We're on the Move Again

Due to an unplanned series of events, it looks like we are moving!  We didn't think it would be this soon, but here we are.  We are excited to settle down (again); this time in a place of our own. 

We have found old leaks and mold in our rental house multiple times (4 now??), and the house is currently getting remediated.  Though we have a lease through December, the owners are really wanting to sell the house and be done with it.  We've been living out of half of the house for a while now because of all the issues, so we are ready to move on as well.  We've been crazy busy, looking at houses any free moment we had. 

It was very difficult to find a house that would work for us because we have so many limitations due to area, house size, needing a flat street, etc....  Tucson is very hilly, and most houses have multiple steps and/or steep driveways.  We finally found a house that we think will work out great for us.  It's 3 stories, but has a residential elevator.  It's in a small gated patio-home type community, but still offers a lot of privacy and great views.  They yard is small, but there's also plenty of side and front yard, all that is private and not shared.  The roads outside are completely flat and great for walks and bike riding.  It backs up to the river walk and (about 25 miles of paved, flat biking roads), and has two private entrances.  The path is amazing for the kiddos to bike on and is going to be great for us.  There's also a community park, two dog parks, and a pool.  The downsides are how close together all of the houses are, the fact that my van won't fit in the garage, and the fact that we really need that elevator working.  Residential elevators tend to go down often, so we will need to be careful to get it serviced often since we will use it so much.  We may also get a chair lift from the first floor to the second floor, just for a back-up plan. 

We have a 45 day closing so it looks like we will be moving in May.  The next 45 days are going to be filled with packing, packing, and more packing.  If you are close by and want to help us fill some boxes, we will be very grateful! 

In other news, we are getting a puppy!  My sister-in-law's sister just bred goldendoodles and momma pooch is due any day.  We didn't think it would work out because it was looking like we wouldn't be able to find a house in time, but now the timing looks just about perfect.  The kids are on cloud 9 and can't wait to have a dog again.  We hope to work on training it to be a service dog for the girls as well so that he/she can come with us wherever we go.  I need to find a company here to help us still, but we have some time before we need to have one.  Here's a picture of the dad and mom...

Other than that, life has been chugging along.  We spent a long weekend with David's parents in California and had a lot of fun. 

Deena has had her cast off for a bit and her leg is healing well after her rodding surgery.  Dr. Vincent took it off about 3 1/2 weeks post-op after she gave her word to take it easy, since technically it was still broken from surgery.  She kept her word and has been doing well.  He just said she can work on weigh-bearing now and she is very excited.  The girls are playing on an adaptive baseball team and are proud to be MuckDogs. 

Ramya turned 10 at the beginning of March.  She requested a movie and cake with family, so we went to see Rock Dog with mine and David's family, then went to lunch at Smashburger and had cake.  It was a simple party, but she really enjoyed it.  We love celebrating her!

Other than that, life has been chugging along.  We will keep everyone updated on our big move.  Please be praying for a quick close and for Ramya, as she does not do well with change and is already having a lot of regression and big behaviors as we prepare to move.  Thank you!

A Few Quick Updates Because SO Much is Happening

I just realized it's been quite a while since I have updated on how life is going.  There's a lot to share, so I think I'll break it down by kiddo to make it easier.  

Madi:

On Monday Madi saw a new neurologist in Tucson.  So far I think I like him, we shall see.  He wants to do a sleep-deprived EEG and see how her neurons are firing and all of that good stuff.  Her appointment is in in May and the goal is to limit her sleep as much as we can for one day (4-5 hours if possible) so they can get the best EEG readings.  She can't have caffeine before the test, but you can bet I'll have quite a bit!!  After the test he wants to discuss possibly changing her medication or combining two medications to try and get her seizures more under control.  She doesn't have them often, but when she does they are big and require a lot of intervention.  

Madi and Ramya's new DDD coordinator came out today and we really liked her.  She had read our blog and was excited to meet the girls.  She gave me a list of occupational, physical, and speech therapists in Tucson so that I can start calling around and find services for both girls.  That's my next job over the next few weeks.  

Other than that, Madi has been talking about wanting to be on stage again, so I need to start looking for a place in Tucson that offers dance or plays she can participate in.


Ramya:

A friend who was adopting from India at the same time we were shared that her daughter tested positive for E Pylori.  I read about it and decided I should have Deena and Ramya tested.  I asked their pediatrician if we could run the test and he agreed.  Deena's test came back negative, but Ramya's came back positive.  The doctor said treating it likely won't make any short-term changes, but that we should treat it to make sure she doesn't get ulcers or have issues in the future.  Reading online I found that it's not usually symptomatic, however, when it is the symptoms (according to Dr. Google ;)) can include:

• excessive burping
• feeling bloated
• nasea or vomiting
• lack of appetite or anorexia
• unexplained weight loss

It may be nothing, but I'm hoping treating her may help bring up her appetite and weight.  We have had swallow studies, feeding evaluations, parasite tests, etc... and never came back with any answers as to why she may struggling with having a desire to eat and poor weight gain.  Everyone tells me it is emotional, which is one reason why we were having attachment therapy.  I'm praying that this may may provide some answers for us and help make her healthier.  The initial treatment would be 4 weeks and then we would re-test and see how she is doing.

Deena:

A few weeks back Deena had her first "incident" since being home.  The kiddos were riding their plasma cars and Ramya slammed in to Deena, causing Deena's leg to hit the wall.  She started crying and telling me "mom, so much pain!".  It was so sad!  I splinted her right away and then she felt a ton better.  After that her leg only hurt if it moved in a funny way, and she really didn't complain about it any more.  I took her back to the orthopedic surgeon who thinks it may been a new break.  Looking at her x-ray from December in India, though, she had a break in the spot already that she had come home with.  The pediatrician thinks she just re-injured the existing break, but our next follow up with the orthopedic surgeon isn't until next week so I am not sure his opinion yet.  He wasn't looking at the old x-ray to compare the new x-ray to, so I plan to bring that for him.  Either way she said it doesn't hurt anymore and she has been putting weight on it again, so that's great!

Last week we drove in to Phoenix and Deena had her first appointment with our pediatrician.  He had told us she would always be in pain, and was pleasantly surprised to see her so happy and doing well.  She charmed him with her silliness and I could tell he thought she was pretty special (which of course she is!).  

Deena sees our endocrinologist later this month so we can start her infusions.  We are also starting the discussion of rodding surgery and we are praying about which doctor to use for the surgery and the best type of surgery for her.  

Deena still is not on our insurance.  I was told we were approved and in the final stages of rate determination, and then haven't heard back.  I need to call again and hope she will be on soon.  I also applied for CRS (children's rehabilitative services) for her to help with doctor's bills in the meantime.  Hopefully we will hear back from both soon.  The orthopedic surgeon wrote her a prescription for a wheelchair.  We do not want to start the process, though, until she is on our insurance.  We saved Madi's last wheelchair for Deena, though, so once we have a big enough vehicle, she can start using that while we wait.

Conner:

Poor Conner was sick last weekend; the sickest I have every seen him.  I started dosing him up with elderberry, vitamin C, zinc, and garlic.  He threw up twice on Saturday and didn't feel well.  He slept most of the day on Sunday, had a low-grade fever, and kept complaining of pressure behind his eyes.  I planned to take him to the pediatrician on Monday but he woke up his normal energetic self and I was so thankful! 

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In other news, Athletes Helping Athletes not only gifted Madi and Ramya AMAZING hand cycles, but they also asked to feature them in their promotional materials this year.  Of course we said yes!  Monday we had their program manager, photographer, videographer, and assistants here.  It was SO much fun!!  More to come on that later, though, because I really wanted to dedicate an entire post to our day and their organization.  

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Our house finally sold and closed this Thursday.  We both have mixed emotions about the sale, but are thankful that we are all in one place now and that all of our "stuff" is finally in one place as well.  It was stressful having it pending, going back and forth so much between Tucson and Phoenix, and then packing it up with 4 kids in tow, so we are glad to move past that phase of our lives.

 When we initially put the house up for sale we had dreams of renting for a while, saving, and then being able to build the girls an accessible house.  Plans changed when David's boss asked us to relocate, our adoption finally went through, and the house took longer to sell than anticipated.  Now we are here in Tucson and both our house and lot are sold.  We are working hard on trusting that God has a plan, though, and are looking forward to watching it unfold.  David is enjoying working closely with his boss and feels like it was a good move for him, which I am thankful for.  We are also VERY excited to be able to get a bigger vehicle so that Deena can start using a wheelchair.  I think the plan right now is to look for a conversion van with double opening doors that will fit all the kiddos and the three chairs.  We are hoping to find something soon!

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I think those are all of the "big" updates for now.  Deena is such a sweet girl and is adjusting remarkably well.  She went with David to pick up coffee the other day, which was her first trip away without momma.  She was very proud of herself and her time with David.  It was so sweet!  She kept talking about how funny daddy is, and all the silly animal noises he makes.  

We are blessed indeed!!

An Adoption and Life Update

First off I would like to apologize for being so quiet recently.  I have no excuse other than to say that we are dealing with a lot of hard "stuff" right now and by the time the day is over, I'm just plain tired!  Don't get me wrong, we have had so many moments of laughter and joy, and we are still so beyond crazy blessed, but it seems like life just keeps throwing us new curve balls.  Our amazing kids always keep us smiling though!

 

The last few months David has been in Tucson while I have been in Phoenix at our house with the kids.  We see each other on the weekends and Facetime often, but we don't love being separated.  We both have our routines, though, and things are going pretty smoothly, so I am thankful for that.  Madi did have a seizure a few weeks back when we were in Phoenix and David wasn't with us.  Thankfully my parents were able to get here quickly to stay with Conner and Ramya so that I didn't have to leave Madi's side.  We were in the ER until 3 am but thankfully her shunt and everything is working great! 

We are still trying to sell our house, so the kids and I have to keep it super clean and show-ready at all times.  We spend most of our days homeschooling at my parents house, in therapy, or out with friends, which helps keep it clean.  It's also been nice to see friends and family so much since we will be moving soon.  The kids are loving that part!  We are blessed with so many people we love, and we will miss these moments for sure!

 

We are praying for buyers soon so that we can sell the house by the time Deena comes home.  We are trying really hard not to feel discouraged because we are still within the average sale times in our neighborhood.  We are just both struggling because we put a lot of time and money in to making it look move-in-ready and felt like it would sell quickly.  We both have peace, though, knowing God has the perfect buyers out there and that they will come along at the perfect time.  Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of it OFTEN, but we do truly believe it.  My prayer always has been, and still is, that it will sell before Deena comes home.  We would love if you would join us in praying for that!

David was doing really well at work and getting his groove back and then he had this really crazy circumstance that totally knocked him back down.  We are worried about finances, especially having both a mortgage and a rent right now and with how much it will cost for us to bring Deena home from India, so I know he's feeling a lot of extra stress at the moment.  We ended up owing quite a bit more to state taxes than we planned on and haven't gotten our federal tax refund yet so we are just kind of scraping by until our house sells.  I know he is feeling defeated.  Please be praying for David and for peace that surpasses all understanding.  I fully believe he will get back on his feet; there's no doubt in my mind.  We are both working on trusting God during these trials and are praying that God uses our circumstances to strengthen who we are in Him.  We both feel at peace, even though we are feeling extra stress, and we are thankful for that. 

We were expecting to be in India (*we* as in myself, Conner, and my friend Kariann) this week or next to bring Deena home.  Our written court orders were received about 3 weeks ago and all that was left was passport, which takes about 2-4 weeks normally.  We just found out yesterday, though, that her passport hasn't been applied for yet.  They go on December 4th to apply, and then we have about a 2-4 week wait after that.  At this point it's not looking like she will be home for Christmas, which we are sad about.  We also found out that they did surgery last week to remove a rod from her thigh bone.  The doctor didn't feel like she needed it any more.  I think this is what I'm grieving the most over.  We were granted a full and final adoption, so legally she is now ours, but they did not tell us they were going to do this.  I'm worried she will get home and then need it put back in and she will have gone through all that for nothing.  But, most of all, I'm saddened that I could not be there to hold her hand and hug her through the pain.  I'm her momma and I can't advocate for her yet, and that is a really terrible feeling.  I cannot wait until she is home and I can be there for her.  She will never be alone again!  We did get her carseat and bed in (though she will sleep in our room for quite a while), so that was a lot of fun.  It was nice feeling like we were able to prepare for her and celebrate her a bit.  Even Hope thinks her new bed is super comfortable!

 

We have two more weeks of homeschool co-op and then we will officially join David in Tucson after that.  We have already said "good-bye" to our Church family, which was hard for us as we are very connected there and love our community so much.  We had our last attachment therapy session as well.  It looks like next week will be our last week for speech, occupational, and physical therapy in Phoenix too.  After returning home from India I will find new therapists in Tucson for the girls.  I would like to take a month off, though, when Deena comes home so that we can focus on our family for a while.  I will, of course, continue all of their therapy goals myself in the meantime.  I have always believed the biggest strides aren't necessarily made in therapy, though I think therapy is really important, but instead by practicing therapy goals throughout the week. 

Here we are "wrapping Ramya in our love" on our last day of attachment therapy...

 

I think that about sums up life for now!  Thank you all for following our journey and praying for our family.  Thank you to those of you who have come over to help me pack, have messaged me to check in on me, or have had us over to visit.  We love each and every one of you and appreciate you so much!  Please continue to pray for Deena's heart and her transition in to our family.  Her whole life is about to change!  Pray for a safe trip to India to bring her home, safety for David and the girls while they are here and Conner and I are gone, that everyone will remain healthy during and after the trip, and that Madi will not have any seizures while I am away. 

 

Beginning the Next Chapter of Our Lives

This weekend was a big one for us.  We signed a lease on a rental and moved everything out of storage and to our new place.  We still have some furniture and toys at our house in Phoenix, since that is staged to sell, but about 2/3 of our stuff is now settled.

Though I don't love the house and the rent is more than we were prepared to spend, it will work well for our family, and that is what counts.  

 

The kids had a lot of fun rediscovering their toys that were in storage and helping set up our house.  Conner's new room is huge and he is loving all the space.  The girls also go their play house back, which made them very happy!

 

 

 

Our rental house has beautiful mountain views.  I love that we can eat at the table and enjoy the scenery!

 

 

 

For now the kids and I will continue to travel back and forth from Phoenix to Tucson for the time being.  It's not fun but it works. We are staying mostly in Phoenix until 1) I go to India to pick up Deena or 2) This semester of homeschool co-op is over; whichever comes first.   We are trying to get settled in Tucson too, though, which is why we travel back and forth for now.  David is in Tucson most of the time working.  Our house hasn't sold yet (please pray it does before Deena comes home!) so the kids and I have a place to stay here in Phoenix, which is nice. 

 

There has been a lot of craziness between travel plans to bring Deena home, adoption paperwork, passport issues, selling our house, finding a rental, moving, and the rest of life.  I'm so thankful we are starting to get settled and are moving towards being together as a family again.  All that's left is to find a trundle bed for the girls, get Deena a carseat, sell our house, move the rest of our "stuff", and bring Deena HOME.  It's a big list, but I know God's got a plan for it all and find comfort in knowing that. 

 

Tonight I came home to a beautiful, thoughtful letter from an amazing friend who is very gifted at writing.  She sent the perfect reminder at the perfect time, and I am so thankful for the gift of her words.

 

 

 

Please continue to pray our house is in escrow before Deena comes home, for safe/smooth travels to and from India, for no seizures for Madi or any emergencies while I am in India, and for protection for Deenas mind and heart as her whole life gets thrown upside down. 

 

 

Big Changes Headed Our Way

Well, it's officially official.  We are moving to Tucson for 2 years (or at least that is the current plan, but I have moved beyond the point of thinking I can plan anything ;)).

We found a rental.  It's quite a bit more than we were planning, but it has flat enough land to take walks and go on bike rides.  It does have a step down in a few places, but they can be easily ramped, and it's only a small half-step.  There's also a nook for homeschooling for me and a small extra room for guests, since my parents will have to stay at our house and help if one of the girls has a surgery.  There's also a nice sized yard for the kiddos.  Oh, and it's close to Sprouts, so I'm a happy girl.  I don't really like the house, but it will work, and that's what matters!

This Saturday a moving company is coming to move everything out of storage there.  The kids and I will stay here during the week to finish up at co-op and continue therapy.  We have enough furniture and beds in storage to make it livable, though, so that's nice. 

We received written orders of our adoption so that is moving forward quickly!  All that is left is to get her passport and bring her home.  It should be within the month and then I'm off to India! 

Everything is happening quickly and at once and feels a bit overwhelming right now.  Our house still isn't sold so we are praying it sells soon.  Having double payments until it does is going to be rough.

I will not be able to get a big van before D comes home, because we just aren't there financially, but I am sure it will all work out.   She probably will not use a wheelchair in the beginning anyhow, as I have to wait and take the time to teach her how to use it, how to listen, about dangers (like streets and cars) she hasn't experienced before, and things like that.  It should buy us a few months until we really need something bigger that will fit a 3rd wheelchair.   

Please be praying that Madi does not have any seizures while I am gone, for David as he cares for the kids (though Conner may come with me), for Deena as she goes through so many huge changes in her life, for safe travels, and for a smooth adjustment once she comes home.  Please also be praying for us as we leave our friends and family, move to Tucson, and adopt, all in one month.  There's never a dull moment around here!!

Thank you for all of your prayers and for

So Much to Update!

Wow, life has been crazy!  I don't even know where I last left off!

Let's see...

Last I checked in we had just put our house on the market and ran away to California for our yearly vacation.  We had a blast!  Madi had an unexpected seizure on the beach so we got to tour Rady's Children's Hospital, but they were great and Madi was soon back to her normal self. We enjoyed pancakes at Richard Walker's Pancake house, spent lots of time at the beach, got to see both of my birth parents, and really enjoyed ourselves!

 

 

We also got a chance to Skype with Deena while we were in California, which was really amazing!  Ramya couldn't stop talking about how cool it was that she got to see her. 

 

 

When we got home life got crazy fast.  David left for Tucson to work more closely with his boss, we had appointments and therapies to catch up on from being gone, and of course we had to keep the house super spotless in case there was a showing.  Most of our days were (and still are) spent homeschooling at my parent's house, therapy at my parent's house, and then being gone the rest of the day as much as possible to keep our house spotless.  Our house still hasn't sold but we are trying to remain positive.  David and I both felt strongly that we should sell before Deena comes home and free up that equity, and we know just the right buyers will come along when the time is right.   Waiting is hard, but is teaching us a lot.

 

 

We got amazing news that our verbal orders were granted for our adoption.  What does that mean for us?  That means as soon as the written orders are received the orphanage can apply for Deena's passport.  That usually takes about 4 weeks.  Once the passport is received we are off to India!  So, basically, in about a month I will likely be in India bringing Deena home!  Madi's neurologist cleared Madi for travel to India but we still haven't decided what is the best thing to do.  It would be REALLY hard to bring all the kiddos to India, but they want to go so badly.  It's also REALLY expensive, and unless our house sells we do not have the money to take them.  For right now we wait, but we do need to decide soon as I need to apply for visas for whomever goes.  If we don't travel as a family, my friend Kariann will be traveling with me.

 

 

I think I also shared that after we had decided to list our house for sale David's boss asked us to relocate to Tucson, where he lives.  David has been there this month trying it out and it's going well.  They both feel like him being there will be important and helpful.  Not only will it help David get back in to the grove of trading, but he can also help his boss with projects and research.  David will also be able to work closely with his boss and will grow tremendously as a trader.  The plan right now is to move to Tucson for about 2 years and then re-evaluate. 

 

 

This weekend the kiddos and I trekked up to stay with David and look at rentals.  David is currently in a VRBO he rented for the month, but we need a long-term rental before Deena comes home.  This is proving to be quite difficult for us.  We need a place within about 10-15 minutes of his boss, just in case we have an emergency (aka Madi has a seizure) and I need him home quickly.  His boss lives in an area that is a lot more rugged than we are used to.  The homes are also quite a bit older and most have multiple steps up and steps down within the interior of the home.  When you add in the fact that we will soon have 4 kids, 3 wheelchairs, and I need an area to homeschool from, finding a home that is affordable is feeling next to impossible.  I was hoping I would leave feeling at peace, and instead I left feeling disappointed.  I truly believe in my heart that God is calling us to Tucson but the timing and the circumstances with Deena coming home soon and needing to get settled first are feeling quite overwhelming.  I keep telling myself that God has a plan and that all the details are already worked out so there is no reason to stress.  It's much easier said than done, but I am trying. 

 

 

I think those are all of our big updates for now.  We have some HUGE changes coming our way very, very quickly.  Please join us as we pray for buyers for our house, an affordable rental and Tucson that would work well for our family, safe travels to India, no seizures for Madi while I/we are gone, peace, and discernment.

 

 

Thank you for praying for our family and for walking our journey with us!

 

 



 

Lots of Change at Our Casa

Whew.

We've been busy.

I know I say that all the time, but this time, we are extra busy.  So much has happened in this past month it's just been crazy!

This month we lost two men we loved; my uncle and David's grandfather.  We had family in town for David's grandfather's service and spent lots of time with them (we love spending time with family... it's what I call a "good busy").  This month we also made a really big decision.  We decided to sell our house as quickly as we can.  It was a hard choice to make, but we believe it's a very important one.

David has felt a lot of financial strain between him struggling with trading this year and our upcoming adoption.  We still need a van that will fit 3 wheelchairs and a 4th kiddo.  We also have travel fees to bring Deena home.  On top of that, we will have a lot of medical bills coming our way when she does come home.  Our house is up quite a bit from where we purchased it so selling and renting for a bit would free up the equity we have in our house and reduce a lot of stress for David.

Since our ultimate goal is to build an accessible house one day for the girls anyhow, we are hoping to not need to spend the equity and, instead, to be able to use it towards building when work turns around for David.  

For now, we are packing, cleaning, and prepping.  There's a lot of work to be done around here to shine up our house and empty it enough to look nice to sell.  There's also been therapy and homeschooling and the rest of "life" stuff, of course, so life has just been a little extra busy.  

We unfortunately have no news on our adoption.  We are still waiting for our first court date.  Though the wait is hard, we are praying that our house sells VERY quickly so that we can find a rental, move, and get settled before Deena comes home.  

Please join us in praying for a quick sale on our home and a nice rental that will suit our family well.  If you know of any houses for rent with at least 4 bedrooms (4 and a den would be amazing) on our side of town, please let us know.  

Thank you for praying for our family!