Thursday's Update on Miles

I'm assuming no news is good news.

In other words, we've had no updates since last night...and that one was pretty good.

God is still working miracles.

The little guy wasn't breathing or responding when they pulled him from the water. The moms sitting by the pond did CPR and by the time the squad arrived, Miles was starting to gasp for air.

He really didn't respond to them at all that first night.

By last night, he was awake and, by the sounds of it, acting pretty good.

Never mind. I just had an e-mail come through with an up to date update from his parents.

I'll post it here.....

Miles had another good night and we continue to be amazed at this little guy. We just met with the doctors and had another good report. They see no sign of any brain damage! Lung health & infection is still a concern. They continue to suction lots of goop out of his lungs. The nurse teased and said she thought she suctioned a minnow or a tadpole yesterday. :)They are weaning him off of the ventilator and hope to remove it sometime tomorrow. He is still being sedated. Continue to pray for healing in Miles lungs and body and for strength and courage for us. Nurse says its bath time so gotta go...
Words cannot express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father and to you all for you love, support and prayers!


So there you have it!!!

As I said, God is still in the business of working miracles.

Praise Him for all.

On another note, could you please offer a little prayer for Justice Hudson? She is, as I type, undergoing surgery for a brain tumor. She is 13 years old. They will find out soon if it is malignant or benign.

Thank you all so very much.

Morning Update

Little Miles is hanging in there! He had a good night. He grabbed at his tubes which is a good sign, however they sedate him more when this happens because they need him quiet! The brain has not swelled yet but still could within the next 24 hours. They put a pic line in yesterday so they can be prepared when his little heart stops since it is beating irregular and this could happen. Kidneys are working great. Lungs are struggling with the dirty pond water. Infection will most likely happen. Still critical! This is my interpretation of the situation, however our all-powerful God can bring healing to every conceivable situation. We are feeling all your special prayers for all of us!


The above is what I just received in an e-mail from Miles' aunt.

It sounds good right now, but we all know that things can change in a heartbeat.

I ask for special prayers, not only for Miles and his family, but also for all the other ladies and children who were at the pond when this happened. I can't imagine how they all must be feeling when Addie has been asking all manner of questions and we weren't even there.

Please continue the prayers....

Update on Miles

Still heavily sedated.

Still in critical condition.

Will know more within 24 hours.

Please continue to pray. Not only for Miles but also for his parents and his three older brothers and one older sister.

God is ABLE!!!

Urgent Prayer Request!!!

A family at our church is currently at a childrens hospital in a nearby city waiting to hear word on their little boy who was found in too deep of water while they were swimming today.

I don't know any details, I just know that they need prayer. At some point he was breathing 90% of the time on his own, but was unresponsive.

The little boy is a mere couple weeks younger than Jack.

His name is Miles.

Please join us in prayer.

Any Interest?

Quite some time back I mentioned that I jumped into a new role in a newly formed non-profit organization called Orphans At Play. I'm still swimming around, simply trying to keep my head above the water.

It's really something that I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that I would volunteer for.

Never.

But God had other plans.

Obviously, our hearts are drawn to orphans....the orphans in Russia in particular. I don't know why there, other than the simple fact that all of our children were born and partially raised there.

Part of my heart still is there.

I can picture the time when we took Addie from the only home she could remember. I looked back at the baby home, tears threatening, and glanced up at the window of her room.

There, standing in the window with the curtain pulled back, was a small child peering out at us. The caregiver came quickly to snatch the child away from the window, but I'll never forget that picture. It's locked in my mind. The yellowed lace curtain held back by a pudgy little hand. The sad little face peering down on the driveway.

Right there in the top center window. While my camera wasn't quick enough to catch the little face, my mind certainly was.

I'll always wonder what thoughts were running through the mind of that child.

I'll never know.

I remember another time in her baby home when there were several children standing around us. We were in her room snapping a group picture with the children who lived with her. Several of them got as close to us as they could before the caregivers came along...all calling us Mama and Papa.

I wanted to snatch them all up and race out the door.

The children sat around their little tables with us standing behind them...but two of the little punkins wouldn't turn around to look at the camera. They were too busy looking at us.

I wish I knew exactly what was racing through their little minds.

I know that I can't bring home every single orphan in Russia. I know that I can't bring home every child that we left behind...even in the three baby homes that we were in.

I know that. But it doesn't make it any easier. Rarely does a day pass without me thinking of the children who don't have families. The children who watch little friends leave with new families. The children who perhaps wonder if their turn will ever come.

So. Since I can't bring them all home with me, I'll do the next best thing. I'll pray for them...and I'll do all I can to let them know from afar that they are loved.

We're in the beginning stages of this Orphans At Play thing. There's going to be several fund raisers launched in an effort to fund the grandma programs there in the Vlad area. I'll be sure to let you know when that time comes.

However, before that time, I have a question. It's a simple question.

Very simple.

Part of my 'job' is to make sure that we get a shipment of diaper rash cream (any brand) to the baby homes in Primorsky Region (Vlad and surrounding areas) every month. That is totally dependent on when families are traveling and on how much they can carry with them, but I have to have the stuff to send on when it's time.

And now, the question.

Would there be any interest in making some pledges? A one time donation of any amount would be great, but I'd really like to have some pledges on a monthly basis.

Not tons. Perhaps just 2 tubes. Maybe 5. 10 if you'd like.

It doesn't matter to me.

All that matters to me is that I have the stuff to send over there as I have promised to do.

How is this loving on the orphans, you ask? Perhaps it's not a hug. Not a kiss. But at least those little babies will have bottoms that no longer hurt.

That has to be something.

So.

Any interest?

At all?

If so, you can either leave a comment or you can e-mail me at jjgarber03@yahoo.com. I can get you my address so you know where to send it every month.

If ya'll pledge to exceed the needed amount each month...don't worry. That just means that we'll be able to expand the delivery route. Instead of just one baby home reaping the benefits, we could have several baby homes with happier babies.

How I would love to inform my cohorts that we have too many tubes for just the one baby home.

Thank you in advance.

God bless you all.

How's Jack?

I'm so glad you asked.

I can honestly say that if every child adjusted this quickly and easily we'd be diving back into the paperwork. Maybe. I'd have to run that past Jason, of course.

But seriously. He has become a part of our family so effortlessly that I can scarcely believe that a short six months ago he wasn't even here in our family. Oh, he was a part of our family. Don't get me wrong. We just didn't have the privelege of being able to squeeze his chubby little tummy whenever we so desired. We were at the mercy of another country.

Now? We squeeze him all the time. All of us. Including Will. Well, when he isn't screeching at him for stealing his toys or pushing him down when he ventures into Will's territory.

Addie has decided that she is a big girl now. Big enough to lug Jack around all over our property. I don't agree. She weighs a mere 10 pounds more than he does and frankly? I don't think she's quite that tough. But I can't get her to agree with me. Jack tolerates it, and I simply don't watch. Unless she tries to go down the steps or something.

He's finally no longer sleeping in our bed with us. Not that it was terrible, just a little cramped. If a person didn't mind sleeping with feet jammed into the outside of the tummy, it really wouldn't be too bad at all, actually. Me? I kind of like my space, so that feet in tummy thing wasn't really my idea of fun. I wouldn't say that I'm getting that much more sleep than I was when he was in bed with us though. He's now sleeping on a mattress on the floor right beside our bed and every time he cries I get up to pat his back. Some nights I get to sleep the whole night through....other nights I'm up every hour. Similar to what I hear about new babies. :)

He rises nearly every morning about 6:00 and trots out of our bedroom with both thumbs in his mouth. I find him perched on the window seat in the dining room looking out the window. Sometimes crying. Sometimes grinning at who knows what.

He still eats like a trooper, but is becoming the typical American child. The kind of child who realizes that there are better options than sweet potatoes and bananas out there. The kind of child who cries and cries trying to get his mommy to realize just how much he doesn't like the food in his bowl. Perhaps his mommy should be a little kinder and prepare the poor child some of his very favorite foods for every meal, but she just doesn't have it in her. At this house, the cook (that would be me) cooks three meals a day. Take them or leave them. But if you choose to leave them you'll be one hungry person til the next meal rolls around. Even the nearly two year old has had to learn that the hard way. Now we may have lots of gagging and crying, but he eats anyway. Sorry if that sounds mean. Not really though. Cooking simply isn't one of my favorite things to do (in fact, I have been known to forget that it is even meal time....like tonight when one of the children mentioned how hungry she was and I looked at the clock only to realize that it was 5:59 and supper needed to be on the table in exactly one minute. And supper wasn't even started.) and I don't think it hurts a child to learn to eat what is set before them. Call me old school, I guess.

Back to Jack.

On top of sleeping in his own 'bed', he is also feeding himself. Like the sleeping alone thing, he wasn't too cracked on this change in plans. He really enjoyed having two free hands during meal time. He liked having Mommy serve him. He kind of preferred to be a little lazy. The first few meals he actually would grunt around and finally hand me the spoon. He caught on that if he was going to get any food he would have to feed himself. He does a super job. It pretty much all hits his mouth.

Still no coherent talking out of him, but the babble is constant. He tries to talk. Oh my, does he try. Unfortunately, it comes out all sounding the same. He gets frustrated. I laugh. He gets more frustrated. I stop laughing and try harder. He resorts to hand motions and sometimes grabbing me by the hand to drag me to show me what he means. He gets his point across and all are happy. Frankly? I love the fact that he can't really talk yet. It keeps him in the 'baby' stage a little longer and it means that there are only two talking non-stop rather than three. :)

He's gotten smart enough to figure out how to open the door and sneak outside. It's happened several times. I'm slowly learning that the door must be locked if I plan to keep him inside. He would live out there. Unfortunately, he's taken a real liking to the middle of the road, so he simply can't be outside unless I am out there with him. I'd love to send him out with the other two, but they get busy and tend to forget that he's out there. It's just not worth it. Plus. When he doesn't head for the road he heads for the water. That isn't much safer, in my opinion. Even if it is only eight inches deep.

The 'honeymoon' phase appears to be over with him. Many children who are brought home from an orphanage go through a phase that they are good as gold. They listen immediately. They try to do everything just as mom and dad expect.

No more. We are seeing his true colors. While he is still the fun-loving, giggling boy that we've always known, he now sprinkles in his version of a temper tantrum. We say no, he starts flapping his hands like a little bird. We say to stop, he glares. We say anything that he doesn't exactly like, the whining starts. The whining starts, he gets sent to bed. He lies in bed screeching and hollering and finally emerges happy as a lark. Which will last several hours and then we start all over again!!

He's still most definitely a momma's boy. Most definitely. He adores his daddy. When he hears Jason's pick-up rounding the corner right up the road he squeals and races to the door. If Jason is in the house he's hanging all over him. But at the end of the day, when he's tired, only mommy will do the trick. We try to let others hold him (Grandma, Uncle Ivan, etc.) but IF he goes to them at all, it only lasts a few seconds. We are so thankful. There's nothing quite like having a little child know who mommy is and choosing mommy over all others.

And, oh yes, we have completed his first post placement report. And he's growing. Rapidly. Last week when we took him to the doctor he had grown a full two inches since we had him there in February. He'd only gained one pound but that's understandable since he's getting so much taller. He's actually hit the fifth percentile....which is more than either of the other two can say. :)

What a blessing he has been to our little family. How thankful we are that we stepped out in faith, not knowing exactly how this was all going to work. What an awesome God we serve.

Only the God that we serve could have possibly orchestrated our little family. Three children from across the world. Three children.

Some days I could just sit and stare at them for the whole day. Other days I wonder what we got ourselves into. But every day, I thank God that He chose us to be the family for each of these little souls.

The Farm Kids Swim

You'd think we lived in the olden days around here. And really, sometimes I have to wonder myself if we've not gone back in time.

Nowadays who has the multitudes of animals that reside on our little farm? Sheep, lambs (grand total of about 65), chickens, dogs, cats, kitten, and mini horse (who is looking for a new home. He's turned into a real meany...biting, knocking the children down, etc...and I'm not comfortable sending the children out with him anymore. Anyone interested?!).

But what really makes me feel like we've stepped back in time is the 'pool' that our children swim in.

It wasn't my intention to make them swim in the cow tank this summer. I headed to the basement to drag out the pool that they'd used for the last two years and remembered that it had popped last fall. But I'd told them that they could swim.

What to do.

I headed to the barn and there, full of dust and barn stuff, sat this most lovely water tank. We cleaned it out, filled it with water, and presto! We had us a pool.

It's a little small.

But that certainly doesn't stop them from enjoying the water.

They even rigged up a diving board...though I never saw them dive. Thankfully.

It took much skill to use the diving board. They jumped, turned in mid air, and landed perfectly. Only a few times did I see them exit while rubbing some odd part of their body.

I didn't watch too much. It's one of those things that you can't help but peek at, but it makes the stomach churn if you watch too much. It seemed a little better while I was peering through my lens.

They baptized each other over and over. Will was the main preacher and dunked his sister heartily while singing at the top of his lungs. He laid his hands on her head to pray. They hugged til they nearly fell down...and then the roles would swap. Will, baptizee....Addie, baptizer. Didn't go so well. The preacher had to sit on the baptizee's back in order to get him under. The baptizee ended up sitting on the edge of the 'pool' pouting cause he didn't want to be baptized after all. Not a real good experience for him.

When they tired of swimming, they dragged out their 'trampoline'. Yet another item on our farm that makes me feel as if we are living 'back in time'.

Our poor children are deprived. No real pool. No real trampoline. Just a cow water tank and an old tube from a tractor tire.

But. They love it. For now. Until they discover that other moms and dads actually buy their children pools and trampolines.

Really, though.

I don't think Will would like a real trampoline half as much. He couldn't be a true little brother pest and tip his sister off if they were on a big ole tramp.