Beach Trip 2015

Recently we returned from the beach with Beth, Will, Hope and Lena (Dow was in Haiti).  This trip included a lot of "firsts" for our family.  This was our first trip to vacation at Pensacola Beach which by the way, we loved and plan to return.  

However, the BIGGEST FIRST was that Will and Lena had never been the beach!  Have you ever tried to explain the vastness of the ocean and beauty of miles and miles of white sand to a child who has no frame of reference for such creation?  I still am just astounded at God's handy work every time I see it.  It was fun to watch them in awe of it when we first arrived.  Of course, Will was ready to get right in while in clothes when we first arrived.  On the other hand, Lena was very frightened of the waves (it was really rough during our trip) and after one wave crashed over her feet, she was headed to the sand! Hope is just naturally a beach girl from her first trip and was so happy to be back!

As the week went on, Lena did get a little braver with the water thanks to Beth's persistence.  Will and Hope loved every minute of it!

Creative Hope - found a broken sand dollar that looked like a heart

The kids also had fun in the pool where we stayed.  Will and Hope never tired of swimming which reminded me so much of my summer vacations at the beach!

 Some other firsts for Will, Hope and Lena included flying a kite, hunting for crabs at night (Andy caught two) and playing putt putt golf.

Playing putt putt!

Lena's End of the Year 2015!

Lena had a lot going on at the end of the school year.  She had her first ever end of the year party at a classmate's house where she played and played and loved every minute of it.

Her first time on battery powered vehicle!

She loved swinging high in the basket swing with classmates

 I took this picture because if you know Lena, you know she loves to eat.  While all of the other children left a good bit on their plates to go play some more, Lena stayed at the table to eat every single bite!

And Lena loves food!

Lena also had her first ever end of the year program at St James.  Andy and I had to miss it due to a long scheduled colonoscopy for me, but Beth was able to be there.

Lena with some of her classmates

Apparently Lena was the only one doing hand motions!

Lena giving her sweet teacher, Lynn Higbe, a goodbye hug

 Finally, Lena began gymnastics through a program at St. James UMC in January called Leap Gymnastics.  Although she will never be a gymnast, it really helped her with balance and coordination.  It also helped her with listening to instructions, taking turns, and staying in place.  Her group had a special program in May.

Lena on the balance beam!

This was a skill that was hard for Lena at first but she mastered it

Lena with her sweet friend, Lucy

Will - Kindergarten Graduate!

Will and Mrs. Cox

Will receiving his certificate from
Mrs. Cox

This time a year ago, Will could not speak English, didn't know how to play, had moderate to severe hearing loss, and no clue about how his life would change over this past year.  But God sent an incredible teacher who began working with Will in the summer.  Diane Cox taught Hope in kindergarten and offered to help Will prepare for K beginning last summer.  Will met with Diane twice a week at Eastwood not only for learning but so he could become familiar with his future K surroundings.  I think it was love at first sight between Will and Diane.  They immediately formed a special bond.

When K finally started, Will had to adjust to not having her all to himself but he eventually did.  Diane taught Will more than just academics.  She finally coaxed him into playing with  others at recess and guided him in how to do that.  She gently guided him in the area of social skills as well, because Will had so much to learn.  She was so sensitive to his lack of experience, hearing issues, and his passion to know everything about everything!  She quickly picked up on how bright Will was; in fact we all did and were amazed.  He was able to grasp academic concepts quickly.  By the end of K, he was reading and performing simple addition and subtraction problems.  He gained so many skills in K and made many good friends.  He will continue to work with Diane this summer on language development.  Our family is so grateful to Diane for loving Will and going above and beyond the call of normal teacher responsibilities.  We know without a doubt God placed Diane in Will's life at just the right time.

Below are some pics of Will at his End of the Year Program.  He did very well with both his speaking and singing parts.  We were so proud of him.  He also had the big end of the year party at Pump It Up which he loves.  He is now looking forward to 1st grade!

Will saying his part

Will singing his part

Hope Finishes First Grade!

It is hard to believe but Hope finished first grade this past Friday, May 22!  Didn't we just bring her home!  She did great in school this year learning to read so well.  She made a 100 on all of her Bible verses and had all As.  She loves her friends and Mrs. Howard and was sad to say goodbye.  She has several sweet friends that are moving which made things a little sadder.

We've always said watching Hope grow was like watching a fragrant flower blossom and this year has been no different.  We have watched her grow academically and socially and are just amazed at how much she learned in first grade!

However, they had an awesome Beach Party playing great games outside and the day was absolutely beautiful.  They ended the party with some yummy snacks and getting lots of pics taken.  We are so thankful for Eastwood School, their staff and curriculum!

Sweet friends - Hannah, Hope, Olivia and Mallory

Over and Under

Relay race!

Hope with first grade teacher Milla Howard

Hope's 6th Gotcha Day!

On Friday, May 22, we celebrated Hope's 6th Gotcha Day.  We released six balloons and treated Hope to her very favorite food - steak!  She also had her first grade party at school plus her big sister, Beth, graduated from high school.  With all of the celebrating, it was a very special day!

I can't even begin to imagine life without Hope (both the word and the little girl)!  She has brought so much joy and light into our lives as we have watched her grow!  On her awards day at school, she was given the award of being the most thankful which made my heart soar.  Her teacher said she will spontaneously mention something that she is very thankful for.  She often will tell us how thankful she is that we adopted her and got her out of that orphanage!  Boy, we are too!  She is a precious gift from God and we are so thankful that He led us to her!   When I consider her adoption, God reminds me over and over about how He truly has a plan for everyone.  Out of all of the little girls in the world, He directed our steps to the adoption of a tiny little girl in an obscure country that we didn't even know existed!

We love our Hope and look forward to celebrating many more Gotcha Days in the future!

Diving in!

Enjoying her steak!

Releasing her balloons in the air one by one (six in all; one for each year she has been home)

Hope receiving her Thankfulness and Starburst Awards from Mrs. Howard

Gotcha Day - Will & Lena (2015)

One year ago today, Andy, Dow and Beth visited Will and Lena at their orphanages for the last time! May 6, 2014, became Gotcha Day for Will and Lena!  The journey to get to that point was hard fought on so many levels.

Will and Lena leaving Lena's orphanage on May 6, 2014!

Will and Lena, Gotcha Day 2015

This past year has been no piece of cake either.  We hardly knew what hit us last summer!  In fact, last summer seams like a blur with only little memories here and there for me.  One big thing I do remember is how so many people helped us from bringing meals to helping give the children baths!  Thanks again to so many of you who were there for us and are still there offering up prayers on our behalf.

While this year brought lots of adjustments, God also brought just the right teachers (both school and church), medical professionals, and new friends who are teaching our children guitar, art, and gymnastics!  We are so grateful for the adults who have already helped to shape them and have had such a positive impact on them.

We dealt with some unexpected things such as Will having five surgeries including three due to a hearing impairment in both ears.  We became very familiar with Children's Hospital and are so thankful for the medical professionals who are committed to the health care of children.  On the very positive side, we have not dealt with grieving children who missed their familiar environment and the loss of caregivers.  Instead, Lena and Will seemed to know they were "home" from the very beginning.  They rarely showed any signs of insecurity or fearfulness (except for the ceiling fans and dogs at first!).  We have worked very hard and continue to work hard on helping them know how to be part of a family and a community (school, church, etc).

Over this past year, God has revealed a lot of things to me about myself - some were really hard to see! But He has also revealed even more to me about Who He Is!  I am so deeply humbled as I even write this because when He called us to adopt two children, I kept saying I can't do this!  God kept saying I know you can't, but I can!  When I think back over this past year, I know He has been faithful in keeping His promise for He has sustained our family, showered us with grace and mercy and helped Will and Lena make the biggest adjustment of their lives.

We still face some challenges but to see where God has brought us from is amazing.  And to add icing on the cake, Will and Lena know about Jesus and that He loves them!

To celebrate Gotcha Day, each child releases a balloon in the air for each year they have been home and get to pick where to eat.  Then we pull out the pics of their first Gotcha Day and enjoy looking at the changes in them.  While Will and Lena may not have really grasped the meaning of this one year anniversary, they certainly felt special.  Hope's Gotcha Day is just around the corner, so be looking for another update soon!

Holidays!

Whew!  Will and Lena have been home for about 11 months and celebrating Easter this past weekend marked a complete round of the holidays.  While Lena took them in stride and enjoyed everything about them, Will had to know all the whys, whens, hows, and wheres.  While that is not a bad thing, it is just challenging to explain the details and concepts.  Will remembered getting an orange and candy at Christmas one year but that was the extent of his experience with holidays.  When I think about all they learned this past year about the birth of Jesus and His death and resurrection, I am in awe!

Will told me the other day that if he went to heaven before us that he would stay around Jesus, so we could find him when we got there!

Lena at her first Easter egg hunt

Lena enjoying the sack race

Beth and Will dying eggs

Hope hunting eggs

Will hunting eggs

Hope - 7 and 3/4

Will - age 7.5

Lena - age 4.5

All five - Lena, Beth, Dow
Will and Hope

Catching Up!

I have intended to update before now, but life sure gets in the way of blogging!  A lot has happened since my last post.  Will broke his arm playing in the play room.  He actually dislocated his radial head at the elbow.  As soon as I heard the cry, I just knew what had happened.  We arrived at the Urgent Care office at 3pm where they confirmed it was broken but they would not set it.  Then it was on to Southern Orthopedics where they already had five emergency surgeries.  Then it was on to the ER at Childrens where they had to sedate him to put it back in place.  We finally left at 11:30 pm.  A big thank you to Chip and Christy Colee.  Christy drove me to Childrens while Chip drove to visit good friends in Bham and then picked her up.  Andy was flying home from NY and arrived at Childrens around 10:30.  What a crazy day.  Did I mention Will screamed the first two hours?  Not that I blamed him, I know he was in pain.  It was very frustrating when I was constantly asked to complete paperwork at three different places while he was clearly in agony!  However, at the posting of this blog, he has had the cast off for one week and we are so thankful.  He is learning to use his arm again.

Also, since my last update, Will's new eardrum ruptured due to a full blown ear infection.  Thankfully, it repaired itself but Will's eustachian tubes are not working.  We had scheduled a fitting for a hearing aid but had to cancel due to the infection.  Even after both tympanoplasties, Will's hearing has not improved which points to nerve damage.  He also had circumcision surgery the week of spring break.  Yes, he has been through it and we are praying that this will be his last surgery for a long time!!!

Below is a picture of Will dressed up for the wedding of Q and U that is held in Kindergarten at his school every year.  It is like a real wedding with a singer, preacher and cake and punch afterwards.  The kids even blow bubbles as the happy couple drive off for their honeymoon.  It is really cute.  However, explaining to Will what a wedding was proved to be quite challenging.  He has no experience from which to draw.  He was clueless on what a wedding was and what it meant to be married.  He just knew Andy and I are his mother and daddy but didn't understand the concept of being married.  There have been so many incidents like this.  He wants to know everything but explaining concepts to him can be difficult because he was not exposed to anything outside of his small world in the orphanage for the first seven years of his life.

Lena is doing great at school and is learning rapidly.  Since English is basically her first language (basically non-verbal when she came home), she has no accent.  She loves to play with baby dolls and all of their accessories.  One of her favorite things to do is to pack items in a bag, carry them around, unpack them, play with them, and pack them up again.  I am constantly finding things in bags, purses, etc.  Taking gymnastics has seemed to help her balance.  She is not falling as much and seems more sure footed.  Lena looooves to eat and is talking about snack 10 minutes after breakfast.  She is pretty relentless about asking for food.  However, if she discovers we are having a vegetable for dinner , she immediately starts crying even if it is hours before we will eat.  Then you can just picture the battle we have at dinner!!!

Lena at Chuck E. Cheese

Hope continues to take art class every week and loves it.  She loves school, her teacher and friends.  She also gets excited about going to SS where she sees Mrs. Shan and Mr Rush and Mrs. Twinkle (her SS teachers).  She is also good in helping Will to understand some things, because he is always asking questions!  I love it when she is the one answering instead of me!  Her favorite thing to do is still acting like some kind of animal.  Sometimes, she can get Will or Lena to play animals with her.  We are really having to push her to work on math facts.  She doesn't like to do them because she doesn't know them but doesn't understand that it takes practice, practice.  Hope is also going to tennis clinic at Wynlakes where Beth is helping to teach the younger kids.  Hope has stayed so healthy this year and hasn't missed a day of school!  I am so thankful for this considering how much we have been through with Will.  Hope was sick so much during the first year she was home.  I know I am probably exaggerating but she seemed to be sick more often than well.  We are so thankful that God has given her good health and she has out grown asthma!

Hope at Let's Pretend Hospital

Hope reading to Will and Lena

January Happenings!

Well, January got off to a busy start but it seems that every month does!  I keep expecting things to slow down but I don't know why!  Lena started K3 at St. James UMC and is going three days a week.  This has been very good for her but even better for me.  She also started Leap Gymnastics at St. James one day a week and loves it.  She listens to her teacher, follows instructions, and stays where assigned.  Now if I could just get her to do that at home, because she can really be very difficult to manage at times.  However, she can be extremely loving and thoughtful, and she says the sweetest prayers!

Lena all ready for her first PJ and Teddy Bear day at Preschool!

Will was finally able to have his second tympanoplasty done on Jan. 15.  A big thank you to our pediatrician who helped to get his ear ready.  Even after weeks of ear drops, a round of antibiotics and a shot prior to the surgery date, Will still had some infection.  The surgeon decided to go ahead with it assuming that Will's ear may be as good as it was going to get re. infection.  During the surgery, the ENT discovered Will only had 5% of an eardrum, so he constructed a completely new one.  He also discovered that Will had a yeast infection due to all of the dampness from infections and he was able to treat that.  Will has been a trooper!  We will know in a couple of months if the surgery restores his hearing.

Will right after surgery - always smiling!

Hope is busy learning math facts and reading.  I continue to be blown away at the curriculum at Eastwood and all that Hope is learning.  Hope's favorite thing in all the world right now is that she is taking art lessons every Tuesday.  She counts down the days until she can go.  Since Hope is all about animals, her teacher lets her paint her favorites which is usually some kind of large cat.  We love seeing what she brings home every Tuesday.  Below are her first two projects using watercolor.