Welllllll..... that makes sense, but I'm still bummed!!

Today I called Oasis, our homestudy agency, to see if they ever heard back from the Judge's office about our paperwork/approval.  They still haven't heard back, and I guess the judge's assistant (not sure what they are called) is no longer there, which is who she had left a message with last week.  She said that was a bad sign, but I'm not sure why, maybe because it will take longer or something.  Anyhow....  Oasis had faxed in the pictures of our pool fence in July.  The judge asked Oasis to also send in hard copies straight to her, so they did.  Today when Oasis called, they talked to someone else at the courts (the people that oversee the whole process or something like that), and they said they have no records of the hard copy being sent in.  Oasis is going to send it to that department now as well, just to make sure that everyone has what they need.

The problem, though, is that the courts have 60 days to respond (basically approve or deny your adoption petition) to the paperwork once it is submitted.  Whenever you send something new in, though, that re-sets that 60 day waiting period.  So basically, when we sent in the photos of the latches, that re-set the 60 days that they have to respond to us.  That would mean that we should hear back by mid September, UNLESS sending in the photos to the other department will re-set it again, and then we will still have up to 60 days!  AH!  Not cool! 

In better news, we went to the Children's Museum today and it was a blast!  My friend, Mary, had free passes for us (THANKS MARY!), so Kyla and I took the kids.  We brought Madi in her HKFOs (up ups) and helped her walk up the big climbing structure, go through the noodle forest, and all that good stuff.  The kids really loved it!  I also got to meet a local lady, Kiara, that has been a lot of support and help for our adoption, so that was really awesome!  We didn't know she would be there but bumped in to her, so that was neat.  Here's some pictures of our day:

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!

An Update on Conner's Testing

Wow, today has been a BUSY day!!  I'm beat!  This is the first time I'm sitting down today, and I wanted to come here and update everyone before I do anything else, since I know that we have had many people praying for us.  Scratch that.  Had to run and take my brother to pick up his car, then go to the grocery store, so now, for real, I am sitting down to type :). 

First off, THANK YOU for your prayers.  They seriously, genuinely mean the world to us!

Today Conner had an ultrasound to see if they could figure out why he is urinating so often.  They looked for masses putting pressure on his bladder or kidneys, they looked to see that he had all his tubing and that no tubes were fused together or anything, and they looked to see that everything was as it should be size-wise. 

They found that everything looks normal!  The only issue Conner has is that his urethra opening is too small (about 1/2 the size it should be).  Dr. Zuniga said that is common for circumcisions, as scar tissue forms from the circumcision, making the hole smaller than it should be.  I have to say, that was hard to hear.  It was hard to hear because I really, really, really did not want to circumcise Conner.  I fought David on it, but finally gave in.  My gut was telling me not to do it, and I gave in.  I am still mad at myself for that, because I did not trust my instincts.  I'm not knocking those who choose to, trust me, I'm not, I'm just mad because I just knew it would go wrong, and I didn't listen to that little voice telling me so.  They did not take off enough skin either, so he still looks uncircumcised (we have known they did not take off enough skin for a while now), but I told them they are not touching it again to fix it, unless he wants it done when he is older and can make that choice himself (which is how I wished we had handled it to begin with).  The doctor said it could be contributing to the problem, but he does not think it is the cause of the problem.  He said we just need to watch it.  If the opening does not continue to grow adequately, then he will need a surgery to make it bigger.  He said that wouldn't be until he was 7 or 8, though.

The doctor said it is very common for children Conner's age to have this problem, and that they normally grow out of it on their own.  He said allergy testing couldn't hurt, but he also did not feel that was the issue.  He said we need to watch it and just see what happens.  He said to expect it to take about 6 months to 1 1/2 years to go away, though it should slowly get better.  That's a long time to carry plastic cups for when we're driving and Conner has to go NOW and I have to pull over so he can go, but hey, I will GLADLY take that over the alternative :).  He also said to come back if he starts having accidents and being unable to make it to the bathroom.  He was a bit surprised he's waking up to go 1-3 times a night, but said that is ok too.

So, for now, we watch and wait, but we feel much better knowing it's nothing major (a mass, diabetes, etc...) and it's not a UTI. 

Conner has decided he loves the hospital.  After his appointment we went to the cafeteria to eat because it was past lunch time and we still had a 30 minute drive home.  On our way to eat, we saw.....

.... Star Wars characters!   They were set up in the hospital for the kids to see.  Madi hated them, but Conner loved them.  R2D2 was a robot controlled by remote control.  Conner LOVED it!  They also gave both of the kids a toy.  Conner chose an Anakin Skywalker (sp??) figurine and Madi chose a doll with a bottle.  Conner says he wants to come back to the hospital soon.  Oh, dear child, let's not say that.  We will be back soon enough.

In other news, we have a teenager, Kyla, staying with us for a while.  Her mom and younger siblings moved to be with her younger sibling's father (he moved for work) and she is staying with us to be able to finish up with highschool.  I helped her have a garage sale today to get some money for gas and all that fun stuff, and she made $150, which is great!  I'll help her again tomorrow.  The kids really love her, and she's great with them!

That's it for now, thanks again for the prayers!

Easy Canvas Prints Review

I was contacted by a member of Easy Canvas Prints and was offered a free 8 x 10 canvas in return for a review on our site.  I, of course, said yes.  I love the idea of putting your favorite pictures on canvas, and just happen to have a wall needing some sprucing up. 

There are many things I love about canvas, but a big one is that you don't need a picture frame.  I cannot tell you how many times we have accidentally bumped a frame off the wall and the glass broke.  Not to mention you have to worry about trying to find frames that match for all of your pictures.  Then you have the fact that the glass gets all smudgy when it gets touched or bumped, the reflection from the light coming in the windows makes the photos hard to see, and the frames get dusty and have to be cleaned often.  Basically, I'm not a fan of picture frames.  I do love canvases, though!

The last canvas I bought was through Costco.com.  Though their prices do initially seem cheaper, I found that Easy Canvas Prints offers free shipping pretty often and also run discounts pretty frequently.  The Easy Canvas Prints site was very easy to navigate.  They also have a quality rating so that you can make sure that the photo you are uploading will be a high enough quality to look good when you get it printed on the canvas.  The turn-around time is really fast, and you get your canvas quickly.

I was really impressed with the quality of our canvas and also with how vivid the colors were.  The photo looked clear and the detail was good as well.

I tried to get a good picture of our canvas, but it was hard because of the glare.  Here's how it came out, though.

And for comparison, here is the original picture...

Overall, I'm really happy with our canvas and think it came out great!

An Un-Update

Conner's final test results came back and everything looks normal.  His kidneys are functioning great, his white blood cell count is great, no culture grew, so no UTI, no diabetes, and whatever else they looked at is good as well.  Yeah!  He is still having the same symptoms, though, and now his boy parts are getting a bit sensitive, so right now we're just waiting to get the ultrasound next Friday.  Hopefully that will give us some sort of clue to what's up.  If not, I think we'll do allergy testing next.  Thanks for thinking of us and keeping us in your prayers!

My little mystery man....

We got in the preliminary report from Sonora Quest and have a few questions answered, which leaves us with even more to ask.

Based on the preliminary reports, Conner does not have a UTI or diabetes.

The doctor is still waiting to hear back to see if his urine culture grows, and is also waiting on a white blood cell count to come in.

He is stumped and thinks we need to go to the urologist to have ultrasounds done to see if there is any abnormal swelling, blockage, bits and pieces growing oddly,  growths causing pressure, etc..... He does not think it is allergies, though he is open to testing again if we want to go that route.

Conner has shown no improvement, so that's disappointing.  I put him in a diaper tonight so he could just relax and sleep.  I know I'll kick myself for this later on, but the poor little guy is exhausted from not sleeping well and getting up multiple times a night to pee.  I wasn't sure what else try.  He just needs sleep.

I have noticed that if I give him a lot to drink, he pees often and a decent amount.  If I don't give him much to drink, he still thinks he needs to pee often, it's just that not is much coming out.  That worries me.  It makes me think there is something causing pressure to his system, which is making him think he has to pee, even when he doesn't. 

Honestly, I was hoping they would say he had a UTI and just wasn't showing symptoms.  I know that sounds silly, but that would have given us answers, as well as something easily treatable.

I do not think it is behavioral because he is having to pee during his favorite activities (watching a movie as a family, reading his favorite book, playing baseball out back, etc....), and the peeing is really bothering him emotionally.  I really think something is causing it.  I'm just not sure what.

Tomorrow I will call and get a referral to the urologist.  I also plan to call and try and talk to the urologist, as he knows us well. 

I will keep everyone updated.  Thanks for your prayers, and don't stop yet! 

Testing is done... now the wait!

Dr. Vitaro called just before 9 to tell us he was faxing in the paperwork for the tests.  I was just about to feed Conner when he said "Conner has been fasting, right?"  Thankfully, other than the cranberry tab, he had been.  My mom came over to watch Madi, since there is no way I could hold her and take care of holding Conner still and reassuring him at the same time (thank God for respite hours, the fact that my mom is our respite provider, and that she only lives 3 minutes away!!).  Conner and I packed him a little baggie of food (dry cereal, raisins, a fruit strip, and an organic sucker) for afterwards.

We got to Sonora Quest to get the blood draw and urine tests, and of course Conner already had to pee, so they let us do the urine part right away.  They knew Conner was fasting, so they put us at the top of the list to get in, which was awesome.  We only waited about 20 minutes, but it was packed in there, so it would have been much worse. 

The blood draw went well.  I won't lie. There were tears and some screaming, but he sat very still on my lap and let them do what they needed to do.  He did a great job.  Afterwards he had lots of questions about blood draws vs. mosquitoes. 

Now is the waiting.  I would have updated sooner, but we had to run off to speech about 20 minutes after we got home.  I will update as soon as I know something.  Thanks for the prayers and support!!