A month full of Thanksgiving :)

Not all of my posts will be long or insightful (not to far off from my usual! LOL) but I am going to attempt a month full of Thanksgiving posts.

Today will be short and to the point

1. I am thankful for God. My Savior. My Redeemer. My Provider. My Rock.

I have grown much this year in my walk with Him. I am so thankful for Him and what he has done in my life. And, I cannot wait to see what trials and rewards He has in store for me this next year.


"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Functioning?

Oh, how I loathe...LOATHE this terminology and question that comes with it.

I really dislike when people say "Is your child high functioning"? I especially dislike it when it is in reference to just 2 of my children. Why doesn't anyone care how functioning the other 2 of my children are?

WHY? I'll tell you why, it is because, in my opinion, people are ignorantly, inadequately educated about Down syndrome and disabilities in general.

Functioning. What level do you function at? Are you living? Are you breathing? Oh! You are??? ME TOO!!! I guess that is pretty high functioning. I mean seriously, think of EVERY single action that is required to BREATHE and, therefore, be LIVING. That is about as high functioning as you get.

Guess what, all of my boys are high functioning
(even the two with Down syndrome....gasp!)

Jared reads above his peers, he spells above his peers too. He excels in the school setting he is placed in right now; yet, he is struggling in Math. You see, he was able to skip 3rd grade math entirely and 4th grade math is taking it's toll on his grades. Does that mean is brain is lower functioning? Heck NO it doesn't! It means Jared is achieving and functioning to the best of his ability and will continue to do so as time goes on! 

Joseph knows his colors, shapes, can spell out his name, can recognize his name, say ABC's, is potty trained, feeds himself, and terrorizes Jared and Jackson daily. Does this mean he is lower functioning than his typically developing twin? Heck NO it doesn't. It means Joseph is achieving and functioning to the best of his ability and will continue to do so as time goes on. 

Jackson is a talker, a mover, all boy, all go, all the time. He can count to 40, has been able to spell his name for over a year now, knows his phone number, his ABC's his colors and gets bored in preschool regularly. Does this mean he is higher functioning than his twin brother or his peers in preschool who still are learning their ABC's? Heck NO it doesn't. It means Jackson is achieving and functioning to the best of his ability and will continue to do so as time goes on!

Jadon is giggling, clapping, entertaining himself, learning to feed himself, can now drink from a cup and will now cruise furniture some too. Does this mean he is lower functioning because he cannot do all that Joseph can or all the things that other children with Down syndrome are accomplishing who are also 3 years old? HECK NO IT DOESN'T! It means that Jadon is achieving and functioning to the best of his ability and will continue to do so as time goes on!

Honestly, it breaks my heart to see so many worried about how high functioning my boys with Down syndrome are. It breaks my heart to so other parents say, "let me tell you, my child is not high functioning..." How? HOW? Can a mother or father say that? And why on Earth do nosey strangers give two hoots what my kids are doing and what gives them the right to equate that with functioning levels? Seriously?

There is no functioning level in this house, we all function the same. We all are living and breathing human beings and that is ALL that matters here in my house.

Love,

 "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Puny Peanut

No major cooties, but we do have some funk floating around our house. Jackson has a wicked cough, Joseph just finished Zithromax for a sinus infection, Jared is a bit snottier than normal and Jadon? Well, Peanut woke up with a face full of dark green snot, a fever, and one eye melded shut with goo. Nice :(

All is well, we have some Amoxil for him and some D-Allergy too.

And, apparently, Jadon loves to play the toilet bongo too.

Love,
"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Two specialists down, two more to go :)

Since coming home, Jadon has been seen by our pediatrician. He now has an ENT (Dr. Ball...love her) and has had his echocardiogram too. We still have opthalmology to conquer and the International Adoption Clinic. Those dates will be November 15 and 16.

Once we learn if Jadon's heart is whole, we can schedule his tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. At that time, Dr. Ball will clean the wax from his ears (they are full) and see how his middle ear health is; if need be, she will place tubes at that time. She also was wonderful in hearing my concerns for his healing and lack of drinking. She told me she had no problem admitting him for a few days and then inserting and NG tube IF he was not drinking well within 2 days.

Little man did great today for his echo. The gal who performed his echo is considering adoption too. She was so sweet and I will be sure to pray God leads her precisely where she is to be in accordance with parenting according to His will.

This afternoon, Shawn and I completed the paperwork to certify our foreign adoption through our county court system. Having done this means we can get an AMERICAN birth certificate for Jadon!!! While we were gone to that appointment, my in-laws came to watch the boys. Grandma and Grandpa got to love on the boys and play with them. Joseph loves his pawpaw (as he says). He is certainly a man's man :) Grandma got to love on Jadon more---it is so wonderful to have them around. Grandma cannot get enough of Jadon and after we got home, I shared the other pictures I have of Jadon from the records we were given from the orphanage.

We talked about Kiev, Kirovograd, the encounter with the two women at the orphanage...Grandma just loves to hear all about where her youngest grandchild came from :) Such a wonderful treat for this momma's heart too.

Still, even as I sit here, it is hard to believe I am a mom of 4 boys. FOUR! BOYS! Each one, wonderfully and fearfully made. Each one a labor of love. Each boy a surprise! LOL I had not planned on Jared, nor the twins, nor Jadon (not really). It is so funny sometimes to think of all God has done and all I would have not done if NOT for Him.

The pregnancy that resulted in the birth of Jared was a surprise pregnancy, one that was not to take place following the late miscarriage I experienced October 9, 2001. The twins were completely unplanned and only learned of when I went to have surgery to have my tubes tied. And, Jadon? Well, he was supposed to be Alexander...but that was not meant to be and so I have Jadon, my wee, tiny, peanut :)

Not one of my children were planned but each of them so very wanted. So. Very. Wanted. And, amazingly, miraculously, wanted by the woman who, in her younger years, said she would never have children.

It's a darn good thing God knows so much more than my puny, close minded brain can fathom :) I cannot imagine my family any other way. A perfectly paired patchwork of family held together by God and love. What more does anyone need?


Love,


"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)