tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81943066467789577442024-03-05T18:57:16.155-05:00Bring my sons from afar...Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, "Give them up!" and to the south, 'Do not hold them back." Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth. - Isaiah 43:5-6Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-51139979467484387212016-05-20T20:20:00.002-04:002016-05-20T21:19:28.076-04:00A family to care for him...When people look at Jacob I hope they see him for who he is - a handsome, adorable, brilliant little boy. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, including China, people find it hard to look past a person's disability. Surely, it was because of Jacob's special needs that he was orphaned to begin with.<br />
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Jacob has arthrogyposis. Because of this he has limited use of his arms and legs. We know he was loved by his caretakers in China, but his future there would be very limited. <br />
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Here in the United States, with a loving family to care for him, Jacob will have access to the very best medical treatment. We will travel all the way across the country if necessary to get him the care he needs.<br />
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See Jacob's legs. I know his caretakers loved him, but it's the Chinese government and not his caretakers that has the authority over orphans and what medical care they do or don't receive. We have no idea what surgeries were done on Jacob, when they were done, who did them, etc. We do know he was sent last summer from his home near Beijing to his original province of Henan for surgery. It breaks our heart that he had to endure that surgery, leave a home where he was loved, and travel to a much poorer province for surgery. Even the guides in Henan thought it odd he had to come there for surgery. It's not a place one would purposefully choose to go for medical care! An American physician that was traveling with the adoption group was shocked over his scars.<br />
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We don't know much about the medical care Jacob received in China. We know he was loved by his caretakers, but caretakers don't get to choose medical care for ophans. Orphans need parents who can choose their medical care. Thankfully, now Jacob has parents who will do whatever necessary to get him excellent medical care.<br />
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Everything we've read and heard makes it sound like Shriner's Hospitals are the very best for kids with arthrogryposis. We have an appointment set up for Jacob at the Shriner's in South Carolina just a few days after he gets home.<br />
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We've heard good things about that Shriner's but we've also heard the very best doctors for arthrogryposis are at the Shriner's in Philidelphia. The good thing is the doctor from Philidelphia who works on upper limbs goes to the Shriner's in South Carolina every 3 months, so when we are there next week we will get Jacob set up to see that doctor the next time he goes to South Carolina. <br />
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Unfortunately, the doctor at the Philidelphia Shriner's who works on lower limbs has a waiting list that is now approaching 2 years. We're not willing to wait that long to get medical treatment for Jacob. He's already waited 5 years, and those 5 years he's waited have likely already limited his treatment options.<br />
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So we're looking into the Shriner's all the way across the country (and other hospitals also, but it seems like Shriner's really does provide the best treatment options). Once we see the doctors at Shriner's in South Carolina they can consult with the doctors at other Shriner's facilities (including the reknowned one in Philidelphia) and help us figure out our next steps. <br />
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Though we don't know exactly what the future holds regarding medical care for Jacob, we know he now has parents to ensure he gets the very best care possible. No longer an orphan, now our beloved son!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Click <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">here</a> to help get Jacob home!</b></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-86799191075793425662016-05-20T12:51:00.000-04:002016-05-20T12:59:05.611-04:00ONE LESS ORPHAN!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Mother's Day of 2016 one little boy walked into the arms of his daddy and became one less orphan, one more beloved son. Our son. Our precious little Jacob.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pondering this new daddy...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWiYGlCIWoLLEVU3VMHLqSk8oxRz8LwxoFQuIylSikoyhqDPqWjxPS-PpJjlhvRwH5HEtZZysIxY0IwBHOGFjrjR4GQZk2WpI-EbZ-wrYmbWRzsURkSD4YghdVxuHi7PXnGy8RmOXDtjB/s1600/13179073_10209481202216432_1661997891251600500_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWiYGlCIWoLLEVU3VMHLqSk8oxRz8LwxoFQuIylSikoyhqDPqWjxPS-PpJjlhvRwH5HEtZZysIxY0IwBHOGFjrjR4GQZk2WpI-EbZ-wrYmbWRzsURkSD4YghdVxuHi7PXnGy8RmOXDtjB/s320/13179073_10209481202216432_1661997891251600500_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The hat says it all! We know we was well loved by his caregivers. They put this hat on him to meet daddy. It says "LUCK." Luck is an important concept in Chinese culture. To be orphaned means you are unlucky. To be disabled means you are unlucky. Jacob was both. Now he has a family, and that family will do everything possible to help him overcome his disablity. Now Jacob is lucky!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0Aq3x3oV2LigtvtZ88zuCAfY6O7JaV2pv7uWvc2A4uXG46iJ10DKARupvVg9ErtRgd43abzOQG6X9_YeiVFtLV4pHWqU-BZ_-1w_exO0UgEVBhZQzMd4JNKOlD92if7I9wNu7JXUDS8L/s1600/13151590_10209481196816297_4578053356431649319_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0Aq3x3oV2LigtvtZ88zuCAfY6O7JaV2pv7uWvc2A4uXG46iJ10DKARupvVg9ErtRgd43abzOQG6X9_YeiVFtLV4pHWqU-BZ_-1w_exO0UgEVBhZQzMd4JNKOlD92if7I9wNu7JXUDS8L/s320/13151590_10209481196816297_4578053356431649319_n.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Saying goodbye is never easy. Jacob was well prepared for his new family. He remembers his sister Hannah and keeps asking for her. He wants to see his Mommy and the rest of his family. He was happy to see his Daddy and his Grandpa. Nonetheless, it's a huge and traumatic change when your world completely turns upside down. When the reality (and finality) of what was happening hit him he fought and grieved with everything he had in him. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Time to head back to the hotel. So sad...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJ65g7wWLDdlxOCxa_myPALKg3i3aO14PGcO7sSE-18Rp9JiJ98xN2hW9nYS8gHUVaEa3mqRuPXORvMXG7lOfPEo6G1P2LIuP7ooF70e1gH0bA7V4nn86w2poZd-4g9kzF9DvUh53Y31o/s1600/13173813_10209481066693044_7775053929947208079_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJ65g7wWLDdlxOCxa_myPALKg3i3aO14PGcO7sSE-18Rp9JiJ98xN2hW9nYS8gHUVaEa3mqRuPXORvMXG7lOfPEo6G1P2LIuP7ooF70e1gH0bA7V4nn86w2poZd-4g9kzF9DvUh53Y31o/s320/13173813_10209481066693044_7775053929947208079_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Safe in Daddy's arms.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Watching cartoons has been the great time occupier for him.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbTUfJ3GIxw0syGnMhvY99BNkiABu6JzXZ3Fy6KLM7i0-mdTdBag_Gh65-J7p1KWhGJX7p55TCU8JCqFncAc9vacnw2PKGkSLEy3YOBJPeD5v7EDBvN_8bIX3Hv8iDq4yfFxPzGarvnK7/s1600/13115984_1051834868210415_9219398018561016212_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbTUfJ3GIxw0syGnMhvY99BNkiABu6JzXZ3Fy6KLM7i0-mdTdBag_Gh65-J7p1KWhGJX7p55TCU8JCqFncAc9vacnw2PKGkSLEy3YOBJPeD5v7EDBvN_8bIX3Hv8iDq4yfFxPzGarvnK7/s320/13115984_1051834868210415_9219398018561016212_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">He's addicted to cartoons. I guess it's to be expected for a little boy with limited use of his arms and legs. I can't wait to open his world up to lots of new experiences beyond a tv screen (especially since we don't even have a tv!).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Okay, I'm ready to start my new life! Are we going home now??? Caleb loved that he was wearing a Captain America shirt upon arrival to his Daddy. Captain America and Superman are Caleb's favorite superheros.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">You mean it's going to be almost TWO WEEKS before I get to go home???</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the spot where Jacob was abandoned. Right in front of the orphanage. It truly breaks my heart to think of him laying there as a baby alone, cold, hungry, and wet. Disabled. Unwanted. Abandoned. An orphan. Now he is our beloved son. He will be loved and cared for to the greatest of our ability. We will travel all the way across the country if necessary to get him whatever medical care he needs. He will be surrounded by love. Adopting Jacob didn't change the world, but it sure did change <i>HIS</i> world for the better!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezd6wG9CfBI5N7h5sW3coxd43oOsARCHfT7Ji-QNyToODQvXOMXxSWwfJ5V6Tk3OzPdiKpjIPc17LLEcwP3eBaQ5PoSlisaIGo0EOcvfBczFxrm0u7KSFa8ePDD2bE2N9LOZbij4xwFQP/s1600/13217289_10209497925474503_7531092524691672456_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezd6wG9CfBI5N7h5sW3coxd43oOsARCHfT7Ji-QNyToODQvXOMXxSWwfJ5V6Tk3OzPdiKpjIPc17LLEcwP3eBaQ5PoSlisaIGo0EOcvfBczFxrm0u7KSFa8ePDD2bE2N9LOZbij4xwFQP/s320/13217289_10209497925474503_7531092524691672456_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's always a moving experience to visit an orphanage, to see so many babies and children with no family, many needing medical care. The little boy in Grandpa's lap literally climbed out of the crib and into his lap to be held. Children don't just need Mommies and Daddies. They also need the love of grandparents, of extended family, of a church family, of friends, etc. No matter how you help an orphan to have a family, whether it be adopting yourself or helping another family to adopt, you really are making a difference in the world.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">While playing around in the hotel Jacob fell and got hurt a little. He climbed up into Grandpa's arms for some comfort. Is there any better way to show how adoption changes lives? </span></td></tr>
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There's still time to help get Jacob home. You can make a tax-deductible donation <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">here</a> to help with the remaining travel expenses, all the more important with all the difficulty they are having getting home! Please pray for flights to open up and for them to not cost a fortune! </div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-50825792927008155452016-05-20T11:54:00.001-04:002016-05-20T11:54:51.198-04:00Travel ProblemsMy husband was supposed to arrive home today, but due to flight problems is still stuck in China. He's had a hard time accessing internet, but he did manage to post an update on Facebook a few hours ago:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">We tried to see about getting another flight tomorrow morning but they were all booked. We leave for Beijing at 9 PM. We have been in the airport since 9 AM. Fei Fei also had his first big poop so I was doing a mr. Mom right in front of everyone. The Chinese were giggling. All is well and we are hanging in there. For my dad and I it just reminds us of our days in the Air Force : "hurry up and wait".</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgilkFUyo7T0RDHDZLznbmQYSitun9KmsZAdX0ebub7wHYIgkypNCYbaqxB8T33nN7r1au9hq6JWr8DefUe7zsxd6C_J6U6LmU0rrVSvh8T8ilGr5kNVDqxp8GKn0VDz6ogMVy0jBffRYT/s1600/DSC_0431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgilkFUyo7T0RDHDZLznbmQYSitun9KmsZAdX0ebub7wHYIgkypNCYbaqxB8T33nN7r1au9hq6JWr8DefUe7zsxd6C_J6U6LmU0rrVSvh8T8ilGr5kNVDqxp8GKn0VDz6ogMVy0jBffRYT/s400/DSC_0431.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This picture was taken when I dropped them off at the airport early on the morning of their departure to China. They are ready to get back home!</span></td></tr>
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The past couple of adoption trips Ernie traveled by himself to save money. This time his dad went along. I am so glad his dad was willing to take the time and money (he paid his own expenses) necessary to go along on this trip. I think it was a great bonding experience for them, and what a great experience for Grandpa to be a part of Jacob's special journey home! I know with the difficulty they are having getting home Ernie is sure glad to have his dad with him!<br />
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There have already been additional costs due to the travel changes, and they have yet to get new flights out of China (they have been trapped at the Guangzhou airport, have to first get to Beijing then try to get new flights out of China). If you want to help get them home please click <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">here.</a>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-85693480321130786352016-05-14T13:35:00.000-04:002016-05-14T13:47:47.117-04:00Immeasurably more...<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">Over the last couple of weeks we were asked quite a few times what our “fully funded” amount would be. Each time I estimated it to be around $12,000. The lowest number I gave was $10,500 while admitting "it might be a bit higher.” (The actual overall cost of the adoption is over $30,000 - our FSP represents the donations given by others to help cover the enormous overall cost and does NOT represent the actual cost of the adoption.)</span><br />
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Just a couple of days ago, when it looked like our FSP on Reece’s Rainbow would never see any movement, I revised our “fully funded” amount to just $7,000. Honestly, I knew we needed more than that, but I couldn’t bear to watch us struggle for help from others any more than that. It was bad enough to ask for help at all! While we have never been against fundraising for adoption and have always enjoyed helping others, we completed most of our 8 adoptions on our own without help.</div>
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The unfortunate part about funding so many adoptions on our own without help is that we still carry A LOT of debt from those adoptions. Getting another adoption loan just wouldn’t be an option this time. The only way we could bring Jacob home to be our son, to reunite him with Hannah to be siblings forever, would be to ask others for help. We prayed people would see Hannah and Jacob’s story and want to be a part of it.</div>
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We were so thankful to those that helped us, but as of a few days ago we were pretty sure those who wanted to help had already done so. While I knew this put us in a more difficult position financially than we had hoped for with this adoption, this biggest disappointment was not financial but rather emotional.</div>
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We have been an active part of the adoption community for over a decade. We have rallied around others needing help with their adoptions, even while we struggled to pay for our own. We have donated, we have advocated, and we have prayed for other adopting families and orphans. In fact, in January when we got our tax statement for our donations to Reece’s Rainbow last year it was a bit surprising to see just how much we donated in a year in which we were adopting ourselves. We have also been very strong advocates for the Reece’s Rainbow 5/5/5 program, literally begging people every month to sign up for this great program, and I know we have helped that program grow substantially, a program that helps 60 families each year.</div>
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We have helped a lot of people in a lot of ways, and while doing so we have seen the adoption community come together countless times to help people get their children home. While we found it hard to humble ourselves enough to ask for help, at the same time we knew we would need it to get Jacob home. We knew we could give Jacob the love and care he needed if we could get him home, but with his adoption being our 8th special needs adoption it would take a village not to raise him but just to get him home!</div>
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Almost 2 weeks ago the “Anonymous Angels” group blessed us with a $300 matching grant. If we could get others to donate $300, they would then match it with another $300. We struggled for nearly 2 weeks to finally get just $300 in our account. I felt like giving up, which is why I revised our “fully funded” amount to $7,000. I was depressed. I didn’t understand why the community we had long supported didn’t want to be a part of Jacob and Hannah’s story. I also struggled with the idea of pulling away from the community for awhile after our adoption. We’d still donate to others, but I wasn’t sure I could be as heavily involved as before. My spirit was broken.</div>
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Then yesterday.</div>
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Yesterday our internet was out. </div>
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I didn’t have high hopes for our FSP. I had given up.</div>
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Then late in the evening a text from a friend came through on my phone that barely works, sometimes, only barely. The community had finally come together to support us! </div>
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I. Could. Not. Believe. It.</div>
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I had given up, but it was not over yet. I was in shock once I finally got to look at our FSP account today. We reached that $7,000 and kept going!!! </div>
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God knew our need was over $7,000. I gave up, but He didn’t! And neither did the adoption community. And neither have our friends and family. </div>
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If you are one of those who have helped to get Jacob home, whether it be donating to our FSP, supporting one of our fundraisers, sharing our fundraising links, and/or praying for us <b>THANK YOU!!!!!</b></div>
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My spirit has been revived. I am no longer depressed - I am in awe!!!!</div>
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My desire to help others has only grown greater as the help we have been given has grown greater than I dared to hope.</div>
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I am determined to see the 5/5/5 program grow to over $10,000 a month, and my ultimate goal for it is $50,000 a month! That probably sounds crazy and seems impossible, but friends, <b><i>NOTHING is impossible with God!!!</i></b></div>
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But my God shall supply <b><i>all your need</i></b> according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:19</div>
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Now to him who is able to do <b><i>immeasurably more than we ask or imagine</i></b>, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throuhgout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. -Ephesians 3:20-21</div>
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For some reason, I can't get the blog to upload any pictures. All my computer problems would happen while my husband is out of the country! If I can ever get it to work I will revise this post with pictures. Jacob is now in his Daddy's arms, and we can't wait for them to arrive home! Click <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">here</a> to see our FSP.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-12106314475032215092016-04-21T01:24:00.000-04:002016-04-21T01:24:52.328-04:00Birthday wishesOur first child is now 12 years old! He may not be the oldest due to Christina and Joshua having been so much older when we adopted them, but he will always be the first, the one that made me a mommy. Happy birthday, Caleb!<br />
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People often talk about the effects of adoption on biological children. As the only biological child out of all our kids Caleb's life has certainly been affected by all our adoptions. We always focus on the positives - the companionship his siblings bring him, the skills he learns in caring for them, the compassion he gains in learning about people with special needs, the greater worldview he has by learning about not only the culture of the countries they come from but also about the issues that contribute to the orphan crisis worldwide, etc. </div>
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There are negatives too though. First, and most significantly, kids with difficult backgrounds are difficult to parent. That makes them hard on siblings too, something Caleb has dealt with since he was a baby. As hard as it is to have a sibling with a difficult background (especially multiple ones!), that's not the only way adoptions can negatively affect biological children. </div>
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The average adoption costs around $30,000. Most of our adoptions we paid for entirely on our own. Needless to say our adoptions have seriously affected our finances! The "luxuries" that are standard in many families (e.g. birthday parties and presents, tooth fairy money, extracurricular activities, special outings, etc.) just haven't been possible in ours with so much of our money going towards adoption expenses, especially with the added cost of the medical expenses that result from their special needs. Caleb has no memories of ever taking a family vacation. There have been many local attractions he has wanted to go to which we never could afford. When we drove all the way to New York City to adopt Elianna we didn't get to do any sightseeing, not even the basics like Times Square or the Statue of Liberty. We even moved to a smaller, older home because of our adoptions!</div>
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Were it not for our adoptions Caleb's life would be really different, but he has never complained. In fact, he has always welcomed his new siblings with great love and joy. We'd love to be able to do something special for Caleb to celebrate his 12th birthday, but once again we simply can't afford it. However, as always, he doesn't complain. Instead he talks excitedly about the upcoming arrival of his new little brother.</div>
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This sweet boy deserves more than we can give him, but all he wants is for his new little brother to come home. Would you be willing to help make that happen? Would you give just $12 in honor of Caleb's 12th birthday to help Jacob come home? Caleb has been through so much lately with his health issues, with us knowing <b><i>something</i></b> is wrong with him but not knowing what it is. It would mean so much to him to have people donate in his honor to help get Jacob home! </div>
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To make a tax-deductible donation please click <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Caleb with his younger siblings (his older ones weren't with us) on a hike in the Smoky Mountains.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvJNzeCLVLnEBDek5lUvz7pGvxZ6W9vroDmrW0yWfWsoqwzJeNglFBcOgBct45Qq_7jlGUEz4NYrdhuMvY28jR40B_SSGO1vfQy-FkUpjYpukHzMK9d9qNxnt6reRh-6P-kYvS8t9Zcyc/s1600/DSC_0817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvJNzeCLVLnEBDek5lUvz7pGvxZ6W9vroDmrW0yWfWsoqwzJeNglFBcOgBct45Qq_7jlGUEz4NYrdhuMvY28jR40B_SSGO1vfQy-FkUpjYpukHzMK9d9qNxnt6reRh-6P-kYvS8t9Zcyc/s400/DSC_0817.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Caleb always stays with Jonah when we are hiking. Jonah is super slow and sometimes just refuses to walk, but Caleb is always patient and gentle with him. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXR_H0FfQO9KUx2QlTtt7CD6XMRpK3gIed0BbzuAwf-prv7YAotNBRy4FPMnlGSAi0mYS57SMQj5lTQ3Pn0d2228iusR2wF8EhCfnl5ukTySEEYWIKnBr-kuXeoEHiKJ0vJcpB-b1u2NOE/s1600/DSC_0809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXR_H0FfQO9KUx2QlTtt7CD6XMRpK3gIed0BbzuAwf-prv7YAotNBRy4FPMnlGSAi0mYS57SMQj5lTQ3Pn0d2228iusR2wF8EhCfnl5ukTySEEYWIKnBr-kuXeoEHiKJ0vJcpB-b1u2NOE/s400/DSC_0809.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, there is a hiking trail in the Smoky Mountains that runs along the "road to nowhere" complete with a real tunnel. The kids loved it! For those who don't know, entrance into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is completely FREE for everyone! We are eligible for free entrance to all national parks through both a military pass and a disability pass, but in the Smoky Mountains no pass is needed. This is because when Tennessee turned over land to the federal government for the creation of the national park they imposed a restriction that no entrance fees ever be charged. My husband was shocked the first time we drove into the Smokies that there was no entrance fee. I was shocked to learn that there actually <b><i>was</i></b> an entrance fee to other national parks. Obviously I'm the one who grew up here in eastern Tennessee. :)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another day of hiking in the Smoky Mountains.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iSBvABRtoLw1-56l72uo7B02cWWMAaZvvtDZ_BHJ12-YukUgK6MkuE2fTXleo-qbqAj7w7h2akbeYN210rsUg5bgu5DBEPNfSkgHAzFO2jYtdgz6w2giXC58WtMLP2Ig2UBxOqYflibt/s1600/DSC_0618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iSBvABRtoLw1-56l72uo7B02cWWMAaZvvtDZ_BHJ12-YukUgK6MkuE2fTXleo-qbqAj7w7h2akbeYN210rsUg5bgu5DBEPNfSkgHAzFO2jYtdgz6w2giXC58WtMLP2Ig2UBxOqYflibt/s320/DSC_0618.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Caleb is such a wonderful big brother to Jonah. He told us that when he gets married one day his wife will have to accept Jonah because he plans to take care of him once we are no longer able to care for him ourselves. He is adamant that he will not marry a woman who has a problem with him caring for Jonah!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazl5CoefaYlFBaCZjPmVpyPENh8v1kuU1rTAqupRIl_Ds6FYHb5oAo-mcL5_E-8bTLrNc_lHMsJD-vMR0kQCJb3-ea3BvAwnUc666ZrhcvVduMrwSg1Cu80zELUVzKQ-RnBdugGLaY9I6/s1600/DSC_0763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazl5CoefaYlFBaCZjPmVpyPENh8v1kuU1rTAqupRIl_Ds6FYHb5oAo-mcL5_E-8bTLrNc_lHMsJD-vMR0kQCJb3-ea3BvAwnUc666ZrhcvVduMrwSg1Cu80zELUVzKQ-RnBdugGLaY9I6/s400/DSC_0763.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was a snowy hike in the Smoky Mountains. Caleb had to work hard at keeping Jonah safe because he kept wanting to run in the snow, and Caleb was making sure he didn't slip or fall off the trail (it wasn't a dangerous trail, but there were a couple of places he could have fallen into water if he had slipped and started rolling).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkF7s1B8C0xPgyCvOOigQ1B0PnhXKS3Scv4d0WePaaNsZHZj3jMhIsfnKUR6HNoXQUxXRbaV7EjyffKwDeK9nk6r_UaISgv95uoCFCZ2yOcN0bvURbMOBoLZOFtzUdBhyWfH3WANU9qwK/s1600/IMG_8669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkF7s1B8C0xPgyCvOOigQ1B0PnhXKS3Scv4d0WePaaNsZHZj3jMhIsfnKUR6HNoXQUxXRbaV7EjyffKwDeK9nk6r_UaISgv95uoCFCZ2yOcN0bvURbMOBoLZOFtzUdBhyWfH3WANU9qwK/s400/IMG_8669.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Normally the 3 little ones don't get to play in the creek, but one day towards the end of last summer when the water was low Caleb really wanted to let them play. He was so excited to let them experience the fun of playing in a creek and was happy to watch over them to ensure their safety.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx3lOYXkW-2k6bA5noff0kZnTtPF0G2mvBqAT3WYp5ddI2ljYkAjjaqfQCj8OoibEyISkdjCuZ9ClLrVchw2t9sptVAADYQ-Z91NI17_hmu58DQ7gc-vwmtow7SWjcBVCNqa3I-Uzdqtz0/s1600/IMG_8681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx3lOYXkW-2k6bA5noff0kZnTtPF0G2mvBqAT3WYp5ddI2ljYkAjjaqfQCj8OoibEyISkdjCuZ9ClLrVchw2t9sptVAADYQ-Z91NI17_hmu58DQ7gc-vwmtow7SWjcBVCNqa3I-Uzdqtz0/s400/IMG_8681.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Malachi and Micaelyn wanted to play, but Caleb wouldn't move out of arm's reach of the little ones!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOKI7DmK9AXUvr-kJWJ9yJmXwCQGOF7-djoBYDi8JjzxPFuUT0JLCuCiUAZ7ria40ATW7bC9BjIo2dpwA9oT80Wan6x2QI3Q2P5_DC4V-Xn2AjLfCdArfhsz-ApqbkI_JhHyyCUfiJSaq/s1600/IMG_8765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOKI7DmK9AXUvr-kJWJ9yJmXwCQGOF7-djoBYDi8JjzxPFuUT0JLCuCiUAZ7ria40ATW7bC9BjIo2dpwA9oT80Wan6x2QI3Q2P5_DC4V-Xn2AjLfCdArfhsz-ApqbkI_JhHyyCUfiJSaq/s400/IMG_8765.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Elianna was the first one to get in the water. She was really excited!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7IhpdZfcrVXxugKKLC510B9P0nmu1sEXYvVQPg0b_eHRhCmASWaqOBNXJImK5wTjYqjWuhwlBsLNRFBnGtRAzH0_mVZE4cFFzqc7_6j7GI6hsdn7M7Kh16Q_eUVlwqPxG3IV6N4LVS_-/s1600/IMG_8790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7IhpdZfcrVXxugKKLC510B9P0nmu1sEXYvVQPg0b_eHRhCmASWaqOBNXJImK5wTjYqjWuhwlBsLNRFBnGtRAzH0_mVZE4cFFzqc7_6j7GI6hsdn7M7Kh16Q_eUVlwqPxG3IV6N4LVS_-/s400/IMG_8790.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Caleb keeping a close hand on Jonah</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCe1zw19ud1Hf9ROGpyifqJvpoDdAuQAv_uXWvAmd7G7n0A0ONNWyXyY7wXDgWIUX8tAO6iR4aItfD4L5PMYZdk85WKjKJxIW10YuHT-Es1LX4hEEq2PA6-oSroZllDvi6-2moRA9cTov9/s1600/DSC_0216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCe1zw19ud1Hf9ROGpyifqJvpoDdAuQAv_uXWvAmd7G7n0A0ONNWyXyY7wXDgWIUX8tAO6iR4aItfD4L5PMYZdk85WKjKJxIW10YuHT-Es1LX4hEEq2PA6-oSroZllDvi6-2moRA9cTov9/s400/DSC_0216.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even in the snow Caleb watches over his younger siblings. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2lvyITWD3t_ggw3awgEJL8_JXHIG_FWiDKWCE1ypXGtYzLKU-UbIJ4meBzguIJgCIpex_kjAv7-Tx3cJ7Ep0RtzIox572Mm7cQmYiEFWdE20yWc5mZHH6grXneRKasiMMBTyvxqKZ5BC/s1600/DSC_0208+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2lvyITWD3t_ggw3awgEJL8_JXHIG_FWiDKWCE1ypXGtYzLKU-UbIJ4meBzguIJgCIpex_kjAv7-Tx3cJ7Ep0RtzIox572Mm7cQmYiEFWdE20yWc5mZHH6grXneRKasiMMBTyvxqKZ5BC/s400/DSC_0208+-+Version+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Taking Elianna for a ride on the sled</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpWkPWTU729uGFDkiBdQthxPzN3ChaQ5FRPHUqLqQ5x0o0SaiIUILqqXS06zYYjGRY8_ZLdVlGMnZ-m16Q30cyjkvcCvlWfwxxA1qphOjfQzcEtkqaMiV5RKvXnDGbnckVjKsZUAKRDKX/s1600/DSC_0509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpWkPWTU729uGFDkiBdQthxPzN3ChaQ5FRPHUqLqQ5x0o0SaiIUILqqXS06zYYjGRY8_ZLdVlGMnZ-m16Q30cyjkvcCvlWfwxxA1qphOjfQzcEtkqaMiV5RKvXnDGbnckVjKsZUAKRDKX/s400/DSC_0509.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My sweet, sweet little boy. No matter how big he gets he will always be my baby! Happy birthday, dear son!</span></td></tr>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-13020983423342340382016-04-16T13:19:00.002-04:002016-04-16T13:19:30.214-04:00Needing answers...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last December Caleb was hospitalized with tachycardia and a very mild case of pneumonia (the pneumonia was <i>extremely</i> mild, barely even visible on the x-ray, so he was hospitalized more because of the tachycardia). <br />
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We had hoped the tachycardia would resolve. Unfortunately, he's still having problems with it. Here are some recent examples of the problems he is having. The following images are screenshots from where I used a heart rate app on my phone to check his heart rate (I used these while he was hospitalized to compare them to the hospital's heart rate monitor, and they compared <b>very</b> closely.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzt7u9IgrFHBdb8tsmAoVDLYNNvWdaLHXtfiKZHi1V5CcRjVCVF2V31t-AeYPVk2xrN8pdkSCuPqW5VRg1o27Lv-FweidxhiE5JfO8g8TiXrpO4w3pnWYCvdMsgPBDmdaaie1wvJVEypW/s1600/13000073_10154177887794090_2209031291665685621_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzt7u9IgrFHBdb8tsmAoVDLYNNvWdaLHXtfiKZHi1V5CcRjVCVF2V31t-AeYPVk2xrN8pdkSCuPqW5VRg1o27Lv-FweidxhiE5JfO8g8TiXrpO4w3pnWYCvdMsgPBDmdaaie1wvJVEypW/s320/13000073_10154177887794090_2209031291665685621_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is an example of a resting heart rate for Caleb. He had been sitting/laying for a long while doing nothing except watching things on his laptop.<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hmwRAD8pvAaoWOJ5ZcTQRXJos3b9ekx7BzsVKol-RQxwPTK7NAuXv1V6ITYJ4rKHZtKLU_oJ5U0hdH3Z7x7kKbHPbSrZJphhVCypNvT0e11tc7hugFTXqN_GZutZwNLBo5ExP481ABuB/s1600/12985359_10154177887734090_1887732275309625759_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hmwRAD8pvAaoWOJ5ZcTQRXJos3b9ekx7BzsVKol-RQxwPTK7NAuXv1V6ITYJ4rKHZtKLU_oJ5U0hdH3Z7x7kKbHPbSrZJphhVCypNvT0e11tc7hugFTXqN_GZutZwNLBo5ExP481ABuB/s320/12985359_10154177887734090_1887732275309625759_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This heart rate test was taken immediately after the one above. The only difference is that I had him stand up. Just standing up (not even taking a step) caused an increase of over 40 beats per minute from a resting heart rate that was already too high.<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnI9nyZqOiWgbenfH7NqO8E6bakO0ySZKn6JT1xrsgY4BdaJEimPRYpOMsSH_eWeb-DdLpsgMiYe-qoigLjN7S7dB_1YRqiTSr3uBR0aAEyZDnKTrBAvPqNiI8OP8rCBBCk9Frs-Wt_CB/s1600/12994463_10154177948469090_153709635509810490_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnI9nyZqOiWgbenfH7NqO8E6bakO0ySZKn6JT1xrsgY4BdaJEimPRYpOMsSH_eWeb-DdLpsgMiYe-qoigLjN7S7dB_1YRqiTSr3uBR0aAEyZDnKTrBAvPqNiI8OP8rCBBCk9Frs-Wt_CB/s320/12994463_10154177948469090_153709635509810490_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is another resting heart rate. I was actually really excited to see his heart rate at a normal level - this rarely happens anymore.<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRGCVzTzd8pXDzjOKMw6QlcAu-BakAK57DsLRtmUfRlsIvMksCcNffYbXP_ZEr3Lr6ZRpOo3FmeJ2KZdFiMS6_W_rP1w2z3aHevdgIiYQw5K42rv1w5a4faUfZdCYsRLLvjf0ss40b3gS/s1600/12932663_10154177948419090_6399366863105639399_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRGCVzTzd8pXDzjOKMw6QlcAu-BakAK57DsLRtmUfRlsIvMksCcNffYbXP_ZEr3Lr6ZRpOo3FmeJ2KZdFiMS6_W_rP1w2z3aHevdgIiYQw5K42rv1w5a4faUfZdCYsRLLvjf0ss40b3gS/s320/12932663_10154177948419090_6399366863105639399_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This measurement was taken immediately after the one above. Once again, I had him stand up to see how that affected his heart rate. His heart rate literally <b><i>doubled</i></b> just by standing up, not even taking a step.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLqOwUlO4bZxCmDkP_UfsGbFZHuI4YHHBQ7G1VPAMKNU6iHPZVLSx7LdA6vsY-pe4O-exWWFkswNDG1ptgOwAFRk_V-XXW6UY4f9FfkKTrrb7qix41KKMDy25slt9nvBvMLa9D49YxRnU/s1600/12998752_10154188051904090_8224017064996124669_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLqOwUlO4bZxCmDkP_UfsGbFZHuI4YHHBQ7G1VPAMKNU6iHPZVLSx7LdA6vsY-pe4O-exWWFkswNDG1ptgOwAFRk_V-XXW6UY4f9FfkKTrrb7qix41KKMDy25slt9nvBvMLa9D49YxRnU/s320/12998752_10154188051904090_8224017064996124669_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was a measurement I took after Caleb got out of bed yesterday morning.<br /> Because he is homeschooled he was able to sleep as late as he wanted and gradually wake up (note the time stamp of 9:46am). There was no hurry to get out of bed. He stayed in bed until he felt ready to get up, and I just happened to be there in his room and managed to get his heart rate as soon as he got up. This is <b><i>way</i></b> above normal!</span></td></tr>
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Caleb did receive a full evaluation from a pediatric cardiologist, including an echocardiogram of his heart performed by the cardiologist himself. There does not appear to be anything structurally wrong with his heart. It could either be a problem with the SA node of the heart (this is the heart's natural "pacemaker") which wouldn't show on the echo, or more likely it's a problem elsewhere in his body. <br />
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He is getting all kinds of blood work done to check the most obvious things like thyroid and adrenal gland issues. He has been put on salt tablets to see if that will help any. There has been talk of other medications to slow his heart rate, but first we want to figure out why his heart rate is so high.<br />
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Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is one possibility that is being considered (particularly considering the fact his heart rate increases so much upon standing), but the doctor wants to rule out other problems before focusing on POTS for several reasons, including the fact that even his resting heart rate is usually higher than it should be.<br />
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So we are just in a waiting mode, wondering what on earth is wrong with our son to cause his heart rate to be so elevated. He has been very inactive lately, basically just sits or lays on the floor with his laptop all day long, and I don't even feel comfortable pushing him to do anything more because of his heart rate. He is not terribly symptomatic, though he does say he feels dizzy and his head hurts when he gets up (he pointed to the center of his forehead to indicate to me where it hurt). He also looks shaky to me whenever he gets up, but he denies feeling that way. However, while he is generally inactive, and he has no desire be active (e.g. he doesn't want to walk anywhere with us, even to the nearby coffee shop to get one of the smoothies he loves), when we had friends visiting he was able to play along with their kids, even running along the greenway with them. However, because of the number of little kids between our 2 families the bigger kids never ran too fast or too far, and Caleb did tell me when he got home he could really feel his heart pounding hard.<br />
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Overall, I just really don't think Caleb looks healthy. As his mom, I sense something not right about him. He is paler with dark circles under his eyes, despite getting plenty of sleep. He is not involved in any extracurricular activities at the moment (in the past he was really active, having played baseball, soccer, and doing gymnastics) and is homeschooled so he doesn't have any stress in his life to cause problems. He eats a very healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables and little to no preservatives, dyes, or other chemicals. He drinks water all day long and never drinks soda.<br />
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The summer is approaching, and I know the heat will be unbearable to him. I hope we get some answers soon.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-28372110036051565612016-04-16T11:29:00.000-04:002016-04-16T11:29:05.770-04:00Travel Approval!Earlier this week we received great news - we have travel approval to bring home Jacob!!!<br />
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We also received word from China that last week a boy from Jacob's orphanage left to be adopted, and Jacob said, "I'm the next one. My Daddy will be here soon to take me home!"<br />
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We are so excited and can't wait to have Jacob finally home!!!<br />
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If you would like to be a part of something special and help reunite Jacob and Hannah as brother and sister forever you can make a tax deductible donation <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">here</a>. The first $5,500 raised will be given to Jacob's orphanage as a donation to help the children left behind, most of whom have special needs themselves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U5gIVFan1arDccacpMuZjcDMiml17YOhZ6xiKeONKE44ZThq6-WalLSyytcWaqHjAFJEEfeUQkfEcR3Qb_rx9sh_6xmWTAHF4di0bW4_xE97cnz1SnBGupodqljohyphenhyphenVd0_rjAKHSeMuh/s1600/13043642_1269830876378586_4823790503402959935_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8U5gIVFan1arDccacpMuZjcDMiml17YOhZ6xiKeONKE44ZThq6-WalLSyytcWaqHjAFJEEfeUQkfEcR3Qb_rx9sh_6xmWTAHF4di0bW4_xE97cnz1SnBGupodqljohyphenhyphenVd0_rjAKHSeMuh/s320/13043642_1269830876378586_4823790503402959935_n.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">We received this new picture of Jacob last night. Hannah saw it and said, "Oh wow, Fei Fei!" My Fei Fei!!!"</span></td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-10936298977559482132016-04-13T13:29:00.002-04:002016-05-11T15:31:20.752-04:00What would you do???What would you do if you adopted a child and found out that child had a sibling that was left behind? <br />
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<br />
What if no one else would adopt this sibling because of his special needs?<br />
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What if your child asked you constantly when this sibling would come home?<br />
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Would you leave him waiting forever for a family? <br />
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...or would you run to him?<br />
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<br />
Hannah's adoption came as a bit of a surprise to us. We had planned to adopt from China again, but then we found out about a baby in New York City in need of a family because of her special needs, a baby that fit ever so perfectly in our family, our little Elianna.<br />
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We were elated to have such a special blessing and felt no hurry to adopt again anytime soon. However, because we had filled out a form to view waiting children with a Chinese adoption agency it wasn't long after we adopted Elianna that we received an email about a baby girl they felt would fit perfectly in our family!<br />
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We hesitated... <br />
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...and then we prayed.<br />
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We prayed that God would give us an answer about HIS will for our lives and for this child waiting in China...<br />
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...and then He answered. Clear as day I was given this answer.<br />
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Christians like to talk about what they have done "for the least of these." The thing is, God's word doesn't just talk about what we have done for the least of these, it also talks about what we did <b><i>NOT</i></b> do for them.<br />
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Sure, we had already adopted 4 waiting children, and we had plans to adopt more <i>in the future</i>. We were doing our part to help the least of these. We were certainly doing more than most people!<br />
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But this child needed a family NOW, not in the future, and she had been presented to us. There were only 2 choices. We could choose to adopt her, or we could say no.<br />
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We prayed for God to give us a clear answer, and He answered with this verse: "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." (Matthew 25:45)<br />
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If we said no to that precious child, a child that had been presented to us completely unexpectedly, we weren't just saying no to her, we were saying no to HIM.<br />
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And so began the process to bring home our little Hannah.<br />
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What we didn't know when we said yes to Hannah is that she was not alone in the world. She had been moved from her orphanage as a tiny baby to a new foster care group home for medically fragile babies that was far away from her original orphanage. There she bonded with another little boy who was from the same province as Hannah. Before they could even sit on their own they were constantly together.<br />
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Whether they were indoors...<br />
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or outdoors...<br />
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at meal times...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7L9c3H86XpTO0tET9bW6YdNRtXlV0I7pIQtGW7kK8OL0aJAvseLo-V_piMMCOuRS30RoKVbB8SJZlypK442Mb7rKE5Wb5n-RixTPbmA8At6WsVUxLwdr-CowUuNaa78_m26P2eXFdBRL7/s1600/IMG_2259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7L9c3H86XpTO0tET9bW6YdNRtXlV0I7pIQtGW7kK8OL0aJAvseLo-V_piMMCOuRS30RoKVbB8SJZlypK442Mb7rKE5Wb5n-RixTPbmA8At6WsVUxLwdr-CowUuNaa78_m26P2eXFdBRL7/s400/IMG_2259.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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and at play times...<br />
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...they were always together.<br />
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It was a small facility where the kids were cared for in an environment that resembled more of a family than an orphanage, but there were other children there. Nonetheless, it was clear these two had a special bond for each other, a bond that was greater than between the other kids. <br />
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It was clear who Hannah's favorite was...<br />
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Obviously the feeling was mutual...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHsjvMZ9JZNTJQ_DJm2KNUr4igxPNcd9ABdD8hyphenhyphen5M8U1sT5QScC5_celbhba2F5OD1p-5noqb0uBv4cJHHPh_ZNpQ9EnkpWFZaFuby1B5rtVJQsA9btP_lnvMPZaBzdTHdapAT5gOYk-9/s1600/IMG_2257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHsjvMZ9JZNTJQ_DJm2KNUr4igxPNcd9ABdD8hyphenhyphen5M8U1sT5QScC5_celbhba2F5OD1p-5noqb0uBv4cJHHPh_ZNpQ9EnkpWFZaFuby1B5rtVJQsA9btP_lnvMPZaBzdTHdapAT5gOYk-9/s400/IMG_2257.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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They were even known to have the same facial expressions...<br />
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They were always near each other. In pictures of Hannah, there he was in the background...<br />
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In pictures of him, there Hannah was in the background...<br />
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Though they were young, Hannah understood that he couldn't walk or make much use of his arms, and so she became his little helper. Whether it was bringing him toys to hold or caring for him when he was sick, she was always there for him. </div>
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Thus it's no surprise that when we brought Hannah home she never stopped talking about "Fei Fei." When we gave her a picture of him and her together she started carrying it everywhere with her, even sleeping with it (and kissing it before she went to sleep!). She asked us daily, multiple times each day, when Fei Fei was coming home.</div>
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To Hannah, Fei Fei was her brother. No, they are not biological siblings, but neither are any of the 8 children here in our home. Those of us in the world of adoption know it is not our genes that make us family, it is our love for one another. Hannah and Fei Fei loved one another as brother and sister from the time they were babies. In their life without parents they became family to each other. When we adopted her we took her away from the strongest attachment she had in the world. No wonder she longed for us to bring him home. </div>
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In the same week we adopted Hannah Fei Fei was moved to a new facility in an entirely different part of China. I can only imagine how traumatic it must have been to have Hannah pulled away from him and then be moved to a new place. Over the 2 years since we have brought Hannah home he has seen many more friends go away to be adopted while he continues to wait. He is now 5 years old. He understands he can't use his arms and legs like the other kids, and few people are willing to adopt children who can't use their arms and their legs.</div>
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Still, like any other child, Fei Fei longs for a family of his own, <i>and he remembers his "sister" Hannah.</i> Because of their bond, it was only natural for him to see her family as his own. When first shown a picture of our family he said, "She is AnNa (AnNa was Hannah's name in China). This is my mommy. This is my daddy." There has never been any question in Fei Fei's mind, or in Hannah's mind, that we are his family.</div>
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Adopting Hannah was an unplanned journey. Adopting Jacob (Fei Fei) is another very unexpected part of that unplanned journey.</div>
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But how could we leave him behind?</div>
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If you would like to be a part of the wonderful journey of reuniting Hannah and Jonah as siblings forever you can make a donation by clicking <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">here.</a></div>
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<i>"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." -John 14:18</i></div>
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<i>"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." - Mark 9:37</i></div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-83912036310415354572016-03-08T16:43:00.002-05:002016-03-08T16:43:50.312-05:00Heartbreaking decisionOne of the hardest things in the adoption world is having to let go of a child you have come to love as your own. Sadly, several months ago we had to release the file of the little girl we had dreamed of for many months. Due to some new medical complications with one of our children that will require us to do a substantial amount of traveling for treatment we felt we would be unable to provide the stability and structure an older girl with Down syndrome would surely need to help her adjust to her new home and attach to our family. After a lot of thoughtful consideration and prayer we finally made the heartbreaking decision to release her file. We pray her forever family finds her soon. We know they will be incredibly blessed to have her as their daughter!<br />
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We ARE still proceeding with the adoption of Hannah's foster brother/best friend from the orphanage, Jacob. We have an abundance of information about him because of his relationship with Hannah. Despite his great physical limitations he is mentally very bright. He is also a lot younger, being only 5 years old. We don't have any concerns about his ability to handle the lack of structure and routine we will face in his first few months home. Plus, we know he is being very well prepared for the transition to our home. Not only that, because he is already attached to Hannah his transition to our home will be easier overall. He already knows her to be his sister, so it was natural for him to accept us as his family. He knows us as his Mommy and Daddy and can't wait to come home!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XRlZ6pZye3u7sJbFiN5FMfsXesA0r1JDxslAba4QSy-CmIAIshtzvG3RoRAg1WIclpF0Gq2CMwgC4VN3U8i7LrMzVd24ZFkqE96n_PjbADMzyRehr2C7y9SoPQBtaDCTdJpLNwhtbyB_/s1600/Jacob01-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XRlZ6pZye3u7sJbFiN5FMfsXesA0r1JDxslAba4QSy-CmIAIshtzvG3RoRAg1WIclpF0Gq2CMwgC4VN3U8i7LrMzVd24ZFkqE96n_PjbADMzyRehr2C7y9SoPQBtaDCTdJpLNwhtbyB_/s640/Jacob01-2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jacob with some of the things we sent him for Christmas. We were told he was very happy and excited to get a package from us and that he loved all his presents! We sent him LOTS of cars, a dinosaur set, some other little toys, the stuffed penguin he is holding, the hat and matching mittens he is wearing, Christmas candy, and most importantly a photo album with over 40 pictures of our family.</span></td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-85517314322598968832015-12-31T01:20:00.000-05:002016-01-01T01:43:10.730-05:00Hospital Adventures (part 2)How did Caleb end up hospitalized again in December?<br />
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Although he had been completely fine the day before, Caleb woke up on St. Nicholas Day not feeling well. I normally don't take the kids into the doctor until they have been sick for awhile to give their immune system a chance to fight it off before resorting to drugs. However, this time I felt he needed to get seen without delay so despite the fact it was a Sunday (meaning his normal doctor wasn't in), I had my husband take him in to the quick care clinic to get checked out.<br />
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He had minimal symptoms - just didn't feel well, had a low grade fever (99.3) and had a slightly sore throat - but his heart rate was in the 130s. Unfortunately, he got seen by a PA who TOTALLY missed the ball! She diagnosed him with dehydration. She said Americans just don't drink enough water, drink too much soda, and we live at such a high altitude here it's easy to get dehydrated. She didn't bother to actually get a real history on Caleb. If she had, she would have learned our family does NOT drink soda AT ALL, and that Caleb drinks MANY glasses of water throughout the day. As far as altitude, 940 feet above see level isn't generally considered high altitude! Caleb's daddy said he wished I had been there to deal with the PA myself. I would have told her she needed to figure out what was really wrong with my child instead of making an assumption based on habits of the general American public.<br />
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As the day went on Caleb continued to decline significantly. He became completely lethargic, wouldn't eat at all, his fever climbed to over 103, and his heart rate climbed into the 160s. I gave him ibuprofen which helped reduce his fever and heart rate a bit, though they were still above normal (heart rate dropped to 140s), and I watched him like a hawk all through the night until I could get him in to see his normal doctor the next morning.<br />
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Thankfully his normal doctor, though full of patients, not only saw him but also ordered lab work, an EKG, and a chest x-ray. He determined he was definitely NOT dehydrated! The chest x-ray showed the possible beginning of pneumonia (exact wording from radiology report was "suspected early or ill-defined infiltrate apical segment left lower lobe"). He wasn't even coughing, and his lungs sounded clear. There was no clear explanation for his high heart rate, so off to the ER we went.<br />
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There was never a clear explanation for Caleb's high heart rate. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, but it was a mild case that really shouldn't have caused his heart rate to increase that much. In fact, it was caught so early it was barely visible on the x-ray (multiple doctors said they didn't really see it themselves). He did have to stay in the hospital for awhile, but eventually they let him go with the promise of close follow-up with his primary care doctor (the hospital also followed up with phone calls to us as well). However, with a diagnosis of pneumonia, though mild, and a high heart rate we couldn't go anywhere to enjoy any Christmas festivities, not to mention the fact illness started spreading through the rest of the family as well.<br />
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There's always next year...<br />
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(Oh, and we'll be following up on Caleb's heart rate issues with a visit to a pediatric cardiologist soon.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hanging out in the ER. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just waiting to be admitted to a real room in the hospital.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Heart rate of 158 during the middle of the night while sleeping. It would spike even higher in the daytime.</span></td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-66064202676233948712015-12-31T00:09:00.000-05:002015-12-31T00:09:44.811-05:00Hospital Adventures Last year just a few days before Christmas Caleb ended up in the hospital getting emergency surgery for appendicitis. Aside from the pain and misery it caused him, it also left us unable to do anything fun for Christmas. We said all year long how this Christmas would be so much better.<br />
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Look how we spent this December...<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-61121739932688030062015-12-14T12:53:00.002-05:002015-12-14T12:53:14.671-05:00Happiness in the HomeOne of the things that seems to most impress people about our family is the happiness that is so evident among us. Despite the fact that our 8 children come from 8 different places with most of them having painful backgrounds they still radiate happiness and joy to others, and despite the fact that like most marriages we have had our own share of problems to deal with we are still best friends, always happiest when we are together.<br />
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How have we taken the 10 of us, all from VERY different backgrounds, and melded us together into one big happy family (note I didn't say perfect, that's not possible - but we really are quite happy overall!)? There is no one answer to this question, it is a combination of factors, but perhaps the biggest factor is that we learned to remove all negativity from our life.<br />
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Have you heard of the new trend known as the "KonMari" method based upon the bestseller book titled "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo? The book is about organizing and simplifying your life based upon one important concept - keep only the things which spark joy to you. If an item does not spark joy then it should not take up space in your life.<br />
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This is a GREAT technique for decluttering your home, but the amazing thing is this same concept can be applied in other areas of your life also - the activities that occupy your time, the places you go, and even your relationships with other people. The bottom line - if it doesn't spark joy, it doesn't belong in your life.<br />
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Life is too short to waste any time dealing with people who bring negative emotions into your life. Regardless of how much you may love a person, how much you may WANT to have a relationship with them, or what your connection is to them, if they are not a POSITIVE part of your life then they don't belong in it. The choice is up to them - either be a positive part of your life, or don't be a part of your life at all.<br />
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So what happens when someone invades the happiness in our home with negativity? Well, we have found the best response is no response. Even if the person is completely wrong in their beliefs, words, or actions towards us, we do not respond. Perhaps it comes from our admiration for the Amish, perhaps it's our own beliefs, or perhaps we just don't want to fool with the inevitable argument. Regardless, we have found if someone truly wants to be a part of our lives, and if they have a complaint about us, they will approach us out of love and with a willingness to solve the problem. A person who attacks without seeking to find the truth isn't really interested in our family anyway.<br />
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As an example, last year we were involved in a situation in which someone said something wrong about us to someone else, which in turn led that someone else to react with negativity towards us. We were both shocked and hurt at what happened. We considered defending ourselves, but in the end we just backed away. After all, of those that were turning against us, NOT.A.SINGLE.ONE bothered to ask for our side of the story. Had they really cared about us instead of lashing against us based on the words of someone else, they would have approached us with an attitude of openness and love, e.g. "So-and-so said this about you, and it really bothered me, but I wanted to get your side of the story before I made any judgements against you." <br />
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Our family is way too precious to let negativity have a place in our lives. It hurts when those we love and care about us cause us pain, but in order to keep the happiness in our family we have to let them go, no matter whether they are a friend we cared deeply for or a family member for whom we have an unconditional love. We will continue to pray for them and pray for a restoration of our relationship with them, we'll continue to love them, but we will love them from a distance. In the end, it's not that we're keeping certain people out of our lives. It's that we're keeping negativity out of our lives.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">These kids, and their siblings, are way too precious and wonderful to waste our time dealing with negativity!</span></td></tr>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-11191171107466457402015-08-25T17:01:00.002-04:002015-08-25T17:03:16.838-04:00Big Ern's Playhouse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When my husband was stationed at Tyndall AFB in Panama City he worked on top-secret projects inside a highly secure vault alongside my father. My husband did so much work the place got named in his honor! Who would have figured when they named the place Big Ern's playhouse that he would eventually have TEN kids? His home has now become the playhouse!<br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-80882143103152520412015-08-25T16:11:00.000-04:002015-08-25T16:11:21.456-04:00Adoption UpdatePeople keep asking us about our adoption, when we get to bring the kids home. Sadly our social worker took forever to get the home study completed. Thus we are still awaiting our USCIS approval so that we can send off our dossier to China. We should have that approval very soon, maybe this week. Hopefully the rest of the process will move much quicker. Our new son and daughter shouldn't have to spend another Christmas without us because of a a slow social worker!<br />
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I always try to find the positive in everything, so at least this means we have longer to come up with the many tens of thousands of dollars necessary to bring the kids home. However, adoption is never about us, it's about the kids waiting to come home. Two kids are waiting for us, and both are old enough to understand they have a family coming for them, yet they can't possibly understand waiting so many months for us to get to them.<br />
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Our son's 4th birthday was the very beginning of February. He was told then about us, shown pictures of us, and while this is always a special moment it was even more special with him because of the bond between him and our daughter Hannah. He looked at the picture of our family and said, "That's my mommy. That's my daddy. She's Anna." (Hannah's name in China was An Na.) This sweet boy is ready to come home to his family! And at 10 years old, Grace has spent way too many years already waiting for a family, watching other kids get adopted while she was left behind!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob being shown a picture of Hannah on his birthday. His birthday was celebrated with the good news that he not only had a family coming for him, it was the same family that adopted his best friend!</td></tr>
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Please pray the rest of the process moves quickly and smoothly, and pray too for success with our fundraising efforts. We will NOT be able to go get Jacob and Grace without the necessary funds! <br />
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I will be updating the blog soon with details of our current fundraisers, but as always if you would like to help 2 precious children come home to their family you can make a tax-deductible donation to our Reece's Rainbow account here: <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2</a><br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-88538214506666382872015-08-25T12:52:00.000-04:002016-02-29T16:19:38.234-05:00The Face of Being Pro-LifeThe pro-life movement often bothers me, not because I am not pro-life but because I see so many people claiming to be against abortion without ever actually DOING anything to support LIFE! Many (not all) of these people are Christians, and the Bible says, "Be ye DOERS of the word, and not hears only." (James 1:22) Interesting enough, it's only a few verses later that we are told caring for orphans is part of a "pure and faultless" religion. (James 1:27)<br />
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So yes, we need to be pro-life, but it's not enough to merely say we are pro-life, we need to DO something about it!</div>
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We need to be there to offer support and encouragement to those who feel abortion is their only way. We need to not only offer our emotional support, we need to meet their other needs as well!</div>
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Do they feel they can't have a baby because they have no one to take care of the baby while they are at work or school? Then we need to offer child care to them, FREE of charge!</div>
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Do they feel they can't have a baby because they can't afford it? Then we need to offer help to them in the form of groceries, clothing, housing assistance, etc.</div>
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Do they feel they can't have a baby because the child they are carrying has special needs? Then we need to help them see the joy that can come with a child who has special needs and offer to help them care for that child as necessary be it help with child care, medical expenses, respite, etc. If they truly feel unable to care for the child we need to show them adoption is a way to not only allow that child to have life but also to bless another family, and then we need to step forward to make sure that child gets adopted. Then when a family adopts that child we need to offer support to that family as well, because it is really about helping that child!</div>
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If we don't want a child to be aborted, then we need to make sure we are truly doing ALL we can to save that child and give it the opportunity for a life full of happiness and love.</div>
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Being pro-life shouldn't just be an opinion, it should be an action. And it doesn't just apply within our borders. God doesn't see borders. He doesn't care about nationalities, and neither should we. ALL LIFE MATTERS! From the unborn children of our own neighborhoods to the orphans suffering all around the world, no child is either too young (i.e. those still in the womb) or too old to deserve the opportunity to live LIFE, to have a hope and a FUTURE, to be LOVED!</div>
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Children don't start mattering once they are born as the pro-choice people would have us believe, but neither do they stop mattering when they are born as many pro-life people seem to believe (at least in their actions despite what their words say, and no, I do not believe adoption is for everybody but caring for these children is - you do not have to adopt to help care for orphans).</div>
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Children matter before they are born, from the very beginning, and we need to do our part to protect them no matter how small. They also matter once they are born, and we need to do our part to protect them, no batter how big. From the unborn child about to be murdered through abortion to the teenager living in an orphanage, they all need our care and our love. </div>
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It is not enough to SAY we are pro-life, maybe even post a few articles about it on our Facebook page. We need to BE pro-life - in actions, not just in words.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The faces of pro-life - A precious little boy with Down syndrome, abandoned by his birth parents and left for nearly 4 years in terrible conditions in a poor orphanage in China before being lovingly adopted by our family. An incredible little girl, born here in the United States to parents who loved her dearly, enough to give her life and place her for adoption when they felt unable to adequately care for her special needs. We are the ones blessed to call her our beloved daughter. These are just 2 of the 7 children we have adopted, with another on the way. We don't just say we are pro-life, we live it. If you are pro-life, what are you DOING to live your beliefs out in action? I guarantee, you will be blessed by your actions!</span></td></tr>
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"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Mark 9:37</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-63530181116314444502015-07-28T14:37:00.000-04:002015-07-28T14:37:59.779-04:00Every child is special!Over the next month we have several thousand more dollars due to our agency. We have launched a new t-shirt fundraiser to help with these expenses. This one is perfect for everyone who loves children! It is available in a wide variety of styles and sizes, including long sleeved and children's sizes. Click the link for more details: <a href="https://www.bonfirefunds.com/every-child-is-special" target="_blank">Every child is special!</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-35143858794097427892015-05-18T13:09:00.000-04:002015-08-25T11:03:09.350-04:00Finally healthy!Back last fall Malachi started complaining incessantly of not feeling well. He had recurring strep throat. He was MISERABLE with stomach pain daily, and the horrible pain was coupled with frequent diarrhea. He also complained of chest pain and shortness of breath daily, which was especially concerning given his heart defects. He was even complaining of his arms and legs hurting. He just ALWAYS felt HORRIBLE! He was also losing weight, concerning for any kid but especially one as tiny as him.<br />
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Our biggest concern was his chest pain, but his cardiologist said Malachi had no NEW cardiac issues, nothing that should be causing all the new problems he was experiencing. He referred us to the pulmonologist.<br />
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The pulmonologist didn't really have any great answers, but she did want to put him on a host of new medications, including steroids. I was VERY hesitant about so many new drugs, especially for a kid with heart defects, when there really didn't seem to be an answer to his problems.<br />
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The next step was a gastroenterologist. That proved to be a frustrating experience! In the end they said his problems were all caused by food allergies. We cut nearly EVERYTHING from his diet - they said he was allergic to wheat, rice, corn, milk, eggs, peanuts, tomatoes, and more. He not only couldn't eat these products, he couldn't eat anything with even a trace of these products such as the small amount of cornstarch in seasoning mixes and many other foods. Gluten-free products were no help because they usually contain rice flour in place of wheat flour. There was next to nothing he could eat, which made him even more miserable, and the changes in his diet did nothing to alleviate his problems.<br />
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Once I got a copy of the blood work for myself I believed there was no way food allergies could be causing problems as severe as what Malachi was experiencing. Most of his results were in the class 1 allergy category, with some of the values being just barely high enough to even be interpreted (e.g. 0.37, 0.38 - see the chart below to see how minimal these would be considered). Of the 2 test results that fell into class 2, they both were on the very low end of that category. It made no sense that allergies as minimal as these would cause so many problems, and that a change in diet hadn't helped him further justified that thought. <br />
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So the next step was to an allergy/immunology doctor. Here we received confirmation that Malachi's food allergies definitely should not be the source of all his problems. His food allergies were so minimal they didn't even show up with skin testing.<br />
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At this point we were at a bit of a loss as to what would be causing so many problems - stomach pain, diarrhea, weight loss, chest pain, shortness of breath, recurring strep throat, arm pain, leg pain, overall feelings of discomfort, lethargy, etc. What could we do?<br />
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It was about this time we pulled Malachi and his siblings out of school and began to homeschool them once again. I truly believe this was a tremendous help. Our kids went from being sick all the time to never being sick. They also started getting lots more sleep. The ones who do better sleeping later could do so, and Micaelyn (who is always an early riser) could take a much needed nap during the day. <br />
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We also started working hard to ensure a healthy diet for us all with a particular interest in Malachi. We limit packaged food products, and when we do use them (e.g. dried pasta, tomato sauce) we try to get ones that are truly all-natural. We're trying to cut chemicals out of our diet. Even something as seemingly healthy as whole-wheat bread usually has a long list of chemicals in it. We've discovered some nearby Amish markets where we can get freshly made bread, peanut butter, and a host of other products without any added chemicals. We've also switched to locally made fresh cheese, we search for apples without wax coatings, and we are very careful about where we go on the rare occasions we eat out. We've found the very best way to start the day is with a smoothie, and thankfully after years of making them I finally found a supplement for them I feel makes them both healthier and tastier! The smoothies also work great as afternoon snacks or evening treats so they provide a way to give the kids a snack without resorting to something unhealthy. Our diet was never bad (e.g. we have never had sodas and always limited junk foods), but I think the added nutrition from the frequent smoothies has helped a lot.<br />
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Over the past several months Malachi has gradually started feeling better to the point now where he rarely complains. He hasn't had anymore strep throat, nor has he had any other illness. He hasn't complained of chest pain or shortness of breath, and he says his arms and legs no longer bother him. Most significantly (since it was his greatest and most frequent complaint before), he rarely complains of stomach pain anymore, and when he does it's more discomfort than real pain. He no longer has diarrhea and has been steadily picking up weight again.<br />
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We will probably never know what was causing all of Malachi's problems. I do not believe it to have been a psychological issue with school because he really loved school. However, I do think taking him out of school was a big help since he no longer had to deal with the constant exposure to germs and frequent illnesses, and he could get as much sleep as necessary. I also believe the smoothies I give him has helped a lot. The supplement I use is super healthy on its own (it's designed to be a meal replacement shake), so combined with the other ingredients I use the smoothie becomes a super nutrient rich food source. Regardless, we are just grateful for Malachi's better health!<br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-37992987162358345852015-05-08T01:35:00.003-04:002015-05-08T01:38:17.499-04:00How to save a life...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 19px;">The picture to the side is a clip from a Chinese newspaper "finding ad" showing the face of a recently abandoned little girl estimated to be 3 years old. Why are we passionate about caring for orphans? Because they are not just pictures. They are CHILDREN, REAL CHILDREN. No child deserves to be abandoned, no child deserves to be left behind, no child deserves to live in the conditions in which many orphans live, and no child deserves a life without love. We live in a society in which many fight fo</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 19px;">r the care of animals but few fight for the care of orphans. Yes, animals are important, but they will NEVER compare to the worth of a child!!! Those of us who have opened our eyes to the plight of these children cannot turn away. We will never stop fighting for them. We will adopt those whom others have overlooked. We will advocate for the ones still waiting. We will encourage and support other adoptive families. We will donate time and money to help children find families and to help families get their children home. And we will pray for others to join our fight, because it is not about us - it is about the children, the abandoned, unwanted, uncared for, unloved, forgotten children. It is a fight we ALL should be fighting. Yes, Christians love to point out the many verses from the Bible that make it so clear of our responsibility to care for these children, but it's not just "a Christian thing." Caring for orphans is the right thing no matter what your religious beliefs. So when you see our posts about orphans don't just skim over them because it's not your thing. Ask yourself what you can do to help. It doesn't take a lot. You don't have to adopt to make a difference, but whether it be advocating for waiting children or the families adopting these children, helping with a fundraiser (and just sharing the link is helping by bringing more attention), donating time and/or money, or praying, YOUR HELP IS IMPORTANT - you really can make a difference! The little girl in the picture - she is our Grace, our almost 10 year old daughter still waiting for us to bring her home. She has been waiting YEARS for a family. There were many who advocated for her. They led her to us. They helped to save a life.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-70262219603080523882015-05-08T01:08:00.000-04:002015-05-08T01:08:05.941-04:00Keurig Coffee Maker FundraiserA friend of ours is hosting a Keurig Coffee Maker Fundraiser to help us get Grace and Jacob home and help another family (also our friends!) get their precious new daughter home. Please go check it out and be a part of this fun event! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/411608235677768/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/411608235677768/</a><br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-51078186904453130362015-05-06T19:59:00.002-04:002015-05-06T19:59:47.445-04:00Homeschool Field Trip - Davy Crockett State ParkSeveral weeks ago we took the kids on a field trip to the Davy Crockett State Park. We must have chosen the coldest day of spring to go. Soon we will go back and spend more time there. At least the kids got to see it, so now when they are reading about Davy Crockett they can picture exactly what his home was like.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Standing on the porch of Davy Crockett's home</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The stone reads, "On this spot Davy Crockett was born." Turns out he was born next to a river in Tennessee, not up on a mountaintop like the song says!</span></td></tr>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-60762715530712626022015-05-06T15:05:00.001-04:002015-05-06T15:05:39.735-04:00A new name!We have finally decided on a name for our new daughter ("Yvonne" is the name she has been known by for many years on all the waiting child lists and groups, but it is not the name she goes by in China). We knew we wanted a name that relates in some way to our Christian faith. We had a few ideas, and when we received a couple of new videos of our daughter it became clear which one was just perfect - Grace! The videos showed us that she is a very graceful girl who loves to dance. We think the name fits her just perfectly!<br />
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I will post the first new video of Grace when our FSP on Reece's Rainbow (<a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2" target="_blank">http://reecesrainbow.org/88887/sponsormurray-2</a>) reaches $1500, and I will post the second when it reaches $2000. For now I will give you this - a link to a post from 2011 advocating for a family for this precious girl (she's been waiting YEARS for a family!). Even back then they called her "a graceful girl." There is a brief video of her dancing. She was cute back then, but I can't wait to show the new videos because she has truly become a great dancer! <a href="http://holtinternational.org/blog/2011/11/a-graceful-girl-from-china/" target="_blank">http://holtinternational.org/blog/2011/11/a-graceful-girl-from-china/</a>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-37038389109393683862015-05-06T00:13:00.002-04:002015-05-06T00:28:56.600-04:00Beckwith Weidemann SyndromeI know many people stumble upon my blog while searching for information on Beckwith Weidemann Syndrome. Because it's a more rare syndrome it can be harder to find information about it, particularly from a personal experience point-of-view. Here are my 2 girls with BWS. They are both beautiful, but they are even more amazing on the inside! They have endured more than most kids medically, but they are just as happy and loving as can be! And they both love dressing up as princesses! (And just in case you're wondering, they are NOT biologically related! Micaelyn was adopted from China, and Elianna was adopted from here in the United States.)<span id="goog_1168298260"></span><br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-52330806073269052712015-05-05T23:38:00.000-04:002015-05-05T23:38:34.166-04:00Eye patchingElianna has had to wear eye patches for quite some time now. She's really grown annoyed by them and resists wearing them, but on this gorgeous spring day she was full of smiles! <br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-73755381810529844852015-05-05T22:57:00.000-04:002015-05-05T22:57:43.283-04:00A great gift for Father's Day!!!We have launched a new t-shirt fundraiser. This is a shirt that's perfect for any parent. It would make a great Father's Day present! It comes in many different styles and colors, including short sleeves, long sleeves, v-necks, women's, and even a hoodie! <a href="http://teespring.com/the-joy-of-a-family" target="_blank">http://teespring.com/the-joy-of-a-family</a><br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194306646778957744.post-21116916872798783282015-05-05T22:46:00.002-04:002015-05-05T22:46:25.382-04:00Another chance!We have relaunched our "Ohana Means Family" t-shirt fundraiser! Those who have already purchased one have LOVED the shirt. Join in the fun and get yours today! <a href="https://www.bonfirefunds.com/ohana-means-family" target="_blank">https://www.bonfirefunds.com/ohana-means-family</a><br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08733435434797137107noreply@blogger.com0