We Are Alive!!

I know things have been really quiet on our blog lately, but we are alive and well!

Unfortunately there is no news on our adoption, which is really the biggest reason why things have been so quiet.  I have a child on the other side of the world that I've only spent a few hours with, but that I love more than anything.  I've advocated and fought for her for over two years now.  No matter what I do, though, I cannot get her home faster.  It stinks.  My heart and mind always feel like they are tugged in two different directions.  Life here happens quickly as we are busy, but Deena is always in my thoughts.  I think about her, pray for her, dream about bringing her home, and then meet the disappointment daily that we are still waiting with no news.  I try to be optimistic and patient, knowing that everything will happen in God's perfect timing, but it is still just plain hard.  Our court date June 16th never happened because after their month and a half summer break there was still no judge.  To this day, there is still no judge.  We need about 3 court dates and are still waiting for our first.  I'm praying it can happen soon and really wish I had the power to speed it up.  I will say, it's a great way to (attempt) to practice patience.  

Other than that we have been enjoying our summer.  We don't take full summers off but do the "extra" fun stuff we run out of time for during the year.  We have studied lots of fun topics like planets and fossils and have also done many fun artsy things.  We also do lots of reading.  We recently went to the Museum of Natural History for the first time and the kiddos really loved it.

At the beginning of the month we participated in the walk-and-bowl for spina bifida with the Spina Bifida Association of Arizona.  It was their first year doing the event and we had a blast!!

We have a pool and have been doing a TON of swimming.  The girls are not yet swimming independently, but they are getting close!  They all love being in the water and it's great therapy for the girls.  Conner got a snorkel, goggles, and flippers a few weeks ago.  He says that he is practicing for Hawaii, though we have no plans to go to Hawaii in the near future :).  We would really love to go there one day though!

The girls both got the HKFOs fine tuned and those are fitting great.  Madi also got her new AFOs to wear when she is in her wheelchair or just relaxing at home.  Our hope is to keep her left foot stretched out a little better to help her with standing in her HKFOs.  She calls them her "pickle braces" because she requested green like a pickle.  She is pretty proud of them and has been tolerating wearing them pretty well!

We all got summer cuts and I also got my hair colored.  The girls LOVE getting their hair cut.  Ramya decided to go shoulder-length and Madi chose to keep hers longer.  They both look adorable!

As I shared in my last post (like a month ago, ha!!!), I had been feeling in a bit of a funk since Madi's last shunt surgery and had decided to do a 7 day juice cleanse.  I successfully did my 7 days and have been drinking a green smoothie for breakfast every morning since then.  I am happy to report that I have a lot more energy and am feeling much better.  I have also been making it my goal to work out daily.  I missed two days over the past 3-ish weeks because I was sick, but other than that I have been sticking to it.  As a mom of kiddos with special needs it can be really hard to make time for yourself, but I also know it's important I keep myself healthy so I can stay strong for my girls.  It helps me manage stress and that's pretty huge!!  

Tonight on the treadmill... not amazing because I am not a runner so I just walk fast on an incline, but hey, it's something!  Every day I am able to do just a little bit more.

I think that's really all there is to report for now.  Please be praying  that a judge will be assigned to the hall in the Bangalore court this week and will hold our first court case promptly.  Please be praying for all of us while we wait, as well as for sweet Deena.  David's grandfather, John, is also very sick and he will be entering hospice tomorrow.  We haven't been able to visit him yet because we have all been sick (especially David who was sicker than I have ever seen him before.  Thankfully he is on the mend and almost completely better now).  Please be praying for him, David's grandmother, and the rest of our family during this time.  Please also be praying for David as he is still struggling to get back in to the swing of things at work.  I know he is very discouraged and it's been really difficult.  He's such a good trader but he's just going through a funk.  Things just really seem to fall apart right before you adopt.  It happened when we adopted Ramya too and it's just not so fun.  We do know we were called to adopt Deena, though, and trust that we will get through the hard times while we wait to bring her home.

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Swimming With Spina Bifida... Our Floating Leg Solution

Madi had a big desire to swim by herself, but had a problem with her legs.  With her floaties on, her legs would also float up, but unevenly.  This caused her to have poor balance in the pool and struggle to not flip over.  Because of that, we always held her and/or supported her body for her when we went swimming.  I looked online and found some little wrist weights that are used for water aerobics.  I got them for her ankles, and they work perfectly!  They are one pound each (if you buy them, they were the 2 pound set, because they tell you total weight, not the weight of the weights individually), so just heavy enough to keep her legs down a little, but also still light enough to let her put them up when she wants to kick them. 

This is how we use them on her (That's Tami, our amazing PT, in the water with her)...

The same day we put them on her, she took off swimming!  She was SO proud of herself and so excited.  She did not want to get out of the pool!  Ramya had to keep up, so she started swimming (with her floaties on) by herself too.  She is very proud as well!  It's so fun watching them gain some independence.  It really is huge for them!  Conner has also really loved being able to "help" them swim now.  He's so proud too!  Here are some vidoes and photos of the kiddos swimming...

 

(we made up some silly songs to help us remember how to move our body and swim :))

 

 

 

All Quiet, Nothing to Report

Conner seems to be doing better with how often he has to urinate (YEAH!), Madi is stable medically (YEAH!), and life has been busy, but blessed. 

I wish I could say I had an adoption update, but sadly, I do not.  I really, really, really did not anticipate it taking this long to get approved in Arizona.  We finished our homestudy and had it all submitted to the Arizona court system by the third week in May, roughly.  And, since May, we have been waiting for approval.  Our agency called the judge in charge of our case and has not gotten any updates back yet (she called last week).   I keep picturing Ramya's face and imagining her sitting there without us, and it makes me sad.  I am really struggling, but just trying to see that it will all happen in God's timing, and that His timing is perfect.   So, to that end, please be praying for approval with us!

That's really all the news I have, which is really no news at all!  I hope to have an adoption update soon :).  Thanks for stopping by to check in on us!  Here's some pictures to make you smile!

Madi's new bathing suit

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"Benny Bear" from the Been Bear Club (from the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus association)

Conner doing what he's wanted to do every day this summer.... SWIM!

Conner found his Halloween cosume a little early this year and is very excited!

 A face full of spaghetti and still as beautiful as could be!

We have a swimmer

I just have to brag on Conner a moment.  My little dude is finally swimming by himself!  He took 8 swimming lessons this summer, which helped him learn the basics.  He was not quite swimming on his own yet, but I knew it would be a matter of time.  All he had to do was get comfortable putting his head under water.  This weekend he figured it out and now we are out in the pool every day, multiple times a day!  I told him I was so proud of him for trying even though he was scared and for sticking with it.  He grins from ear to ear when I tell him that.  He talks about how proud he is of himself.  It is so cute!  I took a good video but don't have it uploaded yet, so for now, here is a crummy video from my phone.   Enjoy!