Blessed By A Child

Andrew up right and walking :)

2009-12-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

I forgot to add this picture last nite... it is a favorite of mine... since he is walking. As I shared most of his first 5 yrs was spent lying down... but not now. He is sitting, trying to get up and at times just being forced to sit up but he does it... and even walking. He is a bit cranky this am but he caught Joseph's cold . Here is Gracie reaching down and touching Willi... Lily stayed home from church this am and she has been encouraging her little sister all am... to touch the dogs or play... Josiah has really taken to Andrew too.. as you can tell from his smile.... just warms my heart.

How we are doing :)

2009-12-26T19:42:00.000-08:00

Just fine and even better.... We have been home now 48 hrs. and we are doing very well. Gracie was very afraid of the dogs but is getting better each day... we just ingnore her behavior now and she has relaxed about them... She loves to play or at least watch sitting by the girls as they play.. she will pick up toys... and see how they work. She loves balloons and does not mind when they pop. She loves to wear everyones shoes and clops all day with her brothers clogs on. She is very timid still about eating but we have found some foods that she will eat and with help she does fine. Both are sleeping on our schedule at nite and they have taken a 2 hr rest or nap... ( so have we). Both are loved by everyone here... and each new accomplishment they do is applauded by all... it just amazes me how much compasion these kids have... they clamor to hold or play with Andrew.... he is doing more each day... I will elaborate more about each one of their conditions when we got them... his was more appalling than we thought... which makes each one of his accomplishments even more rewarding.... He is fed food thru a bottle... about 6 to 7 bottles a day.... food we eat is ground up with my food grinder and placed in his bottle... the one picture of Joseph feeding him is how he was used to eating... lying down...this am I put him in a high chair and fed him his bottles and he did fine... he has spent almost all of his 5 yrs prone... lying down ... look at the picture of him walking holding on to Cate! We have had him only 12 days ... any guesses as to how much he weighs now? Tonight he was 28 plus lbs.... on our scale that weighs you lite...

I will write more later just wanted to share... we had a very sweet Christmas! Being home and seeing how all the kids welcomed their new brother and sister was very special.

We made it home!

2009-12-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to share we made it home actually our flight was 30 minutes early.... and it is so good to be home! More later... the kids did fine but we are exhausted.... Merry Christmas!

Just hanging out... I think we are all ready to get home

2009-12-22T04:32:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love her big, brown eyes and smile ?

2009-12-22T04:01:00.000-08:00

A quick update... more later

2009-12-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

We are done... embassy medical and interview went well. We pick up our visas Tuesday and do our tv interview... I just wanted to share how much our little guy Andrew weighs now... he was under 20 lbs at the orphanage and now he weighs 24.8lbs.... I was shocked at how much he has gained with us in just a week. I imagine how much he will weigh in a few months. I will share more later though.

Andrew's first bath and smiling all the time

2009-12-19T12:37:00.001-08:00

2009-12-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

State Agency for Child Protection Visit

2009-12-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

This was a gift that Mrs. S gave to us for the children to remember Bulgaria by. It is the virgin Mary and baby Jesus. We were very touched by her kindness and desire to help the children of Bulgaria. Gracie and Andrew were great during our meeting and Gracie loved the goodies.

Our meeting with the Director of Child Protective Services and our day

2009-12-19T11:10:00.000-08:00

We had such a pleasant surprise when we walked into the meeting room... they had set up a reception for us with cookies, water, candy , coke and other treats. She was very nice and very interested in picking our thoughts on adoption in general and special needs adoption. She even took notes and because she is new is starting to implement changes in the care of the children and the adoption process... then it was decided that we should be interviewed on their national tv... so they are coming to our hotel to do the interview... We pray that we can be a light to many even more now that we will be on their national tv.... please remember this time in prayer.

More signs of progress in both our blessings... Gracie is eating well now. I guess she has decided to give us some control there. She sings all the time...actually no words but humming songs we recogonize. We were playing hide from Joseph and Andrew in the hotel this afternoon( very few people here today).. Cate, Gracie and I were in and out of the elevator and Joseph and Andrew were trying to find us... all of a sudden she starts humming the Elmo song... and they found us. They both were great at the restaurant which can be a glimmer of hope for our trip home :)

Andrew continues to show positive signs of change too. He slaps himself less and we rarely hear him cry his sweet soft cry. He is very oral and drools alot with fingers in his mouth and he will purposely make spit to slurp. He crawled over to my chair and was under in and thru it to be by me... and he loves to be kissed... he is such a needy one but loves the phyisical touches and play we do . I can't wait to see him just a few months from now. We think when we were leaving today we heard him say da many times as we were going out.... Gracie tonite was so tender with him .. she was trying to connect with him face to face again.....

The picture I hope to post will be of the people we met with today at the Division of Child Protective Services....

How they are getting along

2009-12-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

Someone asked how the 2 new ones are getting along... Andrew loves to be by any of us... he does not show any real preference to slide himself up to Gracie but,he does enjoy being by her. She does not mind him either. Tonite we saw her with her face an inch from his on the bed... she moved before we got the camera. She is not bothered by his eyes or inability to play with her... she was more a loner when it came to playing ... very much an observer with her group. Joining in when she wanted to.... We thought and still think she may have institutional autism... although we have seen her connect with us in such a short time... she loved her bath tonite and both enjoy when I put cream on them and give them a massage.

2009-12-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

Another great day!

2009-12-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

We woke to snow...about 5 inches. Things in Sofia did not slow down and thankfully we have already gotten the kids... Toni said that Vidin where Gracie was is snowed in... ptl they got here when they did.

Today was an even better day with both kids. Our little nite owl decided to play until 1 am... very happy guy , making lots of happy noises... I woke at 8 and decided to stay in bed ( must have needed to because usaully I am up and out). Paul woke me and I did not even hear him get up and shower. We got ready and fed both the kids... Gracie is eating better today. Of course Andrew the pig is eating lots.... he was much better today about leaking but we have to watch him so he does not leak on beds...

We met Toni and drove to the MOJ. We had to wait for about 15 minutes until the meeting adjourned... it was their weekly referral meetings.. deciding on prospective adoptive parents dossiers and their referrals... when they came out we got to meet them and share about our very large family and they loved our picture album... we took a picture of the director with us. She was very pleasant and spoke English. Toni said they were very impressed and that we helped give adoptions a positive picture... we prayed that we would be able to. Then the sec. deputy of Child Protective Servicres who was a part of the referral team was so impressed she wants us to meet her boss the director of the division of social services....so on Sat. we have an appointment to meet with them... please pray that we can share and give a very positive picture of how adoptions are very good for their children...not to mention the families who have been blessed by these wonderful children.

We have had a very positive day.... Gracie is much more comfortable with us and is looking like she is enjoying all the new experiences... and Andrew is such a happy one... he makes us laugh and smile with his antics... we still see lots of auto agressive behavior and it really does upset Joseph when he does them... we just tell Joseph we can't change all of his behaviors at once and time will help with those.

More snow tomorrow and I hear our back home is going to get walloped with snow Friday nite and Sat.... it is looking like it will be a white Christmas.... We did also get the kids passports today and the only thing left is our medicals and the visas interview... then home!

2009-12-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

2009-12-17T12:48:00.001-08:00

2009-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

Gracie Jane is doing well

2009-12-17T11:52:00.001-08:00

I have tried to post a picture and my computer is acting up... it has been a bit harder to get them to post ...Oh well. Gracie is doing well tonite. She went easily with Paul and Cate and for the first 2 hrs their drive home was scary. It was icy and snowy in the mountains... then Gracie started to throw up... she ended up getting sick 4 times on the way home... ( I think Joseph and I had the easier ride:) Once at the hotel she was a bit confused but has come around and we see such progress in her accepting us... these kids amaze me. I do have to say we have found it important to parent pretty strongly... like when we say no and she obviously challenges us she is made to put it back or pick it up. She was afraid of the restaurant in the hotel... just cried... but tonite she was able to sit and drink apple juice and bite some bread. We thought she would go crazy about food but actually she has used that process as her control and so we have let her.... yesterday she ate only a banana and some cookie biscuits and a candy bar bought for her by Marti ( Toni's brother- after she was home in the hotel) This am she again cried at our table when we were getting our breakfast... she did eat some ham and a banana and apple juice. At lunch she was not interested in food but did drink... then she was offered soup with bread in it in the restaurant but was fighting us so we did not make her eat it. Later I gave her another banana, 2 biscuits, fruit snacks , an apple and some drink of juice. She ate it all with no problems....

Going to the bathroom was also another area she was not doing well. She did not go at all until she fell asleep. So today after lunch I put her on the tolite... she was afraid the first day... but I did not let her get off and I ran water and poured some on her... that did the trick and you could tell she felt much better.... she has been wearing a pull up and once used it to pee in and came and told me afterwards. Then tonite she sat on the tolite with no problems... so this was an area being consistent and firm in we have overcome... we were trying to buy a potty like the ones in the orphanage but now I am glad we did not... we have them at home so she can choose which one she wants to use.

She has been a lot more settled tonite... interesting how fast they seem to come around.

Now for Andrew... he is in his crib and having a ball.... he gets very verbal until about 12 midnite.. he will kick his legs and laugh and make all sorts of noises... He got his haircut today... hopefully I can post a picture of him later... he did well but did not like to have his hands held. Now he looks like a little boy.... we are having an issue with him leaking out of his diapers... we are feeding him so much more now and it has to come out.... all over Daddy's bed, my bed, his crib, our couch in the room... I have tried size 2 with a size 3 and even a woman's pad inside all to no avail.. we are calling the conceirge way to much but they are so nice and helpful..and we are hand washing lots more clothes than we need to.... tomorrow we asked Toni to see if she can find us Huggies instead of the Pampers.. at home I found H brand to be better at this . Any suggestions please?

Tomorrow we may go to the MOJ so they can meet us.... they are calling for 3 to 6 inches here. It is so cold at times it makes it hard to take the kids out.... We ate Chinese for lunch. Dee Dee ,Toni's cousin took us to shop for some souveniers and on our way back we found a chinese restaurant.. we all ate for 16 levas-- that is about 12 dollars...not too bad either considering there was not one Asian in there.

Counting the days till we come home now... this time next week we will be on our way home!

He sucks his his thumb all the time :)

2009-12-16T02:25:00.000-08:00

Our days with Andrew and our nites :)

2009-12-16T01:57:00.000-08:00

We are doing just fine here in Bulgaria... it is so interesting to watch our little guy as he acclimates to life with us. He continues to slap himself... when he gets frustrated, lots of exploring with his fingers and tongue. he is very oral.. meaning he puts things in his mouth or will suck on things placed in front of him. Which is a good thing because I do not think he was allowed to do this. Funny how he will act to new things. He loves for us to walk and hold him but of course we can't all the time so we do some holding time with him and hold him like we want for part of the time... he gets a little mad but will let us do what we want. He is a strong willed one but that too is positive to us. He has shown us a preference for the food I put in the bottles. He prefers half milk with half formula, a piece of bread and a third of a banana mashed in a baby food grinder ( bought at Target- a Munchkin). He ate 2 bottles for us this am of that and the other had some baby food (bought) with some bread again mashed. We offer him a juice bottle but he does not seem to like it to much. Yesterday I got some scrambled eggs and yougart and bread and mashed that with the formula and milk. The formula is good because I can make it with hot water from the sink and add sit to the colder milk we have in the refrigerator. He likes his bottles warmer so that has worked. At home I will probably start with just milk.

Now last nite he went to bed at 8 and fussed a bit but did settle down ... was up again at 12 but we did not get him out of bed until 8:30 this am... they had said he is a restless sleeper and he is . All through the nite he will clap his hands and talk and make sounds... sometimes crying quietly ... we just let him be so that he will learn this routine. It is still hard for us to sleep because we hear him but he did so well last nite...

Paul, Gracie and Cate are on their way to Sofia. I will meet them in the lobby with Andrew and we will go straight to the passport office to begin that part of our process. Holpefully they will have them ready Friday but if not we still have Monday for an extra day. Then Mon. and Tuesday will be the embassy stuff, medical and then 1 free day and home.

We have placed all of the food we have in our room up high in the closet because we are anticipating Gracie to be a foragering... she loves food as many of our other kids have. Paul said it seems like she has grown some... the clothes are a bit small in length and her shoes just fit... that is good. She went right with them and did not even want to go back and say bye. Unfortunately Paul forgot the camera and so we will not have any pics until tonite of her with us.

Here is a picture of Andrew climbing into my suitcase... he loved wedging himself into the corner of it. He was so cute.

2009-12-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

He is with us and it is 11:23 pm in Bulgaria and he still is awake :)

2009-12-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

We made it back tonite with Andrew and he did great on the 5 hr drive back... He is so much smaller than I remember... and loved both Joseph and I at once. Joseph was precious when he first saw him ... he could not stop crying... hope to share some sweet and tender moments of Joseph and Andrew in the van... He has eaten 3 bottles of what they fixed for him... mostly looks like formula... we will gradually add more food to his bottles and offer him them more often but have to take it rather slow at first. We gave him his bath tonite and he did not mind it ... we skyped the kids and they got to see him and hear him... he even would make a loud noise when he heard them talk....

tomorrow Paul and Cate go to Vidin to pick up Gracie and will be back early Wed... so we can start the passport process... pray for their safe travels and that Andrew will sleep some tonite :)

Our other son who was blind had a difficult time telling nites from days... but finally got in a pattern...

Ahh I can't believe that Andrew is with us tonite......

Joseph and I are in Yambol and my experience with "Humphrey Bogart"

2009-12-13T12:16:00.001-08:00

Joseph and I are the pick up team for Andrew :) We drove this afternoon and are now in the hotel. Tomorrow "God willing" we will pick up our sweet boy. Now we had a little situation driving here....It is a lovely drive to Yambol.... the road is a good road and it has beautiful scenery . We were almost to Yambol like 10 miles and our van started to have problems. Joseph and I had just commented, "Wow this was really quick". Well finally the van stopped and Alex ( Toni's brother) got out and fiddled some . We drove a few yds and stopped again ( we had already prayed) and again we went some yards and then it stopped. It was still light out but soon would be dark... the cell phones worked and a tow truck was called... about an hour and a half back we had stopped at a McDonalds and with my food I drank all of my coke.... well what goes in eventually comes out... I had asked Toni when I drank that coke if I needed to could we stop... of course she said yes... well I was fine and thought to my self since we are so close I can just wait...until of course the van died... well then immediately I had to go ... just because I could not go ( you know how that is. So I said to Toni are there any trees half joking and half not... then Joseph slapped my leg and says, " Mom just go outside." Of course we are all laughing .. me trying not to because of my lets say inability to control when I laugh.... so I walk around to the side of the van ( there is snow on the ground) and proceed to go... Toni's mom hopped out to block the view of the on coming car on the one side and I am trying to go fast as I see the lights of a tractor trailer approaching... done and I try to get up and start to slip... thinking, " Oh know I am going to show everything to this trucker now." I made it and was up and done.... Toni says, as she saw how worried I was about the approaching truck,"Did you finish?"

Well the tow trucker driver came very quick and the plan was to let me and her mom ride in the cab and the rest were in the van on top of the truck.. if you know Toni she does not like riding in the van to much the normal way.. let alone on top of a tow truck.... long and short is we made it just fine to the mechanics and it should be worked on in the am... if not there is a secondary plan.. that will get us to Andrew and back to Sofia.... just pray for the van to be fixed and not cost to much... One plus to my side of things was the tow truck driver looked just like Humphrey Bogart and I had a hard time not staring at him...

Actually I just love Toni and her team ( her family) even in the unexpected they took care of us. Alex felt bad but it is not there fault ... just another example of how the attacks come the closer we get to bringing home our children... but the Lord is our provider and He took care of us today.

We made it here ... wonderful flights and great to be in Sofia

2009-12-12T04:39:00.000-08:00

We got in today just a few hrs ago... it is snowing a very wet and light snow. Our flights were great and it was an easy trip. I have always had problems with my feet swelling on these long flights and my legs hurting.... This time I bought the teds like socks to wear only I bought the cheaper ones at Walmart.. peds socks.. to help with travel. My feet and legs are normal... they feel very good which is not always the case... so I recommend anyone who travels like this to think about wearing these on their flights... we are tired and hungry.. but are waiting until a reasonable time to eat and then sleep... tomorrow we will leave to get Andrew... for pick up at 9 am Monday....Yeah! Thank you all for your prayers we have certainly felt the Lord's presence .
It was so good to see Toni and her brothers today... they are like old friends. All of you coming after will just love them... they are a warm and caring team who make your experience so positive and fun. More tomorrow and pictures of our reunion on Monday.

And this is the last Tuesday that Gracie will be in her orphange

2009-12-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of her holding the baby... she rarely played with the toys we brought... and then the one of her looking out... you could see it on her face... "I wonder what the world is like out there."

Praise God that we are almost back to our kids... and it is the last Tuesday that Gracie will be in her orphanage... I was reading their court decrees yesterday and how sad they were.. both were listed as Roma heritage- this is such a negative stigma for the Roma people and so sad for these orphans. Both were from unwanted pregnancies- how sad to me to not have been desired for from your birth... Gracie was listed as the "product of a rape"... We are very prolife and thank God their mothers chose life... because all life is precious and we feel so blessed to be their momma and daddy.

This was the last Monday that Andrew (Dancho) will have to spend in the orphanage

2009-12-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

Tonite during our grace at dinner we realized that it was Andrew's last Monday at his orphanage because next Monday he will be in our arms.... PTL