Prayer Request

I have not forgotten the update for Sammy and Gloria.  Things are really busy, be patient it is coming :)

In the meantime, we have a prayer request.

Three kiddos are having surgery and/or procedures this coming Wednesday the 23rd.

Seth is having a fully sedated Auditory Brain Stem Response Test.

Faith is having a Frenuloplasty under full sedation.

Gloria is having adenoids removed and tubes placed in her ears under full sedation.

Please pray for the children, the medical staff and for their parents :)

Yes, this is the day before Thanksgiving.   But also, the day before a 4 day weekend.  Chosing this date, allowed us to get the surgeries in on this year's medical plan and gave us the maximum amount of time for two parents to be here for the children's recouperation.

We are not planning a Thanksgiving celebration.  This will be the first year I have not cooked Thanksgiving Dinner since I was 13 years old.  We ordered a very bare bones meal from a local company.  We will have turkey, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole with cranberry relish.  Nothing fancy, but it will feed us and allow us to tend to recovering children.

Q & A #4 Part One - Children Updates - Seth

1. Can we get an update on each of the children too? Let us know all the progress they are making since coming home!

ABSOLUTELY!!!!  We really think they are doing fantastic. 

 I will update with one child per post.

Seth is making HUGE strides.  We are so blessed by this little man's growth and ability that is coming out each day.  He amazes us. 

Just for the record ... he is not a plant.  You've heard me say that before and I am going to say it again .. so listen to my drum because I am going to keep beating it.  He is a child of God.  God has big plans for him.  I have no idea what those plans are, but Seth's life and struggles have a purpose.  His life is a life worth saving.  His life is not a life that should be locked away in some hell-hole of an adult mental instution.  He has worth and value in all that he is, in his current ability.  He has worth and value in all that he was.  He has worth and value in all that he will become.

Let's back track six years , so you can understand a bit more about Seth ...  Seth was born between the 28th and 29th week of gestation.  He weighed just over 2 1/2 pounds and was 14 1/2 inches long.  Can you picture this tiny precious child, alone and abandoned.  There was no one to love him, to talk to him, to pray over him, to comfort him, to long for his survival.  No one.  He was left by his mother, who wished for his death, prenatally and after birth.  I pray that her heart has changed, that she has or will find Jesus and will pray for her child.

After birth, he was life supported and spent five months in the hospital.  From the hospital he was taken to the baby house where no one ever inquired about him or visited him.  He was alone for six more years...

From the orphanage records, we know he sat unassisted at 16 months old and started walking when he was 3 1/2 years old. 

Now, lets get to the progress and all the pictures ... after all what everyone really wants to see if pictures, right?!!

has gained SIX pounds!!!!! 

 Here he is wearing a 3T pair of pants and a size 5 Shirt

is feeding himself with a spoon and learning to use a fork.

(((if someone can tell me how to upload a video ... you can see him feed himself)))

I tried to upload the video for 2 hours ...

is walking down the stairs

initiates contact and comes to sit on our laps

is learning how to eat in restaurants

 is playing ball ... he will roll this back and forth with a partner

plays with the dog, reaches for her, grabs her head and puts his head to hers

still loves to swing!

can sit his cup on the table or counter

is walking up the stairs foot over foot

will hand you an object at your request

will receive an object given to him

climbs in the van without assistance

has many vocalizations ... bah, guh, la, ma, ah, uh, eee, mahm

retrieves toys he has flung out of his hands

sees things he drops and retrieves

he laughs and cries
greets Aunt Sissy with hoots and hollers

feels the pages of tactile type books

helps with dressing ... pulls his shirt over his head, puts his legs in the pantleg

What he doesn't do is ...

be quiet

or

sleep

.

.

.