Today is Ian's 7th birthday! As people always say, "I can't believe where the time has gone", I also am saying that today. Development has been very slow these past 7 years, and because of that you might think the time has gone by slowly, but for us it hasn't worked that way. It has still passed quickly, and Ian has taught us many things we would never have learned had he not been a special needs child. Hopefully, Brian and I are better for it! We're planning to have a little party for him today and another one when his Pops and Memi come from OK on Monday. Ian isn't a big sweets eater, so a treat for him is going to be a huge bowl of Fritos with a lighted number 7 in the middle! Brian is also planning to come home early so we can light the outdoor firepit and roast marshmellows. (Ian loves to be outside.) Gifts can be tricky, but anything that promotes movement is usually a hit. Happy Birthday Ian!! We love you!!
Our trip to Houston went pretty much as we anticipated. Brian's parents arrived Wed. (the day before us) and settled into their hotel. However, they were able to move to an apartment Friday night. There were no appointments Sat or Sunday, but they started testing yesterday- Monday. (Brian's sister arrived Sunday night- just a few hours after we left.) They said yesterday's testing went well but of course they were tired. The testing will continue until Wed, and Thursday afternoon they will meet with the doctor to find out what the treatment options are. They are prepared to stay in Houston for the treatment if that is the recommendation. Brian is considering going to the appointment on Thursday but has not decided for sure. Please continue to pray for his mom and dad. It is such a difficult situation but very inspiring to watch a couple married for so many years care for each other when the chips are down. What a wonderful example they are for us.
As I said, Pops and Memi (my parents), are coming Monday to learn the ropes on taking care of Ian while we're in Thailand. Needless to say, I'm nervous to leave him for two weeks. Trying to figure out what he wants is a constant quandry I'm in, and figuring it out ASAP is of utmost importance- or you better have nerves of steel! As far as safety, I've told them, "Just don't shut his fingers in the car door!" That probably sounds like a funny request, but when you have a blind child, their fingers are pretty darn important! Oh, and their backs! I hope they've been hitting the gym this month!
Preparations to bring Olivia home are going just fine. Sometimes at night, when I'm lying awake in bed, my stomach starts doing flip-flops and I question whether I will be able to concentrate the last couple of days to wrap things up here. I know I'll be able to, but it can be a bit overwhelming! The next time I write, I'll post the tentative schedule on the right so you can see what will be going on once we arrive in Bangkok.
I've got to go! I can't stay on this computer all day! I've got birthday presents to buy!
Hope everyone has a good week!
Leah
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Family Update- Medical Treatment In Houston
As I have posted before, Brian's dad has been very sick. He was diagnosed with lymphoma this summer and started chemo. It appeared to be working, and he finished his last treatment a little before Christmas. But soon after the last treatment, he started experiencing a lot of pain and was admitted to the hospital. After a few weeks he was released, but Friday we found out the cancer has spread to several areas of his body. He and Brian's mom are flying to MD Anderson (from OK) tomorrow, and Jerry has an appointment on Thursday at 1:00. Brian, Ian, and I are planning to meet them there Thursday and will stay through the weekend. The hospital will conduct a lengthy evaluation and decide what the next step should be. Please pray for Jerry's recovery and strength for the family to be able to support him and each other in the days ahead. Brian has been out of town this week and will return tomorrow. He also has a sister, Beverly, who will be coming down from Phoenix on Sunday. Luckily, we are in pretty good shape in our preparations for going to Thailand, so I am thankful I planned ahead as much as I have. Some things I can do while we're in Houston. We appreciate your prayers.
Leah
Leah
Friday, February 1, 2008
A Break From Painting
I thought I would take a little break from painting Olivia's room and write an update. We thought the new pictures were the cutest things! I think everyone is in agreement that there may be some drama in our future! We can't wait to meet this little bundle of personality! Although I think she looks big in the pictures, she only weighs about 18 lbs and is 31 inches at 19 months. Many of the kids are small, so we're expecting her to be little.
We've done some shopping the last week or so- bought her a couple of bathing suits, something to wear home on the plane, and a few toys for our first meeting, which is in a hotel meeting room. We're now at two weeks and 6 days, and the time has been going pretty quickly. I sewed 32 bows on her bedskirt the last two days and am going to attempt to put a wall hanging together after I finish painting. It seems like I can always find "one more thing" to do! Oh, we also booked our hotel at Hua Hin, which is a beach resort a few hours from Bangkok. We're looking forward to spending the weekend there.
It has been a lot of fun emailing and talking to the other two families that will be in Thailand with us. One is from Oregon and the other from Mississippi. It's also been fun keeping up with our neighbors who are supposed to be returning from China today with their little girl, Cathryn Grace. I told the mom I wouldn't come over until she invited me, but that I'd sure be looking out our front window about 6:00 this evening when they should be pulling in! What a coincidence we moved into a house across the street from them! Olivia will have a playmate right away! No one will understand what anyone else says, but it will be fun watching them learn to communicate with each other. . . and us!
Ian's 7th birthday is coming up on the 12th, and I'm almost positive I heard him sing the Birthday Song yesterday! He loves to sing, and although he doesn't talk, he uses some syllable/sound to sing the tune. It's very sweet, and we are very proud of any accomplishment. They are all a big deal to us! He has recently learned to kiss us good night and that is HUGE. It almost makes my cry writing it. Anyway, I'm including one of the pictures of him we took on Christmas Eve, when we had an unexpected hotel stay in Oklahoma. I can't wait for Ian and Olivia to get to swim together this summer. Ian loves it, so I hope Olivia does too.
I guess I better get back to the painting- or maybe I'll eat lunch first. That sounds like a better idea!
Leah
We've done some shopping the last week or so- bought her a couple of bathing suits, something to wear home on the plane, and a few toys for our first meeting, which is in a hotel meeting room. We're now at two weeks and 6 days, and the time has been going pretty quickly. I sewed 32 bows on her bedskirt the last two days and am going to attempt to put a wall hanging together after I finish painting. It seems like I can always find "one more thing" to do! Oh, we also booked our hotel at Hua Hin, which is a beach resort a few hours from Bangkok. We're looking forward to spending the weekend there.
It has been a lot of fun emailing and talking to the other two families that will be in Thailand with us. One is from Oregon and the other from Mississippi. It's also been fun keeping up with our neighbors who are supposed to be returning from China today with their little girl, Cathryn Grace. I told the mom I wouldn't come over until she invited me, but that I'd sure be looking out our front window about 6:00 this evening when they should be pulling in! What a coincidence we moved into a house across the street from them! Olivia will have a playmate right away! No one will understand what anyone else says, but it will be fun watching them learn to communicate with each other. . . and us!
Ian's 7th birthday is coming up on the 12th, and I'm almost positive I heard him sing the Birthday Song yesterday! He loves to sing, and although he doesn't talk, he uses some syllable/sound to sing the tune. It's very sweet, and we are very proud of any accomplishment. They are all a big deal to us! He has recently learned to kiss us good night and that is HUGE. It almost makes my cry writing it. Anyway, I'm including one of the pictures of him we took on Christmas Eve, when we had an unexpected hotel stay in Oklahoma. I can't wait for Ian and Olivia to get to swim together this summer. Ian loves it, so I hope Olivia does too.
I guess I better get back to the painting- or maybe I'll eat lunch first. That sounds like a better idea!
Leah
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
New Pictures!!!
Not much time to write now, but I wanted to add these pictures right quick. We just received them this afternoon. I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I just added all three! Everything is going great. I'll try to write more later today.
Leah
Leah
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Update On The Plans
Preparations are coming along, and all is going well so far. There are two other families with Holt who will be at the Thai adoption board meeting with us. It has been fun emailing them as they get ready too. Their travel approvals were a total surprise, and they are scrambling to get everything done by the time we leave. We, on the other hand, would have been surprised if we had NOT been called, so we're a little ahead of the game. However, that definitely doesn't mean we won't be scrambling the last week ourselves!
I booked our flights Sunday, and we are flying out of Shreveport at 6:55 am on Thursday the 21st. (My parents are coming a couple of days before to keep Ian.) We will meet Olivia for the first time Sunday morning, go to the board meeting on Wed, do some paperwork at the embassy on Thursday, and then have Friday through Sunday to travel or see more of Bangkok. I think all three families may try to go to the beach, which suits us since we have been to Bangkok before. We will leave to come home on March 5th. I have posted our flight itinerary (to the left) and will include a process schedule later. If you follow our trip, don't think we'll leave Dallas and be in Tokyo 4 hours later!!! I'll have to see how many hours ahead we'll be- should be around 13 or so.
For an update on Brian's dad, he was admitted into the hospital again yesterday. He finished his chemo in December, but began experiencing a lot of pain the week before Christmas. He was eventually diagnosed with shingles, but I'm not sure if everyone is convinced that is the correct diagnosis. Please pray the doctors can relieve is pain and find out exactly what is going on. He is a wonderful man, and I know he and Brian's mom want to come to Shreveport to help take care of Ian while we're gone and celebrate when Olivia comes home.
Also, I and another lady at church are coordinating the women's retreat again this year, so I am also working on that at the same time we are preparing for Olivia. It is a pretty involved project- overnight, out of town, catered meals, speaker from Nashville, etc. It's fun though, and I hated not to do it again. Booking the hotel and events center are the main things on my to-do list today.
I hope everyone has a great day!
Leah
I booked our flights Sunday, and we are flying out of Shreveport at 6:55 am on Thursday the 21st. (My parents are coming a couple of days before to keep Ian.) We will meet Olivia for the first time Sunday morning, go to the board meeting on Wed, do some paperwork at the embassy on Thursday, and then have Friday through Sunday to travel or see more of Bangkok. I think all three families may try to go to the beach, which suits us since we have been to Bangkok before. We will leave to come home on March 5th. I have posted our flight itinerary (to the left) and will include a process schedule later. If you follow our trip, don't think we'll leave Dallas and be in Tokyo 4 hours later!!! I'll have to see how many hours ahead we'll be- should be around 13 or so.
For an update on Brian's dad, he was admitted into the hospital again yesterday. He finished his chemo in December, but began experiencing a lot of pain the week before Christmas. He was eventually diagnosed with shingles, but I'm not sure if everyone is convinced that is the correct diagnosis. Please pray the doctors can relieve is pain and find out exactly what is going on. He is a wonderful man, and I know he and Brian's mom want to come to Shreveport to help take care of Ian while we're gone and celebrate when Olivia comes home.
Also, I and another lady at church are coordinating the women's retreat again this year, so I am also working on that at the same time we are preparing for Olivia. It is a pretty involved project- overnight, out of town, catered meals, speaker from Nashville, etc. It's fun though, and I hated not to do it again. Booking the hotel and events center are the main things on my to-do list today.
I hope everyone has a great day!
Leah
Thursday, January 17, 2008
4 Weeks 6 Days. . .And Counting!!!
We finally got the call yesterday! The board in Thailand met Wed of LAST week, so I had just about given up for a travel approval call from our agency. I had even written in over the weekend to ask other waiting families if we could still get a call Mon or Tues, and they said "yes", but since it was already Wed I was getting discouraged. Then, about mid-day yesterday I saw where a family had just received their approval to travel. I was so happy for them but very disappointed and discouraged we hadn't been called. On the other hand, maybe there was still hope for us. Everywhere I went, that phone went with me! In addition, I was going to be preparing a meal last night for our neighbors who were leaving this morning to go get their daughter in China. I kept telling myself- "all in God's time" and trying to be patient. THEN about 4:45, with the phone within hand's reach of course, it rang and the caller ID said "Holt" (our agency)! Don't you know my heart skipped a beat. . .or two! Marissa said we had received first approval, which means travel approval, and that we would be attending the February 27th meeting in Thailand. I calmly said, "Thank you. We are so excited," but inside my heart was jumping!
Now, after sleeping on it, the excitement is no less. I'm getting ready to make some calls to inform our family and then on to flight and hotel reservations. Hopefully, the time will go quickly and Olivia will be home where she belongs! I know many families are frantic with so much to do, and although we do have plenty to do ourselves, we have already been preparing for quite some time. I told Brian the other night that I wanted to be able to go slowly and enjoy the preparations, not flying around in a dither the last few weeks. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that. Olivia's room is not too far from being ready, the highchair, carseat, and stroller have been purchased, and the to-do list has been made. Now, if I can just concentrate on the list!
Well, I've got to get busy (but not in a dither!) to find some good flights and get to work on those curtains! I'm happy to be able to share our good news with you, and I hope you enjoy reading about our progress as we count down the days!
Leah
Now, after sleeping on it, the excitement is no less. I'm getting ready to make some calls to inform our family and then on to flight and hotel reservations. Hopefully, the time will go quickly and Olivia will be home where she belongs! I know many families are frantic with so much to do, and although we do have plenty to do ourselves, we have already been preparing for quite some time. I told Brian the other night that I wanted to be able to go slowly and enjoy the preparations, not flying around in a dither the last few weeks. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that. Olivia's room is not too far from being ready, the highchair, carseat, and stroller have been purchased, and the to-do list has been made. Now, if I can just concentrate on the list!
Well, I've got to get busy (but not in a dither!) to find some good flights and get to work on those curtains! I'm happy to be able to share our good news with you, and I hope you enjoy reading about our progress as we count down the days!
Leah
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Where Does the Time Go?!
It's amazing how fast the time passes. I must remember that when I anxiously look at my calendar every day and count down the (predicted) number of days until we bring Olivia home! I say "predicted" because we continue to wait for an exact travel date. Hopefully, there will be news this week! Making preparations for her arrival has been fun and seems to help pass the time. Yesterday a friend helped me look for toddler beds, and Wednesday we will go to Jackson, MS to resubmit our fingerprints. Because Brian had some scheduled meetings in Bogalusa, LA, which isn't far from Jackson, we'll spend the rest of the week with him. As I may have mentioned in my last post, Ian loves staying in hotels and traveling, so he'll enjoy running around too- and we can check off another week closer!
As far as other news, Ian had an appointment with Shriners the other day and was fitted for new leg splints. We're looking forward to getting those next Monday and ordering a walker for him to use at school. He is able to use a cane and walk while holding someones hand, but tends to sit down often. The school, much to our disappointment, resorted to pushing him in a wheelchair to make it easier for them to get him to the classes in which he is mainstreamed. Hopefully, a walker with a seat will be recommended so that when he does sit down, he will still have to make some effort to get to his class- instead of just sitting back in a wheelchair while someone pushes him around. He's got it made right now!
Since Ian returns to school tomorrow, I've got to get busy on the women's church retreat. This is my second year to co-lead it, and since I'll be out of pocket for several weeks, I need to get the majority of the work done now. I've got a great partner to work with, and although she is very busy, she is a pleasure to work with.
A follow-up to the tire swing installation: All went well, and Ian LOVES it. He has fallen through the tire twice, but while he was still down he signaled "more" (by clapping his hands twice)! He's tough and I'm not sure there is anything that could dampen his enthusiasm for swinging!
Happy New Year!
Leah
As far as other news, Ian had an appointment with Shriners the other day and was fitted for new leg splints. We're looking forward to getting those next Monday and ordering a walker for him to use at school. He is able to use a cane and walk while holding someones hand, but tends to sit down often. The school, much to our disappointment, resorted to pushing him in a wheelchair to make it easier for them to get him to the classes in which he is mainstreamed. Hopefully, a walker with a seat will be recommended so that when he does sit down, he will still have to make some effort to get to his class- instead of just sitting back in a wheelchair while someone pushes him around. He's got it made right now!
Since Ian returns to school tomorrow, I've got to get busy on the women's church retreat. This is my second year to co-lead it, and since I'll be out of pocket for several weeks, I need to get the majority of the work done now. I've got a great partner to work with, and although she is very busy, she is a pleasure to work with.
A follow-up to the tire swing installation: All went well, and Ian LOVES it. He has fallen through the tire twice, but while he was still down he signaled "more" (by clapping his hands twice)! He's tough and I'm not sure there is anything that could dampen his enthusiasm for swinging!
Happy New Year!
Leah
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