Sensory Seekin'

Over the past year or so, we've learned a lot about sensory issues with both of the boys. I plan to post more on that later this month, but I thought I would share with you Elijah's 2nd favorite way he seeks sensory input....Dumping out the tub of Legos and "swimming" through it!

His favorite way is not picture worthy. It involves pulling the nearest child down (tackling them) and rolling over them. :-/  He's even started doing it to Jonathan now, which is NOT cool. But he is quickly corrected and usually can be redirected.

This type of sensory seeking seems to go in cycles. This cycle started late last week (noticed by the "slithering" on the church floor), but it had been a few months since he was craving input this badly. I do hope it is over soon, but more importantly, I hope I can learn more ways to help him. We do several things to give him more input, but I would love to hear more ideas.  If you have a child that needs extra "input", what do you do to help him/her?  I'd love to hear more ideas!! Please do tell!

Oh, how he has grown!

Yes, I know Elijah has grown - a lot. But, since I see him everyday, sometimes it takes a visual for me to realize just how much.  We've been doing the seasonal clothes swap and I came across this pair of bibs. They are size 24 mo. Elijah was super cooperative and posed for me like a champ.

This is Elijah in El Patio restaurant in Kiev on December 28, 2010. See what he is wearing???

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Definitely a good visual!  I'm working on (in my head so far) a full update on Elijah's development and growth, but as you can see, he has grown - A LOT. At his 5 year well-child visit, he was on the typical chart. Woohoo!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Eighteen years ago today, I married my best friend, my soul mate, and the man that God had ordained since the beginning of time to be my husband.  The Lord has truly, truly blessed me with a godly man that not only loves his wife and family, but loves and serves the Lord!  I am so very grateful!!!

I have often wondered if the trees have been this brilliant since that year. :-) I think this year comes pretty close! I LOVE the reds in the trees this year.

Today, I remembered to pull out our wedding video to watch. It must have been awhile since Anna doesn't really remember seeing it. I gave them an assignment - it was a school day after all.  I told them they needed to figure out how many hairs Daddy has lost and how many gray hairs Mommy has gained since we got married. LOL

Happy Anniversary, Pat. I love you dearly. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us the next 18 years!!!

Down Syndrome Awareness Walk Today!

We had a wonderful time today raising awareness for Down syndrome! It was a bit chilly but we were dressed for it and managed just fine. A huge KUDOS to the DSAW-Fox Cities board and volunteers. The walk gets better and better every year and they do a great job!!

I was humbled by all of the friends that came today to support our family and celebrate our children. Thank you so much!!!! We love you all!

Here are some great photos from Ashley. She is so talented. Thanks so much Ash for sending them so quickly!

Anna and "Big" Rebekah

Isaac

So cute! Isaac being a big brother to Carter.

Our whole "Triple Trouble Team"
I think we ended up with over 40 people! Wow!! We are so blessed! These 3 boys have a lot of folks who love them.
(You can click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Brothers!!!

Four handsome Ukrainian boys!!!

We thought it would be fun to get all of the Ukrainian kids together!
From left to right: Lucas from Krivoy Rog, Carter from Kiev, Jonathan from Kramatorsk, Elijah from Simferopol, and Lilya from Kiev (her and Carter were in the same orphanage). Lilya is a true blooded Ukrainian and did not want to sit on the ground, so that's why Sarah is in the photo too. :-) Or maybe it's because she's a proper young lady.
What an amazing blessing to have all five of these precious treasures in one place!!!!

Sadie and Rebekah

AHHHHHHHH! A great way to end a great day!

Why 31 for 21?

31 for 21...I'm not sure I explained this very well a couple of days ago. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month (31 days). And of course, Down syndrome is a third copy of the 21st chromosome. Medically, Ds is called T21 or Trisomy 21.

Why am I taking the time to do this blogging challenge? Trust me, it is NOT that I don't have anything else to do. :-)  But, I hope to raise awareness about Ds and also educate folks about Ds. Also, it is because of this 31 for 21 challenge that I learned about Ds from other bloggers and God began to prepare my heart for adopting these two precious boys.  Here is what I shared last year about the challenge, and Michelle's blogging. (Last year, I shared a Ds fact and also a blog about Ds almost everyday.)

Posted October 3, 2011 -
Blog about Ds:  http://www.zoromski.blogspot.com/  I've known Michelle since at least 2005 I think - long before I really even knew what a blog was. After Ruby and Lydia were born w/ Ds in 2007, she started a blog chronicling their journey. She posted TODAY about her story where she now has 3 daughters with Ds. Go ahead and read it. I'll wait. :-)  Little did Michelle or I know at the time, but she was educating me about Down syndrome - taking the "fear" away. Much of what I learned about Ds came through her 31 for 21 blogging challenges over the years.

I very strongly believe that Elijah and Jonathan would not be here right now if it weren't for Michelle's blogging. I'm forever deeply grateful for her dedication to sharing about her life, Ruby's life, and now Lilya's life. See, she educated me about Ds, and then opened my eyes to the plight of orphans in EE that have Ds. NEVER EVER did I picture myself adopting a child with Ds. Never. Until one night I was looking at the RR site and God....God said "Go."  And we obeyed. God gets ALL of the glory for that. He worked it out through His perfect timing. HE IS AMAZING!  If you want the really long version of that story, you can read part 1 HERE and part 2 HERE. Wow, what a trip down memory lane rereading those posts. Seems like an eternity ago, but really only just over a year.


As I was preparing this, Sarah and I were talking about how many orphans are now HOME with their forever families because of Ruby, Lydia, and Lily. I believe only God could have orchestrated this ripple effect...I come up with at least NINE off the top of my head - directly or indirectly. That's not counting the farther reaching effects that we don't know about. Of course there are other factors and God gets ALL the glory, but it is still fun to think about. And you know what, God's not done yet!

Well, I guess this post about Ds has turned into an adoption post. I can't separate them. And that's ok! :-)

Triple Trouble and DS Walk Saturday

The 3rd Annual Down Syndrome Awareness Walk for the Fox Cities will be held this Saturday!  We are very excited about it (even though the weather forecast is crummy). The kids have had a blast the past 2 years. And of course, it is a wonderful way to raise awareness for Down syndrome. If you are local, we would love to have you join us. you can click HERE to register. Find our team called "Triple Trouble". If you can't make it but would like to support our awesome local Ds support group, please see the donation box at the top of my sidebar. Thanks so much for your support! Preregistration closes at noon on Wed to be guaranteed a t-shirt. Registration is available at the walk.

(You can see photos from last year's walk here.)

"Triple Trouble"...why did we name our team "Triple Trouble"?

This might give you a hint...

(By the way, these were the best out of 110 photos!!! Can you tell on the last 2 photos that I had gotten the iPad out? It got the big boys' attention, but then Elijah got VERY mad he couldn't have it and we were done...)

Yep, it's Carter, Jonathan and Elijah! (We were going to name our team the "Cranky 'krainians" but thought better of it...for this year. :-)

31 for 21 and Cardiologist Update

Well, I'm attempting it again - blogging everyday in the month of October to help raise awareness for T21 or Down syndrome. I'll write a bit more tomorrow about why I'm doing this challenge and how it has helped me in the past. Most posts may be short and sweet but it's still an improvement from my lack luster blogging as of late.

Today, Jonathan had his one-year 14 month check-up for his heart.  When he got home last summer, his heart was checked since he was listed as needing "urgent heart surgery".  We continue to praise God for His healing touch that surgery was not necessary! Last summer, he was diagnosed with a small PDA and a bit larger than normal PFO.  Today, however, his PDA is too small to small to worry about and his PFO has shrunk too. Praise God! Dr. F doesn't want to see him until he turns four years old.  He said if he didn't have Down syndrome, he would release him now. But since he does, he will follow up in two years and then most likely release him. YAY!!!!  (For more information on what a PDA and PFO are, check out my post from last summer.)


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Flames...

I just had to share this. A friend sent me the link for this blog article last night. I can not get it out of my mind...It was written by a mother of 10, soon to be 11 Lord willing. Six biological children and four adopted, soon to be five. I think you'll get the analogy...May the Lord's Will be done in EACH of our lives.

http://redemptionwhispers.blogspot.com/2012/09/flames.html

Help Bring Maxim Home!!!

This is Maxim!!!  He is a very special little boy and has a wonderful family working very, very hard to bring him home ASAP.  Maxim is special to me for several different reasons, most of which I can't really share here. But one reason is that he shares a name with our amazing friend, Max, who has an awesome ministry helping the hopeless of his country. 

Anyway, Maxim's mom, Stephanie, is hosting a blog auction HERE.  You know how much I enjoy blog auctions! :-)  Many, many wonderful things have been donated and some even have no bids! I strongly encourage you to go check it out, bid on an item (super simple, just leave a comment with your bid and email), and help bring this very special boy home. Stephanie was hoping to raise $12,000 during this auction, but unfortunately, it is well short of that right now. Please go and help! Thanks so much for your consideration. Oh, don't wait too long as the auction ends tomorrow night at 10pm CST!

Happy 5th Birthday, Elijah!!!

Yes, Elijah is 5 years old! I can hardly believe it! Yesterday, we had a very small birthday party with grandparents. And today, Elijah and I skyped with "Mama Tanya" and "Papa Igor", his biological parents. What an incredible blessing that was! I'm so thrilled we are able to have contact with his parents. Elijah was so cute...I definitely think he remembers his parents. He was giving Mama Tanya kisses on the computer monitor. :-) We also got to say hello to his grandpa and grandma. We are very blessed indeed. He showed them the sign for "I love you" and mama and papa. I was trying to get him to count to 5, name his colors, and  say his ABCs but he doesn't like to "show off" you know.  LOL

Often adoptive parents are sad their adopted child never celebrated any birthdays in the orphanage - their birthday was just like any other day. I was thrilled last year when Mama Tanya told us they visited Elijah every year on his birthday and brought in treats for the entire grouppa! Yay!!! So not only did Elijah get treats...

but Shea did...



and maybe even Gideon did too!  (Gideon was only allowed to participate in grouppa "parties" on a very limited basis though. :-( )


Elijah was/is loved by his bio parents and I'm forever grateful for their willingness to list Elijah for international adoption!

Sarah did a wonderful post about Elijah's birthday too. http://matthew18vs14.blogspot.com/2012/09/happy-birthday-elijah.html  She included a lot of pictures from our recent trip to Bay Beach amusement park (that I have not blogged yet...will I ever catch up? Doubtful!) But let me tell you...Elijah is a total thrill seeker!  On the Tilt-a-whirl, he had his hands in the air, laughing hysterically. At the end of every ride, I had to peel him out as he kept signing and saying "More! More!" :-)

I hope you enjoy some photos from Elijah's birthday party yesterday.

Anna made and decorated the cake for me! She did a great job!

He couldn't wait until the end of the song to blow his candles out. How fun the candles were for him! Every time he hears the "Happy Birthday" song, he blows hard then claps "Yay!" Very cute!

Can you believe it??? I have two five-year olds - well for about 6 weeks anyway!
(I also have two two-year olds! :-)) 

Fun monkey card!

And this...from "Auntie Crackers" and PD.......
hmmm....I think that Auntie Crackers needs one of these at HER house for grandson, Carter!
I put clear tape over the speaker and that helped...a little...
I must say Elijah really likes it though...

Alphabet toy from Grandma and Grandpa
I love Leap Frog toys!

Elijah was giving us a concert. Rachel insisted on helping...

Happy Birthday Elijah! We love you so very much and are so blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for being who you are! You have taught us so much!

(I'll try to post a complete update on Elijah's growth, health, and development after his 5 year check up on Friday.)