Jacob had his tonsils and adenoids removed today. Poor little guy is in so much pain. I feel helpless!!! We have to stay overnight at the hospital so he is resting watching an Elmo movie. We have still been unable to get him to drink. Please say a little or BIG prayer for him tonight. He has to be able to drink before they will allow him to go home. We need to go home!!!

Darren is home with the rest of the kids and they are doing well. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and father for my children. He is so patient with the kids and they really enjoy having time with daddy.

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME

Another HONEST post about life

Disclaimer: In no way am I saying I do not LOVE my life and I LOVE my children unconditionally.

I am physically and emotionally beaten down. The last four days have been very hard on me. Nothing I am doing is "right". No matter what I say or do somehow I am managing to make someone cry or throw a huge tantrum. All seven of the kids seem to need constant attention, and if they don't get it they are doing something to get into trouble. The house seems to be in chaos all day. I am spending A LOT of time saying "stop that or stop screaming or just a minute"(because for some reason everyone needs something at the same time). Honestly, I would love to crawl into a closet and stay there for a few days.

Leaning on GOD for strength today!

Where to begin???? First, Sera had her MRI this week. I have the report in my hand but we haven't been back to the Neurologist to discuss the report. We have some experience in this area with Jacob. I almost started to laugh when I read the report because Sera has some of the same brain malformations as Jacob. Here is what I do know and understand from the report. Sera has an open lip schizencephalic cleft(same as Jacob). It is basically an area where the brain just did not develop. She also has septo-optic dysplasia, which is a group of malformations, that affects the vision. There are a few things listed which I don't understand. All of the abnormalities are on the left side of the Sera's brain, where with Jacob they are on both sides of the brain. With all of these brain malformations she has a risk of developing seizures, developmental delays, and cognitive delays.

The last two weeks have been eye-opening for me. Between realizing that we are now the parents of another child with significant needs(who we love dearly) and beginning to deal with the sensory issues of two other kids, my brain has been processing ALOT. We were aware of Sera's disabilities and that there was a good possibility she had some other issues but until you can get adequate testing you are really flying blind. Since we have decided to adopt children with special needs we go into all our adoptions knowing that we probably will not know everything up front and we are OK with that.

I have decided two major things are going to have to change. First, we need a professional to help us work out a plan of attack for our sensory kids. I am completely lost in this area(just got some books from the library today). Second, I need to change the way our house runs. By nature I am not a scheduled or routine person. I am more the fly by the seat of the pants, decide to do something at a moments notice type person. With two kids who don't transition well/overwhelm easily and two with significant global delays I know it is in the best interest of the kids to have a strict schedule.

So that's were I am right now! Trying to figure out a schedule that will work for everyone AND looking for an awesome occupational therapist who is trained in sensory processing who takes our insurance.

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!

I don't really know what to title this post, maybe "lame duck syndrome"?? Little Sera, who has been home for 3 months, is now 22 months old. We are still in the process of testing and trying to tie together all the pieces.

A little history on Sera. . . When we received Sera's referral she was in pretty rough shape. It was obvious she had been neglected and left in the corner. She was malnourished and really far behind developmentally. I don't think we will ever know exactly what life was like for Sera before we brought her home.

That being said I have a question about something she has been doing. If she gets pushed down or I swat her on the bottom she will fall to the ground and literally act like a "lame duck". She will scream and try to get up but then fall to the ground. The first time I saw this I thought maybe her leg was broken/hurt. She was very convincing.

So my question is has anyone dealt with this before??? Second, do you think its a defense mechanism or could it be neurological? This is new territory for me!!

Sera & Jacob

There are some very special relationships between some of my children; Ethan & Jacob, Faith & Gabriel, Miranda & Grace, and Sera & Jacob.

Sera & Jacob love each other very much! They laugh together, play together, entertain each other, and even have therapy together. Here are some pictures of their very special relationship.

I AM STILL TOO COMFORTABLE

I know that I am going to sound like a broken record but I have really been grieving this week and I want to share my heart.

Due to my involvement in adoption and advocating for orphans I get lots of emails and read lots of blogs about orphans. Some of these have pictures and stories attached of children who are looking for their forever family. A few of the children I read about this week have really touched my heart. Insert disclaimer: (Yes, I know that I cannot save the world) But, they have led me to ask the question “Can I do more?”

Is there such a thing as trying to do too much for the cause of Christ? Can one sacrifice too much to care for the least? My heart says “NO” but everyone else is telling me “YES”!

I am too comfortable. I am too comfortable sitting in my living room watching television. I am too comfortable sipping my cup of coffee while reading a book. I am too comfortable as I heat leftovers in the microwave. Seriously, sacrifice!!! Where is the sacrifice?

I DON’T WANT TO BE COMFORTABLE!!!!!!!!

I don’t want to be content to heat up my leftovers in the microwave while my sister in Africa is spending ALL DAY cooking ONE meal.

I don’t want to keep children waiting for a forever family just so I can get a few extra hours sleep.

I don’t want to have money in the bank for a “rainy day” when children are dying from preventable diseases.

This week I have been on my knees crying out to my Heavenly Father. Please, please show me what to do, where to go, what to sell. Should we continue adopting 1 or 2 kids every year? Should we go and serve? Should we sell something and give the money to further YOUR KINGDOM?

I know one thing for sure I am not going to just sit around and wait for someone else to get the job done because chances are they are too busy trying to be comfortable!! OUCH!!

Digging Out of the Hole!!

I feel like I am finally digging my way out of this hole. Between some recent developments with our children and adding two children to our family I have felt like I have been fighting a losing battle. This week we have been able to mark ALOT off our To-Do list. We still have lots to do but it feels good to finally mark a few things off.

GRACE
All of Grace's DR appointments are finished!! Just need to continue immunizations.

SERA
Sera has her glasses!
MRI scheduled
Appointment with Genetic DR scheduled
Therapies have started

FAITH
Saw ENT and scheduled procedure for ear tubes
Started public preschool yesterday (for additional therapy & evaluations)

JACOB
Speaking Device approved by Medicaid
Sleep Safe Bed ordered
Surgery rescheduled for T&A Removal

Our family is being featured as the "Crazy April Adoption Family" at My Crazy Adoption.org. Go by and check out the post on our family. While you are there hang out for a while and get to know the Gibson Family. They are a fellow Wild & Crazy Adoptive Family.

REJOICE!! HE IS RISEN!!!

Sera is walking!!!!

I can't believe she is walking. Sera is 22 months old, so you are probably thinking why wouldn't she be walking. Sera joined our family in January and when she came home she tested at a 9 month development level. PLUS, she can only see clearly for 6inches in front of her face!! We are going this afternoon to pick up her glasses. I can't wait to post pics of her with her glasses on. She is sooooo cute!!!