Adopting Judah

We are so very excited to announce that we are adopting again!  Our amazing brother Kevin has created us a whole website complete with blog to keep everyone up to date on this adventure.  I plan to keep this blog for our current family memories and keep that blog for our adoption process.  Please check it out at adoptingjudah.com!

ChiTag – Emma’s TV debut :)

Last weekend we went up to Chicago to Navy Pier for their annual Toy and Game fair.  Emma had joined a group through Girl Scouts to play a card game called Top Trumps.  All the Girl Scouts were planning to play the game to try break the World Record for the most people playing cards in one place at one time.  (sadly, they didn’t break the record).

We decided to make it a fun family day but weren’t so sure about the handicap accessibility for Laila so she had to stay behind with “bamma & papa" which was sad but she loves to spend time with them and it gave us a great opportunity to be able to scope things out for bringing her next time.  We found all the right train and bus stations to be able to take her next time!

We caught a 6:15 train into Millennium station and then found our way to the bus to catch to Navy Pier.  We had a little extra time so we walked around a bit on State street and showed the kids some fun stuff like being able to see them taping the morning news are the ABC station.  Little did we know that Emma would be on that news a few hours later!!

We got over to Navy Pier and found where we needed to be and right away they ushered us in and said that since Emma was there early she was going to be able to be on the news!!  I guess that made that SUPER EARLY morning all worth it!  They had table set up to have girls playing the card game while the news interviewed the inventors of the game.  You can see the video here.

We had never been to the Toy and Game fair but we had so much fun!!  We didn’t stay too long because we were missing our Laila and were stuck to a train schedule but here are some fun pictures.  We’re asking grandparents for museum and aquarium memberships for Christmas this year since we’re blessed with so many toys and clothes already so hopefully there will be many more fun trips to Chicago with everyone in our near future :)

Jackson was so excited about this because he’s been really getting into Star Wars lately.

The news camera!!

Jackson getting his cards signed by the inventors

Surprising Knowledge

In the past week or so we figured out that Laila knows most of her ABCs and can count past twenty.  Who knew!!  I just happen to be practicing them with her and figured out she was filling in the blanks!  How amazing and she's only three!

Healthy Update

I wanted to share a few of the amazing things that have been going on with Laila’s health over the past few months.  I feel like a bit of a broken record always writing about the amazing changes in Laila since her time at CLC in September but I feel like if I’m not sharing the blessings and getting the word out then I’m not being a good steward of the amazing opportunity that we were given to be able to be there.

As many of you know, Laila has several health issues.  A few of her major ones that cause us the most problems are her urinary tract infections and her lungs.  She just couldn’t seem to stay away from getting the UTIs and any time she would get any sort of little cold or cough it would ALWAYS turn into bronchitis and pneumonia and she couldn’t get well on her own without antibiotics.  We also know that frequent use of antibiotics was not doing any favors for her digestive system or the fact that people eventually become immune with overuse.

Appointment #1 – Urologist.  A few weeks ago we went for our usually 2-3 month check up with Laila’s urologist to discuss how she’s been doing and see if we need to change anything with her meds.  She was shocked at how much better Laila is holding herself up and astonished that she is doing so well sitting on the potty.  While Laila doesn’t always use the potty when she sits on it, just the position she is in, the openness of her legs, and that bit of time without a diaper are doing wonders for her.  A lot of the time there is a tiny puddle of urine in her potty which is more than likely a little bit that she had refluxed when she had gone in her diaper.  That reflux would normally sit in her bladder and the longer it’s in there the more chance for infection.  So with progress we have been released from her urologist for one year!  How amazing to have have one less appointment that we need to drive two hours to for a specialist every few months.  How amazing that there is one more thing going right with Laila’s posture that is affecting how her body systems work together.  Praise the Lord!

Appointment #2 – Swallow Study – Laila’s GI doctor had asked us in August to schedule a repeat swallow study from last fall just to see where her progress is on oral feeding and see if there is any cause for concern.  We pulled into the parking garage and were back out on the road in 45 minutes.  She took six bites of food and three drinks of milk and they said she looked amazing.  They even thought about releasing us to go back to un-thickened liquids but I asked that we not do that.  I don’t mind thickening and while I’m excited about her progress, I don’t want to push too much too fast.  They seemed relieved as well that I would prefer to continue to thicken because honestly they’re only see a small amount of our daily feeding and while she didn’t aspirate right then I would be afraid she may later.  The very neat thing about that though is that we now give her daytime medications by mouth.  You don’t know how freeing it is to not even have her pump or tube even leave her room most days.  Not only do we not have to deal with them, it also frees us to be able to leave her with babysitter more easily.  Most people are intimidated by having to deal with her button but if I have to leave a little syringe to give her meds in her mouth, that no big deal.  While on the food subject, we also think that the increase in trunk support has also helped her stomach muscle to digest her food better.  She can tolerate way more volume of foods now at one time and is tolerating a way higher rate on her pump at night than she has ever done before.  She is currently most days taking a little over 50% of her daily calories in by mouth during the day.  Again, Praise God!

Appointment #3 – Pulmonologist.  Last Friday we went for our 2-3 month check up with Laila’s pulmonologist.  Again, another doctor shocked at the fact that her trunk support has increased so greatly and that greatly decreases her difficulty her breathing.  When she isn’t hunched over her rib cage is open and has room to expand and contract the way it needs to for her to take better deeper breaths.  Included is also the stronger muscles to cough.  This is so huge for her to be able to have a bit of something in her airway and be able to get a good strong cough to get it out.  Again, in the past when she didn’t have the strength for that, any little bit that would go into her lungs would cause infections and lead us to more antibiotics because she couldn’t clear it out on her own.  Another thing that is so second nature to us but has been so difficult in the past for Laila but now I see her actually proud of her cough.  It sounds weird but I sure don’t take that for granted anymore.  With this doctor we didn’t quite get released for a whole year but he did say that we didn’t need to come back until spring allergy season to see how she’s doing.  That’s another six months from now and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be cutting down on some of this driving for her appointments!

Appointment #4 – Surgery.  While this doesn’t have much to do with her CLC progress, I’d like to share how well she did from her surgery and give God glory for that.  She had strabismus surgery and tubes put in her ears last Tuesday.  She did incredible!  She had a little trouble waking up from the anesthesia and the nurses had to come and get me to come be with her in recovery.  They weren’t sure if she was upset from pain or fear but it turned out to be fear because once she heard my voice she calmed right down.  I always wonder what is going on in her little head and if she flashed back to previous hospital visits or surgeries and wondered if I’ll still be her mommy waiting for her when she fully woke up.  I can put into words how much my heart melted when the nurses said “she just needed her mommy.”  I’ve been her mommy for over a year but it still feels good every time she shows me that and how I really am that special person in her life and and forever.  I was also very thankful to have my friend Melissa come with me to help me out with Laila and be my moral support while I started crying praying over the nurses that were taking Laila to surgery and would be my stand-in in the operating room.  Sometimes I wonder if the hospital staff thinks I’m some religious weirdo but I don’t care.  I want God to be in the operating room and especially guiding those hands and the nurses to be able to speak a special word over Laila to calm her when I can’t be in there.  Here are some fun pictures she took that day.  It was fun to have my photographer friend with me :)

    

So, all in all we are going through an incredible patch with Laila and I thank God for every day of it.  I’m learning to rejoice in today and not put today’s expectations on tomorrow.  We had five days after surgery with not a drop of vomit and then Sunday it came back for a day.  While before that would’ve devastated me and made me question why God would let me glimpse good only to take it away, I now know to rejoice in today and to not think of our amazing God that way.  He doesn’t sit waiting to disappoint me, He teaches me through my weaknesses and for that I CHOOSE to be grateful!

Halloween 2011

This was the first year ever that we have actually used our costumes a few times before Halloween.  Our niece Shyanne celebrated her 1st birthday on Oct 20th so they decided to throw a costume party to celebrate  and it was lots of fun.  We also got to go the the “trunk or treat” at our friend’s church this year because they had it on a different day than Halloween so that was lots of fun too.  We’ve always wanted to go but didn’t because we’re true trick or treaters at heart, no matter who ever wants to tell us it’s for the devil.  Not at our house it’s not!

It was very fun this year to have my two girls and be able to have their costumes go together.  It’s a hard thing with the age difference between them to ever dress them alike or anything so they had fun being witches together this year.  Emma has always loved the Wizard of Oz and has been Dorothy and Glinda in the past so this year it was time to be the Wicked Witch and Laila had received a couple costumes last year from the Shriners that were too big for her and one was a witch so it worked out perfect.

Jackson decided to be Darth Vader this year.  We don’t usually buy costumes because they have lots of dress up clothes and usually pick something out of there to be (lucky me!) but this year we did buy some and that was OK since we don’t do it often.  It’s so funny to have a boy and see the things that he likes and he’s not even sure why.  I think he may have watched one Star Wars movie with Jack once but he totally loves everything Star Wars now and it’s fun to watch him make believe.

We always make a stop at the nursing home to see Grandma Hamstra

 

And Grandma Hixson (GG)

It’s dark but this is my girls being judged at the costume parade.  They got 4th place!!

Family picture at Shy’s birthday party :)

Wicked Witch of the West

Wicked Witch of the East

Darth Vader

No School Schedule

A couple years ago we were doing respite foster care for three children for two weeks.  We woke up one morning to find that they had called a snow day and all of a sudden I was stuck in the house with five (this was pre-Laila) children.  I started to panic wondering how I was going to keep everyone, especially me, sane for the day and then I came up with a schedule of fun event for us to keep busy all day long.  This is something that Emma & Jackson have carried on and always want to do when we have a free day.  Today happen to be one of those fun days :)

I decided today would be a Halloween theme because I had found these super fun brownie haunted house kits at Aldi yesterday.

These are pictures of the scary Lego house that the kids built.  They don’t look as scary to look at them but they each had a story about trap doors and secret sling shots that made these house pretty scary!  I love their imaginations!

Jackson’s house

Emma’s house

  We have a huge stock of dress up clothes in this house so we decided to do a fashion show in honor of dressing up for Halloween.  Again, they came up with some very creative outfits while I was DJ and announcer on iTunes using Laila’s Hannah Montana microphone!

Cowboy Jackson

Flying TinkerBell Emma

Barbie Diva Laila

 

Jackson’s Haunted Brownie House

Having fun decorating together

Emma’s Brownie House

 

We packed up and ran a few errands and then met Jack for lunch.  Both kids had excellent report cards and their teachers had amazing things to say about the character, kindness and knowledge at our parent teacher conference this week, so we decided to take their book-it certificates for a little family lunch.  After lunch we stopped by the library for a few Halloween books and Charlie Brown’s Great Pumpkin DVD and then we headed back home.  While Laila napped, Jackson & Emma watched “The Good Witch” on Netflix and I baked cookies for our evening adventures.

Soon it was time to make our witches stew.  First we browned the cow’s brain (stew meat), then we added the mushed bug guts (homemade veggie soup stock), we added a little ground eyeballs (garlic salt) and finally toward the end maggots (rice).  We let that simmer for a few hours while we waited for our Peterson friends to come over so their mommy & daddy could have a date night.  We joked that since there are six of their children they were all we needed to turn an ordinary night into a fun Halloween party!

My little witches :)

Our yummy stew! (even a pot of gluten free for a few of our special Peterson friends!)

Table of craft supplies just begging to be used :)

Our cute little monsters.  Got this idea off a link on my friend Dawn’s blog.  Thanks Dawn!

After the craft we all had dinner.  Some of the kids really believed me that there was cow brains in the stew and it was funny to see the little pieces of meat leftover in their bowls!  Ha!  I also made green Koolaid and added a ton of Laila’s gel thickener to it to make it look like slime.  I told them there were ground up worms in it.  So funny!

Next we were on to cookie decorating.  I told Chanda I’m not sure it was a good idea to let them go crazy with all that sugar before I took them home to put them to bed but everyone did fine and had fun.  Noley & Ahna were especially happy that I made them “their kind” of cookies :)

 

This big kid had so much fun he even made his own icing colors to be unique!

 

He shared the blue with Laila and she was proud to show her blue tongue!

We finished the night off by eating our cookies and watching Charlie Brown.

I’m so thankful for these days that are set aside and we make sure we have some fun at not a lot of expense.  Days of laundry, cleaning, school, doctors appointments, and just plain LIFE can really just fly by and I wonder when was the last time we did something really fun.  I also of course love that my kids thrive on structure and NO I was not in the military!  But I’ve gotta tell ya when I hear them say at the end of the day “can we do that again tomorrow??  PLEASE!” it makes me feel like today we did something right and you never know if today is going to be all we’ve got.

Tricky Halloween

Halloween can get tricky when you're trying to decorate around a wheel chair.  Here's this year's creation.  Jack pinned the hat to her headrest since it wouldn't stay on when she put her head back.  Then he used ties to attach the broom and I stole Jackson's black sheet off his bed to cover the bottom of the chair and make it look like the black sky underneath her :)

 

Here's a reminder of last year's hot air balloon just for the sake of ideas for other parents (I'm pretty sure I posted a blog back then but can't remember!).  For this one we used a refrigerator box and I colored in the checkered pattern.  That took FOREVER!  Then we just attached helium balloons.  It was a big hit :)