royal festivities.

In case you are wondering, no, I do not have time to be blogging so much the past couple days, but I need a break from the packing madness.  


Last weekend a British couple from K's work hosted this:

It was so fun getting all dressed up for the occasion!  We arrived to their home and were met by this:

We rang the bell and were greeted by these two:

It was the first - and probably only - excuse I will ever have to wear a fascinator.

I wish I had taken more pictures because everyone looked wonderful.  We had a lovely evening out on the patio eating fish and chips, Yorkshire pudding and scones. The home backs up to a golf course, so most of the guys battled it out in an ultra competitive game of croquet.  


My final picture of the evening is regretful... bad lighting + not-so-fancy camera = this:

The Queen and Prince surprised us all and came out on the balcony for a farewell wave!

Welcoming.

Two sweet wives from K's work had a welcome brunch for Sweet P and another baby girl (who is the first girl after four brothers!).

During the brunch, Sweet P helped me finish my delicious cupcake.  ...and I could hardly believe it when C (pictured below) said she had driven thirty minutes to Norfolk just for these cupcakes until I tried them.  They were delicious!

Next, Sweet P buddied up to E and realized if she sat on her lap, she could help with her cupcake too!  

Then this clever girl moved on for her third cupcake on J's lap.  She was good and sugared up by the time we went home.  It was a wonderful time with sweet friends!

T and C loving on the sweet baby girl.

The Angelas.

I'm kicking myself for neglecting to take a picture of the other hostess, E.  She has become such a dear friend and encouragement throughout our adoption, and I'm thankful for her!  All these ladies are just one more reason it's difficult to think of leaving in less than two weeks.  


I always know I'm extra blessed when I am this sad to leave a place... it means I've dared to open up my heart to other girls.  It's always worth it but sure makes it hard to say goodbye.  Praying for more dear friends like these in Nevada.  


Blessings, angela

this is a test. this is only a test. (plus good news!!)

Last week we met with a pediatric neurologist  Dr. L to begin Sweet P's neuro care in America.  We were given little info about her medical history regarding her hydrocephalus, so after researching the anti-seizure medicines she takes, K and I agreed we wanted to find out about weaning her off them completely, if possible.  


Dr. L recommended Sweet P have a few initial tests done to set a baseline for her neuro activity, since we arrived home with no images of her brain or charts of her brain activity.  Monday K took her to have an EEG done.  What that tells us is whether her brain waves show a tendency to have seizures.  We were eager to hear.


If you have ever been around a two-year-old and asked them to hold completely still, you know why Sweet P was in a body wrap.  She did really well in it, so I'd call it a success.  

The humor came when the female tech (who is obviously not a parent yet) told K, "See if you can get her to close her eyes for about five minutes."  Come again?  They had previously discussed the fact that she is newly adopted and knows limited English.  Telling her to close her eyes for five seconds was going to be a huge stretch, but for five minutes?  Really?


The tech had him try for a minute and then announced she'd have to do it the "old fashioned way."  Any guesses?  Tape.  They taped my baby girl's eyes shut and she only whimpered.  I'd have been completely freaking out by that point.  The below picture is after they took off a half-dozen probes from her face and ears and removed the mummy-style head wrap.

We found out today that her EEG test came back negative.  We are praising the Lord her brain doesn't appear prone to further seizures!  


Today we met with a neurosurgeon and discussed other action that may be done.  Dr. C doesn't want to do any CT scans since Shiloh is so little.  He doesn't want to unnecessarily expose her to more radiation since she seems to be doing great. 


As he inspected her shunt from the surface (it's not visible since it's inserted under the skin behind her ear), he asked if it has always been dimpled in.  Shunts should bubble out.  Umm, yes.  It's been exactly that way as long as we have had her.  Didn't know it should be otherwise, unfortunately.  The great news about that is it likely means her shunt is not functioning due to a blockage and hasn't been for some time.  This means her body has functioned fine without the shunt's help!  She has had the shunt for 2+ years and has had no seizures since... and who knows but the Lord how long her shunt hasn't been working?!  The first year after the shunt is inserted is the critical time for a recurrence of  seizures, and she's well past that mark.

This may be more technical than you cared to read, but we are truly thrilled that Sweet P seems to be healthy!  She is doing great and adjusting so much better than we could have imagined.  


Praising the Lord for His healing hand, angela

May at our house.

One more barrage of pictures to get the blog up to speed.  These are from the beginning of May and, with packing and all, I don't have time to divide them all up into cute posts.  So here you go...

My favorite picture currently because I love how her eyes disappear when she's really smiling!

Some friends went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and I assumed my kids wouldn't want to get wet in 70 degree weather.  I assumed wrong.  They were soaked and had no qualms about it.

A friend rescued us by loaning Sweet P dry clothes.  We had to drive over to the Dept of Homeland Security to submit paperwork for her Certificate of Citizenship.  Well, the amazing news is, we didn't even need to bother because it was submitted when we cleared through customs at the airport!  Yay for saving $600!

This is absolute sweetness...

My best Mother's Day on the books thus far.  Sweet P was home with us and we dedicated her to the Lord at church that Sunday.  It feels so good to have her in my arms!

Peanut must have had a good lesson in Sunday school.  During the worship service, she drew this.  Here's her explanation:  "In Heaven there is no sadness, no scariness and no meanness.  (the circles with slashes)  There is love.  There are no broken hearts."

Then the back had this meaning:  "There will be no robots."

Finally, a picture of her with her sister.  Sweet P is appropriately drawn with brown skin and herself with pink and yellow.  As we walked out of church it was very bright and Peanut exclaims, "Her skin is getting lighter!"  We have already had a few conversations about Sweet P's skin color, one time after Peanut asked if it will get to be white.  She also wished one day that Sweet P were "dark as night" (wording from a book we have).  I love the curiosity but sometimes these are difficult discussions!  We were able to have a good talk about how beautifully the Lord created everyone and how different each in our family are... Daddy with brown eyes and Buddy with blue, Mommy with freckles and Sweet P with none.  It's good to notice our similarities but it's more fun to see how the Creator made each of us different and special.

My parents were able to visit for a few days and meet Sweet P.  We had such a fun time with them!

 Me and my man.

The big joke is that my daddy finally got a black-headed (grand)child that he has long wanted.  All my siblings look like my mom.  Thankfully we got Sweet P home while my dad still has a few black hairs on his head!  :)

While my mom was here, we let Peanut have a special time doing make-up.  Oh goodness.  She loved it.  My mom helped with the blush and eye shadow application but we let her go with the lipstick.  She was so proud!  

 Lovely.

A few days ago a friend was over to chat, so I let the kids out back and let them turn on the water hose for the water table.  Big mistake.  Buddy flooded the long planter box that's lying on the ground and then they had fun scooping the soppy potting soil into the table.  What's more, Sweet P found it fun and hilarious to stick her head into the water and fling it everywhere.  We weren't aware until it was beyond repair, so we let them go at it.


When I asked Buddy what was going on, he assumed he was in big trouble.  He said he put the dirt in the water and looked remorseful.  I asked in a serious voice if he was having fun, to which he sheepishly responded, "Yes!"

Don't let her expression fool you, she was having a blast!  You can click on it to see the damage larger.

Readying herself for a trip to Oklahoma in a few weeks.

... and on that note I have a bit more packing and organizing to do before nap time ends.  Got to stop here.  Blessings, angela 

April at our house.

I have no idea what to title this... it's a bunch of pictures of the kids during our first weeks home from Thailand.  I'll try to work up the energy to type up some of your questions - and my answers - soon!   

We're getting things ready for our move, and this guy loves to help with watering the flowers.  If it works like a gun, Buddy is all over it.  

It's sheer joy to watch this girl experience things for the first time.  Who knew olives could be so entertaining? She never ate them but had such a great time playing.

Cute close-ups of my little loves.

I have no intention of being mean by showcasing her lips, but they are quite extraordinary.  ...how they purse upward when she says "dah-oo."  If you know how that interprets, please fill me in because she said it all the time when we got home.

We'd also like help with this one:  "bah-bung-way."  She usually beats her fists on the table for emphasis when she says it.

These two were busy, busy with a dustpan and mini broom.  Now I'm on the hunt for more creative "toys" as I pack the other ones.  

Packing party.

Silly girl sporting my flip flops and running off with puzzle pieces.

Sweet P calls us all by name, but for a while didn't quite get Peanut's name right.  We had a lot of fun with that!  I was also known as merely "mee" but she's finally sticking a "mom" on the beginning.  She almost always asks where someone is and then acts asleep, as if to ask if they are sleeping... even if they are sitting right next to her!  

Easter Sunday was an added blessing with our third at home with us!  We celebrated our hope because of Jesus with our church family and then shared lunch with a small gathering.

The hunt is on!

 We did one more little hunt after naps in our backyard.  Peanut found her "favorite egg."

 The kids showing off their finds, while Peanut plays the Easter bunny.

I didn't realize there was egg profiling going on until I saw his basket up close. He'd find a pink or purple egg and throw it down and move onto the "boy colors."

 The look of pure joy.  Hope it makes you smile too.

Blessings, angela