Update

It is hard to believe that it has been over four months since we arrived home with Addie. Several times Ann and I have talked about how quickly and easily Addie has transitioned into our family. It is fills my heart with joy to see all three kids together playing. We are thankful to God for the way he has brought our family together. We realize it has been a while since we updated the blog so we thought we would try to briefly tell about the last three months. 

Lyndsay and Addie at Landon's awards day

After we got home it took several weeks for all of us to get back sleeping and functioning on a normal schedule. We got back just in time for Lyndsay and Landon to finish their last week of school. Both enjoyed seeing their friends and telling them about our trip. And they were both very excited to show off their new sister. When the week was over though I think they were glad to be able to sleep in. 

 

                                  

Landon showing his class the things he got in China

Lyndsay's backbend

We thought with school being out things would slow down, but it didn't. A couple of weeks after school was out Lyndsay had her dance recital. Lyndsay loves dance and she continues to get better all the time. She did a fantastic job at her recital.  

        

Ballet

  

 A week later she had a minor surgery on her knee. The doctor said it would be sore, but she could dance the same afternoon. There was no way she could have danced that night. She was in a lot of pain for a couple of days, and it took about a week or so for her to really get up and going. I think the best thing for her was the two weeks she spent at camp. It really forced her to be more active and to exercise her leg. 

Lyndsay and Landon spent the first two weeks of July at Winshape Camp at Berry College. They both had a blast. Lyndsay loved the rock climbing and horseback riding. She also learned to cook and how to make pottery. Landon enjoyed the soccer and flag football. Landon also learned to cook and won the golden spoon in his group. Both enjoyed the swimming and of course the sock war. It is an all around great camp experience. The best part is that as they are making new friends and enjoying the camp experience they are also helping them to deepen their faith and have a closer relationship with Christ.

Lyndsay's cabin mates at camp

  

Sock War

Now both have started back to school. So far they are both off to a good start. Landon was disappointed to find out he did not have the same teacher as last year. It only took one day to decide he liked his new teacher. Lyndsay is enjoying school and her new teachers also. This is the first year Lyndsay will have exams and she is working hard to have straight A's and not miss any days so that she can exempt them.

Addie has made amazing progress since we have been home. She was able to sit up, but was not very mobile. If she fell over she could not sit back up. She quickly learned to roll and would roll from one side of the room to the other. She then learned to scoot around on her belly. She then began to scoot around while sitting up on her bottom. It is pretty funny to watch this, and she has gotten very quick. She has also learned to crawl, but usually prefers to scoot on her bottom. On Father's Day she pulled herself up for the first time. She has started taking a few steps while holding on to something, but still has not walked on her own. She still has a ways to go, but she has come so far in a very short time. She has picked up a couple of dozen words that she uses pretty regular and she will often try to repeat whatever is said. She loves music. Her two favorite songs for a while were Jesus Loves Me and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Lately her favorite has been Happy Birthday. It is so precious to hear her just begin singing.

Addie has had her own busy summer. In about two months she made over a dozen trips to the doctor. She has been to her pediatrician, the adoption clinic in Birmingham, a cardiologist, neurologist, an eye doctor, and had an MRI that resulted in a trip to the ER that about scared us to death. They had found what they thought was blood and water on her brain. After a couple of hours they sent us home and said the doctor would call tomorrow. The doctor did not call the next day or the next. He called about a week later to say they had overreacted at the MRI and while she did have some blood and water on her brain it was only minimal and not enough to worry about. Thanks for letting us know so quickly and for scaring us to death. We have also learned she is on the lower end of height and weight for her age, which was not a surprise. 

The reason for so many of Addie's appointments is that she has a form of spina bifida. Recently we were back in Birmingham for a couple of tests and a follow up with the neurologist. She was scheduled for a renal ultrasound and then a urodynamics test. The ultrasound showed that she had abnormal kidneys which could cause a few problems. They would be able to confirm that with the urodynamics test, but Addie has a bladder infection so they could not do the test. That has been rescheduled for late October. One of the things we will learn from this test is whether or not she will be able to potty train. 

After the test we left Children's Hospital and drove across town to Children's South for our neuro appointment. The doctor was hoping to have the results of the test today before we moved forward.  The main purpose of the visit was to schedule surgery for her tethered cord. The doctor says this is fairly common in children with spina bifida. Since we had the test rescheduled we went ahead and planned surgery for the beginning of November. We expect her to be in the hospital for 4 days or so after the surgery. Then several weeks of recovery here at home. So on one hand Addie is doing extremely well and has made tremendous progress since being home, but on the other she has a long road ahead of her. 

So as we move ahead we continue to trust God who has brought us to this point. We have been amazed as we watched Him work at various times along the way of this process and now as we look ahead we want to continue to focus on Him. Thanks for reading and following our story. We will try to keep you up to date on how things are progressing. Most of all thanks for your prayers.