More Info

For those of you with questions about submucous cleft palates you can find you answers on this site and here is a picture of what one looks like. Note this is not Twink's mouth. Twink's looks longer and thinner but you really can not look for very long without her closing her mouth. So I hope this answer those questions I've been getting. :)

Submucous Cleft Palate

OK, our speech therapist just left and now I'm sitting here in a daze. When she first started seeing Twink she had told me that it was possible that Twink had a submucous cleft palate. She told me that there would be no know way of knowing until Twink started talking more. If she tried to do an oral exam on her she would freak out so we didn't push it.

Well today Twink was playing with me and she opened her mouth wide enough for her to do an exam. She did see what she believes is a submucous cleft palate. So she is sending a referral to the cranio-facial team and I'm sure we'll have an appointment scheduled within a week or two. I know they are a busy office and I hope we don't have an appointment until November or December! LOL Never a dull moment and you can usually count us in for a medical appointment. :)

Running SOOOO Slow!

OK this is driving me CRAZY! I seem to be only having trouble with my blog and no one else. Thank you Liz for the comment and the e-mail! LOL Your right no music here. I wish it were that easy. Does anyone else have any other ideas why MY blog would be running slow/sticking and then be fine? I have some awesome things to share throughout the week and do not want this mess to interfere. Please help me if you can! :)

Prayers for a Friend Please

My childhood friend son is having some testing done in Boston the next couple of days. Please check out their story at My Italian Darlings and keep them in your thoughts and prayers. They are a strong family but are dealing with so much right now. Her sons name is Zach. Also their daughter just sprained her arm so just remember the family as a whole. Thank blogging buddies.

P.S. Is my site running slow to all of you or is it just on my end?

I Won!

What a sweet blogging friend Cristy is! She nominated ME for this award.


Cristy has some great stories that will make you laugh! She is also an adoptive mama who has two beautiful daughters from China. She is supportive and extrely kind. She and I have similar lives right now but our faith and family keep us going. When we thought there might have been a chance of moving to her city she was able to give me tons of information. If you haven't visited her blog please do so, I know you'll love it.


I have the pleasure of nominating 5 bloggers for this award as well:
But first here are the rules:

1. Choose five blogs that you consider deserving of this award.

2. Name the author and include a link to his/her blog.

3. Show the award and put the name and link of the blog that presented you the award.

4. Show the link blog of the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules


1. Carla , her husband and her boys share a very special day with our family. Although none of our older children were with us in body on Dec. 10, 2007 when our newest children arrived in our arms in China, they were there in spirit. Carla holds a special place in my heart. She is a great friend and one I can call day or night if needed. (Or to see how Katie looked when she was sick and realized much more was going on with Twink). We do plan to go back to China together with our family again - on a hertiage tour in about 6-7 years.


2. Tonggu Momma is my personal cheerleader! :) Ok well that's what it feels like. She is awesome and knows what to say and when. Our daughters are very similar in the fact that they have sensory issues. She gives me hope when I am running low. Oh and her stories, you MUST go and visit her blog. She is a great story teller and funny too. She has little girl from China who looks adorable from the backside ;) (visit her blog and you'll know why) and they are waiting on their referral of a baby sister from China.


3. Carla L at Delight Yourself in the Lord is also super special. She knows when to give encouragement and is super talented. Her faith is awesome and I am amazed that she is always willing to help when ever she can. Did I mention she makes beautiful blog designs? If you need a new design check her out! She has a handsome son and a beautiful little girl from China.

4. Jeanette at Threads of Faithfulness is so super sweet! I actually start chatting with Jeanette one day when she was asking about adoption agencies. I had told her her I used and why I loved them. I received an e-mail about a week or so later letting me know that she too had signed with AWAA. She is truly beautiful inside and out. She is strong in her faith and I love to read how the Lord works in her life. She has two handsome sons and is currently waiting on a daughter from China. Oh and did I tell you she makes beautiful hair bows? Check out Sara Beth Bows.

5. Stacy at My Cup Overfloweth is all about her faith, her hubby and her kiddo's! The way life should be. She is warm and friendly and someone you can just talk to. She is one of my Yunnan buddies! She has an amazing passion for adoption and has four beautiful children.

I truly hope I get to meet all of you someday. You are all very special to me and know just when to lift me up. I thank you dear friends. All of my other friends, I thank all of you too. You are all special in many ways.

What Was She Thinking?

I still wonder what Twink was thinking one day last week. You see I had to go to my neurosurgeon for a follow up appointment and I had Twink with me. This was following her appointment with her developmental doctor. Let me restate that Twink HATES doctors and their offices. She will cry the minute the door closes behind her.

When the door closed behind us for my appointment she was a bit tense but not bad. I let her get down and wander around the room. I decided she was becoming fussy so I pulled out some paper and crayons I had with me and she started to doodle. I heard a knock on the door and knew the doctor was about to enter. When he entered he greeted both myself and Twink. You see he looked over Twink's file when we first received her referral. He is a fantastic doctor. When Twink looked up and saw him she RAN to him with her arm up. She wanted him to pick her up. I was in shock! I told him that she does this for no one and in fact she cries at every appointment even if it is not for her. I must let you in on a small piece of information and tell you that he is Chinese. He picked her up and she laid her head on his shoulder for a good 3 minutes. When he looked at me as if you really need to take her I called to her and told her she need to come back to mama. He handed her off to me and she WAILED! Not only did she wail but she arched her back and wanted NOTHING to do with me. I felt like I was reliving out Metcha Day. I was stunned. I couldn't believe what was happening. I didn't really know what to do. He picked her back up and began this conversation with her, " Twink, your Mama and Daddy are taking very good care of you and are getting you all the help you need. They love you very much." He continued to hold her and pat her back for a few more minutes and then he told her it was time to go back to mama. At that moment Twink turned around looked at me smiled and leaned over for me. She was ready to go home. I think I was in shock. He was so sweet with but I was so saddened by what had just happened.

I wonder what was going through her little mind. He is the first Chinese man that she has seen up close since China. Oh, if only I could read her mind.

Prayers Needed

This family is over in Yunnan China right now adopting this very sweet baby girl. She is very ill and in the hospital. Please pray for them and for their daughter "S". You can read here on what all needs to be done and their specific prayer requests.

Huge Milestone!

Twink's OT came today and one thing that we really wanted to work on was using utensils with Twink. We have been feeding Twink since we've brought her home from China. Today with a little guidance she started to self feed! :) This is HUGE in my book. We are going to look for bowls and plates with suction cups or non-skids on the bottom because right now the bowl scoots across the table and she becomes frustrated. For those who don't know, Twink had a stroke in utero which has cause mild cerebral palsy. (Stacy I owe you an e-mail and it is coming)
I must also add that she figured out how to tip her own sippy back and drink sitting up by herself today also. She REALLY like us to hold it like it is a bottle and when we don't she has a total melt down. I tried it at dinner and she did not want anything to do with the sippy. One thing and day at a time.
Here is a little video clip of Twink feeding herself! I was so proud and I'm glad my camera was right there so I could capture it. :) Her daddy couldn't wait to get home and see it! Thanking God for every little miracle he decides to give us. :)

Doctor Updates

I love this picture of Jewel and Twink. Jewel was working with Twink on trying to get her to use both feet and both hands. Trying to do both is very hard for Twink. Twink does work at it for a few minutes before trying to do it her way though.

Twink saw her developmental doctor on Monday. We have decided we are going to do Constraint Induced Therapy and Botox Injection to help relax her thumb joint and elbow joint. If you notice in most of her pictures her right arm is usually bent and held tight to her body. She also fists her hand which tucks her thumb in between her pointer finger and her middle finger. Over time these joints can become contracted if not worked properly. So we hope that these procedures will actually give her some more use of her her right arm and hand.

While at the appointmant we saw a PT. I mentioned I was concerned about Twink's right foot. She sometimes drags it but will also turn it out to clear it out from tripping. Because she has only been walking for about 10 months we decided we would give her a couple more months to see if her ankle would get stronger before we needed to fit her for a brace. She very well may need an AFO. We will work on some intense therapy for the next couple of months to see if that helps.

We also received a referral (SHOCKING - we never leave without a referral to another doctors office) to another neurologist about an 1 1/2 hours from here. I told our dev. doc about the seizure meds. that the neuro doc wanted to put her on and her eyes bugged out. She said that they hardly ever use that medication anymore. I told her that I really would like to have a second opinion so she said she had a great doctor and would set us up with him. I feel great about it because it's actually at a seizure clinic!

Otherwise Twink is doing great! She is really coming along and I see her tantrums becoming less and less. Well at least they are not lasting as long. Her and spitfire are just too cute together! I love watching the two of them play together!

Round and Round

This is a game the kids like to play with Twink. You can tell she likes to play because when the kids stop she pulls on their arm to keep going.

Back to School

These are our first day of school pictures! Can you believe how big everyone looks? Spitfire went off to Pre-k and I was so sad when the bus pulled away. She did great and was so excited to be riding the bus. I love our bus driver, she has been with us for the last 7 years!

Yesterday Twink went off to school also. Her video is below. She did awesome! She loves to ride in cars so the bus was nothing different to her. Now before you start to pass judgment on us, Twink is in a car seat and there is only four students on the bus. There is an aide to keep an eye on the four of them and the ride to school is only 15 minutes. I know some of you are thinking that you'd never let your child go off to school or better yet ride a school bus at her age but Twink and Spitfire both have to be at school at the same time and there is no way I can be in two towns at the same time. Twink will be receiving more therapy at school and have more interaction with children her own age. She will also receive three home visits for therapy as well. I think this will be a good thing for Twink. I hope to see some improvements in some areas she struggles in. Enjoy the pictures.

Blessings From Above

I'm not sure how many of you are aware but our church has been without a pastor for the last 10 months. Last week was our first Sunday with our new pastor and his family. Let me tell you a bit about how God has worked in our lives over the last couple of months.

You see, after having surgery on my neck The Count and I had talked about moving to a warmer climate. The cold weather really bothers me. The Count actually had an interview in Atlanta but it just was not to be. He searched the south for jobs and nothing was panning out. We knew summer was coming so we'd start to look again in the fall or sometime after winter. I could do one more winter.

After we stopped looking for jobs out of state The Count found a couple local jobs and applied. We also received word that we had a prospective pastor. First step would be a phone interview. The Count and I are both board members so that would mean we would take part in that phone interview. We learned that they had four children (3 boys 1 girl) and that their youngest, a daughter "B" is adopted through the US Foster System. They were also fostering a little boy in addition to their four children. I knew the moment I heard that, that God had chosen our pastor. Call it a hunch. The phone interview went very well and the board invited the family for a weekend interview. Kind of a get to know you in person and to get to see the town.

We had a formal meeting the Friday they arrived and on Saturday four board members took the family around the surrounding towns. The Count and I happened to be two of the people who toured the local area with them. It was right before lunch when it finally hit me. I was having a talk with the pastor wife in a store. We were talking about a bracelet and she had mentioned how she wasn't wearing much jewelery these days. I told her that I only wear my clasp and my "Kids Have Strokes" awareness bracelet. She had asked me to repeat myself, almost like she wasn't sure she heard me right. So I repeated myself and then explained. She then said something to me and it literally took two or three minutes for it to register. I then asked her "Did you say "B" had a stroke also?" Her response brought tears to my eyes. She said "Yes" I almost made her cry. It was at that moment that I heard God answer my prayers. I wanted to tell her that she was the person I have been praying for but seeing that she was on an interview I didn't want to put any added pressure on their decision. LOL

We talked about how much the girls have in common. Sensory issues, feeding issues, all the issues related to the stroke and the many doctor appointments, you name it. We just clicked from the moment we met. I can't tell you how good it was to have someone who knew exactly what it was that we were going through.

When we received word that they had accepted the call to come to our church and our church body accepted them I called her up and we've been chatting ever since. Now that they are in town it's great! It's funny how the Lord opens and closes doors and sometimes it takes awhile before you see what he has in store for us. I am so grateful for this wonderful family. Thank you Jesus!