Psalm 127:3-5

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!"

Psalm 127:3-5

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Are They Triplets?

"Are they triplets?"  That is the question we've been asked when out and about these days. Oh, how I wish they were.  I would have loved to have carried Dusty and Sonya in my womb with Carolyn!    


People are shocked when they hear that Dusty and Sonya are even older than Johnny. 

Johnny 5, Dusty 6, Sonya 5 1/2, Carolyn 21 months

I will tell you that John and I do FEEL like we have triplets during meal times.  Well at least like twins because Carolyn usually feeds herself.  At times she even helps Sonya and Dusty.  I have to get a video of it because it is too cute. We are trying hard to S-L-O-W down Dusty and Sonya.  If we put a plate of food in front of them they just shove it all into their mouths as FAST as possible.  


So for right now we put a piece of food on their utensil or help them to do it.  Then we have them hold the utensil to put it into their mouths.  I think Sonya is part chipmunk. She can fit a lot of food in those cute cheeks of hers so we have to make sure her mouth is empty.  Dusty eats with an open mouthed posture so much of his food ends up on the bib, clothes, table, and floor.  Unfortunately, he is not used to chewing because he was fed so quickly at the orphanage - he didn't even have a chance to chew before the next spoonful was coming! 

They LOVE food!  Can you tell?

Drinking is the toughest mealtime task, though!  Dusty and Sonya don't know how to use a straw or "sippy" cup.  They only know how to drink from a cup.  This may sound great, however, they are used to "chugging" a drink while backwashing, spilling and sucking lots of air in the process.  We also learned that they do not stop drinking or let go of the cup until all of the liquid is gone.  Now we help to hold the cup and only put in a very small amount in order to control the "chugging." One thing we are not sure how to remedy is getting Sonya NOT to put her tongue UNDER the cup when she drinks.  Try it.  I don't know how she can drink like that! 


Dusty and Sonya love to eat and drink.  We enjoy watching their expressions as they try new and tasty things.  There are very few things that they won't eat.  It is interesting that they don't care for water or milk.  They have big appetites and are very disappointed when they have eaten everything and the plate is empty.  We are happy that this fussing is happening less and less because of learning that meal time will come again soon enough.  It is fun to watch their reactions when they hear us working in the kitchen.     They start to get very excited and happy.  If you are eating something - Sonya will find you!  Then she will look at you with those big puppy dog eyes...

We have many things to teach Dusty and Sonya during meal times.  Although the most important thing is to teach them that EVERYTHING comes from God!  We need to thank God for our food and invite Jesus to be our guest at the table.  Our Lutheran-German mealtime prayer always ends with:

"Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed.  Amen."  "Gesegnetes mahl ziet."  

Blessed mealtimes, blessed children, blessed parents, blessed family! 




Wednesday, June 8, 2011

THANK YOU!

"Behold, children are a heritage of God.  The fruit of the womb is his REWARD."  Psalm 127:3

How is everything?

It's been very REWARDING!

We've had...

Grandma's strawberry cupcakes!
fun with TOYS!
lots of giggles!
many moments of happiness!
new experiences and exciting sounds!
very comfortable days!
time to learn to share!
tons of smiles!
freedom!
relaxation!
wonderful breezes!
road trips!
adventures!
peaceful rests!
family gatherings!
thoughtful gifts!
happy tears shed!
sweet dreams!
attention!
huge hugs!
sloppy kisses!
pure JOY!
lots of snuggles!
tender tickles!
caring touches!
handsome haircuts!
We've also had a lot of diapers to change and noses to wipe.  It's all worth it - especially when Sonya LAUGHS uncontrollably during the whole process! 

Meal times are VERY busy.  They both LOVE food. As of a week ago Dusty weighed 24 pounds so he gained 4 pounds in 12 days.  It brought the nurse to tears.  Not quite sure what Sonya weighs but let's just say that she is very disappointed when meal times are over!

Sonya crawls all over the place - even up stairs and onto coffee tables. YIKES!  Dusty WALKED ON HIS OWN the day after we got home from the hospital.  It was awesome to see!  Sonya is not too far behind she just needs better braces for her ankles.  

Sonya is learning how to play with toys.  It is fun to watch her discover and learn cause and effect.  Dusty is not interested in playing with toys yet.  He just likes to hold them and put them in his mouth!  

They are not talking yet but Dusty loves to babble and they both love to laugh.  We are trying to learn what each cue means.  We are hoping that signing with them will help us communicate easier.  

The children got to meet all of Daddy's co-workers and students.  I wish I had my camera with me!  It was an outpouring of LOVE!

Dusty and Sonya are WONDERFUL travelers!  We went on a road trip to Indiana over Memorial Day Weekend for our niece's graduation from high school.  We had a fantastic time being together with family and friends.   Sonya and Dusty loved all the attention.  On the way home a favorite stop was taken at the "golden arches."  Happy squeals and swinging legs were sure signs that it was absolutely a Happy Meal!  

We are all adjusting VERY WELL and are praising GOD that Dusty and Sonya are HOME!  We want to THANK all of you for your loving prayers, thoughtful words, wonderful meals, helpful hands and very generous donations to Reece's Rainbow!  You are part of something BIG!  We appreciate all of you - so we put ALL of your names into a bag...



Johnny closed his eyes and pulled out a name for the iPhone...
Thank you and congratulations!
Then Johnny closed his eyes again and chose a name for the iPad 2...
Thank you and congratulations!
John and I were Sonya and Dusty's very FIRST visitors at the orphanage!  Dusty was in the orphanage 6+ years and Sonya was there 5 1/2 years and NOBODY ever called or wrote or visited them.  Thankfully God was with them and people were praying for a forever family to find them.  Now that they are home with their forever family... they have had MANY visitors!  They have met family members and friends who continue to pray for them.  People have written letters & postcards, e-mailed, blogged and posted comments on facebook.  People have made "Welcome Home" signs.  People have called asking about them.  People have sent gifts and brought meals.  God is so good!  If our paths have not crossed yet - we are praying they will cross soon because we just can't wait for YOU to meet our little ones in person!   Thanks again for sharing in our journey and helping to bring Sonya and Dusty HOME.  We will continue to share our story and update you on how our arrows are doing! 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-jig!

Dusty and Sonya were in the same room at St. Mary's Hospital.

Sonya was glad to have Daddy with her!

One tired tiger!

Johnny and Carolyn came for a visit - with Build-A-Bears.

Dusty in the Play Room at St. Mary's Hospital.

Johnny and Sonya having FUN.
Yummy!
Happy!

Happy too!
On Sunday evening we were told that Sonya could come home on Monday, however, Dusty would need to stay until Tuesday or Wednesday.  Then Monday we were surprised and caught unprepared when we found out that BOTH children could go home.  We were one car seat short!  Not to worry - our wonderful friend Jennifer came to the rescue with a car seat!  

Jennifer and Sonya
A great visit with friends!
Heading Home - Fun ride from their hospital room to the car!
Bye - Bye!  Thanks for all of your help, St Mary's Hospital Staff!  You are WONDERFUL!
Big Brother helping out with all the STUFF!
The crew!

We're going...Home again, home again, jiggety-jig!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!  Stay tuned... our giveaway is coming soon!