Independent drinking

We have been working on drinking independently and have heard much about the "honey bear". From what I gather, the concept is that the child places his/her mouth on the straw to "drink". The design allows the parent to gently squeeze the bear pushing the liquid to the child's mouth. Eventually, the child will begin drinking on his own.

I was on the brink of ordering a prized bear when I came across this beauty at the grocery store. Viola- the same concept but made by Rubbermaid and for less that 50% of what that cute little bear costs. AND the straw looks to be the same size as a normal straw, so if we ever loose it or it gets chewed to pieces I can easily just cut another down to fit our Rubbermaid box.

A few weeks ago I thought we'd try the box just to see how Charlie would do. I figured it would take several days or more to get it down pat. Within about 20 seconds C was drinking like a pro never to look back. So he now gets water throughout the day from his box. Occasionally I will add some formula but he doesn't seem to prefer that over the water.

Just wanted to share another tidbit about what works for us.

In Him,

E

YES!

I have nothing to add.
In Him,
E

I Hope He Forgets

So often (daily, hourly and many times every minute) I think about Charlie and Down Syndrome. Okay, wait. I don't mean I think "poor Charlie ....." or "he'll never do....." or fill in the blank. I just never thought about getting my girls to actually pick up the food on the highchair tray- they just did it. I never thought about or tried SO HARD to get my girls to stay on hands and knees for 30 seconds without falling- they just did it. I never worried about heart defects and whether or not oral motor skills would be compromised if I took away the bottle at a year with the girls- they were non issues for our family until a year ago.

And now here we are with the most incredible blessing (along with my girls, of course:) that this mommy could have. We are reminded daily of the struggles that Charlie will face both with his own body and the world outside it. Please do not think I am complaining- I would do this over and over again (and pray that we will)!! It's just sometimes I become so consumed with Down Syndrome that I don't remember my life without it. Nor would I want to.

I read this a few moments ago and cried. True, Charlie will always have Down Syndrome but we do not have to remind him of that. I hope and pray that most days he doesn't even notice. I pray that when he forgets about it that someone doesn't remind him. Charlie is Charlie- a little angel full of love, hugs and smiles....and SO MUCH MORE!

Please, take a moment and read this. This boy "forgets" and doesn't even realize how many lives he's changing.

In Him,

E

Let me pray about it...

Wow. It's been a long time since I updated these pages. Thank you to each of you who have emailed to check on me. I am fine.



I want to share a story that has been sitting and stirring in my heart for a couple of weeks. I was driving home one afternoon listening to our local Christian radio station. That particular day the station was raising money for several African villages. The money raised was going towards building facilities to educate women, provide prenatal care and assist in the care and education of these women's children. The day of fundraising was very successful. Many stories were told, but one stood out to me more than any other and it continues to play over and over in my head. It was told by one of the DJs. I don't remember the exact wording, but it went something like this-



A few weeks ago my wife came to me and said that she thought we should sponsor another child through Compassion International. You see we already sponsor one child- she thought we should add another. I looked up at her and told her that we should probably pray about it. Then I realized how stupid that statement was. "Pray about it? We should PRAY about it?!?!" Did I pray before I ran out and bought the new iPhone last week? Should I really have to pray about doing God's will? God WILL NOT be upset if we are following Him, and I do believe that sponsoring another child is giving glory to our Father in a tangible way. I didn't hesitate to run out the first chance I had and buy that iPhone. Why in the world did I hesitate to bring glory to God?



The DJs words sat with me and continue to replay in my head daily. God WILL NOT be upset if we are following HIM. He will not be upset if we are indeed helping a fellow human being. He will not be upset if we are giving HIM the glory.



I know that I have failed....too many times, I'm afraid. I wonder how many times I've missed the mark and failed our Father (and someone here on Earth) because I needed to pray about it. Now, don't get me wrong- many, many situations do require prayer and God's desire is for us to seek Him. And I have clearly heard God's "NO" before because I have prayed. But I'm afraid to think about how many times I've fallen short because I needed to take some time to pray.



I believe with my whole heart that God expects us to just GO sometimes. Don't think about it. Deep down we know what he wants, what He expects. For myself, I retreat to take time to pray because I am afraid. I am scared of what may happen if I just GO. How will this affect (inconvenience) me?

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaish 6:8

Of course, if you are reading this you know that my heart IS adoption. Special needs adoption has me crying buckets most days (so don't think I'm completely nuts if I loose it while talking to you.). I see time and time and TIME again God working through families who just say "yes!". Families who already have 10 children, some with special needs, who only make $30k per year. Families who know that it is humanly impossible to pay adoption fees yet follow God's command for us to care for orphans. And miraculously all fees are paid with no debt to the family. God ensures that those "yeses" are taken care of in true God fashion. I love watching Him work, but how can we see Him work if we never allow it?

I came across something a few days ago that will soon be printed and posted in my kitchen-

The pencil of God has no eraser. ~Haitian Proverb

In Him,

E

Pray for Parker

Oh my!! Couldn't you just eat him up?!?! This is Parker. He is another angel blessed with Down Syndrome. I met his mom, Lara, just a couple of months ago and immediately fell in love with both she and Parker. Who couldn't love this guy?!?!

And tomorrow is the day...the day that God works a miracle and heals sweet Parker's heart. Please, join me in praying for this angel, his surgeons and all involved in the surgery. We also need to lift up his parents- your prayers truly helped carry us through those anxious hours on Charlie's surgery day. And of course, pray that Parker has very minimal pain and a speedy recovery.

I have total faith in our Lord- that He will use this angel for His glory. I can't wait to see him home again sportin' his new zipper!

In Him,

E

Think about this....

When Jesus isn't enough, something is wrong.

In Him,
E

Two Questions....completely unrelated

*Quickly, I've received some great comments to this post, but they seem to be disappearing when I publish them. Any ideas?*

Okay, I have two questions for you experts (Moms!). And no, they have no relation to each other.

Question #1- How do you refer to your child with Down Syndrome? That didn't come out right- Charlie is my child FIRST, but several people have said to me lately that Charlie IS Downs. As in, "Did you know before the adoption that he was Downs?" Or "Since he is Downs....". I have heard this before, but I've never ever thought of him as actually being "Downs" and technically that's what that means, right? Yes, Charlie has Down Syndrome. It is and always will be a part of who he is but it isn't what he is. Am I right or am I just thinking too much about this? Would this bother you? Truthfully, it does offend me when people label him that way, but at the same time I'm sure they say it that way out of ignorance. So, we just move on unless the opportunity arises where I am able to correct them.

Question #2- Now, maybe I am completely ignorant because I have much more knowledge about Eastern European adoptions, but do orphans from Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Russia, etc) tend to have more attachment issues than orphans in Asian countries? And if so, is it because the care and foster home type settings in Asia are superior to overcrowded, underfunded, downright scary EE orphanages? I think that especially in a foster home type setting the children develop an ability to bond with their foster family. And yes, I KNOW that regardless of where an orphan is from that attachment issues are very real, but it just seems that I don't hear as much about these problems in Asian children. I hope I haven't rocked someone's boat with this question.

Just curious. Thanks!!
In Him,
E