Our Other Beautiful Baby Boy :)

Look what we got! It's the long awaited picture of our handsome little guy :)
My arms really, really ache for him and I know it sounds weird, but I miss him. I want so badly to get to know my little boy & I feel like so much valuable time is passing as his country tries to get things pulled together. We didn't get any information with this update, just the picture...but it's more then enough. He's sitting in a chair all by himself which lets me know he's getting stronger...maybe even walking or getting close? I love his little open hand and his hair :) He's got those beautiful brown eyes and hair like his sister Rubee. He's getting big :(
In all honesty, I wonder how coming home is going to affect him emotionally. He's been with his foster family for a year & a half now & know doubt feels like this is his home. His foster mom is a good one. He's got a big foster brother and a foster sister who's waiting to come home to America too. She's been there with him the whole time. My heart hurts to think of the loss he'll feel by coming home to us. I know in time God will heal that hurt with our love..but sometimes, that hurt can be pretty bad. Lord's willing, our little boy will be home soon.
Isn't he just dreamy? I just can't wait to land tons of kisses on those little soft cheeks :)

My Levi...I love you with all my heart. I don't need to touch you, to hear you or to have you next to me to know that your mine..My heart tells me it every time you run across my mind. Mama loves you handsome boy. ((HUGS)).

His Social Security # & 3 Months Home!! :)

Really? Has it only been 3 months since our tornado's been home with our family? He's our boy thru & thru, no doubt! We all took some time to adapt, but our Isaac is for sure one of ours. When we we're first getting to know him in Ukraine I made of list of facts about him. I wanted to give some new one's, an update if you will..




Fact's about Isaac and being home :)


1. Isaac's gone from not letting us hold him for more then 5 min. at a time to wanting hugs & giving hugs ALL THE TIME! He wakes up every morning, comes down stairs and gives each of us a hug & a kiss :) How cute is that?


2. He started as a REALLY hyper, always on the go kinda guy...that hasn't changed one bit, lol :D


3. He's learned to sign in no time at all & even though he's completely non-verbal, he's says a lot, & knows exactly how to get what he needs, when he needs it.


4. He's learned he LOVES affection & attention from his mama :)


5. He can eat like nobodies business! What ever food is left behind at a meal, my boy is sure to try & clean the plate for who ever needs help. (with Isaac around, our dogs don't get the left overs anymore, haa-haa :)


6. He loved bath time when we met..he loves it even more now that he has a bath buddy (Eli) & he's GREAT at making a nice, huge water mess for me to clean :)


7. He loves his teeth being brushed! :)


8. He LOVES to wrestle with his big brother, & can take Zeke being ruff...even when I can't! ("Ezekiel! Your being to ruff!~Relax kid!"~"He likes it, mom")


9. He wakes every morning around 6:30 & cruises to our room to lay with us~a habit he's picked up from Eli, who beats him to our room by about 2 hours every morning...I love it :)

10. He's dying to learn how to ride a bike! We just got one for him and he's giving it his all....

Which leads me to # 11. He's a very determined little guy & can't stand to be helped. If it's something you can show him how to do, that's what he wants & he'll take it from there :)

12. He's discovered TV....& Yo! Gabba Gabba, & Oobi...these shows are sooo weird!!!!~but, he loves them :)

13. He's got a really, really tender side to him. He loves just to hold my hand when we're driving, sitting on the couch, or just lying down for nap :)

14. He's still humming with his hand gestures & signs...& in a dialect too. Not sure if it's in English or Russian though, hee-hee :)

15. When we were in Ukraine I bought a few DVDs in Russian. He'll grab my hand on occasion & lead me to the classroom (the DVD player in our living room won't play the DVDs) & point out those DVDs. While I load it in the player he'll gather his brother's & sister's in the same way & lead them all to the classroom where he directs them to take a seat. We all do :) We've learned to recognize a lot of the words or phrases and the kids like to point out which one's they hear ;) I think he misses hearing his native language all the time. I've not given up on learning & I play my teaching Cd's regularly. He gets a kick out of when I say new things to him :)

16. Did I tell you how much he loves banana's? If I'd let him, he'd eat a whole bunch in one sitting without taking a breath in between!

17. He still enjoys sweeping. One bad habit we've not been able to brake is him spilling his drinks on the floor on purpose, so he can go get the broom to sweep it up. He doesn't do it all the time, but enough (in the orphanage, the care givers would pour water on the ground to avoid the dust rising while they swept)

18. He loves to take car rides! :)

19. He loves to dance & loves LOUD, STRONG beats even more. He moves pretty great~the bonus? As long as he can feel the beat, he moves his flat little feet :)

20. He doesn't like to see pictures of the orphanage or him in it. If he happens to see one, he shakes his head "no" along with his hand up in a wave.

21. He does like to see one picture of his past..this one.

It's of him & his main care giver. I think he misses her ;( He smiles at this picture & points to her with a hummm,hummm while he looks at me. I wish I knew what he was telling me about her. I'm grateful to her & to know he had someone who really showed him some love. I wish I could thank her.

21. He loves his big brother, has become great buds with his little one, and gets his sisters laughing all the time with his silliness. Naomi still kinda has a love hate relationship with him...loves him to pieces one day, then the next..well, not so much. I've reassured her, her feelings are oka and that she's still my baby girl & now she's having many more days of loving him then not :)

22. He's a great fit here. :)

OUR ISAAC..



love this photo..him in mid "humm" wanting to know wheres breakfast:)

his favorite sleeping position.

out of the bath with his towel, a cup o'joe & Little Bill on TV.. (it just water for real)

school time :)

1st meal at a Mexican restaurant..he's trying the chips and salsa..

He didn't like the salsa, so he gave the chip to me :)

hanging with the boys :)

Rubee's self shot of her & her brother.

Little ham :)

dancing with Ayla

These two are quite the pair!

Trying to get Isaac to smile for me..

almost..

There's that killer smile!

sitting doing work at the table (my work place) with my glasses :)

One of Naomi's love him days..she dressed him and put on his hat so they could match :)

Isaac discovered pull-ups make great masks! He got one out for Eli off they went :)

So there you have it...our little man :) I can't imagine life without him. I think of his bio. mom often & wonder...does she wonder about him? She's missing a great kid. ;(


~*~*it's been 5 long months since we've had an update on our Levi. Today we got an email saying pictures on the way!! :) I can't wait to see my boy! :)

Love you Levi. Wishing & praying you home soon. ~*~*

First The Critters, Now The Flu...

When we brought our Isaac home he had this rash that we couldn't get rid of..it drove me nuts trying to figure out what was causing it. I thought maybe he had eczema so I treated it like so. Then I switched food around, you know, took out dairy, then wheat..added dairy back, then wheat. Tryed "free" of everything detergents and soaps. But nothing seemed to work. About 3 weeks after being home I noticed his rash was spreading to me. And I itched like CRRRAZZZZY! I scratched myself raw on my thighs, and left bruises on my shoulders. Isaac wasn't scratching like I was, but his rash looked just like mine. Finally, with insurance in place I took him in to see the doctor where I was so kindly informed that the rash we shared wasn't a rash at all, but was in fact Scabies...AAHHHHHH!! Those disgusting little human mites that I read about in the warning part of the medical book that's to inform prospective adoptive parents of what they may be getting with their child.
So Isaac brought home these not so welcome gifts to share :D.
Well, I have to tell you...my home has NEVER been more clean, more clutter free and more kept up with in all my life, lol! It's taken 4 long treatments of our whole family (a good month of treatments) to finally be free of those little buggies, Yay! We've waited out the extra 2 weeks to see if any new "activity" would show up..and so far, nothing, WHAA~HOOO!:)



SO IF ANY OF YOU NEW MOMS OR DADS COME HOME & FEEL AN ITCH LIKE YOU'VE NEVER FELT BEFORE...MAKE SURE TO GET CHECKED!! (BEING INFESTED THE FIRST TIME, YOU WON'T SHOW (OR FEEL) ITCHY FOR ABOUT 2-3 WEEKS AFTER YOU'VE BEEN HOME..AND IF YOUR LITTLE ONE LOOKS RASHY OR HIS SKIN JUST SEEMS ROUGH..GET CHECKED!

So now you all know the ugly truth as to why we've been home bound, & no-one has been invited over to meet our little man, lol :) But thankfully, we've been given the clean bill of health..at least from the scabies. Eli started with a nasty nose last week. It turned into a nasty fever that lasted for days on end & that lead us to the ER.~ Cause when ever my little man gets sick, his lungs shut down and he battles for every breath. We have our nebulizer to give him his breathing treatments, but it wasn't working. After a long day, and some medications, his fevers have gone and he's feeling, and acting more like his old self. I've recently done an overhaul on our diets. The boys and my Naomi have been drinking tons of coconut milk (has all the great things needed to really boost the immune system, costly, but worth it!) and getting freshly juiced kale, spinach, carrots and apple juice each day. Along with a dosage of their Nutrivine-D and Juice Plus chewables. I have put a good amount of apple juice, but it works well at hiding the greens :) It's another blend to really boost their immune systems. I LOVE this time of year, but HATE how bad Eli gets sick every year. This year I'm loading the kids up in hopes of warding off the sickies. So we'll see if it works!
My Levi. I love you so much little guy and have been thinking of you and praying for you ALOT. Lord~protect my boy and bring him home. HUGS, mama

I've Joined The Reece's Rainbow Blogging Team!

As One We Can...

Most of you already know this, but for those of you who don't...I have this crazy passion for the children still waiting to be found. My heart bleeds for them. I have so much admiration and respect for what Andrea Roberts, the founder of RR ministries, did with her passion. Because of her obedience to her call by God, she's played a huge part in helping so many families find their children. Including us. In a small effort to be of more help to other adopting families I started a blog called 'As one we can'. It was designed to pull families together to donate to two particular families each week, in hopes that by each of us donating to these particular families, their financial burden would be lifted just a little more. Any of you who've adopted know it's not cheap. But God's bank doesn't run dry..even in the most driest of times :)

Today, I'm proud to announce that I know longer will be blogging on my own, but as a part of the RR blogging team at http://www.reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/.

I hope you who've followed my blog come check out the new RR blog. It's being updated and a new team of wonderful women have been brought together to add zest from all different points. I can't wait to see what doors God will open with this new blog and group of women!

Celebrating That Awesome Extra 21st Chromosome

If there was someway for me to let the world know how privileged and thankful I am to be the mom of 2 really, really great little guys with Down Syndrome...I do it in a heart beat :)
I wish every parent could know this intensity, this wonder, this compassion, this newness that is learned by having a child with special needs. As a new mom 12 years ago....I was in total awe of my new little girl, my Ayla. My life was so radically changed by becoming a mom. My views on life itself were radically changed. All the sudden I was aware of every bad and harmful thing around me. I became the mom that was determined to protect her newest little one from it all. I felt that new intensity with each of my little ones.
Buuut, when Eli was born?
It was a whole new experience, a whole new can of beans so to speak. I can't explain in words the desire I had come over me...I just wanted more then ever to protect.
Protect from stares, from ugly name calling, from others ugly judgemental thoughts.
I knew right off the bat that Eli was forever going to be viewed as different, & that he'd forever have to prove himself as being just like everyone else, just with a little something extra :)
I love my sons soooo much!
I love that God blessed them with being different.
I love that in their innocence they won't have to ever really know all the evil that exist in this world.
I love every hug.
I love every sound of laughter that comes form them.
I love every killer smile that they flash my way.
I love the way they scream.. "Mmmaaaaa!!" and then wait just for me with their arms open wide so I can scoop them up.
I love that they have totally awesome brothers and sisters who've learned a world of compassion that many children never really get the chance to learn.
I love that their sooooo protected here.
I love how here at home, their just themselves.
No labels.
No expectations.
No one standing in wonder at how "high functioning" they are....
because their expecting my sons to not be able to accomplish~simply because of that beautiful extra chromosome.
I celebrate Down Syndrome.
I celebrate the beauty of every child, teen and adult with DS.
I've had people tell me that Mat & I don't know what we've gotten ourselves into by adopting another child with DS. They look at me like I'm absolutly nuts when I tell them where waiting for our other son to come home, & that yeess, he has DS too. :)
And, in all honesty, I guess I don't know what we've gotten ourselves into, but does anyone when you have a child? Parenting is a day by day, step by step learning process. And I love it & wouldn't change it.
I look forward to the years ahead and what they hold.
Happy Down Syndrome month! :)
~*~*~My handsome Levi, even though your far away, my heart celebrates the beauty of you. I wish so much that you were home. I long to get to know you, to hear your voice, feel your little arms around my neck. I love you handsome boy! Luv, Mama


My reasons for celebrating :)

Who wouldn't celebrate being this blessed :)

It's National Down Syndrome Month!!