Friday already???

How do I even start? First of all, our week went entirely too fast, as predicted! We hoped for the best and I think, through prayer and grace, we had the very best time! Max was shy, he would never tell us how he was feeling and when we would ask why he would like to do or eat, he would not have an answer. That is expected and typical. He does not want to give an answer that might upset us and make us change our minds. He has no idea that that is not even a possibility. I believe we can only show him this is true by actions. Touching lightly on the shoulder, hugs, and not forcing him to have an opinion. He will not feel like we are going to keep him for a long time. In his mind, we may say no even after we get him home. He is very immature and naive in this respect. When he does get comfortable he will start to test his limits. Just like a child would when they are little, but his actions to test may be a little more big kid, same concept.

So leaving today. Max said he was going to miss us and that he wished he could come now! Of course we do also! I promised him everything will go as quickly as humanly possible. That will still probably 5 months though:( It doesn't seem fair to make the older kids wait anxiously for so long, when they fully understand what is happening! Max is a caring boy and would like to make me coffee every day. That is ok with me!!!! He likes to make me drawings (with some help if possible), he made me a bracelet, and the card I posted already. His maturity level will be much lower than 14 as he has many years of being a kid without a family to make up for. I told him that I hope he is ready because I have 14 years of pictures to take!! I threatened him with wrapping him in a blanket and a pacifier and taking his picture. I was kidding, of course!!!

Here is the drawings he gave me!

He copied the words from the book I gave him that has our pictures in it!! He shows it to everyone and he loves to tell them about Julian, Caroline, Natalie, and Taylor. Obviously, on here he ran out of room for Natalie!!

He had some help from friends on these😉

Most people in Yambol live in these flats, built during communist reign in the 1950's+60's. They are literally everywhere here and in Sofia. Very few houses. Even fewer houses that even look livable. 

The beginning

I haven't blogged much because I want to make sure I word things correctly since many don't understand why we would do this with an older child. I get that. I have also thought people were in over their heads with what they have chosen for their families.  Everyone is called to do something! I have seen families really struggle. But, I have also seen many successful outcomes. Of course, I pray several times a day that we have the successful outcome. I am relying on my complete faith in Christ Jesus that He will see us through this as we are trying to be his servants here on Earth and do what we have been called to do. I am not naive in that I think that will make everything ok and wonderful every minute. I also believe that my faith will get us through any issues that may arise, because they will arise. Look at the big picture with me for just a minute. You are 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 years old. You watch parents from America and other countries come and adopt your friends, but no one comes for you. In the back of your head you are starting to wonder what happens when you are too old for the orphanage. You are jealous of the kids that get to have parents and be loved. You really don't know what that means but everyone said it is wonderful. You want that. Can you imagine the excitement when you find out some parents from America want to come and meet you? Then you find out that there are brothers and sisters? And you get to talk to them? They give you some small gifts! And a picture book of your new home and city and family!!! Now you have something to show your friends! It is finally your turn to have a family, just as you were starting to give up hope....

Max has been shy. He might be afraid to ask questions, but we keep encouraging him to ask anyway! By the end of the day he opens up a little! He asks about his siblings and wants to know if they play sports, what they do at school, etc. He wants to know if Julian will play soccer with him. He loves soccer and wants to make sure that he can continue to "train". We have assured him that he can be as serious as he wants to be. He wants to know about school in general and if he gets to play sports during school. The education here is only about 5 hours a day and it is broken up into 2 sessions before and after lunch. In between they are allowed to leave for lunch. It does not sound very organized. I am nervous about how he will feel about school in America, but we will work through it! He asks about driving age. It is 18 here so he is happy that it is younger in America. We didn't mention yet that he will need to be ready according to us. Who knows! He asked about drinking age because it is 18 here. Bad news buddy.... Vladi,  our translator, heard him telling his friends how he got to talk to his siblings! That made us feel good! Tomorrow I hope that he can talk to Julian! Vladi helps them talk to each other! Max says, "Hi, my name is Max" to them and they liked that. Max is still not comfortable saying many things in English so this is a big deal! I brought a book for myself that is a Bulgarian/ English phrasebook that is very handy. When Max and the director from the orphanage saw it they loved it so I let them keep it. I also brought an ESL book that has a disc he can use to help understand how to start saying some things! I know that no one here will teach him, so I hope he is a little motivated to teach himself with the help of the disc that will show him how to pronounce things and how to start having short conversations when greeting people.   He likes to play video games that are similar to Call of Duty when he is inside. He also likes Facebook. This is normal for his age. He seems pretty open to trying new foods. We have told him that i will try to make some Bulgarian type food for him sometimes, but it won't be as good because of the ingredients available in America. Him and his director are going to show me how they make Banitsa tomorrow! We are all looking forward to it! Then we will take Max to get his picture for his Visa! On Thur we will sign the papers that we intend to adopt Max and give them his name that will be on his new birth certificate. I will announce his official full name tomorrow. He will still be called Max by everyone! This is what he wants and we understand and are perfectly ok with this!

Max did the sweetest thing today. It reminded me of Taylor. He offered to bring Matt andI coffee. Then brought us cookies! Then he brought in a card he made for me! I will post pictures, but it melted my heart and he even wrote the word 'love' inside. I will post a picture. It will take some time for him to learn how to have relationships with each of us, but he will be able to learn and we will lovingly encourage him do the right thing.

And I thank God that I have soon many friends that have been through this and have seen everything! They are an endless source of support and information and I can't possibly thank them all enough! Crazy that most of them I have never met in person, but I have relied on them so much for everything! Together we will get through all of our struggles and our children will accomplish things that their hearts never imagined possible.

As an example, we asked Max what his dream is.... He thinks he wants to be a cab driver.... He has no idea..... The future has endless possibilities....

Us? Again?

This post is so very long overdue. Mostly because I needed to get my thoughts together... for a long time! The trip to Florida helped! Here is where we are....

Natalie is doing fantastic! She is thriving, learning, exploring, testing limits (all of them), and growing! Her speech is developing and I still am so excited for the days that we can have real conversations, they will come! We decided to try her on some ADHD meds to help her learn to focus. This has been an answer to prayers! We now have a teachable child! While we aren't for sure if she will get off of them eventually, or not, we are so thankful for this modern invention that has allowed our girl to take in the world around her, instead of constantly bouncing off the walls and having an attention span that was less than nothing (if that is possible, she had it!). She has experienced so much this year! She has been on 3 trips to Florida! We went on Spring Break in Siesta Key, 4th of July at Disney, and Christmas on Fort Myers Beach! She looooooves water! So much so, that we put her in Infant Rescue Swimming this fall and she has done great! We are much more confident in her ability to save herself if she were to fall into the water! Emily has been so patient teaching her and we really could not have been more blessed to find her! She goes to Pre School at Cedar Canyon Elementary and she is doing so well! I will try to post the video of her singing at her Holiday Show. Mrs. Geisleman and her school therapists have helped her in more ways than I could begin to explain here! We are so thankful that our school district has such an amazing special needs preschool program for her! She goes to outpatient Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy as well, and they are so happy with the progress she is making, especially after being put on meds! We are so thankful to have her in our family! Caroline, Taylor, and Julian absolutely love her to death and she looks so forward to seeing them get home every day from school! She is a Daddy's girl, when Daddy is around. However, when it is just her and I she is a cuddle bug and loves helping me do things!

"You're going to WHAT?"

Most of you have probably thought it, but maybe not said it out loud! I was in this group once. I still am in this group sometimes and in some situations. Even though this blog is called "Gods Call, Our Journey" I did not see this coming. In December of last year a boy was posted on our agency's Facebook page, and immediately all of us commented on his kind eyes, his cuteness, and his description, which included his love of art. I thought, for sure, this boy would quickly have a family coming for him. There were several families already in process for preteen and teenage children. Matt and I had been lightheartedly talking about adopting again. Possibly a sibling group of two? Maybe a child around 10 years old? I even asked about several that were posted on our FB pages. None of those worked out. I kept checking on this boy I had seen and kept asking who was going to get him. No one was. He was getting near the end of his chance. Would he just never get a family? Never get a chance? Was there something wrong with him that no one would want him? No. He is older and that was the biggest problem. Most families want younger kids. So, was this God's plan for us? It seems like we needed all these signs from God to truly believe He wanted us to adopt Natalie. Was it fair to ask that of Him this time? Perhaps the biggest sign will be that none of the others we asked about have panned out and this one will. Fast forward to April. The first week of Spring Break and I had shown Matt the picture of the boy. We asked the kids previously what they were feeling about the prospect of this... THEY WERE ALL IN. I was shocked. Their hearts are so open and they have so much love. Truly, even if I did raise them, I still look in awe at what they have to offer others! That was enough for Matt and I to ask the agency about the possibility of us adopting the boy. Within 24 hours we had our papers virtually signed and our application fee in. Although this story does not have the pre-story that Natalie's did, I always have been at peace with this decision. Mostly, I think of arming myself and my family with information. Preparing for many different scenarios of bringing a teenager into the family. And yes, protecting my daughters from a teenage boy! It has to be said, even if it is a worse case scenario! Since I do have so much to say about this, I will save that for a future post. Lets just say this, we have COMPLETE faith in God and His plan for our life as a family. Maybe others can't understand and that is ok. Those that need to understand, do. And those that are meant to understand, will. This is God's plan, how it plays out is yet to be seen, all we can do is pray and ask you to pray with us! For our boy, for our family. Thank you for being there for us and with us!

Surgery time

When we first met Natalie and she opened her mouth our first reaction was, LOOK AT THOSE TONSILS! Holy cow, they touch her uvula! HUGE. So we knew a couple things. 1. They would have to come out. 2. They were probably causing sleep apnea. 3. She may have eating problems. 

1 and 2 were totally true. They do cause sleep apnea and they are coming out tomorrow. She really doesn't have major eating problems. But our last straw was her eating evaluation with her speech therapist Julie, who is AMAZING. She is at Parkview Pediatric rehab, and she discovered that a large amount of food was getting stuck in her tonsils. Yikes. She could easily inhale this food, choke, etc. 

So here we are, we have to be at PRMC at 7am tomorrow and those bad boys are coming out of there, along with adenoids. Here is what we are praying for! That it goes smoothly, that she handles the anesthesia ok, that she will feel much better having them out, breath better, sleep better, no more complaining about it hurting when she eats! And that she gets as much ice cream as she wants, of course!

6 Months home

It seems like a dream. A really long dream that has gone really fast. Have we really had this Princess home for 6 months, half a year? I am constantly asked how we are doing. I'm not sure. This is all new. Every day of it! I think we are doing good. That being said, we have many frustrating moments. Overall, WOW has this princess blossomed in a family! Of course, we can't imagine our lives without her now! Isn't that the way it is no matter how old your baby is when you finally have them in your life after so many months of preparation! 

The best news of all is that she has not played in the toilet in months! She hasn't pulled my hair in weeks. Taylor hasn't been so lucky on that one. She isn't biting nearly as much. She is following some directions. She is sitting still for a few minutes at a time. She is still getting into my bathroom and wreaking havoc! She is saying about 10 words. She is signing over 55 words! She started school last week! She only pulled one girl's hair! She is not potty trained yet. And I think she understood that I was pretty mad when she tried to change her own dirty diaper.... a few times...😝

I still can't wait for the day we can have an actual conversation. Or the day I can trust her in the next room for 1 minutes.  

I think so far the best thing has been watching the relationship between her and the rest of the kids. Julian is such a doting big brother. When he sees her his whole face lights up. Of course, he doesn't do diapers. But he will watch her for a little bit! Caroline is the official babysitter and the second Mom. She does diapers, gets her food, and plays. Taylor is the idol. Natalie will do anything Taylor is doing. She will copy every move. She can not wait for them to get off the bus in the afternoon. If she is going to ask me anything during the day it is about Caroline getting off the bus!

She eats very well and can feed herself for the most part. She can dress and undress and dress and undress.... She has starting playing with a couple toys every now and then for more than one second! She likes some movies, right now its Mr. Peabody and Sherman. She says "babababa" to ask for it. For Free Birds she signs bird. For signing time she signs Alex and Leah, or sometimes she signs signing time. 

She has many big adventures and exciting things coming up... Spring Break in Siesta Key, Zoo Camp this summer, and a trip to Disney World to name a few!  Many pictures of these things to come! 

One month down!

Is anyone else having a hard time believing it's been one month since Natalie arrived in the USA? I would LOVE to be in her mind and listen to her thoughts as she has experienced EVERYTHING for the first time! First time to a park, the store, in a cart, at the lake (still hasn't been on the speed boat yet), to church, to the schools, seeing a bus, house, van, car seat, big girl bed! Not to even mention the English she is learning. I am so thankful that despite having Down Syndrome and a stigma that goes with that, being that she can't learn, she soaks up information like a sponge. She is doing even more signs, she is starting to say words. She calls me Mom, over and over and over and over!!! She hugs and kisses and blows kisses. She loves her brother and sisters. She helps with laundry and knows how to dress and undress, over and over and over! LOL. She can climb over any gate or any other object that is in her way. I'm telling you, this girl is going to move mountains. And to think 6 weeks ago, the only thing she knew was her orphanage. Now she is free to learn, to speak, to explore, and to play in the toilet.........😝 (don't leave the bathroom door open!)

Time, An Interesting Thing

It seems like forever ago that we were in Sofia! I feel a little like a time traveller (you know what they feels like, right?)! It is a world away from here. Taylor always asks us if we are in a different world when we go to other cities, so for once I could tell her yes and mean it! It is definitly not America!!! We missed so many things about home! Mostly the availability of our own transportation and our proximity to stuff we needed! It was either a 15 minute walk or a $10 taxi ride! We got over that the first trip. Dragging three kids around was exhausting to say the least! Now looking back, it has almost been 3 weeks since we have had Natalie! It does not seem like that long. It has been 1 week since we got home! I won't lie or cover it up, life can be challenging! But so worth it when she smiles and laughs!! She is not used to anything here, so we are inteoducing her slowly to our (100mph) life! She has many institutional behaviors that we will be working through for many months. We are starting to teach her sign language, and I thank Lisa of letting us borrow her DVDs!!! I tried to get a picture of her signing eat, but I was not quick enough! She says Mama, but I don't think she is associating it with me yet. Pretty much anyone that takes care of her for 5 seconds is Mama! LOL. She lets me rock her to sleep so that is a good start for me!!! 

Many people may still wonder why we did this. I saw this on Facebook the other day and I think it will help you understand. I told Pastor Ron long before we even started the adoption process that I felt like God was calling me to do something big. Big does not equal easy, or even in your comfort zone at times! There are many areas of my life where I don't consider myself worthy, or good. But I was able to do something that God willed for Matt and our family. And it was worth it. God will continue to bless us with Natalie forever!