Been Awhile

Yikes! I have been neglecting my blog lately! Well, the good news is that we have our I-797, so as soon as I go get our documents apostilled... we can send off our dossier. Well... We still need to raise $2000. By the end of next week. That is MY goal, because I don't feel that we have any right to keep Valerie waiting for a family any longer than necessary! My little girl needs to come home ASAP! So please pray that we will be able to raise the $2000 we need. We are selling our Saturn and our truck to pay for adoption expenses- if we sell both vehicles for what we'd like to get, we will have enough to pay the remainder of our agency fees and we will only need to raise the money for the trips. Trip two will be easy because I will have enough time between trip one and two to save. Trip one and the agency fees are the big deal, especially since we need $2000 ASAP (a total of $4000, we have $2000 in savings) and then another $4000 in about a month. I am confident that our Lord is faithful and that He will provide. :) But a little prayer never hurt.
Our other news- Aiden was diagnosed with a food allergy. He is allergic to corn. This has proved to be incredibly difficult. I struggle with getting him to eat daily as well as finding things that are corn free. Corn seems to be in EVERYTHING. It is the main filler in the United States! If you look at the ingredients list of an item- any time you see caramel color, maltodextrin, food starch, or citric acid- chances are those are CORN based! So it's not just the obvious I have to be on the look out for! Initially I thought, oh corn isn't bad, at least it isn't dairy- but wait! Another mom informed me that it COULD be dairy, too- because sometimes a person can be so sensitive they can't have things like eggs or dairy- because the animals they come from eat corn!!! For now I am only cutting out obvious corn ingredients, working my way up to the possible ones, like citric acid. Aiden will have another endoscopy in 6-8 weeks and if his esophagus is still looking bad, our next step is to cut out dairy. :( I have NO idea how that will be possible!! Right now Aiden will reliably eat cheese. And peanut butter. I did find a few yummy corn free recipes- pizza hut style pizza, home made mac and cheese, and some bread that is corn free. He is eating a little better than he was! :)
He is such a trooper and I am so proud of him! He is starting to try new things, maybe no big deal for some kids, but major for him! He tried my home made mac and cheese, something he has refused to do in the past! He also tried organic fruit snacks today and decided he likes them! He tried organic lollipops yesterday and loves those, too. He is discovering that there are yummy substitutes and that he doesn't need to have his same brands. :)
In other big news, Kieran is walking pretty good these days! He takes more and more steps all the time and somehow when I wasn't looking... he is now walking more than he crawls. How did I miss it? Did I blink??? He is such a little stinker. He gets into everything and then when I look at him, he turns on the charm with that dimpled smile and those big blue eyes!
Elijah has learned a new word. What. "Elijah, no." "No, what?" "Elijah, don't hit." "Elijah don't hit what?" Lol! He has been struggling recently, I think the whole summertime craziness, schedules changing all the time is tough on him. His speech therapist went on vacation, then his behavioral therapist went on vacation... Poor baby! He is so amazing, though. He acquires new skills and words all the time. He is now feeding himself completely and while he is quite messy, it is a big accomplishment! He suckered me for a scoop of ice cream tonight, even though he didn't quite finish his dinner. He and Aiden have those huge brown eyes, I can't resist them! :) (Besides, they ARE skinny, they can use the calories!)
Evan is doing okay in Afghanistan. He is currently gaming one night a week, they may be able to do it two nights a week and that is SUCH a big stress reliever for him! I am so thankful that he has this opportunity to just relax and have a bit of fun. He received the mattress topper I purchased for him and he says he is sleeping a lot better now. :) He is still getting sick from the food frequently, but hopefully the food gets better!! He has received a few care packages and he is so thankful for the support of friends and family. I know he is really homesick, but he seems to be doing a bit better these days. I am so proud of him. Some days I think that I have it hard, dealing with the day to day life stuff and the kid issues, etc., but at least I have that. I am here with the kids. I am not missing anything (besides Evan of course). I am in the thick of things. He may not have to deal with a dirty house and screaming children, but that is exactly what he is missing. That's exactly what he WANTS to be doing, not living in a plywood tent and eating food that makes him sick, providing communications and missing a year of his children's lives. So yeah... Sometimes I think I got the short end of the stick... But most of the time, I know that HE did. He is so selfless, too. He refuses to spend more than $20 every two weeks on himself- and a lot of the time I have to coax him into taking $20 for himself!
And lastly... I am going to ask for your prayers in another adoption matter. We have been considering adopting a second child. We are uncertain as to what we should do but we are open to God's will. Will you pray with us that He would show us what His will is for our family and that we would not be hesitant in doing His will? Thank you so much for your prayers and support! :)