Do Not Lose Hope!

I woke up today with a heavy heart for all the adoptive parents still waiting for their children to come home. For the ones that just started the process & the ones that have been it much too long & their children should already be home. Please know that I continue to pray for you & your children.

Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea!
Answer me because you are faithful & righteous.
Do not put your servant on trial, for no one is innocent before you.
My enemy has chased me. He has knocked me to the ground
& forces me to live in darkness like those in the grave.
I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.
I remember the days of old.
I ponder all your great works & think about what you have done.
I lift my hands to you in prayer.
I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.
Come quickly, Lord, & answer me, for my depression deepens.
Do not turn away from me, or I will die.
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.
Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.
In your unfailing love, silence all my enemies & destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.
Psalm 143 NLT

Like David, many of you are losing hope, & are caught in paralyzing fear & deep depression. And like you, I've been there. The wait for our children to come home is long...and very hard. There are days when you don't even want to get out of bed...but you have to. Every day is a gift from God...even the days that don't feel like it. It's not wrong to express your heaviness of heart & your frustration. Take it to the Lord...the one who cares more about you than anyone else. He does hear your cries...and he catches your tears in his hand.

My footnotes from the Life Application Study Bible say this: At times we feel caught in deepening depression, & we are unable to pull ourselves out. At those times we can come to the Lord &, like David, express our true feelings. Then we will find help as we remember his works, reach out to him in prayer, trust him, & seek to do his will. David's prayer was to be taught to do God's will, not his own. A prayer for guidance is self-centered if it does not recognize God's power to redirect our lives. Asking God to restructure our priorities awakens our minds & stirs our will.

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior & my God." Psalm 42:11

"Be strong & take heart, all you hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24

"Praise be to the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good & not for disaster, to give you a future & a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Harmony

If you're expecting a wonderful post about harmony in my house...you'll have to wait for another time for that :o) We're getting closer to that but not ready for a warm, fuzzy, honey dripping post about it yet :o)

Actually this has been on my heart for awhile but I've just now been able to post about it. A few days ago I read Psalm 133 which is written by David about the joy of harmonious relationships.

"How wonderful & pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head,
that ran down his beard & onto thhe border of his robe.
Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the
mountains of Zion.
And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting."
Psalm 133 NLT

One of my footnotes for this psalm from the Life Application Study Bible says this:
David stated that harmony is pleasant & precious. Unfortunately, harmony is not always found in the church, as it should be. People disagree & cause division over unimportant issues. Some delight in causing tension by discrediting others.

Harmony is important because 1) it makes the church a positive example to the world & helps draw ohters to the Lord; 2) it helps us cooperate as a body of believers as God meant us to, giving us a foretaste of heaven, 3) it renews & revitalizes ministry because there is less tension to sap our energy.

Living in harmony does not mean that we will agree on everything; there will be many opinions just as there are many notes in a musical chord. But we must agree on our purpose in life...to work together for God. Our outward expression of harmony will reflect our inward harmony of purpose.

"Work at living in peace with everyone, & work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." Hebrews 12:14-15 NLT

Shaki's Big Day!

Unfortunately Shakira's new glasses don't really show up on pictures but trust me...they are stylin!...and most importantly...she can see now! She basically couldn't see out of her right eye so hopefully the glasses will help tremendously. Please pray that she keeps them on & that she doesn't break them. I have a picture of her new shoes which she got to sport her new orthotics which hopefully will correct her feet & leg problems.

"Man Up"

Since Caleb has arrived home, Randy & I have been working hard trying to get him to "man up"...not be such a mama's boy & to do "boy" things. As you can see by the pictures...we're not doing a very good job of it as Phoebe & Samara are working hard against us :o)

Short & Sassy :o)

their hair I mean...not in height :o)

Pedal...

I've have read this before but reading it now is a great reminder for me during this particular time in my life. This is from Dr. David Jeremiah's daily devotions a few days ago.

Pedal

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD. Psalm 37:23

Recommended Reading
Jonah 1-3

An unknown author once described his journey of giving God control of his life as a tandem bike ride with Christ in the front. He said, "When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long trails up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds; it was all I could do to hang on!! Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal!" I was worried and anxious and asked, "Where are You taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. And I'm beginning to enjoy the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Christ. And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore, He just smiles and says..."Pedal."

Though we may fear and doubt where God is taking us, when we give Him control, our life will never be the same. We'll begin to find adventure in the midst of adversity, and peace during times of pain. All we have to do is let Him steer our life while we simply pedal.

"Give your life to God; He can do more with it than you can!" Dwight L. Moody

Sometimes...you gotta do...

whach ya gotta do :o) Anyone who has met these two precious children...know the story behind these pictures :o)

Family Pictures & Weekly Update...

Well, so much for me getting to my weekly update on Saturday as I had hoped. But I guess I did have somewhat of a good excuse...Randy was gone from Wednesday morning until Saturday evening so I was solo with the kids. I was very thankful to see him Saturday night!

So Saturday marked week 3 of the kids being home. Some people might expect that it gets easier each week but I was prepared by other friends that have had their children home for awhile, that's not the case. They told me, "The children will have good weeks & bad weeks...and in no particular order. They will take one step forward & two steps back. This is a marathon adjustment...not a sprint." And they were 100% right!

Week one was very rough. Week two was pretty good. Week three was "okay." Everyone seemed to be doing okay except for Shakira. She had a rough week & when she has a rough day or week...it affects everyone. I'm praying that this week will be better but you never know. With special needs children...the slightest change in routine, the weather, or no change at all...can set them back. We knew this before hand but experiencing it...day in & day out...is something that you can not truly understand unless you experience it.

Please don't take this wrong...we love all of our children more than words could ever express...and Shakira is no exception to that...but we would be lying if we said it's "easy" to parent her. Yesterday I said to a friend that Phoebe was a very difficult child from ages 18 months until about a month before the 3 came home. I told her that I knew some day I would understand why I had to experience that with her. It was preparing me..."seasoning" me for this time in my life. Without it, I would have already "drowned". There is a reason...sometimes many reasons...why we experience difficult things...and many times they make us wiser & stronger. I see Shakira & I as "iron sharpening iron" & I can't wait to see the finish product...in both of us!

We had our first "official" family pictures taken yesterday by our amazing friend Todd. Here are some of them.

Sa-mare-a...

When we first decided to adopt Samara, I asked how they pronounced her name because I thought it should be pronounced Sa-mare-a because Samara is derived from the word Samaria. Well, I was quickly told that they pronounced it Sa-mar-a. Okay, no big deal. I started pronouncing it that way. Everyone pronounced it that way.

Well, guess what? There is one person that doesn't...and it's the pretty girl that has the name. She says Sa-mare-a & when I tried to get her to say Sa-mar-a, she said, "No...Sa-mare-a." So I went to bed last night thinking how in the world can we continue to say "Sa-mar-a" when she says "Sa-mare-a?" So this morning I told her of my dilemna & asked her which way she wanted us to say it & said, "Sa-mare-a." Now after 2 years & 5 months of pronouncing her name one way...I have to get use to saying it another way. I told her that I might "mess up" once in awhile & say it the other way but that I'm really going to try to say her name "correctly" all the time. Who wants to join me in this endeavor??? :o)

Finally!

I have homecoming pictures to show you. Still working on the video clip but hopefully this will hold for you awhile :o)

Samendia & Jefferson...

So I got "dethroned" from filming the video this time around! Randy took this one :o) I thought we were going to miss this homecoming after finding out that they were delayed in Immigration & missed their flight to come home Sunday evening to our home airport but after finding out that another family (which turned out to be 2 other families besides use) decided to hop in their van & make the 3 hour road trip to the airport they got a flight into, we decided to do the same...yes, with our 4 kids! I am so glad we went! Don & Teresa are very good friends of ours & we started the adoption process together & I wanted to ended it together as well. Welcome home!

Two weeks ago...

my three beautiful Haitian children came home. It's hard to believe that it has been two weeks already! Although I was very excited & thankful for the best Mother's Day present ever, I will admit that the first week was pretty rough. We didn't expect it to a piece of cake but as I have said in a previous post...you can't really ever prepare for something like this. There's too many possible factors & scenarios that can play out due to a clashing of cultures & personalities.

The second week has been much better. Caleb is no longer sick & everyone is starting to settle in & adjust to each other. I know it will continue to be an ongoing transition for awhile but I am so amazed at the progress so far. We look like a family, act like a family, & feel like a family :o)

The kids homecoming did teach us some things about friends as well. I have talked to some other mothers who have already brought their children home & they say the same thing I have been thinking: "You find out who your true friends are when the kids come home." I want to thank each & everyone of my friends who "stepped up to the plate" to help us when the kids came home. Thank you! Thank you for the prayers, support & encouragement! Thank you for the food! Thank you for the gifts! Thank you for having Phoebe come over to your house so she could have a break! Thank you for letting me drop off the kids one morning so I could have some alone time! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I tried really hard to do several updates & pictures since the kids came home because I know that family & friends want to be a part of this transition, however, I don't expect it to continue quite as frequently from now on. I will try to post weekly updates but it may even be longer than that as I don't have a lot of spare time on the computer these days.

Birthday pictures...

Guess what I can do???

This morning I cleaned my own bottom...after going number 2 :o) Then I put on my pull up all by myself...and then I put on my skort all by myself!!!

I am saying a few words in English & Mama is teaching me some sign language. I have to sign "more please" before I get more food...and then I have to say & sign "thank you" after I get more.

Last night I was very excited because some very nice people gave me a very pretty, pink beach towel. I said, "Thank you" very clearly as soon as they gave it to me.

I am learning so much! I do spend some quality time in time out but it is teaching me that I have to follow directions & obey rules just like everyone else. I really like being home with my family!

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Man!!!

Mama is so thankful that you are home to celebrate your 2nd birthday! Thank you Jesus! She is so excited that she can't go to sleep. Hopefully lack of sleep will not affect her party planning :o)

A weekish in review...

To say that we've been busy since the kids came home would be an understatement :o) But I wanted to take the time to post some pictures...still waiting for homecoming pictures from other people...and to let you know how things have been going so far.

We are so thankful that our children are finally home & that our family is now complete! We thank God for bringing his plan for our family to completion. We thank God for his perfect timing...and for the children coming home the day before Mother's day & 10 days before Caleb's birthday. We thank God for bringing them home when he did so Caleb could get the medical care that he needed. This however, does not ease the difficulty of the transition process. Whether you bring home one child or multiples, it is an adjustment...both for the child(ren) you bring home, the parents, & any children already in the home. When two very different worlds coming colliding together...it will be challenging. It is not something you can "really" prepare for. All the books in the world, advice from others, etc. can not prepare you for the responses everyone will have to their rapidly changing environment.

The first two days & nights went fairly smoothly as the girls were still in the "honeymoon phase" & poor Caleb was sick & didn't do much but sleep, puke, & poopy. After that it got more difficult due to Caleb being admitted to the hospital & the girls trying to figure out how to live life outside of an orphanage. This of course is not an overnight process but all 3 of them are taking baby steps forward each day...as are we in trying to help them with their transition.

After Caleb came home from the hospital we saw a side of him that we had never seen before. We still don't know if it is his reaction to the change in his environment or the fact that he is turning 2 & going through that phase, or if it's a combination of the two. He threw some pretty nasty temper tantrums & was hitting, kicking, throwing, & biting but that is starting to subside as well as his constant "Ma Ma" chant he had going on almost non stop for three days. He still likes to be beside me at all times but he's starting to get more comfortable with me doing something in one room & him being in another. Today we smiled & laughed a lot together & even started singing to me although I have no idea what he was singing. He is picking up English very quickly. Yesterday I was eating a salad & he pointed to the croutons on it & said, "Mama, I want that." So needless to say he got some croutons :o) I love holding him in my arms & rubbing his cute head of hair.

Shakira is amazing. The change in her environment has brought out some things that we had not seen before but I think they will decrease as she gets use to being home & her routine. Her smile melts my heart. Her wandering around the house has decreased & she can sit for longer periods of time. Her potty training is hit & miss right now. Some days she does very well & other days...not so well but I don't think it will be very long before she has it mastered. Her communication skills have really improved over the past week. I am focusing on her either saying an English or Creole word or using sign language for a word. No more grunts or groans to speak & she's doing a pretty good job of it. Shakira is definitely a Daddy's girl & she stands by the window & watches for Randy to pull up in the drive way after a days work. She then starts jumping up & down & saying, "Papa Papa."

Samara is by far having the easiest transiton out of the three but there are times when she's struggling & just needs some extra TLC. It didn't take her & Phoebe long to be come "real" sisters. They play well & argue well with each other :o) She is very eager to start school in the fall. I took her to the preschool she will be attending & she was very excited about it. Yesterday Samara & I went to a Chinese buffet by ourselves. You should have seen her eyes when she saw all of the food! I helped her with her plate & then we went back to our seats. She ate some chicken & said, "This is good. It is good for me." I said, "Yes, it is." Then later on she ate a cookie & said, "This is good. It is good for me" & I said, "Not so much" :o)

Phoebe has done much better with the transition than we had expected. She is stepping up to the plate to help out whenever she can although sometimes we have to remind her that we are the parents...not her :o) She has also been getting some much needed "breaks" from good friends that offer for her to go to their house for awhile.

We are very appreciative to all of our friends & family that have lavished support, encouragement, prayers, food, & etc. on us during this time. Thank you so much!

Puke & P_ _ p...

Well, Little Man had been throwing up & having the "runs" since last Thursday. He went to the doctor yesterday morning & they drew labs. Yesterday evening the doctor calls back & says, "He's pretty dehyrdated. I would like to admit him to the hosptial & have IV fluids overnight." So off he & I went. We got there around 6:30pm & he was discharged around 2pm today. He officially has the rhodovirus (however you spell it)...nasty stomach bug that makes lots of stinky puke & green poopy. He looks much better now. He gained 2 pounds since last evening. That's how dehydrated he was. Now he has cheeks & he's his "normal" self. He hasn't thrown up since yesterday but the doctor said the stinky poop will continue for a few more days. Please pray that no one else in our house gets it!

Enjoying outside...

Feeling at home...

They're here!!!

This footage is hard to see because the amazing person that had my camera was standing on the side facing the window & made the footage dark. Hope you can figure out who's who.