Silas AND Hamlet!!

Yesterday we had the honor and blessing of meeting Silas Yegermal Wing! Jason picked Phil, Amber, and Silas up from the Columbus airport while the rest of the family waited at Phil and Amber's house for their arrival. Phil and Amber requested Gibson and Maya be on the front porch waiting for them to pull up with baby Silas in tow! After the family of five reunited in the front yard, we were able to greet them as they walked into their home with sweet Silas. Phil's parents were there, as well as Amber's parents, sister and her family, and the Zeunes joined us later. It's so neat to see how the Zeunes have walked through this entire process with Phil and Amber as they have a 16 month old son, Mathios, who is recently adopted as well and was only 4 beds away from Silas back in the transition home in Ethiopia. How great is that! Best friends adopting together and their babies growing up together. The cousins played together for a while then we had a fantastic dinner which consisted of my favorite, Marco's pizza, and lots of desserts. The carrot cake and chocolate chip cookie bars were delightful. Silas was tuckered out and went to sleep at 6:30, just before we decided to leave and give the new family of 5 a much needed break and some space.

I'm such a proud aunt of Silas AND....baby Hamilton, too!). Yep-you heard it right...I'm going to be an aunt to Mike and Maggie's baby due April 2! :) Maggie is just over 11 weeks pregnant. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of babies!!

Good News

We had our meeting with the neurosurgeon today and it was great! Here's what we know: Gideon has a Chiari (kee-AR-ee) malformation near the base of his brain. Basically, his big, smart brain is too big for his skull and his cerebellar tonsils (yes, we have tonsils in the base of our brain) hang into his spinal column. This means there's a potential for blockage of his spinal fluid but right now we're in the clear! He'll need to be seen in three months to do another checkup. He won't need another MRI unless his check up goes poorly. But I was amazed by how well Gideon was doing today with each test the doctor performed. He's such a trooper! After his next appointment, if all goes well, he'll be seen six months after that, then yearly. We are such relieved parents. Thank you, again, for your prayers and encouraging words. We're so thankful for you all. God has heard our many prayers to Him!

(hope you don't mind, I copy and pasted this from an email I sent out earlier)

Praise the Lord for His sovereign hands and great doctors!

The Latest Lesson

Just thought I'd give an update on our sweet Gideon. I've not posted on his health situation so I thought I'd better get to it! Before I get to typing please know that your prayers are needed and appreciated in regards to little Gid.

At Gideon's 6 month check up I asked our pediatrician if his head looked OK to her. She said it looked a little wider and asymmetrical in the back. Deb, our pediatrician, thought it may be best to have it looked at it further. Gideon had an ultrasound done and the results weren't perfect. So we were encouraged to have an MRI set up for Gideon, which was last Wednesday. We got the results on Thursday and it looks like he has enlarged ventricles, which are areas where spinal fluid flows in and out of the brain and spinal column. It looks like there is some sort of blockage, resulting in Gideon's head growing at a much faster rate than the rest of his body. This speedy growth in his head size (from 50th to 90th percentile in 6 months) was the kicker for us thinking there may be a problem. So now we wait and we are scheduled to see a neurosurgeon, Dr. Kleiner, at Children's on Tuesday at 4:00.

Please pray for us as we discuss options for Gideon. Surgery seems to be the most ideal option from all the information we have. But as many of you know, no parent loves the idea of their baby being put under and having surgery.

Our hearts are heavy. The Lord is certainly growing Jason and I as we wait on Him and have to trust in His perfect plan. I was just telling Jason a few weeks ago that I'm so reluctant to confess my fears to the Lord because I know He'll test me (to grow me, not harm me). Sure enough, when I surrendered my fears and areas of worries to the Lord, Gideon's brain/ventricle issue was brought to our attention.

Gideon is a wonderful little boy who can melt any one's heart. Brain problems or not, he's the best son any parent could ask for. I'll keep you updated after Tuesday's appointment.

Obedience is so cute

As soon as you walk in our home you'll be greeted by a pile of shoes on the floor to your left. There's a mental plan for a more organized system but I haven't quite reached that chore on my list of to-do's yet. Anyways, this morning as Reagan was helping me tidy up our living room, I asked her to put her shoes by the door. Bless her sweet little heart. She did just that.

Mommy Fix It

So this story makes my heart smile...

Last week Jason took Reagan for a hike so I could have some girl time. The ladies from my house church came over so we could re-divide into smaller quads. It's always very helpful when Jason and Reagan go on their daddy daughter date on the nights I have quads or a night out to myself, or what have you.

Anyways--Jason and Reagan went on a 3 mile hike rather than a 3/4 mile hike (thanks to his color blind issue, he couldn't see which trail was which color, thus the longer hike than planned.) Jason pointed out all the trees that had fallen down in the woods and her response was priceless...

"Mommy fix it."

Ahh, it's nice to know she thinks so highly of me. :)

Emotions

Well this is aweful. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I'm on Facebook a lot so my blogging life has taken quite the hit. I need to get better at this, I'll just add it to my to-do list...thanks for understanding!

Now that both babies are asleep and I have time to digest some thoughts, I'm realizing how emotional this past month has been for our family. With my dad having crazy things happen with his job, Phil and Amber having ups and downs with the adoption of Silas, and discipline issues with Reagan coming up, it's been rough! But we know God is sovereign in all things and He's not surprised by our family troubles.

You could pray for peace as Phil and Amber wait on a second court date. The Ethiopian courts usually close during rainy season and we're praying they remain open so families waiting to get their sons and daughters through adoption aren't held up even more. (Also, a good friend of the family, the Zeunes, are going to get their son, Mathios, in 8 days. Mathios hasn't been on the greatest eating-streak since he's joined the transition home and the Zeunes could use prayer as they prepare to travel, meet, and parent little Mathios in only 8 days!)

There's a lot more to share but I'm tired and since I've promised to be better at updating my blog, I can share it in a few days! :)

Spring Pics

This Spring (almost Summer) has been so great! God has blessed us with wonderful weather and we've enjoyed being outside A LOT! Mom and Dad had a pool put in last Fall and now that the weather is oh-so-warm, we're visiting their pool about 4 times a week. Mom, Dad, and Becca have put up with me and the kids and we're thankful for their hospitality, food, and pool! Below are pics of Jason and Reagan playing at a park, Memorial day fun with our cousins from Columbus, a visit from Aunt Maggie, and a summer night in Grammy and Pops' back yard. And some of the best news of the Spring (which unfortunately we can't post pics of, yet) is the news that Phil and Amber got their referral and are waiting for their seven month old son to join them from Ethiopia! Once he's officially their baby I'll post pics of him and let you know his name and all that. Praise the Lord for growing our family!