Christmas

Things have been busy around here with 3 wonderful Christmas celebrations and one more to go! On Christmas Eve, we always go to my parents for Christmas with my dad's family. For some of the cousins, it's the only time all year that we get to see each other. Ian loved meeting all the kids and especially loved the pinata bashing! On Christmas day, our grown kids came for a fun celebration and dinner and the next day, we went back to my parents for Christmas with them, my grandmother, brother and niece. We feel very blessed to have such wonderful families and to be able to spend time with them, celebrating the birth of our Savior! Enjoy the pictures!

Santa Ian, dressed in the Drew Brees jersey that Uncle John and Aunt Teena sent him. The only way I got it off of him that night was to promise he could wear it again the next day!

Ian, playing with the new turbo charged car!

Mom and Ian (thanks for taking this, Lindsay!)

Drew and Elizabeth

Lindsay, Troy and our grandaughter!!!

Brian and Elizabeth - always ready to pose for a picture!

Mother and Daddy - the tired hosts!

Mamma (my grandmother and soon-to-be Great, great grandmother!)

We are looking forward to having part of Tom's family here on Sunday! Can't wait to see you all!

For Bird Watchers Only!

Our kids say we are becoming our parents, but one of things we love about our new home is the amount of wildlife that we are treated to on a regular basis. We are really into birdwatching and yesterday, this awesome Piliated Woodpecker came to visit! He/she is still here today, so we are hoping it hangs around for awhile. It comes right up to the feeders near the house and pecks away. I took these pictures from our bedroom window.

The following picture isn't that great of the woodpecker but isn't the female cardinal cute?

Christmas Decorating

Decorating for Christmas in a new house that we haven't even completely decorated for regular living yet has been a bit of a challenge, but we got a good start with not one, but 3 Christmas trees! Ian has loved all the decorating and has enjoyed helping.


Putting his own "Ian" ornament on the tree

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.......

We've always wanted a tree on our front porch but it was way too windy at the other house.

Tree and village on the sun porch

Living Room tree

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my most wonderful husband and bestest friend! I love you and thank God for you every day!!!! You are the BEST!

Tommy at 6 months old - isn't he the cutest thing??

1st grade

5th grade

10th grade - Lindsay and Drew have always given him a hard time about the hair in this picture.

Senior picture

Easter, 1986 in Little Rock

June, 2007

November, 2009

First Baptist

Tom, Ian and I were invited to visit First Baptist in Danville to share a little of our adoption story this past Sunday. It was through our good friends, Gary and Marty Crawford (missionaries with ABWE and sent by First Baptist of Danville), that we met Ian. In April of 2008 (a month after our son, Drew, and their daughter, Elizabeth, were married), we went on a mission trip to Jamaica with them and several others from FBC. Even though it was a working mission trip, they always take time to visit an orphanage and this was their first trip to Robin's Nest Children's Home. The rest is history! We were so happy to take Ian there as many of them have been praying for him and for us throughout this journey. What a testimony to God's amazing love and grace in all of our lives!

Tom, Angela, Gary, Marty and Ian

Gary, Ben (one of their 8 great kids!), Marty and of course, Ian.

FYI: There are many adorable children at Robins Nest and we are now experts at Jamaican adoptions (ha!) so we are more than happy to share all we know with anyone interested! :-)

James 1:27

Updates

Apologies for the lack of entries but we've been busy with Christmas shopping and decorating. However, amidst the holiday hoopla, we have visited another PT/OT and loved them! They are a husband/wife team and are very knowledgeable and experienced and just awesome! I learned more in 90 minutes with them than I have in the last several weeks/months. So, we are looking forward to starting some agressive therapy soon!
Today we visited the school where Ian will attend, starting in January. He loved it and didn't want to leave, so I think that's a good sign. I'm very impressed with his teacher and what she accomplishes with the challenging kids she has. Ian is in love with her and wanted her to come home with us. The nurse who is in his classroom watched me feed him and then, did it herself and will do fine, once she realizes that she can't let him manipulate her (such as using the pouty lip when he doesn't want to eat!) We will visit again next week and also have a visit from a "homebound teacher" before the Christmas break.
I don't have any pictures yet from therapy or school so here is just a random photo in the Yuk Truck.

New Chapter

We've been in the process of enrolling Ian in school and he will officially start in January. However, his teacher and several other nice ladies have been visiting to evaluate and discuss his placement, feeding needs, therapy, transportation, etc. He loves these visits and makes friends with them all quickly. His teacher, Miss Vera, brought along this poster that his new classmates made to welcome him to their room. He proudly hung it in his room.

Big Foot

Have I mentioned that Ian loves trucks? When we were in Jamaica with nothing to do for 3 weeks, we were happy to at least have cable TV and Ian discovered the "Speed" channel. He would point to the televsion until we turned it that channel. He loved watching the monster trucks and if we happened to be sitting to his right, we got bruised from all the "hitting" he did with his right arm to make sure we were watching the trucks. So.....for his birthday, Troy and Lindsay got him a monster truck. He loves it because he can push the buttons himself to make it go forward and backward but he also loves the music it makes. I tried to get a video of him "dancing," which he does every time the music comes on. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanksgiving Trip

I always start out with good intentions to take lots of pictures and usually end up distracted so I don't take nearly as many as I want. We went to Mom-mom and Dad-dad's (Tom's parents) in KY last Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday and stayed until Saturday. I started out and ended up taking pictures, but in between I was busy talking, I guess. It was great to see the family that was able to make it and as always, we ate way too much food (which was good for Ian, but not Tom and I!) Ian got lots of hugs and entertainment and even got to ride in the Gator, which he loved!!! He did great on the trip going and coming because one of his favorite things to do is watch for big trucks and he saw plenty of those. He got to meet some new cousins, aunt, great aunts and uncles and charmed them all. We often wonder what is going on in his mind and how different this all must be for him. We have to remind ourselves to try to explain things to him since it's all so foreign to what he's known all his life. He's so flexible and adaptable and happy most all the time and, for that, we are most thankful!


Driving the Gator with Dad-dad.

Getting ready for a Gator ride.

Hugs from Mom-mom.

Drinking with Dad-dad.

Hangin' out with Elizabeth.

Ian loves babies and Amelia (his 2nd cousin) was content to sit on his lap for a picture. I think he will be most excited to become an uncle in April!!!!

It's Back!!!

On October 8, Tom had a run-in with a runaway disc tire while driving "my" Yukon and pulling the trailer to get a used refrigerator for our basement. For one stray tire, it did a whole lot of damage and the insurance company totalled out our Yukon. Well, I happen to love my Yuk Truck, as it is affectionately known as, and to make a very long story short, we bought it back and had it fixed. The body shop did a great job and we are very happy to have it back! Mostly, we are thankful that Tom was OK!!

Back in the Yuk Truck!!

New Duds

Ian loves clothes almost as much as he loves trucks. Sometime, I'm going to try to capture his reaction when I tell him it's Sunday and he gets to wear his "Sunday clothes and shoes" because you can't imagine how excited he gets! Knowing this and knowing that he needs clothes, the grandparents gave him some spiffy new duds for his birthday, so Ian wanted to show them off for you all. Thank you Mom-mom and Dad-dad and Mimi and Pa!

Khaki pants and cool shirt from Mom-mom and Dad-dad.

Corduroys and argyle vest from Mimi and Pa (you can't see the argyle socks that match.)

Stretching Exercises

We have stretches that we do with Ian every day and guess who can't be left out? He gets as close as possible while I'm working with Ian. Of course, Ian thinks it's hilarious and it helps distract him, although he doesn't seem to mind the stretching and even enjoys it.

Braces and Beniks

The latest additions to Ian's wardrobe consist of his new AFO's (braces) for his feet and ankles and Benik neoprene splints for his hands. The purpose of the braces is to keep his feet at a 90 degree angle to his legs. Apparently, it is common for children with CP to point their toes downward (which he hasn't done yet) so hopefully, we will keep it that way. He just got them today and couldn't take his eyes off of them, so we tooled around Riley with his pant legs pulled up. I don't know if you can tell, but there are cars and trucks on the straps! He got the splints while we were at the Riley CP clinic 2 weeks ago and doesn't really care for them, but thankfully, he only has to wear them for about 2 hours every day. He wears them while doing his stretches and while watching Bob, the Builder (the new movie fav!)

New Friends

Since Ian has moved to Indiana and become part of our family, that makes him part of the awesome KSBC family, too. The kids are getting used to the wheelchair and love to make him smile. His Sunday School teacher reports that everyone wants to sit by him, so they have to take turns. We are so thankful for these precious children who are becoming his friends. One special friend, named Trey, used his own money to buy gifts for Ian. One was a batmobile that Ian loves and the other was a drill. It has a red, flashing light and is the perfect size for his hand. He can even pull the "trigger" by himself. I cannot even tell you how much he loves this drill. He went through one set of batteries the first day and hasn't stopped drilling since. He has drilled every chair in our house, the table, the doors, the computer desk, the fireplace hearth, his wheelchair, the car seats, Dad's ear and Mom's nose. Thank you, Trey, being Ian's friend and sacrificing your own money to make him feel welcome!


Trey and Ian

Drilling the outlets

Showing off the drill

Sittin' on the Corner.....

Ian is fascinated and obsessed by big trucks, especially semi trucks and trailers, but also combines and tractors. When we are in the car, he points out every truck he sees and he can spot them a mile away. So, when the weather is nice, we will frequently take a walk to the end of our road and sit by Hwy 52 and watch the trucks go by. This is just a snapshot of how excited he gets when a big truck is coming.

Cool Dude!

We have ordered a new car seat for Ian, but since it will take awhile, the Riley Foundation provided us with one to get by with and Ian loves it! In fact, he doesn't want to get out of it and shakes his head "no" when we get home and tell him it's time to go inside. I usually let him stay in it while I carry everything in and take the dog out, etc. Since he's had this seat, he strikes this great pose as he rides along and it just cracks us up.

Gloomy Day Activity

Ian and I had plans to be outside yesterday afternoon, but it was so gloomy and a little rainy, so we stayed in and made a beautiful boat scene on his new Lite Brite (birthday gift from Drew and Elizabeth). He can't quite do it himself, but he had fun getting the little pegs out (they ended up on the floor more than once :-) and I held them in his fingers so he could put them in the holes. He concentrated so much and was so proud of the finished product. Of course, we turned the lights off to view it properly and took a picture:

Thanks for the Lite Brite, Drew and Elizabeth! We love you!

Belated Birthday Party!

Although Ian's birthday was Oct. 26, this past weekend was the earliest that everyone could get together, so we celebrated on Saturday. All the kids were here (Lindsay and Troy from Indy and Drew and Elizabeth from Louisville) as were both sets of grandparents (one from KY and the other from Danville). Ian's great grandmother was even able to help us celebrate! Also, an aunt and uncle and 6 cousins! Such fun! It took Ian about 30 seconds to learn how to open the gifts and he loved them all - from the trucks, tractor and phone to the clothes to the Lite Brite and Magna Doodle. The only bad part was that he would barely get them out and start using them when we made him open another one. So, today he enjoying playing with them at his pace.
Tom and I have been so thankful, humbled and overwhelmed by the way our family has welcomed and embraced Ian into the "clan". He is loved more than he can even comprehend right now.
Hanging out with big brother, Drew.

Monster truck from Troy and Lindsay (it rolls over anything and makes lots of noise, including some loud music that Ian loves to "dance" with.)

Opening some clothes, which he loves (he is very particular about what he wears!)

Showing off the birthday cake.

Saying good by to Mom-mom and Dad-dad (Tom's parents).