prayer please!

UPDATE: the latest I've heard is that Sol and Christine Moghadams have been released and reunited with their boys but are awaiting the adoption of the children they went to Ghana for.

Man, the adoption community is h.u.g.e. and yet so very small.  I heard about the Moghadams on Saturday from people in other states.  Then I was at a picnic/cookout later that day with a bunch of other adoptive/foster families and people there had heard of their plight.  Of course, none of us know the Moghadams personally, but to have our hearts break in unison for them is amazing because we all know it could be any one of us.  Community is a powerful thing.

Thank You, God, for your family and for adopting me into it.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's crazy to me how ignorant we are (including yours truly) about modern day slavery and injustice in the world, and then I hear about this.  Oh my heart.

Please pray for this innocent family, the Moghadams.  These precious parents have been falsely imprisoned in Ghana while traveling there to adopt four siblings and their sweet boys (pictured below) have been placed in an orphanage!

Lord, have mercy.

I can only imagine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the full story, go here and here. 

And here is their personal blog.  

emma: {update}

There are so many wonderful things going on around us these days that I've written multiple posts in my mind.  If only I could get on here and type away as much as I'd like to.  Just know that I yearn to share what's happening with y'all, I just simply can't seem to find the margin to do so.

One of the most amazing updates I must share is about Emma.  Many of you have asked over the months, so here's a much overdue update (with permission from my dear friend, Amy, Emma's mom).

Many of you may remember my plea for prayer several months ago when Emma awoke one morning with her brain bleeding.  I don't think I shared a lot of details about this situation because we just didn't know them.  But now we know more.

I could sit here all day and night typing and listing all the ways that God moved through that horrible time.  Oh how I want to.  But let's just say that from the very millisecond that Emma's brain began to bleed, He was intimately near and orchestrating every minute detail of the events that followed.  From the nursing and medical staff God arranged to be working at that two hospitals that Emma went to, to a critically-timed helicopter ride, to a protocol-breaking neurosurgeon who listened to God's quiet voice in the night and chose to be aggressive in his treatment, to the multitudes of people who prayed nonstop for days, weeks and months.  I am so very grateful to be living and witnessing miracles in front of my eyes.  And Emma's recovery is definitely one of them!

Let me give you a little of the story so you can appreciate all God's done!

Emma woke up earlier than normal on February 23rd.  Her mom went into Emma's room and found her complaining of a splitting headache.  When Amy came back from getting Emma some Tylenol, she found Emma's speech impaired.  She started asking Emma questions and quickly learned that Emma was confused and disoriented.  Amy and her husband rushed Emma to the hospital where she was very quickly flown to another hospital across town.

Emma was almost immediately placed in a medically induced coma and many, many tests and scans were performed.  All the while, her brain continued to bleed profusely.  

The prognosis was grim.  There were moments of hope, but statements like this were said, 'If Emma makes it then...'.  It was terrifying for us as friends to watch.  I can only imagine how terrifying it was for Amy and Chris to live.

Generally, patients like Emma are in the hospital for months (sometimes as many as six months) with in-patient rehab to follow.  There is usually the goal of performing brain surgery once the bleeding subsides (normally many weeks after the incident).  Full recovery can take years, if ever.

Here are some photos of Emma (and other sweet friends!) before the incident:

Sleepovers are the best!

Really?  They can put two bodies on one swing?!

As if we didn't already love Emma enough, she encouraged Payton to accept Christ as her Savior on the night this photo was taken.  It was P's 10th birthday.  Payton had been stirring for some time, but Emma encouraged her to go for it, so she did!  What a pal!  When Payton told us the next morning, I told her (over my snorting and sniffling tears back at my girl's sweet decision) that she just gave herself the best birthday present she could ever have!  

Love little girls!  

Emma had surgery one week after the bleeding started (which was caused by a rupture in her brain -- very uncommon in children).  She was moved to in-patient rehab just two weeks later.  And was home just a month after the incident.  

Our first visit together after Emma and James came home!

Sweet friends reunited.

James, right smack-dab in the middle of the girls!

I've saved the best for last to demonstrate just how powerfully God is using Emma's life.  Not only was it uncertain whether this precious child would live, but it was uncertain what at all she'd be able to do (walk, talk, write, read, etc).  Check this out!

If you've never heard this song ('The Hurt and The Healer' by MercyMe), then go here and listen to the words.  It's incredible.  And to hear Emma sing it made us all bawl.  By the way, the woman who was announcing the talent show could not get her composure back to carry on with the show after Emma left the stage.  A very long, long moment passed before she could introduce the next act.  The whole room was a sniffing, eye-wiping mess!  It was amazing.  

We love you, Emma!  We're so proud of how hard you've been working.  You keep on fighting!  We'll buy tickets to your concerts one day to come hear you sing -- think you can throw in a backstage pass or two?  :)  You're one incredible little girl and God has big, huge, monstrous plans for your life!  

fathered

This is the day the Lord has made; we will be glad and rejoice in it!  Psalm 118:24

The Holy Spirit has been on the move.  Big time.  

This past Sunday was quite a day for our family.  And for a group of friends we've been walking through life with over the last year.  And for our church.  

What started as a small group has grown into a thriving ministry called Fathered.  And it launched on Sunday after much planning and effort.  A team effort.  We're fans of team efforts.  :)   

Emily and Brandon created this amazing display to indicate the children who've been adopted already into families within our group and church.  

We're especially fond of this little guy.  :)

A map to indicate where around the world these children began their lives.  

See that bottom pin on the right?  Yep.  That represents our James.

A bunch of the Fathered gang.  

A bunch of the Fathered kids!  

(Notice Jackson and James in the middle...so sweet, right?...)

When I get to Heaven, one of the questions I'm going to ask God is, 'Why do big brothers have to bully their little brothers sometimes?'  

Oye.

  

Fortunately, James can dish it out too -- often with a swat at the face (that one little finger is dangerous!) or a swift kick.

This video is of a scooting race that the kids initiated with James.  Is that not the most precious thing to see how inclusive young children are?  The others were running up and down our church's concourse and James was doing his scoot as fast as he could, but the kids decided to take it down to his level (literally).  The adults were standing around tickled pink.  Precious.

As if launching Fathered wasn't enough excitement, our church was having baptisms and dedications that morning.  We said the next time they did it we would dedicate James so we got to do it on the same day that our adoption ministry took flight.  It was just an awesome day all the way around.  We felt God's hand all over us and throughout this community that we do life with at HOPE Church.  So grateful for God's abundant grace and blessing.  

James startled to puddle when David, our pastor, took James in his arms, but it was so precious to hear David's words about how much God loves James.  

Man, do we ever too.  

philly

JD and I love to sightsee with our kids.  We love to explore.  But the reality is that we have a large family and a family our size requires a lot of logistics -- including two hotel rooms depending on the hotel.

Plan A was to go to Philly with just James.

Plan B was to take Payton and Avery with us to do some sightseeing (hopefully some of which would be educational even if they didn't know it).

Plan C was to take all the kids.  Brooks and Jackson enjoy traveling and sightseeing too, but we would definitely need to take my mom with us because expecting Brooks and Jackson to sit through hours of doctors' appointments is just unrealistic.  Avery barely survived it!  Oye.

My mom was willing and we were set...

...until we started hunting for hotel rooms that were convenient to Shriner's and the sites of Philadelphia.

$250-$300 per night.

Ouch.

Two rooms, two nights.

Do the math.

Not happening.

So I called Shriner's and they gave me a great hotel recommendation.

An historic hotel on the campus of Temple University.  With a 'Shriner's' rate of just $115 per night.  Bingo!

The catch?

They only had one room left for one of our nights there.

There was no way we could all fit in one room, so we went back to Plan B.  My mom, being the ever easy-going and flexible Gramma she is, was more than happy to come with us or stay and keep some or all of our older kids.  Brooks and Jackson were thrilled to stay at Gramma and Papa's, so off to Philly we went!

Here are some photos of our sightseeing excursion, including a double decker bus tour.  We chose the upper deck because it was a beautiful summer evening.  The weather was sublime.

Avery catching a ride with City Hall in the background.

Max Brenner's was Payton's favorite part of Philly.  Go figure.  

The girl's got her mama's sweet tooth for chocolate.  

Man, does he love his sisters.

And, boy, do they love him.  

Love this gaze.

Omigoodness...and this one.  Love his chin on his arm.

This mural is a tile mosaic.  Notice how enormous it is.  Amazing.

Up close.

Independence Park.

Our 'little' girls (who aren't staying little!) in front of the Liberty Bell.

This is what James thought of the Liberty Bell.  :)

William Penn (who founded Philadelphia) statue on the top of City Hall.

The most famous Philadelphian who never lived.  Rocky.  

The stairs Rocky climbed (the Philadelphia Museum of Art).

A great visit!  We were able to take care of some 'business' with James, but also have some fun too.  And that's how we like to do things!

shriner's

  

Shriner's was worth the trip!

We met with two doctors -- a lower extremities specialist and a pediatric upper extremities specialist.  Both meetings were helpful, but the one with the upper extremities doc was fantastic!   

He was encouraging, straight-forward and explanatory.  He put to rest so many opinions and theories from other doctors, prosthetists, physical therapists and occupational therapists.  And he came highly recommended from several different sources.  Even a mother we met in the waiting room said she went back to New York where she lives, got a second opinion and that doctor said to go with this doctor's recommendations and treatment because he's the best in this field.

Here's the breakdown of what we've been told by other professionals compared to this doctor.  The varying positions are interesting to us but, frankly, this is just what we wanted to hear!

1.  They said his bearing his full body much weight on his little toe joints (because his ankle is fused with his foot in a pointed position and he walks on his toes) would damage those joints.  He said that we should just let him be.  He's adapting and doing well!  He said there's no way to know if that's true or not and he thinks it's too early to make too many decisions.  Especially in the way of doing surgeries that could effect his foot's hand-like functioning.

2.  They said we should have surgery on his hip in the next year.  He said James' hip looks just fine and needs to be left alone.

3.  They said James needs to be on his knees or standing as much as possible (and not in a sitting/scooting position so much) because his hips need to bear weight to grow strong and be able to function properly.  He said that's not true, that the hips just need to be used and he just needs to be mobile, but actually standing or in a kneeling position isn't imperative.

4.  They said we should fit James with a prosthetic immediately so he can get used to the sensation and weight of an arm on his right side eventhough prosthetics for children aren't terribly functional.  He said that used to be the approach.  He even said there used to be a saying, 'When they can sit, fit' so at about six months of age, they used to fit babies with prosthetics.  He said they're now finding that's not helpful.  And it'd be best to wait a while and see what James achieves as is.  There's plenty of time for that.

5.  There has been mention for months from a couple of folks about the idea of fitting James with some kind of brace/prosthetic kind of thing that would be fastened to his right leg giving him added strength and a couple more inches of height.  He agreed with this approach and said he thinks a 'foot in a foot' is the best way.  This is where his foot would be inserted into something else that has a foot or peg on it for him to stand with his hips level.  Sounds great!

For right now, we're going to continue to see what he can achieve with his little hand.  There's nothing to say that surgery won't be a viable option down the line, but he's not convinced yet that James won't be able to use both his fingers.  

We're coming back in six months.  No surgeries or major procedures at this time.  

We love this grace-filled-let's-see-how-he-does approach.  

Especially, when he's started doing this...

Look at these videos, y'all!  

  

(sorry this one's a little dark)

Our boy is standing all on his own!  He's going to walk by himself!  We thought it might never happen!

He amazes us.

We're thrilled with exactly where he is!

Thank you for your love and care.  

rescued

Geez.

God is using film to reach people.

Fireproof.

Faith Like Potatoes.

Courageous.

Soul Surfer.

October Baby.

And now, Rescued.

Amazing.

And, by the way, if you haven't seen any of the movies on the above list, run -- and I mean run -- to your Netflix queue and put them up top!

it's a no go

So the MRI was a no go.

But thank you for all your well wishes and prayers for our sweetie pie.

At 3:00 PM yesterday, I got a call from the MRI department at the hospital saying that they didn't have the authorization from our insurance company.

Huh?  


I don't understand what that means.  


Two hours later, I understood.

Turns out there was a breakdown in communication between the doctor/practice/hospital who ordered the test and the hospital where the test was to take place at.  Therefore, the insurance company was never asked to authorize.  

The bottom line is, the MRI didn't happen.

And we won't have the results with us to take to Shriner's next week.

But, honestly, God is so, so amazing because I didn't fuss at anyone.  

I didn't lose my patience.

I didn't raise my voice.

I just told each of the six people I talked with how frustrating this was and how I wished it hadn't happened.

Because there are worse things!

Friends who are grieving the loss of a dear loved one.

Family who is hurting.

Friends who are without jobs.

Marriages that are falling apart.

A botched MRI can be rescheduled.  And it is.  It's really that simple.  So grateful for the ability to keep it all in perspective because there was definitely a time when I did not do that well.  At all.  

Hope you all have a great weekend!