Bored and tired of winter? Try this out to pass time.

Paint your cute little toe nails...

Kiss all your babies...

Put hair binders on your legs instead of pants....

Stick your snack in your toes....

Or just lounge in the ball pit!!

Medical Milestones

Amisha getting ready for her MRI...yes, mom even thinks I am cute in a hospital gown!

Amisha has been a busy girl conquering all her Dr. appointments. We were a little slow in getting started with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming shortly after getting home, but we are on a roll now. Monday she was evaluated by the school district, she completed the tests that both Matthew and Jonathan completed so I knew what was covered and I was ecstatic for her how well she did. I am not just saying this because I am her mother...she is so smart!!!! She tested out for a typical 34 mos. old. She is 39 mos. old. How can that be?!! She did better on some areas than the boys did and she is younger for the test. Mom is going to kick some serious lazy boy butts into gear.
On Tuesday we met the Physiatrist that the neurologist referred us to and she talked to us at length about schizencephaly and cerebral palsy. She was really happy to find all the neurological messages that are going to her left arm and leg, she thought she would really make gains with therapy. Then we went through the same OT testing she did at the school and she did even better there. She completes tasks such as drawing a circle, opening a bottle, putting a string through tiny beads etc. She only has the right hand!!! Not only that, but how does she understand what you ask her when she has only been learning MN english for 2 months!! Even the OT person was really impressed. Then she had her hips x-rayed, a cast for a leg brace for the left leg to help her left leg have a normal gait, and was scheduled for botox injections in the left arm during her MRI today. The botox we loosen up her left arm muscles to use the left hand more. Eventually they will cast the right arm so she can't use it, mom will be put under for that. (ha ha) We managed to fit in a post placement visit before we left for the MRI. The MRI went great. I was apprehensive with her not being able to eat and having to be put under. She didn't complain once about not eating and when they administered the anesthesia with the mask she just sat and smiled at me, even the nurses couldn't believe how sweet she was.
Her speech is even coming along. She has a small list of words she uses now, my favorite is of course, "ma".
So, we still have to conquer the PT eval, speech eval, hearing test, vision test, fit the leg brace, MRI follow-up......and the list goes on.
The dear sweet girl could not be a better patient. Blessings to all who are praying for her.

Happy New Year!!

Taking on the boys.

Staying warm.

Our first time in a pool....we love the swimsuit and hate the pool.

So cute.
As we look back at the past year that held excitement, big decisions, and A LOT of paperwork we are so thankful for everything the Lord has done through us and for us. I don't think Kyle and I could express what a blessing adoption is. Amisha is doing really well. She is eating well, growing and becoming more trusting of us every day. She is doing amazing well with her motor skills with her left side weakness. There is only a few things she can't do to keep up with her typical peers it just takes a little longer. She has taken some nasty spills while running and has numerous split lips and eggs on the forehead. She has fabulous receptive speech and can say a few words now. She points and gestures to tell you everything she needs. The extent of her brain abnormality seems to be mainly effecting her speech as well as a developmental delay aka mild mental retardation. She hasn't had any sign of seizures yet and for that we praise the Lord. She has an MRI, vision, hearing and more cognitive testing coming in the next few months. As anyone that has adopted, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Is there anyone out there that can turn back the aging process and give me $25,000 dollars? Ha Ha!!!
If anyone is considering adopting and maybe even a sweetheart with special needs I would grab your hand and run with you every step of the way and tell you at the end you couldn't imagine how happy and in love you will be....

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...Eph 3:20
(that's you...if you let God work through you He will do more than you ask or could even imagine)

The blessings during a cold and snowy winter...

Jonathan and Amisha both love the snow.  Kyle and I buried them during 1 of our many driveway snow removals this winter.

Posing in front of the manger after Jonathan's Christmas program at preschool.

Getting ready for Grandma and Grandpa to come over..we get to open our first Christmas present.

Christmas morning!!  Can anyone have a bigger smile than that!!

After a flurry of opening our little mama is taking care of one of her babies.