Sonnet goes to therapy

The Little Miss went to therapy for the first time.  She was all smiles as she met new people and waited for her turn.

She and her occupational therapist really hit it off.

She was pretty tired out after working hard for an hour, but we came away from the evaluation with some good ideas to work on at home.  Next up will be the physical therapy evaluation.

My husband is a GENIUS!

This old lady is having trouble lifting two wheelchairs and a weighted walker in and out of our big van when I go anywhere with the kids by myself.  So Ethan and I went to a medical supply store this weekend to try out ramps. The aluminum one weighs FORTY-SIX pounds, and then I would have to wrestle it through the side aisle in the van. Definitely NOT an improvement.

We've come to the conclusion that we are going to have to have a lift.  But a lift doesn't happen in a weekend.  We will need to seek funding for one (they are very expensive -- hopefully insurance will help!) and then it will need to be ordered and professionally installed. In the meantime I was desperate to have SOMETHING to help me get the equipment into the van.  

Last night Ethan took the boys outside with him to work on a project.  Look what he did!

This is for pushing ONLY the chairs up - no kids in them, and is a temporary fix until we can get a ramp, but wow.  It surely saved my back today!  If anyone else is in a similar situation here is what he did.

 

He used two, 2" x 6" boards and trimmed the corners to fit in our bumper.  Also note the cord.  He drilled holes and put a knotted cord through the top part and the bottom part so even I can get the boards properly spaced to hold the wheels.

 

 

This man knows me well, so he built outside "guards" so I don't run the wheels off the boards.

They are lightweight, and flat enough to stash UNDER the seats.

I'm so thankful for this, and my kids will be too.  It means we will get to go out to fun places more often!  If you think of it please be praying that we eventually find what we need in a lift.  Thanks!

Ice Cream with Miss Heidi

We had the unusual opportunity and huge pleasure of meeting up with Miss Heidi yesterday, in Cincinnati of all places!  She is back in the USA visiting friends and family.  Heidi is the director of the orphanage school where Abigail, Jennifer and Patrick spent their early years.  Her love for them is obvious, and I am so grateful for the time she spent loving on them before I even knew they were ours.

Miss Heidi with the three kids as seen through the window at Graeter's Ice Cream.

 Heidi was actually the one who gave them their English names in the orphanage school.  Jennifer and Pat kept their school names, and Abigail's was Dawn which is now her middle name.

It was fun to hear Heidi talking with the kids about their history (that sadly, I was not a part of) and even singing some songs together that she'd taught them when in the orphanage.  We were so blessed to be able to make this connection from their past and for her to encourage them in their current situation.  I believe that Pat is still confused about the concept of a family, and that hosting in the States in 2014 then returning to China has reinforced his confusion.  Heidi was able to communicate that he was STAYING HERE (I think he thought she was here to take him back!) with his family who loves him.  If you think of it, keep him in your prayers.  A decade without a family wreaks havoc on a kid's thinking.

For a blast from the past, here is a post from August of 2012 where we first discovered Heidi's role in their lives http://lanzadoptionadventure.blogspot.com/2012_08_24_archive.html

Thank you, Miss Heidi!  Your work is so, so valuable and we appreciate you so much.

Phillipians 4:19

Sonnet has low tone, as in she is very floppy.  We knew this.  I figured we could get by with some regular baby equipment for awhile since she only weighs 30 pounds, but I was wrong. She is also very tall which means baby equipment just can't do the job.

In China it took both Ethan and myself to safely give her a bath.  This isn't very practical at home where we have other responsibilities also.   And she LOVES her bath, so I didn't want to have to rush her through it.  Imagine my delight when I found a Rifton Blue Wave Bath/Shower chair on our local Craigslist for about 1/3 of its retail price!  I snatched it right up!  The seat detaches from the shower legs and fits right in the tub so she can splash around safely.

We purchased an umbrella stroller to use in China.  True, her feet would touch the ground when she refused to keep them on the foot rest, but it worked for a couple of weeks and was such a big help in the airport.  I figured once we got home a larger stroller would keep her feet up off the ground and be better.  Well.... it was better, but trying to stuff her long legs down under a regular stroller tray was difficult for both of us.  Getting her out was just as bad.  And she really NEEDS chest support too.  I thought there MUST be a better way.  Indeed.

A sweet friend dropped by our house on Saturday morning with a gift.  This was a gift from the very heart as it used to belong to her own precious daughter who passed away.   We feel so honored that their family chose to bless us with it.

It is a Snug Seat Stingray Adaptive Stroller.  Friends, this is a wheelchair in disguise!  It has all the safety features and supports of a pediatric wheelchair without the clinical look.  You can see in Sonnet's face in the picture above that this seat is SO MUCH BETTER than anything we had been able to find for her!

We are once again blown away by God's attention to the details... for having a plan to meet Sonnet's needs before we were even aware of them, and for His people loving so selflessly on our little miss. Thank you, Ball family. We are so touched by your generosity. 

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  Phillipians 4:19

 

So how are we doing, really?

We began our trip home a week ago today.  While I will fill in some of the blanks of our time in country eventually, this isn't that day.  Today I reflect upon settling in with Sonnet.  After advocating for her for nearly two years, and honestly struggling about bringing home a child this young and this needy, I am surprised to find that she seems to have filled a gap we didn't even realize we had.  Everyone is just smitten with this tiny little girl.

This is what HAPPY looks like!

 Sonnet's needs are great.  She appeared to literally be starving when we took custody of her.  We were concerned that she wouldn't tolerate food, but WOW you should see her eat!  In spite of very, very rotten teeth she can pack away three meals and snacks beside!  Her Cerebral Palsy is the most severe of any of our children, and has already required us to get some special equipment to care for her needs.  Her global delays put her at about the level of a 6-9 month old baby.  The biggest surprise of all is that she has seizures.  We have already taken her to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for an EEG and are awaiting those test results.  Our big marathon of doctor and dentist appointments begin next week.

Having given the run down on her needs one might think we are struggling, but honestly this has been the easiest adjustment of them all.  I am typically knocked off my feet with jet lag for several weeks following the trip.  We arrived home on Saturday, and it was a rough weekend.  Monday started out feeling like JET LAG will kill me, but it has just gotten better since.  I simply cannot believe that one week in I feel like we have hit our stride of the new normal.  In fact I told Ethan just last night that I'm waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop because it just seems too smooth.  Are we in our honeymoon period of the adoption?  Perhaps, but I'll take it!

Here is a look at our morning.  The kids were just hanging out after breakfast and playing with one another.  Sweet times. 

Had anyone told me that well into my fifties I would again have six children of my own at home I would have laughed at them.  It wasn't my plan.  But I'm thankful that God's ways are not our ways and His plans are not our plans. Sonnet was worth all the sleepless nights, the paperwork, the hassle and the worry.  I am one truly blessed mama and having the time of my life!

This is what HAPPY looks like!

Sonnet is just such a precious child!  She is usually happy like this.  Her care requires a lot of work, but with a smile like this I don't mind very much!

We're home!

We arrived home from China on Saturday.  Aside from some jet lag (honestly it isn't as bad this time as it has been in the past) we are doing well.  Sonnet is settling in to the family very nicely and her siblings think she is just the best.  We're all wondering how we ever managed to live without her!  Yes, we are awfully love stricken here.  I'll have lots of pictures and stories later, but I wanted to let you all know we are home.