We Are HOME!

We arrived last night, just in time for Friday Night Pizza night.  The ride home was a little stressful, as stopping suddenly was not at ALL comfortable. Unfortunately, the Texas drivers that pulled in front of us, continuously, didn't know Erika needed them to be more courteous.

We opted to take the long way home and get off of the crazy Friday Night Freeway.  By the time we got home, we needed to give her pain meds and FAST.  But everything settled, and this a.m. she was up and ready to get into her wheel chair.

I think we made the right decision to come home.  We BOTH feel better.  My back is really not good, and one more day on the parent bed would have deemed it necessary for me to have my own morphine pump. LOL

Here are a few pictures of our stay:  Erika has her own set of pictures too. :)

 Arrival at our room.

 School days never get a break.

 The amazing menu!  This is just 2 pages of menu items. There were more!  The hospital now has room service. When you are hungry, you order, any time of day until 6:00. 

 A room with a view:

 Erika's bracelet said, falls, so we wrote "Forgets" on mama's. :)

 Getting ready to go.

 The Elevator Ride

 The X rays

 The Man! (Dr. Herring)

 Erika and Robert  (he makes legs)

 Erika and Pastor Justin

 Dr. Herring again

 The other Dr.... (learning with Dr. Herring.  He likes "hips and spines". :)

 Visiting with sisters and daddy

 The nicest nurse in the world!

 Mama and Anna

 Miss Wanda.... (she also makes legs)

 Kiley... a friend from Camp.

 This is the intake area.

 And there she goes with the anesthesiologist.

 Back in our room after surgery.

 The morphine pump is doing it's job. LOL

 Visits from some very special people. :)

 Anna came in and fell into my feather bed. She misses me. :)

 Alli trying out Erika's new transportation.

 Erika received a Raggedy Ann and Andy Doll, handmade by some very special volunteers.

 Anna still misses me. :)

 Good byes from Daddy.

 Mommy and Erika did our best at Art Work. These will be fired next week and we can pick them up when we go back in two weeks. :)

 Piano lessons in the child life room.

This is Stewart, Erika's new prosthetist.

He is a really nice man.

And here is where the doc said, we can go! :)

Erika has pictures from inside the operating room believe it or not. LOL

Keeping Up Routines

It is hard to keep up very important routines when things are not so ordinary around here.  Being away from home makes all the routine fall on Daddy's shoulders, except for one thing.

Anna loves it when I wake her in the morning. I always come in, and she always asks for 5 more minutes. :)
So during hospital days, I have woken her by phone. Daddy puts the phone to her ear, and I wake her.

Our new routine will include transfers to a wheel chair, meds, and lots of extra hugs.  All the girls at home are doing really well. 
I think it is POSSIBLE, that Erika and I may have a surprise for them for Friday Night Pizza night. :)
We'll see.......

Thankful

I am sitting here at the hospital, so full of thankfulness tonight.  Mike and the girlies just left. They had a great visit.  Alli is in love with Erika's wheel chair. :)  Anna layed on my feather mattress and hugged it. I think she misses me. :)  Sarah was just happy to be here.  They all greeted Erika and gave her hugs.  She was so happy to see them. 
We feel so loved.  There was a steady stream of visitors from the prosthetics department. :)  And our dear Pastor Justin Wheeler stayed with me for several hours.  We had such a nice time talking about all sorts of things. :)
Most of all, I am so thankful for the prayers today.  We have truly felt them. 

Erika has not peed all day long,  declaring she didn't have to yet...So the nurse came in and said if she didn't produce, she would need to have a catheter..... She asked, "What is that?"  After the description, she peed a gallon on demand. LOL

She has been so funny all day.  She took a movie going down the hall to the surgery floor. She took pictures of her surgeon before they knocked her out. :)  
She needed extra pain meds and asked if she was being too "bossy"..... Um No dear... you are not!

I have a feeling we may be making it home in record time!  I think if she is doing this well tomorrow.... (after getting off of the morphine pump) she may be able to get home by Saturday.  Crossing my fingers!

I am so proud of the girls at home. They did laundry today, folded it and put it away.  They have all done chores and school.  Tomorrow is soccer.... and a friend will pick them up from there.

Thank the Lord for dear friends. :) 

Erika is Sleeping Peacefully

Thank you ALL for praying!  Erika's surgery was a little more than 3 hours. She is now sleeping peacefully with a very nice morphine pump in her hand. (she just woke up when I typed that and said she was having more pain) :/   She is doing AWESOME!  There has been no need for oxygen this time. I am amazed!

I was so happy that our  Teaching Elder, Justin Wheeler came to see us. He stayed with me until Erika was out of surgery and went into recovery and then up to her room for awhile. What a BLESSING!

The plate and pins were removed and we were given them to do with as we wish. Erika saw them and wants to use it as a coat hanger on the back of her door. :) 

My guess is if all keeps going so well, we may just be home by Saturday!

Surgery Time

They are getting ready to take Erika to surgery. She is talking to daddy right now. I love technology. :)  She woke this a.m. and said, "I'm so glad I don't live in the big city. There is too much noise!"  We did hear planes, trains and automobiles all night. :

This a.m. we called home and I was able to wake Anna by phone. We have this wonderful routine you see. At 7:30 every a.m., I sweet talk her awake. :)  I also woke Alli, and she was able to talk to Erika. Erika is talking to Anna right now, giving permission for her to use the guitar. :)

I talked to Sarah too, who already made the morning coffee, and daddy who is doing a great job managing all the little ladies. :) 
Love you all!  Don't forget to fold the laundry! :)
Love Mom

ALL CHECKED IN

Erika and I are all checked in at the hospital, and she is working on her language arts.  Her surgery is tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.  We are so thankful for the wonderful ministry this hospital has been to our family. 
The admitting process is so unique to anywhere I have ever been. 

It starts with seeing the admitting nurse, who then works you trough a series of appts. one at a time.  We saw the surgeons first, then the pharmacist, then the anesthesiologist, then the child life specialist, then the dietician, then the PT and OT.... and finally the charge nurse in your room.

Erika asked if she could take pictures inside the operating room before she goes to sleep and they said, YES!  LOL  So when we visited anestheology, they asked about giving her meds to make her drousy and she said, "No thank you, I have pictures to take and I don't want them to be blurry!". :)   They had a good laugh. 

Things have changed a little since the last time we were here.  There is a much better coffee pot. :)  The menu is all room service whenever you want, whatever you want! You just call when you are hungry. WOW! That is awesome! She can have breakfast all day if she wants, or anything from cod to pizza! 

She already played basketball in the child life room.  She brought the gift Chiara gave to her and plans to start on it tonight.  :)  

One funny thing that happened was the physical therapist came in and was talking about fitting her with a walker or crutches.  Erika had this panicked look on her face.  Ummm.... if I have surgery on both legs and one leg is missing, how will I use crutches??  The PT said, "well, some kids just hop a little".... I don't think she knew Erika's story yet. LOL 
Erika looked at me like "HELP!"..... I was waiting for her to talk, but she was just too shy, so I told the nice lady.... "We will be needing a wheel chair instead for awhile."  I explained that Erika would most likely fall and break something if she were given crutches.   And she quickly called in OT.  LOL
Erika's hospital band says "Falls".... she said mine should say, "Forgets!"  :)
I might write that one in. 
Sorry no pictures.  No access right now.  She is READY for this, so hopefully, we'll be home sooner than later.

Surgery Time

Tomorrow, Erika and I leave for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.  Erika will be checked in, and her surgery will be on Thursday.   
The girls will be going to school with friends of ours during the day, and home at night with daddy.
We are hoping to be home by Sunday or Monday. 

Team Minich will do great while we are gone! :)

Kung Fu Panda 2 Movie Review

Last year when we went to camp, we were presented with Despicable Me. I blogged about the reasons I didn't like the movie here.

This year, we watched Kung Fu Panda 2.  We watched part one and thoroughly enjoyed it. Adoption was mentioned slightly in the first one, but in the second one, it was nearly the main theme through out the movie.
We LOVED It!

At first, I was a little wary, as the "you're not my real dad" thing came up. The difficulty of the father to talk to his son about how he came to be his son was apparent.  But did they ever do a good job for a silly kid comedy cartoon, of turning the message around!  It also covered PTSD, moments, as the Panda has flash back memories and loses his ability to focus.  The friends are concerned for him, but also supportive, trying to understand what is going on.
And in the end, he goes home and tells his dad, "I know who I am now. I am Po, and you are my dad".  It really did have a great message of healing and how there ARE issues to work through.  Adoption and Loss go hand in hand. 

All of our girls stayed for the entire movie.  Several children that go to camp are adopted children.  The little 5 year old girl in front of us told her mommy when the movie was over, "I love you mommy! You are my real mommy!"  :)  It made her mommy have some tears of joy. :)

I watched our Alli carefully too. She was sitting one row up with sisters and friends.
She took the whole movie in and loved it, and in the end, I got a  big hug too. :)

The difference between the two movies was night and day.  In "Despicable Me", the father is a con artist who's intent is to USE the children. They are also sent back to face the "box of shame" with the mean orphanage director. This movie was truly despicable!

But in Kung Fu Panda 2, the father is a wonderful father, provider, nurturer who never has any ill intent towards his son. He only wants what is best for him. 
There are HUGE differences between the two. 
One made FUN of adoption, and the other SUPPORTED it and revealed true issues  head on, even if it was a Bird and a Panda who were father and son. :)  
That is why I would recommend Kung Fu Panda 2.

A Little Twist and a Shout....

 The Twist.....
We are starting our school a little later this morning.  Today is President's Day and officially George Washington's Birthday.  So, I was catching up on email, and then I heard in the background a very tender motherly voice....
"Sweetie, do you need anything?  Can I get you a passy? " and then some more tender words.
The voice was Alli's voice. She was being the mother.  She actually looks like a mommy this a.m. because she didn't have time to comb her hair before her job began! LOL

She was kindly instructing her child, ANNA.   Anna was playing the part for her and it was so sweet listening to them interact. :)
Alli has LEARNED a LOT about being a mommy this year and she has taken it to heart in her play. 
Oh the difference a year can make! :)

And what a difference for our Anna too. :)
Neither of them really knew how to pretend and play when they came home. Anna was 5, Alli 11.
I will NEVER forget giving Anna a baby doll. She held it out by the foot and looked at me like, "What do I do with this?"  
She had 2 imaginary friends, "Holly and Sister Nuthin".... that she played with and talked to, but there was really just not much imaginary play that was constructive.  Meaning, there was no pretending Family relationships, because she didn't understand them. It was more silly, or reliving a Sponge Bob episode.   :(
When she asked about her new found baby doll,  I told her, "Oh sweetie, we don't hold our babies by the feet!"  "We wrap them in blankies and snuggle with them and feed them and take care of them!"
And then I showed her how.
She tried it at first and then came in and announced "I have to go to wook!"  "Can you take care of my baby?"  hmmm. ( at least she knew somebody had to take care of the baby)
"I said, No, YOU need to take care of your baby." 
"BUT I HAVE TO GO TO WOOK!"
"No, you need to take care of your baby! She is a newborn! She isn't ready for you to go to work!"
Anna said, "Aw you gonna take cao of my baby owa not? 
I said, "I am not."  :)
So, she picked up a fake phone and called Holly and Sister Nuthin and asked them to do the job. LOL
And that began her world of imaginary play that was "family related". 

Family play is so very VERY important in our children's development.  We used the "Happy Family" dolls for a long time, instead of Barbie dolls. They have all graduated to Barbie dolls and spend time sewing clothing for them, but I am so glad that we used the Happy Family dolls first, to establish FAMILY role play. 
If you sit and just listen to your children play, it is amazing what you can get out of that play time.
I used to do this with the boys too.  Their play told me if I was doing something right or wrong with them.  Did I like how they imitated me? 
It is very telling to have your child pretend to be a parent. :)

And this is my shout of joy......

Over time, Anna developed into quite the little mommy, mothering not just dolls, but ducks, chickens, roosters, goats and kittens.  And I see Alli following the same path. :)
Both girls are VERY good with little children and love interacting with them.  Anna always finds the humor of little one's reasoning skills. :) 

I love it that the girls still pretend, even though they are older. And I love it, that I can hear sweet voices of comfort and caring coming from the other room, even if Miss Alli's hair STILL isn't combed this morning. :)

The Countdown Begins!!

And the countdown begins to the anniversary of our first year home with Miss Alli! :)

I am truly, SOOOOO excited for her. :)  We have completed a full cycle of holidays with her, and the next thing we look forward to is the day we met, 1 YEAR ago! I cannot believe it has already been a year.  It has been an amazing year of learning and loving. :)

Our sweetie has grown nearly 3 1/2 inches, 12 lbs and a HUGE HUGE unmeasurable amount emotionally.  We are so very proud of her. 
I have done my best this last year to document everything very carefully; specifically to document for everybody who reads my blog, that BCLC WORKS, and the LOVE OF THE LORD, is TRULY enough; TRULY ENOUGH...... to bring healing to the broken hearted. 

I don't want to write our 1 year post too early.  But oh, how excited I am to write it. :)
My BABY has a LIFE and she is HAPPY and HEALTHY and I am SOOOO PROUD OF HER!

Did I say I was proud of her? :)

Back from Camp Part 2

The swing.

On the way to camp, Alli began to cry quietly as she sat in the back seat.  We asked her if she was ok, and she said yes, but she felt a little scared. She moved over closer to Erika and they snuggled the rest of the way. 
I was a little worried that she might not handle the event and all the excitement well. But I didn't have anything to worry about. She instantly made some new friends and they were off to play.  She had a GREAT time!
The other girls did too. It always takes Miss Anna a while to warm up, but she found herself having a wonderful time too.
I love watching all the kids interact.

There is always a transition to be had when you leave a place like that. It is so engaging the entire time you are there, and then, it is back to the real world.... We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home.  Miss Alli got a little irritated at the table, and I knew it was her struggling to transition back.  So we went outside and borrowed one of THEIR Rocking chairs! LOL  It kinda cracked me up that we seem to be able to find rocking chairs wherever we go. :)
We sat outside for a few minutes and I prayed with her and all was better. She had misunderstood something somebody said.   We had a really nice lunch and then finished off our trip with loads of giggles and memories.
Of course, they are already planning for next year. :)

I just want to say, Peaceable Kingdom Retreat is an AMAZING PLACE. The giving hearts of the staff and volunteers brings tears to my eyes, that they would care so much about making sure our kids have the opportunity to have a successful camping experience without the stares and glares and questions from the general public.
It is also a great opportunity for all the parents to get together and talk and enjoy each others' company.
It was really nice!

We Are Back From Camp

We had a wonderful time!  Everybody was able to go this year. Erika and Sarah had a great time showing the rest of the family what happens at Camp.  There was a lot of rain, so we didn't get to do some of the summer things, but they made up for it, with lots of indoor activities. :)  Erika and Brittany, together again. :)

The Cup Race.... This was a LOT of fun. :)

I loved this picture. :)  Sarah, Alli and Jackie were sitting on the couch. :)

Getting ready to swing

The famous cake contest

Anna tried to swing like Spider Man. :)
These were just a few of the highlights ......We had a great time. :)

All My Little Ladies

 Are waiting.....

 And waiting....

 

And waiting

And eagerly waiting.....

 to go to.....
To be continued.... :)

If Not Us, Then Who

My friend Jeane's daughter Cate posted this on her blog.  It is from No Greater Joy Mom, and I wanted to share the post with you too.
It is called "If Not Us, Then Who?"

There is a sentiment around, including some social workers, that if you want to adopt, you need to do it in America.  They do not understand why anybody would cross the ocean for a child. 
This post shows WHY. 
Jesus said to Love your neighbor.  And a scholar of the law  asked, "Who is my neighbor?"  He was trying to trick Jesus.

Luke 10:25-37 

You can read about the story in the Book of Luke.  It took a Samaritan, a foreigner to take care of the man laying on the road.  Jesus says, we are ALL neighbors. If you see somebody in need, take care of them.
The Lord lays different adoption plans  for different families.  We should not be so closed minded in our society and in our hearts as to condemn somebody for adopting from overseas, OR for adopting in our own country.  It seems silly, really. 

All children need homes.  All orphans need love.  How can anybody say, "You shouldn't go and love that child!"  Are we without conscience? 
Instead, we need to pray for those who are orphans and involve them in our lives, either through adoption or advocacy, or supporting other families who choose to walk the path of adoption. 


There are also many who do not like the idea of fund raising.  Phooey!   Why Not?  Adoption is incredibly expensive on either side of the great pond!  If fund raising brings a child home; so be it!


The despair that some of our children have come from breaks my spirit to the core.  I am still haunted to think of what would have happened to Erika, Sarah and Alli, all from Ukraine and Russia. 
It seems so strange to think about it.  They are my precious girls, and they are happy and normal kids, living in Texas.   But had it not been for God moving on hearts, where would they have possibly wound up? 
For Erika and Sarah, a MENTAL INSTITUTION! For Alli, the Streets.  Both scenes, dismal and hopeless.  
BUT GOD.....
Why are institutions allowed to STARVE children to DEATH, forcing them to lay until they die?

Erika REMEMBERS being in a straight jacket, looking up from her crib of hopelessness and being HUNGRY.  She remembers ALSO, from her hopelessness, a peace from the Lord.  HE visited her when there were no visitors.  How she left that laying room after 4 YEARS and went to the orphanage where she met Sarah is beyond comprehension... but she did. And PRAISE THE LORD she is HOME!  After nearly 8 years.... she came home.   

It seems like another world, a distant dream now..... but we cannot forget those left behind.  They need our prayers and concern, and they need us to love them, and BRING THEM HOME, or they face certain DEATH.
So the next time you run into somebody who is adopting, either HERE or THERE.... Support them, Encourage them, and think about adoption yourself!