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April 2, 2008

Has it REALLY been nearly three months since our little girl was taken into surgery? I have thought over and over again about this update. It is certainly long overdue. Each time I thought about it, I could never quite figure out what I wanted you all to know about our miracle daughter. And she is a miracle. The whole process of her coming into our family, the state of her medical condition and the amazing opportunity we have been given to watch her begin to heal…physically and emotionally. There is such light in this treasure of ours. Her dad and I are just in awe of everything. We are in awe of her strength and courage, the tenderness of her siblings and the power of prayer. We have truly come to understand the reality of Christ’s love for us and the absolutely certainty that each and every day, Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and our hearts’ most sincere desires.

Sarah is doing so great. She has some residual swelling that is worse on some days than others. We manage this with some medication and she is on a small, small dose of daily aspirin but, otherwise is medication free. She made it through an entire winter and major surgery without ever contracting much more than a mild cold. A tender mercy for sure. It is so unbelievable to us. Well, that is not exactly right. It IS believable…just such a beautiful blessing that it strips words right out of our grasp.

She continues to grow developmentally. Our biggest issue right now is speech. It is clear that she comprehends much, if not all, of what we say to her. Even complex sentences. But she is not participating in proactive speech and it is difficult to get her to mimic things we say. Her vocabulary consists of : mama, no, maybe (said like mayeee), up and shaking her head for yes. That’s all. We are working on the referral from our pediatrician for speech therapy services. She is walking much much better. She trips some if she gets going to fast. She is right about at a 18-20 month old level there. About six months behind but gaining ground quickly. Her courage at meeting new faces has grown by leaps and bounds. She is still on the shy side but freely interacts with full gusto with all of her family. Her attachment seems so much more secure and she is comfortable enough to show her true colors. And our little girl has some personality to spare. Her smile is infectious and her laugh comes all the way from her toes. She loves to wrap her arms around my neck and hold on tight and I just melt when she does that. I love it. I think one of my favorite things to do is put her to bed. She loves her silky blanket and little cup of milk and we sit in the rocking chair while she looks up at me and we talk about her day and sing ‘Jesus Said Love Everyone’ each night. I think sometimes Brian feels sad that I hog this part of her day. But, it’s a few moments of heaven for me. She is rarely cross then and content just to be held and to look right at me. I love the direct eye contact and close physical contact. I love it. Right now, as I write this, she is offering up some of her ‘play’ ice cream cones. As I pretend to chomp off a bite of the plastic ice cream, she giggles with delight and runs away, coming back again to offer up the tasty treat. Pure joy!

On April 6th it will mark one year since CCAI placed that call to us and we first learned of our sweet Sarah and saw her beautiful face. What a treasured memory for us. Tomorrow marks seven months since Sarah was placed, screaming and terrified, into our arms. Her journey continues to unfold in front of our eyes and our hearts are full of gratitude to be a part of it.

We want to always express our appreciation to Joe and Jennifer for creating and maintaining this site for us. They are dear people and a delight to call friend. Thank you all for your expressions of support and encouragement. What a gift! Throughout these days, weeks and months that have passed a song has run through my head and heart almost daily. These are the words:

Heavenly Father, are you really there?

And do you hear and answer every child’s prayer?

Some say that heaven is far away,

But I feel it close around me as I pray.

Heavenly Father, I remember now

Something that Jesus told disciples long ago,

“Suffer the children, to come to me.”

Father, in prayer I’m coming now to thee.

I know that He is there and that the power of prayer is real. Our prayers were answered in a mighty way over these passing days. We are, as ever, thankful.

We have begun a blog for any of those who might want to see what we are up to on a more regular basis. The address is:

www.ourpartyofeight.blogspot.com

A little playtime before leaving for church

The girls meet a baby goat

Sarah and Mandi playing with (or is it ON) Brandon

Sarah and cousin Luke

Lovin' the pony (mom's just out of the camera shot)

Sleeping sisters on the road to family

Uh oh, I think I'm supposed
to have some sort of ball up here

Springtime in WY

Bundled up on Aunt Deana's lap for a fun wagon ride

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