15 Months (really this time!)

Ok so clearly I can't count! We have officially been waiting 15 months tomorrow. (Not last month like I posted then oops.) I am actually doing ok right now. I keep telling myself that just because I can't see a finish line does not mean it isn't there. God is in control of all things. I give my life to Him. He is my Master. My control freak personality sometimes overrides my desire to be a humble and child-like daughter to my Father. I am learning and trying. I see His hand in all things in my life. His hand is surly in our waiting longer then we want for our child. He is my all knowing, all loving, all seeing Father. I trust Him. So my friends what had God taught you this week?

Oh and a shout out to T who is in Korea right now picking up her sweet Babycakes. I wish for you a joyful trip.

Today

Missing my baby actually feels good today. I know that she is being well cared for by her foster family. I can't wait to see her face and know who she is. Abeni I feel you in my heart and can't wait to feel you in my arms. I love you baby girl.

7 YEARS!

Michael and I have been married seven years today. We had a great anniversary celebration! So for the last seven years my life has been completely different then it was before. Here are seven adjectives to describe my wonderful best friend.

1. Adventurous
I am a homebody but Michael is always up for a crazy adventure and that is what our marriage has been. There is never a dull moment when he is around I am loving the ride.

2. Entertaining
I can't believe how many voices my husband has. He can mimic most every character I remember from my childhood (and some I can't.) He certainly makes everyone around him laugh.

3. Comfortable
I love that Michael and I are so comfortable. I have never met anyone who makes me feel the way he does. Still to this day I am most myself when I am in his arms.

4. Passionate
Don't worry not in a gross way! Michael is passionate about life and what he believes in. He lives his life with his whole self and I am blessed to be something that he is passionate about.

5. Humble
Michael is so willing to change. He is always learning and growing and striving to be a better person. I learn from his example how to become a more shapable Child of God.

6. Gentle
There is nothing I love more then being held in Michael's big strong arms. And nothing I love more then seeing those same arms comfort and cuddle my children.

7. Strong
Michael and I have been through some rough stuff in our marriage and he has been my strength through all of it. We can do anything if we stand together.

I love my hubby! He truly is the half that makes me whole. I am so grateful that God placed him in my life that together we can journey into our eternity!

Weekends

I used to really look forward to weekends. I loved the idea of staying in bed with the covers draped over me. I loved the idea of Michael having a few days off. I loved the slower pace of the weekends. WELLLLLLLL Now I am the wife of a soldier; weekends off are un-heard of. I am the mommy of a boy who has sleep issues; sleeping past six is insane in his mind. I am a waiting mommy and the idea of no news for a weekend drives me crazy. This is a three day weekend. SOOOOOO let's recap something fun shall we. Our in progress I-600A approval. We mailed in our application for I600A on December 5th. We received our first fingerprint appointment letter in the mail December 22nd. And then SURPRISE a second fingerprint letter arrived the first week of January. After freaking out a little I used a lifeline and phoned a friend she told me to just take both notices and go to the first time slot. So bright and early in the morning on January 8th we dropped our boys off with a friend (thanks M.) We went to the USCIS office and showed them both letters; the receptionist filled one out and threw the other away. Then we filled out more paperwork and when we were done he put us right at the top of the line. There were lots of people there so this was a huge blessing. A few minutes later we were out the door. Now I am stalking our mailbox waiting for our approval. Our agency warned us that our state is SLOW and it could take three months. I sure hope not.

The Good and the Bad

We are home from the hospital and Ker is doing very well. He is not his normal self but overall is doing GREAT! There were three reasons that we took Isaac in today so I will go over each of them in their own paragraph then summarize at the end.

Airway:
Because Isaac has been struggling so hard to breath at night his Dr.'s were concerned that his airway was damaged when he had been intubated previously. This damage can cause the airway to become too small and create difficulty breathing. We had his airway sized today and it was slightly smaller then we would expect for his size but shouldn't be causing his breathing problems. So that is good news. It also leads to more questions. Not sure where to go with this from here.

Brain:
Isaac's brain is not perfectly normal. We know this. There is a change in the structure of his brain a little bit of damage that they didn't see before. This is just a structural thing and we don't know what that means functionally now or in the future. We are going to see the neurologist again in February and will ask LOTS of questions.

Heart:
Isaac's heart looks about like we expected. There was a little bit of injury to the vessel that we had been unable to see before because of the way we were imaging his heart. We were able to see it today and that tells us that he defiantly did have a heart-attack back at 4 1/2 months. There is nothing in his heart imaging that would explain his pale coloring and cold extremities. We are going to go in and see his cardiologist so she can evaluate him in her office when he is not sedated.

Summary:
Nothing shocking was seen in any of these tests. It doesn't appear that his airway is the cause of his problems. It doesn't appear that his brain is the cause of his problems. It doesn't appear that his heart is the cause of his problems. SOOOOO Why is he so cold and pale? I will be following up with all of the specialists involved in his care and taking him to his general pediatrician and try to find some answers. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and well wishes. We are so blessed to be surrounded by loving family and friends.
On another note we are still having our Wii giveaway and fundraising event. Feel free to pass the info along to your friends.

Isaac's Tests

Isaac will be having a series of tests done tomorrow. He will have to be placed under general anesthesia. We will be looking at his heart, his brain, and his air-way. Please pray that the Dr.'s will be led to find the cause of his recent problems, that we as his parents can make wise decisions, and that Isaac will tolerate the procedures well.

We would like to give a friend a Wii.

Ok everyone we want to give one of our many friends a Wii. We are also going to have a short period of time where we will be accepting donations for our Abeni Fund. These two ideas are related. We are super close to being able to bring Abeni home with no debt and are asking our friends and family for help. Anyone who is willing to donate to our Abeni fund just click on the "chip in" on the side of our blog. We are accepting any type of donation and will be sending one of our (randomly selected) friends a Wii as a thank you gift for donating. For every $5 increment, we will consider your name one time. Let's say for example that you donated $5 to our Abeni fund we would think of your name one time when we were randomly choosing who to whom to send the Wii. If you donated $10 and linked our blog from your blog we would think of you three times. So linking your blog or your facebook will help us remember you when it comes time to give the Wii away. You can donate any amount that you would like. We will be keeping track of all our friends and family who donate in an Excel spreadsheet so it will be easier to choose the Randomly selected friend. We will be randomly selecting the friend on the 7th of February 2010.

After you have donated and If you link our blog from yours:
Send a email with the link to your blog to: mathewsadoption@hotmail.com

And you link facebook to our blog just send an email through facebook to Ari or Michael.

UPDATE: Turns out lots of friends already have Wii's. So if you are the friend chosen and you already have a Wii, we will just send you a check for the amount of the Wii. Thanks again everyone.

15 months

Well as of today we have waited 15 months to be matched with our little girl. SIGH......... I have really been doing well with the wait (on the outside anyway.) But today being the first day of a new year and the 15 month mark has been hard. I really hope it isn't much longer till we see our little girls face.