Serious, Silly and Yummy...in one post.

Serious
We have the greatest friends...some near, some far, some old, some new.  While we were in Ethiopia we made wonderful, lifelong friends.  Friends that understand what we are going through and what God has called us to.  On our second trip to Ethiopia, we met the Seever's and became fast friends.  Jeff and Katie live in Ohio, have 4 bio kids, and are adopting 2 unrelated siblings from Ethiopia, Bedilu (4) and Meron (2).  They have been submitted to Embassy for their daughter, Meron, but their son's case is more complicated and Embassy wants more information.  Sound familiar?  Yeah, it does to me to.  Please join us in PRAYING for this awesome family that means so much to us.  My heart breaks for them because I know EXACTLY how this feels.  Bedilu and Meron need to come home to their family, soon! Please pray that the information is easily accessible, that all authorities will be on top of this situation, and that Jeff and Katie will have peace that passes all understanding.
 

    We have reached a major milestone, folks!  We can now ride through our town without Owen mentioning something about the tornado, tornado damage, or talking about one of the buildings affected by the tornado.  Five months later, my 4-year-old is starting to heal from that awful tragedy.  Praise God!

We had a great first week of school....hectic, but great.  Here are a few pics taken last week.

Silly

Just in the last week, I have learned that Riley does a great Elmo impression.  Funny how having a baby in the house again changes things!  It is so realistic that I have caught myself wondering "Who turned on Sesame Street?".  It is quite hilarious!  She also has a monkey imitation that makes everyone go into hiding....except Cooper....he loves both.

If you have seen my statuses on Facebook about Walker's "Rules in Life", I have one to add....#323 Sisters always know where missing shoes are.


Yummy
So, I stumbled upon (o.k., o.k. I found it on Pinterest) this fabulous blog, Delightful Order.  It is all about organization.  Each room of her house is organized to the nth degree. And when I mean organized, I mean every. single. item has a place (actually more like a box, bin, tote, or basket!).  It is so cool and has inspired me to get busy here.  I'm starting small...the laundry room, and I'm already loving the results. (Yes, this definitely falls in the "yummy" category...just for you Amy Pierce)

Crockpot recipes are my fav!  I love them. I love the fact that I don't have to slave in the kitchen for 2 hours prior to dinner time.  I love the way they make my house smell all day. So, recently I found a recipe for Slow Cooker Pork Roast.  I'm sharing the recipe with you, because I believe it is the bomb!  And, probably the best thing about it, is the fact that you can prepare the roast, freeze it, pull it out to thaw overnight and the next morning plop it in the crockpot. Bonus!  So, literally, I spent 5 minutes on dinner!

Slow Cooker Pork Roast
1 pork roast (about 2 lbs.)
1/4 cup paprika
2 T kosher salt
2 T black pepper
1 T garlic powder
1 T dry mustard
1/2 c. liquid smoke
barbeque sauce for serving

Place pork roast in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Mix seasonings well, and sprinkle on meat.  Rub in and shake the bag to coat evenly. Add liquid smoke. Freeze or cook immediately. Cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Meat will be pull-apart tender.  Serve with warmed barbeque sauce.  Great for sandwiches or my favorite, bbq nachos!

Happy at Home.

It's been a while.  My last post was written and posted the day that our town was torn apart by an F5 tornado.  So much has happened since then.  Here is my attempt at catching up....
(Disclaimer...a lot of medical info in this post.  Just in case you are easily bored. :)

In March, we had just gotten back from our first of two trips to Ethiopia.  In April, we were submitted to Embassy and thought we would only have to wait a couple of weeks at the most.  Ha! You can read all about our wait on Tim's blog.  I will say that this was probably the hardest time in my life, but also a time where I am confident that I learned so much about myself, my relationship with the Lord and what it means to truly trust Him.  At the end of July (110 days later), we were finally able to return to Ethiopia to pick Cooper up.  We arrived in Ethiopia on the July 16th and had an Embassy Date of July 20th.  We were there a total of 9 days and came home on the 24th.  We had a wonderful travel group...I think 11 families in all....made wonderful memories with them and will remain friends for life with these people.  

Between our first and second trips, we were told by America World's in-country staff that the doctors at the Transition Home wanted to do an MRI on Cooper.  He was 12 months old and not showing any interest in walking, or crawling, for that matter.  After doing the MRI, they later told us that they felt he had cerebral palsy.  Of course, this was a huge shock to us and not OUR plan.  Yes, we had said yes to a child with HIV, but CP??  I didn't think I was capable of handling a special needs child, especially one that may never walk!  After several weeks of worrying/praying/researching, we finally decided there was nothing we could do from here about it, and there was no way we would say no to him.  In fact, that never crossed our minds.  Cooper is our son and this was God's plan from the beginning.  Period.  We did talk to several doctors and therapists, learning that there are several types of CP and large spectrums within each type....ranging from very mild to very severe.  At one point, we were so tired of waiting just to be cleared by Embassy, that I even remember blocking out all the diagnoses and focusing on just getting him home.  We could think about the other later.  And that's exactly what we did.  

Now we are home and Cooper is doing great!  We spent a good 2 weeks laying low, bonding and attaching, letting him learn who Mommy and Daddy are before we were in huge crowds of people.  After having him in our care for only 2 days, he started army crawling.  Props go to Timmy D for this one!  I had stepped out of the room for a few minutes and just like that, therapy had begun. :) His left side is much weaker, so he will rarely grasp any object with his left hand. But, he has started pulling up from a kneeling position and he can sit up on his own for a few seconds. He also, LOVES to push a laundry basket while knee-walking. We have started Early Intervention, too.  His PT is also a good friend of ours and goes to church with us.  So thankful that she is treating Cooper and praying for him at the same time!   It's all about baby steps, people, and we are so grateful for them!

A few weeks ago, we spent an afternoon at Dr. Metz's office (pediatric ophthalmologist).  He examined Cooper and determined that there is some scarring on Cooper's left eye (the one that crosses) which has left him with only peripheral vision, but his right eye looks good.  He will probably have surgery later on to move the muscles, but it would only be for cosmetic purposes...nothing can be done about the loss of vision in that eye. Dr. Metz suspects that he has had toxoplasmosis at some point in his life.  This is the disease that cats carry and why they tell you when you are pregnant not to change the cat litter box.  In developing countries (like Ethiopia), people can contract the disease from undercooked meat, and moms can pass it on to their babies. Toxoplasmosis can cause brain damage and vision impairment in children with HIV.  SO.....this is a probable cause of his cerebral palsy.

On August 14, we were admitted to Children's Hospital for tests.  Cooper had an MRI (to rule out possible TB around his brain), CT scan, chest x-ray (again, to rule out TB), spinal tap...twice (to determine if the toxoplasmosis is dormant or active), and 10 vials of blood drawn!  This baby was put through the ringer!

Just this past Monday, we went for our follow-up visit with Dr. Hutto (Cooper's HIV doc. Cooper was under her care in the hospital).  She still doesn't know much about the toxoplasmosis...still waiting on those results. However, his HIV counts were back.  His CD4 count (white blood cell count) looked really good and was pretty high.  His viral load was not so good.  This is the amount of virus that is detectable in his blood.  Ideally, this number should be under 48....meaning there are trace amounts of the virus and the person is labeled "undetectable".  Cooper's viral load was 700,000.  Now pick your chin up off the floor.....there is nothing to fret over just yet.  Dr. Hutto thinks that he may be resistant to one, maybe two of his meds.  We will go back in 2 weeks to find out which one(s) she is going to change.

Whew!  That's where we are right now.  Taking one day at a time and enjoying every minute of it.  

So thankful that God has entrusted Tim and I with this precious child.  I feel honored.