Our vacation

I couldn't help thinking as I watched Caleb playing in the ocean today how different his life would be if he had remained in Russia. He would be languishing away in an institution with no one to love him, how sad! But instead, he is happy, loved and vacationing in Florida with his family. God is Good!


Elijah and Uncle Sean

These are photos from today. Jimmy and Ben are visiting their Dad who lives about 15minutes away from my brother. We missed them yesterday when they stopped by and we weren't home. Hopefully we'll catch up with them soon. Today we went to a Mexican restaurant with my brother Sean and his roomate Mark. Afterwards we went to a park so the boys could play. Caleb made a mad dash to the ocean with Mark close on his heels! Caleb wants to be in the water whenever he sees it, and he has no fear so we have to keep a close eye on him! After the park, the guys went to work and I took Caleb and Elijah to the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day with blue skies, and warm water! We had a great time. Elijah felt so relaxed in the water while I was holding him, he put his little head on my shoulder. Caleb stayed in the water almost the whole time we were there. Then we stopped at "Donalds" on the way home.:)

The Beach

We are in Florida right now visiting my brother. We went to the beach today, even though they said there was an 80% chance of rain. It did rain this morning but has been dry the rest of the day and it was nice while we were there. Caleb was so excited to see the water. He ran right into it laughing! And he laughed every time a wave knocked him down too. He loves the water! Elijah, not so much. The waves scared him but he did sit on my lap and push his little feet in the wet sand. One thing Elijah really enjoyed was playing in the sand with the pail and shovel. We had a good time and as we were leaving, Caleb asked to go to the beach again.:) I think once we go a couple times, Elijah will enjoy the water too.:)

I wanted to thank Shelley, Christy, and Rita again for meeting us in Alabama. It was really nice to see them!

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Today is Elijah's 3rd birthday. I am so happy that he is home with us on this special day. He is such a blessing! He wasn't crazy about the cake or ice cream. He just wanted to put his hands in it. He did have some pudding though while the rest of us ate cake and ice cream. We had a little mishap with the cake. While we were in the livingroom, Caleb decided to take the cake out of the refrigerator and put it on the table. I heard the plastic container and ran in just in time to save it from hitting the floor. It did go on Caleb's shirt though. Luckily I took a picture before this happened. I have before and after photos below.







After Elijah's party, I decided to put Elijah's patch on his eye. The other day I ordered some and I am very happy with them. The site is www.myipatches.com They come in all different patterns that you can choose from and they were cheaper than the plain ones I bought at the pharmacy. The reason I went online is because I had a hard time finding them at the stores and then when I did, they didn't stick well at all. These are called MYI Occlusion Eye Patches.

Elijah's eyes

We spent over 3 hours this morning at the Ophthalmology Pediatric Clinic. Elijah has Strabismus. Only his left eye is affected.

Strabismus is a common condition among children. Normal alignment of both eyes during childhood allows the brain to fuse the two pictures into a single 3-dimensional image. Strabismus or abnormal alignment can block this normal binocular development and cause amblyopia or reduced vision in one eye. If vision is reduced, the brain of the child will only learn to recognize the stronger image and ignore the weaker image of the affected eye. This will eventually cause a loss of depth perception and, if not treated before 6-7 years of age, can result in permanent visual loss in the affected eye.

Dr. A has determined that Elijah does have reduced vision in his left eye, so he is patching the right eye to try and strengthen the muscles in the left eye. Elijah will wear the patch between 2-4 hours per day for the next two months. Then we will go back to see Dr. A and he will determine if the patching was successful or if Elijah needs surgery.

I was very happy that only after a little bit if fussing, Elijah left his patch on for over 2 hours today before pulling it off.:)

Meet Charlie

Doesn't he just melt your heart? He is waiting for a family. He is almost 5 years old and will be transferred to an institution very soon. Could you be Charlie's forever family?




Charlie (5)

born 2004

This darling little boy needs a family right away. He has light brown hair and brown eyes. He is HEALTHY, with only strabismus as a complication to his DS. His grandmother visited the first year of his life, but not since then.

From his caregivers: " The boy is calm and very kind. He dresses himself and eats himself. Speaks some words. Understand when he is addressed by adults, performs tasks on elementary level. Very interested in toys, can concentrate his attention on books, likes musical instruments very much, and especially enjoys �playing� the piano. "

From an adoptive family who visited with him: Charlie was a little shy at first staying near his caregiver but then with prompting began to sing a song and dance with his caregiver. He was able to perform several songs and poems while doing the hand motions with her from memory. After a while he too would come and give us hugs around our legs. He has more intelligible verbalization but still some speech impaired. He is ambulatory and does not have any visible impairments, appearing healthy. (Without labored breathing or pallor)

*** This child is living in the same orphanage with many of our other listed children, with Down syndrome and other special needs. Compare orphanage numbers next to each child's name to identify. Unrelated children can be adopted together, and the typical cost for a 2nd child from the orphanage is $4000. ***

I have $ 100 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption
"http://www.reecesrainbow.org"

Jimmy

J okes, smiles, and laughter
I love you
M y Hero
M y Inspiration
Y ou make this world a better place

Caleb

C ute and curious
A lways has his Mommy's heart
L oves to push buttons
E nergetic and silly
B rings lots of love and joy to his family

Elijah

E verything I hoped for
L ove and laughter
I love you
J oy and smiles
A dorable and sweet
H appy and home