Microcephaly awareness day...

Click Here to Learn More About Microcephaly

 

We don't know exactly what caused

Blaze to have microcephaly

but most likely it was

caused by the CMV virus.

We were told early on that Blaze had it

but it wasn't officially added to his

diagnoses until July 2014,

after they done an MRI to look for

Cerebral Palsy.

Learn more about microcephaly

 in the link above.

 

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Fall pics of my punkins...

 

Kaylan & Waylan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paw Paw & Me Me's

Little Punkins

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Our little gymanstic princess...

She's been begging me to come watch her do gymnastics

so yesterday I made arraignments for my little ones

to go see my FAVORITE little gymnast in action.

 

I enjoyed watching her have fun!!!

She is for sure loving it!

 

I love this little girl with all my heart.

Her sassy, spunky, happy personality is the best!

I love how she enjoys life.

She is such a friendly and outgoing child

with a sweet heart.

She is for sure my pride & joy.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

9 months...

 

Our precious little Aniston

turned the big 9 months!!!!!!

 

Aunt Katie did a great job on her pics!

 

Is she the cutest or what?!?!

 

 

As her Uncle Jacob always says,

"I could just eat her little cheeks off".

 

 

She looks a lot like her mom

but I can see her dad and Brookelyn in her too.

 

 

Happy Big

9 months

Sweetheart!

PawPaw & MeMe

sure do love you.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Tiny's Big Day!...

 

(No face pics allowed at this time.)

 

Today was Tiny's BIG day!!!

Our little foster PRINCESS Tiny

turned the BIG 1/2 year!!!

6 months old!

 

 

It seems like we just got her yesterday.

She has grew from an itty bitty 4 pound baby

to a chunky monkey 13 pounder!!!!

Today, she got to try baby food for the

very first time!

I'm not to sure that she liked it,

but I'm sure she will in time.

We started with baby carrots.

 

Happy 1/2 Birthday Tiny!!!!

We absolutely adore you sweet baby.

 

Favorite food- Her formula

Favorite toy- Her feet

Favorite thing to do- Take a bath

Favorite song- Cuppy Cake (Our song)

Favorite Person- No doubt is me (and I LOVE that!)

She loves her bed and bedtime at 8pm.

She's an early riser between 5-6 am.

She likes her light show at night

and she sleeps to the "ocean sound"

on her baby sound machine.

She likes to cuddle,

blow bubbles,

baby babble,

her bouncy seat

and she

adores her foster brothers.

 

She is for sure a

 Little princess!

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Just an update...

 

September is here! I think I may be the only person sad to see summer end. Fall is just around the corner... then Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

 

We have a lot happening around here, but that's nothing new. I realize I live a very busy life and it doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon. I went over my September calendar today with my special needs coordinator and realized I only had one week day this month that didn't have anything wrote on it, so I decided to pen in "ME". I'm going to have a "ME" day.  I wrote it in pen so that it can't be erased. I'm not going to do anything but what I want to do that day.  I'm going to start doing this every single month, because seriously I need it. I never take time for me because I'm always taking care of everybody else. I'm not complaining. I love what I do, but everyone needs a little time for themselves and I never get that.

 

So what's happening in  Howellville?...

I enjoyed Grandparent's day at Brookelyn's pre-school. They surprised us with all kinds of sweet goodies, the cutest poems, pictures, and wall hangings. It was such a sweet day. (Pictures coming soon!) Then I brought her home with me and she was so excited about being checked out early. I love my grands. They are the greatest kids on earth. I'm serious. They are so precious to me. I am so blessed! My heart just flutters when I see their little faces and hear their little voices.

 

My wee little sweetheart Aniston or better known as Annie-Kaye has learned to crawl on her knees, pull up to stand, cut her first tooth, and learned to eat bite sized foods all by herself in just the last two weeks. She is the sweetest of the sweet. She just plays and is ALWAYS happy.

 

The last two weeks I have been back and forth to Atlanta taking Blaze and Tiny to see their specialists. Blaze is doing great! He has quite a few appointments this month. We have to meet again with his CMS services coordinator (next week), we have a meeting with our Babies Can't Wait coordinator, Emory on Monday, his orthotics doctor Wednesday (he has grew 3 inches so his AFOs are to short. He will be casted and fitted for new ones), and of course he has his weekly therapies and sign language classes. He is one popular kid.

 

After having an upper GI done, adding 4 new meds, a new pulmonologist, and a new GI doctor,  I think we are finally headed in the right direction with Tiny. She is being treated for asthma and GERD, but they also added a protein allergy to her diagnosis and changed her formula to a hypoallergenic formula. She is going to be admitted into Children's sometime over the next two weeks to do more testing. Even with all the meds she is on and changes, she is still having issues. No one can figure out why she keeps having these problems. Other than that, she is doing great. She is such a sweet, mellow, and smiley baby. She is happy as long as her tummy is full and her diaper is clean. As of last week, she is right at 13 pounds and 22 inches. She is really short and chubby :)

 

We found out that they had court on Tiny last week. They forgot to inform me so needless to say I was pretty upset. I was told that the state filed TPR under the grounds of abandonment. I've never had a case go this fast, so I was completely shocked. I've never had a case like this kind, so I'm not sure what it all means. Tiny's county does things so different than ours. According to our CASA she will be free for adoption after Christmas.

 

We have court on JK on the 22, 23,and 26. It's a TPR trial, because his dad won't surrender his rights(mom has), so we have to go to a full trial. It may take 1-3 days, but most likely only one because dad has done nothing on his case plan so he doesn't really have any ground to stand on. Our daughter Anna and her husband start their foster-2-adopt classes this week. They will be adopting JK! He will have to live with them for 6 months before it becomes official, because that's state law, but after that he will be their little boy forever. They are so excited! I am so excited for them. He is a perfect addition to our family tree.

 

Our newest foster Curly Top is getting more adjusted. We've had some really tough days with her. I thought having an older tot (not a infant) would be easier, but I think I've changed my mind. She has been tough. We had 7 therapist in my home Friday doing tests on her and on our Tiny. Curly Top scored really low on everything. They are very concerned about her and her development. They think she may be autistic as well. She says only about 5 understandable words, but she puts no words together, and she hums constantly. She hums " mmmmmmmm" the "m" sound allllllllll day long. She repeats something over and over, but we can't understand what it is she is saying.  The therapists want her to go have a hearing test done and then they want her seen by a neuro before they can start working with her. She doesn't respond to commands and she seldom even responds to her name. I think she can hear, but I think she blocks us out/ignores us about 95% of the time. She loves to scream. This child has a scream like no child I have ever heard. It is so loud that it makes your ears ring afterwards. She screams when she is happy and she screams when she is mad. She screams if I walk out of her sight. I'm trying to teach her not to do that. She also bites. I was told they have a possible family member for her, so I think she may be leaving us soon but you never know.

 

I'd like to ask you all to pray for our foster care system and everyone involved in it. We have had more kids then ever to come into care over the last two weeks. All our homes are overly full and they are having to go over the limits and make exceptions which is not a good thing. I've been flooded with calls, because I do still have "one" spot available in my home, but my hands are so full and I'm just to busy right now. Besides all of Blaze's appointments, Tiny and Curly Top have two visits with their family every week (which adds 4 extra weekly appointments) plus both girls are about to start therapy too. I just don't know how I can squeeze in any more. Once JK moves to Anna's and Curly Top leaves I'll have more space. I feel bad every time I say "no" but I know what I can and can't do.

 

Anyhow, I guess I better go. It's almost bath, story, and bedtime for the peanuts. Have a great week everyone!

 



Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

My Blaze...

Sometimes, I wonder if he realizes

what he means to us.

Oh the joy he has added to our lives.

He is so very loved.

I just wonder sometimes if he knows

just how much he is loved by all of us.

I know that he loves us.

He shows it in his own special way.

He doesn't really like kisses or hugs

but he has his own unique way of
showing his feelings and love

through his touch, with his expressions, and with his eyes.
He has such beautiful eyes, but of course I'm a little partial...lol

He bites his bottom lip when he is happy!

It's crazy, because I do that sometimes too.

He looks at the world closer than most people and he takes

 his time and enjoys every single thing.

Even our dog seems to understand the specialness

Blaze has. He is extra special to all of us.

Sometimes, I wish I knew what he is thinking.

It's almost as if you can look in his eyes and see into his soul.

Sometimes, I think he sees angels.

What he is doing in this picture below, he does often.

He smiles at nothing that I can see,

It's probably my nanny up there in Heaven looking down :)

I know I've said it before but he really

 is the most unique and amazing little individual

And the most determined to succeed.

When the world says, "He can't" and "He won't",

He says, "Oh yeah, just watch me".

And he does!

Sometimes, I have to pinch myself

 to be sure it's not just a dream.

He is real. He is here. God chose us to be his family.

We are so blessed.

It's been almost a year since our adoption day and

It's been one of the best years of my life.

I have enjoyed every single day I've had

with my amazing little boy.

He has made me a better person

and taught me more than

anyone has ever taught me before,

just by being Blaze.

He is my favorite kind of WONDERFUL.

He sees beauty and goodness in everything and everyone.

I love that about him. Oh how I wish I could be that way.

What the world needs is more people just like him

He is my favorite SUPERHERO!

What an impact he has had on this world

and he is only two years old.

Imagine what he will grow up to be.

What ever it is, it will be BIG!

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6