Make A Wish

We got some good news today. Our S. is qualified to receive a Make A Wish! It took quite a while and a lot of advocating for him, but it is starting to come together. Our doctor was able to speak with the MAW chapter person, and she explained to the doctor what criteria does qualify. It was decided that having the VP shunt does qualify him for a wish.

If there is any question if having a shunt is considered a having life-threatening condition, read this:

Hydrocephalus is almost always treated successfully with surgical placement of a shunt or an ETV; but rarely does either treatment last a lifetime without complications. A critical aspect of managing hydrocephalus is being well informed and staying vigilant about potential life-threatening complications. Most problems associated with shunting or ETV occur weeks or even years after the surgery. When things are going well, it is easy to forget about hydrocephalus and having a shunt or an ETV. We encourage you to stay alert and informed.

Knowing what symptoms to watch for will help you become more at ease. Although the early symptoms of shunt malfunction or infection in children—fever, vomiting and irritability—are similar to many childhood illnesses, you will learn to determine the symptoms associated with shunt failure in a particular individual. Adults tend to exhibit the symptoms they experienced before treatment when there is a problem. If you have any doubt about symptoms, don’t hesitate to contact a doctor. If you suspect there is a problem with the shunt, you are wise to have it checked by the neurosurgeon rather than ignore it. It is better to have a false alarm checked than to leave it unattended. Remember, although shunt complications can be very serious and become life threatening, they can be treated successfully when they are discovered early.

An estimated 50% of shunts fail within two years and 20-50% of ETVs close up within five years. Either treatment can fail at any time. Infections are less common, but still not infrequent. Be informed and vigilant. Be prepared to act quickly. Mere hours can mean the difference between a resolvable complication and brain damage or even death, especially in children.

I am so thankful for the time Make A Wish took to work on behalf of S. They didn't just dismiss him at the first stage of the application. They really cared and made many phone calls to get things sorted out.

Now we will have S's paperwork sent to two local MAW volunteers who will be meeting with our family and S. They will talk with him and try to see what his most heartfelt wish is. This will be complicated, since the whole concept is not really understood by a 3 year old. Once we asked him if he could have anything in the whole world, what would it be? He said, "a cookie!"

Need help

I have a friend who has been through some really hard things. She has lost a lot in her young life and now is struggling to get by as a single mother of two. Soon she will lose her apartment and will be homeless. She is receiving some help from the state, but the wait list for housing assistance is currently 3 years long. She has a few options and has a few months to figure out a solution to her problem, but I can see it is causing a lot of stress for her, which is understandable.

Our family is trying to think of ways to help. We have five acres AND a covered parking space for an RV or trailer. We thought she might be able to live in a trailer with her boys on our property temporarily and give her a chance to get back on her feet. BUT we don't have a trailer. And no one really has money to buy one.

If you know of someone selling an older nicer RV or trailer locally, will you let us know? Or if you have one you could lend or give (will be during the summer months), contact us? If you have space to rent for 3 people for under $300 a month contact me? Or if you want to give financially to my friend, let me know too. If you could pray about this situation I would appreciate it much.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

Counting blessings

I wanted to form some sort of list on this blog to keep track of things that God has blessed our family with. We went into the adoption process with no savings designated toward adoption expenses. One of the BIGGEST concerns J had with adopting was money. I don't think it was just the initial costs he was worried about, but providing for more children until they're able to provide for themselves. My argument was for faith, trust and hope that God would provide for us. And you know what? He has. (...and so has Visa, MC, and American Express) Because of credit card use to pay off adoption related costs, life's a struggle sometimes, but one that only makes our faith grow stronger. It really helps when we look back at all He has blessed us with. If you go on the top of the blog you will see pages/tabs under the photo. Click on Provisions and you will get to witness God providing for our family.

One step.

Our son Elijah and Mercy with S. (taken while instant messaging on Facebook!) I think Mercy and Elijah look a lot alike in some pictures.

We got an email from our family pediatrician tonight. I love this guy. He is on vacation in HAWAII and took the time to email me with the attached letter we need for Mercy. How nice is that? I can pick up the signed one in his office tomorrow or the next day! That is one more thing done.

Now if we would just hear back from our lawyer. I sent him another email. Let me know if I am starting to not sound polite:
Hello I.,
I am not sure if the last message I sent went through. I still have some problems with hotmail. I was just hoping for an update for us. I am trying to be patient, but am worried about the health of Mercy.
Thank you for all you are doing!
K.
Here's the one from Friday afternoon:
Hi I.,
I was just checking in to see if you have any news. We are hoping things are getting worked out and would like to mail our paperwork within the next few weeks. Many people are praying for the situation. We still hope to get Mercy here as soon as we can so she can get to the specialists at the hospital.
Thanks and God bless,
K.

I am aware that things are on hold right now and there may not be anything he can do for us. But I would really love to hear from him, even if it's just to say "I have no news, we are waiting for this or that."

Thank you all for praying for us. My sister in law sent us a really nice email yesterday that warmed my heart. (I hope you don't mind me posting it, B.)

She is soooo cute! A. made me cry. She saw the photos of her and asked me if she had a mommy. I have no idea what made her ask that. She never says things like that. I got to tell her that no, she didn't but that God is going to bring her into our family with Uncle Jeremiah and Aunt Kim. She took it in stride, like that was so normal. But how did she know that Mercy didn't have a family? A. just seems to understand God. Sometimes she'll come up to me and say, "Momm, God loves me soooo much. God loves all of us." Our babies are such a blessing and I am so proud that God is working in your hearts to do this difficult thing. I want you to know we are praying for you and the blessing of your generosity extends beyond just what you can see.

Love, B.

Here are some more encouraging words I've been keeping in my inbox..I am going to be trying to clear the over 1000 messages on there.

This is wonderful news. The Lord has prepared you for such a time as this and equipped you to care for His precious creation, and you are an encouragment to us. In a time where children seem so disposable at every age it's so wonderful to see you guys "step up" and "step out" in faith. The Lord knows He can entrust this little one to you.

YIPPPPPEEEE! Congratulations. This is huge and wonderful and just perfect. Oh I am so excited for your family. I think Mercy is absolutely adorable. We will be praying for safety for her and a quick (if they can be) adoption. So much love and support heading your way.

Just wanted to put it out there...

We would love to bring a laptop to Uganda when it's our time to travel. It'd be great to email home, blog, maybe even do video Skype calls. We have a much older, cheap laptop that is not really set up well to do internet stuff. If anyone has a laptop they could let us borrow while on our trip, please let me know. It doesn't have to be fancy or new, just capable!

Nearly there!

I got so excited tonight...look at our thermometer on the side of this page! We are nearly halfway to our goal! We really just have travel expenses remaining. Hurray! God always provides. I've had a sense of peace since beginning this journey, and continue to feel His hand guide us.

Thank you to friends and family who have given to Mercy, we love you!

As far as paperwork...here's what's left:

• Our affidavit is being finished up by our lawyer. We have a draft right now. He says we should have the completed one by next week. This will tell us all of the documents that need to be mailed to Uganda. Once we have it, we need to make copies of all the included documents and get them notarized. Then get the notarized copies, copied. Make sense? I know, it's confusing.
• We need a letter from MAT explaining how we found out about Mercy. It is written, just needs to be notarized by a director, she's planning on doing that soon.
• We need a letter from our doctor stating that Mercy needs specialized care. I called our pediatricians office (who actually used to run an AIDS clinic in Africa) and left a message with the front desk. Hoping there will not be a problem with this. He's been helpful with adoption paperwork in the past.
• FBI fingerprint originals. Waiting on that. I actually faxed them the change in address today. I originally told them to mail them to our social worker. His office moved, and I realized that he doesn't need them at all, they are for our dossier. So hopefully the FBI will mail them to the correct address, ours.
• Mercy's home needs Ministry of Gender approval. Our lawyer told us that it's something we can work around if they don't get it soon. It would look better if they do. They had a health inspection last week. They are planning on running around this week for more paperwork duties.

That seems like a lot, but in all reality, we could be mailing in our affidavit/dossier by next week if things work out very well. More realistically, two weeks. Then, we will wait for a court date. I am not sure how long to expect to wait on that...but we have heard of two families who recently went with less than a weeks notice. We could be in Uganda by the beginning of March!

Some awesome news...

Not BIG news, but good.

• We got a check in the mail for $700 from friends from our old church! Wow, thank you Lord!
• I emailed about our i600a and got a call from them a few hours later. They said they will be working on our file and we should be getting approval shortly! Hurray!
• I got some new pictures of Mercy today. (she is washing the car)
• We are just a few steps away from being ready to go. Who knows how long it will take to get a court date.
• I emailed the FBI today too to ask about our fingerprint clearances. Pray we'll hear back soon.

Gotta love facebook!

Had a great chat with one of Mercy's caregivers. Here is the highlight!

9:12amF.

Mercy was really great yesterday in church by the way. She has a hard time staying in her seat during worship, she rather move around greeting and hugging in the church, so I made her sit on the chair behind me. When the song "so good to me" started she jumped up, ran past me and started this really joyful dance in front of the church. It was so wonderful to see!

She was so adorable!

9:13amKim

oh how sweet! We love music and dancing in our house, so she'll love it!

9:13amF.

She really will!

9:13amKim

I love when Mighty to Save comes on the radio,

it reminds me of her, is that her favorite song still?

9:13amF.

Oh yeah! Big time!

Keep your prayers coming!

So far, God has answered all our prayers and has had His hands guide this whole process.

First of all He heard our prayers for a daughter. We had felt that our family was not complete and a little girl was who God had laid on my heart for the last two years.

The country of Uganda has been in our hearts since we welcomed three sweet little girls into our home for several days. They were visiting with the Ugandan Orphan Choir and we were coordinating the group's stay in our area. They were so beautiful and full of joy. They stayed in my girl's room. Every night they would pray, then worship, then pray some more in Lugandan. It was spirit filled goodness. Both Jeremiah and I talked of adopting from Uganda after they left but at the time it sounded near impossible. And we were waiting for Elijah to get home from Haiti. Little did we know that God heard our desire and had a plan in place for the future.

When we heard about Mercy through MAT, we knew she was an orphan. We were open to helping her however we could. A few days later decided we were dedicated to try to adopt her if possible. There were so many unknowns and questions about what the best decision would be for her. We were unsure if a medical visa would be best (we really thought it would be) or if just doing a legal guardianship would be the solution to getting her here quickly. God answered our prayers for a clear answer and we got one several weeks later.

We also prayed for Mercy's health. MAT came in contact with a doctor in NC who wanted to help. He was able to look at Mercy's MRI results and through the internet told Mercy's caregivers what kinds of medication to try. He also was willing to spend some time with me on the phone, answering to the best of his ability some of my questions. Mercy has been on one type of medicine that has helped with her seizures. They are almost completely gone. She still is walking into things and slurs her speech. She still needs medical help very soon, but she is doing so much better!

The Lord has provided for us financially when it didn't seem possible. We have had many wonderful people make donations for her and our family. The fees that we have had to pay so far has all been there when needed, either through donations or Jeremiah's over time.

The home where Mercy lives needs to get government approval so we can do the legal guardianship. They received their Non Government Organization approval (step 1) several weeks after we heard about her! That was great news. Now they need approval from the Ministry of Gender (step 2). They needed to go around and collect letters from people (references I believe), then turn them in. I think they need to have an inspection and then hopefully they can get approval. Today I learned that the prayers for the letter collecting were heard and they were able to gather them all. Tomorrow they will turn them into their lawyer. Hurray and thank you Lord!

Now, here is what we need prayer for:

The Ministry of Gender approval

Our i600a approval to be expedited (fingerprinting is next week!)

Mercy's health and protection

God's provision for the remaining fees (travel and legal fees)

our family and Mercy's heart to be prepared

our children and home while we are away

that we will not need to stay in Uganda for more than a few weeks

Unknown donor

I received wonderful news this afternoon that someone I don't know (just their name) donated $200 for Mercy on the Medical Advocacy Team blog. I am a volunteer for MAT, which is how we found out about Mercy. We started with working toward getting her a medical visa. When we found out she was an orphan and the best situation for her would be a forever family, adoption was the best way to try to get her home quickly and legally. We were very unsure how it would work out, but stepped out in faith, knowing God would provide for us. I am so grateful for people who have given to help us and Mercy.

gifts

And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
We received a donation today in the mail. A friend of Jeremiah's cousin requested for her Christmas gift to be a donation made in her name. So, our Aunt K. sent us a check for Mercy from A. What a nice gift. We've also gotten generous donations from other family members in the a last few months. What a blessing!

Conversation

We called Mercy this morning. We had a really hard time connecting with our phone card, but after some assistance from the operator and a few more times dialing we finally got through. The connection was not the best, there was a bit of a delay and there was some breaking up. But we got to talk with Mercy. She spoke to J./Daddy first, then me, then Kylie. Loren spoke to her for a minute too. We didn't understand all of what she said, but she sounded so sweet. She told us she wanted to go to America. She wants to go on the airplane (enter airplane noises here), she likes dogs and cats, she said she wanted to talk to sister. She told me her toy is broken. She is excited for Christmas. The cutest thing she said was "hello America!" She also kept asking about tomorrow. I think. I hope she is not disappointed she will have to wait a few more months...

I am longing for her to be here now more than ever! Her laugh is incredible.

mail

We just got a check in the mail from OATH ministries for Mercy! $300. What a blessing. What was more touching was the note hand written by Cindy, who has adopted from Haiti like us.

Here's what she wrote:

We shared Mercy's picture at our OATH event. Although funds were low this time, some families made decisions to adopt and others to sponsor children. We trust that this small amount is encouraging to you. We'd love to do more. May you bring Mercy home soon. We're thankful for your hearts.

Pray for us on Friday the 11th (or any day is great!!)

Please join in prayer for our adoption...

good friends have created an adoption prayer chain to pray to families in the adoption process. Our day is December 11th. Samuel's file is still in Haiti although his adoption is final. We are waiting to exit MOI.

Please especially pray for Mercy, for paperwork to come together, for no hangups and for things to process quickly. For her health and seizure condition, and for her heart to be prepared. Also pray that God will provide the remaining finances for travel and other fees. So far He has been faithful!!

Since we have asked for prayer for Mercy her seizures have been a lot less and she is doing so much better. The doctor in the US was able to suggest a medication for her that was able to be located in Uganda. Praise God!

encouragement

Some encouraging words from friends:

The Lord has prepared you for such a time as this and equipped you to care for His precious creation, and you are an encouragment to us. In a time where children seem so disposable at every age (I see this when I am subbing, esp. in middle and high school grades) it's so wonderful to see you guys "step up" and "step out" in faith. The Lord knows He can entrust this little one to you.