Wednesday, February 26, 2014

I can't believe February is coming to a close!!!  Some days this year have seemed like a long ones with sickness, travel, weather, and change but looking back it all seems like a blur.  The last week has brought warmer temperatures and a bit better sleep (thanks for praying!).  The kids have enjoyed the trampoline, the zipline, the slackline, and bikes.  Emmy has enjoyed watching all of these activities and participating how and when she could.  We had our first whole family outing last Saturday with a trip to Sciworks which was loved by all.  It was an amazing feeling for me to get out and see all of us playing together and thinking how God has put our family together over the years.

This morning Eli said, "Mom, I really like having Emmy Ya Ya here".  When Landon and I mentioned to him that she will always be "here" because she is your sister and will always be your sister he had this tinge of surprise in his voice.  I have been trying to hard to think about all of the new she is encountering and trying to take but I know that they are experiencing so much too.  They seem to be adjusting so well and I am trying to make an effort to spend some quality time with each of them but I need to try to think about how they are processing all of this.  It is so fun to see them all engaged with each other and each day is more fun.  Last night Ella was pulling Emmy around on a blanket on the hard wood floors (no - this isn't my method for cleaning the floors but looked like fun) and Emmy was laughing so hard.  After they were done Emmy tried to give Ella a ride too.

On the medical side, Emmy had an ultrasound yesterday of her kidneys and bladder to look to see if there is any nerve damage or any visible issue with her kidney and bladder from the spina bifida.  She did AMAZING during the ultrasound.  I knew it wouldn't be painful but wasn't sure what she would think of a darker room and having to lay on a table and have a warm jelly like substance put on her.  She didn't make the first whimper and everything checked out great.  There were zero concerns from the pediatrician at this point.  We will still wait to meet with the neurologist in March but were very happy to have that information.

Here are some pictures from our last week.  Hope you all are doing well!  Still don't have that picture of all 4 to apply to our banner on the blog but hope to soon.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

One month since our Jan. 19th Gotcha day!!!!  In some ways it's hard to believe a month has gone by but in others it seems like it has been a LONG month.  We are thankful for all of the blessings this month has brought and also trying to be joyful in times when our circumstances are bearing down on us.

We made it through a tough week last week.  Mike had a business trip at the beginning of the week, and due to the snow he got stuck in New York City for several days.  He still didn't have a flight out on Friday so he was luckily able to catch a ride home with a friend who had been in New York.  He made it home Friday night near midnight.  I knew I was tired but didn't realize just how exhausted I was.   It's amazing how your mind and body can deteriorate with lack of good sleep.

Life in the house is still not in a good routine.  Schooling has started back up but definitely distracted.  Emmy will sit at the table while the others do school work but they are too interested in what she is doing and making her laugh to get school work done.  It's sweet to see them all play together but I will either have to relax and not worry about the amount we are getting done or we will have to spend nap times doing school.

Emmy has been learning new words every day (the last few days; ready, one, two, three, Nannie, Pops, Papa, please, and many others).  She has been able to say Mama but now uses it to get my attention very often.  Before she would just make a sound or tap my arm.  She loves going outside and walking around everywhere.  She watches everything Landon, Ella, and Eli are doing and also follows them around throughout the house.

Today we made it out to Costco together for the first time for none other than DIAPERS.  For me it was good to realize that I can do it, I can get errands done successfully with all of them.  The older kids are really stepping up and helping in so many ways.  For the kids, they were excited to see samples and Emmy quickly decided she liked the Organic whole fruit frozen bars, Landon the sausage, and Ella the chocolate caramel candies.  The sample thing was right up Emmy's alley.  Over the weekend we found out that she really likes to dip things but mostly for the dip and not for what you are using to dip.  Ketchup was a big favorite but she licked it off of the piece of meat and decided it was best by itself.  At a friends house she tried Trader Joe's yogurt, kale & spinach dip.  We were excited that she liked the sugar snap peas that we were using with the dip but she soon only used them for a spoon to eat the dip straight.  She also liked ranch dressing and last night she really enjoyed guacamole.  So back to Costco, they were sampling some vidalia onion salsa and Emmy was a big fan.  I think she is teaching the others a thing or two about trying new foods.

The weather has really made a turn from last week.  While my house seems to be in complete disarray we are enjoying time outside in the afternoons.  I figure there will be time for cleaning up sooner or later but the warm weather may not stick around so we better enjoy that while we can.

Here's a short video of Emmy playing with Landon outside yesterday.

Thursday, February 13th

The snow sure is pretty!   The kids have really enjoyed playing in it today and I have enjoyed seeing them!  Emmy isn't so sure what to think of it but she did go out in it twice today. The snow shoes I have for her are a bit too big and with the snow giving way under her feet she preferred to be held.  Landon, Ella, and Eli all rolled huge snowballs to make snowmen.  

Inside where it is warm the kids have been playing lots as well.  Landon, Ella, and Eli have taken upon themselves to help get Emmy up in the mornings.  She usually wakes up a little grumpy (don't we all do that a lot) so they go in and play silly games until she is ready to get out of the crib.  Thankfully she has been sleeping well most of the week.  Emmy is talking a bit more each day.  A lot of it ain't real words but as she gets more and more comfortable and tries to keep up with her brothers and sister she makes more noise.  She has been singing with me and mimicking everything that her siblings say.  For two days there has been no fussing about sitting in her seat at mealtimes.  

We were able to go to our homeschool group on Monday and it was great to see so many friends!  Ella was still struggling with an ear infection so she didn't stay.  Emmy didn't cry in the car seat starting that day as Ella sat beside her.  She has since been in the van a couple of times and is now used to the car seat and doing well.  

It has been so sweet to see how all of the kids are attaching to each other.   Landon said the other day  "In a year it will probably be hard to remember not having Emmy here".  So thankful for the sweet bonding taking place!  

Sunday, February 9th

So Mike has accomplished what we were thinking may be impossible.  He had Emmy Ya Ya sitting in her booster seat for part of lunch and then all of dinner!!!!  She started in the booster before dinner with coloring and then moved straight into dinner.  After dinner she didn't want to get down and moved straight from food to coloring again.  Mike briefly got her down and she pointed to get back to get into the booster seat.  We are hoping the trend will continue as she can sometimes sit at the table for a meal for an hour or more.  She likes to eat slowly and eat a lot!!!  Over the last few days she has really enjoyed watermelon, watermelon, watermelon, some burger, eggs, and also Mike's smoked BBQ.

Emmy had a checkup with our pediatrician and it went well.  I thought she would cry a lot but she did not.   We will be referred to a children's neurosurgeon to discuss her spina bifida a bit more.  What a blessing it is to have such wonderful children's health providers here in our town.  Emmy ended up having the congestion, fever, and cough that has been through our house.  It's hard to know if it was 2 different viruses or what but it has been a tough go around here.  All of the congestion made it hard for sleeping for a few nights but I think we are getting back on track.  There were a few days where we were mainly sitting and snuggling children most of the day.  For Emmy, she has been a bit fussy when she wakes up since she didn't sleep very well.  Landon, Ella, nor Eli can stand to hear her cry so it is sweet to see how they try to cheer her up.  They are really enjoying their new roles as siblings to little sister.  

Emmy is enjoying wearing Landon's, Ella's, or Eli's shoes around.  I remember Landon and Ella doing this too as toddlers so it is fun to see Emmy do the same thing.  She seems to try all different shoes from crocs to snow boots.  Maybe this week we will get to see a little more snow, wouldn't that be fun to experience since we missed it last time.  The kids are excited at the possibility of sledding but realize that homeschool can still meet when other schools would be cancelled.  It will be fun to see what Emmy thinks of the cold white stuff.  

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Hello from the Joyce house!  We are all still hanging in there.  Eli is finally fever free but yesterday was the first day.  Emmy had a fever yesterday and is very congested.  She slept all the way through the night for 3 nights and then last night she woke up a LOT!   I think it was because she was so congested and couldn't get really comfortable and suck her thumb like she likes to do.  So we spent several hours on the couch sitting up where she could breathe better.  I still have some head congestion myself and a lingering cough.  So we are still staying in trying to get healthy.  So far I am not as stir crazy as I thought I would be.  My devotion yesterday was so helpful as it said "When Christ died he purchased for you the Yes to all God's promises (2 Corinthians 1:20), and that includes the promise to use his sovereign power to govern all the inexplicable, maddening detours and delays of your life for wise and loving purposes.  He is doing a thousand things for you and for his glory in your disappointed plans." Piper Devotions.    There are plenty of great things that have occurred during this time that I may have hurried through if we felt well enough to be out and about.

Emmy has become very comfortable with our house and wanders around without worry, she warms up to people fairly quickly in the comfort of our home,  she is now sitting in a chair (not the high chair) on her own for some meals, she is saying more english words and is quickly figuring out where some things in our house belong.  Whenever she sees pictures of herself she says "Ya Ya" and will even bring a picture to me of her and tell me it's her.  She is beginning to understand "no" much better and doesn't laugh every time we say it.  She is enjoying a few more food items such as pancakes, pizza, and rice cakes.  We still haven't found any vegetables that she is big on and are trying more fruit each day.

We had our visit from our social worker yesterday and everything went well.  Tomorrow we have a doctor's visit so hopefully that will go smoothly as well.  We have yet to try the car seat again but will do that tomorrow for sure.  As a friend told me, it's good to try it in short little spurts instead of long drives.  I can handle crying for a 5 minute drive better than I can for an hour, however, maybe she will be a little more okay with it since she now knows her siblings and they will be sitting near her.

Thanks for your prayers for our transition.  We feel it's going well and we are all looking forward to being healthy so we can venture out.

The pic below is one I took yesterday as she was calming down for the evening and instead of holding onto her sleeve as she sucked her thumb she chose her foot instead.

Monday, February 3rd

Well it's Monday and Mike headed back to work.   We are all still in a brain fog even though we seem to be getting our sleeping times back to normal.   Emmy slept a little better Saturday night and was up from 2-5 so 2 hours shorter than the night before.   Last night she slept straight through the night and hopefully that will continue but we know that it's highly unlikely that it will.   

Eli is still really sick running a fever, congested, and coughing.   I took him to the doctor today but he said that it was not the flu but only an upper respiratory virus.   Ella and Emmy have a low grade fever today so we are praying that they quickly get over any germs they may have.   I am still really congested but much more functional than I have been.   

Emmy is still adjusting well to the family and to the house.   I thought it would be a while before she would be comfortable wandering around the house and exploring but Saturday she would toddle around looking into rooms and trying to open a few doors.   She enjoys all of the toys around but enjoys the attention of her brothers and sister more.  She also likes to get a reaction from her Daddy.  She likes to see what kind of face or noise he will make if she throws or drops a toy.  She laughs the most if she throws something or if she dumps something out and her siblings say "ahhhh!"   

Landon, Ella, and Eli are great with Emmy playing with her but also allowing her space to do her own thing.  Emmy calls for Ella very often and on Sunday while Ella was at church Emmy continued to call for Ella to play with her.   I couldn't have asked them to do any better or be any more understanding than they have been.   

We are really ready to all feel better and at least make it out of the house for some fresh air.   We hope each of you are doing well!   Thanks for all of the yummy food and sweet emails!   

Adjusting

Hello everyone!

It's early Saturday morning and it's the first time I have been awake for more than an hour since 2:00 am on Friday morning.   What I thought was a cold is actually the flu.   Compounded with being up for 34 straight hours and the air travel my body was/is struggling to recover.   

Mike and I were so very thankful for how well Emmy traveled.  Our 14.5 hour flight was completely full but someone was willing to switch a seat so that we had two seats together and one across the aisle. They allowed Emmy to sit in my lap for takeoff and landing so the only tears were when she woke up during a short nap on the plane.  That plane ride was so extremely long!

By the time we finally made it to Charlotte, I was in tears.  The joy of seeing the familiar faces and surroundings.  I had been very homesick and was ready to come home the day after our "Gotcha day".  We knew that Emmy may be very shy upon entering our home and since she had been sound asleep up to that point she was not sure what to think.   Oh the hugs we had missed so much.   It makes me cry just thinking about it.   There were signs, balloons, roses, banners, and so much more!   Ella was so excited to see her sister that she ran outside in her pajamas.  She told me several times that Emmy seemed so small.  She had seen her on FaceTime but she said she was smaller than she thought.   Within an hour Emmy was playing ipad beside Ella.  We figured it was time for everyone to go to bed since it was 2:00 AM.  Emmy went to bed in her crib without fussing.   She woke around 6 or so but mike was able to rub her back and get her to sleep and she stayed asleep until 1:00 pm.  The long day of travel was hard on her as well.  

I missed most of her first day home as I was in bed unable to get up.  However, I could often hear the sweet sounds of laughter from the den and when I was able to venture out for something to drink it was precious to see Ella and Emmy playing together. My mom stayed and since I am sick it has been an amazing blessing to me for her to be here.   She has to be exhausted!!

 Poor little Eli is sick as well and has a fever and congestion so he isn't really playful or energetic.  I am vastly disappointed to be sick and feel like I am missing so much but am also thankful that I am at home and not sick while away from home.   

Emmy's second night was not quite as restful.  She went to bed without fussing but woke up screaming around 1:00 AM.  She wasn't about to go back to sleep so she stayed up playing until about 6:00 am.  She is now back to sleep and will hopefully sleep peacefully for several hours.  We know her little body clock is completely flipped so it will take a while for her to adjust.   

We certainly appreciated all of the prayers during our travel.   I was completely stressed out over it and even though I told myself that God had it all I tried to take on all of it myself!  This pattern of trusting and then trying to do it all myself  (not trusting) seems to be a big struggle for me.   What I see now is that when God called us to adopt and I worked on paperwork for so long and was able to see items get checked off I felt a pride that I was doing what I was supposed to do.  I was listening and obeying. Now I see that if this is His calling that He will see it through, whether I am sick and in bed for days or if I am up and dancing around.  It is all Him, His work, His way, and to His glory.