Gracie update

Gracie is 8 yrs old now. She was 6 yr when she came home with Andrew on Christmas Eve 2009. We knew that she was non verbal and suspected some spectrum of autism as well from the very first time we met her in July 2009. She had some sensory issues as well and it was difficult to take her away from home. She was comfortable with the environment she knew which was her home. When she did go out with us she was uncomfortable after minutes of getting out of the van. We slowly took her out and she got used to it and now as you can see above she loves going out . She even attends Sunday School with her sibllings and enjoys it very much. We have had her seen and checked for why she does not talk and physiologically she is normal. She has selective mutism...she is choosing not to talk. We have homeschooled her and part of it we have taught her sign language which she uses. She has gone from a child who just watched others play to part of the time during her day playing along side and will try to engage another sibling to eat what she fixed in her kitchen . She used to color a sheet of paper one color and she colored it all. No pictures or designs. Now she will color and make designs and use lots of colors ...this is a huge step for her . She has also been inspired by her new siblings from Ghana. You never know how the children in the family or the new ones will transition to the "new" family dynamics when you adopt or even give birth. Gracie has done it well and in a very positive way. She tries to play with them. She will even mimick some of their play and she colors and loves to when they are. It is as if she has been inspired by them....As she watches them discover their whole new world she is right there along side of them discovering things in ways we could not have predicted. We still hope to hear her sweet voice more. She will say some of our names and tries to makes sounds. She loves music and often is encouraged to "sing" actually hers is a humming of the tune. She is very attached and enjoys her life. Her simpleness and joy in every day things has been a gift to be a part of. She loves to eat and has no problems sleeping. She is a very easy child compared to her brother Andrew. They have been total opposites that way. She loves helping take care of him too as you can see her feeding him .