Still Here

Sorry for not posting over the last month. I didn't mean to wait that long but I've been having trouble with me computer at home and can't post anything. Hopefully I've got that all worked out "time will tell".

We are all doing great. Shayla finished up her first year of preschool and is out of school this week. She really misses going to school and asked each day if she can go back. Summer school starts next week so she'll be excited to see all of her friends again.

Nathan still has school for two more weeks. He is very excited about moving on to first grade. He is doing a great job at school and we've had almost two weeks of good reports. He will miss school and seeing his friends.

Tomorrow we are off to Florida. My brother (Uncle John) got all of us tickets to see the space shuttle blast off. Nathan can not wait. It will be so good to see him. He has not seen Shayla since we got back from China last year.

Over this past month my heart has just been aching for China and all the earth quake victims and then the Chapman family. We have been praying for them daily. I can not imagine the pain of losing a child. I watch my kids play and smile each day. When they get on my last nerve I remember and rejoice that they are here. So many children and families have been torn apart over this past month. Please remember to lift up everyone to the Lord.

ROM
12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Julie

Going Back to Wednesday

Our one day last Wednesday has turned into a really off week for Nathan. I am spending most of my time trying to figure out why he goes from doing really well to suddenly not being able to funtion at school. I question what he eats, is the medication working or hurting him, I am doing something to make him act this way, is his diagnosis correct or is it something else completely, if so how do we fix it. The list goes on and on. My prayer is that we find out what it is and figure out a way to make it better. He is not able to tell me why he does the things he does. I want to believe that he is not able but it makes it really hard to help him get better when we don't even know why it is happening.

We started OT this week and hopefully this will help. I would love to talk with any parents that are having similar issues. His current diagnosis is ADHD, SID and PDD-NOS. One week he is great and life is wonderful the next day he is totally out of control either at home or at school. I just want him to be happy and be able to function in a why that he can reach his full potiential.

Julie

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that ShayLa is happy and her palate is healing. So far no holes and her speech is improving. I am also thankful for our great, loving dog Rudy.

Julie

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

Happy and enjoying life!

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days for Nathan. I wish as a parent I could make each day like the one he had at the beach this past summer. Every minute of the day was so exciting and happy. Having a child with special needs on the outside can be hard but when you never know exactly what is going on inside and how to help it is really hard. I keep asking God if He really thought I was the one who could best help Nathan. I would not change a thing but just wish we could get control over all of his issues. One day he is so good and happy and the next out of control and lost. This picture is for Nathan - I love you now and forever - no matter what!

Julie

Getting Back to Normal

Well we are getting back to normal. Spring Break is over for Nathan and Shay is back to her old self. They both went to school today. My computer at home would not let me post pictures and my lap top is acting up so I've not been able to get these up until now. Shay stayed home all week so we could be sure nothing went near her mouth. She has done a great job of not putting any thing in her mouth. She was so excited to get back to school today. She also has cheerleading tonight and can not wait to start cheering. The past two days she keeps telling me that on Monday she will be a cheerleader.

Nathan seemed happy to get back to school. The first couple of days were great fun not having to do anything but by the end of the week he was bored. He kept telling me yesterday that he was "VERY BORED" and wanted to go do something. Reading and school work was not his idea of a way to get over boredom. On Satuday both Nathan and Shay had great fun at Monkey Joe's.

I am still having trouble with my allergies and went to the doctor on Thursday. Even with the presciptions and other drugs my eyes are still watering and I am not back to normal. Hopefully the tree pollen will clear up over the next few weeks and that will help me get better.

We have our post-op appointment this Thursday and I pray that Shay's palate will be given the all clear. I have not noticed any holes but it is really hard to tell. She seems to be talking better and clearer. We will start speech therapy soon.

Julie

Allergy Season Has Hit Home

Sorry for not posting sooner. My allergies have been driving me crazy and my eyes are watering so much that I can't see very well. Yesterday I was feeling a little better so we went to the park and I paid for that all night. My eyes were stuck shut this morning so Nana is out with Nathan providing him some needed entertainment and ShayLa has a tent in the family room so she can watch movies in style.

ShayLa is doing well she seems to be completely pain free and back to herself. The only thing is the soft diet. She is not excited about her choice of food. She also wants to feed herself and I am suppose to do that for her until we return on April 17th. I have tried to put everything into her bunny mug so she can do it herself. Miss independent feels better but still wants to eat what everyone else is eating.

Well for some reason my computer doesnt want to allow pictures today. And I need to get back to my runny nose which has not stopped running for three days now. Hopefully I can add some pictures later.

Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes.
Julie

She Did Great THANK YOU FOR PRAYERS!

We are on the way to that wonderful smile again. She did great and looks pretty good. The recovery room was not much fun. She woke up very upset and angry. It took about an hour to calm her down and that did not really happen until we were in our room. The nurse let us remove her No No's and that seemed to end some of the anger. She is so independent and hated not being able to drink by herself. Right now everything looks great and we are getting ready to sleep. She's been very alert for what she has been through I was expecting her to sleep more. Thank you for every one's prayers and suggestions. They have all been very helpful. My adoptcleft yahoo group has helped prepare me for about every thing. If you have or are considering adopting a cleft child I would recommend joining the group. My hope is that we will update tomorrow from home. I just want to praise God for all that He has done. I am so thankful that I get to be ShayLa's mama. Nathan and Nana I hope to see both of you tomorrow. I love you both. Nathan I am so proud of you keep listening to Nana and have fun at school.

Julie

Waiting

Hi Well we got to check in at a earlier time but we didn't get into to surgery until 2:00 P.M. The nurse just said she is doing fine and they have put the ear tubes in and are working on her palate. God is working in that she did not ask to eat or drink the entire time until right before they took us back for the surgery. She was in a great mood but did not approve of the hospital attire they asked her to put on. She should be done around 5:00 p.m. and I will update later this evening. Thank you for all that are praying. We have a awesome God and she could not be in better hands.

Julie

Small Change in Plans but a Answer to Prayer

The main concern I had was the length of time that ShayLa had go with out eating. Later today the hospital called and changed her check in time from 12:00 noon to 10:45 a.m. That is an answer to prayer for me. ShayLa loves to eat so we stayed up and had a late evening snack at 9:30 p.m. Hopefully that will keep her until we get to the hospital. I will update the blog if possible tomorrow afternoon.

Julie

Surgery is a GO!

After much speculation everyone agreed that ShayLa is in good enough health to do the surgery tomorrow. So we have moved to our new hotel and will check into the hospital tomorrow at noon. The doctor said the surgery should take about 2 hours and if they put tubes in her ears it will be another 30 minutes. Around three hours for the entire process. ShayLa did a great job at pre-op and had everyone smiling.

We meet another family with a beautiful daughter from China that was at their post op appointment and she looked great. They made be feel more at peace and went over their story. Hopefully we will be able to get together later and let the girls play.

I will update the site tomorrow to let everyone know how she is doing. We would love everyone's prayers.

She is watching Dora and playing on the bed right now and we will be going out to look around later. Our first obstacle will be not eating after midnight. She doesn't go in until noon so she will not be to happy witb me when we don't eat in the moring. Usually she has already eaten twice by noon. I have some chicken broth so that will be breakfast.

Julie

Rudy - The Best Dog Ever

Rudy - The most patient loving dog ever with his present from the Easter Bunny!

Easter Eggs Princess and Star Wars

After we got down with the festival we enjoyed some Easter egg decorating time. This year Nathan has been totally obsessed with Star Wars so his egg decoration choice was STAR WARS. ShayLa chose Princesses. They both did a great job and enjoyed doing their own things.

Julie

Easter Cont.

We started Easter weekend at a Easter Festival and Egg Hunt. Nathan, Nana and I have done this for the past 3 years. We skipped last year but thought with ShayLa celebrating her first Easter we would give it another try. It has really grown over the years but it didn't stop either of them from enjoying all the activities. Both the kids had a great time even with the long lines. Nana and I survived the long walk in and enjoyed watching them gather egg's and enjoy all the inflatable rides. We even got to see the Easter bunny.

Julie

Easter Pictures Attempt Number 3

Attempt number three at pictures. I seem to be doing something wrong but finally got two pictures to post. I will try more after this a quick note. We are in Chapel Hill with pre-op tomorrow morning. ShayLa came down with a cold over the weekend and so we might only be doing pre-op and not surgery. She seemed better tonight but when she got into bed she had a rash all over her feet. I have such mixed feelings about surgery. I know she really needs to get her palate repaired but I am not looking forward to seeing her in pain. Hopefully I won't cry along with her to much. We appreciate every one's prayers. I know God has His hand on her and is in control. Nathan mama misses you be good for Nana. Mom thank you so much for watching Nathan. We all love having you here helping out making my life so much easier. Dad thanks for letting Mom stay so long. I will update the blog tomorrow and let everyone know what they decide.

Julie

Easter

This is the first post for Easter. The week after has been crazy and action packed so I have not had to time to post. Easter was wonderful and so much fun. ShayLa came out of church saying
"He's Alive Mama" "He's Alive". She was so excited. The faith of a child and the truth of a Risen King. That made my Easter. Enjoy the pictures and I will try and post more later. Keep us in prayer this coming week as we prepare and have ShayLa's palate surgery on April 2nd.

Julie

Mommy I Cheerleader

ShayLa and I spent this past weekend at a cheer leading competition and all weekend I heard "look Mommy I Cheerleader." She can not wait until she can be a cheerleader. She danced and cheered all weekend. Thanks to friends she also got to swim and hang out with the big kids. We made our first trip to Build a Bear and she loved that. Pinkie Princess bear is now her new favorite stuffed animal and has gone with her to school and everywhere else.

We are coming up on our surgery date and I am excited that her palate will be repaired but also very nervous about the surgery and recovery. I've read and learned so much from the cleft yahoo group. Please keep us in your prayers. Surgery is scheduled for April 2nd and we will be in Chapel Hill on March 31st so we can be on time for pre-op April 1st. I know this is going to be so hard for her with all the needles and food restrictions. She hates shots.

I'm excited about Easter and so thankful to share Jesus with the kids. Nathan is so curious about things and asked some great questions. I love his innocence and faith. Hopefully we will have some more pictures to post.

Thank you to my new old friend Jim and Julie. It was great to hear from the both of you. Can you believe it has been over 20 years. Where does the time go.

Julie

Favorite Photo Friday

Nathan and Shay Mama Misses You! Nathan you always make Shay and I laugh. Shay I am so glad you love stuffed animals. Now I have a reason to shop for more. I'll be back soon. Thanks Nana for taking care of all the kids.

Zoo Trip

I had business in Columbia this past weekend so we decided to include a trip to the zoo as well. We had a great time and also met up with some friends. As you can see Nathan was more into his Star Wars character but he had fun and enjoyed the day. ShayLa was so excited to be with her friends and see all the animals. The weather was great and we had a wonderful time. Nana had the weekend to herself and was the offical dog sitter. Enjoy the pictures.

Julie

Introducing the O'Brien Kids

Introducing my two wonderful kids and dog -

ShayLa

• Loves to dress up as a princess or a cheerleader.
• Watch Barney
• Eat noodles, chicken, french fries and chocolate milk

Nathan

• STAR WARS STAR WARS STAR WARS
• Did I Mention STAR WARS
• Watch STAR WARS

Rudy

• Playing with his favorite toy
• Snuggling any time

Both of my kids are so different. Nathan came home at nine months of age. Most of the time our transition was easy. He seemed to bond well, slept great but as he grew his abilities to function in a group setting with other kids just never worked. At first I just hoped he would grow out of his behaviors but they never seemed to go away. This past November after seeing many different types of doctors and therapist he was diagnosed with ADHD, SID and PDD-NOS. He started taking medication and we got his IEP for school. I've spent the past couple of months research different types of ways to help him and trying to educate my self as best I can. From his IEP we learned and confirmed many things we already know. He is very smart, has many sensory issues and fine motor problems. His school has been awesome and I feel very blessed to final feel like we are getting the help he needs. From reading other posts and web sites we are very blessed to be at the school we are. They fully understand him and are making every attempt to help him reach his full potiental. I taught school when I was younger and he is the kid that makes teachers pull their hair out. Thankfully his teachers love him and are doing all they can to make things work. I would love to hear from other adoptive parents and parents with similar issues. How they are helping their children reach their potential and what to look forward to as he grows. I am very proud at how hard he has been working to be incontrol at school.

ShayLa has a cleft palate which we will get repaired on April 2nd at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC. I forget that she even has this issue. If anyone every thinks about adopting a child with this special need feel encouraged. She is doing great. Other than having a hard time understand her sometimes it doesn't seem to stop her. She is always singing, talking or trying to let us know what she wants. Her attachment and bonding have been a dream so far. She came in calling me Ma Ma and never looked back. Her language skills have come along so well. We are trying to keep her Manderine and attend class once a week. She loves preschool and is doing very well. Socially she is great and very well behaved. At home we can see her spicey side. She can give Nathan as much attitude as he can give her.

Together the kids are getting along very well. It has been hard with some of Nathan issues to give him the attention that he needs at times. We had a rough couple of months at the beginning but now after 8 months it seems that everyone has found their place and we have a pretty good routine in place. My mom has been the greatest help. She has stayed with us the majority of the past 8 months. I have to give a big thank you to her and my dad for letting her stay with us. They do not live close so it makes it hard on them.

That is a small look at our family. My family is so spread out that I really wanted to share with them how we are doing. I also have found so much knowledge and help by reading other blogs that I really wanted to join in the fun.

Julie