Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Porter (and Catherine and Victoria) have families!!

First of all, the awesome news....

PORTER HAS A FAMILY!!!

Go here and show them some love!

Then you NEED to read this post by my friend Catherine....

her blog posts are usually HYSTERICAL...

but yesterday's was serious...

because it is about the 2 girls she adopted from Eastern Europe last year...

Victoria and Francesca in July 2011...


Victoria and Francesca in July 2012....


I put the link right here....now go get a tissue (or two) and click and read...you will not be sorry....

http://wronginalltherightways-travcat.blogspot.com/2012/07/9192-hours-of-hope.html

I could not top that one so I am not even trying today.

Happy One Year Home sweet girls!!!

Monday, July 9, 2012

Two sides of the same coin...

Sorry for the blogging break...

I can tell you exactly what happened...

SUMMER!!!

Activities, catching up on work after being gone for Henry's surgery, mini-vacation....all good!

Henry is doing well and gaining weight like CRAZY on the nighttime tube feeds!

But no Henry picture yet...

first I need to show you HER picture...


This is "Paisley" who was listed for adoption in Henry's country...she is 6 months old, like Henry was when listed...she has unrepaired spina bifida (from what I understand she can only lay on her side because of it) and will need major surgery the moment she hits US soil...

The Garner family has stepped forward in faith to make sweet Paisley their 9th daughter!!

Please click HERE to go to their Family Sponsorship page and bless them with a gift to bring this sweet baby girl home to the loving arms of family and medical care....

so that she does not have to see the other side of the coin...

like sweet "Porter" did...


Porter is now 6 years old...and a few weeks ago left his baby house...to be taken to a remote Stage 4 Institution in Henry's country for severely mentally and physically handicapped boys 5-25...

but Porter is NOT severely mentally or physically handicapped!!!

His Reeces Rainbow profile HERE says a mild mental disability and speech impairment and HIV+....

but a family who just adopted from his baby house says he talks up a storm and seemed cognitively normal...

an amazing woman who adopted her son from that same remote institution (it appears only 2 boys have been adopted from there through RR) says on her blog that he likely could not read (DUH! Neither could any of MY BOYS at age 6!) and/or could not answer their questions fast enough, so he was TRANSFERRED to a place that is truly horrific...

PLEASE go HERE to see updated pics of Porter and read about where he was transferred....

and then go HERE to see a video of sweet Porter dancing and playing at his baby house...

now picture him in a hot shed with NO TOYS and NO BOOKS and NO HOPE.....

just day in and day out of survival....wondering where everything he has ever known has gone...

maybe wondering what he did to cause this...

THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!! THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN ON MY WATCH!!!

It is a blessing to adopt babies like my Henry and sweet Paisley so they never need to know the pain and horror of transfer...

but it is a RESCUE MISSION to go save a boy like Porter from YEARS OF LIVING HELL....

I will be shouting for Porter's family to come forward to SAVE HIM the next few weeks...

We have also donated our old minivan to Cars for Causes  and the proceeds of its sale will be placed in Porter's Grant Fund...

Please take a moment out of your day....

and really SEE the two sides of the coin of International Special Needs Adoption...

and give and share and pray as you can....

Henry says THANK YOU to all the caring American families who let special children like him into their hearts and homes!!!!




Sunday, June 17, 2012

June 17...

Father's Day this year...

Our Anniversary every year...

I could not let the day pass without a big THANK YOU to the man who made such blessings possible...


I love and admire you more every day!!

Monday, June 11, 2012

LAST Day 8!!

We are outta here! Heading to the airport... A little nervous about how life with a g-tube will be...

But we can do all things in He who strengthens us!!

Henry says - see you in September CHOP for VEPTR placement!!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

CHOP Day 7 - almost done...

Although Henry has all his lines out and is down to regular pain meds we are still in the PICU because the rest of hospital is full...

Oh and they just announced a temporary power outage in 5 minutes...

I will blog when we get released, hopefully tomorrow about noon so we can catch our flight home...

I will leave you with a pic of Sunday night dinner for my sweeties at home, can't wait to see them tomorrow night!!!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

CHOP Day 6 - no longer sedated...

So this will need to be fast...

Henry is off the pain killer that was also a bit of a sedative...

So he was awake A LOT today...

And tried to pull his feeding tube down from the pole it is perched on...

I think he is feeling better...

Because now he is mad that he is not curled up under my armpit sucking on his bottle in a pitch-dark quiet room on a memory foam mattress...

So our Day 6 update is over...

As is the "he is drowsy and drops easily off to sleep" portion of this hospitalization...

Sleep better than I will!!

And Happy 8 months as an American citizen to Henry!!

Friday, June 8, 2012

CHOP Day 5

I did not want to be late posting again so I am fighting to keep my eyes open just to update all you Henry fans...

Nah... I am not that noble...

Henry is cranky and I have to stand next to him and hold his hand to keep him calm...

He just started being fed Pediasure through his g-tube, so hopefully hunger will be eliminated as a reason for his fussiness...

We will feed very slowly for the next 16 hours to make sure his tummy does not get too gassy, and then I get to start practicing on the kinds of tube feeds he will get at night...

It's funny, one reason I became a lawyer and have my babies at home is because I hate needles and blood and all things medical...

And God sends me Henry who has been hospitalized 4 times in the 8 months (tomorrow!) he has been home!! And I have to deal with feeding him through what is essentially a hole in his tummy...

God likes to stretch us...

Don't snap me Lord I am learning to bend with you!!!

Good night all! I am not sure how Henry is going to sleep in the upside-down position he has chosen at the moment... :-)