Card Player

Although the days inside are long during the winter, there is one thing that I love about these colder months. We have a home that is freezing downstairs so we are driven to live a lot of our time upstairs in the coziness of our master bedroom (if we had a kitchen up there I don't think we'd ever leave). Part of our room is like a sitting area so I've created it to be a game and puzzle area for all of us to enjoy--and enjoy it we do!

The problem with this area of our house though is that with all of those puzzles and games--all of the pieces explode on a regular basis. So this year for Christmas, I gave myself a $30 gift of organization and tackled that particular area of our home. I am so glad I did because we have spent a large portion of our vacation time doing my favorite winter activity...playing board games and doing puzzles. We can now see the forest for the trees and the kids can clearly see the "homes" of each item. The older kids have been having a "Clue Fest" and playing detective. The younger ones have been playing "Guess Who" and being junior detectives.

In the midst of all of this game playing though has been Daughter of Purpose trying to figure out what's going on. The other night I finally landed on a game that she could play and she is now so delighted to play along with us--especially with her handy card holder. Now she can be her own team instead of having to be on Mommy or Daddy's team for a more complex game. It's like a junior Uno or Winnie the Pooh Uno. It's perfect for her color, number and matching skills. Here is a picture of the happy card player that can now join in on a winter family tradition.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Tomatoes

Never have a met such a child as Daughter of Purpose. You see we are not a tomatoe kind of family, but yet Daughter of Purpose regularly walks around the house with a snack bag full of cut up tomatoes as a snack. Since tomatoes just don't make it onto our menu, I'm not quite sure how I figured it out, but she absolutely loves them. They are like candy to her. Even though in the past I never bought tomatoes, they have become a regular thing for me to buy since I really can't complain about her snack choice!

Just the other night, Daughter of Purpose went to the grocery store with me. In the produce section we stumbled upon "grape tomatoes." I had no idea they existed, but if you were in that part of the store with us, you would've thought she'd won the lottery! She even came up with a plan of how to get her siblings to eat them with her because she knows she is alone in her love of tomatoes in our home. She decided that I should serve them up as grapes--telling her siblings they were grapes and they would surely enjoy them with her. I didn't have the heart to tell her that they'd probably notice the red color right away and know I was telling a fib!

Well, I got out those grape tomatoes today and she couldn't have been happier.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

The Dress That Keeps on Giving

I need to be sewing my children's Christmas gifts so this is a brief post, but I just couldn't pass it up. Above you will see some very special dresses on our girls. They wore then today for church.

Way back when Nate and I got married, my mother-in-law sewed all of the cumberbuns and ties for our wedding. When Mini-Me was born, she used the scraps from that fabric and created a dress for her. Pretty cool, huh?

A few weeks back, my mother-in-law asked me if I still had that dress because she had an idea. Well frankly, I had forgotten about that dress and I didn't know where it was. I took a gamble and there it was in my cedar chest. Eureka!

Well, guess what? That dress just happens to fit Daughter of Purpose and it gave my mother-in-law another idea. Since there was not enough of the wedding fabric left, she made a complimentary dress for Mini-Me to now wear alongside Daughter of Purpose. I suppose you could say that special dress has now come full circle. That dress is now extra precious to us. I think that when she's done wearing it, I will put it back in my cedar chest to save for my grandchildren. It's the dress that keeps on giving.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Drowning in Christmas

To all of those who are still faithful enough to check this blog:

I confess I am drowning in Christmas. I have not a gift for even one child in my home yet and I still have yet to sew my "ambitious gifts" for them. So the clock is ticking away and I am wondering if my children will get gifts for Christmas or rain checks.

Top this all off with a mommy with a stuffed up nose and a child with croup (probably more will join her ranks) and now you know why I haven't written for awhile. I dare say that I will probably not get a chance to write again until after Christmas--unless hell freezes over--and it is close, but not quite. Okay, so maybe it's not even close, but it sure feels like it to my wimpy self.

So in the meantime, if you're looking for something Christmas-y to read, head on over to my other blog, The Mommy Map, and click on the Christmas label on the right. It will take you to my Christmas thoughts. Merry Christmas!

Procedure Cancellation

Just a quick update...Daughter of Purpose was scheduled to have her procedure done last week, but Shriners had to cancel it to fit in a child with an emergency need. So she has been rescheduled for the end of January. Please continue to pray for her health that she would not be sick for her new date!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Before I sewed her real name on her stocking, I thought I'd give you peek at the stocking of Daughter of Purpose. I have sewn the stocking of each one of our children in a quilt-like pattern with fabrics that mean something to them. It's a lot of work, to say the least. Although I knew this one was coming I still wasn't prepared and really didn't want to go through all of that work again. I wanted to do something different this time. I came up with the American flag pattern on one side and the striped pattern of the Russian flag on one side. It was simple and I think it embraces who she is--just what I wanted. I was also glad it only took me one night to produce because as we started putting up Christmas decorations this weekend, I could tell she felt a little left out because everyone else had a stocking hanging and she did not. Speedo sewing to the rescue.

By the way, yes, we are one of THOSE families that gets out their Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving, if not ON Thanksgiving! It actually originated out of pure need because back in the day when Nate was primarily in the Lighting and Production world, after Thanksgiving was over we'd never see him again until Christmas day. That's was our way of life since everyone has something they need lit up at Christmas! Even though we are not subject to that schedule anymore, we still are in the habit. I don't mind it much. We get to enjoy the Season of Lights that much longer.

I am looking forward to sharing Christmas with you through the eyes of Daughter of Purpose. So far, she just knows there is a tree with lights (but I can tell she doesn't really understand why), but she has to wait on that for a bit. For now, she finds all of this decorating interesting. I can't wait to take her to see all of the houses decorated up with lights. I think I better bring the video camera for that--to capture the sheer delight I think she will have!

I hope I never forget the memory of yesterday as we opened up all of the boxes and began decorating. It was priceless to hear our older children explaining to her what Christmas was all about. It was neat to hear their interpretation of what we've been trying to teach them all these years. I know Daughter of Purpose doesn't really understand what in the world is going on and what all this Baby Jesus stuff is all about, but it will come in time.

Just one more precious moment to bore you with. One of the things the kids love about opening up our Christmas boxes is the special Christmas books that only come out at this time of year. They could not wait! As I glanced around the living room and saw each one of them looking through the books, it made me so proud to see each one of them realize that a whole new world was open to them. They could read the books themselves or at least read more of the books this year! The image of The Negotiator is ingrained in my head as he sat there on the couch reading and I could tell he was totally engrossed in the book. I love that!

Until another view of Christmas comes up...

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Fall Bike Ride

Earlier this summer, we purchased bikes and a bike trailer for everyone. We hemmed and hawed over whether we should go for such an expenditure, but I'll never regret that we did. Our thought was that the bikes are a great form of exercise, mode of transportation and easy entertainment--even if we have no money...we can still go for a bike ride! Great family fun. It's especially even more of a blessing to us because where we live there are wide trails everywhere that we can enjoy. Also, about 3 miles away from us is a huge park so today we rode there, stopped to play and then moseyed our way back home. They are actually building a park of equal measure less than 1/2 mile away and we are very excited about that, but part of me still wants to ride to the farther one just for the exercise. However, I don't think I'll get my wish. I have a feeling the new one will be my new backyard and we won't be able to get enough of it!

I wish you could see in my mind's eye what I saw today. All those beautiful trails were filled with the beauty of God's creation and creativity. Fall leaves were everywhere--from the crunch of leaves beneath our tires to the view of the colors. What made it even more memorable was the joy of seeing my family enjoying life as we rode along. You just can't be grumpy on a ride such as this! Here is Daughter of Purpose trailing along behind Daddy. At one point, she said she needed to stop for water because all of this riding was wearing her out and she needed some water! Such a comedian. She also serenaded us along the way by singing her version of "God Bless America."

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Thankful

Our Thanksgiving was really quite uneventful. We ended up hosting Thanksgiving at our house for both sides of the family. I suppose that sounds so crazy, but really...it was not a big deal for a host of reasons. One, I'm on only child and my extended family lives out of town so the total sum from my side of the family was 2 adults.

Next, Nate's side of the family boasts 3 adults right now--parents and 1 brother. His other brother's family lives out of state right now. So really it wasn't as huge a crowd as it sounds. It also was made manageable by everyone pitching in. Thanks everyone! It was fun and yummy!

Here are just a few pictures of Daughter of Purpose with her first Thanksgiving meal and a peak at what the kids found to do after our meal.

My very simple thankful thought for today is that I am thankful Daughter of Purpose is here with us in our family and no longer across the ocean!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Seven

A few weeks back, we had some family pictures done to make sure Daughter of Purpose was included. There were so many good ones that this was the best I could do to get them on here for you to see! Sorry some of the heads are cut off in some of the pics. I wish I could figure out how to get http://www.bighugelabs.com/ to not cut off our heads! I am going to put a photostream from Flickr that will have these pics so just in case you'd like to see our head--you can click on those!

These pictures were done by my friend, Candice, over at http://tomakehimknown.blogspot.com/. She and her husband are adopting from Korea. As a fundraiser, she is willing to come and practice her new-found love for photography on your family if you will make a donation to their adoption fund. For us, it was a win-win situation. We got the family photos we needed to take and we also get the privilege of knowing we are helping one more orphan come home to their family! Candice gets to practice her photography and be one step closer to bringing her daughter home! If you'd like more info on this fundraising opportunity, please let me know!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

The Physical Bond

It's funny the things we've had to teach and not teach Daughter of Purpose. She certainly didn't need us to teach her how to say "no" or how to put an attitude behind her words. Those came automatically, but yet the strangest things we have had to teach her. Things we take for granted. Some silly and small, but some quite large and sad in a way. Sometimes in just one day, I come across both.

Last night I introduced her to Clementine Tangerines. I peeled one and served it to her. She just bit into it like any other piece of fruit. She had no idea it came apart in sections. I had to show her that. Meanwhile, I served oranges for lunch today. I noticed Daughter of Purpose gnawing on her orange and something just wasn't right. I can't remember exactly what she said to me, but it alerted me to the fact that even she knew something wasn't right, but she didn't know what. It was the peel! Silly me, I forgot to remove it for her and took for granted that she knew to not to eat it, yet it was an easy fix.

On the flip side of the coin there are things we have had to teach her that just make my heart sad. We have had to teach Daughter of Purpose about the part of love that expresses itself through touch. I can't say that I think she was completely deprived of touch. She snuggled right up to the kids from the very get-go. It's the natural physical bond between parent and child that we've had to teach her. Even though I am not a terribly physical touch person, I never realized how much I took that bond between me and my children for granted. They all have snuggled up to me since the moment they were born. My biological children have had moment after moment to wrap themselves up in my arms and to study me and for me to to do likewise. I know them and they know me. It has never occurred to them to NOT throw their arms around me, curl up in my bed with me in the early morning hours or to grab my hand as we are walking along.

On the other hand, I don't think it ever DOES occur to Daughter of Purpose to do such. I think she probably has noticed the other kids, but hasn't known if it's okay for her. So in an effort to teach her about the bond that exists between a mother/father and child, along with many other things, we have begun allowing Daughter of Purpose to take an afternoon nap with Nate and I each Sunday afternoon. (Note: we tried this earlier on but she immediately took this napping as a "right" and not a privilege and would throw a major tantrum on the days we were unable to nap with her so we had to back pedal, but now we feel she's ready and understands that it is not an expected thing day after day).

I wish you could've been a fly on the wall the first time she ever napped with us. It was hard for me to keep my own eyes closed so that Daughter of Purpose would follow my example. Yet as she lay there between Nate and I, I could tell she was just laying there like, "Pinch me! Is this real? Am I really sleeping between a Mommy and a Daddy?" She never did sleep that day. I know she was tired, but I think she was too excited and didn't want to miss one moment of taking in this nap with a Mommy and a Daddy. It was just too precious as she lay there and I could tell that she was trying to decide if she should attempt to put herself out there and try to wrap her arm around me or not. She would cautiously and slowly lay her arm around me and wait in expectation. I don't know what she thought would happen, but there was definitely some apprehension. It was sort of, "Is this okay to do this?"

As I lay there I would sneak a little peek every once in awhile and I would see that she was intently studying me and Nate. Sometimes she would just lay there and, again tentatively, play with my earrings. Other times she would gain her confidence and rub my arm. It was such an indescribable moment that as you can imagine...I never got any sleep that day either. I didn't want to miss anything either.

As we've purposed to teach her about this bond and as her time with us as a family has lengthened I've noticed her relax in a myriad of ways--ways that I think signify her bond is tightening. I love those moments when she looks up at me with her arms stretched upward signifying she wants me to pick her up. I love those moments when she presses in close to me when she's uncertain about an unfamiliar situation. I practically shed a tear of joy when we are in a crowd and feel her little hand reach up and grasp mine for security and for someone to help her steady herself. I practically melt when I'm holding her and she lays her head on my shoulder. These may seem like little things to you, but, oh so precious and sweet to me. I won't even get into what it does to my heart to see her do the same with her Daddy and to watch that bond tighten. That's another post for another day.

Daughter of Purpose is learning much, but so am I. I have learned how such little things can be so easily taken for granted. Until she came along, I never knew I was taking those things for granted. As we purpose to teach Daughter of Purpose what it is like to have a physical bond with her parents, I will purpose in the like manner to not take these moments for granted with my children whether biological or adopted.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Shriners Results

The visit to Shriner's on Friday was good. They fit her for another brace. The short of it is that they don't want the few muscles she has in her quads in her right leg to atrophy by wearing the larger brace all the time. So they fit her for a shorter one (below the knee) to wear part of the time so she still gets the support, but the thigh muscles get some work. Yep, you understood it right...she will have two braces for her right leg. One AFO and one KAFO. Wouldn't you know that instead of "blue with kitties" she chose her new brace to look like the American flag. Fitting in so many ways, but especially because she can spot an American flag from practically 3 miles away. She's an expert at spotting them and will tell you so every time she sees one!

The neuromuscular specialist also set her up for a procedure that will allow them to figure out exactly what muscles/nerves are working/not working and while they are in there to try and "wake" some of them up. They will need to sedate her for the procedure because of her age. They will not be cutting her open, but they will be poking needles in and out of each nerve/muscle and think that at her age, she won't sit still and she'll freak out over the needles. So it's actually not a huge deal procedure--no recovery time and she'll leave the same day. It's just for her benefit to sedate her so she's not traumatized. This procedure will help the doctor confirm his thoughts that it is indeed polio that has caused her muscle weakness. There's a lot of things he checked her for, but the main thing that makes him believe it's polio is that the areas of her body that are "out" are asymmetrical. If it was neurological or genetic, it would be symmetrical he says. He will also learn while he's doing the procedure as to whether we have hope of muscle re-generation over time or not.

The procedure is scheduled for a few weeks from now. It is right before an insanely crazy weekend that we already have booked solid. It's really not the perfect situation, but our only other option was not until February. We feel like this procedure is exactly what we've been waiting for so crazy or not, here we go!


Not only would we covet your prayers for this procedure, but we would greatly appreciate you praying for Daughter of Purpose to stay well. Any inkling of illness and they will not be able to do the procedure.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

The Big Visit

Tomorrow we will be headed to Shriner's Hospital for Daughter of Purpose to see the Neuromuscular Specialist. Apparently this doctor is very hard to get into because he's at the top of his field. He comes over to Shriners from UC Davis.

To be honest, we're not really quite sure what to expect. She has been referred to him in hopes that he will help us narrow down what has caused the decreased muscle tone in Daughter of Purpose's legs. She has definitely improved since arriving and it is not in the regions of her body that the Russian orphanage told us it was. It is only in her legs and her right is worse than her left. What we hope to learn is what is causing this and what is her long-term prognosis. A big question is whether or not there is anything that can be done to regenerate those muscles. We also need to learn if it will get worse over time. We will need to know if and what can be done for her.

Please pray for this visit. It's in the morning. We are trying to not be too hopeful so we're not discouraged, but yet at the same time--this is a big deal! God knows our daughter better than we do so we ask that you pray for God to use this doctor to show us what can be done for Daughter of Purpose. We feel like this journey for Daughter of Purpose has been fraught with doctors shrugging their shoulders because they haven't known what to do with her. We would really like some answers for once! Please don't forget Daughter of Purpose tomorrow.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

School Has Begun

This week has begun a new phase in the life of Daughter of Purpose. When she came home in May, I had planned on giving her at least a year before I did any formal education with her. I figured she'd just work on learning English this school year. As she progressed, I thought maybe I'd work in some preschool activities in the Spring. Well, we haven't even made it to Thanksgiving and I officially began school with her this week.

You see, last week she brought me a piece of paper with her name on it. She wrote her name herself. She taught herself how to write her own name.

A few weeks back, I called up the stairs to her and asked her what color shirt she was wearing. In between when I did that and she answered, I remembered what she was wearing. I knew she had on a red shirt and black pants. This was her response to my question, "I wearing red on top, Mama, and black pants." I was amazed at her ability to respond with the right colors.

Just yesterday, I was counting down to something (I can't even remember now what it was) from 5. It went like this, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1." I was done. Daughter of Purpose pipes up..."Mama, you forgot zero. Zero next."

Well, if those things don't make it clear enough that obviously Daughter of Purpose is ready for me to purposefully work with her, here's a little more case in point. I will not kid you, last week was a tough week for Daughter of Purpose. She had a stuffed up nose and I learned very quickly that if she does not feel well, she does not listen and obey well either. I asked a few friends if they wanted to lease her awhile, but there were no takers. So I had to do some thinking about what may be going on beside being sick. This is what I came up with.

Every day we do our schooling from 8 am- 2 pm. That means that pretty much from the moment that Daughter of Purpose rises in the morning until lunch time, she is unintentionally pushed off to the side while I school everyone else. She's usually playing with one or more of her siblings, but by about 11:00 am each morning she's done with them and makes it very clear with her behavior that she is trying to get my attention. She is crying out for me to spend some time with her. Well, I thought I had remedied that by making sure that I put her down for nap and spent time reading books to her before I returned to finish off schooling with the other kids. Lately this has not been enough.

So with all of these pieces in mind, I started preschool with Daughter of Purpose this week and I was right on. She is more than ready. She ate it up and kept asking to do more school. I had prepped quite a bit, but apparently I will need to prepare even more for this upcoming week. Off we go on a new adventure...

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Another Story

For another story about Daughter of Purpose, go to Mommy Map. Instead of posting in both locations again, I thought I'd just provide you the link.

http://mommymap.blogspot.com/2008/11/missing-point.html

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

First Time Fall-Time Fun

The older kids in our family did a good job of getting Daughter of Purpose all worked up about the fall-time activities. She was so excited, but really had no idea why. It was pretty funny...I can only imagine what the anticipation of Christmas will do to her since that will be a new experience too.

Nate was such an awesome dad and tackled pumpkin carving while I was gone one evening this week. I made Mini-Me promise to take pictures since Nate's hands would be busy. I think she did a great job. I loved what Nate helped Daughter of Purpose pick out for her pumpkin carving. I asked the kids if she seemed to like the whole carving thing or whether she seemed grossed out, but they said she was fine with it. Whew!

As stated before, the kids absolutely love dressing up so this holiday comes with much anticipation. I do have to say that I appreciate their willingness to be creative and accept homemade costumes and now they even pride themselves in putting their costumes together with stuff around the house. Really can't express my thankfulness for that enough because getting 5 costumes together can be an overwhelming task! So we arrived at our church's Pumpkin Patch carnival with Indiana Jones, a cowboy (who called himself George Washington--go figure), a fairy princess, a bat and a laundry basket. At one point, Mini-Me took off her laundry basket in order to jump in the bounce house so I was stuck holding our dirty laundry! Sheesh! It follows me everywhere!

Daughter of Purpose, in her normal fashion, relentlessly asked me all day when she would be able to put on her fairy princess outfit. Finally, the moment arrived and she was beside herself. She seemed to enjoy the time at the Pumpkin Patch and being able to play all of the games.

The moment during all of these festivities that sticks out in my mind the most involves cotton candy. Obviously Daughter of Purpose has never had cotton candy before, but I didn't really think about it until I handed her a stick of it and she proceeded to just carry it around with her. It was like as if she was wondering why I handed this to her, but simply did it because she trusts me and Mommy must have a reason! After awhile of her just walking around with it in her hand it dawned on me that she didn't know she was supposed to eat it! So I stopped and showed her how to pull off a chunk and eat it. She downed it after that, but I just had to chuckle...who would've thought that I'd need to instruct her about something as common as cotton candy.

At one point, one of the older church members said to me, "You know she's stealing the heart of this church, don't you?" I just smiled because I want that to happen--not that I want it to be about her or us as a family--by no means. What I wish for more than anything is for her to steal enough hearts that more people become open to adoption and are willing to give an orphan a family--their family. God is the Father of the fatherless and I believe He delights in "setting orphans into families." (Psalm 68:5-6a)

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Transcripts of Indiana Jones

I've gotten many a question as to what Daughter of Purpose is saying in the Indiana Jones video. Here goes an attempt to translate for you. I don't promise that it will make logical sense!

"Go!"

Singing of the "Indiana Jones Song" (words are just his name over and over)

Mommy - "What're you gonna do Indiana Jones?"
"I'm gonna kill da bad guys because da bad guys is dead."
Mommy - "What weapon are you gonna use?"
"I can't because everybody using it."
"Oh! You there!"
"Hey! You over there!"
"Hey! I'm gonna get you."
"You going to die."

Shooting

"I gonna get you ee ("and" in Russian) I can jump--really jump."
"I gonna fight you...fight you."

Runs away to get the bad guy.

Going to Her Head

As Halloween approaches and all the children in our home anticipate the costumes, games, candy and fun, Daughter of Purpose is excited to join in this year (although she really has no idea what she's so excited about). I'm actually having a hard time getting them to take off their costumes and save them for Friday! They are so excited!

One of our boys is going to dress up as Indiana Jones--he and I are both quite proud of ourselves for putting his whole costume together for $7. Part of that price tag was because we splurged on the "official Indiana Jones whip." So Indiana Jones is at the forefront of everyone's mind. Apparently all this Indiana Jones talk has gone to the head of Daughter of Purpose. If you need translation of what she is saying, let me know. I don't know if she's only understandable to me because I'm her mom or whether she's understandable to all. Don't forget to turn off the music in the sidebar before you watch it!



The Talker in our family is going to be a bat and his costume is awesome (Thank you, Nana Red!) I'll have to post some pics of that later. Can't wait to see how Daughter of Purpose will get into that one!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Oatmeal

We learned something new about Daughter of Purpose last night. At dinner, we had oatmeal. It was a breakfasty type of dinner. I thought I had noticed something at an earlier time about oatmeal and Daughter of Purpose, but last night she proved my observation.

As we sat down for dinner, I said to Nate, "Watch this. She doesn't like oatmeal and just by sight of it knows she doesn't like it. Watch this...she won't even try it." As if on cue, Daughter of Purpose turned to me and said, "I no want that." Nate and I shared a knowing glance.

Nate tried to convince her to eat it because Mommy made it and it was yummy and she replied, "I like it, but I don't want it." All throughout dinner we tried to get her to eat it and she would have none of it. What was even funnier was that she never would pitch a fit or anything, but she would conveniently avoid it. She was willing to eat her scrambled eggs and many, many bowls of applesauce, but wouldn't touch the oatmeal. I even made a bargain with her--more applesauce after she took a big bite of oatmeal. She humored me, but I'm pretty sure the look on her face was one of gagging it down!

We found this whole situation funny yet interesting since she won't openly say she's never touching that stuff again in her life, but we're pretty sure that's what is going through her mind. We're pretty positive that it is what she had to eat for breakfast every day of her life until we brought her home. We can't blame her.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Compassion

I've been reading a book called, "The Mission of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson lately. I'm pretty sure I've underlined more than I haven't, but there is one part that really stood out to me. So much so that I've been meditating on it for the last few weeks.

In reference to the passage in Matthew 9:35-36 it says this:

"Jesus was going about all the cities and villages, teaching in the synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. AND SEEING THE MULTITUDES, HE FELT COMPASSION FOR THEM, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd." (emphasis mine)

Sally Clarkson reflects this: "Instead of seeing the multitude and seeing them with disdain and scorn--or as an overwhelming drain on his time--Jesus felt compassion for them."

Boy can I ever relate to seeing my clan as a "multitude" and boy, can they ever make me feel drained. But this stood out to remind me as to how I should respond to my children--with compassion. I am grateful for this mindset that God had me in this week. He was setting the stage for me to "just happen" to be in the right place at the right time.

As I walked down the hallway, I unfortunately heard this argument between Littlest One and Daughter of Purpose:

Littlest One - "Why don't you just go back to Russia?" (in a very disdainful, angry voice)

Daughter of Purpose - "Fine! I go back to Russia. I go there and be with Nastia (her little friend)."

It was only a few sentences, but yet so incredibly powerful. Again, I am grateful I happened upon their argument so that I could do some damage control. I am so grateful God had me working on my compassion because that's all I could feel for these two precious ones in this moment. I really did think of them as precious at that moment. It was weird, I knew right away that these were two hurting children that needed compassion in that moment--not scolding.

There was nothing more important to me in that moment than to hold both of them and have compassion on them. Littlest One needed some help because some moments he's best buddies with Daughter of Purpose and some moments the two of them fight like cats and dogs. It's gotta be pretty hard to be him...the one who was the baby for 6 years and still feels like Mama's boy, but yet has had to grow up and be a big brother really fast. He's never had to share in such a way. He's never had to instruct someone--he's always been the one instructed! In the midst of my embrace, we had a big talk about what he said and how powerful and hurtful those words were and how he could make it right.

Once I let go of Littlest One, I could fully embrace Daughter of Purpose and pour out compassion on her like I never had before. I'm not sure what changed in that moment, but the depth of my love for her went so deep. Before this moment, I knew that I loved her, but there was a depth to this moment that I had yet to experience. I saw her in a new light. I saw what it must be like to live in her shoes and felt nothing but compassion. Imagine what it's like to be ripped from all that you know to this completely different world. Although the people here are nice and loving, proven they will keep their promises, there are plenty of playmates and good food to go around--what must it be like to walk the perilous line of not knowing if this will last or not? What must it be like to have two worlds and two languages in her head? When she wakes up out of a dead sleep--where does she initial think she is? In America or Russia? Does she dream in Russian or English?

The list of questions could go on, but there was something in this moment that said, "This is your child, not a stranger you are raising. This is your moment to make sure she knows that her being here is not dependent on her behavior. She needs to know that she will always be yours--no matter what." I held Daughter of Purpose close and made sure she knew from my words and my actions exactly that--she is my child and always will be. I made sure she understood that she will never need to worry about returning to Russia--no matter what anyone says even if it is her brother.

From that day on, God has given me new eyes for my Daughter of Purpose. She is no longer just one of the multitude that I have been given to raise. She is a chosen child that needs a Mommy that sees her as one of her own and embraces her for exactly who she is. It can be easy with many children to get so busy that I barely have time to look my children in the eyes each day. It's such a simple thing, but isn't that what we want from the Lord? To be seen as an individual by Him and not just one of the crowd? I know I won't be perfect at this goal, but as God weaves this thread of compassion in my life, I purpose to look at each one of my children in the eyes each day and see them as He does...with compassion.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Pumpkin Patch

We took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Reedley today. We went to Hillcrest--which is also a Christmas Tree Farm. We got to enjoy a ride on a mini-train while there too! The kids favorite part of that ride was that they rode in the cattle car. It was hysterical! There is so much to do there--if only we'd had more time. Next year we're making time to explore more.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Sunday School

As we have gotten into our Fall schedule, Daughter of Purpose has adjusted right along with us. I wasn't really sure how she would do with Awana Cubbies so I purposed to stay with her until I felt she was ready to go it on her own. Also, a few weeks ago I tried seeing if she was ready to go to Sunday School by herself and it was a no go. So I thought for sure that I'd be sitting in Cubbies with her for awhile.

Well I don't know what came over her, but at Cubbies she now seems to be fine as long as she sees me check in on her and knows where I will be. I'm usually sitting and helping out the secretaries at a table in the room she's in so it's not like I am very far, but I guess it gives her the comfort she needs and she now looks forward to Cubbies each week. She's even learning her verses! Obviously she's not going to understand the verses right now, but I figured that since she's such a sponge right now--it was a great time to hide His word in her heart.

For the last few weeks, I've also been taking Daughter of Purpose into her Sunday School class and hanging out with her. She's got a great team of teachers in there so I wasn't surprised when we rode to church this last Sunday and she said, "Mommy, we going to Sunday School today?" I replied, "Yes."

This was her amazing response, "I go by myself today, Mama. I not cry. I be okay. I know you come back for me."

Did it really work out? Yep, she did it. She was gushing with excitement when I picked her up and she could not wait to show me the picture she made of Jesus. She's certainly not ready to be in there for two services yet, but this is one incredibly large step toward the end goal.

Daughter of Purpose also just started gymnastics at a local gym that specializes in integrating able-bodied children with disabled bodied children. She is the only special needs child in her class, but loving every minute of it! Next time I go, I will have to take some pictures. The kids and I started out taking Daughter of Purpose to class along with her Nana Red, but today she went happily off to gymnastics with Nana all by herself. I was so proud of her! That was our goal--for her to get the exercise of the gymnastics, but also to have a special day each week with her Nana Red.

There seems to be an overall theme going on here and I think it's "adjustment!" It feels so good to know that she has come to a place where she understands that we are her family and are here for good--we are coming back for her and that she belongs with us!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

The Letter "A"

This is the first recognizable picture from Daughter of Purpose. I suppose it looks like nothing to you, but can't you see that it is her first successful attempts at the letter "A" for her real name? She's also been identifying "her letter" in everything she sees. Below her letters are some members of her family. I think our family is so big she ran out of room, but hey--it's a start! Don't I look beautiful?

When we first began visiting Daughter of Purpose in the orphanage, we brought a coloring book and crayons to do during our visits. It seemed to us that she had not used a writing utensil before (or at least very little). She couldn't seem to decide which hand she wanted to use. She was ambidextrous to say the least and made nothing but scribbles. The concept of staying in between the lines was foreign to her. Now she colors all the time and has learned the fine motor control to stay in between the lines. She even has a dominant hand now. This is the first time I've seen something recognizable come out of her drawings. She has come a long way!

I have framed each one of my children's first "family pictures." This one is a keeper for sure!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Increasing in Strength

I think Daughter of Purpose is increasing in strength. Even with her weaker leg, she climbed up on to the top bunk of her brother's bed today (with no assistance). I thought for sure that was a safe zone, but apparently I was wrong. Now that I think about it, why was I surprised by that? She does everything sooner than I thought and even accomplishes things I thought would be impossible for her. That will sure teach me!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Russian Princess

Those of you who have followed our adoption journey may remember the trek we took in Moscow in order to buy an authentic Russian dress for Daughter of Purpose. Last time you got a look at it, as you may remember, she had the crown on like a visor and had a whole banana stuffed in her mouth. Well, we finally got a chance to put the real thing on. This was about the best one we got, but we'll have to work on better ones later.

For now, she spends her days recalling more and more of her time in Russia. It seems to go in spurts, but about a week ago she caught a glimpse of a picture of her best friend little girlfriend. Their beds were right next to each other and while we were in-country we spent a good amount of time with the two of them together. Daughter of Purpose seemed to take comfort in her friend and would calm down when she was around.

I don't think she's ever forgotten her friend, but now she has the words to communicate to us about her. She misses her friend and tells us regularly that she wants to go back to Russia to get her friend and bring her home to America. Our other kids have jumped on that bandwagon and think we should adopt her too. Well, there are many problems with that and I won't bore you with all of them, but the main one being that as far as we understand it, her little friend is unadoptable. According to Russian law, as long as a relative of a child visits once every 6 months, they are deemed unadoptable. Sadly, some poorer families put their children in the orphanages and then only visit enough to keep the child unadoptable. In Daughter of Purpose's friend's case, we saw at least one of her parents visit her each afternoon while we were there. We don't know her reason for being there. We just know she's unadoptable.

Just like we have seen prayer be the arms that cradled our daughter while we could not physically hold her, we take comfort in knowing that God will do the same for the friend of Daughter of Purpose. We thank Him for giving us the opportunity to pray for another orphan that we know by name. As Daughter of Purpose walks around holding the picture of her friend and joins with us in praying for her daily, we ask you to also join us in praying for her best friend too.

Editor's note: No, we are not looking to add her friend to our family. Unless we win the lottery, I get an extra jolt of energy, regain some of my brain power back, grow another arm and leg--it won't be happening. We are simply asking you to pray for a child in need. Who knows, maybe she'll someday become adoptable and come home to America to live in your family!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Sassy

There is no question that Daughter of Purpose is improving in her English by leaps and bounds. While we were still in-country I knew that I had a sassy one on my hands, but it has become clearer and clearer as her English has improved that even though I didn't know a ton of Russian--I was right. Here are few of her quotes lately that prove I've still got my work cut out for me.

When I asked her to pick up something off the floor the other day to assist in clean up, she replied, "No, that you job." Oh yes, she was indeed corrected on that one and had to clean up more than she bargained for.

When Daughter of Purpose asked me a question, but one of her siblings jumped in to answer, she quickly quipped back to him, "I not talka you." I was thinking in my head, "Well, excuse him!"

As Nate and I drove back from Shriners with Daughter of Purpose, while she and her Daddy were having a conversation, she responded, "Talk to the hand, Daddy." She even did the hand motion. Nate looked at me and said, "Did she just say, 'Talk to the hand'?" He wanted to know where she'd learned that. I had a hard time keeping myself from laughing because I certainly didn't want to encourage her attitude, but I couldn't help it when I had to confess she learned it from me! During VBS week, each night she would confirm with me that we were going to church again the next morning. She would often tear up so Mini-Me and I would joke with her and say, "Talk to the hand." in order to get her to laugh. It was a comical moment, but I never thought she'd turn around and use it with attitude! Well, at least I can applaud her for figuring out how to use it contextually correct!

So as you can tell, I've got my hands full in more ways than one. Now that I know what she's saying, I'm chipping away at Miss Sassy Pants. I keep thinking to myself, "And they let you get away with this attitude in the orphanage?" Well, it won't last long here. Kiss your attitude goodbye, Little Missy...

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Dude

Well, I think Daughter of Purpose has adjusted. I just heard her say to her brother, "Dude..." LOL! :)

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Happy Feet

Daughter of Purpose has very happy feet. Yesterday after she wore her KAFO, she was rewarded by getting her finger and toenails painted. I'm not sure she's ever had that done before. By the sheer delight of it all, I'm pretty sure it was a first for her.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Blue with Kitties

I cannot seem to get "blue with kitties" or "KAFO" out of my head. I suppose with good reason. We spent the day at Shriners Hospital so that Daughter of Purpose could be fitted for her new KAFO that is blue with kitties on it.

While we were waiting for some of the details to be fixed on her KAFO, she got to play in the "play area" of the hospital. It is an awesome area full of things for her to do and play with. She can even do an art project if she wants! The rocking horse seemed to be her favorite.

Daughter of Purpose held herself together for her brace fitting and while the Physical Therapist and the man fitting her KAFO deliberated back and forth about what her needs were. The big discussion seemed to revolve around whether her KAFO should be locked or unlocked at the knee. They settled on locked.

Once we were done, that's when Daughter of Purpose decided to let us know how she really felt about her brace--she's not happy! She doesn't want to wear it. We made her wear it to the car, but we let her take it off in the car. We had many discussions all the (very long) way home about why she needed to wear the brace. The thing that struck me the most in the midst of all this discussion was something I've noticed over the last few weeks as I have explained to her why we were returning to the hospital. Here is it: I honestly don't think she had ever noticed there was anything wrong with her leg.

Ever since we originally went to Shriners and started asking her to do things with her leg without the assistance of her hand (she tends to use her hand to move her leg without thinking about it) she has looked at us like we're crazy. It's like as if no one has ever asked her to truly use her leg before. Now here we were--back at the hospital doing it again. We keep drawing attention to her leg and I think it's hitting her that she cannot control her leg. She seemed to have her "game face" on for the fitting, but when she asked us in the car why she needed to wear it, we explained that it is to make her leg stronger. We explained and showed her that we need her to be able to lift up her leg. She then seemed driven to prove to us that, in fact, she could do what we were asking so therefore she didn't need that "blue with kitties" thing.

Now I know she was tired and I think a bit overwhelmed with it all, but it broke my heart when she kept trying to show me over and over again that she could "perform", but yet she really couldn't. This brought her to tears because she couldn't do it. It brought me to tears too. This will be an adjustment for her AND for me. Nate seems fine with it all, but for some reason I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that she needs it.

Well, tomorrow is a new day and we'll see what it brings. We are supposed to have her wear the KAFO 1 hour per day for about a week and then increase it the next week and so on. I am not really looking forward to tomorrow when I have to make her wear the KAFO--even though the time will be limited. I'm glad Nate will be home to support my efforts and to also encourage Daughter of Purpose along.

I can't be grateful enough for the other kids and their excitement of it all. They've been great since we got home and were totally excited to see her brace. We keep catching ourselves saying, "Where is her leg?" Funny, but I guess we better think of a better way to refer to it. Below is a video of a few of her first steps showing off to her siblings. Again, I am so grateful for them to be her cheerleaders alongside me tomorrow. I think that will make a huge difference in her attitude about it all.

Here are some pictures of the kids and Nate goofing around posing with Daughter of Purpose with her new KAFO.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

On the Road Again

We're on a our way to Shriners again. Tomorrow we will head to Shriners Hospital to pick up Daughter of Purpose's KAFO (leg brace).

She is getting stronger with every passing day and we are very curious to see what sort of impact the KAFO will make on her walking. She is moving at a greater speed now and I often find her tumbling all over the pillows in the living room. She's even taught herself how to do a somersault. She will be starting gymnastics in a few weeks and I think she's going to love that! Watch out world--here she comes!

We'll post when we get home and let you know how her visit went.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Happy Adoption Day!

This post is well overdue, but here are a few pictures from our "Happy Adoption Day" with Daughter of Purpose. In August, we finished up her adoption with the state of California. We had to go down to the courthouse and have an official court hearing. What this does is allows us to get Daughter of Purpose an American birth certificate. So much easier than bringing the Russian one with an English translation everywhere we go!

Mommy, Daddy and Daughter of Purpose waiting for the judge.

Our "jury"--our kids and grandparents.

All the family (minus Nate's dad who had to work--bummer) plus the very friendly judge. He was so happy to do this hearing that he sat down on the other side of the table from us to go through the proceedings--not his official seat. He was so friendly to the other kids and guessed their names and ages accurately. We couldn't have asked for a nicer guy. Sorry the pictures aren't that great. The lighting was kind of dark.

The new Freeland Family (with the judge, of course).

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

The Love of Music

As Daughter of Purpose increases in her English, so does her ability to sing in English. If there is one thing that we have found Daughter of Purpose to love, it is most definitely music. She just can't seem to get enough of it. I even think it is helping her English skills. I have even thought that as we get ready to start the Awana year, that maybe I should consider teaching her the weekly verses with music.

With her love of music in mind, I do have to say that some of my favorite moments have come as I've listened to Daughter of Purpose belt out her English songs. There was that moment that she was trucking along in the car with us and joined in with a Newsboys song, "Your Love is Better Than Life." It is a family thing to turn up that song and sing it at the top of our lungs--thank you Daddy for that one. It sort of like an initiation for our family and I think she passed!

Each Sunday Daughter of Purpose goes into the church service with us--the adults. It is music to my ears to listen to her sing along with all of us. Some songs she doesn't know the words, but she is sure trying! Then there was the Sunday that "Never Let Go" by Matt Redman was sung. It was a VBS song this year and now we were singing it in the adult service. You should've seen her face light up when she realized that she knew this song! You should've heard her singing that day! Oh yes, maybe you did hear it. I'm pretty sure everyone in the world heard it!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

The Gap

Life is pluggin' away over here. Can't say there's anything out of the ordinary to report about. We started school this week and Daughter of Purpose jumped right into our routine. In fact, as I write she came and asked me when school starts this morning. Not today--it's Saturday!

As I've written before, Daughter of Purpose is speaking more English than Russian now. In fact, I am finding that she says at least one word or concept per day that I didn't think she understood, but yet she obviously does. The one that is escaping her though is the concept of "today, tomorrow, yesterday." She often says to me when I tuck her in at night, "What are you doing tonight, Mom?" At first, I thought she really wanted to know what Nathan and I were going to do after she went to bed. I thought she was getting awful personal, but after awhile I caught on that she really means, "What are we doing tomorrow?"

I am finding the mental power I have to engage in with her is not getting easier, but harder. Now that she has a large English vocabulary, she is beginning to use it to tell me about things past. The other day she told me all about how it really bothered her when Nathan and I took off down the beach on 4th of July holding hands for a picture. She couldn't see us at first and didn't know where we were and then once she spotted us, she didn't know where we were going so it really scared her. I had no clue about that, but yet found it interesting that she needed to make sure that I knew about that. It was like as if she realized that now that she had the words, she could let it out.

All of this makes me wonder what is in store for me. As she increases in her ability to tell me about the past, what will she tell me? As of yet, we have not engaged in any conversations about her time in the orphanage or shown her any pictures from that time of her life. We are waiting until we know there will not be a gap in communication. It's an awfully touchy subject. I can imagine it might be quite emotional. We want to make sure there is no gap because we want to make sure she fully understands that she is here for good. She's not going back there. As the gap rapidly decreases, I realize those conversations and showing her the pictures are right around the corner. I certainly don't want to hide her first 4 years of life from her, but it's kind of scary at the same time. Will I be opening up a can of worms? What if I open it and wish I could get the lid back on?

For now, we have begun to bridge the gap with simple conversations about why we root for America and Russia during the Olympics. For now, we look at the world map on the wall in our school room and talk about how Daughter of Purpose used to live in Russia, went on an airplane to America and now she lives here with us in America. For now, I will rest in today and not worry about what tomorrow's conversations may bring.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Shoes

Let me tell you a little story and let you enjoy with me how a pair of shoes have come full circle.

I think every person who decides to adopt, especially those who feel a leading from the Lord to adopt, thinks that that their personal path along the adoption journey will be paved with gold. When we realize where God is leading, it's easy to think that because we are being obedient to the Lord then it will be easy street. I've seen it in others and experienced it myself.

I've heard it said that "Life is about the journey, not the destination." Well, with adoption, yes it is most certainly about the destination--your future child--but I will testify that I am not the same person today that I was when this journey began. My adoption journey did not turn out to be paved with gold, but for that, I am thankful. I can't say that I was entirely thankful along the way, but I am now.

Along that journey, there were many times of discouragement and wondering if God had really called us to this child. In those times was when God gave me little things like shoes to remind me of His presence and to encourage me to press on. My friend and I began to refer to them as His fingerprints.

About 5 months into this journey, we had a particularly discouraging time. I was questioning everything and worrying like crazy. While I was agonizing over all of this, I decided to delve into a bag of hand-me-down clothes that a family we barely know had given us about 3 months previous. I had never looked in the bag until this point. I knew that it was full of girl clothes for our oldest daughter, but didn't think much more past that.

When I began to dig into the bag, I stumbled upon 2 pairs of little girl shoes--like toddler size. At the time, my oldest daughter was 7-years-old so obviously they were not intended for her. Everything else in the bag was age appropriate for her. These precious little girl shoes stood out from everything else. I went over and over in my head as to whether this family knew of our adoption plans because at the time, no one really knew. I even thought through the dynamics of this family and could not think of anyone in their family that would've worn those shoes. Remember their girls were bigger than our oldest daughter.

After the few seconds it took me to process through all of those thoughts, I held out the little shoes to my oldest daughter who knew of my doubts. Here is what I wrote in my journal that day after this event. It tells you best of what my oldest daughter's response was.

"The best part about the whole thing was when I showed my oldest daughter and she said, 'Well, we know what size she is now, huh, Mommy?' What incredible faith and insight she has! What an incredibly personal gift God has given me in those shoes to renew my hope! What perfect timing!"

Had I happened on those shoes even a few weeks earlier, it wouldn't have been the same. I did end up asking that family about those shoes. I couldn't help it. I wanted to know if they knew something I didn't know. Their response? They don't remember putting them in the bag and like me, can't figure out who they would've come from. They had no idea of our adoption plans. Sounds like a fingerprint to me, especially now that Daughter of Purpose is home. If I look at her foot size now and think back to that time frame, I would bet that she was precisely that size--just like my oldest daughter said.

So what ever happened to those shoes? We put those shoes in our bathroom to remind us to pray daily for her--our future Daughter of Purpose. They also reminded us of what God had called us to do when we were discouraged--to press on and fill those shoes.

Well, now she's here and what has ever become of those shoes? They certainly don't fit her now since she's grown so much, but they still sit on our counter in our bathroom. They are still there to remind us of what God has done. Those shoes came full circle a few weeks ago when Daughter of Purpose was in the bathroom with me.

Daughter of Purpose said to me, "Mama, what are those shoes doing there?" It was then that I was able to tell her the story of those shoes and how they reminded me to pray for her each day while she was at the orphanage in Russia. There was no moment more precious than when she said to me, "Mama, you prayed for me?"

"I most certainly did. I most certainly did, child, and I will until the Lord calls me home."

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Life Motto

I haven't been able to pull together all of the pictures I wanted to share with you. Maybe another day. What I wanted to show you was all of the pictures of the kids doing VBS this year. We did VBS at my parents church to practice for VBS at our church. It was a good opportunity for Daughter of Purpose to get used to her siblings coming and going.

When it came to the week of our VBS, I stayed with her and committed myself to her group, but with the hope that she would become comfortable and allow me to come and go also. We had victory with this. At the beginning of the week, she check with me about every 5-10 minutes with, "Mama nee-yet bye-bye?" I would gently remind her that I was not leaving. The second day, the intervals in between these inquiries was greater. So she was becoming more comfortable.

By Wednesday morning of that week, Daughter of Purpose bolted down the aisle of the church at the beginning. I hung back to see what she would do. Without looking back, she found her group and joined in with the music. Once music was done, she started asking for me so they came and found me.

By day 4, she did the same thing and was willing to let me come and go. By the last day, I simply dropped her off and then picked her up at the end. That is such a huge victory! I actually went off campus and enjoyed a Starbucks all by myself to celebrate!

The picture above is quite telling of her life. I think it is picture perfect.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Future Olympic Swimmer

I think these must be the words of a future Olympic swimmer.

This morning I woke up to Daughter of Purpose walking into my room with her goggles on (mind you, she had just gotten up herself). I said to her, "Why do you have your goggles on?" Her response, "I hold them for when we go pool."

A few minutes later as I was downstairs getting some coffee, I heard a duplicate conversation with her brother. Only this time he explained to her that we weren't going to the pool today. Her response, "I hold them because maybe we go to pool. I ready."

I just had to laugh and record these words just in case...just in case she beats the odds and does something great with her love of swimming!



Editor's Note: Later in this same day, Daughter of Purpose was going outside and thought it bright enough to need sunglasses. Never wanting to abandon her goggles, this is how I found her. Goggles stored atop the head with sunglasses also firmly in place. LOL!!


1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Shriners Hospital

We have great news! We have been to Shriners Hospital and we now have a plan for Daughter of Purpose. Our visit was long (about 5 hours), but well worth it.

Initially our visit was not looking very promising. The Resident who came in to assess our situation didn't have the greatest "bedside manner", especially for working with children. Daughter of Purpose never really warmed up to him and we didn't really feel like he did a thorough job of getting her full story. He left us thinking that our daughter's needs were spread across three different specialties of medicine and that since different specialties don't work well together that she would fall through the cracks and not get the care she needs. He told us that he didn't know if the hospital would be able to help her. At that point, we thought we had wasted our time.

After getting a bunch of x-rays done to be assessed, we were finally able to meet the "real" doctor. Let's just say that amazing was not a good enough word for her. Daughter of Purpose immediately warmed up to her because she walked into the room with a smile and was ready to play. She played with Daughter of Purpose and was able to assess her in that manner. Our daughter thought it was great! The doctor listened to her story and asked intelligent questions--ones that signified that she was fully grasping our daughter and her needs.

Once we established with the doctor that none of us were sold on the Russian diagnosis for our daughter's muscle weakness in her legs, we made a plan to have Daughter of Purpose come back for another appointment to meet with a Neuromuscular doctor. We were all on the same page that we need to get to the bottom of what has caused her muscle weakness. From that we can make an accurate plan for her medical care.

For now, we have established that Daughter of Purpose will greatly benefit from a KAFO on her right leg. A KAFO is basically a brace for her leg. It stands for Knee-Ankle-Foot-Orthosis. If it only went to her knee (which we hope for her future), it would then be an AFO and would only go to right below her knee. After meeting with the Physical Therapist, we were able to get a mold done of our daughter's leg so that they can make a KAFO especially for her.

We will go back in a few weeks to pick up her KAFO and make sure it properly fits. After that, we wait for her neuromuscular appointment. Once all of that is done, we meet with her amazing doctor again to map out a long-term plan.

We are so grateful for Shriners Hospital. They have given us what we've been searching for since we brought Daughter of Purpose home--hope--hope that she may be able to walk close to normal some day. Maybe she won't play soccer or baseball, but now we're able to offer her a future she wouldn't have had in Russia.

As we sit and watch the Olympics each night, Daughter of Purpose tells me all about how she is going to do that (whatever sport is on) someday and that I, Mommy, will sit in the crowd and yell, "Yeah, Daughter of Purpose!!" I don't know what her future holds, but you can bet that it will give me no greater joy than to be my daughter's cheerleader. This visit to Shriners was just one step in that direction.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Gearing Up

Well, I don't have all of the pictures I need to post and show you what we've done over the last few weeks that wore us out so that will have to wait...

At the moment, we are gearing up to start school, but more importantly, we are getting ready for our Shriner's visit at the end of this week. At the moment, 4 of the 5 children in our house have got the sniffles. Our oldest daughter has gotten it the worst and she was supposed to go with us. However, we can leave her home, if necessary. It's Daughter of Purpose that we are urgently praying doesn't get sick before her visit this week. Yes, we could reschedule the appointment if we needed, but we are so looking forward to this day that we would be so let down if we had to wait longer. Please join us in praying for Daughter of Purpose to remain healthy through the weekend. Next week, she can be sick all she wants! We'll let you know how our visit goes once we're back.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Guitar Heroes

It's been an absolutely, insanely crazy week so I have the grand ambition of doing a post for you soon. I am trying to catch a few winks of sleep and am also waiting for a few pictures to show you what we've been doing this week. For now...here are some Guitar Heroes that reside in our home.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Imagination

Daughter of Purpose is now speaking more English than Russian (I can't believe it happened so quickly!), but a sure sign that she is blending into our family is the use of her imagination. I had noticed off and on a bit of playing along with the kids in their creative play, but recently have noticed a full-bore use of her imagination.

Earlier this week, Daughter of Purpose got herself into some trouble and lost the privilege of going to the pool. While Daddy took all of her siblings to the pool and I stayed home with her, she decided to unleash her creativity (after a good cry) and make her own pool experience. It was quite a sight. She and her siblings had thrown a bunch of pillows and blankets on the floor and were jumping off of the couch into the "pool" before they left. Daughter of Purpose took advantage of this set-up and decided that if she couldn't go swimming with the rest of the family then she would still find a way to go. It cracked me up because she got out her goggles, flippers and even wanted a towel. When she was "cold" she had me wrap her in a towel so she could warm up. She even showed me many tricks off the "diving board" and had me cuddle with her while she was wrapped up in her towel after she was done swimming.

I am in awe of how she has adjusted to our family. From picking up on English at the speed of light to the ability to use her imagination in a new language. Sometimes it seems like she's always been here.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Off and Running

Well, we know Daughter of Purpose is getting stronger...she can now open the refrigerator all by herself! She seems to be quite proud of herself. I wasn't sure how this was going to affect things. I wasn't sure if she would now stand in front of it continually surveying her food options and hounding me to eat or if she would take it in stride. So far, it's been somewhere in the middle of there. It hasn't been a problem thus far.

We've also noticed her strength increase because she will now go up and down the stairs by herself. She used to stand there waiting for the next victim (or sucker) to convince that they needed to carry her up or down. There are still some times we carry her for times sake, but for the most part she's on her own.

Running was a foreign concept to her when she arrived here. Now that her strength is increasing, we see her attempts at speed increasing. She may end up on her rear-end because her brain got ahead of her feet, but at least she's trying. Upon arrival, it was like as if the thought of running had never occurred to her.

I'm sure that better nutrition is helping immensely with this, but I also have to credit my dear husband. He's the one that is always so good with the kids at pushing them to learn new things. I tend to be in a hurry so I take the easy route with the kids and do things for the kids that they can do themselves. He takes the time and pushes them to do it themselves. I'm pretty sure I would still be dressing them, tying their shoes, bathing them, drying them off, combing their hair, etc if it weren't for Nate. It never really dawns on me to give them the opportunity to try new things until I see him doing it. So...thank you, Love. We make a good team.

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Accepted!!!!!!

We are happy to report that we found out today that Daughter of Purpose has been accepted by Shriners Hospital. Woo hoo!! We are so relieved! We hoped she would be a shoe-in, but didn't want to count our chickens before they hatched. She already has an appointment scheduled for mid-August. We are so encouraged that she will now have a team of doctors working in one location to help her get the best medical care available. Yippee!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

These are pictures from one of the days we did not visit a pool. Daughter of Purpose was determined to at least feel like she was in the pool so she wore her googles around the house all day (I made her take them off for nap!). After nap though, she discovered the new water toy I bought on clearance at Target for $3. Watch out everyone Daughter of Purpose was ready for WET!

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."