ADOPTION VIDEO

Would you all like to see our ADOPTION VIDEO?  My wonderfully amazing friend Colleen put it together for us.  I am so unskilled at computer stuff that it is pitiful!  She did an amazing job though!  She is just starting her own amazing adoption journey to her son that she met while on my adoption trip and you can follow along with her HERE. 

Here is Our Adoption Journey to Matthew, Johnathan, and Charity 

Trip to Meet the Three Part 4: Meeting Matthew

Well, meeting Matthew was very different than I expected.  Matthew had grown since he had been given a Baba (Again this is "grandmother" in their language and is provided by a ministry there.  He received one because they found out he had a family coming.).  He had gained weight and instead of 18 pounds at almost 10 years old, he was now between 20 and 22 pounds.  I was THRILLED to see that he had gained weight!!  My immediate thoughts were that he was doing SO much better than I expected.  He was very drawn up of course, but to know that this Baba was taking the time to feed him and in such a short time he had gained so much was both thrilling and sad.  If he could gain so much so quickly, then how sad that it took knowing a family was coming for him to get a Baba.  Yet resources are limited.  They never imagined that HE would be chosen. . . this broke my heart into a million pieces. . .



This first picture was me working with him on our first visit,

because I needed to start learning for travel how stiff he is.

I needed to know for dressing purposes how much movement there is.

I needed to know for carseat purposes what his legs could comfortably do.

So I just slowly talked to him and began to move his legs while rubbing them softly.

Just a little at a time. . .

 

This picture is a very content and comfortable little boy.

It feels good to not be so tight. . .

It feels good to have your legs release.

It feels good to SMILE!

(No one there knew he could smile)

It feels really good to know you are loved!

 

This is from our 2nd visit on the first day.

This picture is how Matthew lives every day, except that most of his life is spent flat. 

He lives this drawn up.

His hands, arms, and legs are all drawn up and tight.

 

This next picture shows you the difference that 90 minutes of love and soft touch

made to my very love starved boy.

When I saw this comparison that night I could barely sleep.

His face changed.

His arms relaxed.

His legs relaxed

 This day we finally got permission for him to go outside.

You can see that even though his legs are long

(and somewhat distorted in the picture above because of the angle),

he is a very small boy for almost 10 at the time.

 

Before he went for his Visa pictures, his Baba gave him a haircut.

Since the pictures had to be taken on a white background

and he is unable to sit up

he went on this and had his picture take laying on it.

 

I'm not going to talk about my last day with him.  Aleshia has heart surgery in just a couple days and talking about having to leave him is too much to bear.  Let's just say that my little boy is laying right now in the position that he laid in for all the years before.  No one is giving him kisses or helping him relax.  No one knows everything that I learned about him during that week.

 

While I was there I learned a lot about my little boy.  His teeth have all rotted out till they are below the gum line for the most part.  Most of the cause is reflux, but no one thinks he has reflux.  See in an orphanage no one is noticing what happens after you eat. . . they don't have time.  Mommy notices when you are throwing up and swallowing it.  He also lays flat in a bed all the time, which makes the reflux worse. . . My little boy is also suffering from silent seizures.  Once he is home we will be headed straight for a neurologist.  They will deal with many issues, but the silent seizures will be addressed very quickly. 

 

The thought of how my little guy is living is heartbreaking.  I can barely breathe when I think of it.  It kills me to think that it was caused by a traumatic brain injury when his birthfather beat him into a coma.  I pray that he doesn't even remember that!  I pray he doesn't even remember when he use to be able to run around, play, and talk.  I do KNOW that he understands much more than people think. 

 

HE VERY CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE! 

 

*There are links on the right side bar if you would like to help bring Matthew, Johnathan, and Charity home.  There will be a big giveaway starting here in the next day or two as well!

 

Please please pray that this process moves quickly.  Pray for him as he endures the wait.

 

 

 

 

Trip to Meet the Three Part 3: Johnathan the Planned Meeting

When Johnathan made his entrance, he really MADE it.  lol  He had gone outside and was NOT happy to be made to come back inside.  He shrieked and was quite loud.  He has NO trouble at all expressing when he is happy or sad. 

He is such a cute little guy.  He was almost 7 and has since turned 7 years old and is a very small little guy for his age.  He is probably more the size of a 3 or 4 year old.  You can tell that he had years of sensory deprivation, because he likes to slap your skin just to hear the sound of it.  Every time they brought him up the steps to the visitation room, he made as much noise as possible to hear the echo.  He wants to bang things and sling things. 

When I asked his "teacher" and his Baba about what they thought would be best to occupy him on the trip home they both expressed it should be nothing hard or heavy because he is going to throw whatever he is given.  That is just his way right now.  It isn't because he is a bad kid.  It is just because he has never been taught different.  He went from spending his life all in a crib during the "old days" in the orphanage to being one of the lucky children to be living in the part of the orphanage that is set up in more of a home style.  "No" isn't something that he has been taught to understand though!

He has hydrocephalus.  His head got MUCH too large before the shunt was put in sometime in 2011.  His head is still quite large and I fear his shunt may not be fully operational.  Heads do not reduce in size after they grow, but a child does begin to grow into their head. . . I'm not sure that his head has stopped growing but we will find out once home.  When I asked about when he last had an MRI to check it, I was informed that it was permanent and therefore there was no need to check it.  Once he is home we will be heading to a neurologist very soon to get it checked.  We have a son with hydrocephalus and know that in the US, shunts are checked yearly at least!

So here are some pictures of Johnathan!

 

Now here is me trying to take his shirt off to try on the new clothes I brought. . . You can tell by my face that I was shocked.  I determined that they must dress him from the bottom up!  There is NO WAY that shirt comes over that head!  I just left the shirt on and went ahead and put the shirt I brought over it.  I will be bringing shirts with plenty big neck holes! 

 

Yes, I miss this little guy!

 

I'd love to hear him say "Meow!" right about now!

 

Good news!  Denzell's finger prints are done, new I800A is issued, and I800 has left our worker's desk and is in her supervisor's box!  Super blessed that things are moving quickly again now!

 

If you'd like to be a part of bringing the three kids home, then please look for ways on the  right side bar!  There is also a Facebook Usborne Event going on HERE! 

 

Stay tuned for a big giveaway that will be here soon as well!

Trip to Meet the Three Part 2: Meeting Charity

I've decided to not go through day by day as I just don't think I can relive each moment.  I'm aching to hold them so very badly.  This is pure torture having to hold them and then leave them there.  It honestly feels like the biggest parenting FAIL in the world. 

I'm going to go child by child and then maybe a post or two that tell other things about them all three.  It may be scatter brained, because when I start to think about it all I feel scatter brained.  I just want them safe and home and in my arms. 

As soon as I went into the visitation play area, there was CHARITY!  She was sitting in the bottom of the play structure on the mat.  She was not at all what I had expected at throughout the week she just continued to change. 

I was told that she was the size of an 8 month old and that she was unresponsive and didn't like to be bothered.  It said she could be aggressive and was very autistic.  Her report had made me SO MAD because it said that stimulation wouldn't help because of her Autism and as the mother of several children on all aspects of the very broad Autism spectrum, I knew that was NOT true. 

 

I arrived to find a little girl who now had a Baba and had grown considerably.  She was interactive and warmed up to me very well.  She can be quite snuggly once she realizes that she is loved!!  She loved being loved and she was thriving by the end of that week!!!  She loves music and is very smart.  Once home, she will be a whole other child in a very short period of time.  She is SO close to walking and really just needs to gain strength and have a lot of opportunity.  Her Autism is going to be so minor once she is exposed to the world!! 

She has some medical concerns that we didn't initially know about and we'll address as soon as she is home.  She has a cyst in her brain that is hopefully no big deal, but we just can't know until we get it checked out.  She also has a "mega colon", which we will need to figure out once she is home as well. 

She is very quirky.  She only eats "white" foods.  She has had the staff there trying to trick her by holding the bowl above her head.  I can't help that I love the quirkiness of Autism.  We'll conquer the food part and get her eating a fully nutritious diet once she is home though. 

She is also one VERY smart cookie!!  She loved to play with my iphone and listen to songs on it.  She is so STUBBORN (I appreciate and relate to this quality as well lol).  She very quickly learned how to get from the "songs" to other apps.  On my way home from one of the visits I got a call from a friend from church.  She had gotten calls from my phone!  My tiny princess had made international calls while scrolling!!  I caught her at once point and tried to get it turned off, but evidently not fast enough.  lol    The next visit she wanted to do the same and was not happy when I wouldn't let her get to other apps.  I called "Daddy" even though it was in the middle of his night.  He was very pleased to get to say "Hi" to her, but she was only pleased for a moment and then she wanted control of the iphone again.  We ended up having to lock it into ipod mode for her.  She was NOT pleased. . .

When I say she is smart I'm not kidding!

Please pray for her.  Pray for her health while she waits.  Pray for her and how hard the trip home will be for her.  Travel will be very out of routine for her, but once home she is going to THRIVE!!! 

If you'd like to help her and our other two children get home, there are links on the right side that take you to fundraisers.  We will also have a GIVEAWAY starting on here soon that while run while our daughter Aleshia is in the hospital for her open heart surgery, so stay tuned for that as well. 

Trip to Meet the Three: Part 1 An Unexpected Meeting

My friend Colleen came in from out of state to go with me on the trip and for that I am so thankful!  (A little later you will hear more about Colleen and what God had in store for her during this trip, but that will be a post entirely of its own, but rest assured that we serve a very big God!!)  When we went to meet my next three kids I was pleasantly surprised by the changes in their orphanage.  They are in the same place that Keith came from.  That place was so devoid of sound or movement for so long.  The children had been neglected and starved.  Keith spent over 5 years there and 2 1/2 years of that were in an isolation room.  Knowing my three children were there was so hard and I knew that a new director had taken over so I had continued to pray that the good things I had heard were happening were true.  I prayed that they were feeling those good changes make changes in their lives that were tangible. 

It was obvious upon arriving that good changes had taken place.  There were Babas (the word for grandmother and these are people who are employed by ministries to come in and are assigned to a couple children each) out and about with children in strollers that were on the road and visible before we even arrived at the orphanage.  You could see and hear children.  We began to see children who we "knew".  I knew them from pictures because they too are being adopted.  They were not the tiny and starving children that they once were, but are now beginning to grow.  Please understand that these are children still in SERIOUS need, but it is because of the YEARS of lack of care.  The adoptable children need families quickly so that they can get individual care and attention only available in families where you have parents (and siblings!) who love and care for you individually.  She can't change the fact that they were left in their beds for years, teeth rotted out, they aren't even half the size they should be, bones grew the wrong way, muscles atrophied, and children were left to lay so long that they developed rocking and stopped developing.  She HAS however come in and changed their nutrition and started to get them out of their beds more.  The changes are evident and much appreciated.  They are a definite testament to the work of the new director!  Please continue to pray for her, because the needs of those children are so great and she has a HUGE undertaking still ahead of her to help them heal. 

The heaviness of the place is gone and it smells and appears clean.  We waited in the front lobby area for our chance to go meet my babies.  I was so thankful to have my friend Colleen with me.  The excitement of the morning had me completely on edge.  I had woke up WAY before the alarm and was showered and dressed before poor Colleen had gotten up.  She had to have thought me insane, since I am NOT an early morning person!  I couldn't wait to get there and now here I was so close, but still WAITING!!! 

As we waited there with kids going by, some we recognized and some that we did not, I just couldn't help but wondering which child would be brought to us first once we were taken to the meeting room.  I kept hoping that the time would come soon to go there!  THEN THERE HE WAS!!!  JOHNATHAN WAS STANDING RIGHT THERE!!!  He was on his way outside with his Baba and MY SON was standing right there.  I had no way to communicate because my interpreter was arranging things in the office.  I had to approach though!!!  Who waits so many months and can wait longer with their child right in front of them????

So for a split second there he was,    Johnathan. . . my son. . . in the lobby. . .

 

I can't get the video to share, so you just get "still shots" from the video.  So thankful that Colleen was quick even when we weren't expecting it.  More to come! 

 

Please help us get them home!  Lots of opportunities to help!  Links for fundraisers are on the top right side of the blog!  

Behind the Scenes of Trip #1: How We Waited for Skype Calls

Dayton and Julianne waited up with me almost every night that we had Skype calls.  There were only a few nights that they fell asleep earlier.  I am so thankful that they wanted to wait up with me!  The truth is that I would have been bored stiff without them waiting up to keep me company and make me laugh. 

I'm not sure how parents who don't already have a lot of kids manage to wait through the process.  The waiting day to day is hard enough.  Knowing where Keith is and what his days consist of makes it much harder.  Knowing that he needs to get home, get good nutrition, and get medical treatment makes me feel panicked, but I know God is in control.  I'm so thankful that God gave me my wonderful children that are already home to wait through it with me. 

I thought first I'd let you know what my house sounded like at about 2 or 3 am each night.  :)

I'm going to wait until tomorrow to draw for the gifts.  I KNOW that there are people who shared and who gave toward our Family Sponsorship Page.  I don't know what to put you in for unless you tell me though.  I also don't know for sure who shared without being told and I don't like to call out names of who donated.  Maybe the people who donated don't even read the blog.  ???  I really don't know, but if you let me know before tomorrow evening then I will put you in for your chances. 

You can still vote to help spread the word about waiting kids by voting for our blog on Circle of Moms.  There is a button that links you to the place to vote on the left hand side of the blog. 

I Need You All To Tell Me

I only have a few people who have told me what they would like to be put in for in the GIVEAWAY. 

There have been donations made and sharing has taken place.  I don't know what to put you in for unless you let me know.  I'm hoping to draw tomorrow evening, but I hate to do that without knowing who all shared and without the people who gave to help with our our costs for the 2nd trip letting me know "what" they want to be put in for.  I don't see everyone's facebook and blogs.  I don't know unless you all tell me.  Please leave me a note here or contact me at abcunroe@yahoo.com so that I can put you in for the gifts!

I'm very thankful for all those who gave and share, so please contact me!

My Husband is on His Way HOME!

My husband has been gone for a month!  He has visited 5 children in 3 different cities.  He has made me so proud with how well that he has handled all the things during this trip.  He has loved on, held, cuddled, played with, and swung in the air all 5 of my babies.  He has had to sadly leave each one behind, with a strength that I thank God he possesses, because I don't have that. He has missed all 14 of us very much, but been so strong about the whole thing.  He has taken pictures and videos better than I imagined he could.  He has worked hard to Skype me in each day so that I could see each child in "live time". 

Now, he is finally in the air and on his way back to us here.  He is on his way to Amsterdam right now, then will start the treck across the ocean to New York.  Then late Saturday night he will arrive in Columbus!  I will be picking him up and my wonderful brother and sister in law will be staying here with my 13 kids and their 3 kids.  We will sleep a few hours at a Columbus hotel and then head home to our crew, who will be very glad to have Daddy home.  (I might manage a "date" at Olive Garden on the way home since it is such a long drive!)

I am so very thankful for my husband and the wonderful Daddy that he is.  He loves each of the kids before we ever touch them, just like I do.  He truly is a man that I thank God for each day.  One day this week I will write the story of how we came to find each other and the miracle God gave us in each other.  Tonight, I am going to try and get some sleep so that I can safely drive to pick him up!

Praying God gives him a safe trip and that it is just a short time before I head over to get our babies and bring them home!

Nicholas Day #5 - The Last Visit

Today was the last visit.  Things didn't go as I would have liked.  You could tell from the Skype call even that something was wrong.  It makes me so sad that Brent had to leave him after the visit where he obviously wasn't himself. 

The person who asks a bunch of questions came in today from the very beginning.  She had been in to ask ONE question yesterday.  The question yesterday was bizarre, because she wanted to know if MY hair was blond.  I don't know what matter it makes that my hair is brown, but evidently it did to her. 

She wouldn't let Nicholas up today.  She made him stay seated.  She said she had been told that he had been "bad".  :(  He wasn't himself at all.  She kept fussing at him to sit down and sit still. 

Nicholas keeps hitting the teddy bear today.  I hope he was just frustrated because he had to sit still, but I fear there is more to it.  I keep reminding myself that he is still better off than poor tiny Keith and will make it until we get back.  Somehow that doesn't help my heart much.  Please pray for him as he waits.  I'm sure he doesn't understand what is happening.  He has no clue what a family is and has no way to understand that we are coming back.  His last visit with Daddy didn't end on a fun note.  :(  Also pray for Keith.  He is not in good condition and I worry about him day and night.  He needs an expedited process and we can file the next paperwork as soon as Brent is home.

Here are the pictures and a video, but the video isn't my normal "fun and wild" boy.  :(

Don't forget to stop by and share the posts of waiting kids this weekend. 

I will have some posts coming up with more info from "behind the scenes" of what was going on here during this trip.  I have some hilarious videos and pictures of what we did while waiting for Skype calls in the middle of the night. 

Please continue to VOTE for our blog.  It has fallen from 18th place back into 19th place.

Don't forget our GIVEAWAY!  It will be ending soon.  I don't have many people who have entered and only one person has told me via Facebook what she would like to be entered to win.  I know more people shared and some donated.  You have to let me know though!  :)

I'll keep you posted during the process!  I'll let you know as we find out what is happening and when.

I'm sure Brent will have some more stories to share once he is home too.  :)

Don't forget the HIDDEN TREASURES AUCTION coming up.  If you have anything to donate, the contact info is on the link.

There is possibly another big fundraiser that another adoptive mother is doing and we will benefit from.  She always does a great job, so stay tuned!

Most of all continue to pray that things are expedited.  We of course want them all home ASAP, but little Keith really is in serious need of getting out of the horrible situation that he is in.

Nicholas Day #4 - Trying to Communicate More

Nicholas is just adorable.  Skyping with him is hillarious.  If you know our "younger boys", then you know that this little boy was meant to be an Unroe!  He will fit in too well.  haha

I have company on the way and I'm going to just go straight to the pictures and videos, so that I'm not late tonight putting the up while people wait to see my little cutie!

I'm sure you've noticed that he is in the same sweater as Day #1 (well if you're half as obsessive as I am) and that he is MUCH more comfortable.  :)

Sorry there is only one video today.  The caregiver is in the middle of them and I've made a point not to show their faces.  Hopefully we'll be back to the caregiver who just watches tomorrow.  lol

Brent gets one visit with him tomorrow and then Brent will leave for home on Saturday morning. 

We miss Brent terribly, but also hate that Nicholas ( and each of the other 4) will no longer have a Daddy somewhere in their country loving them.

They will all have an entire family in this country loving them and longing to bring them home!

Once Brent is back, we can submit the I800 to the USCIS and start the 2nd part of the process to bring them home!