Little Man Jake has had a birthday

I should have updated this blog long ago--the summer has gotten away from me. Baby Jake turned one on July 14th. He was rather confused by all the hooplah, but the cake was good. :)

We have had a pretty quiet, laid back summer. We have stayed home mostly, letting Jake get adjusted to his new life and crazy family. He seems to like us. :) (Mommy is his current favorite, much to my delight). He is such a sweet little guy--although he rarely lets me hold him for long. He is extremely active and curious. He is into everything and I am thankful for the watchful eyes of his big sisters! He is such a happy baby--we are so grateful! I have had a hard time trying to capture a smile on camera, though, because he hates the flash and squints as soon as he sees the me coming. Here are some pictures of his birthday, and some recent favorites.




And last but not least, a family photo attempt (ha!) a few days ago....

The Foiled Wedding Plans

I overheard Jillian arranging a mock wedding this afternoon. She had dressed SaraGrace in a sparkly dress from the 'dress-up bin.' However, Jillian was quite frustrated because the intended groom had no formal attire for the big event. The next time I saw Jordan, he was dressed in the best Jillian could muster...a plaid shirt and khaki's.

Soon SaraGrace was dancing happily around the room, dragging the somewhat dazed looking groom. After a few minutes of that, he became disgusted and wanted to leave her clutches. If you know SaraGrace....well...that just wasn't going to sit too well with her. Jordan broke away from her and she followed him, scowling. Jillian shouted commands for Jordan to fall in line with THE PLAN. The reluctant groom became quite uncooperative, which spoiled all hopes of a wedding for today. SaraGrace crossed her arms and said, 'Fine,' with a huff, and Jordan was spared--at least for today.

I tried to get a picture of them dressed in their wedding finery, but sadly, SaraGrace was already wearing a different outfit when I returned with the camera.

Singing in the pool

SaraGrace loves to sing and perform. She has been cracking us up since the day we got her in China. The other day, I took a video of her singing in the baby pool with Molly. If you want to see it, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkwMHc5qy_8
You will probably have to copy and paste this link into your web browser.

SaraGrace could be voted, "most likely to embarrass us." She is spirited, loud, and loves to laugh and tease. The other day, we were at a restaurant and she had to go to the bathroom. As Molly and I were herding her to one, she announced loudly (while holding herself), "I have to go pee-pee!" Molly turned around, mortified, and said, 'SHHHHHH! You're going to gross out the customers!"


As I said, she love to sing. A few months ago, we were riding in the car and all the girls were each singing their own made up songs at a deafening level. After I reached my limit for noise and bedlam, I thought I would make a suggestion. "Why don't you guys sing an actual song? That way, you would all be singing the same thing." Without missing a beat, SaraGrace belted out, "Actual song, Actual song...."

It's not Ryan's week

Ryan has had a very eventful week. He gave me permission to say that he failed his first driver's test. He was quite glum and we felt so sorry for him. Jeff took him for the first one, so I took him again the next day and thankfully, he passed. Before he had much time to celebrate, though, life got a bit interesting for him.

He had just returned from a week at a Christian camp and told us that he had an adventure with a raccoon the first day of camp. Apparently, he was taking out the trash in the middle of the afternoon and there was a raccoon near the dumpster. He tried to scare it and then kicked it--whereupon it attached itself to his leg and wouldn't get off. He tried to get it off but wasn't successful, so he picked up a rock and killed it. He had some scratches that broke the skin, but no one thought to have the raccoon tested for rabies. When he told us the story, I told him that he would need rabies shots. I looked it up online, sure enough, he did need rabies shots. Poor Ryan!

I took him to our doctor who confirmed that Ryan needed the rabies series, but said that we would have to go to ER for the vaccine, because they didn't have it. We were fairly light hearted about it all until we saw the look on the ER doctor's face when we told him that eight days had elapsed since the raccoon encounter. It was then that it finally hit me that Ryan had been put in a serious situation since rabies is fatal for humans or animals. We don't know if the raccoon was rabid, but some of it's odd behavior was listed on "how to know if a raccoon has rabies." He ended up getting 7 shots--four at the wound site and then....ignominy of ignominy...he had to drop trou in front of mom and the nurse for 3 shots in his derriere.

We have been teasing him about wearing a raccoon hat with a robber mask and amusing his friends.

Today he and his buddies decided to go 'mudding' with the pick-up truck and dirt bike. Ryan promised he wouldn't ride--and he didn't until evening. He came home moaning and groaning, unable to put weight on the same leg where he had gotten the rabies shots. He crashed his dirt bike into a tree at 60 miles an hour. Sigh...He is in tons of pain. Jeff is out of town, so I was trying to decide if I should make another trip to ER when we had the brilliant idea to call our neighbor who is an ER doctor. Ryan called him--ironically, he is the same guy Ryan bought the dirt bike from. Good way to get patients...ha! It took us 10 minutes to get him out to the car, but thankfully, our neighbor doesn't think he has more than a hairline fracture or bad bruise. He suggested waiting a few days and if it still hurts Ryan can get an X-ray. I feel so sorry for Ryan--although his bellowing in pain, might start to get old. :) So far his siblings and I are willing to wait on him hand and foot, but I'm wondering how long that will last!?! :) Jillian is willing to wait on him but said that it will be fun having Ryan not be able to chase her around. ha.

I am very thankful that he is okay--things could have been so much worse.

Show me the money!

A friend gave me this comic strip the other day, and I love it! (In case the print is too small to read, the father is saying, "Do you realize how rich we'd be if we didn't have four children and three pets?" The mom replies, "No, I realize how POOR we'd be." I have many people tell me that they would love to adopt, but they can't afford it. I know it is so scary to look into adopting and see a cost--from $15,000-30,000. However, I want to tell you what God has done for us and maybe it will encourage you to take a leap of faith!

We have never had the money to do any of our adoptions. Most of the time we started out with nothing, or maybe with just enough to get started. God has provided for us in many different ways. With Jacob's adoption, we were already in the hole for the entire amount of Jordan's adoption. And yet, despite having to borrow money sometimes, God has always given us a level of income to be able to make the payments--or put it on people's heart to help out. There have been times that Jeff got an unexpected bonus at work. There have been times when we received more back from our income taxes than we were expecting. None of our 'windfalls' have been enough to cover an entire adoption, but they have been enough to get us to the next step. Yes, we have made some sacrifices--like no vacations--but we are very much aware that we live better than most people in the world, so how could we complain?

This is my favorite story of God's provision. We had completed the paperwork for one of our adoptions but we didn't have the money for the next step. We needed $3,200 to pay the adoption agency fee. I put all the completed paperwork into a drawer and thought, "Well...I have no idea how THAT is going to get paid for." A few days later, Jeff called and said that his former company car was going to be removed from service. It had a problem and the company decided it wasn't worth fixing. Jeff asked if he could buy it (against company policy) and miraculously, they said yes. He bought it for $600! It was only a few years old and it was a very nice car. Jeff fixed the problem for very little money and put an ad in the paper to try to sell it. We got no response. Jeff wanted to use the money to fix up the basement but after the car didn't sell, he began to ask God what GOD wanted us to use the money for. We decided that it should go for the adoption. The very same day that Jeff gave up 'his right' to use the money the way he wanted to, God sold our car! When Jeff tallied up the costs of buying it and fixing it and deducted it from the sale price, the amount was..... $3,200!!!

When we began adopting, our income was much lower than it is now. We scrimped and saved to get Jillian home and as soon as she was home, God led us to start Molly's adoption. I was fearful of many things--not just money--but wondered how we could possibly parent four children?! I want you to know that God has increased our strength, our income, and everything we need. There is never more than we need--but there is enough. Over the years as we have adopted, God has raised our income as needed. I truly believe that we would not have these income blessings if we were not adopting. Even if we were, it would not compare to the blessings that the kids bring to us each day.

So if you are contemplating adopting, do not let the fear of lack of money or lack of energy (or any other 'LACK') hold you back. Take the leap of faith and trust God to supply all that you need. You'll be glad you did!

Yesterday's festivities

We had a fun, chaotic day--haha. My parents, siblings and their children came over for a cook-out and most stayed to watch our 13 year old son, Taylor, put on his own firework extravaganza. Taylor worked and saved up $100 to spend on fireworks (I don't get it??!) and hit a 2 for 1 sale, so he had an arsenal ready to go. It cracks me up how the sound of one firecracker can bring boys running from all over the neighborhood, as if drawn by some mysterious force. Our pastor and his wife live in our neighborhood and came over to watch. They also have a son with a 4 of July birthday--how cool is that. Their little Andrew turned 6 yesterday.

Here are some photos of our day! :) We celebrated Taylor's birthday, also, since he will turn 13 on July 7th. SaraGrace regaled us with a loud rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" while standing on a table (her stage) and dressed in high heels. She loves to perform. Maybe next year we can teach her the "Star Spangled Banner!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Happy Birthday to our wonderful, 17 year old, Ryan!! I so vividly remember pacing the floors 17 years ago today, while his amazing birthmom, Dana, labored to bring him into the world. We prayed for her all day as she endured the pain of his delivery. We were in touch by phone throughout the day. Finally, about 10PM, our phone rang again. This time, Dana put the phone up to Ryan's little mouth and we could hear him making sweet baby sounds. Off in the distance, I could see fireworks going off, which mirrored the excited pumping of my heart. Our baby boy!!! Finally, after 7.5 years of infertility, we were about to become parents! The following morning, we jumped in the car and headed south on the 14 hour drive to see our tiny new son and his precious birth family. They were so very brave over the next days, weeks and months as they handed him to us, a sweet bundle of life, to love forever.



And what a ride he has given us! He has lived up to his birth date as a Firecracker and is full of fun and energy. As a toddler, he thought the fireworks in our city were in his honor. We let him think that for awhile! Now he knows better, but in my heart, the 4th of July will continue to be about my Ryan--as well as it being America's birthday. We look forward to watching Ryan grow and develop into the man God wants him to be.

His little sisters are so excited to be celebrating this day with him and made him some homemade gifts with dirt bikes on them, since they know he loves to ride dirt bikes. They are all dressed in red, white and blue and ready for him to wake up!



Happy Birthday to our Ryan, and thank you with grateful hearts, to Dana for the ultimate gift of a son. He has brought us much joy! We are honored to be his parents and in awe of the sacrifice you made for him.

Our Citizenship

I was just talking to some friends the other night about what a privilege it is to be a citizen of the United States of America. Since we have adopted our children from China and Guatemala, I get emotional thinking about our flights from their birth countries to the U.S.


As I think about that, I cannot help seeing a parallel for those of us who are Christians, since God said that our citizenship is in heaven.

On the flights home, our kids were completely oblivious to what they were about to receive. Each time, I have held them on my lap, handed them a flag and whispered excitedly that they were about to become citizens of the great land of America. They waved and chewed on the flag, smiling without any comprehension.
The flag had no meaning to them because they could not understand it's significance. As we walked onto U.S. soil and their Immigration paperwork was stamped, I said in their ears, "Welcome to America, little one!" They had no idea what they were being given. They had done nothing to receive it. It was something that they could not comprehend or appreciate--and will only do so little by little, as they grow.

Just as our children do not understand what citizenship means, I think that I, too, am often completely unable to appreciate what God has promised will be mine someday. I will have a place in heaven with Him, as His CHILD. I cannot begin to comprehend what that truly means. I have no idea what heaven will really be like, nor do I really understand what it means to be a daughter of the King. I have done nothing to receive this amazing gift. I can hear those words, but I think my ability to comprehend them, is very similar to our kids understanding what it means to be a citizen of the United States.

America--home of the brave!

I have been called a 'patriotic nerd' and you will probably agree with that after this week. :)

Since this week is America's birthday--and the birthday of my oldest son, Ryan, I thought it would be fun to share some favorite memories or things I love about America. Since I don't want to be too long-winded, I'll just share a bit each day. :)

First...a tribute to two men in our family who proudly served their country--and whom we lost last year. My granda, Tom Priestap, and my cousin, Jim Priestap. We miss you both. Thank you for giving of yourselves to keep us free. Jim paid the ultimate price and was killed in action in Iraq last Thanksgiving day. Jim--you are truly one of America's BRAVE, and your wife and children are carrying on bravely in your absence.




Second...I am so thankful to live in America. I am thankful for a roof over my head, cars in my garage, enough food to feed my children, clothing for them, and a place I can go to worship without fear of punishment. I am so thankful that I have been able to build a family because of the resources that God has given to us--and to be able to bring our children home to a place that will embrace and accept them.


Happy Birthday, America! May you not forget to seek God and continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Sinh's tiny broken heart

Yesterday, we got the devastating news from a Seattle heart surgeon that sweet baby Sinh's heart is too badly damaged to be repaired. Since this is not the first heart surgeon to give us this news, we know in our hearts that it is the final answer for this precious baby. It is unspeakably sad to know that some children, born into poverty and without a family, will not have the opportunity to live a full life on earth.

We are hoping to be able to find a family in Vietnam who would be willing to foster her in her final days. I cannot bear the thought of her dying alone in an orphanage, having never known the love of a mother's arms. She has suffered much in her short young life.

It is comforting to know that when she was taken to Singapore, she was held and loved for several days. The woman who took her there, emailed me and said that Sinh had never had the strength to smile at anyone, but on their last day together, Sinh looked into this woman's eyes and smiled for the first time. I know that someday soon, Jesus will welcome her home and she will smile every day. Until then, I pray that He will hold her tight and that our prayers will make a difference in her time here on this earth.

SaraGrace prayed diligently for baby Sinh to 'have heart surgery just like me,' and is very sad that little Sinh will not be given this opportunity. Last night I hugged her extra tight and offered another prayer of thanksgiving for Love Without Boundaries and Hope Healing Home, who arranged her surgery. I am so thankful that they are being used by God in China to give the gift of life to those who have no Mama or Daddy to advocate for them. Sadly, Vietnam does not yet have these resources.

SaraGrace loves to sing, "Jesus Loves Me," and after our visit with Alex and the other children in Guatemala, I have wondered if they have special angels dispatched by God to sit and hold them, to ease their suffering. Last night, SaraGrace and I sang together:
"Jesus loves me, loves me still
When I'm very weak and ill
From His shining home on high
Comes to watch me where I lie."

Sweet dreams, baby Sinh. Though you do not know us, you are loved from afar and we hold you in our prayers, sweet baby girl.

The latest on Baby Sinh

Here is a picture of baby Sinh during her recent visit to Singapore.
We have had a frustrating setback in Baby Sinh's case. She could really use some prayers.

After two weeks of waiting, I was notified yesterday that the heart surgeon had been able to review the medicals for Sinh, but the most crucial part--the video--was blank! Asian countries use a different format, and it is not compatible with our video equipment. I had requested a copy of her Echocardiogram on a CD, but it was never sent. The U.S. doctor cannot make a decision about doing surgery without seeing an Echo of sinh's heart.

I called Singapore last night but the office assistant could not understand me, so asked me to send an email. I did--requesting the CD to be sent. I did not get a reply, so I emailed again today asking for confirmation on whether or not a CD was located and sent.

If they do not find one, we will have no choice but to take her for ANOTHER ONE!! ARGH! At one point, the VN facilitator had mentioned taking her to Ho Chi Min City (south Vietnam--still a plane ride) for an evaluation. Perhaps they would have the technology to put an Echo on CD. If not, we have to take her back to Singapore!!! argh....

I am praying that they are able to put the echo that was already done onto a CD.

God kindly gave me some encouragement today about how HE gave the Isrealites victory despite all the battles that they faced to conquer the promised land. So....I believe He will eventually get her where she needs to go, but not without a lot of battles needing to be fought by those of us trying to help her. I know that God is in control of the timing of all of this--and that He can use these delays for His purposes, but I would still like to request prayer that He will open some doors for Sinh very soon. Thankfully, she is still alive, although I know that every day she waits potentially causes more damage to her heart.

Baby Sinh update

I don't have much news on Baby Sinh except that Healing the Children has all of her medical information and they are having their surgeons review it. We are rooting for her and praying that someone would be willing to take the risk to do her surgery.

Exciting news!

I know that some of you were touched by the plight of the precious kids at Hermano Pedro Hospital in Guatemala. If you are interested in meeting any of the children in person, here is your big chance!



There will be a mission trip from June 25, to July 2. I know this is late notice, but I still wanted to let you know. If you would like more information, you can contact Melissa@theshepherdscrook.org and she can fill you in. The cost of the trip would be your plane ticket, plus about $30 per day for food and lodging. They have a hotel reserved for those who will be coming to help.



They will be working with the children at Hermano Pedro (where Alex is), a few other orphnages, and also with Amor del Nino, where Hannah and Jose are.

If any of you go, please give all the kids a hug for me and bring me some pictures!

Jacob--a footnote to his story

When we were in Guatemala, I learned a bit more about Jacob's story that I want to share with you.

You may remember that last year, God laid the name Jacob on my heart and then indicated through Scripture and other methods, that the child I was 'looking' for would have some type of hand deformity. I contacted Melissa at The Shepherds Crook and told her that it might sound crazy, but if she ever had a baby boy available with that type of special need, to please contact me.

A few months later, she was contacted by an adoption attorney. He had been trying to find a family for a baby boy for three months, but no families were interested in him. The baby boy was a three month old with six fingers on each hand. He asked Melissa to please try to find a family, since she often found homes for children with special needs. Melissa got very excited and said she thought she had a family who would want him--and contacted us!

We never knew that the attorney had been trying to place our precious Jake for 3 months! We are so glad that God put him on our hearts and that another family could not be found for him. :)

He had surgery in Guatemala on his hands, and the sixth fingers were removed. He has a slight little nub there, but his hands look great! When we adopted Chloe, our doctor had told me not to worry about any syndromes or cognitive difficulties with her due to her missing toes. He made the comment, "We don't get concerned about missing fingers or toes. It's the extra fingers or toes that we get worried about." I asked why, and he said they are often associated with syndromes. This was running through my mind at times while we were waiting for Jake, but God gave me such peace that Jake was just fine. And he is, as far as we know. :)

Daily Life "Snapshot"

I thought it might amuse you to get a glimpse into our lives during the past two weeks.

I was mostly concerned about Jordan being displaced and jealous, but didn't think the girls would be. Ha.

Last week, SaraGrace cut her hair--coached by Chloe, who thought that if she didn't actually touch the scissors, she wouldn't be considered guilty. Apparently, she is unaware of the word, "Accomplice."

SaraGrace has recently become enamoured with playing in toilet water. She is also facinated by vaseline. She then thought it would be a good idea to sneak upstairs and coat the toilet seats with vaseline. I still don't have it all off. I'm thinking she has a future as a really good prankster for coming up with this at the age of 3.

The same day as the toilet-greasing-episode, she and Chloe decided to give a family heirloom Mickey Mouse, a swirly (aka: dunking him in the toilet and leaving him to swim alone). They were supposed to have been in bed sleeping when this incident took place. They actually had the gall to deny doing it.

They have just recently become buddies and play together a lot--but I think they have discovered that they both have a penchant for petty crime and are enjoying their partnership a bit too much. I, on the other hand, am not enjoying this new develpment.

Jordan has, for the most part, accepted the intrusion into his life and has been holding, rocking and singing to his new baby brother. Jillian, also has been a big help. Molly is totally in love with Jacob and has done a lot of baby duty--however, she is also very emtionally fragile lately. We are not quite sure what has set this off, but it is a revisit from her past. She has had a lot of hysterical meltdowns, during which we have a hard time getting her calmed down. We have not seen this behavor for quite awhile and we are sad that our sweet Molly is struggling so much. We are praying for wisdom in how to handle it. Ryan and Taylor are pretty amused by baby Jake, so at the moment, they are doing well. However, it is 'firework season' and Taylor saved up his money to buy a ridiculous amount, so I will be praying that no one blows an eye out. (My boys say this is an unfounded worry, put out there by mom's who just don't want their boys to have fun.)

I better stop writing and go check to see what Chloe and SaraGrace are up to..... :)

Alex

I asked about Alex yesterday--the little boy with CP that won my heart in Guatemala. Apparently the hospital put a feeding tube in for him briefly (or promised to), but now he is without it again. Our agency rep, Melissa, is trying to have him moved to the malnutition section of the hospital for better care. I am so sad for the children who 'live' there--trapped in their beds, soaked in their own urine and staring day after day at their mosquito netting. I can only imagine how their misery will grow as summer brings hotter weather. I am fairly sure the hospital isn't air conditioned. Please do not forget them in your prayers....


On a happier note...a friend finally helped me to find the website of the orphanage we visited--the one run by a Christian couple, Steve and Sheryl, from America. When we were there, Sheryl shared with me that they have purchased some land and are saving the money to build an orphanage that is large enough for all of them to live together. Currently, the children live in two locations, a block apart, because they outgrew their original place. If you are interested in donating to this project, or praying for them, please visit their website. It is: http://lovethechild.org/Home/Welcome.html . There are individual pictures of the children--how fun! There is very little help available for children with special needs in Guatemala. All of the children at Amor del Nino have some type of special need (with the exception of one baby who was thought to have medical problems, but does not).

From time to time people tell me that they wish they could have adopted, but it just didn't work out. I want to encourage you that if you have a heart for orphans, it is never too late to make a difference in a child's life. There are many ways to be involved, and the need is truly overwhelming. A friend of mine sent me a quote the other day that really made me think.
"Have you ever faced this kind of moment? A moment filled with opportunity
yet you let it slip away? Has it ever been in your power to do good, but
you chose instead to do nothing? You didn't choose to do evil..you just
chose not to get involved."

He then ends the section by saying "I am convinced that the greatest tragedy
is not the sins that we commit, but the life we fail to live. Wake up
tomorrow morning asking the dangerous question, "what can I do today to make
a difference in the world?"

I have so often been guilty of doing nothing. Sometimes I think we just don't really know WHAT to do, so we do nothing.

In view of that, I thought I would pass on the opportunity to help the children at Amor del Nino. It will not go unnoticed by our heavenly Father whose heart is so very close to the orphan. When Steve and Sheryl's dream is realized, I can just picture the children running through the grass, playing on swings and slides...enjoying the fun of eating together in the same room, having everything wheelchair accessible for Hannah and Jose. Let's help make this a reality...let's DREAM BIG and make a difference for the children of Amor del Nino! :)

Baby Sinh's Trip to Singapore

Baby Sinh was assessed in Singapore and the news was not good. They had a surgical team standing by to take her into surgery immediately, but after assessing her, felt it would be too risky. Her heart is very enlarged and she has a huge VSD (hole). The Singapore hospital will only do free surgery for children who have a good prognosis. Sinh did not fit that criteria. They had no choice but to send her back to Vietnam.

When told of this news, a friend offered to call an organization she formerly worked for, called Healing the Children. This organization brings needy children to the US for surgery and pays for the majority of it. They have agreed to take baby Sinh's Echocardiogram to several of their surgeons to see if anyone is willing to operate on her. We are praying for at least one of them to have compassion on her and take the risk.

The trip to Singapore had one very good outcome--it enabled the orphanage director to see how serious her condition was. Prior to that, he was saying that he would not allow her to come to the US unless she was accompanied by her nanny and would not give guardianship to a charity to care for her. It is customary for charities bringing children for surgery to need to do a Power of Attorney for temporary custody. Thankfully, the director signed the POA, and I was able to forward it to Healing the Children. We are just waiting now for the Echo to get here from Singapore.

Getting settled in!

Hola, Everybody!!

I am happy to report that we are all getting settled in and Jacob is doing very well getting to know his big, crazy family. We are madly in love with him! He is a smiley, adorable little guy and is handling the girls' contant attention with good humor. (If you saw how they maul him and get in his face, you would understand why I say he needs humor-ha.) They carry him around as if he is a doll, but they are doing very well making bottles, feeding him, changing him, etc. They are great helpers! I almost have to ask permission to hold him! His stinky diapers are still mine, though. He has completed his training in the "Karin school of sleeping through the night" and thankfully, he is sleeping well. I think God is just showing me mercy!



Grandma and Grandpa came home from Africa and came over the next day to see him. They fell under his spell very quickly as he flashed them a big grin and let them each hold him.


Jordan is adjusting to the intruder...a bit jealous, but overall doing pretty well. He is starting to play 'cars' with baby Jake, and has 'held' him a few times while sitting on the couch. I posed them on the porch swing for this picture. :)


We had a family picture taken for our church directory about a week before we left for Guatemala. I thought I would post it since some of you haven't seen the kids for awhile. I couldn't figure out how to photo shop baby Jake in, so I guess we will still need to get another picture taken. (The boys will be thrilled beyond belief. You would have thought I was torturing them to get them to wear something decent for the picture.)

Thank you all, so very much, for your prayers. They sustain us. You truly have no idea how we depend on them and we are very grateful.

pictures, pictures :)

Enjoy the pictures!