists (well, not OT yet, she has to have an eval for that one... which means maybe NEXT year ugh).
Anyway... the 50/50 reverse mainstream means that 50% of the kids in her class have IEP's and that 50% of the kids do not. It's reverse mainstreaming because the 'typical' kids are brought into the "ex ed" environment instead of the kids with IEP's being brought into the regular classroom. I love the idea for pre-k :) I believe there will be about 8 kids on the days Brianna will go and their numbers are almost always exactly 50/50 so it will be 4 kids with IEP's and 4 typical peers :)
Today's the beginning...
Of what I HOPE to be a great finish to school!
Kristopher went off to his pre-k class this morning after a pretty decent night's sleep last night (he was out by 7:30 but did wake up twice during the night for a minute or two each time).
Tomorrow Brianna and Micah go back to KAD where they've both been doing well. Micah will start back with PT there.
Wednesday (God willing...) Brianna will start pre-k in her new 50/50 reverse mainstream class. Only problem is that I haven't had her physical yet so this morning I'm going to call the doctor's office and hope to get her a well-visit today or tomorrow so I can have that paper for Wednesday! If not... Not sure if she can start until I have that. She will be going there on Mon and Wed mornings.
Wednesday night we start back ST for Micah and Emma. This is the first time Brianna won't have speech at the house and also the first set of Emma's "numbered" appointments... meaning she'll have only 19 paid for ST visits the rest of the year after Wednesday... fun fun.
Thursday is Emma's first day back with her pre-k teacher here at the house. She comes Mondays and Thursdays.
Thursday is also Emma's first day back at PT AND her first time having PT with her new BRACES! It's also the first of her 20 allotted PT sessions... Praying I hear back from some of the people I contacted soon!
And thankfully... this week does NOT start Mike's classes! He does start back next week, though, and he's going to have not one but two classes this semester- which when they're only 8 weeks each is a lot to pack in! So, between 2 nights of classes and homework in between, it's going to be a very BUSY couple of months.
And me? I have nothing new! :) Unless of course all the kids' stuff countrs... I'd say I need to change that but I'm not sure that I want to!
Kristopher went off to his pre-k class this morning after a pretty decent night's sleep last night (he was out by 7:30 but did wake up twice during the night for a minute or two each time).
Tomorrow Brianna and Micah go back to KAD where they've both been doing well. Micah will start back with PT there.
Wednesday (God willing...) Brianna will start pre-k in her new 50/50 reverse mainstream class. Only problem is that I haven't had her physical yet so this morning I'm going to call the doctor's office and hope to get her a well-visit today or tomorrow so I can have that paper for Wednesday! If not... Not sure if she can start until I have that. She will be going there on Mon and Wed mornings.
Wednesday night we start back ST for Micah and Emma. This is the first time Brianna won't have speech at the house and also the first set of Emma's "numbered" appointments... meaning she'll have only 19 paid for ST visits the rest of the year after Wednesday... fun fun.
Thursday is Emma's first day back with her pre-k teacher here at the house. She comes Mondays and Thursdays.
Thursday is also Emma's first day back at PT AND her first time having PT with her new BRACES! It's also the first of her 20 allotted PT sessions... Praying I hear back from some of the people I contacted soon!
And thankfully... this week does NOT start Mike's classes! He does start back next week, though, and he's going to have not one but two classes this semester- which when they're only 8 weeks each is a lot to pack in! So, between 2 nights of classes and homework in between, it's going to be a very BUSY couple of months.
And me? I have nothing new! :) Unless of course all the kids' stuff countrs... I'd say I need to change that but I'm not sure that I want to!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Ok, ok, I did it...
I had to at least SEE what it is... after all... I had NO IDEA!
I joined Facebook... we shall see....
EDITED: Um... I've only been on Facebook for an HOUR (and actually only created an account then went to play cards with Mike) and I've gotten 34 e-mails. Is it always this heavy on e-mails?
Fill me in here... I get that I can follow people on facebook similar to how I follow them on blogs, etc... but what do I have to actually DO?
Edited again: Ok, so another 10 e-mails and I still have no idea what I'm doing 15 minutes later... I think maybe I'll stick to blogging?
And again: HAHAHAHAHA... dragged my husband in too... he registered as "Mike" instead of "Michael" for some reason tho... just in case you want to make him feel good and request him as a friend :))
Yep, again, this is easier than facebook: I think I'll stick to blogging for now, but I'll check in over there periodically. I told it to upload a few pic's of my kiddos (thanks Charissa ;) )... and it's been working on it for quite some time now... hmm... Ok, I promise I'll try again... another day.
I joined Facebook... we shall see....
EDITED: Um... I've only been on Facebook for an HOUR (and actually only created an account then went to play cards with Mike) and I've gotten 34 e-mails. Is it always this heavy on e-mails?
Fill me in here... I get that I can follow people on facebook similar to how I follow them on blogs, etc... but what do I have to actually DO?
Edited again: Ok, so another 10 e-mails and I still have no idea what I'm doing 15 minutes later... I think maybe I'll stick to blogging?
And again: HAHAHAHAHA... dragged my husband in too... he registered as "Mike" instead of "Michael" for some reason tho... just in case you want to make him feel good and request him as a friend :))
Yep, again, this is easier than facebook: I think I'll stick to blogging for now, but I'll check in over there periodically. I told it to upload a few pic's of my kiddos (thanks Charissa ;) )... and it's been working on it for quite some time now... hmm... Ok, I promise I'll try again... another day.
I almost forgot to mention!
Yesterday Brianna gained a new "first!" On her 3rd birthday :) She climbed up into her booster seat at the table all by herself! I guess she was tired of waiting for us to put her up at the table... that or she didn't want to go to bed and didn't have anything better to do :)
So proud of her, though this means we need to watch even more carefully-- our little MONKEY :)
So proud of her, though this means we need to watch even more carefully-- our little MONKEY :)
Bonding
Someone asked not long ago if we felt the kids were securely bonded with us now. We've been home 10 months on the 7th, and my answer was "mostly". I can't say "yes" because Emma WAS 5 years old when she came home and bonding issues are more difficult with older children. She has generally come to trust us, to love us, and to know she's "ours", but there are often days where I feel like we made "new progress"... so it's definitely not over- the bonding I mean.
Last night at church was a good example of this. Emma comes to the service with us while the other three kids go to the nursery. This originally was because Emma's health didn't allow us to have her with other kids in that atmosphere. Then it was because she was still "fragile" and we were concerned both for her and the nursery workers. Now it's mostly just because we are already dropping off 3 kids and they have been short staffed lately and we do recognize that to most people, taking care of Emma for an hour and a half along with 10 other children (there are usually 2-4 people in the room) of varying ages and my other two that are delayed could be overwhelming. Eventually we'll discuss this with the nursery workers and let them know when we'd like to begin leaving Emma in the nursery so we can know what we can do to prepare them for her (so they can feel better about it... we realize that she's really not all that different from other kids- just ones much younger- and they'll eventually see this too!).
Ok, on to bonding. Emma doesn't generally just "relax" into us. She's always holding her own posture, she holds her head up when she can now, she sits up tall (tho she will cuddle in with her body) and when we're standing she looks all over the place. I think that even though we're in a large group at church, this is a great 'bonding time' for us with Emma. She is held for 90 minutes straight! How often does she have that opportunity elsewhere?
Last night Emma was relaxed on my shoulder as I sang the worship songs and talked to our Savior at church. She just seemed to curl right in to me and enjoy being held. Then during the beginning of the church service she sat nicely with me... but after a time she was DONE. After all, she'd already survived Brianna's birthday party and was held a lot of the time at that as well. So I sat her next to me (at the end of the pew) and let her have just a little space.
At two different times she got very frustrated and started to squirm and fuss. I took her up in my arms like a baby and held her tight, looking right in to her eyes. At first she avoided my eyes, this is my first clue it's going to be a fight! Then she did focus on me and stayed looking right into my face for a minute... but unlike other times when she'll then decide she's "ok" and calm then start to sit up, this time she relaxed right in to my arm. She laid there almost fluttering against sleep for a good 10-15 minutes the first time. Then Daddy held her for a little while and eventually once again she was frustrated, thrashing and fussing. Back to the cuddle-cradle hold. She calmed immediately this time and stayed this way for the rest of the service.
What a special time, to sit with my sweet girl laying relaxed on my arm staring into my eyes, blinking as she fights back sleep, listening to the Word be preached with my husband, her Daddy, at our side. That is REAL bonding. And the last song at the end of the service had a sweet relaxed girl laying on my shoulder taking comfort in my grasp as I closed my eyes to Worship the Savior. Quite an incredible experience.
People often say that their biological children are no different from their adopted children and vise versa, but I can honestly say that I would not have taken as much intense love from these simple acts from Kristopher and Brianna because I already know that they have and do trust me since their birth. Micah even has formed such a trusting relationship with us that a moment like that (though it would be treasured because it would mean he STOPPED MOVING for a time! LOL!) wouldn't surprise me nearly as much. So yes, there IS a difference between biological and adopted children. We celebrate their DIFFERENT accomplishments. Just like there IS a difference between each of my children with varying abilities. We celebrate their accomplishments differently... but ALL are CELEBRATED and LOVED!!
Last night at church was a good example of this. Emma comes to the service with us while the other three kids go to the nursery. This originally was because Emma's health didn't allow us to have her with other kids in that atmosphere. Then it was because she was still "fragile" and we were concerned both for her and the nursery workers. Now it's mostly just because we are already dropping off 3 kids and they have been short staffed lately and we do recognize that to most people, taking care of Emma for an hour and a half along with 10 other children (there are usually 2-4 people in the room) of varying ages and my other two that are delayed could be overwhelming. Eventually we'll discuss this with the nursery workers and let them know when we'd like to begin leaving Emma in the nursery so we can know what we can do to prepare them for her (so they can feel better about it... we realize that she's really not all that different from other kids- just ones much younger- and they'll eventually see this too!).
Ok, on to bonding. Emma doesn't generally just "relax" into us. She's always holding her own posture, she holds her head up when she can now, she sits up tall (tho she will cuddle in with her body) and when we're standing she looks all over the place. I think that even though we're in a large group at church, this is a great 'bonding time' for us with Emma. She is held for 90 minutes straight! How often does she have that opportunity elsewhere?
Last night Emma was relaxed on my shoulder as I sang the worship songs and talked to our Savior at church. She just seemed to curl right in to me and enjoy being held. Then during the beginning of the church service she sat nicely with me... but after a time she was DONE. After all, she'd already survived Brianna's birthday party and was held a lot of the time at that as well. So I sat her next to me (at the end of the pew) and let her have just a little space.
At two different times she got very frustrated and started to squirm and fuss. I took her up in my arms like a baby and held her tight, looking right in to her eyes. At first she avoided my eyes, this is my first clue it's going to be a fight! Then she did focus on me and stayed looking right into my face for a minute... but unlike other times when she'll then decide she's "ok" and calm then start to sit up, this time she relaxed right in to my arm. She laid there almost fluttering against sleep for a good 10-15 minutes the first time. Then Daddy held her for a little while and eventually once again she was frustrated, thrashing and fussing. Back to the cuddle-cradle hold. She calmed immediately this time and stayed this way for the rest of the service.
What a special time, to sit with my sweet girl laying relaxed on my arm staring into my eyes, blinking as she fights back sleep, listening to the Word be preached with my husband, her Daddy, at our side. That is REAL bonding. And the last song at the end of the service had a sweet relaxed girl laying on my shoulder taking comfort in my grasp as I closed my eyes to Worship the Savior. Quite an incredible experience.
People often say that their biological children are no different from their adopted children and vise versa, but I can honestly say that I would not have taken as much intense love from these simple acts from Kristopher and Brianna because I already know that they have and do trust me since their birth. Micah even has formed such a trusting relationship with us that a moment like that (though it would be treasured because it would mean he STOPPED MOVING for a time! LOL!) wouldn't surprise me nearly as much. So yes, there IS a difference between biological and adopted children. We celebrate their DIFFERENT accomplishments. Just like there IS a difference between each of my children with varying abilities. We celebrate their accomplishments differently... but ALL are CELEBRATED and LOVED!!
Q&A
How was Emma before these about putting weight on her legs? D refuses (curls her legs right up), did Emma have any interest before now???
--K
That was awesome! Thanks Mer! Ok, you are going to have to call me with some tutorials. How are your pictures always set up so perfect? And, how do you make a button for others to grab?
I use "Windows Live Writer" whenever I post any photos (and some other times too). It's a free download and lets you set up your post on your desktop including just dragging and dropping photos, resizing them, and even watermarking (but you have to do each individual pic so it does take a little time to watermark). Then you hit "publish" and it uploads everything for you and posts it! No more waiting for photos to upload, grabbing codes to post, or linking each picture! I LOVE IT!!
And the buttons... I have a long drawn out explanation of how to do it, so if you want the code and how to set it up e-mail me and I'll send it to you!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Birthday Pictures!
Opening presents...
Wow, the card sings! :)
"Happy Birthday to you..."
It IS a requirement to make a mess, by the way!
After gifts and cake... the men relaxed, the girls played,
And Brianna didn't want to put down her new doll :)
And though she isn't the birthday girl, Emma got in some practice with her first time eating CAKE! She'll be a pro by her birthday next month!
She kept looking at her fingers like... WHAT'S THE STICKY STUFF???
She didn't lick her fingers, just shoved the cake in with them... We didn't give her the icing this time either... just the cake... we'll save the icing for her birthday maybe :)
HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY, BRIANNA!!
Happy Birthday Brianna!
My sweet little girl is THREE today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINY!!
(if you are on a reader, take a look at the blog backdrop this week with a newborn, 1, 2 and 3 year old pic' of Brianna!)
Brianna has changed so very much this year!
In January she turned 2 and just 2 weeks later Mike and I left for Ukraine. I didn't see my Tiny girl for 7 weeks and that felt like FOREVER! When I left she was 17 lbs and when I came home she had gained 2 lbs! She started crawling just before her 2nd birthday after watching our little friend AB do it (I watched AB during the day up until January). During those months I was gone Brianna learned to pull up to a stand all by herself! She also was making good solid steps when holding someone's hand :)
When we got home just a few weeks in Brianna started cruising furniture and she opened her whole world up so wonderfully to her new siblings as well. Brianna's tender heart is obvious and she has never yet had a moment where someone is fussing and I have to tend to them and she gets mad. Generally she comes right alongside and tries to comfort the other kids as well. Even when it means sometimes she gets put down and they get picked up, I can't think of an instance she was upset about it (though I tried not to do that!).
Brianna understands so very much and her expressive language has just blossomed this year! At the beginning of the year she had a few signs and a few words but now she will repeat all kinds of things! I can tell her what it is I need to do when I set her down and she understands and will come along to help now.
During the times that the other kids were in and out of the hospital, and when Mike was home and I was still in Ukraine, too, Brianna formed a special bond with her Daddy. Kristopher already had that father/son bond but Brianna was always Mommy's girl! She's definitely still a Mommy's girl (or should I say she is AGAIN?) but Brianna learned to attach strongly with her Daddy and has that special desire to spend time with him ever since.
Brianna took her first steps just a few months ago but now is wanting to walk FAST! She was hesitant about ramps and any thresholds at first, but now she's becoming more proficient at both of those. Steps still pose a bit more difficulty but she has a perseverance that keeps going strong! (Though at the moment she sits to make it work :) ). We thought maybe Brianna would hold off until after she turned three to start walking, but she proved that she could do it just a bit sooner!
Brianna is our little treasure. I don't know if she'll ever really understand the positive impact she's had on our life and so many others, but she is the light that God used to spark our heart for Down syndrome, the yes that we needed for special needs adoption, and the joy that helped us along the way. Two special siblings came about as a result of Brianna's birth... I know of 7 other adoptions that have taken place as a result of their adoption... and so many others continue to happen in a steady "chain of events" from each of the other adoptions. What a gift we were given 3 years ago!
But Brianna didn't come in to this world easily, she didn't let us know all the answers up front. No, she came via emergency c-section by a plan of God's design. Her tiny size had us worried and at 37 weeks an ultrasound left us knowing she hadn't grown since 33 weeks. We held off a few days, monitoring each day and knowing she was doing ok, and then on Jan 2nd I was scheduled to be induced. Since the 1st fell on a Sunday in 2006, the hospital had a "low staff day" in the OR on the 2nd and just in case... they bumped my induction to the 3rd.
I was brought in to triage in a room with 3 beds in it and they did the initial workup. Very soon the other 2 beds filled and another person was coming in, so the nurses decided to move me to a birthing room since they knew I would be giving birth that day (and others might not be). When I moved over to the other room they began hooking back up the monitors and they couldn't find Brianna's heartbeat. Then they found it... 72. It quickly recovered but they put me on oxygen and called in the doctor. Because I was moving rooms it wasn't hooked up to the machine to be printed out and the nurse was afraid the doctor was going to be mad that she used emergency O2 when nothing was documented. The nurse was a friend, though, and she knew her stuff.
The doctor came in, checked things out, then left again. At this point I had an IV with fluids and they'd started antibiotics for me because I have a heart murmur (an innocent one) and need anti's before birth if possible. I shifted in bed and again the heartbeat went away. Mike quickly flagged down a nurse in the hall, though we thought it was likely just that I moved. No, there was no heartbeat. The doctors- both of them that work at our practice- both were making rounds and BOTH were at my bedside in just a manner of seconds. They now saw it charted on the printout.
Then a third time, this time... this time with two doctors and three nurses standing at the bedside and no movement from me... Her heart rate was gone.
Within 5 minutes the anesthesiologist was giving me a spinal block and within 20 minutes Brianna was born! They are a QUICK team. Only one difficulty. When the doctor went to pull Brianna out and cut the cord, she didn't come. He looked and sure enough, Brianna's umbilical cord was only 4-6 inches long. He clamped it off inside and cut the cord inside of me in order to get her out. The cord was thin, short, and hard- not soft and rubbery like it should have been.
We know that God saved Brianna's life that day by the chain of events that happened- and probably mine as well. The result of trying to have her naturally could have been devastating for both of us and though I'd been monitored for 4 days it wasn't until I was in the hospital and hooked up to the right things to get a very quick anesthesia that God revealed something to make the doctors jump, run, and do this another way.
Brianna was 5 lbs, 2 oz and born at 9:18am on January 3rd, 2006 at 38 weeks gestation. Her small stature as well as her heart rate dropping and her low amniotic fluid (another thing we were dealing with in the end) were all blamed on "Intra Uterine Growth Restriction" or IUGR, which was reported as "possible IUGR" on her birth record. After a c-section and having a 5 lb baby, I was released from the hospital early just 48 hours after her birth.
Five weeks later when we still struggled with Brianna gaining weight as she was still just about 6 pounds our pediatrician said he wanted to test Brianna for something called Turner's syndrome. This is when a female has one X instead of XX and causes short stature, lack of growth, and the only symptom that showed any kind of possible "irregularity"... the thick skin at the nape of the neck. This would require a chromosome analysis and we had the blood drawn for it just a few days later.
When Brianna was 8 weeks old we received that phone call which makes you know that something was wrong- "we have your test results and the doctor would like you to come in at noon today to discuss them." We hadn't told any family or friends even aside from maybe 2 people what tests were being done. We were told it was "a long shot" and we didn't want everyone googling this diagnosis befoore we even knew if Brianna had it. Everyone knew that she'd had bloodwork to rule out some things though...
That appointment didn't go anything like what we expected! We were sure Brianna had Turner's when we went into the room, but when the doctor examined Brianna then looked at Mike and I he said "well, we have a problem with Miss Brianna. She has Down syndrome." We both just about laughed! Seriously? Down syndrome? YAY! I can handle that!! We eat lunch each week with a friend that has Down syndrome. We were so scared of this great unknown with Turner's syndrome, but Down syndrome was familiar!
Then the shock came when he said "we also think she has a heart defect, the hospital is expecting you for an echo immediately." We went and 2 days later got the results from a cardiologist in Maitland (who I now credit with saving Emma's life). She told us Brianna would need surgery by 6 months of age (she was 2 months already...) and to bring her the next day to her office. Brianna had a complete AV canal, and ASD, and a VSD. 40% of her blood was recirculating within her heart.
Though I could go on and on about the next few months and YEARS, that sums up her birth and diagnosis that soon followed... She did have heart surgery at 5 months (8lbs) and her heart is doing great now. She began sitting just before her 1st birthday, standing just after her second, and walking just before her third!
Our sweet little miracle- HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIANNA!!
(if you are on a reader, take a look at the blog backdrop this week with a newborn, 1, 2 and 3 year old pic' of Brianna!)
Brianna has changed so very much this year!
In January she turned 2 and just 2 weeks later Mike and I left for Ukraine. I didn't see my Tiny girl for 7 weeks and that felt like FOREVER! When I left she was 17 lbs and when I came home she had gained 2 lbs! She started crawling just before her 2nd birthday after watching our little friend AB do it (I watched AB during the day up until January). During those months I was gone Brianna learned to pull up to a stand all by herself! She also was making good solid steps when holding someone's hand :)
When we got home just a few weeks in Brianna started cruising furniture and she opened her whole world up so wonderfully to her new siblings as well. Brianna's tender heart is obvious and she has never yet had a moment where someone is fussing and I have to tend to them and she gets mad. Generally she comes right alongside and tries to comfort the other kids as well. Even when it means sometimes she gets put down and they get picked up, I can't think of an instance she was upset about it (though I tried not to do that!).
Brianna understands so very much and her expressive language has just blossomed this year! At the beginning of the year she had a few signs and a few words but now she will repeat all kinds of things! I can tell her what it is I need to do when I set her down and she understands and will come along to help now.
During the times that the other kids were in and out of the hospital, and when Mike was home and I was still in Ukraine, too, Brianna formed a special bond with her Daddy. Kristopher already had that father/son bond but Brianna was always Mommy's girl! She's definitely still a Mommy's girl (or should I say she is AGAIN?) but Brianna learned to attach strongly with her Daddy and has that special desire to spend time with him ever since.
Brianna took her first steps just a few months ago but now is wanting to walk FAST! She was hesitant about ramps and any thresholds at first, but now she's becoming more proficient at both of those. Steps still pose a bit more difficulty but she has a perseverance that keeps going strong! (Though at the moment she sits to make it work :) ). We thought maybe Brianna would hold off until after she turned three to start walking, but she proved that she could do it just a bit sooner!
Brianna is our little treasure. I don't know if she'll ever really understand the positive impact she's had on our life and so many others, but she is the light that God used to spark our heart for Down syndrome, the yes that we needed for special needs adoption, and the joy that helped us along the way. Two special siblings came about as a result of Brianna's birth... I know of 7 other adoptions that have taken place as a result of their adoption... and so many others continue to happen in a steady "chain of events" from each of the other adoptions. What a gift we were given 3 years ago!
But Brianna didn't come in to this world easily, she didn't let us know all the answers up front. No, she came via emergency c-section by a plan of God's design. Her tiny size had us worried and at 37 weeks an ultrasound left us knowing she hadn't grown since 33 weeks. We held off a few days, monitoring each day and knowing she was doing ok, and then on Jan 2nd I was scheduled to be induced. Since the 1st fell on a Sunday in 2006, the hospital had a "low staff day" in the OR on the 2nd and just in case... they bumped my induction to the 3rd.
I was brought in to triage in a room with 3 beds in it and they did the initial workup. Very soon the other 2 beds filled and another person was coming in, so the nurses decided to move me to a birthing room since they knew I would be giving birth that day (and others might not be). When I moved over to the other room they began hooking back up the monitors and they couldn't find Brianna's heartbeat. Then they found it... 72. It quickly recovered but they put me on oxygen and called in the doctor. Because I was moving rooms it wasn't hooked up to the machine to be printed out and the nurse was afraid the doctor was going to be mad that she used emergency O2 when nothing was documented. The nurse was a friend, though, and she knew her stuff.
The doctor came in, checked things out, then left again. At this point I had an IV with fluids and they'd started antibiotics for me because I have a heart murmur (an innocent one) and need anti's before birth if possible. I shifted in bed and again the heartbeat went away. Mike quickly flagged down a nurse in the hall, though we thought it was likely just that I moved. No, there was no heartbeat. The doctors- both of them that work at our practice- both were making rounds and BOTH were at my bedside in just a manner of seconds. They now saw it charted on the printout.
Then a third time, this time... this time with two doctors and three nurses standing at the bedside and no movement from me... Her heart rate was gone.
Within 5 minutes the anesthesiologist was giving me a spinal block and within 20 minutes Brianna was born! They are a QUICK team. Only one difficulty. When the doctor went to pull Brianna out and cut the cord, she didn't come. He looked and sure enough, Brianna's umbilical cord was only 4-6 inches long. He clamped it off inside and cut the cord inside of me in order to get her out. The cord was thin, short, and hard- not soft and rubbery like it should have been.
We know that God saved Brianna's life that day by the chain of events that happened- and probably mine as well. The result of trying to have her naturally could have been devastating for both of us and though I'd been monitored for 4 days it wasn't until I was in the hospital and hooked up to the right things to get a very quick anesthesia that God revealed something to make the doctors jump, run, and do this another way.
Brianna was 5 lbs, 2 oz and born at 9:18am on January 3rd, 2006 at 38 weeks gestation. Her small stature as well as her heart rate dropping and her low amniotic fluid (another thing we were dealing with in the end) were all blamed on "Intra Uterine Growth Restriction" or IUGR, which was reported as "possible IUGR" on her birth record. After a c-section and having a 5 lb baby, I was released from the hospital early just 48 hours after her birth.
Five weeks later when we still struggled with Brianna gaining weight as she was still just about 6 pounds our pediatrician said he wanted to test Brianna for something called Turner's syndrome. This is when a female has one X instead of XX and causes short stature, lack of growth, and the only symptom that showed any kind of possible "irregularity"... the thick skin at the nape of the neck. This would require a chromosome analysis and we had the blood drawn for it just a few days later.
When Brianna was 8 weeks old we received that phone call which makes you know that something was wrong- "we have your test results and the doctor would like you to come in at noon today to discuss them." We hadn't told any family or friends even aside from maybe 2 people what tests were being done. We were told it was "a long shot" and we didn't want everyone googling this diagnosis befoore we even knew if Brianna had it. Everyone knew that she'd had bloodwork to rule out some things though...
That appointment didn't go anything like what we expected! We were sure Brianna had Turner's when we went into the room, but when the doctor examined Brianna then looked at Mike and I he said "well, we have a problem with Miss Brianna. She has Down syndrome." We both just about laughed! Seriously? Down syndrome? YAY! I can handle that!! We eat lunch each week with a friend that has Down syndrome. We were so scared of this great unknown with Turner's syndrome, but Down syndrome was familiar!
Then the shock came when he said "we also think she has a heart defect, the hospital is expecting you for an echo immediately." We went and 2 days later got the results from a cardiologist in Maitland (who I now credit with saving Emma's life). She told us Brianna would need surgery by 6 months of age (she was 2 months already...) and to bring her the next day to her office. Brianna had a complete AV canal, and ASD, and a VSD. 40% of her blood was recirculating within her heart.
Though I could go on and on about the next few months and YEARS, that sums up her birth and diagnosis that soon followed... She did have heart surgery at 5 months (8lbs) and her heart is doing great now. She began sitting just before her 1st birthday, standing just after her second, and walking just before her third!
Our sweet little miracle- HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIANNA!!
Friday, January 02, 2009
New Year Resolutions?
Hmm... I've thought about this a few times here lately, and I honestly can't say that I can think of anything that I could resolve to "do differently" this year that would actually... WORK...
I will say I want to spend more time in God's Word and because it's a new year, a fresh start is a good time to get back on the horse... But I'm not sure that I want to call that a resolution. Why not? Because once you break a resolution, you rarely pick it back up.
And I can tell you... I will fail at this. It happens all the time. Life gets busy, I get tired, kids get cranky, and before you know it instead of running TO the Word I run to sleep and to get that last load of laundry done, and to get the other kid to the doctor... and it takes me a little bit to remember why life has gotten so hectic and that all the answers are there- all the comfort- all the peace. I just have to pick it up and READ it. Prayer comes easily to me. I can talk with God all day long. But sitting down and studying His Word isn't something that I want to resolve to do. I JUST WANT TO DO IT.
So... what resolutions could I make? Who am I kidding if I think I'll
I will say I want to spend more time in God's Word and because it's a new year, a fresh start is a good time to get back on the horse... But I'm not sure that I want to call that a resolution. Why not? Because once you break a resolution, you rarely pick it back up.
And I can tell you... I will fail at this. It happens all the time. Life gets busy, I get tired, kids get cranky, and before you know it instead of running TO the Word I run to sleep and to get that last load of laundry done, and to get the other kid to the doctor... and it takes me a little bit to remember why life has gotten so hectic and that all the answers are there- all the comfort- all the peace. I just have to pick it up and READ it. Prayer comes easily to me. I can talk with God all day long. But sitting down and studying His Word isn't something that I want to resolve to do. I JUST WANT TO DO IT.
So... what resolutions could I make? Who am I kidding if I think I'll
- keep my house cleaner
- be more on time
- talk calmer when my kids are in trouble
- keep the dishes done (load them as you go, right? Nope, doesn't work!)
- keep up with the laundry
- change the sheets more regularly
- mop the floors more often
- wash the dog more so she can spend more time in the house with us
- take the kids outside more (this is a DIFFICULT thing with 4 that all come in head to toe covered in black dirt!)
- make more time for myself each day (maybe even shower EVERY day??)
- go on more dates with my husband
- spend less
- lose weight (nope, never has been a goal of mine, sorry)
- gain weight (nah, not much on this one either)
- work out more (what, hauling the kids around isn't enough?)
- play more (I'd never get ANYTHING done!)
- work less (um... see all of the above!)
- sleep more (I'd LOVE to... but...)
- drink less caffeine (um, this is necessary to survival!)
Keeping on keeping on...
Today's already the second?? Where did December go? Not only that, where did the last THREE YEARS go??
Tomorrow is January 3rd and my sweet little Brianna will turn 3 years old! We're having a small get-together for her at 3:30- which my parents have said they'd be showing up at 3:33 for :) I hadn't realized the coinciding with the time... I just hoped the kids would be up from naps by then and that it would give us enough time to hang out together and eat cake before feeding the kids and heading out to church that evening. Check the blog out later for my special BIRTHDAY background for Brianna :)
The past few days have been nice and somewhat relaxing even. Mike worked on New Year's Eve but in the evening we had a few friends come over and bring in the new year with us. The kids all slept through it (as they should! who wants to bring in the new year with kids up at midnight?? :) ), and a few people that were going to come weren't able to due to sickness, so that's not so fun for them. We did have a nice time, though, and were able to get to know a 'new friend'. She has visited our church and they split the visitor cards up among staff and Mike made the call to her on New Year's Eve. He then found out she's here learning to be a helicopter pilot and is from Ghana! She joined us on New Year's Eve and we look forward to getting to know her better over the next 6 months as she completes this program (we have a helicopter school here in town).
New Year's Day we hung around inside quite a bit as it was COLD! Ok, maybe not for some of you, but it was in the mid-50's when we finally did go outside after naps. The kids played with their new Christmas toys- Kristopher loves his soccer goal and ball and is a pretty good goalie :) Brianna wanted to just walk up and down the front walkway and down the driveway so as long as she didn't go near the road she made laps. Micah's new "ride on" toy that has a handle for an adult to push it was a big hit and all three of the little ones took a turn on it. Emma's legs are too long to sit up on the foot rests properly, but she LAUGHED as I pushed her in it and eventually got it moving backward by herself. Brianna also figured out how to make it go and did great scooting herself with it (tho she didn't get far, we are proud she figured it out!).
We also picked a TON of oranges and Mike and Kristopher juiced over 2 gallons of juice! The tree still doesn't look like it's been touched (so if anyone's local and wants to come pick oranges, give me a holler!). The juice is really good!
Let's see, backing up a bit... on Tuesday the kids and I made a 'surprise' trip over to Orlando to meet up with Mary, who I have until then only known online. Her family lives about 4 hours away but were up in Orlando for the day and we met up with them for a little bit! Her family is so sweet, her children were ADORABLE, and we had a great time meeting up! Mary had 10 kids and 3 adults with her (3 of the kids weren't hers, but one of the adults was... she's a busy mom!). Mary is now the Mommy to a little guy that was originally adopted through Reece's Rainbow and she has him through domestic placement. He was so adorable! And believe it or not, he wasn't all that much bigger than Emma!
The kids had a great time-- once we GOT there... The road TO get there, well, it was a bit rough! First I typed the name into the GPS and it didn't recognize it so I went to look for the address of where we were meeting... and it's not publicly listed many places. Ten minutes later I found it after finding just a map and realizing the street name then googling the street name with the organization and FINALLY a street number! Then, I realized I didn't have the toll pass (it was in Mike's car) so I grabbed change- no big deal. Until I got to the toll lines and waited for TEN MINUTES to pay a $1 fee.
The drive is already almost an hour so this was irritating! Then we finally get through the line and my new GPS which was sending me a new way to get there flashed up "low battery." And where is the charger? Nope, not in the car! Actually, though I just got the GPS for Christmas, somehow the charger was in Mike's car... not quite sure about that one yet ;). So I figure I'm not that far off, maybe it will work. I follow the directions until I'm pretty close to my destination and it tells me to turn right and then DIES. Oh, this is after being stuck in traffic for about 15 minutes as well, so I'm now about 30 minutes later than I thought I'd be.
So, finally, I get Mike on the phone and ask him to quick tell me which way to turn on the next road, as I know I'm close but I don't know which direction to go down the main road (I don't drive in this area very often). He says he will then says- oh, that's the security guy beeping in, I can't, I have to leave. He was meeting someone from our house security system office at the house to change our account over. Now he had to leave and had no computer. So he can't help me. Next I called my dad and luckily since I'd looked up the address I had it in my head still and asked him to tell me if I was going in the right direction and what the streetname was I needed to turn on. I knew I was only a mile or less from this place but I didn't want to drive the wrong way for an hour first.
Finally we did arrive and had a great time visiting with Mary and her beautiful family! Mary has 4 children with Down syndrome and three of them are 'older' (8 and up) and I loved getting a peek at her family dynamic :) We had a great time!
So... tomorrow's the bit 3 yr birthday, Sunday will be a "down day" and then Monday will be K's first day back at school after a 3 week break. Tuesday Brianna and Micah go to the church program and Wednesday- God willing- Brianna will start Preschool!
Off to a busy 2009...
Tomorrow is January 3rd and my sweet little Brianna will turn 3 years old! We're having a small get-together for her at 3:30- which my parents have said they'd be showing up at 3:33 for :) I hadn't realized the coinciding with the time... I just hoped the kids would be up from naps by then and that it would give us enough time to hang out together and eat cake before feeding the kids and heading out to church that evening. Check the blog out later for my special BIRTHDAY background for Brianna :)
The past few days have been nice and somewhat relaxing even. Mike worked on New Year's Eve but in the evening we had a few friends come over and bring in the new year with us. The kids all slept through it (as they should! who wants to bring in the new year with kids up at midnight?? :) ), and a few people that were going to come weren't able to due to sickness, so that's not so fun for them. We did have a nice time, though, and were able to get to know a 'new friend'. She has visited our church and they split the visitor cards up among staff and Mike made the call to her on New Year's Eve. He then found out she's here learning to be a helicopter pilot and is from Ghana! She joined us on New Year's Eve and we look forward to getting to know her better over the next 6 months as she completes this program (we have a helicopter school here in town).
New Year's Day we hung around inside quite a bit as it was COLD! Ok, maybe not for some of you, but it was in the mid-50's when we finally did go outside after naps. The kids played with their new Christmas toys- Kristopher loves his soccer goal and ball and is a pretty good goalie :) Brianna wanted to just walk up and down the front walkway and down the driveway so as long as she didn't go near the road she made laps. Micah's new "ride on" toy that has a handle for an adult to push it was a big hit and all three of the little ones took a turn on it. Emma's legs are too long to sit up on the foot rests properly, but she LAUGHED as I pushed her in it and eventually got it moving backward by herself. Brianna also figured out how to make it go and did great scooting herself with it (tho she didn't get far, we are proud she figured it out!).
We also picked a TON of oranges and Mike and Kristopher juiced over 2 gallons of juice! The tree still doesn't look like it's been touched (so if anyone's local and wants to come pick oranges, give me a holler!). The juice is really good!
Let's see, backing up a bit... on Tuesday the kids and I made a 'surprise' trip over to Orlando to meet up with Mary, who I have until then only known online. Her family lives about 4 hours away but were up in Orlando for the day and we met up with them for a little bit! Her family is so sweet, her children were ADORABLE, and we had a great time meeting up! Mary had 10 kids and 3 adults with her (3 of the kids weren't hers, but one of the adults was... she's a busy mom!). Mary is now the Mommy to a little guy that was originally adopted through Reece's Rainbow and she has him through domestic placement. He was so adorable! And believe it or not, he wasn't all that much bigger than Emma!
The kids had a great time-- once we GOT there... The road TO get there, well, it was a bit rough! First I typed the name into the GPS and it didn't recognize it so I went to look for the address of where we were meeting... and it's not publicly listed many places. Ten minutes later I found it after finding just a map and realizing the street name then googling the street name with the organization and FINALLY a street number! Then, I realized I didn't have the toll pass (it was in Mike's car) so I grabbed change- no big deal. Until I got to the toll lines and waited for TEN MINUTES to pay a $1 fee.
The drive is already almost an hour so this was irritating! Then we finally get through the line and my new GPS which was sending me a new way to get there flashed up "low battery." And where is the charger? Nope, not in the car! Actually, though I just got the GPS for Christmas, somehow the charger was in Mike's car... not quite sure about that one yet ;). So I figure I'm not that far off, maybe it will work. I follow the directions until I'm pretty close to my destination and it tells me to turn right and then DIES. Oh, this is after being stuck in traffic for about 15 minutes as well, so I'm now about 30 minutes later than I thought I'd be.
So, finally, I get Mike on the phone and ask him to quick tell me which way to turn on the next road, as I know I'm close but I don't know which direction to go down the main road (I don't drive in this area very often). He says he will then says- oh, that's the security guy beeping in, I can't, I have to leave. He was meeting someone from our house security system office at the house to change our account over. Now he had to leave and had no computer. So he can't help me. Next I called my dad and luckily since I'd looked up the address I had it in my head still and asked him to tell me if I was going in the right direction and what the streetname was I needed to turn on. I knew I was only a mile or less from this place but I didn't want to drive the wrong way for an hour first.
Finally we did arrive and had a great time visiting with Mary and her beautiful family! Mary has 4 children with Down syndrome and three of them are 'older' (8 and up) and I loved getting a peek at her family dynamic :) We had a great time!
So... tomorrow's the bit 3 yr birthday, Sunday will be a "down day" and then Monday will be K's first day back at school after a 3 week break. Tuesday Brianna and Micah go to the church program and Wednesday- God willing- Brianna will start Preschool!
Off to a busy 2009...
Thursday, January 01, 2009
We're already off to a GREAT start to 2009!
Emma got her sure steps on Tuesday and her knee braces on Wednesday! And look at her!! When she's standing ON HER OWN her knees still have the ability to lock (third photo) but with a little pressure behind the knee she will stand without them locked :) The sure steps are keeping her feet nice and "square" (her ankles are VERY weak and the bones don't line up correctly, so her feet/ankles are another big area needing support).
Now the only thing we're "unsure" about is her hip joint, but she's had an x-ray and the orthopedic doctor says it's ok for her to bear weight (*if she would*) so... here we go!
It's been a bit more pronounced with the braces on that Emma favors her right leg. She will put a majority of the weight on it, will flex the right but lock the left, and her left leg is rotated outward at the hip, so her left knee is almost sideways (I thought her brace was twisting, but no, it's her entire leg/knee).
Emma has PT a week from today, but I'm already so encouraged by her WANTING to be up standing! (granted she'd do ANYTHING to play with that toy! LOL)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
A Year in Pictures (and a few words...)
We started with Birthdays
Brianna's January 3rd
Celebrating early to stay ahead of the curve.
Then a few days to play
And to learn some new skills...
A new bed, a goodbye
And yes, a few spills
MORE playing, it's a must
The dogs joined in too
Then we set up the bedrooms
one purple one blue
K's birthday was early
By a month and a half
But Mommy was there and we had such a good laugh
Then out to make bears
One black and one brown
And before we knew it, it was time to leave town.
Our next destination was different for sure
The language and people, the keys and the stores
We bundled right up for the COLD cold day out
And finally found food a long way out.
We counted our Grivnia each day red and blue
Then we could eat HERE and enjoy it too!
Our appointment was coming, right next to this church
The sign unassuming you don't notice it at first
Then off to celebrate- with THIS? what is THAT?
But Mike had other things to pull out of his hat
Happy birthday to Mommy from two little kids
We're excited to add two more on and we did
Dinner with friends who spoke ENGLISH, YAY!
Then off to Korosten to spend many days.
What's THIS? you might ask, well it flushes, you see...
The big one for... yep, and the little for pee.
Then we met her, the sparkle in her eye, she was just beautiful and oh did we cry
So many other children all waiting there alone, and one woman so sweet took our cause as her own.
Then out to meet another, but wait, no gas? Take a look where we're headed...
And then a look back
Then finally, HELP! No, wait that's a pup...
But these two did finally get the car filled back up.
We finally met him, would he be our son?
Misha's his name and he was LOTS of fun!
Then a weekend of turmoil and not much to eat... Yes, we found water and sweets... but is THAT really meat?
But God's always good and provided a way for us to talk to others far far away
We wandered the streets out in the freezing cold
And saw many things that were a sight to behold
The most alarming was inside, it came from the spout
and Mike was in the SHOWER when this started coming out
Then we called out "goodbye" it was time to leave
and we packed back in the car and headed to Kiev. ((by the way, this is pronounced KEY-v))
The bustle of metros
Babushkas out begging, the ladies' HIGH heels (see that?) and no pants just leggings...
But we met more GREAT FRIENDS that were there for their own
And found a litter of puppies, took pictures for home.
Then came a joy, meeting this little one!
No, she's not ours, but she did prepare us some
A Reece's Rainbow get together on the other side of the earth
Three families all gaining a child not by birth
Then FINALLY the day was here
To meet the two in our hearts we held dear
Our "second attempt" though we know it was planned
Because God does what's best
When we follow his hand...
So together a family, still split by a sea
But Mike soon went home, and it was all up to me.
Except , not really- these guys helped out TONS
And hey, I saw my second funeral- isn't THAT fun?
But then as I prepped to get ready to go,
I met so many children who I feel now that I KNOW
All were waiting for families, TWO of them now HOME! But the rest are still there, and they are all alone :(
Then say good bye to the caretakers first
Then the director and his wife (who is also a nurse)
Pack in to the snowsuits to sit in the car
and we stayed there ALL DAY though we didn't go far
Then on their first PLANE! We were off to Kiev
Micah refused to eat, guess he didn't want to leave?
But Emma, all smiles, her first REAL bath
But those ribs, those arms, a sad aftermath
Yes, finally he drank- now come calories to burn
Then bath time, he wasn't happy it was his turn
These photos so tiny, each little rib,
But you'd never guess now since he's gotten so big.
Then down for the night well, them, not me... how could YOU sleep in this bed with all three?
My Dad soon got there and rescued us all
We did paperwork, passports, Visas, that's all!
Then boarded another flight set for HOME
Micah slept in this bag
And Emma preferred to roam
Then HOME! WE WERE HOME! And the grandmas were there
Grandaddy survived- though he spent more time in the air
And at last the kids met, they bonded and played
though Emma and Micah just on the floor laid
Our sweet girl and boy, we were glad to be home
And glad, as well, to not be alone!
Then Easter came, and photos were fun! Wow, it was easier taking pictures of ONE!
Then a party once home with our family and friends
But that's not where this long story ends...
The kids all grew stronger and learned new skills
Played with some toys and grew stronger WILLS!
We borrowed some cribs, put away the big bed
And now each little new one had a place to lay their head
We adjusted as a family for caring for FOUR little ones
LOTS of bottles, lots of clothes,
Lots of BUSY, lots of FUN!
The the day came when Emma went in
They said "we looked, and the chances are grim"
We didn't give up and a "YES" we would get...
But in the mean time Micah got some hospital time in yet.
Then fast forward a bit, everyone grew and got stronger,
It felt like we'd been together Much Much longer!
The kids each accepted each other so well
Which ones are adopted? No one could tell!
We built up the memories, unsure of the future
Knowing the day was coming when we could be without her
But smiles and playing, new things into the night
Oh yes, and LOTS of praying with all of our might!
A holiday passed
A visit from Sis :)
Friends even came up to say "hi" to Mr. and Miss
Then come the day did for the tonsils to come out
And who would have known she'd put up such a pout?
EIGHT days in the hospital but she came home at last! Now scheduling heart surgery, that was a pest...
She came all set up with cables and wire, monitors and oxygen of those we would tire!
But the weeks they flew by, yes they went by quite fast
And the surgery we dreaded was upon us at last.
Sometimes we've felt we were trapped between these
But astounded we were when Emma came home with EASE!
Who would have known that she'd been through so much?
Oh, yes, God really graced her with His touch.
Now we laugh and we learn, do new things every day
We've been BLESSED
And I didn't think THIS we'd ever say
Emma's SATs are so high! She's doing so great!
It's a joy and a wonder and we celebrate :)
On to Micah's birthday, he's TWO now you see!
The adventures keep coming for each of them and me :)
We took a nice trip and met lots of friends!
All her time, Mrs. Andrea to Reece's Rainbow lends...
Then off on a CRUISE! With Shelley no less:) And we met more RR families with us!
It was time for the Buddy walk, this year with FOUR!
Then a birthday for Grandma and through pumpkins we tore
Now we're growing
And changing
And learning each day
With more visits
And laughter
And lots of time to pray
So as the year ends
And 08 comes to a close
We'll be sure to keep busy
So that everyone knows
That 2009 will be even better
But don't expect NEXT YEAR to have such a long letter!
Wishing you the best for 2009!
With love from the Cornish Family!
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