Trying to Get a Photo of the Five Together LOL!!!

Well I wanted a picture of the five together on their one year home anniversary.  I got them all on the couch and all I could do was laugh.  Keith is in CONSTANT motion.  It was just funny.  I decided to just take a whole bunch of pictures and share them all!  Then you would all get the best idea of who they all really are.  You can see how grown up Ahnja is.  You can see how much Keith moves.  You can see how funny Aleshia thinks Keith is.  You can see how annoyed Anita is at them both and how funny Nicholas is while he watches. 

Here we go!

 

YES THAT ABOUT SAYS IT ALL! 

AREN'T THEY GREAT!?!

 

If you'd like to help bring home our next three, there are links on the right side of our blog to ways you can help!

One Year Update on All Five!

So here are some updates on all 5 of the kids who've been home a full year!  The updated pictures were taken on July 22nd which was their 1 year home day!  I took the pictures myself so they aren't "great", but you should get a pretty good idea!

So here is Ahnja's 1 year home side by side!

 

Here is Nicholas's 1 year home side by side!

Here is Anita's 1 year home side by side!

Here is Aleshia's 1 year home side by side!

 

Once again here is Keith's 1 year home side by side!



As far as other updates on them, here we go:

Ahnja is 11 now and doing amazing.  She has learned English so quickly and still speaks a lot of Bulgarian too.  She understands all everyday English that is spoken to her and her grammar is getting better all the time.  We actually all speak some simple Bulgarian around the house (very simple because we just aren't that great, but we enjoy the words we've been able to pick up!).  She has learned to write the alphabet and can tell you many of the phonetical sounds.  She can write most of the names of family members (no small task around here!).  She recognizes quite a few words as well!  She is SO amazing.  She has a sparkle about her that captivates everyone she meets!

Nicholas is 10 1/2 now.  He is much more delayed and still very traumatized from his time in the mental institution there.  Going into a hospital environment or even a large brick building that isn't but reminds him of his institution will leave him in complete fear.  His institutional behaviors have reduced dramatically, but he still has a long ways to go to heal from all he went through.  He reminds us so much of Mowgli on The Jungle Book.  He just wasn't socialized.  On top of that he just suffered a lot of stuff that most people will never understand in that institution.  It was a "survival of the fittest" kind of environment.  He isn't at all aggressive though and he can be quite cuddly.  He has learned to eat with utensils and to slow down for the most part though and has come SO far!

Anita. . . oh Anita.  lol  She is 8 now and quite the stubborn child.  If you look at her picture above the first thing you will notice is that she learned how to smile.  At first she just didn't know how.  Somehow or another her initial response was what you see on the left. . . no one else I know can duplicate that face, but it was her "smile".  She did it every time you got out the camera.  She's come so far and is saying words and phrases in English.  She spoke nothing in Bulgarian, so this is HUGE!  She is partially potty trained already and really just needs to learn to go on her own instead of waiting to be sent.  She's able to put together puzzles and is working on preschool/kindergarten concepts in English. 

Aleshia is 7 now and is our most delayed and physically handicapped child.  It is believed that she did not get enough oxygen during her heart procedure that she had prior to coming to us.  She can sit up for short periods of time, but it is very tiring for her.  We hope that her upcoming heart surgery will give her more energy and strength.  She can push to a stand in her stander or in her jumperoo, but she does not walk or really sit unassisted for any real length of time.  She has said a few words though!  We will learn more about the extent of her brain damage the day before her heart surgery.  She has become SO much more interactive though in the last year.  She laughs and interjects her personality into every day family life and we LOVE it!

Keith, well you can read about him in the last post!  lol  He is doing AMAZING!  He is cruising the furniture and into all kinds of mischief!  We figure after 5 years in that crib, he has a lot of mischief to make up for! 

If you'd like to help bring our next 3 children home, so that they too can make amazing progress in the love of a family, then there are many ways you can help us to bring them home. 

We have an Indiegogo fundraiser that a friend set up for us HERE that has a place to donate and even some things offered for your donation!

You can shop at our Usborne eshow by clicking HERE and get some amazing books for your family while helping our kids coming home! 

You can shop at our What's in the Bible link and buy amazing dvds to teach your family about the Bible and help with our adoption at the same time as well.  These are made by the creator of Veggie Tales and are so much fun, but even adults will learn something!  Click HERE to go shop our site for that! 

Our Tshirt Fundraiser ends on August 3rd at midnight, so you can click HERE to learn more about the amazing shirt we have available! 

Thanks for all your help!!!  More pictures of the 5 to come in the next post and then I'll get to pictures of the newest three from my trip to meet them!



Get Ready!

Ok, there will be a Giveaway with some pretty cool prizes starting here VERY soon!!  I have to finish a quilt for the Hidden Treasures Auction that will be helping us HERE.  After I get it finished, then I will get the Giveaway up and running.  I wanted to give you another little update as promised, but wow paperwork, fundraising, and 18 kids sure did keep me busy.  So here is an update that you can "see" with your own eyes.

If you remember, Nicholas came to us very "monkey" like.  He was in a horrible institution.  He was sweet, but had not had any socialization.

Tuesday, I took Nicholas to Kroger with me all on his own.  He had never gone on a real grocery shopping trip with me and I figured I'd get a few necessities and get him a candy bar for a treat and then exit.  He'd already been to the doctor's office  and done very well, but had to be redirected from his "edge of the seat" "jump and run" stance a lot.

WELL, Nicholas did wonderful in Kroger.  We filled the WHOLE CART!!  I reached him things and he put them in.  You would have never known that he was so food obsessed and had lived in such deprivation!!!!!  I was and AM so proud!  He didn't even obsess or notice the candy bar I was getting him at checkout and then got it after being buckled into the van.  He still had most of it left when we got home (about 5 minute drive but still a BIG deal!).  That means he didn't STUFF it!

So here is Nicholas's picture from the day after we picked him up.  He seriously rocked so much on day 1 that we couldn't get one that wasn't blurry.

Now here is Nicholas's most recent snap shot.  This is not from the shopping trip.  He was doing so well that I wasn't taking chances with throwing him off!  lol

ISN'T HE HANDSOME?????  

Ok, stay tuned for big things!!

Christmas Pictures Any One?

Christmas pictures of the 5 Bulgarian Blessings are here and ready to share.  :) 

First of I'll show you the Family Christmas Picture!

 Ahnja

 Nicholas

 Anita

 Aleshia

 Keith

 Our 5 Bulgaria Blessings Together

 Ahnja with Destiny (these two are tight)

 Another family shot

 

I think if you look at both of the family shots, you can see the spots that 3 more little ones are meant to fill!  We can't wait to get them home and are still working hard on the paperwork to get them here. 

 

I will try to get all the kids posted on the family blog soon.  Right now it is time to bake Christmas cookies! 

Some pictures of Nicholas and a small update

Nicholas is doing great.  He is a child that I thought would take quite a while to adjust and be able to go to church and out to eat.  He handles everything very well already though.  He can sit through a preaching service.  He waits patiently when we go out to eat.  He is using the potty when sent.

Most of all, he loves being loved!  He loves hugs, kisses, sitting on your lap, and being picked up.  He is 10 years old, but about the size of Cody who is 5 years old.  He very much understands what we are saying already and smiles when I say 'I love you'.  Such a cutie!

Here are some pictures.

We are so blessed!  I'll try to do better at updating, but things are busy with the new adoption paperwork.  On top of that, I'm trying to find a new pediatric cardiologist that I will like.  Aleshia is fine now, but the one Aleshia went to will be one we never go to again and the one Julianne has seen for quite some time is using the same new medicine for sedation.  That means that none of my children will be seeing him for ECHOs that they want sedations for either.  Julianne was due to have one in December, so I need a new cardiologist quickly.  

I'll give more updates on the kids we are going back for soon.  Our commitment paperwork should arrive my snail mail in their country tomorrow!

1 Week Home Update

Things are going SO MUCH BETTER than we expected that they would be at this point!  All the kids are showing improvements in so many areas.

Keith is growing and such a doll!!!

The picture above with his head resting on his hand is how he sits and "talks"!

Below, you can see him cracking up!  He loves to laugh!

He even laughed while waiting for his 1st doctor's appt!

Big brother, Dayton, went along to make sure he was being spoiled correctly! 

(Can you tell how much they love each other already???)

Keith also love to fall asleep on me now!

That is great, because it means he knows he is safe and loved!

Julianne hasn't shown any jealousy at all yet, which has surprised me. 

She loves to look at him sleeping and stays close by if a visitor holds him!

 Aleshia is doing so well.

She is interacts more each day.  

This laugh was at Dayton, but she also loves to laugh when someone else gets scolded!

She is putting her feet on the floor when she is in the bouncer and can get pretty active in it.

She loves being in the middle of things and then enjoys some quiet time too!

 Anita is hillarious and doing great!

She loves to give kisses and can be so sweet.

She is exploring all the new things to be seen and done.

She is so much like Julianne in so many ways.

She can be pretty princess one minute and our little "sumo wrestler" the next!

Today I took her with me to pick up my glasses, to Walmart, and then to Sam's.

She got an ice cream at Sam's and was very pleased!

Isn't she beautiful?!

Nicholas is improving every single day!

He is willing to play in the family room now instead of just on his bed.

He loves to play outside.

He and Cody are very much the same size, 

even though Cody is only 5 and Nicholas is 9 year old.

Ahnja, well . . . She is on top of the world!  lol

She has a big attitude, but loves being a part of a family!

She loves to play!

She told Jose a whole bunch of stuff about him being on top of that trapeze bar!

I really wish I knew Bulgarian, because she is so animated!

She doesn't seem to mind that we don't know what she is saying though!

She keeps that beautiful smile!

 

So, as you can see, things are busy, but GREAT!!!!  The kids are all doing wonderful.  They are growing and changing each day.  I predict Keith will be crawling in no time!  Aleshia, I think will be chewing food before we know it.  Anita, says "Mama" already when she wants me and who knows she may speak more English by a month home than she did Bulgarian at 7 years!  Nicholas is changing so amazingly with less stemming and more interaction that is appropriate.  He is doing much better with realizing that food isn't a "survival of the fittest" thing here and being calm during mealtimes.  By a month home, I think he'll be able to go to a fast food place and not be noticed maybe!  Ahnja is doing awesome and I suspect that by a month home, she will be communicating much more English and we'll be knowing much more Bulgarian too!

God is amazing and we are so blessed!!