~~~ It’s been a crazy 24 hours. Harper came down with what seemed like a little cold yesterday morning. Nothing serious–just a yucky nose. By the afternoon she was coughing but nothing alarming. No fever or anything. Last night I put her to bed. Twenty minutes later I heard her gasping for breath. I ran into her room and picked her up. Things went from bad to worse quickly–she was struggling for every breath. We rushed her to the emergency room. One look at Harper sent doctors and nurses into a scramble to put a mask on her face as quickly as possible. Croup! Badly. Our first little patient who has ever had it.
Oh my goodness, to say that I was afraid is an understatement. Heck! Seeing my baby gasping for air was horrible. Scary. Thankfully, with the help of a breathing treatment and steroids, she bounced back fairly quickly. Whew.
Needless to say, it has been a very l-o-n-g day.
Sweet baby.
Big brothers are such a blessing.
~~~ Today I was almost ready to publish a post I have been working on. My heart was so broken for the most beautiful fifteen-year-old girl so desperately needing someone to adopt her. Her story is painful. Just before hitting “publish” I got an email from the family advocating for her saying that she has a family! Wow. What a huge relief and an answer to prayer. God is so amazing. It is one of the things that brings me such joy in life–seeing hard-to-place children actually have someone step forward and say, “We will go!”
~~~ Haven received the most generous and awesome gift in the mail today. We are blown away. God’s people are so absolutely incredible.
~~~ I cannot wait to take Hailee to PT tomorrow. They are not going to believe how much she is walking. Today she took 12 steps! All on her own. It’s the cutest thing because she hasn’t quite figured out that she has to actually bend her knees when she waddles walks. She looks like a little penguin. Of course she has her very own team of cheerleaders cheering her on with every step. How loved she is!
~~~ To answer some of the questions on my recent posts…..
Does Hailee sleep in a crib?
Yes, Hailee sleeps in a crib. Actually, she sleeps in a pack-and-play because the sides are soft and she cannot hurt herself. As soon as we put her in a regular crib it takes her back to her confinement in the orphanage and she immediately starts banging her forehead on the bars. Some of you may remember the bump she had on her head when she came home?
Yup–caused from constant banging on the bars of her prison crib for five years.
Some habits are hard to break. I think Hailee will be in a soft crib for quite some time. She is safe there and cannot hurt herself.
Can she communicate at all?
No. She cannot use words, nor can she sign. Yet. It’s just like having a baby who is learning and growing. We meet her needs just as we would a baby–making sure she is fed, changed, and has had enough to drink, etc. Hailee communicates with us just as a baby would–by crying, fussing, laughing, etc.
Can Hailee feed herself?
No. We have to feed her from a spoon. She is just now learning how to pick up small snacks that we put in front of her and put them in her mouth. She is trying so hard.
Does she have a favorite sibling?
No…she loves them all the same.
How do you handle strangers who come up to you and ask about your family? Have you ever answered a question about Hailee’s age? I’m sure you want to protect her from criticism and peering eyes.
Oh yes, we sure do get a lot of questions. Most of the time they come from people who are genuinely interested and caring. We are very honest about Hailee’s age and history. There is nothing to hide. In fact, we share in the hope that people will realize that there are so many others just like Hailee who so desperately need someone to go for them.
We are always mindful of the fact that there was once a time when we knew nothing about orphans, special needs, or the plight of children who live in horrible conditions like ours did. People just don’t know. By sharing our story we pray that hearts will be softened and that the seed of adoption and orphan care may be planted.
There is such power in the testimony that God gives to each one of us. Our responsibility is to use it wisely–for HIS glory! And so we share ours whenever He gives us an opportunity.
Yes, naturally we do everything in our power to protect our children. Hardly any criticism comes from people who meet us in person. Most of it has been from commenters here on my blog (always anonymous, of course) who can hide behind a computer and spew evil. We know that miserable people do exist. Sadly, our kids who have needs will have to deal with them for the rest of their lives. We live in a fallen world where evil lurks around every corner. It’s life. I wish it could be different. Someday it will be!
~~~ That’s it for now. So thankful that our littlest angel is comfortably asleep in her bed and that she is doing so much better. Praise God for healing!
