Yes, I realize Emma’s not in any of those photos. And no, she doesn’t really play with the other kids. But… that just goes to show that there are MANY reasons why we love each of our kids… not just one thing to ‘judge’ a good fit by :) Emma fits perfectly, despite this difference!
And in case you didn’t notice our little monkey up there, climbing on the side of Micah’s crib… well, today she got even more adventurous and climbed up to the top bunk of hers and Kristopher’s bunk bed! I was vacuuming and shampooing her carpet and she wanted to be close… but not too close :)
Oh, and go ahead… ask me if it will be “worth the work” to add one more… go right ahead! :)
James has bronchitis and the beginnings of pneumonia. He's on antibiotics and being loved on by his foster mom under the watchful eye of his night nurse. After talking to his FM we both know he'd be better to stay there until he's more stable and feeling a bit better rather than come back here where everything is still so new while he's really feeling puny. We'll play it by ear as to when he's ready to roll and rejoin the ranks here. Mike is planning to go spend the day with him on Saturday if he's not ready to come here yet. We'll just do a wait and see as to when he's ready.
Thank you for praying, please continue to pray him back to health!
James is headed to the ER this morning with his foster mom. His temp is over 101 but comes down some with Tylenol, but his SATs were low too. He's been running a fever since Sunday and had a cycling of other symptoms.
Please pray for James and the doctors. He's already been in to urgent care earlier in the week but they just said liquids and tylenol. It's hard wanting to be there with him yet knowing I can't be... nor would I do anything differently. I know he'll be more comforted by his foster mom, too, since she is who he knows and loves and is comforted by. One day soon that will be us as well but right now we are still friendly strangers that come to visit. My mommy heart is hurting to not be there for him still.
I will try to update as I hear from his FM but am posting on the road. Emma gets her new orthotics this morning and I'm headed to Sam's after. Thank you for praying!
... listening to Kristopher read "Are you my mother?" Loving that my kindergartener is reading independently and loves to read!
... watching Lynae up on all fours taking little creeps toward her toys then sitting back and sitting herself up. Wow, how quickly little ones get big! She is 7 1/2 months old now.
... hearing the quiet songs Brianna is singing to herself in her bed. Yes, I'd rather she slept, but a pleasant happy child I'll take over one with an attitude any day! She sounds so sweet with her little made up songs.
... listening to the quiet babbling of Micah and the silence from Emma in their room, on their way to sleep. Thanking God for bringing them both to us and for restoring their health so dramatically. Realizing just how boring life would be without either of them and marveling at how God built our family.
... answering e-mails from the team of wonderful people God brought together to work with me getting even more children home to forever families. Marveling at how one year ago I was 'solo' in the program and now there are 6 more people that He has raised up. He's grown the program just as quickly... we have 70+ families in process right now!
... listening to the dryer, wondering just how many more loads I can get through tonight.
... looking at the porch and seeing that after Kristopher got in trouble for unpacking the bin of toys that I'd separated out to put away for a while he went and cleaned up every single teeny tiny piece of every toy and put it away.
... missing the little boy that belongs in the empty crib, whose toothbrush is dry and whose car seat has been empty. Knowing that when he's here he has a mama that is missing him in his crib at her house and in the carseat in her car. Thanking God James has two families that love him.
... writing an article for a church newsletter about adoption and wondering just what He wants to say.
... feeling my eyelids get heavier and heavier and praying at least one of the kids (preferably 6!) will sleep through the night tonight since 5 each took a turn (or two or three) last night.
... and waiting for Michael and N to get home from youth group. The house feels empty with just the 6 of us here!
The kids all had a great time in the pool on Saturday! Our new little guy had never been in a pool, and the kids have been begging to get in for a month or more now. The big pool was still too cool for me to let the kids in, but we heated up the jacuzzi and blew up the kiddie pool and let them all go to town!
Poor Micah- I kept him out of either of the ‘real’ pools because of his tummy trouble. Instead he got a rubbermaid bin with warm water in it right NEXT to the kids’ pool. Much easier to dump if he was to have a diaper blowout :) Thankfully he didn’t have any trouble, but caution and forethought have saved me MANY headaches :) As you can see from the pictures- he didn’t really mind! He loves the water no matter how he gets to be in it :)
Lynae still hasn’t been in a pool. Since she’s not 100% stable sitting up yet I didn’t put her in the kiddie pool and I didn’t want to have her get wet if she wasn’t going to stay in the water because I didn’t want her getting cold. All the other kids stayed in the warm water most of the time.
I worked some with Emma on balance in the pool. We bought ‘spring’ floats that are toddler floats for the pool. Last year we had some with a smaller circumference and she WANTED to tip them constantly! She sat higher out of the water in those too and she is definitely TOP HEAVY. So I put her in the spring float (Brianna’s in it in pic’s below) and tried tipping her and seeing what she did when playing in it. She learned very quickly how to keep it from tipping over and enjoyed all the praise for staying upright. I think she’ll do great this year in that and we’ll continue working on using a swimming vest as well. This float will let her spend more time in the water though, and I know she’ll love that!
If you haven't hopped over to read, there's an update on our new son and an announcement with his name on my other blog, My Normal Family! He's spending the weekend with us and we are having a great time. What a joy to share our love and family with another child of God! And it certainly isn't without a 'prize' as we are in love with our new little guy.
He's been here about 36 hours, and we're ready for him to stay!
More updates to come as I find time (ha!).
A few reminders: Password protected posts are only for those that know us personally so if you fit that criteria email me at mkp1982@hotmail.com to get the password.
Also, he won't be officially placed with us for several more weeks it looks like because we were just re-printed yesterday and it may take a month to come back before adoptive placement can be made. We're a little disappointed but are just thankful that we can have the visits and time with him until he's with us. He has a WONDERFUL foster mom and big sister and we are so thankful for that! We know he's in very good hands and are so grateful to them. He's been with them for over 3 years, so I can only imagine how difficult it will be for them to have him leave. We are glad we're not too far away and can continue to see them! We haven't even had Emma and Micah for 3 years which gives a little perspective.
Chrissy was adopted from Serbia just a few months ago and is now in limbo between what the doctor's hands can do and what God's plans are for her. Chrissy had a heart defect that is "incompatible with life" yet, she was alive! Her open heart surgery didn't go as planned and she's fighting. Please visit their blog and add your prayers to the many!
Micah had a GI appt yesterday and it went pretty well. Fortunately Micah's bowels seem to have CALMED over the last few days! So weird (and the timing is impeccable since it always stops when you go to the specialist, right?). I won't complain though! The GI said in general he's not worried about the diarrhea because Micah doesn't appear to be dehydrated and continues to gain weight. He also tends to put things out as "kids with Ds ________." Fill in the blank. Today we had it filled in with "have unusual stool patterns." We also were told "kids with Ds just have reflux." I think that's interesting since both of his statements are absolutely correct for Micah, but not for my two daughters, who also just so happen to have Ds. Anyway, I DO like this doctor and we will continue to use the reflux medication for Micah.
The only thing that the pediatrician hasn't tested for that he said right away was for Celiac. He said that seems to be a likely problem for Micah. We shall see. We'll do the bloodwork later this week.
That's all for now. Been prepping the house for our little visitor this weekend and getting our ducks in a row as school is quickly coming to a close (one month from today!). Trying to figure out whether Emma really doesn't qualify for summer school (I don't get how she couldn't but she apparently doesn't according to their screening!). And when I dropped Micah off at school this morning there was no aide for him since another substitute didn't show up. So that took a good 20 minutes of talking to teachers and people in the office to make sure someone was headed that way before he got out of OT this morning. We do not all need to be sick again!!
Sometimes, it feels like you're facing the giant, walking out on the waves. And you hear the giants taunting. Yet you know by faith that the stone is just the right size to put the giant on the ground. And that the crashing waves will support you. Jesus is holding out His hand.
I think that's where we are. Listening to the radio this morning, this song came on. I think that's exactly where we are. And my previous post that I removed-- which I don't do very regularly-- spoke to this, but apparently not very well. Those of you that wrote to me to apologize for your comment, please know that I was not offended by any of the comments made by people who identified themselves, and the one that did not identify yourself, well-- I guess you're the giant. I removed the post simply because so many commented in a way which I realized that my post alluded to RR being an issue, or adoptive parents. And both are far from the truth. So rather than allow something to stay up which suggests something with those areas, I chose to remove it and try again :)
And if that first paragraph didn't mean so much to you, here are the lyrics to the Casting Crown song, Voice of Truth. And even better yet, a link to listen :) Be blessed!
Oh what I would do to have The kind of faith it takes To climb out of this boat I'm in Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name And they laugh at me Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed The waves they keep on telling me Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!" "You'll never win!"
Chorus: But the voice of truth tells me a different story The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!" The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory" Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Oh what I would do to have The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant With just a sling and a stone Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors Shaking in their armor Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out my name And he laughs at me Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed The giant keeps on telling me Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!" "You'll never win!"
But the stone was just the right size To put the giant on the ground And the waves they don't seem so high From on top of them lookin' down I will soar with the wings of eagles When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus Singing over me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Micah woke up FINE! I knew he would, but the thought that it COULD be something bad really concerns me and if I didn't follow up on it and it ended up being bad that would be awful! So he actually had a NORMAL BM today which is unheard of for him and I'm hopeful maybe we're doing better again!
He ate and drank all day with no issues so... we'll see the GI tomorrow and hope to figure things out. (don't the symptoms always go away the day before the specialist appt and return the day after?)
In other news, we have a date with a cute little 3 foot tall blond boy for the weekend and are looking forward to letting him explore the home turf! :)
After 6 weeks of unexplained loose bowels, now Micah gave back his dinner through the top end. And at the risk of too much detail, I will share anyway so there's your warning :)
Micah threw up about 10-15min afdter eating, but it was all exactly as it had gone in. Completely unprocessed. Nothing added, just as if his food had spilled rather than being swallowed and brought back up.
We callwd the on-call pediatrician and he's not concerned at all, just says to keep him hydrated. He suggests pedialyte and just a little at a time so he doesn't aspirate. Clearly he doesn't know Micah because he aspirates just tiny bits of meds. We are glad he's not concerned, though since we were considering a trip to the ER thinking he could have a blockage or something with all the loose bowels and now no BM's in 24 hrs and puking instead.
We see the GI on Tuesday and I sure hope he has some ideas!
I posted... and I removed it. Because based on the comments in the first hour or so that I had it public I really hadn't gotten across my point very well. Sorry about that. Thanks for sticking around... maybe I'll try again :)
I got a few comments/emails that sounded like we had a diagnosis of Hirschprungs. We don't. We're just trying to figure out what COULD be wrong with Micah's intestinal track to cause such difficulty for him and that is something that several people suggested we ask about. Since I was unfamiliar with most of it, I asked for clarification. That's all!
We see the GI doctor on Tuesday and hopefully will have some plan of action to figure out what's going on with the little guy!
I thought this was a 'dead' piece of the bowels that causes a child not to pass anything? So why would this be something that wasn't noticed until 3 1/2 yrs old and is it something that would cause these loose bowels? And would it rear its head after a surgery? I don't know much of anything about it... Any info would be appreciated so I know what I'm asking about when I talk to the GI doctor on Tuesday.
Is a decision. I hope one day that everyone can meet someone that makes the decision to love them. And to love with abandon.
Not Eros love, but Agape love. Tue love inspired by God the Father and shown to us in the sacrifice of His son.
When was the last time you showed Agape love to someone outside your circle of close family and friends?
Fed a homeless person?
Held the door for an elderly person with a smile and complemented them on their plaid polyester pants (hey, they ARE back in style)?
Complemented a mom-of-many on her well behaved children in a store or restaurant?
Told a dad and kids that you see about that you were glad to see a father take on his children and love them so obviously?
When was the last time you invited someone over for a meal simply because you felt like they might benefit from an invitation and a night of friendly talk? Even if you don't know them well?
I'd love to hear your experiences with expressing love to others around you!
That homeless person you buy a hot coffee for might have been close to suicide because of their misfortunes in life. The elderly person may have gone to the store because they had no one to talk to and just had to get out of the house. The mother might have had a rough day or debated ever going out again because the last shopping trip was a disaster. The dad might be on his first visitation with his children or a weekly walk- but the complement will be kind just the same. A meal and conversation can make a week of lonliness brighten up and be something a person remembers forever.
The possibilities are endless. The results may be timeless.
