Montreal

We are back from a good trip to Montreal.  It was a quick trip; we left Tuesday morning, had therapy training all day Wednesday and Thursday and then we drove home Thursday night.  Considering that we drove 24 hours in 3 1/2 days, the girls both did very well in the car.  Tabatha didn't want to go to sleep in the hotel Tuesday night, but other than that she was an angel. She spent a lot of time in her car seat watching Ruby get therapy and she did great.Ruby also did well. She was a little tired on Wednesday afternoon, but that is to be expected. She tolerated all the therapy really well.  

Our ABR (Advanced Bio-Mechanical Rehabilitation) trainers were very impressed with the changes that had been made to Ruby's body since our last training about 8 months ago. We were thrilled when we compared pictures from last winter to now.  ABR makes so much sense and it is slowly correcting Ruby's structure so she can have more function.  I firmly believe this is the best therapy we could give Ruby and the evidence is in these photos. As soon as I get an electronic copy of them from the ABR Center I will post them so you can see what I am talking about. If any of you ever have questions about ABR please ask me!

Thanks for your prayers; we felt like it was a very worthwhile trip.  It motivated us to keep doing as much ABR as possible. It is wonderful to have Emily around because she does so much of Ruby's therapy. We wouldn't be able to get so many hours in if it wasn't for her.

Thanks also to my parents for watching Charlie all week. It sounds like he did great at their house and had a lot of fun playing with his cousins and getting spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa.

Ruby was hysterical on the ride home. Every time Mark hit a bump in the road she thought it was hilarious...check it out :)

Happy Birthday and Therapy

Today is Mark's 30th birthday. We celebrated with our friends and family on Saturday night so we didn't do much today, but Saturday night was a lot of fun. I am still enjoying the cake :)

Happy 30th Birthday Mark! You are my best friend and I am so thankful God has given you to me. I can't imagine walking this road without you. I pray God gives you many more years! I love you!

On completely different note...we leave for Montreal tomorrow morning for more ABR therapy training with Ruby. Tabatha is coming with us, but Charlie is staying with my parents. Please pray that we get encouraging news of progress that Ruby's body has made. Also pray for safe travel and that both Tabatha and Ruby tolerate the traveling and the hours of therapy well.  Thanks!

Progress

Lately, it seems like Ruby has been a little more alert than usual and a little more content.  Emily (our wonderful babysitter) took some video of Ruby playing with a toy today that reminded me of Ruby's progress. It is incredible to watch Ruby intentionally hitting a toy over and over. This may not seem like a big deal, but to us this is huge. For the first time it seems like Ruby's mind is working ahead of her body! She knows the toy is there and she wants it, but her body is limiting her.  Yeah for a little bit of progress!! It has been a long time coming.

I LOVE you Ruby girl! Keep working and keep surprising us!

Gotcha Day

Yesterday, Sept 14, was Ruby's gotcha day; we have known her for three years! Hard to believe that it has been that long since we first met her in a hospital in Ethiopia. She was so incredibly tiny and sick; she weighed less than 8 pounds even though she was four and a half months old. Her limbs were stiff and her hands and feet were clenched. She had scabs on her head, staph infection on her shoulder, long fingernails and diaper rash so bad it bled....meeting her wasn't at all the experience I had expected.  I expected her to be scared, I expected her to cry because she didn't want to leave her nannies, I expected it to take her some time to warm up to us. I didn't expect her to be so sick. I didn't expect that she didn't seem attached to anyone. I didn't expect that she couldn't follow me with her eyes or reach out for a toy. I didn't expect that she didn't smile or roll over.  I didn't expect major medical issues.... I hadn't prepared for this.

Gotcha Day (the day we met Ruby) brings all these feelings back.  I had prepared to celebrate this day with Ruby. I read books about how to make her feel special on this day. I wrote letters to Ruby while we were waiting for her referral that I wanted to one day share with her. I thought about what gifts I could give her from Ethiopia. I bought children's books that told adoption stories in ways kids could understand. I even looked up some Amharic words and Ethiopian recipes that I could one day make with Ruby. I wanted to do all these things so she would understand how much we love her and how so she would never doubt that she belonged in our family.

We didn't celebrate Gotcha Day yesterday; in fact, it was hardly even mentioned.  The letters I wrote her sit on my shelf unread. Charlie reads the adoption books, but Ruby will never understand them.  We don't make Ethiopian food because Ruby wouldn't be able to chew it. I didn't give her gifts from Ethiopia because she wouldn't be able to play with them or understand why they were special.

I LOVE my daughter from the bottom of my heart.  She is beautiful and special and I know God wanted her to be in our family.  Even though that is true, this is not the way I prepared to spend Gotcha Day...and that is tough.

Photos

A few glimpses of what we have been up to...

Ruby gets the giggles when we put Tabatha next to her :)

Tabatha is 1 month old!

Uncle Kris reading to Charlie

Mark spends most of his evenings on the floor with Charlie :)

Reading while Tabby gets a little tummy time

Mark and Charlie made this "car board"...
They drew roads all over it and Charlie LOVES to play with his cars on the cardboard.

More photos later....

Blessings In Disquise

I saw this video on another blog today. The lyrics were powerful so I thought I would share it here....

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You’re near

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

Lyrics from Laura Story's, "Blessings

Laura explains the story behind this song here.

Pics from the Dells

A few weeks ago we went the the Wisconsin Dells with Mark's family. We had a great time catching up with family, eating junk food, playing games, swimming, playing in the arcade, going on walks...the list could go on.  Charlie loved the water park and every day he wore himself out swimming and going down water slides.

Ruby liked swimming too, but she wore out easily from all the activity. I am so glad we decided to take our babysitter, Emily, along. She was able to take Ruby back to the room whenever she got tired. That way Ruby got the down time that she needed and we could still stay at the water park and let Charlie enjoy the pool. If you have a special needs kiddo, I think it is crucial to find someone else who can care for your child besides you and your spouse.  It is not cheap, but it has been life changing for us to have Emily around. She knows Ruby well and I feel very comfortable leaving Ruby for long periods of time under Emily's care.  Having this kid of respite care has allowed me to spend quality time with Charlie and Tabatha; we can do things Charlie will enjoy without worrying that Ruby won't be able to handle it.  Also, while Ruby is with Emily, she is getting the one on one attention and therapy that she needs and I am not the one giving it to her!  Having a great caregiver has given us some freedom back. It allows us to do some more "normal" things and it helps us better meet the needs of ALL of our kids.  

Here are a few pictures from our vacation in Wisconsin.  I noticed that I am not in a single picture! I promise I was there but I guess I was the one always taking the pictures. I will have to hand the camera to Mark a little more often....

Tabby chilling in the hotel

Charlie and his cousin Max stacking the checkers outside of Cracker Barrel

My three kiddos-- trying to get a picture with all of them looking is impossible!

Lazy mornings in Mom and Dad's bed

Sleeping in her stroller---This is what Tabatha did most of the day

Mark and Charlie playing in one of the many kiddie pools

Emily swimming with Ruby. It was great to have Emily around to help with the kids.

Ruby and Dad

Mark catching up with his dad

The boy cousins playing cars

Mark with Charlie and his parents in the arcade. Charlie loved the racing game.

Mark and Charlie bowling in the arcade.

Cousin Jade holding Tabby

Charlie loving on his little sister

Mark and Ruby hanging out before going to the pool

Ruby swimming with her neck ring on. This looks uncomfortable, but she doesn't seem to mind it and it
gives her limbs some freedom in the water.

Charlie on a one of the many kiddie water slides

What a great trip!

Whirlwind Week

Whew...what a week! School started this week and on top of being at school all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended a music conference on Thursday. Throw in a couple of worship services, a chapel and three kids at home and it was a busy week!

Although it was a little crazy, I did feel very blessed to be back at school. I love my kids, but I also love teaching and I am so glad that God has provided a way for me to teach two days a week and be at home with my kids the other five.  I especially love teaching at Zeeland Christian; it is such a great place. I felt God's presence there as we kicked of the school year.  I am excited for my kids to be at ZCS in the next couple of years.

I am thankful for the holiday weekend and I am looking forward to some quality family time.