Little Buddies and Double Trouble

For a long time, Tobi and Josiah largely ignored each other. They would look at each other across the room periodically, but that was as good as it got for quite some time. They began building a relationship little by little, much like they do everything else. It has been very fun watching this twosome grow together, even if that does mean double trouble at times (a lot!). I thought it would be fun to just show a glimpse of their antics together for the 31 for 21 blog challenge.

 These 2 were in the same orphanage, but not in the same groupa.

This is their first meeting, on the train on Gotcha Day

Their last night sleeping in Ukraine

There has been much team trouble (and a LOT of food!)

 Lots

and Lots

of food :)

Music is a common interest for these two... and their Abba too :)

Good times in this side by side stroller

Becoming true buddies that enjoy being together

Amazing how much they can communicate with no words. It is so fun to watch their wordless conversations!

Swinging together

It is safe to say that these two cuties keep all of us on our toes. I hope that as they grow, their bond will grow as well. We are so thankful that in all things, they have us and they have each other.

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Back to the Start

I thought I would start with the beginning and how we got here for the 31 for 21 blog challenge. Many of you have read this all before or walked it with us. It was God, from the very start. We had NO idea that we would be where we are today 5 years ago. Even 3 years ago, for that matter. I can look back and know that God was setting the stage long before that time, but we were being prepared unawares. I think it is pretty cool to look back and see so clearly how the preparations started and yet be so clueless at the time. 

If you had asked us 5 years ago, we would have told you that our family was amazing. We would have said that we would love to adopt a child someday... Someday when our lives settled down and our children were grown. Someday when the military would be out of the picture except for the nice retirement. Someday when it was more convenient. And then God :)

Many things happened just before and during our move to Marvin's shore command. He began to to work on our hearts and our circumstances. Little by little, in many different ways, He began to open us up to adoption. We began asking people to pray for us as we started making decisions. And then we waited to see the next step. On a drive, words came out of my mouth that I had never seriously considered before that point. I asked Marvin if he would be open to special needs adoption. His answer was that he would pray about it. And so we began to pray, and I began to research. I googled special needs adoption and found Reece's Rainbow. I looked through the many faces of children that began to break my heart. I would look through the pictures of waiting children and pray for them. A few weeks later, a friend sent me the link to her friend's blog. That friend had just adopted 2 boys from Ukraine and had a documentary posted on that blog about the special needs orphans in Ukraine. Sitting in the bed, watching those children with so much potential wasting away, tears began to stream down my face. God spoke into my heart at that moment. He brought several verses to my memory on our job as Christians to care for the orphan. He had opened our eyes and we had a choice to make. What were we going to do? Just a few days later, I found the picture of a baby girl that grabbed my heart. I showed her profile to Marvin and asked if I could just inquire. I had no idea at the time where she was and knew very little about her. I was informed that there was another family that had already began to inquire about her and so we waited. We did learn that she was located in Ukraine. Coincidence, right?! Before that blog, I had no idea where Ukraine even was. In that few weeks times, God broke my heart for the children there. While we waited, we began to research the process for adopting from Ukraine. We needed to know if moving forward was even an option for us. We found that it was the perfect fit. The other family did decide to move forward. However, soon after that, a group of baby boys were listed. I saw this picture and I just knew. This was my son. I woke Marvin up and asked him to look at these sweet boys. He knew right away too.

And so it began. Our journey to Ukraine. He was born with an extra chromosome, in a country where different is hidden away. He was hidden away, but God allowed him to be found. We saw the treasure where others had seen a burden. We began the race to get to him. Almost the same time we found our Tobi boy and began our adoption process, another family was placing their son in the very same orphanage. We did not know at the time that he even existed. We added a second child to our paperwork because we were told we could and should if we were open to that possibility in any way. We learned of his arrival to the orphanage a few months into our process, but at that time his paperwork was not complete. We decided that we would bring him home if his paperwork was completed on time, but that we would not slow down in reaching our Tobi boy. Just a short time before our paperwork was submitted to Ukraine, I received a picture of our sweet Josiah with news that his paperwork was ready.

Very soon after that day, we were meeting our boys, holding them in our arms for the very first time. Months before, God had opened our eyes. We responded by following Him and opening our arms. When we took that first step of obedience, we had no idea what blessing was to come. When they placed our boys into our arms, they gave us an unimaginable gift. It breaks my heart that our blessing came from such brokeness and pain. I wish it could have been different, but I am so thankful that these boys have been given to us. 

Our very first smile from Tobi in country :)

Sweet boy has come so far :)

Josiah was so very tiny and sick during our time in country

But he was sunshine even then

Sweet Jojo now

And so began our journey as a family :)

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31 For 21 Blog Challenge

October is Down Syndrome Awareness month. With that comes an awesome opportunity to raise awareness for many things that are incredibly special to me! And so, I have accepted a blog challenge, called 31 For 21, to blog everyday in October to raise awareness about Down Syndrome and all the amazing things that have come into our lives as a family since it touched us. Before we met our boys 18 months ago, I had no real in depth knowledge about Down Syndrome. I had read books and met a few precious people that had that extra chromosome, but I had only glimpsed the very tip of the iceberg. I hope this challenge can provide a glimpse into our everyday lives, both the good and the bad. I cannot promise every post will be long or informative, but my hope is to allow you a window into life with Down Syndrome and a very special organization that led us to find our boys, called Reece's Rainbow.

For those that do not know our story, I'll give a quick introduction. My name is Angel and I am married to an amazing man, named Marvin. Marvin is in the Navy and I am a stay at home wife and mommy. We have 7 children. Five of them are our biological children and the last 2, the boys that sport that extra special extra chromosome, were both adopted from Ukraine. They were both placed in the orphanage because of that extra 21st chromosome. I will blog more in depth about that later! 

         

I'm excited to get back into blogging, it has been a while since this was a daily habit! Hopefully I am up for this challenge!

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Just an Update

It has been so long since I've updated you all on how the boys are doing! It has been crazy and we are gearing up for a new school year, but I wanted to take a minute and let you see just where our guys are now!

Tobi is 2.5 years old now! Can you believe it? I can't. He is going quickly from baby to little boy. He has grown like crazy and at his last well visit was over 30lbs! He is so full of energy and LOVES to wrestle with his siblings. He is pretty much nonverbal right now, but that does not mean that he doesn't communicate. He is very good about letting us know what he wants and has a huge sense of humor! He has several signs that he uses regularly as well. Signing Time is a favorite video at our house! Tobi is not walking independently yet. However, he LOVES using a walker that we are borrowing. He loves to be upright and has gotten pretty good control of it now. We are hoping it will be a short step to independent walking from here. He has made HUGE strides in eating! He is no longer throwing whole plates onto the floor nor stuffing it into his mouth all at once. We have worked so hard on this and he is very proud of his new found self control. 

Tobi LOVES to put everyone else's shoes on :)

Tobi loves the beach! What is not to love about a giant sensory bin???

 We spent a week camping with family and he LOVED his first ever s'more!

Showing off his new self control. He now puts hands down until he is done chewing!

He loves using the walker out and about!

Josiah turned 2 at the end of May. It is hard to believe my baby is not so much a baby anymore! At his last well baby he weighed just over 30lbs! He runs circles around us all... literally! He never stops! He is using some word approximations. We say he speaks in animation. He knows and uses several signs as well. He finds excitement everywhere.  He watches everything and loves to be one of the big kids. He knows several colors, animals, and is learning shapes. He is so smart and loves to show off for us. He also LOVES music and dancing.

Jojo has recently learned how to climb out of his crib...

And he thinks that is pretty great...

Camping and music are 2 of his favorite things!

Jojo's first s'more :)

This blur is pretty typical ;)

We have settled into life together. It feels very natural and very normal at this point. We are busy and it gets hard at times, but we would not have it any other way. Watching Tobi and Jojo bloom the way they have has been so great. Our house definitely has its own sunshine :)

sweet moments...

The whole crew!

90 Percent

This is the number that floats around the advocacy groups I am in. Ninety percent of babies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome are killed before they take their first breath. I think I'd have better odds of survival jumping into a shark tank than a baby in utero that gets a Down Syndrome diagnosis. That astounds me. How? Why? I do not understand.

Some would argue that they are choosing to end a life to ease suffering...

Who is suffering?

I have come to know many people that carry an extra 21st chromosome and not one of them is suffering because of it. Just the opposite, in fact. They come in every shape, size, color, and personality. But they all share a zest for life that most only wish for. They share a fierce passion and love for life itself. They are not suffering.

Some would claim that they do not wish to burden their other children and family as a whole...

It is a fact that most siblings of children with special needs are incredibly amazing people. They grow up to do amazing things because they see what perseverance looks like on a daily basis. They see firsthand that life is not always easy, but that hard work pays off. They grow up to change their world for the better because they are filled with compassion and a love that drives them to great things. I have seen that grow and develop in my own typical children. Having their brothers join our family has made them better.

Some say that the risk of the pregnancy is not worth it...

Everything we do in life entails risk. We could choke on a piece of cheesecake, but we choose to eat it and find delight. We could get hit by a car crossing the street, but we do not lock ourselves in the house. Every single pregnancy is a risk. But life IS worth that risk. And a child with Down Syndrome is worth no less than any other child. 

It is time that we, as mothers, see the truth and stop falling for the lies. Life is precious. I look at my boys and cannot help to feel brokenhearted when I think that there are 18 others, so much like them, that were not given the chance to live and to shine because they were diagnosed with an extra chromosome while still tucked away in their mother's womb. 

These children are a gift and a treasure. If you recognize that, but cannot parent that child for some reason, there are literally thousands of couples waiting in line to receive such a gift. You can find out more about the adoption option here.