We Are Family

We have been home now for over 3 months. It truly feels as though we have been family forever. Not that everyday is easy, there are SO many challenges that we deal with on a daily basis. These boys spent their whole lives outside of a family and a true home. It is a long road overcoming the trauma of abandonment and institutionalization. In all honesty, I did not understand just how effected our boys would be because they were so young when we brought them home. Both are effected very differently, and it is getting better and better. However, both have been effected. That said, there are challenges with raising kids. Parenting is messy and hard no matter how our children come to us or what their history holds. 

This is Tobi the day we met him. A sweet, laid back, baby boy. His head was unstable, his body very limp. He could not sit up unassisted. He was a sweet natured baby boy, but every smile was guarded and very hard to earn. Eye contact was nonsexist in those first days.

I fell in love with this sweetheart the moment I laid eyes on him. I had no idea what his future held, what he could accomplish. What I did know is that he was mine and that I was his.

We witnessed our little guy transform over the weeks that we were staying and visiting him during our court process in Ukraine. He got stronger, began to make eye contact and to smile without our having to break a sweat, and started to vocalize some.

We still could not see what his future held, but we started to see glimpses of the progress he would make.

Look at this sweet boy now, almost 4 months later!

He is sitting, crawling (he prefers army style!), pulling himself up on things, and cruising along furniture. The physical progress is great, but even more is the social progress he has made!

He lights up when we walk into his room! He says, "Mama" on purpose and then laughs at my excitement. He does not just smile and laugh in response to us, but he initiates interaction. He crawls to me for a hug or to show me a toy. He crawls to his siblings, looking to play. He does silly things and waits for a response (and gets so tickled once it comes). He is still the sweet, mostly laid back little man that we met. He is also very different. We've seen him blossom within our family. He has found his place and is so very very loved!

And then there is Josiah. Here he is the day we met. He was so so tiny and his body was so sick, but his spirit was so alive. He sought connection the moment we met him.

He looked in our eyes as if taking us in. It was honestly as though he knew us. He was famous in both hospitals he stayed in during our time in country. He has a personality that draws people to him. As we would walk him up and down the hallway, the other mamas would yell out his name and wave. He'd respond with his amazing smile.

He seemed to know that we were different from very early on. He was very social and very ready to connect emotionally.

His body was so tiny, but so strong. He had great muscle tone, but we were so very worried about his lungs and his heart. Shortly after we got home, he was hospitalized because of very low oxygen levels from a little virus he picked up. After a week in the hospital and many tests and specialists, we had answers and a plan. His lungs were damaged because he was aspirating his formula into his lungs. They had us thicken his formula and changed his nipples and he has been healthy now since.

He now has a healthy body that can keep up with his amazing spirit! He lights up our house! He has become a very big Mama's boy. He prefers to smile at everyone else from my arms :) He also loves his siblings and is especially close to Sam.

I honestly cannot fathom our house without our guys in it! I will not make this out to be just a bed of roses. Let me tell you, these boys are amazing but they come to us with much more baggage than most adults I have known. We love them so very much, but they have issues that cannot just be loved away. Some that will follow them for their whole lives. That said, we are in it. A family does not mean perfection. It means that you are not alone in your mess. It means that there are others that are willing to jump in the hard stuff and wrestle the hurts right along with you. It is called love. And we have a lot of it! 

Mothers Day

Today is a day to celebrate mothers. It may be selfish, but it has always been one of my favorite days of the year. This year, I am torn a bit. I am still SO grateful for my children and for the gifts they make that allow me to glance at their hearts and know they feel loved. I am so grateful to walk into the babies' room in the morning and see the 2 beaming smiles they reserve only for me. I am so thankful that this year they have a mother and are thriving with that love. I cannot help but feel blessed beyond measure. I think that is how it should be, God wants me to be thankful for the blessings He has given to me, and I am surrounded each day with more than I can count. But then, I also have had a year that has changed my heart, that has fully broken it and I am not sure it is meant to be fully fixed. I prayed at the very beginning of our adoption process that God would break my heart with what breaks His. That I would have eyes that would see the broken. And He has answered that prayer. He allowed me to fall head over heels in love with two little boys that had not just been abandoned, but had been cast away with purpose. That I could begin to repair, even if that trauma follows them, I could offer them unconditional love. God went a step further. He allowed to see faces that I would have to leave behind. To spend beautiful moments playing peek a boo with the little boy in the isolation room next to Josiah once he got out of the hospital. To see the joy this little boy got from just a few minutes of eye contact. Spending hours alone in a little room, unable to sit or stand because of severe hydrocephalous. And yet, still so alive and filled with such joy. His smile lit his whole little face by our loving him through a window. I never got to touch him, never even got to enter his room, but his eyes and his smile I pray will never leave my memory. Since coming home, I have learned that this sweet boy has many here fighting for him to get the medical care that could bring him relief. He has not been released for adoption, that is not the answer for him, along with so many others living in orphanages in Eastern Europe. But there are people working hard to change things for children with special needs there. There are people working to change the thinking of birth families and to change the conditions for the children cast away. This mother's day, I am determined to help those people to help the children that will never know the love of a mother. I will be talking a lot coming soon about THIS amazing organization that has helped and is still helping the children in our boys' orphanage and is trying to get medical treatment for this little one that so captured my heart through weeks of smiling through a window.

I think that my life has been forever changed. At least I pray it has. Not that I do not appreciate the amazing family that God has blessed me with, because I so do. But that I will never forget about the motherless hidden away in institutions. I left part of my heart in Ukraine in that orphanage, knowing there are hundreds like it spread throughout the country. My heart breaks for the ones that do not have mommies tonight. The ones that do not even know what a mama is and have never ever experienced what it feels like to be loved and cherished.

Pictures Are Worth a Thousand Words

These ones tell it all! It has been 2 weeks since we got our boys HOME!

We are settling in and finding our new normal

Our new normal could not be better!

Learning how to be brothers

Learning how to smile

and to laugh

Learning that kisses are great

Pondering all the things that have changed

And enjoying every second

Feeling (and tasting) grass for the very first time

And learning how to stand

Life is OH SO GOOD!!!!

Orphans No More

Today is the day that will forever change our lives and the lives of 2 sweet boys that we have fallen head over heels for. I look in their eyes, and see so much! These boys that would have gone forgotten if not for a blurry picture that captured our hearts and propelled us on this journey of adoption. They are no longer forgotten but are true sons! We are not done yet. We have over 2 weeks before we can bring them home with us, but today our motives and means were searched and we were granted the right to become the parents of these two amazing boys. These boys that truly fit perfectly within our family. It is amazing to me how perfectly God's will works! I had a friend send me Isaiah 43:1-7 a few days ago. I have looked at, prayed, and claimed these verses many times over these days of anticipation for our court date. Often with tears for the amazing promises I felt God was giving to us. I have no idea what the future holds for these 2 sons, but I am so very thankful that they now have a future. Many have told us what a blessing we are to the boys. I know that is true. I also know that they are just as much a blessing to us. In the 2 weeks that we have spent getting to know our sons, they have brought such joy to us. I cannot wait to see what God does in their lives. He has His fingerprints ALL over their stories, He will be faithful to complete this work that He has begun. Today Tobias Stepan Quiambao and Josiah Yaroslav Quiambao are orphans no more. They are our sons (and brothers too!)

         Isaiah 43:1-7

           But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel:  "Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior:  I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.  Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you;  Therefore I will give men for you, And people for you life.  Fear not, for I am with you;  I will bring your descendants from the east And gather you from the west; I will say to the north, "Give them up!"  And to the south, "Do not keep them back!"  Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth.  Everyone who called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory;  I have formed him, yes, I have made him."

When the Dream becomes Reality

For many months, we have dreamt of our boys. We had two pictures and a few sentences to form those dreams on. We prayed that God would go before us and prepare their little hearts for our family. He has answered that prayer in such an amazing way. The reality of these boys is so much better than a dream. To smell their little heads, kiss those sweet cheeks, and to be feel their bodies in my arms. God has opened their hearts for our family. When they brought Tobi around the corner this morning, he gave us a big smile. There was recognition in that smile. He is already figuring out that we are different. I am pretty sure he can tell that we love him. That is foreign to him, but welcomed. They are in a good place, as orphanages go. We have met or at least seen most of the nannies that have cared for him this last year. They are happy that we are there. We saw Josiah for only a few minutes the first day we arrived. He was in the local hospital here because he has had pneumonia on and off for several months. They took him early yesterday to the big city in our region to have some testing done. That hospital has given us permission to visit with him while he is there. We will jump on that offer! The doctor from his orphanage will be going with us on Sunday and will help translate and guide us to him. Here hospitals provide doctors and testing, but families provide food, meds, and diapers. Of course we are happy to provide anything that will allow him to get better so he can come home. They are hoping to get answers as to why he cannot get over this pneumonia. I have a few theories, but I just want him out of there so that we can bring him home when it is time. He is very spunky, strong, and so happy! It is hard to imagine that he has been sick for so long. He certainly doesn't look or act sick. Because we have to hire a driver to take us there and back (and wait for us while we visit) and pay for medicines and such each time, our budget has changed some. If you noticed the thermometer has gone up just a bit, that is why. We were fully funded for the trip, but this will stretch it. Not by a lot as there was some emergency funds already figured in, but some. I will go into more details later, but now it is time to go see our Tobi boy for our daily visit!

You Invited Me In

Six months ago, our eyes were opened to the plight of special needs orphans in Eastern Europe. We knew without a doubt that we were being called to do something. At that point I had no idea what exactly that something might be. God had prepared us for adoption before we had any idea what he was preparing us for. He answered every "but" that we could come up with before we came up with them. The only thing He left unclear was the how. How could we financially complete this calling? He called us to step out in faith and trust Him. I am not going to lie, I had a hard time with this. Panicking comes so easy to me, and this was panic worthy! I would look at the thermometer on each blog post and break out in a cold sweat. I trusted God enough to move forward, but it was so hard not to buy into the fear that Satan knew could be a serious problem for me. I asked some amazing prayer warriors to cover me in this specific area and then I cried out, "I believe, Help my unbelief." And then, I watched a miracle unfold before me. We shared our hearts with our church family. And then we watched the body of Christ, both here at home and all over the world, work and give in ways we never expected. We watched as the thermometer rose. We watched as the body of Christ embraced our future sons in a way that I had only dreamed. We have seen our church stand up and follow God's Word to care for the orphan in a very personal way. We have been enveloped by prayer, love, encouragement, and the most generous giving. We have watched the body of Christ work the way it has been called to work.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ "

It seems so little to say thank you to a group of people that have worked so hard, sacrificed so much, and given much more than we would have ever dared to ask. I know that as much as it means to us and to our boys right here and now, it means even more to the Creator. It has been incredibly humbling to be on this side of the giving. It has allowed us to get to the boys that we love, and it has taught me much about faith in God's promises.

We are so close to our goal. Although it is not completely met, I no longer have panic attacks about it. There is no doubt that God has began this good work and He will be faithful to complete it.

Not Just Any Day

We are another week closer. I am sure that one day, Mondays will be just another day again. For now, however, they mark some very special days. The day that our dreams turned into reality. And the day that we will be sitting down with the authority on adoption in our boys' country and granted permission to meet the boys that have already become sons of our hearts. We will learn their birth names (at least Josiah's, as we have already learned Tobi's). We will learn their birth dates. We will learn about their family histories (This is something we have decided to keep private). We will treasure this information and soak up as much of their family information that we can so that we can answer their questions someday. There have been a few children adopted recently that have some family that visit them in their orphanages. I would love to know that someone has loved these boys. I would love to be able to show their families their progress once they come home. Most of the time, this is not the case, especially for children with Down Syndrome, but these few cases have given me a glimmer of hope. And finally, we will be given permission to meet the boys and move forward with our adoption in their country. This letter will be our permission to see our boys for the first time. I can hardly keep a thought in my head. We are so close! Two weeks from now, we will be preparing to meet our boys!