That's just a young man who spent his first 6 years lying in a crib all day sedated and covered in urine in an orphanage...now TOTALLY ROCKING IT on his first try using the walker!!!!!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
What's that???
Oh that.....
That's just a young man who spent his first 6 years lying in a crib all day sedated and covered in urine in an orphanage...now TOTALLY ROCKING IT on his first try using the walker!!!!!
That's just a young man who spent his first 6 years lying in a crib all day sedated and covered in urine in an orphanage...now TOTALLY ROCKING IT on his first try using the walker!!!!!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Yes, we are still here
A few times every week I think to myself "I really need to update the blog"...and then the kids wake up...and life happens...
I mean can you stand all that cuteness? And the progress...amazing, right?!?!
Thank you for your continued prayers and for being so patient waiting for updates :-)
Even now I don't have a lot of time to write but I wanted to at least share some pictures and videos with you so you could see just how amazing the boys are doing!!!! I'll take being a bad blogger over a being a bad mother...I am sure you all understand :-)
We have been doing so well! It's crazy because we have had some of the hardest and darkest times of adjustments since I last wrote but we have also seen some of the biggest break-throughs too!
I think the videos of the boys speak for themselves:
I mean can you stand all that cuteness? And the progress...amazing, right?!?!
Thank you for your continued prayers and for being so patient waiting for updates :-)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Long overdue update
I am taking advantage of a sick day to try to get a quick update finally done :-) I wish I had a lot of time to write about everything that has been going on...but alas blog time is just not something I have a lot of. I went back and read my last update "Life is never boring and God is always good" and much of our lives are still the same. The doctor appointments have finally slowed down, allowing us to really get into homeschooling and working more with the boys at home (which honestly they respond to better anyway).
I won't lie, this has been a very rough few months for all of us, the honeymoon is certainly over, but like I said in my last update God is still so good. Some days it is down right uuuugly, but we didn't expect it to be easy to undo years of neglect and trauma. We didn't expect it to be easy on any of us. It was a huge leap of faith to adopt all of our children and it's that faith and His promises that get us through the ugly of it all. It was starting to get really bad and my mom suggested I read "1000 Gifts" and I am so grateful I did. Counting the things I am grateful for has really helped change my attitude...and sadly, it needed some changin'. I only mention all this because some days I felt like I was the only mom in the world that was struggling, going to bed crying because I felt so defeated, like such a failure, and so very exhausted. Or that we were the only family having some serious adoption related issues and feeling lost all the time. I just wonder if there is a mom reading this blog that feels alone too and needs to know that she is not alone and needs to hear that even though she feel lost in failure, she is a good mom. We needed to get back to and remember why we adopted in the first place and it made a huge difference for us, so I write all this in case maybe you need to hear it too.
It has not all been a struggle, there has been a lot of good too. Really even the struggles are good because they teach us the hard lessons and bring us closer together. I wish I could go into detail about all the things we have done and all the growth we have seen in the boys, but I will have to keep it to short sentences. But I hope you enjoy the pictures :-)
Before Daniel had surgery (which I mention below) he was really getting so much stronger. I am so proud of Daniel that after months of working on it every day he was able to balance on his hands and knees without my support!
We had a very fun filled day at the pumpkin patch!
We took Daniel and Bohdan on their first camping trip. They absolutely loved it! It was such a nice little get away for all of us.
I think Daniel liked the roasted marshmallows most of all.
And you have never seen a kid more excited then Bohdan collecting pine cones.
Kai and Ethan caught their first fish. It was only bites for Emma, Bohdan, and Daniel but they had a great time.
The Balloon Fiesta is always fun. Waking up early, bundling up and heading to the balloon park, eating breakfast burritos as the sun comes up, and watching hundreds of balloons go up. The nice thing is that we can get right next to the balloons as they inflate. Daniel thought the loud burners were hilarious. He would wait for them to go off and then crack up. Bohdan was fascinated by the balloons. He still talks about how fun it was.
We celebrated Ethan's birthday at Peter Piper Pizza.
Daniel had his surgery to lengthen the tendons in his inner thighs. They cut the tendons and the hope is that as the tendons heal and grow back they will grow back longer as we keep his legs apart in a brace. He has been in the brace since his surgery. We have not had an x-ray yet so we are not sure it has helped keep his hips from dislocating. But we have noticed a big difference. Anytime Daniel gets excited or tries to do something with his legs his muscle instantly tighten, causing his legs to 'scissor' or cross. This makes everything very difficult for him and as you can imagine makes changing his diapers very hard. Now after surgery, his legs scissor only rarely. For the most part they are parallel and when he is relaxed he can keep them apart.
The procedure itself was quick and he had very little pain. We are praying the procedure will have been enough to re-align his hips so they do not have to go back in and break the bone and reshape it. We are also praying that when he is able to bear weight on his legs he will be able to take steps easier without his legs crossing. We are very grateful for the surgery, the only down side has been that all the strength he built before is pretty much gone. Because he has been in the brace and healing, he has not been able to do much more than lay or sit. We have a follow up early next month so hopefully he will be released to bear weight on his legs again.
Bohdan continues to amaze us with his English. We are seeing slow but steady growth in development. We are seeing more of the effects of the neglect, trauma, and institutionalization his past has caused. It's heartbreaking...terribly heartbreaking. He even told us he never wants to go back to Ukraine. He is amazingly resilient though. New concepts are hard for him to learn and it takes a lot of one on one time to homeschool him but he tries very hard. Because learning does not come easily or naturally for him it is always so exciting when he masters a new concept! The beautiful thing is that he loves hearing about and singing about God. He struggles with a lot of things but every week he nails his scripture memory verse. Coincidence????
We missed Bohdan losing his first tooth, but he lost his first tooth since being with us.
There have been more trips to the zoo...
And the Aquarium...
And Bohdan and Daniel saw their first movie in the theater.
I wonder if Daniel likes homeschool????
We are using My Father's World Kindergarten Curriculum. I was worried that it would be too advanced for Ethan and Kai since they are only 4 but it's a good fit for them. Because it is unit based, learning one letter a week really helps Bohdan learn English. Some of the concepts are too advanced for Emma and Daniel but I have them sit in and participate in what they can. For Daniel we have made some "toys" for him to help teach things like colors, sorting, shape, size, staking, etc...
Last week we learned I for Insect and we watched ants build tunnels everyday in our live ant hill. Some days I wonder who has more fun, me or the kids?
Daniel got some AFOs.
And finally, we went down to the lake to see family for Thanksgiving. As we reflected on and gave thanks for God's great blessings in our lives it was extra sweet to watch Daniel and Bohdan celebrate their first Thanksgiving.
We are especially thankful that we get to watch their lives change and grow. To most of you who supported their adoption in any way, I wish you could see the changes in them 'in real life', it's truly amazing. I am sorry you have to settle for watching it in pictures and blogs, but I hope you enjoy knowing that you played a big part in their lives! And I apologize for taking so long to post. I pray all of you are enjoying this Christmas season!
I won't lie, this has been a very rough few months for all of us, the honeymoon is certainly over, but like I said in my last update God is still so good. Some days it is down right uuuugly, but we didn't expect it to be easy to undo years of neglect and trauma. We didn't expect it to be easy on any of us. It was a huge leap of faith to adopt all of our children and it's that faith and His promises that get us through the ugly of it all. It was starting to get really bad and my mom suggested I read "1000 Gifts" and I am so grateful I did. Counting the things I am grateful for has really helped change my attitude...and sadly, it needed some changin'. I only mention all this because some days I felt like I was the only mom in the world that was struggling, going to bed crying because I felt so defeated, like such a failure, and so very exhausted. Or that we were the only family having some serious adoption related issues and feeling lost all the time. I just wonder if there is a mom reading this blog that feels alone too and needs to know that she is not alone and needs to hear that even though she feel lost in failure, she is a good mom. We needed to get back to and remember why we adopted in the first place and it made a huge difference for us, so I write all this in case maybe you need to hear it too.
It has not all been a struggle, there has been a lot of good too. Really even the struggles are good because they teach us the hard lessons and bring us closer together. I wish I could go into detail about all the things we have done and all the growth we have seen in the boys, but I will have to keep it to short sentences. But I hope you enjoy the pictures :-)
Before Daniel had surgery (which I mention below) he was really getting so much stronger. I am so proud of Daniel that after months of working on it every day he was able to balance on his hands and knees without my support!
We had a very fun filled day at the pumpkin patch!
We took Daniel and Bohdan on their first camping trip. They absolutely loved it! It was such a nice little get away for all of us.
I think Daniel liked the roasted marshmallows most of all.
And you have never seen a kid more excited then Bohdan collecting pine cones.
Kai and Ethan caught their first fish. It was only bites for Emma, Bohdan, and Daniel but they had a great time.
The Balloon Fiesta is always fun. Waking up early, bundling up and heading to the balloon park, eating breakfast burritos as the sun comes up, and watching hundreds of balloons go up. The nice thing is that we can get right next to the balloons as they inflate. Daniel thought the loud burners were hilarious. He would wait for them to go off and then crack up. Bohdan was fascinated by the balloons. He still talks about how fun it was.
Daniel had his surgery to lengthen the tendons in his inner thighs. They cut the tendons and the hope is that as the tendons heal and grow back they will grow back longer as we keep his legs apart in a brace. He has been in the brace since his surgery. We have not had an x-ray yet so we are not sure it has helped keep his hips from dislocating. But we have noticed a big difference. Anytime Daniel gets excited or tries to do something with his legs his muscle instantly tighten, causing his legs to 'scissor' or cross. This makes everything very difficult for him and as you can imagine makes changing his diapers very hard. Now after surgery, his legs scissor only rarely. For the most part they are parallel and when he is relaxed he can keep them apart.The procedure itself was quick and he had very little pain. We are praying the procedure will have been enough to re-align his hips so they do not have to go back in and break the bone and reshape it. We are also praying that when he is able to bear weight on his legs he will be able to take steps easier without his legs crossing. We are very grateful for the surgery, the only down side has been that all the strength he built before is pretty much gone. Because he has been in the brace and healing, he has not been able to do much more than lay or sit. We have a follow up early next month so hopefully he will be released to bear weight on his legs again.
Bohdan continues to amaze us with his English. We are seeing slow but steady growth in development. We are seeing more of the effects of the neglect, trauma, and institutionalization his past has caused. It's heartbreaking...terribly heartbreaking. He even told us he never wants to go back to Ukraine. He is amazingly resilient though. New concepts are hard for him to learn and it takes a lot of one on one time to homeschool him but he tries very hard. Because learning does not come easily or naturally for him it is always so exciting when he masters a new concept! The beautiful thing is that he loves hearing about and singing about God. He struggles with a lot of things but every week he nails his scripture memory verse. Coincidence????
We missed Bohdan losing his first tooth, but he lost his first tooth since being with us.
There have been more trips to the zoo...
And the Aquarium...
And Bohdan and Daniel saw their first movie in the theater.
I wonder if Daniel likes homeschool????
We are using My Father's World Kindergarten Curriculum. I was worried that it would be too advanced for Ethan and Kai since they are only 4 but it's a good fit for them. Because it is unit based, learning one letter a week really helps Bohdan learn English. Some of the concepts are too advanced for Emma and Daniel but I have them sit in and participate in what they can. For Daniel we have made some "toys" for him to help teach things like colors, sorting, shape, size, staking, etc...
Last week we learned I for Insect and we watched ants build tunnels everyday in our live ant hill. Some days I wonder who has more fun, me or the kids?
Daniel got some AFOs.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
A plea for a family meeting their daughter soon
Is this not the most precious little girl????
This is Maya and some very dear friends of ours are proud to call her daughter.
While praying for us and Daniel during our adoption process, our friends asked of God what they could do for the orphan. They are no strangers to adoption so I don't think it surprised anyone when they announced they were adopting Maya. It was no surprise either that they would adopt a child with Down's Syndrome. Of course that is something they would do, it's right in line with their character.
Without having the money to pay for the adoption, they prayed in faith that God would somehow provide the money needed to fund the adoption. And He has been so faithful to provide just what they need, just when they need it. But as they get closer to leaving to meet Maya for the first time (in just weeks) they are still in need of the $5,000.00 to cover this first trip. Plus what they will need after the first trip.
God always comes through with money just when they need it, but what if we as the body of Christ could relieve them of any worry and free them up to concentrate on their daughter? Will you join me in rallying around this family in prayer and financial support as they busily prepare to meet their daughter? You all blessed us beyond measure and I would love for the Warrens to feel that love and support as they step out in faith and follow God.
Here is a link to their sponsor page on Reece's Rainbow if you would be willing to make a donation.
You can also follow their journey here on their blog.
Please Father, I pray that this family would be absolutely blown away by the generosity and the love of Your church!
While praying for us and Daniel during our adoption process, our friends asked of God what they could do for the orphan. They are no strangers to adoption so I don't think it surprised anyone when they announced they were adopting Maya. It was no surprise either that they would adopt a child with Down's Syndrome. Of course that is something they would do, it's right in line with their character.
Without having the money to pay for the adoption, they prayed in faith that God would somehow provide the money needed to fund the adoption. And He has been so faithful to provide just what they need, just when they need it. But as they get closer to leaving to meet Maya for the first time (in just weeks) they are still in need of the $5,000.00 to cover this first trip. Plus what they will need after the first trip.
God always comes through with money just when they need it, but what if we as the body of Christ could relieve them of any worry and free them up to concentrate on their daughter? Will you join me in rallying around this family in prayer and financial support as they busily prepare to meet their daughter? You all blessed us beyond measure and I would love for the Warrens to feel that love and support as they step out in faith and follow God.
Here is a link to their sponsor page on Reece's Rainbow if you would be willing to make a donation.
You can also follow their journey here on their blog.
Please Father, I pray that this family would be absolutely blown away by the generosity and the love of Your church!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Come and see what the Lord has done
I love October! The fall weather, the leaves changing color, the pumpkin patch, Thanksgiving and Christmas items on full display at Hobby Lobby :-)
October is a very special month for us. This month Tyler and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We also celebrate the birth of our miracle baby Ethan who was not expected to make it to term and now here he is turning 4 years old. And today we celebrate EMMA DAY! One year ago today we met the little wonder that has filled our lives with unimaginable joy!
I thought in honor of EMMA DAY I would share her adoption video. We make these for all our kids and since I am sharing Emma's I though I would add the other ones too. So if anyone still reads this blog...and if any of you have a lot of free time today, I invite you to pull up a comfy chair and come and see what the Lord has done...
October is a very special month for us. This month Tyler and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We also celebrate the birth of our miracle baby Ethan who was not expected to make it to term and now here he is turning 4 years old. And today we celebrate EMMA DAY! One year ago today we met the little wonder that has filled our lives with unimaginable joy!
I thought in honor of EMMA DAY I would share her adoption video. We make these for all our kids and since I am sharing Emma's I though I would add the other ones too. So if anyone still reads this blog...and if any of you have a lot of free time today, I invite you to pull up a comfy chair and come and see what the Lord has done...
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Jesus Storybook Bibles for Orphans
I have a wonderful and faithful friend who ministers
to Orphans in Ukra*ne. She also opens up her home to host
adoptive families while they are over there adopting for free. I saw
this on her blog and because I could not have said it better myself, I am
coping her whole post here. We literally just finished reading the Jesus
Storybook Bible with our kids. It was given to us by a good friend and we were
so grateful for it, it really is an amazing children's bible. I hope you all
don't mind me sharing another ministry with you, but when I find a great
opportunity to help orphans I just cannot keep it to myself. Here is what Karen
shared:
"I'm
excited to share with you a great opportunity to give in a very practical way!
Last
Christmas, through Orphan's Promise we had the joy of distributing the The
Jesus Storybook Bible among orphans in the Kherson region. This is a delightful
children's Bible, that I highly recommend checking out in English if you have
small children at home. I have a copy in Russian and I just love the way that
the author weaves the promise of Jesus throughout the Old Testament and into
the New. Many are saying it is one of the best children's Bibles out
there....and I think I agree!
Well
thanks to In Lumine Media the book is now in the Russian language,
and several partner organizations here in Ukraine are teaming up to do a
wide-spread distribution to Ukrainian orphans, so that every orphan in every
orphanage will have their very own copy of the Bible!
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For just $3 you can provide an orphan in
Ukraine with a Children's Bible! (Sounds a bit like an informercial I
realize :) ...but seriously-- the book retails at $16 in the USA- however the
costs are being off-set here to make this affordable. So that even a
child can give!
The plan for now is to raise enough funds so that at Easter we
can have a wide-scale distribution through local churches and ministries.
So would you consider in donating to a very worthy cause? You can
visit this site to
find out more information and to download printable material, like the poster
above, so that your whole church can get involved!
Orphan Sunday is coming up
on November 4th-- so this would be a great cause to support in your churches or
small groups!"
Feel free to share with others...
Friday, September 21, 2012
With a little help from my friends
I am writing this quickly because my friends at TEAMworks need your help. There is a team of Therapists getting ready to head over to Ukra*ne who need funding help. The group will be working in an orphanage, local hospital orphan ward, and NICU and setting up a mobile clinic for families attempting to raise their children with special needs.
TEAMworks has dedicated their time, resources, and training to help educate people on how to care for kids with special needs. They are making tremendous progress through continued trips and building relationships. Because of their continued efforts, they have even been allowed into the 'laying rooms' (remember the kind of room Daniel came from) to show the caretakers how to properly feed, position, stretch, and work with the kids and to show them there is hope for these kids.
I am telling you, it is because of missionaries like these that maybe...just maybe...the tide will start turning over there and kids with special needs will be looked at not as a curse or burden, but as having worth. They are changing hearts and lives...one at a time!
They have a private donor who agreed to match all donations up to $3,000. The money matching will end on Saturday at noon. They have only a short time to make their matching grant and become fully funded before they leave. Can you help?
You can use this link to donate: Pure Charity
Here you can read more about TEAMworks.
Even if you are unable to donate could you please join me in praying for their upcoming trip. Specifically for health and safety, favor with the orphanage, hospital and families, wisdom as they work, and that hearts would continue to soften for these children.
Thank you friends!
TEAMworks has dedicated their time, resources, and training to help educate people on how to care for kids with special needs. They are making tremendous progress through continued trips and building relationships. Because of their continued efforts, they have even been allowed into the 'laying rooms' (remember the kind of room Daniel came from) to show the caretakers how to properly feed, position, stretch, and work with the kids and to show them there is hope for these kids.
I am telling you, it is because of missionaries like these that maybe...just maybe...the tide will start turning over there and kids with special needs will be looked at not as a curse or burden, but as having worth. They are changing hearts and lives...one at a time!
They have a private donor who agreed to match all donations up to $3,000. The money matching will end on Saturday at noon. They have only a short time to make their matching grant and become fully funded before they leave. Can you help?
You can use this link to donate: Pure Charity
Here you can read more about TEAMworks.
Even if you are unable to donate could you please join me in praying for their upcoming trip. Specifically for health and safety, favor with the orphanage, hospital and families, wisdom as they work, and that hearts would continue to soften for these children.
Thank you friends!
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