Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Moving Forward.....
Hello! Today our friends Heather and Bobby Eledge are traveling to China to get their new daughter, Harper!! Yay!!! Prayers for safe travels and sweet meetings for them. I can't wait to read and see pictures telling all about it. Also, our dear friends, the P's, decided to add another sweet boy from China to their family this year! Can't wait!! Our friends, the Sterlings, are home safe and sound with their five new children from Peru! Our friend Stephanie and two of her daughters are heading to China in less than two weeks to bring home Ava. God is so good! He sees all of the orphans all over the world, and is directing the paths of their family's to go get them! That makes my heart so happy!! Adoption makes me so excited!
Last time we talked, I told you Claire will be having surgery on 1-16, but the plans have changed. She has to be off the bottle before we have that surgery. Well, today is Tuesday, and we were told this Friday. Guess who hasn't had a bottle since Saturday??? Yep, The Amazing Claire!! Cold turkey for this girl! SO probably March she will have the fistula repair surgery. And she is doing great!
We started having her evaluations last week, too. Folks, I spent most of last week crying....mourning, really. Our sweet girl is testing cognitively as that of a 2-9 month old. She is 4.5 years old...I cry for the babyhood that she never had. I cry for what the lack of nutrition and stimulation have done to her brain. I cry for the injustice and cruelty she has endured. I cry that I wasn't there to take care of her myself and therefore this would not be her reality. I cry because I can almost guess what those first four years were like for her....almost. BUT, and this is a huge comfort to me, the Lord says that He will restore what the locusts have taken away! And I'm believing Him!! He showed me long before we got her home that He was going to make her new-in every way! And I'm believing him! He gave me a verse in Isaiah for Jack and Claire, "and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and plainly", and I am believing Him! And you know what? I'm not having to wait long to see Him do it!! Praise God! She now weighs 26.84 pounds and is 33 inches tall. In case you are wondering, that's almost 12 pounds and 2.5 inches since the day they placed her in our arms just 4 short months ago!!! Praise God! That's 8 pounds since we brought her home! AND, she is more and more active, alert, curious, responsive, ornery, and is one happy baby!! Her hair is growing a ton, and we have to trim her fingernails about once a week or she will claw us up! So, we start communication therapy with our beloved Teresa twice a week. And occupational therapy once a week for an hour, and soon to add physical therapy. What is all this going to cost us, you ask? Well, Chris' new insurance is amazing!! We have NO deductible to come up with and NO co-pay for therapy!! So, whatever we spend on gas is the cost!!! Can you see God's provision here, friends??? We could not have come up with a better plan, and yet God's way are so much higher than our ways! So, we are even more determined to get her birthday changed to a different year. I'd love to see the judge grant us a 2011 birth year, but I will be thrilled with 2010, too. I'm chosing to take my husbands lead, and see the positives in this. When I kept crying he asked, "why are you crying? The way I see it, her birthday is the day we got her. The day she went from surviving to living. So, to me she is four months old, and I don't know too many four month olds that crawl and walk, so my baby's a genius! And she'll only get better!" You know what? He's right!! That really is the day her "life" started, the day that God chose to redeem her out of the mire and into the sunshine. So, when people ask me how old she is, I tell them she's one. Because in a lot of ways she is, and hopefully we'll have the birthdate to prove it. If not, she's a lady, and a true lady never tells her age ;-) What does it matter, anyway? She will reach all those milestones when she's ready, She will do all the things we are waiting for her to do when she's ready. Until then, I am just loving every minute with this amazing, beautiful, fun baby girl that God gave us.
Please keep a few names in mind when you pray:
Lily, Ivy, Anouk, Evangeline, Harper, Ava, Astrid, John, and Therese....all are precious children adopted from China and in need of your prayers for different reasons. Also, Avery, who is not adopted, but could use prayers, too.
Much love! Stay warm,
Leslie
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Been a Long time!!
Hello Friends!
Wow! It's been a long time since we posted! Sorry! Not that I think anyone really reads this too much or sits on the edge of their seats waiting to see what we have to say. BUT, here goes.
We have been home with Claire for almost 4 months! Holy Cow!!!! These last four months have been wonderful! Lets start by saying that God is faithful and daily showing us that He alone is on the throne and writing Claire's story. We brought home a 19 pound, 30.5 inch four year old, that could not crawl, walk, stand unassisted, talk, or much else. Well, now we have a 25.5 pound, 32 inch little girl that can crawl, walk, climb the stairs, climb onto the couch and chairs, with a head full of hair!!! She eats table food, and no more formula! She is a miracle!!!! She is happy, healthy, and blossoming right in front of our eyes! She had tubes placed and her tongue "clipped" along with a sedated hearing test. She was not hearing much. BUT, after two weeks, and one amazing prayer meeting, we took her back to have her hearing re-assesed, and she can hear just fine!! Oh, God is good! So, now she babbles and laughs all the time. She knows her name, will respond by looking at us when we call her, and is going to start communication therapy soon. She also has sugery scheduled for the 16 of January to close two large fistulas and possibly remove some of the thickness of her upper lip, and pierce her ears! Yay!! Our doctors are amazed by her growth and change. Both of them love her dearly! And......so do the rest of us!! We are in love!! Evan is wrapped so tightly around her little finger! He totes her around and plays with her, and HAS to see her first thing when he gets home from school or work. He calls her his "doodle". Pretty sweet. Grace is wonderful with her! She is my right hand for sure!! Cate continues to be Jack's favorite person, so she has been so sweet to share her time and attention.She is great with Claire, too, but totally understands that she can't jump ship, or Jack will be devestated. And Jack....he loves Claire and being a big brother so much! He kisses her and tries to play with her and gives her his toys, it melts this moms heart! Can I just say, again, that we are all madly in love!!!
Now, the sad stuff.....the stuff that's hard to admit.....Claire is severly delayed. When we had her to the doctor the first time on 9-19, our pediatrician said we brought home the equivelent of a 9 month old...so, today, she functions about like a 9 or ten month old. Less than that in some ways. We had her eyes checked out with Opthalmology at Mercy, and they are great, but they still don't always track well. Why? Because the brain and muscles involved weren't properly nourished. So they have to get stronger. We give her salmon once a week for brain development. She still doesn't speak at all. Sometimes she babbles and says mama, but it's not purposeful, it's just babbling. She was very confused over the holidays when we traveled as to if we were going to leave her at family's homes that we were visiting. She would scream and rock. She still rocks herself sometimes. She still grinds her teeth pretty bad. The fact that she survived what she did is wonderful, and we thank God for that. But, the effects are very very deep. They are never far from the surface. They are lingering and deep. What she endured I will never know. Part of me wants to know every detail. Part of me thanks God that I will never know, for I don't know if my heart and mind can handle it. We are working hard to meet her needs, and will have her evaluated for OT and PT at Children's Mercy on the 10. This child is technically kindergarten eligible in August......yeah, not so much!!! She still wears diapers! She is a baby in every way. BUT, we see the most precious baby ever! And we are working on getting her birthday changed to 2010 instead of 2008. We have talked to our pediatrician, surgeon, and all three social workers. We all agree that this is in her best interest in all areas of her life longterm. Now to get the $1000.00 is takes to get it done! BUT, we will!
Friends, this is a long road for our sweet girl. She has been damaged at the hands of those who did NOT have her best interest at heart. BUT that is no longer!!! We know that daily God is restoring what the locusts have taken away! Daily, He is creating her anew! Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! His mercies endure forever! If we ever have the financial and spacial ability to adopt again, I think I want to go back to that orphanage and save another sweet, beautiful, precious treasure of God. Claire's story is shocking, sad, and even sickening, but sadly, it is NOT unique! Many little girls are leaving there in similar condition, with similar damage. PRAY! Pray that the director will either be romoved or have a total heart change! There is money, they have resources, really great medical resources, and he just WON'T take care of these children. I feel that this is CRIMINAL! Please make a note somewhere in your homes to remind you to pray for this situation. Only God and those of us committed to change and helping can solve this immense crisis.
Happy 2013 to all of you! May health, prosperity, blessing, and joy be showered on each and every one of you. Thank you, again, for every call, text, prayer, financial blessing, toy,meal, piece of clothing, help with the other kids, and other endless kindness that you have bestowed to our family. Please know that each of you are special to us in a unique way. We love you all, near and far, stranger and close friend.
In Him,
Leslie
Wow! It's been a long time since we posted! Sorry! Not that I think anyone really reads this too much or sits on the edge of their seats waiting to see what we have to say. BUT, here goes.
We have been home with Claire for almost 4 months! Holy Cow!!!! These last four months have been wonderful! Lets start by saying that God is faithful and daily showing us that He alone is on the throne and writing Claire's story. We brought home a 19 pound, 30.5 inch four year old, that could not crawl, walk, stand unassisted, talk, or much else. Well, now we have a 25.5 pound, 32 inch little girl that can crawl, walk, climb the stairs, climb onto the couch and chairs, with a head full of hair!!! She eats table food, and no more formula! She is a miracle!!!! She is happy, healthy, and blossoming right in front of our eyes! She had tubes placed and her tongue "clipped" along with a sedated hearing test. She was not hearing much. BUT, after two weeks, and one amazing prayer meeting, we took her back to have her hearing re-assesed, and she can hear just fine!! Oh, God is good! So, now she babbles and laughs all the time. She knows her name, will respond by looking at us when we call her, and is going to start communication therapy soon. She also has sugery scheduled for the 16 of January to close two large fistulas and possibly remove some of the thickness of her upper lip, and pierce her ears! Yay!! Our doctors are amazed by her growth and change. Both of them love her dearly! And......so do the rest of us!! We are in love!! Evan is wrapped so tightly around her little finger! He totes her around and plays with her, and HAS to see her first thing when he gets home from school or work. He calls her his "doodle". Pretty sweet. Grace is wonderful with her! She is my right hand for sure!! Cate continues to be Jack's favorite person, so she has been so sweet to share her time and attention.She is great with Claire, too, but totally understands that she can't jump ship, or Jack will be devestated. And Jack....he loves Claire and being a big brother so much! He kisses her and tries to play with her and gives her his toys, it melts this moms heart! Can I just say, again, that we are all madly in love!!!
Now, the sad stuff.....the stuff that's hard to admit.....Claire is severly delayed. When we had her to the doctor the first time on 9-19, our pediatrician said we brought home the equivelent of a 9 month old...so, today, she functions about like a 9 or ten month old. Less than that in some ways. We had her eyes checked out with Opthalmology at Mercy, and they are great, but they still don't always track well. Why? Because the brain and muscles involved weren't properly nourished. So they have to get stronger. We give her salmon once a week for brain development. She still doesn't speak at all. Sometimes she babbles and says mama, but it's not purposeful, it's just babbling. She was very confused over the holidays when we traveled as to if we were going to leave her at family's homes that we were visiting. She would scream and rock. She still rocks herself sometimes. She still grinds her teeth pretty bad. The fact that she survived what she did is wonderful, and we thank God for that. But, the effects are very very deep. They are never far from the surface. They are lingering and deep. What she endured I will never know. Part of me wants to know every detail. Part of me thanks God that I will never know, for I don't know if my heart and mind can handle it. We are working hard to meet her needs, and will have her evaluated for OT and PT at Children's Mercy on the 10. This child is technically kindergarten eligible in August......yeah, not so much!!! She still wears diapers! She is a baby in every way. BUT, we see the most precious baby ever! And we are working on getting her birthday changed to 2010 instead of 2008. We have talked to our pediatrician, surgeon, and all three social workers. We all agree that this is in her best interest in all areas of her life longterm. Now to get the $1000.00 is takes to get it done! BUT, we will!
Friends, this is a long road for our sweet girl. She has been damaged at the hands of those who did NOT have her best interest at heart. BUT that is no longer!!! We know that daily God is restoring what the locusts have taken away! Daily, He is creating her anew! Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! His mercies endure forever! If we ever have the financial and spacial ability to adopt again, I think I want to go back to that orphanage and save another sweet, beautiful, precious treasure of God. Claire's story is shocking, sad, and even sickening, but sadly, it is NOT unique! Many little girls are leaving there in similar condition, with similar damage. PRAY! Pray that the director will either be romoved or have a total heart change! There is money, they have resources, really great medical resources, and he just WON'T take care of these children. I feel that this is CRIMINAL! Please make a note somewhere in your homes to remind you to pray for this situation. Only God and those of us committed to change and helping can solve this immense crisis.
Happy 2013 to all of you! May health, prosperity, blessing, and joy be showered on each and every one of you. Thank you, again, for every call, text, prayer, financial blessing, toy,meal, piece of clothing, help with the other kids, and other endless kindness that you have bestowed to our family. Please know that each of you are special to us in a unique way. We love you all, near and far, stranger and close friend.
In Him,
Leslie
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