Birthdays!

Since Will's birthday is Sept. 7 and Lena's birthday is Sept. 11, I decided to take the easy way out and celebrate them together.  It was very low key with just our family eating at Niffer's at the lake and cake and presents at home.

Will got to celebrate at school as well and he wore his paper birthday hat with much care and pride.  I don't think he stopped grinning all day.  Thanks to Mrs. Cox and his friends for making him feel so special at school.  I don't think Lena really understood what was happening but she sure had fun!  It was great seeing them so excited and soaking up the attention on them.  For some reason, the number 100 is stuck in Will's head.  He often asks if he will still be doing certain things when he is 100 such as going to Sunday School, skiing (doesn't do that now), going to school, riding his bike, etc.  Of course he asks literally 1,000s of questions a day far more than any other of our children.

Lena is talking more but she is a little difficult to understand.  However, she does not have the issues with pronunciation that Will has.  She was just speaking a few Romanian phrases but Will had an excellent command of the Romanian language.  However, he is learning English at a rapid pace but having trouble with certain sounds and blends that he never used in the Romanian language.  He is rapidly losing his ability to speak Romanian which is sad.  I wish he could be bilingual.

Will and Lena have been with us for almost four months and God has been so gracious in that they have made so much progress.  We are so thankful for everyone who has had a part in helping us by bringing a meal, teaching our children at school and church, keeping the kids to give us a break and especially to those who have spent a lot of time in prayer and continue to pray for us.  I get told so often that our family is being prayed for daily and God continues to answer those prayers by giving us what we need to raise our family and direct Children's Hope.

Will with Mrs. Cox

Eating at Niffers - hotdogs and smiley fries

Birthday cake

Lena with her new pink phone

Will and Batman

Lena changed into her Minnie Mouse costume before blowing out candles

Lena, Beth and Will (shark goggles)

Labor Day, 2014!

Labor Day, 2014 was spent at the lake with the Colee Family (minus Chris) and the Peters Family.  Ken and Maria are the directors of the orphaning at CH in Jacmel, Haiti.  They along with their children are spending some time in AL and then headed to Disney World.

Will made a huge breakthrough on Labor Day - he threw his life jacket aside and began swimming by himself even in the deep.  He jumped off the side, let people throw him in, and swam like a fish!

Ken and Maria along with their children: Isaiah, Jesse, and Sophia

Hope, Beth, Will, Sophia, Caroline, Jesse and Isaiah

Beth, Sophia and Caroline

Dow, Christy and Chip

Will swimming

Hope and Will  - mid jump!

Will jumping in - looked like it was a belly flop but somehow he turned it!

Lena, Hope and Will eating hotdogs!

All the little kids up front with Dow and Chip enjoying a boat ride.

Lena and mom snuggling!

This and That!

Will, Hope and I were talking about Moldova recently.  Will said "me no go to Moldova."  Hope piped up and said, "Well I'm sure glad I am not there any more.  I am thankful that I have a loving…….dog." Yes, I was expecting her to say family also!

Hope and her loving dog, Max!

On the way home from the lake recently, there was a big boat in front of us.  From Will's position he could only see the boat.  He wanted to know who was driving the boat on the road.  We tried to explain to him that it was being pulled by a truck but he just didn't get it until the truck and boat turned to the left.  Then it made sense to him.  Even though this was funny, it  was also a reminder of how much I take for granted that they just "know"  but really have no idea about so many things.

Lena and Hope with their new glasses.

Will had his first guitar lesson!

Lena learned how to swing by herself!

Andy putting the kids to work!

Will's Sleep Odyssey!

Will is full of personality and it doesn't take long to discover it.  Even in his sleeping (or not sleeping) it comes shining through.  When we first brought him home, I slept in the room with Will, Lena and Hope for two months.  The first couple of weeks, he woke up around 5 - 5:15 am everyday talking non stop!  For those of you who know me, I have never been a morning person and never will be!  Also, remember he talks very loudly due to his hearing impairment.  I would move to the couch, turn the tv on but he never watched tv.  He was ready to start his day!

Then we started putting the iPad by his bed and told him to play it in the closet (cushions, lights on, etc)  but he was waking me up to tell me he was getting the iPad.  Then he started waking up in the middle of the night telling me he was getting the iPad.  He thought it was morning and he was ready to go.

Then Andy went on a trip where he had to fly.  During this time, I would wake up a couple of times a night with Will standing in my face and saying Mom, Mom.  Then he would go back to sleep.  We had our friend Dora (from Romania) come over and talk to Will.  This happy go lucky boy (we thought) was worried that since Andy was gone that I would get in an airplane and leave too.  He remembered me leaving him in Moldova.  He couldn't see me from his bed and wanted to make sure I was there. Talk about surprised!  I had no idea anything was bothering him.  Dora suggested that he just get up and look at me and not call my name because I needed my rest.  He said he understood and that took care of that problem.

When I moved back in my bedroom, Will began waking me up by walking in the room talking a mile a minute.  We came up with a plan.  We got a digital clock and taped over the minutes.  We explained to Will that he could not get out of bed until he saw a "6" unless it was to go to the bathroom.  At "6" he could get his iPad and headphones and go to the closet and stay there until 7 unless we got him earlier.  We just had to remember to make sure Lena had not pushed buttons during the day and turned the alarm on which happened the first two nights at midnight!

This worked great most mornings.  By the time school started, you guessed it, he was sleeping past six and now most mornings, I have to wake him up.  However, he still wakes up quickly and is talking in 60 seconds or less!

Playing on his iPad in the closet

Rigged up clock

Sleep position I have found Will in often!

First Day of School!

We made it!  I picked all three up at 12:30 and Will and Hope were chatter boxes.  Lena kept saying "I'm tired."  She really was tired, because she did not eat lunch and went straight for her nap!  Thank goodness she only goes three mornings per week!

Hope said it was even more fun than she thought it would be!  Will loved looking for the gingerbread man and wanted to know how many more sleeps until he could go back.

Will - Kindergarten

Hope - First Grade

Lena - K4

Will, Lena, and Hope

End of Summer!

Well, it is here like it or not.  We have had such an eventful summer just at home and getting adjusted.  Much has been accomplished and Lena and Will and all of us have come a long way!  Our summer has ended with Beth getting home from a six week trip to Haiti and watching Dow prepare to leave for his Sophomore year at college.

I also found myself at Dr. Trumbull's Monday morning watching him pull out half an inch of bright orange ear putty from Will's ear.  Will has almost no eardrums, so we were putting this in his ears when he swam.  He had the piece stuck in there since Saturday but we had no idea that it was so large.  Will kept telling me that "I pushed, pushed, it in his ear and it was ouch!"  Needless to say I felt terrible when I saw what had been in his ear for two days!  We will not be using the ear putty anymore!

I also scheduled eye exams this past week for all three kids thinking it was just routine for Will and Lena and I would get Hope's checked since I was taking the other two.  Well, it was quickly apparent that Hope would need glasses and so would Lena.  Lena not only has poor vision but a rather significant astigmatism.  Will escaped this but he has enough to deal with regarding his ears!

We have also been getting uniforms, supplies, shoes, backpacks, and meeting teachers.  We are so blessed to have three children attend Eastwood Christian School.  Beth will homeschool again this year and Dow will return to Auburn!

All dilated and looking cool!

She's back!

He's leaving!

Warning - Lots of Cuteness!

The children recently had their pics professionally made by Emily Dudley (who is great by the way).  Let me just say that while these pics are great, it took a lot of effort and sweat to get them made!

I feel like I need to add a disclaimer to these pictures.  Our real lives on a daily basis are far from the calm and peacefulness of these pictures.  In fact, anyone who may have been looking in on our home Monday night or Tuesday morning would know what I am talking about.  We are dealing with some things we had no idea we would be dealing with; however, we are NOT dealing with some things that we thought we would be.  Bottom line,  adoption does not need to be glamorized.  Having said that, they are precious children made in the image of God and have already blessed our family in so many ways.  To watch them grow and learn and to see ourselves grow and learn is a blessing that can't be described!  They are amazing children and considering everything, they have adjusted remarkably well.  God is giving us a daily bounty of grace, patience and energy.  Thank you all for who continue to pray for us!

By the way, Will took a big step recently and he is riding with NO training wheels.

Good News!

Just a quick update and to thank you for your prayers.  Will was examined by a pediatric cardiologist yesterday and his heart murmur is simply a classic murmur and nothing to be concerned about.  Doctors are hearing it so well because he is so thin!

Also, today we were told by Lena's doctor at Children's Hospital that she never had TB.  A blood test called a t-spot was done on her and it was negative.  For some reason she was diagnosed in Moldova with TB and was placed in a sanatorium for a while.  We are giving God glory for these blessings!

Hope

Lena - her first Merry go Round ride

Neighbors and new friends: Will, Hope and Lena with the Denney kids (minus Kennedy): Davis, Kate and Dawson.

Happy Birthday America!

This July 4th was extra special.  One reason is because our family has grown by two children that have now been American citizens for 8 weeks.  My appreciation for being an American has really grown in the last five years, so I was extra thankful to know that Lena and Will now have this privilege.  While I know our country has some serious issues, I have also had the experience of being in countries like Haiti and Moldova and have become more aware of the plight of other countries.  I am thankful that our three youngest children now live in a country where they have access to good health care, education, and Biblical teaching and living!  As I have learned to think more "globally" I have learned to be more thankful for my blessings.

My thanks goes out to so many who suffered and died for our country in years past and for those still serving.  Also, thanks to the families who have sacrificed and continue to do so.

While Will certainly doesn't understand all it means about being an American, he certainly enjoyed saying "Happy Birthday America"  about a thousand times.  He and Lena certainly know what the American Flag looks like now and they let everyone else know too!  They loved celebrating the 4th at the lake.  Will even loved the fireworks but Lena wanted no part in them!  We all missed our Beth though!  She is in Haiti for six weeks.  Two down and four to go.

Thanks for everyone who continues to pray for us.  It is really a miracle at how well they are adjusting and while the days are hard, we could be dealing with many more serious issues.  They are bonding, attaching, eating well, and sleeping well.

Lena and Will on their first kayak ride

Lena and Hope putting sunscreen on Caroline Colee and of course Will is telling them the right way to do it!

Hope learning to ski

Will learning to ski

Daddy with his little girls.

Lena

Will enjoying time with Pearson Colee

Will, Lena, and Hope wearing Mickey and Minnie (Will loves Mickey)

Will with big brother

Chris and Caroline Colee

Lena was just up for grass skiing

Hope made a new friend!