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We are home with Amos, Daisy, Lee and Violet! Meanwhile we have jumped in again for one last very special girl. If you would like to help with that, you can make a non-tax-deductible donation HERE that we can access immediately. You can also make a tax-deductible donation HERE that we can use once we receive travel dates. Or by donating HERE you can help provide her and other children at her orphanage the care and nutrition they desperately need. See all of our current fundraisers HERE. We are thankful for any support you can offer!

Thursday, July 20, 2017

6 months home

Amos, Daisy, Lee and Violet have been home for about six months now. (Plus Theo, Orion, Barton and Evan have been home for about 3 years!) How is everyone doing? They are all amazing! Here's a brief photo recap of the last few months.


Daisy is starting to grow hair! It's long enough that it needs to be brushed now. She loves to have it brushed, but she hates it if I pull on any tangles. She is so sweet and affectionate. Daisy was very sensory seeking when she first came home. She still spends a lot of her time stimming, but it is much calmer.


Daisy lost a baby tooth and was very excited for the tooth fairy. Yeah, that is an excited face! She didn't really understand what all the fuss was about, but she had fun with it!


Evan turned 14! He loved his birthday celebration. His favorite part was when everyone sang for him. Birthday parties weren't part of his life before he came home 3 years ago, but now he loves them. Birthday cake is one of his favorite foods!


Orion is doing a great job with adding and counting. One of his younger sisters loves to help him practice.


Lee is showing off a photo of Sealey. If you haven't seen it yet, go read about Sealey's Summer of 2017! Lee's life used to be a lot like Sealey's, laying all day in a crib. Now his life is awesome! Sealey's could be too!


Lee also gave us a bit of a scare a little while ago, but he seems to be doing better. He is going to be doing more testing to figure out his seizures. We've been tweaking his medication dosage as he gains weight, but he might need to add other medications too.


Violet has new glasses! She looks so grown up in them! It took a little while for her to get used to them, but now she really likes to wear them. It's nice to be able to see more clearly! 


The kids have had a lot of fun outings this summer! Amos, Theo, Orion and Barton had a great picnic lunch at the nature preserve! It makes me really happy to see how well they all get along and how excited they are to do things together. There are parts of older child adoption that are very, very hard. But most of our days are awesome. Our older boys are all so much fun to spend time with. We are so lucky to have them here in our family!


Lee has had a few more follow-up visits to keep an eye on him. Everyone says he looks great, especially compared to when he came home! You can see how much bigger he is and how much older he looks!


Theo has a new gait trainer he is trying out. He is SO excited. He has come so far! It's hard to believe that he used to stand with his feet upside down before surgery. He is so determined to walk, and he puts in so much effort every day. I'm really impressed by what he has accomplished. We also have a smaller gait trainer that Daisy and Evan are spending time in. Daisy likes it and Evan does not! 


Violet celebrated her first birthday here! She loved it! She was so excited to see that this birthday was for her! She was also very happy to put her toys in her own bin in her room.


This bouncing ball has been one of her favorite toys! She likes to sit on it and bounce, and she giggles when she tumbles off. She is getting new braces for her feet soon too. She has been growing so fast! Everyone loves her at therapy.


Amos has blossomed into a completely different child than the one we brought home six months ago. His transition was so hard on everyone. It was absolutely the best thing for him to be here in our family though. Now he is turning into a boy who is kind, and thoughtful, and gentle. I think he always was that boy, but it took time to recover from the damage and stress of the institution. We are very proud of him.



Last but not least, we are hoping to travel very soon for our adoption of Yulia. Her adoption has been very long and complicated when we hoped it would be quick and easy, but a year ago we didn't even think she could be adopted. We've come a long way since then, and we can't wait to get her home.

5 comments:

  1. So amazing! Thanks for sharing your family! So inspiring!

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  2. I'm so glad to see an update! Everyone looks happy and content!

    Sue H.

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  3. Thank you so much for the update. It is so good to see them doing well. Prayers for Yulia and for you as you wait.

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  4. Thank you for the update. I was wondering how all of you were doing!

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  5. Beautiful update. Praying for all of you and also that you will be able to pick up Yulia very soon.

    God bless

    Erika

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