We have been bad bloggers. Life is just full, but with no end in sight, I thought I better at least get some pictures posted. It is hard to believe it is September. We have started school and so far so good. We are continuing to have lots of doctor's visits for Leo. We are still figuring out his care. He is now on a continuous feed through the night and we are using a pump for all feeds. He is continuing to progress in all his therapies excelling especially in physical therapy. Please continue to pray for him to begin eating by mouth. We would love to not have to have a g-tube inserted, but will be seeing a surgeon about this option soon. Leo's schedule alone can overwhelm me on a daily basis, but God continues to give me the strength I need to accomplish all that needs to be done. We are also sooo thankful for Mom-mom especially who has been carrying on the home front while I take Leo to all of these appointments.
Soccer Season 2011 starts and look who is in uniform! Jonathan is thrilled to be playing this year, but he must play with his prosthetic leg on, which is a new challenge for him- but if anyone can do it- he can!
The end of August we went to the Funplex. Amanda looks a little too comfortable in the race car! Jonathan LOVED the bumper cars and rode them at least 20 times- it wasn't crowded so he could just stay on and go and go...
Leo is continuing to receive therapy in our home. Look at that strength. He is now rolling from one end of the living room to the other. Time to baby proof!
God continues to answer our prayers and we received a grant from Show Hope the Steven Curtis Chapman Foundation! We also were invited to give a short testimony at our local Bethany's Annual Fundraising Banquet. We are excited about this opportunity as it is our chance to give back to an incredible agency.
Best Buddies! (today)
On Saturday we went down to Chinatown for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Lest we make this adoption, big family thing look too easy- don't be fooled! I deleted all the pictures where we look tired, stressed or overwhelmed!
I have been such a slacker with the family blog lately; that and my personal journal too.
What happened? Well, we went on our summer vacation in the last week of July. We got back from that, settled in (sort of) for a week, and then little Leo went in for surgery the week of August 8th. That turned into a much more stressful situation than we had anticipated. The surgery was a success, but Leo had difficulty breathing afterwards. What we thought might be a one day hospital stay became a 3 day adventure!
After that things really picked up for me at work, and the children's school year began, and we had more medical appointments for Leo, and physical therapy appointments, and we had some birthdays in there, and an earthquake, and a hurricane, and a flooded basement, and soccer practices, and one last Summer hurrah before school *really* began ... Kim and I feel like Lucille Ball in the chocolate factory!
The conveyor belt keeps rolling, faster and faster.
In all this activity, I have been reminded of my own limitations. I think both Kim and I are the kinds of people who want to do more, more, more! We like to be busy. We like to feel significant. But sometimes we take on too much.
It's a fine line, I think, between consciously keeping your own personal "space" and neglecting the radical life that God calls us to.
The road of obedience has a ditch on each side! On one side is the ditch of self reliance. That's the place where you carry the world on your shoulders and you take on more burden than any one person should have to bear. On the other side is the ditch of selfish resistance. That's the place where you resist stepping out of your comfort zone unless you see a dazzling sign ... like skywriting or perhaps tap-dancing angels.
I am sure that I am not smart enough to know how to steer myself down the middle of this road. But the good news is that I don't have to be.
Recently I had the privilege of re-reading Romans 8. There I found these words:
Romans 8:6
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
and...
Romans 8:8
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
And ...
Romans 8:14-17
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
AND....
Romans 8:28
“ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
What a great reminder these verses are to me that, while my own strength is not sufficient to please God, I am not called to rely on it. Instead I get to rely on His Holy Spirit. My efforts, such as they are, are to be focused not on any outward act, but on remaining in Him. Do that, and the outward acts will follow.
With that spiritual pep talk in mind, I'd like to describe a great challenge Kim and I are facing now. Going in to Leo's surgery, we had a wild and somewhat unrealistic hope that, after the cleft palate reconstruction, some instinct in Leo would kick in and that he would quickly take to food.
That has not happened. Leo is still as dependent on his NG feeding tube as ever. I must admit, that has been demoralizing. By all earthly indicators, we are looking at a long, long haul here with Leo's growth and development. In my mind, the ability to eat solid food is a fundamental cornerstone in his development.
Perhaps it really will be a long, long haul. But that's not going to stop me from praying.
So, if you are reading this, please remember little Leo and his family in your prayers. Please pray specifically that he would develop the ability to eat solid food.
I have this wild hope that someday in the not too distant future I will be able to update this blog and describe a miraculous response to those prayers!
If we are not intentional, it would be so easy to let life overwhelm us and the days would just slip away. Jeremy was intentional this morning: he took Tyler and Jordan fishing early Sunday morning before church. I was intentional about Amanda and I going shopping (just the two of us) for soccer cleats. And I know that I must be intentional if I am to find time just for Jeremy and me, or spend time alone with God in prayer and His Word.
Earlier this week I told Jeremy (I stole this line from someone) that some days I feel like I am drowning in the ocean, but I am trying to have a good attitude about it. My brain is so full and so much is going on that I have trouble keeping life straight some days! The last two weeks have been especially full.
We spent a week at Seaside Home in Cape May. Our week began with a trip to the ER and lots of puke (two totally separate incidents.) Miraculously, our week ended well. We ended up feeling like we could do this vacation thing with 6 kids. We returned home and ... life immediately jumped into high gear again.
There were more doctors appointments for Leo; a trip to the doctor for Ben who had an ear infection; and our first of 3 post placement visits with our Social Worker.
Also, Jonathan has been wearing his prosthetic leg a lot lately and this has led us to discover that (glory be) he has gotten taller and needs some leg adjustments. So in the next 2 weeks we will be making a trip to Shriners Hospital to have some work done on his prosthetic leg.
BUT the main reason for this post is to ask for prayer for Leo.
Leo will be having surgery on Wednesday to have his palate repaired. It will require an overnight stay. We are hopeful that once his palate is fixed that he can (in time) begin to eat food and eventually not be dependent on his feeding tube. He has an appointment the end of this month at the CHOP feeding clinic to help us make this transition. Please pray that the surgery will go smoothly and be a success. Please also pray for Jeremy and me.
We have invited Leo's birth mom to visit him during the surgery stay. We are not sure if she will actually show up, but if she does we pray that we will be able to minister to her during what I am sure will be a difficult visit for her.
Yes, some days I can feel like I am drowning, but I wouldn't trade any of the craziness of my life for anything. Some days, my attitude might need an adjustment, but I still love my crazy crew. The adjustment of having a baby in the family is now being rewarded by the smiling and emerging personality of little Leo. He is beginning to interact and is learning how to play. It is awesome to watch this little guy babble for the first time, laugh at his brothers, and bang 2 toys together.
