Fall is around the corner for sure

Tonite we fixed some of the last vegtables from our garden. We had fried green tomatoes and egg plant parmagian with a pot roast , Harmony's rice and applesause. Our weather has been cool and today we closed our pools...A sure sign that Fall is around the corner. Sometimes I have not been ready for the change but this year I am. I have loved the cool days and even cooler nites. We even turned our heat on for awhile to warm us up some in the am.. The new kids from Ghana have been funny about the cold weather....they seem to like the change too. We have started to get in the swing of school too...football games , soccer out front, and playing outside lots because it is comfortable and not hot and humid. Our leaves are not turning yet but we are all looking forward to it.

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow- Lila's miracle

Our little Lila is so very easy to love. I love her spunk, her spirit her complete trust in me, her momma. She loves life all the time and we love watching her discover her new life thru her eyes. You can imagine our heartbreak when we received the news weeks ago from her blood tests that she had Hep. C.

She also tested positive for giardia, and high lead levels. She is taking a multivitamin plus iron that should take care of the lead levels and we have treated her twice with flagyl . We have had giardia before so this was not a new path for us. Selah also tested high for lead and she too takes the vitamin and we will retest in 3 months to make sure it is dropping. The Hep C has been a new journey for our family. She gave no symptoms and at her age the way she got it would have been thru her mom. So we researched and went to see a specialist at Johns Hopkins the day after Anna's surgery...since I was already down there with Anna. I already wrote about him in a post about Andrew. I really like him though. He shared that he was certain from the initial blood tests that she had Hep C. He needed to do some other tests and then he would do a liver biopsy and then he would know the extent of the liver damage as well as the genotype for the Hep C so he could treat it. There is no cure for Hep C and it is fatal if not treated....but after the treatment ( a shot of interferon given by me weekly and a pill) for 6 months or a year ( depending on the genotype) they retest and even if at that time they don't find any of the virus they don't consider it cured but dormant. Precautions would have to be taken with her blood anytime she got a cut, make sure there was no sharing of personal items like toothbrushes, or nail clippers. So for the past weeks we have been preparing ourselves for this journey . We have not had a child test postive for Hep C and so this was a new journey for our family. My heart ached for my child and even for her mom who most likely had it too .

 There were lots of questions like how did she get thru the embassy medical wihtout it being picked up and how could we help her mom back in Ghana. Well last nite Dr. K called me to give me the lastest tests results. First her giardia was negative . Praise God we are done with that. Then he shared the most amazing news ever with us....He said he could find no genotypes because there were also now no antibiodies for C......I immediately told him I could just come thru the phone and kiss him- He laughed...then I shared that I was a woman of faith and I had been praying for just this very news... Dr. K even acknowledged it had to be our prayers because there is no explanation for what happened. I asked was the first one a false positive and he said it could have been but not all of them could have. He is retesting her in 3 to 6 months but feels confident that she does not have Hep C.However miraculous it would be, I knew before he shared the results that was what they would be. I know my Lord can do miracles and this time He chose to do just that by healing our Lila . We have experienced this healing before and we have experienced a diff. answer to our prayers before as well...but in both we praise God for who He is and for all of His blessings.

I have relatives who choose to not to believe in God....I have even recently been slammed by one of them for my belief that the Lord provides even in mysterious ways. I will not even entertain those thoughts because my life has seen the evidence of the Lord in too many ways and in too many miracles to doubt His existence. We are rejoicing today for Lila's health and the power of our prayers.

America the Beautiful and I Love you Mama

I came home from Sam's Club and I had a surprise from Selah on the island :) It made my heart sing to see what she had written and colored and she picked me these flowers. We had gone to a 9/11 remembrance last Sunday and we sang America the Beautiful. So I guess she got that from there...but the message I love you mama is what really makes me full of joy. She has been home for almost 3 months and that has to be the sweetest sound to a momma's heart.

They just don't get any cuter

 The girls asked if they could cut some flowers. I said yes and this is how they came back from the yard. Such sweetness and purity. Isaiah fell asleep during our Bible time...my of my he is a sweetheart- when he is awake or asleep.

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 .

Happy birthday Leah and Jacob

Tonite we celebrated Jacob's day of birth....He worked earlier and when he came home Paul and I took him out to dinner to the Outback . He is a meat and potatoes kind of guy . He turned 20 today...He was our first adoption of the beginning of our 9 yr journey to adopt 21 of our 22 children that we have adopted. He was 11 when he came home . We were actually in Russia during this time and we celebrated his 11 th birthday in Vladikavkaz, Russia. Happy Birthday Jacob !

On Sunday we celebrated Leah's 18th day of birth. If you remember my post of her first birthday with us which was actually the first birthday she ever had someone celebrate was when she turned 13. She had such a difficult time sharing what she wanted for her b-day and what she wanted to eat on her b-day. It hit me she felt not worthy to have her life celebrated. After much assurances we were going to celebrate she told me she wanted chicken with bones ( I usually cook with boneless, skinless chicken) . It took her about 30 minutes to decide on what she wanted us to give her for her birthday. At the time we were considering and praying about a child we wanted to adopt. We had his picture by my computer. Leah went over to that picture and brought it to us and said," I know what I want for my birthday. I want you to adopt this boy."  Of course we all were in tears at the heart of our daughter, Leah. She got it at the young age of 13. Happy Birthday Leah !

Can you help this little girl ?

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Baby Girl O

I don't make it a regular habit to post about waiting children on my blog, but sometimes I really feel there is a need. Who knows...maybe there is someone out there that will happen across this post, and discover their daughter?

This is Baby Girl "O." She waits in Ghana. She waits for her family to discover her. She was abandoned in an orphanage earlier this year. When I met her I don't even think they had given her a name yet. I've given her "O" because that's the letter her orphanage starts with. It's a sad reality that some of the babies who are abandoned at this orphanage don't live. But Baby girl? She's a survivor.

I got to cuddle with little "O" during my visit to Ghana in June. She felt like a tiny 1-2 month old newborn to me--looked every bit the part as well. Somehow, the orphanage estimated her to be 7 months old. Honestly, 7 weeks seemed more accurate, but what do I know? At the time I met O she was squishy and warm and wiggly, like most young babies. She cooed, and her spit bubbled up in the cutest way possible. =-) Her hands were in fists, but she has a lifetime to learn how to open them. Her head seemed small to me, but she has a lifetime to overcome that as well. Her heart (her spirit, her soul) seemed completely normal--ready to give all the love she has.

Little O is developmentally delayed. There is no diagnosis. She may not even be taken for a medical until someone steps up and says, "Yes, I will make this child my daughter." When she does get a medical, a doctor who has never seen her before will look her over for a few minutes and then note any "irregularities" in her health. They may say "microcephaly" or "developmentally delayed" or "crossed eyes." We don't know.

Here's what we do know. Baby O needs a family! She NEEDS a family. She has people who can give her food, and change her diaper, and bath her each day. She does not have a single person who gives her the love that only a mommy and daddy can give. Nobody wakes up in the middle of the night just to feel her chest rising and falling. Nobody is trying to learn about her unique personality--to distinguish her "I am hungry" cry from her "I am in pain" cry.

It's not usual for such a young child to be available for adoption in Ghana. But because of Baby O's perceived special needs, she is eligible for international adoption. The staff at her orphanage aren't really sure if any American family would find "value" in Baby O. They aren't sure any family would ever love her enough to sacrifice the time and money required to adopt her. I know in my heart this isn't true. However, I also know in my heart that we must cast the net WIDE so that her adoptive parents can find her.

If we found a family that could move forward with paperwork and fees very quickly, Baby O could be legally adopted within the month! Within the month! That is so very quick for an international adoption. But if Baby O's family can't move forward that fast, that's okay. We just need to find them. Baby O's fees will be reduced (although there are still fees involved). Because of her special needs, families who don't fit within the normal Ghana requirements can apply to adopt her. Large families are fine!

If you aren't her family, can you do me a favor? Can you help me find them? Maybe you can re-post on your blog, or on facebook? Maybe you can send an email to your friends and family (who can send an email to theirs). Her family is out there. Together, we can find them.

Thanks,

Anita

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This is a post from a friend and actually a coordinator for AAI adoptions in Ghana. I copied her post for this little one because I think she expressed it very well. If you are interested let me know and I can connect you or you can find her at aaighana@gmail.com