Today both babies had eye exams. Arianna has astigmatism, but not enough to warrant glasses just yet, probably 3-4 years out. Arielle has some nearsightedness, but not enough to warrant glasses, again probably 3-4 years out.
Open heart surgery has been scheduled for Arianna. June 16th she will have both holes fixed and a new valve created. She will be in the hospital for 10-12 days. Please keep her in your prayers.
Arianna has changed so much since we got home on March 26th. She is scooting all over the place now, whereas before she just laid still and cried because she did not like tummy time. She is gaining so much strength in her upper body, she can also sit now unassisted without falling backwards at all anymore.
Arielle is just about ready to walk, she is pushing everything she can to walk, not much longer and she will be taking off on her own!!
Both girls are so amazing and loving and bring so much joy to our family! Please keep Arianna in your prayers as we embark on her journey to good health.
Gob bless!
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Things are going great!!!
Our family is enjoying all the bonding, playing and fun we are having with Arianna. She is changing every day. When we first brought her home, she could sit alone but had to have a pillow behind her because her back muscles are so weak she could not stop herself from falling backwards. As of today, she sits alone without a pillow and has not fallen backwards in a couple of weeks now. This means her muscles are getting stronger just by being allowed to sit on the floor and use them to gain strength. We also give her lots of tummy time, even though she is over the age of two, since she was never allowed to stimulate her body through exercise, she could not crawl or move anywhere. Now she spends lots of time on her tummy, she can scoot herself backwards and turn her body around in circles in an attempt to get the toy she wants. All I can say is progress!!! She may not be crawling yet or doing the things she should be doing at her age, but she is making amazing progress.
The results of her blood tests and poop specimans are in. She is positive for parasites, which we pretty much knew would be there and her thyroid is not working properly. So now we have an appointment to see the Endocrinologist to get that straightened out. We are working on a short time schedule here, because all these things have to be addressed and under control either through medicine or some other way, before May 20th when she has her heart cath surgery to measure the pressures within her heart and lungs.
Arielle and Arianna are so much fun to watch. Little Arianna will be playing with a toy and here comes her sister Arielle to take it away. She has decided to fight back, so now they play a game of tug of war with Arianna looking Arielle right in the eyes and squealing at her to let go. Arielle just stares at her and moves on. Arielle is very mobile with crawling and pulling up to stand and starting to take steps of walking, while Arianna sits back and watches. But Arianna is very verbal and picks up on signs very quickly. She can sign, eat and more and she loves to read books.
So next week both babies have an appointment to have their eyes checked. Another item on our list of checking those things that could possibly cause issues in a Down syndrome child.
Thank you for visiting and sharing our story!!
The results of her blood tests and poop specimans are in. She is positive for parasites, which we pretty much knew would be there and her thyroid is not working properly. So now we have an appointment to see the Endocrinologist to get that straightened out. We are working on a short time schedule here, because all these things have to be addressed and under control either through medicine or some other way, before May 20th when she has her heart cath surgery to measure the pressures within her heart and lungs.
Arielle and Arianna are so much fun to watch. Little Arianna will be playing with a toy and here comes her sister Arielle to take it away. She has decided to fight back, so now they play a game of tug of war with Arianna looking Arielle right in the eyes and squealing at her to let go. Arielle just stares at her and moves on. Arielle is very mobile with crawling and pulling up to stand and starting to take steps of walking, while Arianna sits back and watches. But Arianna is very verbal and picks up on signs very quickly. She can sign, eat and more and she loves to read books.
So next week both babies have an appointment to have their eyes checked. Another item on our list of checking those things that could possibly cause issues in a Down syndrome child.
Thank you for visiting and sharing our story!!
Friday, April 10, 2015
Making changes in my blog..
Now that our adoption of Arianna is complete, my blog will focus on our family growing together as one and learning to lean on God.
My husband and I are of the Catholic faith and are raising our children the same. We are committed to our marriage and our love for one another, even through tough times. Recently, our marriage was tested yet again, this time his family did not start the drama another outsider did, but as soon as his family learned there was conflict, they jumped on board to see what they could do to end our marriage.
I am saddened by a comment that my husbands brother made to him during this conflict. "I don't support divorces since I am Catholic, but in this case divorce is the best option" hmmm, really? Sounds like you are talking out of both sides of your mouth. How can a person consider themselves a faithful Catholic and support divorce? Even our priest commented that those words did not come from a truly faithful Catholic, because as Catholics we are commanded to save and protect the sanctity of marriage, no matter what. I believe the best words of advice coming from another Catholic should be "I am sorry you are going through such hard times with your wife, perhaps you should seek counsel from your priest before you consider the option of divorce, When you married you made a covenant before God, one that should not be taken lightly."
Nobody is perfect, life is not perfect and we are tested on a daily basis. When people try to break into my marriage and cause conflicts I find it very hard not to retaliate, but this time I am not. I have been praying everyday for God to give me the strength and wisdom to overcome the words that have been said against me and to forgive the people who say them.
Life is moving forward for our family, we are growing closer together and spending more time in bible study and prayer together.
Now on to the updates: Arianna saw her cardiologist this week and things don't look good for her. God knew exactly what he was doing by moving our adoption timeline up many weeks. Arianna will be having heart surgery soon, they are preparing her for it and running many tests to be ready to repair and fix her broken heart. She was diagnosed with Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect. This means she has a small hole in her Atrial chamber, a very large hole in her Ventricular chamber and instead of two valves she only has one. She will need to have a second valve created and the holes closed so she can be healthy and no longer face the possibility of death. Without the surgery her lungs get way too much blood flow, which results in her not breathing and turning blue, which can at some point result in death. She also saw the Gastro doctor, who is running some tests and checking her anatomy to make sure everything is working great. She will have a tough road over the next 2-3 months, but once she is recovered she will be healthy and should thrive and grow!!
Pray for our angel girl as she endures her many tests, procedures and surgeries. I will keep updating as we move along this path.
God bless!!
My husband and I are of the Catholic faith and are raising our children the same. We are committed to our marriage and our love for one another, even through tough times. Recently, our marriage was tested yet again, this time his family did not start the drama another outsider did, but as soon as his family learned there was conflict, they jumped on board to see what they could do to end our marriage.
I am saddened by a comment that my husbands brother made to him during this conflict. "I don't support divorces since I am Catholic, but in this case divorce is the best option" hmmm, really? Sounds like you are talking out of both sides of your mouth. How can a person consider themselves a faithful Catholic and support divorce? Even our priest commented that those words did not come from a truly faithful Catholic, because as Catholics we are commanded to save and protect the sanctity of marriage, no matter what. I believe the best words of advice coming from another Catholic should be "I am sorry you are going through such hard times with your wife, perhaps you should seek counsel from your priest before you consider the option of divorce, When you married you made a covenant before God, one that should not be taken lightly."
Nobody is perfect, life is not perfect and we are tested on a daily basis. When people try to break into my marriage and cause conflicts I find it very hard not to retaliate, but this time I am not. I have been praying everyday for God to give me the strength and wisdom to overcome the words that have been said against me and to forgive the people who say them.
Life is moving forward for our family, we are growing closer together and spending more time in bible study and prayer together.
Now on to the updates: Arianna saw her cardiologist this week and things don't look good for her. God knew exactly what he was doing by moving our adoption timeline up many weeks. Arianna will be having heart surgery soon, they are preparing her for it and running many tests to be ready to repair and fix her broken heart. She was diagnosed with Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect. This means she has a small hole in her Atrial chamber, a very large hole in her Ventricular chamber and instead of two valves she only has one. She will need to have a second valve created and the holes closed so she can be healthy and no longer face the possibility of death. Without the surgery her lungs get way too much blood flow, which results in her not breathing and turning blue, which can at some point result in death. She also saw the Gastro doctor, who is running some tests and checking her anatomy to make sure everything is working great. She will have a tough road over the next 2-3 months, but once she is recovered she will be healthy and should thrive and grow!!
Pray for our angel girl as she endures her many tests, procedures and surgeries. I will keep updating as we move along this path.
God bless!!
Sunday, April 5, 2015
A Few Pictures!!
Here are a few pictures from Easter morning. Attempting to get all four girls in the picture is not an easy task, Arielle always runs towards the camera.
Arielle and Arianna look so much alike, Arianna is 6 months older than Arielle, but she is about the same size. They wear the same 12 month size clothes.
Arianna has opened up so much since getting home. She loves her sisters and interacts very well with everyone. She is becoming a beautiful flower in the sunshine!
Arielle and Arianna look so much alike, Arianna is 6 months older than Arielle, but she is about the same size. They wear the same 12 month size clothes.
Arianna has opened up so much since getting home. She loves her sisters and interacts very well with everyone. She is becoming a beautiful flower in the sunshine!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
So many updates!
We arrived home last Thursday the 26th very late at night. Have been trying to catch up on house cleaning, clothes and spending time with the girls. Arianna did very well traveling home, people on the plane did not even know she was there, she was that good!
She is adjusting very well. She can only sit, does not crawl or go from sitting to laying or laying to sitting. Her upper body strength is very little. When she sits on the floor and plays with toys, Arielle takes them away and then I will hear grunting and see a small struggle until one of them gives in to the other. It is cute to watch and see who is going to exert their independence. Arianna is getting very good and holding other ground until Arielle gives up and moves away.
Arianna is still getting used to Daddy. She was not around men except when seeing a doctor, on,y women work at the orphanage, so she is shy and timid and hides her eyes when talking to Daddy. But she is warming up nicely and before long will be a daddy's girl!
She had her first doctors appointment yesterday and they already have her scheduled to see the cardiologist. Her heart sounded that bad, they felt she needed to be seen immediately. We knew she has unresolved heart issues, so it's no surprise, but we did not realize it was that urgent. We will update more as we know more. Will update from my phone so I can post a picture, can't figure it out from my iPad.
She is adjusting very well. She can only sit, does not crawl or go from sitting to laying or laying to sitting. Her upper body strength is very little. When she sits on the floor and plays with toys, Arielle takes them away and then I will hear grunting and see a small struggle until one of them gives in to the other. It is cute to watch and see who is going to exert their independence. Arianna is getting very good and holding other ground until Arielle gives up and moves away.
Arianna is still getting used to Daddy. She was not around men except when seeing a doctor, on,y women work at the orphanage, so she is shy and timid and hides her eyes when talking to Daddy. But she is warming up nicely and before long will be a daddy's girl!
She had her first doctors appointment yesterday and they already have her scheduled to see the cardiologist. Her heart sounded that bad, they felt she needed to be seen immediately. We knew she has unresolved heart issues, so it's no surprise, but we did not realize it was that urgent. We will update more as we know more. Will update from my phone so I can post a picture, can't figure it out from my iPad.
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