More Snow pictures

Me on the deck of the RMH with snow!!!

 

 

Steve's first snow ball

 

 

 

Winter wonderland

Shad had a blast making snowballs  this was his first one.  He slid all over the deck and used up all the snow LOL

 

 

 

 

this Florida car has some snow on it!

 

 

Can you tell we are excited about the snow:)

 

 

 

Day 21~ Pneumonia

 

Selah is half asleep in this picture.  I had Jon on the phone & put it to her ear and she turned her face towards the phone:)  she tried to get as close to it as possible.   She loves her daddy!

It's official Selah has pneumonia.  It is a small suspicious spot but she did spike a fever this morning and we know she has been battling a cold since last weekend.  Probably if she was up and moving she would have not gotten pneumonia but thankfully this is just a small spot and she should be better soon.   She is not requiring oxygen and even is just using her "nose"  Please pray for her that she will have no complications!

Of course this changes things, we won't leave until she is over this, probably 7-10 days.  I can't say I'm sorry that we aren't leaving!  I really want for the doctors and therapists to see Selah as she recovers.  So if we leave next week, she will be at 4 weeks on the fish oil.   Maybe we will see some significant changes by then.  That is my hope!

So please continue to keep her in prayer!!!  Thank you so much!

SNOW! Day 20

 

My oldest playing in the "snow"

Shad had some snow on him but you can't see it

 

 

 

 

Sarah and Daddy

 

Sarah and mommy

Selah had a good day.  Jon was with her today.  She was up in her chair and frowned at the nurse as soon as she came in LOL.   She had lots of good head movement today and her cold is a little less:)   she watched Sesame Street on the DVD player too. 

We had a little snow today, we made the best of it....we want more snow:)

Please keep praying for Selah....Monday will be three weeks on the fish oil.....we are seeing some progress we want to see more!

Day 19 Fish Oil Study

 

Yes Selah is watching Sesame Street on her DVD player!!  I bought that DVD player "in faith" the first time she grimaced and we could tell she was "waking up" some!  Now I love to see her watching it!

 

I thought this was a cool picture last night before the Thanksgiving Dinner at the RMH with all the kids at the table...reminds me of that picture I've seen before of the table set in heaven:)

 

 

So today is a quiet day for Selah.  She has lots of mucus that she is getting out.  She is coughing some and just blowing it out of her trach.  She just has a cold nothing serious but you can tell she doesn't feel like  herself.   That picture of her is for real, she is actually watching the video.  She turns her head when she is done.  She watched it through two times then turned to the other side of the bed. 

 

I know alot of folks don't understand how she could be considered to be in a coma now since she looks so normal.  Well think of it this way,  have you ever had drugs for a medical procedure?  I did for a colonschopy earlier this year,  after they were done, I was still "out of it".  But I was talking some....but my brain was altered.   That is not exactly how she is but that is a good comparison.  Comas have different levels to them.  She is in a very light coma right now.  There are times during the day that she is not responsive even with her eyes open.  It's hard to explain and I didn't understand until we lived through it...

 

 

We still don't know if we are leaving on Tuesday or not....we are supposed to find out on Monday.   How's that for keeping it real?  

 

Thanks for all your prayers and please keep praying for Selah! 

 

Spend yourself in behalf of the hungry

This morning I got an email from the director of Life 2 Orphans, the ministry that cared for my girls in the institution.  The heating system in the institution is broken and will cost approximately $1,500 to fix!  This is a desperate need!  Winter is coming & they have HARD winters, often with snow up to the 2nd story of the orphanage.  Can you PLEASE help out with this????  There are 90 bed ridden children like Sarah was and another 150 delayed/physically challenged children like Selah was....plus another 100+ mentally & physically delayed adult women there!  You can give through  http://www.life2orphans.org/cms/  just put on your gift what it is for and they will make sure it gets to Torez as soon as possible!!!!!!  Thank you for considering giving to this!!!!!!  And if you have a spot to mention, that you gave in honor of the girls I would LOVE to hear that!!!!!!  

Another need is this sweet family...    http://reecesrainbow.org/41836/sponsorpatterson-2
they only need about $2000 more to be fully funded and they have a travel date!  http://hiskindness.wordpress.com/  this is their blog!  Their son Igor has physical handicaps and for awhile it was thought that he was at the girls' institution.  Read their blog and see this families heart!!

I want to tell you about the Basas family, thanks to you guys and others they are fully funded!!!!  They have not opened their blog yet but I'm sure they will soon and I'm sure they will have a story to tell!  But thank God and you all who helped in any way, there will be one less orphan.....   http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=Basas+family   if you keep checking back here on their site, when they open their blog it will be shown on there. 

I just have to testify about giving...I hesitate to share this because I don't want someone to think we're so spiritual or that we're trying to get brownie points or something...  BUT I want to tell you how God works.  A few days ago, we felt led to give some money to a family here.  We gave it and today someone gave that same amount back to us!   I'm not trying to say God will always give you back to the penny exactly what you give away BUT God is faithful and He is the one who keeps the books....  I know this is a cliche' but you can NOT out give God.  Especially when you are giving to the needy...

We have always tithed, we have to, my husband is a minister and it is required in our denomination.  God forbid if you don't...and I have NEVER liked it.  I will just be completely honest...I still don't but I love to freely give.  I don't mean I don't like tithing but I don't like being required to give to our headquarters, I'd rather give to my local church.  I believe in tithing and giving above that.  I feel it is a great discipline to have in our lives.  But this has always been a sore point to me!   We've never been "well off" even when I worked full time but I will tell you a paradox, we now live on less than we ever have before and have FIVE kids  and yet we have more....isn't that funny?   We have to depend on God and we try and listen to Him and be "opened handed" and God has blessed us more than ever in our lives.    Our "joke" is forget the "name it claim it" forget sending in money to big ministries, forget all that and give to orphans or better yet, adopt a few and God will blow you away!   We don't really understand it and we certainly don't try to make a doctrine about it but it's been true in our life.  There are many scriptures that talk about giving to the needy like this one:

" If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourself in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, Then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like noonday.
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:9-11

I don't know about you but I want to "spend myself on the behalf of the hungry"  That is my heart's cry.  I'm so over the fluff of this life....I want to live real and to spend myself, my life for others.  I have a dream of doing that full time, I don't know if that will ever happen given the circumstances we are in right now but I pray that one day we will be able to do that....  I have a dream....

So I just want to encourage you to give to good things, good works...both of the needs above are good things to give to.  If you give to the orphanage, then you will be a part of keeping orphans and disabled adults warm through a bitter bitter Ukraine winter.  If you give to my friends  the Pattersons, you will a part of bringing home Igor, a child who is disabled, who has no future where he is now....those are good works!!!!  Between the two needs we only have to give $3,500.....that's nothing in the scheme of things here in the USA.  We are still the richest nation on earth.  Our poor in America are richer than about 90% of the world....  we are a blessed nation but we need to be a blessing!!!!

Thank you for all you do....

Happy Thanksgiving! Day 18 fish Oil study

 

Selah with daddy!!

 

Mommy with Selah.  There are her animals that we heat in the microwave to bring heat to her knees

 

 

Well last Thanksgiving we had just committed to Sarah.  I had cooked a big dinner (with the help of Publix) and we had some family & our closest friends over to eat.  All we talked about was the adoption and Ukraine.....I certainly had no idea what the next year would bring.  We were giddy about Sarah but awfully worried about her too as we had learned alot of her situation and condition prior to Thanksgiving.  I remember crying, wondering if she was hungry....

 

Fast forward a year.....what a year it has been for our family.  We have seen the faithfulness of God as we have walked through unknown territory.  But God has been faithful!

 

I only remember a few Thanksgivings that have stood out to me...I can not really remember one specific one growing up.  I do  remember one Thanksgiving where Jon & I were staying in a mission's house in Honea Path SC doing fund raising for Brooklyn Teen Challenge and we ate frozen mini chicken tacos....we were young, newly married and quite happy:)  I remember Steve's first Thanksgiving in New York City and the one after that having just lost the twins.  The last two Thanksgivings stand out to me because I did what I wanted and cooked by myself and had folks over.  THIS one will probably be one I never forget! 

 

I've learned Thankfulness in a whole new way this past year....I've learned to give thanks "in any circumstance" whether I was in another  country or whether I was in a hospital room.   I've learned that tragedy doesn't change who God is, I've learned that our family is the most important thing I could ever have.   God has taught me to be content, not just with what I have but in my circumstances. 

 

We had brunch this morning (thank you couponsaremycash.com )  And a church is bringing in a dinner tonight.  Right now Jon & I are up at the hospital.  Our friends Diego & Sandi came by and now Selah and Jon are both asleep LOL  The kids are over at the RMH....  This is not the way I had planned on spending Thanksgiving.  I'm not a huge holiday person....I'll tell you a secret, we haven't had a Christmas tree in YEARS because we were afraid Sam would pull it down on his head.   BUT this year I had planned on a BIG celebration for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We were even going to do a tree (at the church) for our family.  I was going to get all the ornaments out and everything....    So now I'm thinking that isn't going to happen....but that is ok!   We don't even know where we will celebrate it...but just like today, it may look different than the one I had wanted but that's ok:)  We have each other...

 

While it's been hard, it's been sweet....God's presence has gone before us, He has been our Shield, He has been the lifter of our heads. 

 

Honestly I do not understand HOW anyone can get through life without God, without that hope of eternity.....

 

So this Thanksgiving, sitting by my daughter's hospital bed, not knowing what the future holds, but knowing "it's ok" , I'm thankful. 

 

 

NBC news story on Thankfulness

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2842861.shtml?cat=566


Hope you enjoy this.  We always enjoy talking with Ms Adams.