Monthly Archives: May 2016
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Goals Revisited: Part 2
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If you missed the first part of this post check out Goals Revisited: Part 1
Valor (Old Goals)
- Gaining weight Still working on this even with me giving him extra calories. Recently several of our adopted children have tested for a certain parasite so we are starting to test children who have problems gaining weight, like Valor. I have a feeling his test will come back positive and hopefully with some meds we can clear it up and get back on a better track
- Working on a resting hand splint to get hand in neutral position He wears an arm brace daily. Also currently working on getting him a back brace to help with his scoliosis
- Weight bearing on arms Although he hates this we try to work on it a couple times a week
- Basic communication. Choosing between 2 objects and using switch to make choices Valor has started using a switch to request more, which is huge!
- Better positioning while laying on bed He is spending more time in his bean bag which puts him in a better position
- Getting out into community more He has gotten out more recently! Still something I need to work on but getting strollers into and out of autos is hard!
Moving Forward: Valor is making some good progress in the communication area and I would love to see more progress in that area. I need to figure out what the best position is for his switch and explore getting an iPad with a Bluetooth switch to use for him. Also he still needs to gain weight! He’s so skinny despite my best attempts.
Julie (old Goals)
- Gaining weight! Figuring out emotional or physical reasons behind refusal of rice. Julie is finally gaining weight! She’s even got a bit of a belly and I love it
- Self feeding 50% of the time She self feeds 100% of the time now!
- Learning more English words and alphabet She says about 20 English words and understands more. She’s got A, B, C, and D down in the alphabet.
- Counting to 10 She can count up to 4 when she feels like it
- Building strength back so she can hold her head up for more than a minute Julie blew this goal out of the water as she is crawling around everywhere!
- Figuring out where she stands academically and a plan for her schooling She is still so stubborn it can be hard to tell where she is academically but she is attending an afternoon enrichment class that seems to be good for her!
Moving Forward: Physically I would like to see Julie start gaining more strength so that she can move around better with either a walker or some other device. She is getting there and we have a great physical therapist working with her. I also need to enroll her in a extra curricular activity because now that Darren is gone her only play mate is Caden and I’ve noticed recently she has regressed to his level. Ideally she needs someone a step ahead of her to challenge her as she is just so stubborn!
Julie helping me bake a cake! (WordPress insists on turning these photos sideways despite my best attempts)
Darren (Old Goals)
- Looking into schools for him
- Working on standing more and building leg strength
- Mastering alphabet and spelling his name
Darren was making some great progress with school and standing but his mom (one of my caregivers) choose to leave. It’s a complicated situation with many layers to it and my biggest fear is that he is in danger due to the choices of others. I’ve been praying for him and his mom every night and hope that we will hear from them at some point to know they are okay.
House Goals
- Switching completely over to cloth diapers We are using cloth diapers all the time now!
- Better cleaning and organization We’ve been better at sanitizing toys and making sure that everything is more clean. As far as organization goes we try. It’s just not my strong suit.
- More outings with kids I think we did better this past 6 months!
- Taking more photos of the kids I got a new camera and I have been better at getting photos of the kids
- Get all the kids 50% sponsored (or more) We have gained several child sponsor but many of my kids still need monthly sponsors. Please visit this post for more information about being a sponsor!
Moving Forward: Now that my house has hit a stride of sorts my goal is to work on quality so every child is getting everything that they need.
Personal Goals
- No more weird infections
I made it to this point with just some stomach problems and one cold so I think I can say I accomplished this. Also my foot is 100% healed and I do not appear to have any long term problems! - Being better about having personal time and sticking to it I failed at this goal which is probably why i’m so exhausted now!
- Better nutrition. More fresh fruit and veggies for me and the kids I have been better at getting fresh fruit and yogurt which has made a big difference for me!
- Blogging more I’ve been averaging about a blog a week which is pretty good for me!
Moving Forward: I have to get better about guarding my personal time. I have a plan for how to do it and now I have to stick to it!
The past 6 months have flown by! I leave to go back home for 5 weeks in a week from today. Although I’m very ready for some rest and good food I am not ready to leave the kids. Initially I made a year commitment to SCH but now that I’m at the end of my first year I can easily say that God is not done using me in India yet. Although its hard and some days I just want to quit at the end of the day I know this is exactly where God wants me for this season.
I will be back home for 5 weeks and as per usual will be collecting donations to bring back with me I have an amazon wishlist here and also need:
- Books (I get so tired of reading the same ones over and over again to the kids)
- EB wound care supplies (Mepilex, Tubiafast, Mepilex borders, etc)
- Sturdy, easy to clean toys and puzzles
- Craft supplies
- I would love to bring a bigger special needs stroller (like these) back to take my older kids on outings more easily. If anyone has any connections for a used one please let me know!
And I would love to meet with you, get coffee, chat about life, and show you so many photos of my children in India. I’m so thankful for all the support everyone has shown me over the past year, friends, family, and people I’ve never met in person. Thanks for being the village for these kids!
Letting My Light Shine 