Update: Elijah's ear tube surgery last Wednesday went very well. He was in and out of OR in less than 15 minutes, woke up fine, and we were on our way home by 8:30am. The next day he seemed a little less frustrated, so I'll take that as a good sign! He'll have his hearing tested again at the 4-week post-op check up.
Prayer Request for Jonathan: Jonathan will have his ear tubes placed at about 10:30 tomorrow (Wed) AM. The ear tube part of the procedure should be quick, but they are conducting a sedated hearing test. This may take up to 2 hours. Please pray for him to handle the anesthesia ok. He did get a clearance letter from the cardiologist, but a little extra prayer never hurt. :-) Also, he won't be able to have a bottle after 4:30AM. I have a feeling he won't be a happy camper...so prayers for contentment and peace (for both of us) would be appreciated too.
One Year Ago Today: "Auntie Debbie" FINALLY made it to Elijah's city after a nightmarish trip to Ukraine through snowstorms across Europe in which she "visited" France, Italy, Germany and finally Ukraine, including a night in the Milan airport, as well as a night on the lovely Ukrainian train. I was never so glad to hear someone's voice when she called from Max's phone. But whatta friend, huh? I'm SOO grateful for Max as well. He gave up a few days of his very, very busy schedule to pick up Debbie in Kiev and then guided and protected her on the 15-hr train ride. I chronicled her journey a bit HERE, HERE, HERE (which also includes an update about sweet Shea. I'll tell ya, there is nothing like shouting about a child that you've met and then seeing a family commit to him while I was still in country! What a joy!!!) and HERE. I'm forever grateful to Debbie for willingly giving up her Christmas with her family to spend it with me and Elijah. I can't even begin to tell you how much more difficult it would have been to be away by myself over Christmas. As I'm hearing Christmas songs this year and finding myself getting weepy, I'm realizing those emotions from last year are still pretty fresh. Having Debbie with me on the way home was a HUGE help too of course. After coming home alone with Jonathan, it made me realize how much more difficult the trip home with Elijah could have been.
So, thank you, Debbie, aka "Auntie Crackers", for giving of your time, friendship and all that you gave up physically, mentally, and emotionally to travel half way across the world to be with Elijah and me. You and your family will always have a very special place in my heart. :-) Debbie did a guest post for me last year while in country. You can read it HERE. Maybe I'll ask her to do a follow-up post in the next couple of weeks...the Lord has done AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING things in her family over the past year!!!
Showing posts with label In Elijah's Country. Show all posts
Showing posts with label In Elijah's Country. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
One Year Ago Today - We Met Elijah's Parents!
(Don't worry, I won't do this all month. :-) Just for the really important days.) Sarah is doing a "Days of Elijah" series all about her little brother on her blog this month. Hop on over and check it out. Also check out her new blog design. I love it! She is so talented.
Ok, one year ago today, we met Elijah's parents! I posted about it HERE and HERE (this 2nd post has a video of Elijah walking with his "toddler stomp"). I think this was the most emotional part of the entire trip. We first found out that Elijah's parents had been visiting him when we met with the director of the orphanage that first crazy day. I was very surprised as everything we had heard up to this point was how "all" parents abandon babies born with special needs at birth and walk away - forever. While this is the case for most children (like Jonathan :-( ), but it was NOT the case for Elijah. Elijah's parents, Mama Tanya and Papa Igor LOVE Elijah very, very much. They visited them often at the orphanage, even though their home town was 30+ miles away. Anyway, our meeting was VERY emotional as you can imagine. I still can't imagine the depths of their pain and loss, but I am SOOO thankful they gave him LIFE!!! I love being able to stay in contact with them and I love that Elijah will grow up knowing he has 2 sets of parents that love him very, very much.
I really do think their presence in his life benefited Elijah greatly. I don't know how the orphanage decided which kids with Ds went into which "grouppa" but Elijah was in a fairly good grouppa. Maybe his parents played a part in that. I don't know. Also, Elijah came home with VERY few "institutional" behaviors. He has never rocked himself to sleep like so many kids do. Besides the thwapping Rachel on the head the first few weeks (and that one time at home school group), the behaviors have been pretty minimal. He has also had minimal sensory issues, was able to feed himself, and has practically zero "stimming" behaviors. I credit his parents, the Lord's mercy and grace, and his prayer warrior family that had been lifting him up in prayer from the very beginning for 3+ years. Your prayers were answered Celia! Thank you SO much!!!
(However, I just have to add this so you don't think life is all roses here (sharing my heart here)...Elijah has some difficult behaviors, especially lately. Some meals (usually breakfast) are a battle some days. He definitely has a need to be in control - can't blame him. He was never in control of anything before, but it still needs to be addressed. And thanks to my Ds mentor for this tip :-), Michelle whom we visited yesterday, I think his thought processes are ahead of his expressive language and it is frustrating him. For example, yesterday at Michelle's, I told him to come out of playing in her vertical blinds. He didn't listen, so I removed him from the blinds. He wanted to return to them, so I held him back. I can't remember that exact order, but it involved trying to hit me, trying to take my hand to his mouth to bite it, and then trying to pinch my cheek. Sigh...Michelle learned this summer that every behavior is communication. Definitely food for thought. How could I have handled this differently? Probably getting down at his level, getting his attention, telling/signing "all done", and redirecting him to a different place to play. This boy is teaching me SO much! Of course, this behavior is not acceptable and I'm not condoning it or making excuses, but some things I can change too to help him understand and communicate. Was this a control issue? Probably. Was he frustrated? Most definitely. All this to say I believe most of his behavior problems right now are more related to his age and Ds than post-institutional behaviors. I did mention that he can say "NO" now, right??? :-) I just this morning I saw a link to a free webinar on Ds behavior. I SOO have to watch it. I can post the link if anyone is interested.)
We are so incredibly blessed to have Tanya and Igor in our lives. I'm looking forward to a life-long relationship with them. I have been especially touched by the gifts Tanya has given us. Too many have been given to name, but these two stick out to me the most. I especially appreciate the hand-made items. Thank you Tanya!
Ok, one year ago today, we met Elijah's parents! I posted about it HERE and HERE (this 2nd post has a video of Elijah walking with his "toddler stomp"). I think this was the most emotional part of the entire trip. We first found out that Elijah's parents had been visiting him when we met with the director of the orphanage that first crazy day. I was very surprised as everything we had heard up to this point was how "all" parents abandon babies born with special needs at birth and walk away - forever. While this is the case for most children (like Jonathan :-( ), but it was NOT the case for Elijah. Elijah's parents, Mama Tanya and Papa Igor LOVE Elijah very, very much. They visited them often at the orphanage, even though their home town was 30+ miles away. Anyway, our meeting was VERY emotional as you can imagine. I still can't imagine the depths of their pain and loss, but I am SOOO thankful they gave him LIFE!!! I love being able to stay in contact with them and I love that Elijah will grow up knowing he has 2 sets of parents that love him very, very much.
I really do think their presence in his life benefited Elijah greatly. I don't know how the orphanage decided which kids with Ds went into which "grouppa" but Elijah was in a fairly good grouppa. Maybe his parents played a part in that. I don't know. Also, Elijah came home with VERY few "institutional" behaviors. He has never rocked himself to sleep like so many kids do. Besides the thwapping Rachel on the head the first few weeks (and that one time at home school group), the behaviors have been pretty minimal. He has also had minimal sensory issues, was able to feed himself, and has practically zero "stimming" behaviors. I credit his parents, the Lord's mercy and grace, and his prayer warrior family that had been lifting him up in prayer from the very beginning for 3+ years. Your prayers were answered Celia! Thank you SO much!!!
(However, I just have to add this so you don't think life is all roses here (sharing my heart here)...Elijah has some difficult behaviors, especially lately. Some meals (usually breakfast) are a battle some days. He definitely has a need to be in control - can't blame him. He was never in control of anything before, but it still needs to be addressed. And thanks to my Ds mentor for this tip :-), Michelle whom we visited yesterday, I think his thought processes are ahead of his expressive language and it is frustrating him. For example, yesterday at Michelle's, I told him to come out of playing in her vertical blinds. He didn't listen, so I removed him from the blinds. He wanted to return to them, so I held him back. I can't remember that exact order, but it involved trying to hit me, trying to take my hand to his mouth to bite it, and then trying to pinch my cheek. Sigh...Michelle learned this summer that every behavior is communication. Definitely food for thought. How could I have handled this differently? Probably getting down at his level, getting his attention, telling/signing "all done", and redirecting him to a different place to play. This boy is teaching me SO much! Of course, this behavior is not acceptable and I'm not condoning it or making excuses, but some things I can change too to help him understand and communicate. Was this a control issue? Probably. Was he frustrated? Most definitely. All this to say I believe most of his behavior problems right now are more related to his age and Ds than post-institutional behaviors. I did mention that he can say "NO" now, right??? :-) I just this morning I saw a link to a free webinar on Ds behavior. I SOO have to watch it. I can post the link if anyone is interested.)
We are so incredibly blessed to have Tanya and Igor in our lives. I'm looking forward to a life-long relationship with them. I have been especially touched by the gifts Tanya has given us. Too many have been given to name, but these two stick out to me the most. I especially appreciate the hand-made items. Thank you Tanya!
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| Hand knit sweater vest he wore on Gotcha Day |
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| And this BEAUTIFUL hand-knit sweater for his 4th birthday! I know it will wrap him in warmth and love this winter when the temperatures dip well below freezing. |
Friday, December 2, 2011
One Year Ago Today - We Met Elijah!
I remember how incredibly light he was when I held him. I remember how quick he was to embrace me. I remember his smell too. :-( (I was so happy to finally give him a bath after Gotcha Day.) I remember recognizing that BENCH when we first walked in. I remember how all the emotions just came flooding - and lots of tears too. I remember how surprised we were to see him walking - doing that "toddler stomp" - and how proud the nannies were of him for walking (he was the only one in the grouppa walking.) I remember falling in love! :-)
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| Pouty look! :-) |
The transformation speaks for itself.
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| But we sure do still get that pouty look!!! |
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Happy 17th Anniversary, Honey!
Ds Fact: Studies in the 1990s indicated that children with DS are at a higher risk to develop Celiac Disease than the general population. The reasons for that aren't entirely clear, but since children with DS are at a greater risk from auto-immune diseases, that Celiac Disease represents another one of these type of diseases. Source: http://www.ds-health.com/celiac.htm (More on this tomorrow and how it relates to Elijah.)
Ds Blog: http://luckytolovelyla.blogspot.com/ Another WONDERFUL family that has adopted several beautiful children and are in process to adopt a second child with Down syndrome (4th adoption!!!)!!! I had the awesome privilege of first meeting Dave and Summer last December on the streets of Simferopol, Ukraine. :-) Yes, they were adopting from the same orphanage as us! What fun we had together as navigated the "marshukas" and laughed and cried about this roller coaster journey that international adoption is. They arrived shortly before we left, so we only overlapped about a week I think. Once you got through this process with someone, you have made life-long friends. I am so blessed to call Summer (and Dave) good friends!
Here are some photos I don't think I ever posted.
Please pray for them as they have not heard about their travel date yet...it's been TOO long and their new son Gavin has been waiting TOO long. They've had such a long, tough road for both of their international adoptions. Also, please pray about helping them out financially too. Thanks! Be sure to stop by their blog to see how INCREDIBLE Bellie looks now. AMAZING!
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Happy 17th Anniversary to my most wonderful, awesome, patient husband!
I love you, Pat! I am honored and privileged to be your wife. Thank you for being the godly husband and father the Lord has called you to be. I'm so blessed! I deeply appreciate how hard you work to provide for our family, but yet still balance work and family time so well. And thank you for putting up with me too. It takes a very special man to do that. :-)
Ds Blog: http://luckytolovelyla.blogspot.com/ Another WONDERFUL family that has adopted several beautiful children and are in process to adopt a second child with Down syndrome (4th adoption!!!)!!! I had the awesome privilege of first meeting Dave and Summer last December on the streets of Simferopol, Ukraine. :-) Yes, they were adopting from the same orphanage as us! What fun we had together as navigated the "marshukas" and laughed and cried about this roller coaster journey that international adoption is. They arrived shortly before we left, so we only overlapped about a week I think. Once you got through this process with someone, you have made life-long friends. I am so blessed to call Summer (and Dave) good friends!
Here are some photos I don't think I ever posted.
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| Elijah and Isabelle hangin' out in their strollers Reminds me of the old "Look Who's Talking" movie! |
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| Summer, Bellie and Dave spending their visit on the infamous black couch |
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| Love at first sight! |
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Happy 17th Anniversary to my most wonderful, awesome, patient husband!
I love you, Pat! I am honored and privileged to be your wife. Thank you for being the godly husband and father the Lord has called you to be. I'm so blessed! I deeply appreciate how hard you work to provide for our family, but yet still balance work and family time so well. And thank you for putting up with me too. It takes a very special man to do that. :-)
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| I love you Honey! |
Monday, May 16, 2011
Shea's Family!
Introducing a very special family for a very special little boy...
(Ok, the beginnings of this post were saved as a draft since 1/1/11...good grief. I'm sorry this has taken so long, Liz!)
This is Shea. Shea is in Elijah's former "grouppa". I got to see him 2x/day for 3 weeks. I posted about him here when I was in EE. I can not even begin to tell you what a little honey he is. I just can not. His profile on RR is rather "scary". Here's what it says:
Boy, Born October 17, 2006
What a handsome boy!! Shea only became cleared for adoption very recently, so we are so hopeful he will find a family quickly. He is facing the institution very soon because of his age.
From his medical records: primary hydrocephaly, shunt dependent (has one in now), disorder of function of pelvic organs, paralytic clubfoot of both feet, spina bifida, mielomeningoradikulotsele. Very good and smart boy. He can speak very well, he can only sit, he is in plaster cast so he cannot stand and walk.
Shea will remain bedridden the rest of his life once he is transferred.
(I had to smile about some of this. Even though, he does/did have knee-high plaster casts on his legs, I saw him stand next to the couch where I was sitting more than once, and one time, I even saw him pushing a walker as he walked behind it!)
But all those scary terms didn't scare away his soon-to-be momma. See, God had it planned all along. His new momma is a physical therapist! Isn't God good??? I know she can't wait to get her PT hands on him. :-)
The Kulp family will be Shea's new family!!! Click here to visit their blog. Another thing that makes their family so special is that Liz and Dan have already adopted 2 special children from China. In fact, their son, Simon, was one of the first children adopted out of China. Now, there are lots of children w/ Ds on RR. Awesome!
God has a sense of humor too. :-) Liz found out she was pregnant just a few days after they committed to bring Shea home. Hee hee. This is their first biological child. "Belly baby" as she calls him/her. I love it! She is due about the same time I was due with Noah, so I can't wait to see photos of Shea holding "belly baby".
The Kulps' SDA appt is on May 24th. I know they would appreciate you visiting their blog and encouraging them with a few comments during their travels. It gets lonely over there. Please pray for them and Shea as he meets his new family. Also, please pray for a quick court date for them after they accept Shea's referral.
I'll leave you with a couple videos of Shea (in the red hooded sweatshirt) so you can see how mobile he is and how full of joy and life he is! The first one is during a "party" that I had for the grouppa and brought in the tent and balls they are playing with.
This one was the same evening (Christmas Eve). You can see Shea bouncing around, lovin' the bubbles. You can hear him too. He's the only one in the grouppa that's verbal. And, verbal he is. He's a little jabber box. I wish I could have understood what he was saying. Whenever I would be walking through the city streets and hear a little one talking, I would think of him.
My dearest Shea,
Your life is about to change so much. It may be scary to you, but don't worry, your mommy and daddy love you so much and will keep you safe. I can't wait to see you in your mommy's arms. I wanted so badly to take you home with me, but of course, I couldn't. After I met you, I told the RR family about how special you were and your momma heard my call and answered my pleas for your momma to step forward. I am SO happy! "Auntie Debbie" and I cried many tears over you. It broke our hearts as you would call out to her to be your mama. But soon, very soon, it will be your turn to call out mama and she will be able to pick you up and love on you and hold you always.
I know this is the family God has ordained for you all along. You will be loved by your parents and by your two (soon to be 3) siblings. God is good. It is my prayer that you will someday call Him your Lord and Savior too.
I love you, sweet boy!
Signed,
Alyosha's mama
(Ok, the beginnings of this post were saved as a draft since 1/1/11...good grief. I'm sorry this has taken so long, Liz!)
This is Shea. Shea is in Elijah's former "grouppa". I got to see him 2x/day for 3 weeks. I posted about him here when I was in EE. I can not even begin to tell you what a little honey he is. I just can not. His profile on RR is rather "scary". Here's what it says:
Boy, Born October 17, 2006
What a handsome boy!! Shea only became cleared for adoption very recently, so we are so hopeful he will find a family quickly. He is facing the institution very soon because of his age.
From his medical records: primary hydrocephaly, shunt dependent (has one in now), disorder of function of pelvic organs, paralytic clubfoot of both feet, spina bifida, mielomeningoradikulotsele. Very good and smart boy. He can speak very well, he can only sit, he is in plaster cast so he cannot stand and walk.
Shea will remain bedridden the rest of his life once he is transferred.
(I had to smile about some of this. Even though, he does/did have knee-high plaster casts on his legs, I saw him stand next to the couch where I was sitting more than once, and one time, I even saw him pushing a walker as he walked behind it!)
But all those scary terms didn't scare away his soon-to-be momma. See, God had it planned all along. His new momma is a physical therapist! Isn't God good??? I know she can't wait to get her PT hands on him. :-)
The Kulp family will be Shea's new family!!! Click here to visit their blog. Another thing that makes their family so special is that Liz and Dan have already adopted 2 special children from China. In fact, their son, Simon, was one of the first children adopted out of China. Now, there are lots of children w/ Ds on RR. Awesome!
God has a sense of humor too. :-) Liz found out she was pregnant just a few days after they committed to bring Shea home. Hee hee. This is their first biological child. "Belly baby" as she calls him/her. I love it! She is due about the same time I was due with Noah, so I can't wait to see photos of Shea holding "belly baby".
The Kulps' SDA appt is on May 24th. I know they would appreciate you visiting their blog and encouraging them with a few comments during their travels. It gets lonely over there. Please pray for them and Shea as he meets his new family. Also, please pray for a quick court date for them after they accept Shea's referral.
I'll leave you with a couple videos of Shea (in the red hooded sweatshirt) so you can see how mobile he is and how full of joy and life he is! The first one is during a "party" that I had for the grouppa and brought in the tent and balls they are playing with.
This one was the same evening (Christmas Eve). You can see Shea bouncing around, lovin' the bubbles. You can hear him too. He's the only one in the grouppa that's verbal. And, verbal he is. He's a little jabber box. I wish I could have understood what he was saying. Whenever I would be walking through the city streets and hear a little one talking, I would think of him.
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| A little boy that joined the grouppa after we passed court, Elijah, and Shea with his huge smile. |
Your life is about to change so much. It may be scary to you, but don't worry, your mommy and daddy love you so much and will keep you safe. I can't wait to see you in your mommy's arms. I wanted so badly to take you home with me, but of course, I couldn't. After I met you, I told the RR family about how special you were and your momma heard my call and answered my pleas for your momma to step forward. I am SO happy! "Auntie Debbie" and I cried many tears over you. It broke our hearts as you would call out to her to be your mama. But soon, very soon, it will be your turn to call out mama and she will be able to pick you up and love on you and hold you always.
I know this is the family God has ordained for you all along. You will be loved by your parents and by your two (soon to be 3) siblings. God is good. It is my prayer that you will someday call Him your Lord and Savior too.
I love you, sweet boy!
Signed,
Alyosha's mama
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A little boy on a bench...
(This post was inspired in part by "Lisa" who left a comment the other day. I'll put her comment at the end.)
These were the three photos we received of Elijah shortly before we committed to bring him home. A little boy on a bench...an orphan...a child with no hope, even though he had biological parents who love him deeply, they couldn't care for him in their country.
This summer/fall, I had these 3 photos on my computer screen saver, along with a summer favorite photo of each of the other kids. I was struck by the lack of color in these photos compared to the other 5 photos flashing through. It was pretty dramatic, but a pretty accurate representation of life in a colorless orphanage, or so I thought.
When we first walked into his grouppa area, Pat and I both immediately noticed "the bench". (The main entrance door is to the right of the bench in these photos.) I was surprised at how short it was. But after all, it is made for children, small children. I was also very surprised to see a shelf above it that brings the wall to life, as well as a very colorful wall mural on the wall opposite the bench.
And now that Elijah has come to LIFE! :-)
Here's what Lisa said the other day on the "Pictures" post: (I couldn't agree more!)
"What a precious angel for sure!!! I am haunted by his RR picture where he is sitting on the bench with the white tshirt and shorts...all alone and lonely. I am SO happy to replace that photo in my mind with these new pictures of him with his family, smiling, full of love and all safe, warm at home where he belongs."
Thanks Lisa! We thank God for bringing this special little boy into our lives. We are the ones that are blessed!
These were the three photos we received of Elijah shortly before we committed to bring him home. A little boy on a bench...an orphan...a child with no hope, even though he had biological parents who love him deeply, they couldn't care for him in their country.
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| This one was always my favorite one. Funny thing is now that I know him, it really doesn't even look like him (in my opinion). |
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| This actually the one that looks the most like him. |
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| From July to December, I studied this photo obsessively trying to get a grasp on how big he is, how big "the bench" is, what size he wore, etc. I never came to any conclusions. I was surprised when we met him how big he actually was. |
When we first walked into his grouppa area, Pat and I both immediately noticed "the bench". (The main entrance door is to the right of the bench in these photos.) I was surprised at how short it was. But after all, it is made for children, small children. I was also very surprised to see a shelf above it that brings the wall to life, as well as a very colorful wall mural on the wall opposite the bench.
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| Pat on "the bench" - he barely fit! |
And now that Elijah has come to LIFE! :-)
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| A few days before "Gotcha Day" on the bench... But he knows he has a DADDY now! (Signing Daddy) |
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| Goofy faces! |
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| And yes, these are pajamas - with pink - for the daytime :-( |
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| All dressed and ready to LEAVE on Gotcha Day! (He's wearing a sweater vest knit by his first mother. He also has a cold which why he looks "sad". He wasn't!) |
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| Yes, we are going to see Daddy! (in a few days) YAY!!! He really missed Pat when he came home after court. |
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| "Ok, mama...I'm ready to NEVER sit on this bench again!" And he didn't! :-) |
"What a precious angel for sure!!! I am haunted by his RR picture where he is sitting on the bench with the white tshirt and shorts...all alone and lonely. I am SO happy to replace that photo in my mind with these new pictures of him with his family, smiling, full of love and all safe, warm at home where he belongs."
Thanks Lisa! We thank God for bringing this special little boy into our lives. We are the ones that are blessed!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
WE HAVE ELIJAH'S VISA!
Just wanted to take a minute from packing to let you all know that we have Elijah's visa! What does that mean??? It means we are free and clear to leave the country!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU LORD!!!!!!!!! We are DONE w/ paperwork on this side of the world anyway.
Elijah has done amazingly well with all our running around the last 2 days. His cold is noticeably worse tonight, but we had a really LONG morning/afternoon, so he's a bit out of sorts. Please pray his runny nose won't cause his any ear discomfort on the plane tomorrow. Of course, please pray for all to go smoothly w/ the flights too and he continues to be a champ traveler.
If I get time before bed, I'll try to post pics from the last 2 days and our experiences that may be helpful to RR families coming behind us. We have to be ready be 3:30 am, so I can't stay up too late. :-)
Blessings to all of you and thanks for praying us home!!!!
Elijah has done amazingly well with all our running around the last 2 days. His cold is noticeably worse tonight, but we had a really LONG morning/afternoon, so he's a bit out of sorts. Please pray his runny nose won't cause his any ear discomfort on the plane tomorrow. Of course, please pray for all to go smoothly w/ the flights too and he continues to be a champ traveler.
If I get time before bed, I'll try to post pics from the last 2 days and our experiences that may be helpful to RR families coming behind us. We have to be ready be 3:30 am, so I can't stay up too late. :-)
Blessings to all of you and thanks for praying us home!!!!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Days of Elijah Day 26 - GOTCHA DAY!!!
WOOHOO!!!!!! Elijah is OUT! Out of that orphange FOREVER and EVER and EVER! :-) PRAISE GOD for His absolute faithfulness and goodness. I can't say that enough. God is SO GOOD!
Onto our day...we did our morning visit as usual. Just before we finished up, Marina called said the passport was ready. Our regular driver was busy, so we had a new "kid". (He was 21 and drove like a wild man!) Anyway, "Ursula" gave me the passport and we are good to go! After finishing packing, cleaning our apt a bit, and paying the landlord the final 2 days of rent, we were off to the orphanage.
He did great in his 2nd "machina" ride on the way to the train station. Our train left at 4:26, but we were there before 4pm. That was great! This particular train is VERY long - so long you can hardly see the end. And depending on what track it is on, one usually has to go down steps, under tracks and back up. But not us! We walked right up to the train, and our car was right there by the main entrance to the tracks. Thank you Lord! See, we had lots of stuff (extra food and water too) and the stairs would have been difficult. We will have to repack and organize before getting on the plane, that's for sure.
Elijah did GREAT on the train. It was AMAZING! It was like it didn't even phase him at all. Thank you to all that were praying! He had some snacks, a little supper, played, more snacks, more snacks (he likes to eat!) and then it was jammies and bedtime. I put a bunch of the train's blankets on the floor, covered with a clean sheet and he was pretty contained down in there between the 2 benches/beds. He slept great! At least 10 hours I think. He does the cutest little sucking thing with his tongue. I'm sure it's a self-soothing thing, but no rocking back and forth, so that's good. I did try snuggling with him on my bed, but it was just too close for him. He kept hitting me, so I knew it was too much for him. He did great on the floor. When he woke up, he just laid there playing with his hands until we turned on the light and got him up.
So, there you have it - "Gotcha Day"! Have I mentioned lately how all this still seems so surreal? I honestly don't think it is going to really hit me until we get home and have our whole family together. We are almost there...2 more sleeps here and then we are off - headed for home. I can not wait! It was one month ago yesterday that Pat and I left on this adventure of a lifetime. It seems like a lifetime ago. But all of the sacrifices we have made are all just temporary and short-lived compared to the wonderful blessing this precious child of God has and will continue to bring into our lives. Thank you for all of your support and prayers! We couldn't have done it without you or without the love our Heavenly Father!
Onto our day...we did our morning visit as usual. Just before we finished up, Marina called said the passport was ready. Our regular driver was busy, so we had a new "kid". (He was 21 and drove like a wild man!) Anyway, "Ursula" gave me the passport and we are good to go! After finishing packing, cleaning our apt a bit, and paying the landlord the final 2 days of rent, we were off to the orphanage.
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| Clothes in hand - let's go get him! |
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| First time I saw his legs and toes! His feet are very, very, very dry. :-( |
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| Yep, socks over the tights...I didn't want the nannies to think I was going to neglect the poor child. The tights and sweater vest are from his first mama. |
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| Just about ready! "Thanks big sister Sarah for the cool hat!" |
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| Saying a tearful good-bye to their sweet "Aloysha" (I was tearful too...) |
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| Walking out the door for the LAST time! |
He did great in his 2nd "machina" ride on the way to the train station. Our train left at 4:26, but we were there before 4pm. That was great! This particular train is VERY long - so long you can hardly see the end. And depending on what track it is on, one usually has to go down steps, under tracks and back up. But not us! We walked right up to the train, and our car was right there by the main entrance to the tracks. Thank you Lord! See, we had lots of stuff (extra food and water too) and the stairs would have been difficult. We will have to repack and organize before getting on the plane, that's for sure.
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| Getting on the train! |
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| In the cabin - he was done in the Ergo. |
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| "Hey, look! I look like a little American boy!" |
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| A Christmas present from Auntie Debbie "Spa-see-ba" |
Elijah did GREAT on the train. It was AMAZING! It was like it didn't even phase him at all. Thank you to all that were praying! He had some snacks, a little supper, played, more snacks, more snacks (he likes to eat!) and then it was jammies and bedtime. I put a bunch of the train's blankets on the floor, covered with a clean sheet and he was pretty contained down in there between the 2 benches/beds. He slept great! At least 10 hours I think. He does the cutest little sucking thing with his tongue. I'm sure it's a self-soothing thing, but no rocking back and forth, so that's good. I did try snuggling with him on my bed, but it was just too close for him. He kept hitting me, so I knew it was too much for him. He did great on the floor. When he woke up, he just laid there playing with his hands until we turned on the light and got him up.
So, there you have it - "Gotcha Day"! Have I mentioned lately how all this still seems so surreal? I honestly don't think it is going to really hit me until we get home and have our whole family together. We are almost there...2 more sleeps here and then we are off - headed for home. I can not wait! It was one month ago yesterday that Pat and I left on this adventure of a lifetime. It seems like a lifetime ago. But all of the sacrifices we have made are all just temporary and short-lived compared to the wonderful blessing this precious child of God has and will continue to bring into our lives. Thank you for all of your support and prayers! We couldn't have done it without you or without the love our Heavenly Father!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Days of Elijah Day 25
Prayer request: Debbie has a bad cough and Elijah's nose has been "goopy" (nice medical term, huh?) for a couple of days. Please pray for healing for both of them! And protection for me too if you will. Thanks!
We had a wonderful day today! Well, it started a bit slow as we waited an hour this morning to hear back on when the driver was going to pick us up to get train tickets. By the time we got to the orphanage, we only had about 20 minutes there, but that was ok. Debbie got to hold a special little boy, while I held Elijah and helped one of the nannies put up the Christmas lights I brought in. I figured it was after Christmas, so I could let my blinky-flashy-drive-my-husband-crazy lights go. The boys were fascinated by them! Mission accomplished. :-)
Then we went to get train tickets for tomorrow afternoon. We ended up buying 4 "births" in a 2nd class car. Otherwise, since Elijah needs a ticket, we would have been split up in first class and that's not going to happen. When we got home, we had lunch, put on our church clothes and went shopping! Ha ha...We knew we weren't coming back to the house before church. We found a "second hand" store. (Ashley, your mom wanted me to tell you that she picked you up a few things there. Hee hee) I found Elijah a pair of shoes, since I had only brought boots for him. I also got some clothes for the "boys" to help even out the pink a bit in the grouppa wardrobe. After that, we walked down to the HUGE market where the busses pile in 2 or 3 deep. It wasn't as organized as the market by the orphanage though and we didn't find anything we wanted. We bussed it out to the market by the orphanage quick as I knew exactly where to get what I wanted (a bowl, cup and spoon for Elijah on the train) and made it back to church just in time.
The church service was wonderful. It felt great to have worshipped our Lord on (or right after) Christmas. The kids did a cute skit. Although, we couldn't understand what they were saying, we go the jist of it. The choir is amazing! Some of the choir members had "special music" and sang this song acapella (video below). I love this song and I learned tonight that this song originated in this country and is a national Christmas carol/song. I think it's called "Carol of the Bells". So, next time you hear it, remember it's been translated to English. My understanding is that most of the people here did not grow up with our traditional Christmas carols and have only learned them since the church started 14 years ago.
We were also able to see the children of the church get their Christmas stockings/gifts. Over half of these kids are from the orphanage (the older kids one). Very special! I wanted to post a photo of them for my kids since they helped me pick out the stockings and many of the treats inside. :-)
After church, we took the bus out for our afternoon visit, even though we missed a good half hour of it. I'm so glad we still came though. Elijah showed us a new sign tonight - the sign for "fish". Sarah sent a photo of her goldfish along with Debbie, so it's now in his photo album. He signed it a couple times tonight, although never for the camera of course. I also found out another need that the nannies have for the grouppa room. A microwave. She showed me how their hot plate thingy doesn't work and in order to heat something up, they need to plug the sink, fill it with hot water and set the pan in it. For each meal, one nanny will go down to the kitchen with pots labeled with their grouppa number. They bring them back up hot. But I'm sure there are times when they need to reheat something. Maybe even for their own lunches, which is perfectly fine with me. So, I'll go back to the "all things electric" store in the morning and see what I can find. If it will make their lives more comfortable and the lives of those boys, I'm all for it.
Finally, we had a nice dinner with the Spitz's at the Skazka restaurant. This might be my 5th or 6th time there...the waiter has recognized me that past 3 times. LOL It was so nice to just sit and talk with them, instead of trying to talk on the bus or walking down the street. It has been a true blessing to have them here with us and I'm so thankful for the Lord's timing to have us here together for a few days anyway. Please continue to pray for them as they have court on Thursday morning.
And guess what's happening right now?!?! Elijah is sleeping for the LAST night in his crib in a room with 6 other boys. I was telling him tonight how much his life is going to change tomorrow. :-) He has NO CLUE! I'm SOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!!! Please pray all goes well with getting the passport and on the train ride. Pray he sleeps well, and eats and drinks well. Please pray all goes well with the Embassy appointments on Tues/Wed too. Next time you hear from me, we'll be in the capital city and I'll have "Gotcha Day" photos to share!!! Praise God!!!
We had a wonderful day today! Well, it started a bit slow as we waited an hour this morning to hear back on when the driver was going to pick us up to get train tickets. By the time we got to the orphanage, we only had about 20 minutes there, but that was ok. Debbie got to hold a special little boy, while I held Elijah and helped one of the nannies put up the Christmas lights I brought in. I figured it was after Christmas, so I could let my blinky-flashy-drive-my-husband-crazy lights go. The boys were fascinated by them! Mission accomplished. :-)
Then we went to get train tickets for tomorrow afternoon. We ended up buying 4 "births" in a 2nd class car. Otherwise, since Elijah needs a ticket, we would have been split up in first class and that's not going to happen. When we got home, we had lunch, put on our church clothes and went shopping! Ha ha...We knew we weren't coming back to the house before church. We found a "second hand" store. (Ashley, your mom wanted me to tell you that she picked you up a few things there. Hee hee) I found Elijah a pair of shoes, since I had only brought boots for him. I also got some clothes for the "boys" to help even out the pink a bit in the grouppa wardrobe. After that, we walked down to the HUGE market where the busses pile in 2 or 3 deep. It wasn't as organized as the market by the orphanage though and we didn't find anything we wanted. We bussed it out to the market by the orphanage quick as I knew exactly where to get what I wanted (a bowl, cup and spoon for Elijah on the train) and made it back to church just in time.
The church service was wonderful. It felt great to have worshipped our Lord on (or right after) Christmas. The kids did a cute skit. Although, we couldn't understand what they were saying, we go the jist of it. The choir is amazing! Some of the choir members had "special music" and sang this song acapella (video below). I love this song and I learned tonight that this song originated in this country and is a national Christmas carol/song. I think it's called "Carol of the Bells". So, next time you hear it, remember it's been translated to English. My understanding is that most of the people here did not grow up with our traditional Christmas carols and have only learned them since the church started 14 years ago.
We were also able to see the children of the church get their Christmas stockings/gifts. Over half of these kids are from the orphanage (the older kids one). Very special! I wanted to post a photo of them for my kids since they helped me pick out the stockings and many of the treats inside. :-)
After church, we took the bus out for our afternoon visit, even though we missed a good half hour of it. I'm so glad we still came though. Elijah showed us a new sign tonight - the sign for "fish". Sarah sent a photo of her goldfish along with Debbie, so it's now in his photo album. He signed it a couple times tonight, although never for the camera of course. I also found out another need that the nannies have for the grouppa room. A microwave. She showed me how their hot plate thingy doesn't work and in order to heat something up, they need to plug the sink, fill it with hot water and set the pan in it. For each meal, one nanny will go down to the kitchen with pots labeled with their grouppa number. They bring them back up hot. But I'm sure there are times when they need to reheat something. Maybe even for their own lunches, which is perfectly fine with me. So, I'll go back to the "all things electric" store in the morning and see what I can find. If it will make their lives more comfortable and the lives of those boys, I'm all for it.
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| Studying for the quiz he'll have on Thursday night on siblings' names. :-) |
Finally, we had a nice dinner with the Spitz's at the Skazka restaurant. This might be my 5th or 6th time there...the waiter has recognized me that past 3 times. LOL It was so nice to just sit and talk with them, instead of trying to talk on the bus or walking down the street. It has been a true blessing to have them here with us and I'm so thankful for the Lord's timing to have us here together for a few days anyway. Please continue to pray for them as they have court on Thursday morning.
And guess what's happening right now?!?! Elijah is sleeping for the LAST night in his crib in a room with 6 other boys. I was telling him tonight how much his life is going to change tomorrow. :-) He has NO CLUE! I'm SOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!!! Please pray all goes well with getting the passport and on the train ride. Pray he sleeps well, and eats and drinks well. Please pray all goes well with the Embassy appointments on Tues/Wed too. Next time you hear from me, we'll be in the capital city and I'll have "Gotcha Day" photos to share!!! Praise God!!!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Days of Elijah Day 23 & 24
Merry Christmas again! Our Christmas Day is almost over. I hope you all enjoyed your day. Happy Birthday, Jesus!
To be honest, I was too emotionally spent last night to blog about our day. That happens sometimes. :-)
Yesterday, we had our normal two visits with Elijah. I think I mentioned the other day that he is starting to push the limits a bit. That hasn't changed much the past two days. For whatever reason, he pretty much refuses to walk outside on his own. I'm not sure why. He even refused this morning when the nanny (Tatianna) took him out of the stroller as we walked up the driveway. I think as he is coming more "alive" he realizes this whole orphanage thing isn't all it's cracked up to be. Soon, my son...very, very soon. But he did, however, take off several times today while we were chatting with the Dave and Summer outside. Yep, he's just a normal kid. :-)
Ok, onto our day yesterday - Christmas Eve day. Sarah sent several crocheted hats and a large, thick blanket along with Debbie when she came. We brought them in yesterday morning. (Oh, I should mention that all of these photos were taken with permission. They seem to have really slacked off on the "no photos of other orphans" rule.) Sarah, I'm so very proud of you for all of the time you have put into making all the hats and blankets you sent over. May the Lord continue to grow and nuture the desire you have in your heart to serve and help the orphans of this country and this world.
Ok, onto Christmas Day! I had told myself last week sometime that if his passport didn't come on Friday, I was going to buy myself some lilies (or liliums as the flower lady says). I LOVE lilies! So, I did buy some today, but I didn't keep them. :-) I brought them to Dawn, the sweet missionary that hosted all the missionaries for Christmas today! They invited us to be part of their Christmas celebration today. We were so honored and thrilled to be there. It really made for a wonderful day! Since we couldn't be home or have Elijah today, the Lord blessed us with wonderful Christian fellowship! And they all speak English! I hadn't realized how hard my brain was working to listen/decipher and try and say a few Russian words. I really felt my brain relaxing, and it was pretty much mush by the end. LOL Debbie and I are SO grateful!
To be honest, I was too emotionally spent last night to blog about our day. That happens sometimes. :-)
Yesterday, we had our normal two visits with Elijah. I think I mentioned the other day that he is starting to push the limits a bit. That hasn't changed much the past two days. For whatever reason, he pretty much refuses to walk outside on his own. I'm not sure why. He even refused this morning when the nanny (Tatianna) took him out of the stroller as we walked up the driveway. I think as he is coming more "alive" he realizes this whole orphanage thing isn't all it's cracked up to be. Soon, my son...very, very soon. But he did, however, take off several times today while we were chatting with the Dave and Summer outside. Yep, he's just a normal kid. :-)
Ok, onto our day yesterday - Christmas Eve day. Sarah sent several crocheted hats and a large, thick blanket along with Debbie when she came. We brought them in yesterday morning. (Oh, I should mention that all of these photos were taken with permission. They seem to have really slacked off on the "no photos of other orphans" rule.) Sarah, I'm so very proud of you for all of the time you have put into making all the hats and blankets you sent over. May the Lord continue to grow and nuture the desire you have in your heart to serve and help the orphans of this country and this world.
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| Here's one little guy with one of the hats on. |
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| This is Elijah's half of the sleeping room. His crib is on the corner. |
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| Where he sleeps...#14 |
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| Elijah modeling of Sarah's hats |
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| And another... |
| **(Image removed for privacy reasons)** |
| Yesterday afternoon, we had a little a party for the grouppa boys. I brought in bananas, cookies, a bunch of theses spiky balls, and this fun pop-up tent for them to play in. They had a BLAST!!!! |
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| The tree in Lenin Square is finally lit! Very pretty1 |
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| We went out to celebrate Christmas Eve last night to the Shazka restaurant. This is the unique presentation of chicken kiev I mentioned in an earlier post. It is VERY yummy! The sauce is a creamy dill. |
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| I bought these socks from a sweet old babuska near the market. I wanted them for the boys in the grouppa. They are hand-knit. She only wanted $6.25 for them! I totally felt like I was ripping her off. I looked for her today as I was going to buy more and make her take more $, but she wasn't there. I'll look tomorrow. |
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| When we closed out Elijah's bank acct, the money is donated back to the orphanage. It was transferred to the company that is replacing the interior doors on the second floor. This would not have been my first choice, but they were in tough shape. This is the outside of his grouppa room. |
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| Two of the blankets Sarah and her friend, Rachel, sewed together. I will try and tell the nannies that the blankets are for the boys, not the chairs... |
Ok, onto Christmas Day! I had told myself last week sometime that if his passport didn't come on Friday, I was going to buy myself some lilies (or liliums as the flower lady says). I LOVE lilies! So, I did buy some today, but I didn't keep them. :-) I brought them to Dawn, the sweet missionary that hosted all the missionaries for Christmas today! They invited us to be part of their Christmas celebration today. We were so honored and thrilled to be there. It really made for a wonderful day! Since we couldn't be home or have Elijah today, the Lord blessed us with wonderful Christian fellowship! And they all speak English! I hadn't realized how hard my brain was working to listen/decipher and try and say a few Russian words. I really felt my brain relaxing, and it was pretty much mush by the end. LOL Debbie and I are SO grateful!
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| Only $5 for this beautiful bouquet! |
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| Swinging fun with Auntie Debbie - It's about time I got behind the camera! |
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| Intently studying our family photo |
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| Elijah and Rachel will have a blast on the teeter-totter next summer! |
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| Group photo at Christmas dinner! We were so blessed! |
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