Evan in plaid. <3 Is he not the cutest or what??
I so love that he has learned how to give a fake smile! LOL
Whatchu talkin bout, Willis?
Major fake smile! Love it! LOL
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
30 Days of Giving Thanks
I saw many of my Facebook Friends posting something they are thankful for during the entire month of November, and I loved this! Unfortunately, I had entirely too much going on around here to focus and participate, especially since we were out of the country for a week. So, I decided to compile a list right here! :) In no particular order...
I am thankful for living in a place full of opportunity. We are SO blessed to live in this country we call home- you often don't realize what all we take for granted until you leave the country and see the poor conditions others live in every single day for their entire lives. I will be able to share more on this after we get our Lina home. Here we have all sorts of programs to assist people with disabilities as well as people living on lower incomes to help them keep a roof over their head, heat pumping through the pipes, and food on the table. Blessings so many of us take for granted every single day.
I am thankful for our troops and servicemen and women who work round the clock to keep us safe and well-cared for, giving us the opportunity to celebrate this favorite holiday of mine. Thank you for sacrificing time with your families so that the rest of us have this chance to be with ours.
I am thankful for my loving husband who works hard to provide for us, who is an amazing father to our children, and who is just as excited about bringing home our Lina as I am! He spoils me rotten day in and day out, and I love him to pieces.
I am thankful for my children at home- thankful they are healthy and happy, thankful that they are growing up to be respectful and caring individuals, thankful they are also super excited about gaining another sibling! :)
I am thankful for our friends and extended family- my parents who sacrificed their time to come care for the kids while we traveled.... thankful for the love and support shone to us by all others as we go down this adoption journey. Simply asking us where we are in the process or how things are going- showing an interest and excitement really means so much. It may not seem like much but it really, truly is. Some very generous friends and family has gone as far as to give us beautiful furniture for Lina's room and others are going through clothing to give as well. Others have donated generously to our adoption grant. Thank you thank you thank you!!! Your generosity means so very much.
I am thankful to live in close proximity to grocery and retail establishments as well as good quality medical facilities. Again, something we take for granted but not everyone has this luxury.
I am thankful to have a car to get me everywhere I need to be, from doctor appointments to extra-curricular activities for the kids, to visiting friends and family.
I am thankful for modern technology- the internet providing a massive wealth of information and resources as well as online shopping ;) to the amazing medical technology- I probably would have died during childbirth with Kaylin had it not been for medical intervention providing the emergency c-section since she was stuck in my pelvis. Justin wouldn't have lived long at all without all the interventions he received during his 65-day NICU stay, and Evan also needed medical treatment at birth.
I am thankful for extra chromosomes. Without them, I wouldn't have been blessed with my precious Evan, and most likely would have never found this path leading us to sweet Lina. God's plan. It's never been more clear to me, and my faith has never been as strong as it has grown to be throughout this adoption process.
Thank you, God, for ALL the riches you have blessed me with, both tangible and intangible. I am one of the luckiest girls in the world all because of You. I don't know what I did to deserve the awesome life that I have, but I will continue to count my blessings each and every day throughout the rest of my life, and continue trying to help others to the best of my ability.
I am thankful for living in a place full of opportunity. We are SO blessed to live in this country we call home- you often don't realize what all we take for granted until you leave the country and see the poor conditions others live in every single day for their entire lives. I will be able to share more on this after we get our Lina home. Here we have all sorts of programs to assist people with disabilities as well as people living on lower incomes to help them keep a roof over their head, heat pumping through the pipes, and food on the table. Blessings so many of us take for granted every single day.
I am thankful for our troops and servicemen and women who work round the clock to keep us safe and well-cared for, giving us the opportunity to celebrate this favorite holiday of mine. Thank you for sacrificing time with your families so that the rest of us have this chance to be with ours.
I am thankful for my loving husband who works hard to provide for us, who is an amazing father to our children, and who is just as excited about bringing home our Lina as I am! He spoils me rotten day in and day out, and I love him to pieces.
I am thankful for my children at home- thankful they are healthy and happy, thankful that they are growing up to be respectful and caring individuals, thankful they are also super excited about gaining another sibling! :)
I am thankful for our friends and extended family- my parents who sacrificed their time to come care for the kids while we traveled.... thankful for the love and support shone to us by all others as we go down this adoption journey. Simply asking us where we are in the process or how things are going- showing an interest and excitement really means so much. It may not seem like much but it really, truly is. Some very generous friends and family has gone as far as to give us beautiful furniture for Lina's room and others are going through clothing to give as well. Others have donated generously to our adoption grant. Thank you thank you thank you!!! Your generosity means so very much.
I am thankful to live in close proximity to grocery and retail establishments as well as good quality medical facilities. Again, something we take for granted but not everyone has this luxury.
I am thankful to have a car to get me everywhere I need to be, from doctor appointments to extra-curricular activities for the kids, to visiting friends and family.
I am thankful for modern technology- the internet providing a massive wealth of information and resources as well as online shopping ;) to the amazing medical technology- I probably would have died during childbirth with Kaylin had it not been for medical intervention providing the emergency c-section since she was stuck in my pelvis. Justin wouldn't have lived long at all without all the interventions he received during his 65-day NICU stay, and Evan also needed medical treatment at birth.
I am thankful for extra chromosomes. Without them, I wouldn't have been blessed with my precious Evan, and most likely would have never found this path leading us to sweet Lina. God's plan. It's never been more clear to me, and my faith has never been as strong as it has grown to be throughout this adoption process.
Thank you, God, for ALL the riches you have blessed me with, both tangible and intangible. I am one of the luckiest girls in the world all because of You. I don't know what I did to deserve the awesome life that I have, but I will continue to count my blessings each and every day throughout the rest of my life, and continue trying to help others to the best of my ability.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
New photo of Jessa!!
Such a doll baby- still SO adorable!!
And still waiting on her family to scoop her up. Praying her family finds her soon!! Please keep spreading the word, and donate when you can. If you donate $35 you will receive a beautiful ornament with Jessa's sweet photo- it will be the original photo on my side bar in which she is wearing bright pink. :) I'm off to order mine right NOW while I'm thinking about it! So far $215 has been raised toward her Angel Tree goal of $1,000- a good dent, but still a ways to go! Keep sharing please!! <3
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Photos from our trip!
I will keep the photos of our *Lina* on our adoption blog and share our sight-seeing photos over here. :) We left Dulles International at around 5:45 PM Thursday evening (our flight departed almost an hour late even though we began boarding on time. Ugh.) and had a non-stop flight to our destination in Eastern Europe which took about ten hours. So, by the time we landed, had our hour and a half or so drive to our hotel- it was about 2:30 PM local time Friday when we checked in- which would be 5:30 AM back home. We. Were. TIRED. Our seats were super cramped on the plane and it was no use trying to get comfortable and sleep. I was dying to take a nap at the hotel but Mike insisted we stay up or we wouldn't sleep at night. We grabbed an early dinner at the hotel restaurant- some soup and bread, skyped with the kids, and finally turned in to get some sleep at 7:00 PM. Come 9:00 PM- we were wide awake. YIKES!! Didn't get much sleep at all after that point- I think we finally crashed around 2:00 AM and were rudely awaken by my alarm at 6:00- we wanted to eat and get our sight-seeing in before it was time to check out of the hotel by noon. Of course I didn't take into consideration that it doesn't get light outside here until 9:00 AM! We could have squeezed in another hour or so of sleep. *sigh* Oh well- places to go and people to see!
Walking around town- the city is HUGE, and the buildings are so big they don't fit in the picture! Lots of statues in front of buildings as well. We also noticed right away that the city is very clean- not a speck of garbage to be found on the ground... no cigarette butts- which is impressive since a large percentage of people here smoke.
Notice the pillars all down the sidewalk- the purpose is to keep people from parking up on the sidewalk! Yes, we saw plenty people park their cars with the front two wheels up on the curb to fit in. Parking is EXTREMELY scarce, and it appears that the rule around here is that if any part or corner of your car is toward the curb- it's all good. Crazy stuff!
All traffic lights have the sign posted above- which reads "STOP". Their lights will show red and yellow together just before turning green, and the green will blink just before turning yellow.
Mike standing next to the entrance to the underground walkway to cross the street- drivers are extremely aggressive around here, so it is very dangerous to try to cross a busy street. These underground walkways are all over the city.
Looking over toward the city's kremlin.
Entrance to the tunnel- I was a bit nervous, but again the tunnels are clean and well lit- some even have vendors inside with teeny shops built into the walls- you mustn't be claustrophobic to work inside these teeny shops- it's almost like sitting inside a vending machine! Wish I got a picture... we were too cold trying to hurry along. Temperatures were in the upper 20's- very windy with snow flurries blowing around off and on.
When we exited the tunnel, we came upon this long row of water fountains- they appeared to be characters from folk tales or fables- the floors were beautifully tiled- wishing we could see this in the warmer weather when the fountains are running.
Tomb of the unknown soldier
The architecture was amazing- and again, extremely difficult to fit many buildings into a photo.
This appeared to be a fancy shopping mall- we didn't get over there due to time constraints and all the construction along the front.
Walking around town- the city is HUGE, and the buildings are so big they don't fit in the picture! Lots of statues in front of buildings as well. We also noticed right away that the city is very clean- not a speck of garbage to be found on the ground... no cigarette butts- which is impressive since a large percentage of people here smoke.
Notice the pillars all down the sidewalk- the purpose is to keep people from parking up on the sidewalk! Yes, we saw plenty people park their cars with the front two wheels up on the curb to fit in. Parking is EXTREMELY scarce, and it appears that the rule around here is that if any part or corner of your car is toward the curb- it's all good. Crazy stuff!
All traffic lights have the sign posted above- which reads "STOP". Their lights will show red and yellow together just before turning green, and the green will blink just before turning yellow.
Mike standing next to the entrance to the underground walkway to cross the street- drivers are extremely aggressive around here, so it is very dangerous to try to cross a busy street. These underground walkways are all over the city.
Looking over toward the city's kremlin.
Entrance to the tunnel- I was a bit nervous, but again the tunnels are clean and well lit- some even have vendors inside with teeny shops built into the walls- you mustn't be claustrophobic to work inside these teeny shops- it's almost like sitting inside a vending machine! Wish I got a picture... we were too cold trying to hurry along. Temperatures were in the upper 20's- very windy with snow flurries blowing around off and on.
When we exited the tunnel, we came upon this long row of water fountains- they appeared to be characters from folk tales or fables- the floors were beautifully tiled- wishing we could see this in the warmer weather when the fountains are running.
Tomb of the unknown soldier
The architecture was amazing- and again, extremely difficult to fit many buildings into a photo.
Vendors lined up selling hats, matroishka dolls, and other souvenirs... some police officers standing around toward the right
When we first walked by this GORGEOUS church, the bells were playing a beautiful song. When we walked back we could hear a men's choir singing- it was truly amazing.
Absolutely STUNNING.
Do we look cold or what?? ;)
Some familiar signs- Hyundai above and Samsung below along with sbarro
We also saw signs for Subway, Wendy's, and of course McDonald's. :)
Two men striking these metal plates, playing beautiful music on the street
That was about all for our day in the big city- we then took an overnight train (12 1/2 hours) into Lina's region, and there our adventures really began. :) I can't share the photos of her region yet, but will share after we get her home. :)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
We're Home!!
Mike and I just returned home from our first trip to meet our little girl across the ocean!! I posted a bunch of pics on our adoption blog- you can find them HERE. :) Jet lag was BRUTAL- we got home Thursday evening, and Friday was SO tough- I felt like I had the flu. Today I'm feeling much better- not 100% yet, but definitely a huge improvement. Now we get back to our paper chase and wait for a court date!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
More on Jessa
Can't get enough of this sweet little muffin!
What a little love!! <3 I just know there is a family out there to scoop her up.
Jessa's medical conditions:
Rickets- vitamin D deficiency easily treatable with diet
Mild umbilical hernia- she has an "outtie" belly button which sometimes needs minor surgery, sometimes not. Evan has an outtie and the docs said it is fine- no surgery needed. It is the cutest thing, too! ;)
Ventricular septal defect (VSD)- heart defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the two lower chambers of the heart, the left and right ventricles. In about 40% of kids born with VSD's- the hole is small and will close on it's own. If it is larger, surgery will be required to correct it.
Atrial septal defect (ASD)- heart defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the upper filling chambers of the heart (the atria). Treatment varies depending upon the severity- sometimes there are no symptoms present and no treatment necessary. Larger ASD's usually need to be treated medically- most of them can be closed in a cardiac catheterization lab, but some do require open-heart surgery.
Obviously with two heart defects, Jessa needs to see a cardiologist ASAP to evaluate the condition of her heart and address any repairs necessary. Obviously, the earlier the better!! Let's get this girl HOME!! <3
What a little love!! <3 I just know there is a family out there to scoop her up.
Jessa's medical conditions:
Rickets- vitamin D deficiency easily treatable with diet
Mild umbilical hernia- she has an "outtie" belly button which sometimes needs minor surgery, sometimes not. Evan has an outtie and the docs said it is fine- no surgery needed. It is the cutest thing, too! ;)
Ventricular septal defect (VSD)- heart defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the two lower chambers of the heart, the left and right ventricles. In about 40% of kids born with VSD's- the hole is small and will close on it's own. If it is larger, surgery will be required to correct it.
Atrial septal defect (ASD)- heart defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the upper filling chambers of the heart (the atria). Treatment varies depending upon the severity- sometimes there are no symptoms present and no treatment necessary. Larger ASD's usually need to be treated medically- most of them can be closed in a cardiac catheterization lab, but some do require open-heart surgery.
Obviously with two heart defects, Jessa needs to see a cardiologist ASAP to evaluate the condition of her heart and address any repairs necessary. Obviously, the earlier the better!! Let's get this girl HOME!! <3
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Distracted
I feel like I'm going in 20 different directions right now, preparing for our trip to meet *P* while preparing documents that need to be submitted as soon as we return home.... and now the Angel Tree project has started and I have had very little time to commit to sweet little Jessa. Guilt!! This sweetheart deserves much more than I am giving her at the moment, but hoping I will be able to focus on her more after our trip.
So, the big incentive for the Angel Tree project: donate at least $35 and you will receive a beautiful ornament with that waiting child's photo! All donations are tax-deductible as usual- you will receive a confirmation e-mail from both Paypal as well as Reece's Rainbow- the e-mail from Reece's Rainbow will include tax information. $30 of the donation will go straight to the child's fund and $5 will go to the Voice of Hope fund.
Please consider helping Jessa this holiday season... help her to be blessed with the gift of a family so she may have reason to celebrate come next holiday season. Click on the Angel Tree link and scroll down to find Jessa's photo, or donate directly from Jessa's page. Thank you so much!
So, the big incentive for the Angel Tree project: donate at least $35 and you will receive a beautiful ornament with that waiting child's photo! All donations are tax-deductible as usual- you will receive a confirmation e-mail from both Paypal as well as Reece's Rainbow- the e-mail from Reece's Rainbow will include tax information. $30 of the donation will go straight to the child's fund and $5 will go to the Voice of Hope fund.
Please consider helping Jessa this holiday season... help her to be blessed with the gift of a family so she may have reason to celebrate come next holiday season. Click on the Angel Tree link and scroll down to find Jessa's photo, or donate directly from Jessa's page. Thank you so much!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
It's Angel Tree time!! :)
I am SO excited about this year's Angel Tree project on Reece's Rainbow!! I was new to Reece's Rainbow last year at this time, and was too late to sign up as a Christmas Warrior since all the children already had warriors. Not a bad problem to have!! :) Soooooo.... this is my first year signed up as an official Christmas Warrior. :) I melted as soon as I saw this little muffin's photo....
So as a Christmas Warrior, my goal is to raise $1,000 towards the cost of sweet Jessa's adoption. I know this is a challenge for me since I have already been fundraising for our own adoption, but I'm up for it!!
I will be writing more about Jessa and her specific medical diagnoses, and I have more photos of her to share!! Praying she finds the family she so deserves very soon!!
Meet Jessa!!! Isn't she a DOLL???
Girl, born in February 2010
1ay6v-15
Brothers and sisters: no
Eyes: Grey
Hair: blond
Character is calm, smiling
1ay6v-15
Brothers and sisters: no
Eyes: Grey
Hair: blond
Character is calm, smiling
Sweet little Jessa has rickets, and a mild umbilical hernia (not uncommon for children with Down syndrome). She also has some heart issues, ventricular septum defect, and an atrial septum defect. She is listed as having a development delay as well, due to her Down syndrome.
So as a Christmas Warrior, my goal is to raise $1,000 towards the cost of sweet Jessa's adoption. I know this is a challenge for me since I have already been fundraising for our own adoption, but I'm up for it!!
I will be writing more about Jessa and her specific medical diagnoses, and I have more photos of her to share!! Praying she finds the family she so deserves very soon!!
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