Today was the 3 week marker of the wait for Hope’s glasses. We stopped by the store, anxiously, hoping they would be in. But we had bad news. Apparently the lab scratched one of the lenses, and had to re-order the materials, and are starting all over again making the glasses. Which means it could be up to another 3 weeks of a wait! Ahhh! Kind of frustrating!
On a fun and exciting note, Hope has taken a real liking to the ABC song. She practices it again and again all day. She is really starting to be able to pronounce the letters, and with all that practice, she is going to be a pro soon! Todd was taping her singing it tonight, and I will have him upload it asap for you all to hear!
As I was driving around town doing last minute Christmas shopping today with Hope in tow, I suddenly had a wave of overwhelming thankfulness. As I looked at her sitting in her little car seat in the rear view mirror, enjoying the Christmas music, I was just so glad that God shared His heart for orphans with us this year. What if He hadn’t shown us His great love for orphans? What if Hope was still in China living in an orphanage? I’m so glad that He revealed Himself in that way to us, and that we actually listened and did it, despite all the challenges and obstacles. Sometimes in life, the sweetest rewards come from challenging circumstances. This girl has rocked our world. She is amazing. Beautiful. Sweet. Fun. Happy. Warm. And Loved.
And so we thank our Heavenly Father this year for His Christmas blessings!
We turned in the prescription for the glasses today but were told that because the lenses are so thick and unique they have to special order and make them by hand so it takes longer…
Hope continues to amaze us. Just when it seemed like she wasn’t progressing at all in her speech, she has suddenly been starting to talk! Over the last week or so she began to sing the tune of ‘Row Row Row Your Boat’ the whole way through using the “Ra” sound. Then yesterday she said “Pat-ty-Cake”. Just a few minutes ago Jonathan was changing her outfit for me and pointed to her belly button and said, “belly button!” and she immediately started repeating him. She has said it at least 10 times so far and thinks it’s so funny. I think she is enjoying all the cheering and clapping and attention she is getting!
Here is some audio from this morning of Hope and Abigail singing:
On another note, we are off to the dr. today to get a kidney ultrasound. With the melamine scare from China with baby formula, it is advised that any child born 2005 and later gets an ultrasound to check for kidney stones. We pray she doesn’t have any and will keep you updated regarding what they hopefully do not find!
Next week she goes in for another eye surgery to remove more scar tissue from her retina, and hopefully restore a little more vision ability. The dr. wasn’t too excited about a huge improvement the last time we saw him, but maybe this time! Updates to follow!
Things have been so busy these days! Hope is doing really well. Two weeks ago I went to visit a friend in Connecticut and Todd happily watched the kids for four whole days! He did an amazing job, and I was able to get some much needed rest and relaxation and girl time! Todd got some great bonding time in with Hope too while I was gone. He was an on the go dad, and took them all to school, to the park, swimming, the mall, to Abigail’s American Girl club meeting, to the beach, out to eat, and even to Disneyland! Way to go Daddy!
We had our first big meeting with Hope’s preschool recently where they gave us an update and also told us the various goals they have set for her to meet this year. They were really impressed with the way that she has developed an understanding of English so quickly, and also with her desire to please. She is very motivated to learn, and they all continued to remark at how smart she is. That’s my girl!
She just said her first sentence the other day. When she was playing ball with Daddy she said, “kick it.” and kicked the ball. It’s so cute to hear her little voice forming words. She has a sweet little breathy kind of voice. She has also been becoming much much more relaxed these days. Many of the aggressive behaviors have completely stopped, and she is generally a happy girl it seems. She loves to giggle, and will often giggle out of the blue for no apparent reason. I always wonder what she is thinking about!!! She also loves to be swung up in the air like a flying trapeze. She is pretty daring, and isn’t afraid when she is in motion. Todd is going to post a video showcasing some of Hope’s acrobatic abilities soon so stay tuned! She loves spinning around, going on swings, doing somersaults, flips, just about anything that involves moving. She truly is a treasure!
Well it’s past midnight, so I’d better get to bed! I will try to write more frequently!
My heart was swelling with emotion this morning after reading the latest post from the family who just adopted the little girl with heart issues from China. If you haven’t been following their story, they went to China to pick up their daughter and upon arrival learned she was in the hospital fighting for her life. They didn’t know if she would live but they prayed and made it out of China. Now they are in the hospital and she is getting surgery this morning. In the meantime they have been trying to bond as a family in the midst of nurses, wires, monitors, and a hospital bed. The kind of endurance this mom has shown has rocked me. It’s a display of the love that God has for us. Even when we are unable to return it, He is right there loving us through our deepest challenges. You can follow their story here, but get your tissues out first:
We had a great time yesterday traveling to Riley’s Farm in Yucaipa. It was such a beautiful place and Hope had her first experience picking apples, eating freshly made applesauce, and enjoying farm life. If you haven’t been to Riley’s farm and live in SoCal then we highly recommend it! Everyone who works there dresses in colonial type clothes, and they have a great medley of activities for the little ones. From an apple cider press, to making candles, there is plenty to do! www.rileysfarm.com
Hope had fun, but sure didn’t like the flies buzzing around her head non-stop! But she did love running around in the barn with her brother and sisters! We are having so much fun with her and the kids are teaching her the cutest little things every day. Enjoy the pictures!
Hope has been having such a good time at preschool. She has the sweetest teachers, Ms. Jenny and Ms. Kim, who go out of their way to make her feel very special and comfortable. The past few times, when I pick her up, she gets mad at me because she is having so much fun! Tonight was back to school night, and Todd got to meet her teachers and see the school. They had a magician for the kids, and Jonathan, Abby, and Hannah really had a great time too.
Hope has been very fussy today, crying a lot, whining, and has just been plain ol’ sad. I was holding her a few minutes ago and asked her, “Hope, Mommy wants to know what’s bothering you. Does something hurt you? If there is something that hurts you, please point to it for Mommy.” I asked all of this not thinking that she would understand me, but I guess I underestimated her English! She gently took my finger, and put it on her throat. Then she pointed with her own finger into her mouth. It was so precious! I couldn’t believe that she understood those full sentences! I have been wondering these days just how much English she understands, so this is a clue. The girl is getting it.
Jonathan has had a sore throat in the past few days, so she must have gotten it from him. Poor girl. Everyone is showering her with attention right now, and giving her lots of hugs and kisses. She definitely isn’t lacking attention in this house!
Today was Hope’s first day of preschool! I was nervous about leaving her but she did really well, and seemed to like it. She has two awesome teachers who were loving and nurturing to her, and really made her feel at home. After dropping her off, Hannah and I went to Starbucks, then went back for a quick spy on her to make sure she was ok. She was starting to cry as we rounded the corner but after watching the teacher comfort her, I realized she was in great hands.
Hannah and I decided that today would be the day for just her and I to go to Disneyland together, and put our annual passes to good use! What a special time! Since we got home from China, Hannah and I haven’t had much time together alone, so it’s a really special thing that she is my only one who is not in school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are planning to do a lot of fun things this fall like visit pumpkin patches, farms, parks, and more! So off we went to Disneyland for a few hours. It was great! There were no lines at all, so we just walked right on to all the rides! Everything was just perfect until we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean. Hannah did not like that at all! It was pretty scary for her, so after it was over, we got a big lollipop to try to forget all about it!
When we picked up Hope, she was happily playing with the toys, and came to us smiling big. What a great day! Now we are off to pick up Jonathan and Abby at their new school that they started this week, a charter school where they will be attending on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then we homeschool on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So far they love it!
There are many awesome people out there in the world, and I really wanted to highlight some of our friends in Kansas City: The Loux Family! They announced today that they are adopting a little boy with Downs Syndrome from Eastern Europe. They have huge hearts for adoption, and have been working tirelessly this past year to help other families adopt. They have 3 biological children, and just adopted a sweet little girl a year ago. Please pray for this family, and if you are so led, you can contribute financially to help bring little Aiden home. Their family website is http://www.thelouxfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/ & http://thespiritofadoption.blogspot.com/
Last week, we took Hope to the hospital to have an MRI and cat scan to test and see if she has any brain damage or previous fractures. The opthamologist wanted to see if there was any other evidence that might suggest Shaken Baby syndrome. Well, the good news is that she has no sign of either brain damage or bone fractures. So now we are going to have her tested for a genetically rare disorder, that her detached retina might be due to. She has an appointment on Friday with her opthamologist, so I will probably have more information after talking to him.
On a fun note, Hope starts preschool tomorrow! Details and pictures to follow!
She was starting to cry as we rounded the corner but after watching the teacher comfort her, I realized she was in great hands.
