Birth family visit

We were finally able to celebrate Christmas and birthdays with Miss O's birth family last week. It was good to see them - it's been too long!

Dance show

The other night was dance show night at our house! Always lots of fun for the whole family!

Broken elbow

Miss O broke her elbow this past week. She was playing on the therapy ball, and fell off of it just right (or just wrong). She was a trooper, though! Here she is sporting her new accessory, along with the dress to match that she picked for Auntie Stef's wedding.

Stander

We have been given a stander for Ato T to try out. If it works well, we hope to purchase it. So far he seems to love it! The purpose of a stander for children with CP who do not yet stand is to get some pressure put on the legs. Joints in the lower extremities can become deformed when weight is not being put on them regularly. The stand has the tray on it, and we can put toys on it for him when he's in it, which is what you see on the tray in these pictures.

MRI

Ato T had an MRI on Feb. 27 at Gillette Chidren's in St. Paul. It's a follow-up from the MRI he had done in Ethiopia. We should be getting the resuls from the neurologist this Thrusday, and they could not come soon enough. He has been having more and more pain in his head every day. Please continue to pray for his healing. We know the Lord has amazing plans for our son's life!

I love this picture!

Busy weeks

Our weeks are filled with busyness and fun! Ato T is getting physical and occupational therapies, and is on the waiting list for speech therapy. He has made a lot of progress in a short amount of time. He is now able to sit for about 1 minute on his own! Here he is having fun at physical therapy. Miss I also continues with physical, occupational and speech therapies.

Adoption do's and don'ts

Just a refresher course for people about adoption and what it means to be a family formed through adoption. I copied much of this from our friends blog. Thanks Randy and Jules! Well said!

• Please don't ask/say:How much does it cost?
  Please don’t ask this unless you’re truly interested in adopting
  It makes us feel like you’re asking the price of something as trivial as a new sweater – the adoption process isn’t trivial and neither our our children.
• Why not adopt from the US (or some other country)?
  We’ve already chosen to adopt from Ethiopia and are thrilled with our decision.
  Asking this question implies you’re not OK with our decision. This is the decision God has led us to.
• Don't you want your "own" children?: Our adopted children are our own children.
• Adopting is right for our family. Don’t make comments saying how “lucky” our children are or about us “rescue” them.
  We adopted because we wanted to PARENT children – NOT rescue them.
  We are the “lucky” ones -- we get to parent these beautiful children!
• Don’t use terms such as “real mother” or “children of your own” Use terms that affirm the value of both our children's birth parents and us.
  I am their real mother
  They are my own children
• Please don’t ask why birth parents “gave up” our children, and don’t speak disparagingly of the birth parents with comments such as “I just can’t imagine how anyone could give up a child.”: None of us own our children, they are not commodities to be given away. Adoption plans are made for their lives.
• Never use the term “give up” when it comes to adoption – children aren’t “given up.” An adoption plan is made for them.
• Our children’s birth parents are an important part of who they are, and we are doing our best to foster love and respect for them. Please remember this is not our information to share – it is our children’s personal, private information and they can share it if/when they choose.

Please DO say/ask:

• Do ask questions about the adoption process, expectations and fears.
• Do feel comfortable about expressing your own fears and concerns, but realize that adoption is a very personal decision – maybe not one you would have made for yourself but one we have come to after much research, deliberation and soul-searching.
• Do embrace the differences each of our children bring to our family.
• Do speak positively about our children’s culture/heritage.
• Do treat us the same way you’d treat people who have boilogical children. We love our kids just as much as peole who have biological kids, and experience all the same joys and frustrations.

Thank you all for the wonderful support you always give us! We know this is information you all know well. - Please share it with your friends!