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.)