Monday, September 21, 2009

Trip to Buffalo

Today was a very emotional day. We were concerned, we were elated, we were deeply sad, but overall the day went very well.

First, we left early to take Maria to the Buffalo Children's hospital for genetic testing. We stopped for breakfast on the way. Maria signed "eat" as soon as she saw the restaurant. We found the office and then went for a quick lunch. After lunch we met with the geneticist in her office. Maria did not enjoy much of it:) She was a wonderful doctor. Maria had to have blood taken for the 1st test. The results of this test will determine whether she will need more tests at a later date. After the appointment Maria had her 1st lollipop. She absolutely loved it!

Then, we drove from Buffalo to Rochester to welcome a new family home from China. We have never been able to meet people at the airport, so it was so neat. We were able to meet Danielle, who just joined her mom, dad, and brother this past week. They just arrived home a couple of days ago. Then as we saw Dawn & Jade come through the airport it brought back memories of us walking with Maria through the airport when we came home. It is an overwhelming joyous feeling. It was so wonderful to see children with their forever families welcoming others home as well.

Finally, we went to visit Debbie, a woman from our adoption group who is passing away due to cancer. Many of us from the airport went to her house to visit her. She only has 3 weeks or so to live. She is so self-less that she asked her daughter to make sure that she had snacks at her house for all of us to eat. She has been through a lot and through those times, she still gave us a book for Maria. She seemed pleased to be able to meet Maria too. Macella & Kirstie sent homemade cards to Debbie and her two youngest daughters Grace and Chloe. They miss seeing them.

Our day was a reminder of how "for everything there is a season". The Lord is with us through the sadness and the joy.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Maria's 1st visit to the dentist; grandma's 80th party

Today was a busy day. All five of us had dentist appointments in Vestal. None of us have cavities, so that's great. Maria sat on Marsha's lap to ease her into the dentist experience. She refused to open her mouth, until Marsha suggested they show her a toothbrush. She was happy with that. Then they showed her a big toothbrush for a big stuffed monkey and she loved it. They did not do an actual cleaning, but the dentist was able to look into her mouth. He said her mouth and teeth looked pretty good.

After the dentist we went on to Tim's house for Grandma Gordon's 80th birthday party. She is still not feeling well, but she was able to attend the whole 3 hour party.

Kirstie has been busy with soccer on Sunday afternoons with her friend Sarah. We take turns taking the kids to practice during the week and enjoy the company on Sunday afternoons. The girls are so cute!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Maria's 1st week of school

9/14--Maria took the bus to Head Start. She did a great job. I met her at the school. I spent the day with her. The kids were so helpful. One of the girls made it known that Maria had to be tapped on the back before talking to her. She also held her hand and helped her on the playground.

We also went to the audiologist at 3pm. The audiologist did sound field testing with Maria's hearing aids on. Again, she did not hear anything. We were supposed to give the hearing aids back or pay $4000 for them, but she is allowing us to keep them until we have our appointment in NYC with the cochlear implant team.

This has been a very frustrating week concerning Maria. Head Start would only allow Maria to go to school with me or a substitute teacher called in just for her. The problem being that I would not know until the morning whether I would have to stay with her or not. Another frustrating aspect is that I was supposed to start work this week. Thankfully my new boss is so understanding and patient. She is giving me the time I need to figure things out for Maria.

As the week went on, I realized that the county most likely not be giving Maria a 1:1 aid. This means that sending her to Head Start and going myself was really a waste of time if the school/county is going to say "no" to an aid on the 28th. The therapists feel that Maria has grown and learned at Head Start, but the school and county feel that it is not the best placement for her. They want to see her at home with a more intense therapy schedule or at a 2 year old preschool.

I spent the week making phone calls to try and find somewhere for Maria to go. I also tried to figure out how I was going to start work without having a plan for Maria.

The main concern with Maria is that she puts everything in her mouth, making Head Start feel that she would be a safety risk.

In my mind, I'm thinking that I spent hours upon hours at the end of August to place her in Head Start and now that decision has failed. Only the Lord knows where she will end up and since I have no control over it, I've decided to start work next week and see what happens.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Head Start meeting

Thurs. 9/9--Today we had Maria's meeting at 2pm. The disabilities manager does not want Maria to come to Head Start without a 1:1 aid. The school will not give her an aid until the meeting on September 28th. Head Start is going to allow her to start on Monday the 14th as long as I come with her.

Fri. 9/11--Maria and I went to CP in Elmira to find a chair that will fit Maria. The chair is high enough for her to reach the table and has straps to hold her in.

Sat. 9/12--Marsha's grandma had been in the hospital, so we decided that we should head out to see her today. She is still weak, but was very grateful for our visit.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

1st day of school

Today was Macella's first day of 8th grade and Kirstie's first day of 5th grade. Neither one came back from school very excited. Kirstie had soccer practice after school and Macella had puppet practice. It made for a very busy 1st day of school.

Maria visited Head Start, even though we were told that she would not be allowed to start after all. They first wanted to meet with all the therapists, teachers, and Head Start workers. The meeting is tomorrow at 2pm. We're hoping that everything goes well. Maria enjoyed the classroom today. She wandered around very excited.

We took pictures of ourselves signing our names for Maria's sign book for school. It was a lot of fun.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Last weekend before school

Saturday the 5th we spent the night with Marsha's parents. Then Sunday it was a day of visiting. We visited our friends at WP Baptist. It is always nice to see our old friends. After church we visited with Terry, Lana, Taron, Chuck, Kaliah, Bob, Brooke, and Gary's brother Dan, Ginny, Manda, & Sid from Georgia. We had a nice little engagement party for Dan and Manda. Afterward we visited Marsha's grandparents before heading back to our home.

Labor day, the 7th. Today was not a normal Labor Day for us. We are so used to having picnics with family, but tomorrow is the 1st day of school instead of Wednesday. The girls are not happy, so we shall see how it all turns out.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Trip to Scranton

We spent a couple of days in Scranton for our quick summer vacation. The girls were so accepting of our short and inexpensive trip. We found a hotel with a pool, which is always an added bonus.

We went to SteamTown and went on a short train ride. The museum was nice, as we were able to go inside some trains. Maria liked the mannequins the best.

We finished our trip with school shopping for the girls.

Enjoy the pictures of our beautiful girls:)

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Last week of August

Summer continues to be busy, but fun.
8/23- Visit our friends Dan, Stacie, Rhiannon, and Silas. It only took us 2 years to finally get together:)

8/24- We took Kirstie to visit her new school; Horseheads Intermediate. She is not looking forward to the beginning of school.

8/25- Kirstie started soccer. Maria had a doctor's appointment to check her weight, height, and head circumference for our upcoming 6 month review. She continues to be a light weight--approximately 21 pounds still. We finished the day with a trip to the drive-in. Everyone enjoys the drive-in, even Maria.

8/28- Marsha's mom came out to help with a yard sale. Friday's sales were better than Saturday's--we assume due to the rainy weather. The girls had a busy day with a birthday party and a youth party at night.

9/1- Kirstie spent the afternoon at a friend's and then had soccer. At 9am, the teacher and another worker from Head Start came to the house to visit with Maria. They were so nice and let Maria pick out her school symbol. She is a "duck."