Daddy's Shoes Video

Health Update on Princess Natalie

We've received good reports over the past two days. Yesterday we went to an audiologist to test Natalie's hearing. This was suggested to us by our pediatrician and adoption specialist in our efforts to alleviate this as a reason for her small vocabulary. Praise God--her hearing is just fine. This week her new word is: "wow".

Today, Natalie and I saw a urologist who reviewed the results of all the tests we've had over the past two weeks on her kidneys. Her left kidney is barely functioning; her right kidney is enlarged due to the amount of work it has to do; both have reflux BUT on a scale of 1 to 5, her condition is a low grade 2---this is good. The urologist believes that keeping her on the preventative antibiotic and watching for any signs of infection are enough for now. He believes there is no need for alarm or surgery at this point, living with one kidney is totally acceptable and that she will probably outgrow the reflux in time. I believe that God has already provided healing in Natalie's body and that He will continue the work He has begun!

It is amazing for Steve and I to think back to the very grim diagnosis we were given when we went to get Natalie on trip two. We were asked if we still wanted her with all the ramifications of her kidney issues. Of course, we wanted her no matter what! But to get home and find out that this is not a life-threatening problem is more relief than I can express. God is good!

Natalie continues to be the happiest little girl on the planet. She wakes up smiling and loves to play and explore her new world. Today she even ate apple slices and drank water--this may seem like a small thing---but to us this is a huge step of adjustment and we couldn't be happier at the strides she is making.

Thank you for your prayers, support and love. We are blessed!

1st Beach Trip Video

Surfin' USA

Steve and I love the beach and for years we would talk about how one day we would bring our family to the sand and waves. This past week we took a short trip to Ocean City and made this dream a reality.

Natalie LOVED the beach! As you can tell by the pictures, she wanted to jump in head first and also loved playing in the sand. This girl has no fear. We spent two days playing by the water and then jumping into the pool. She did great sleeping in her pack and play (thanks Aunt Rhonda) and did pretty well eating. Restaurants are too distracting so we tried to feed her before heading out to eat. She loved standing on the balcony with us and pointing to the water, the airplanes, the seagulls and the parasails.

The beginning of the week was filled with doctor appointments and tests. We spent the entire day Wednesday at Fairfax hospital having a test done on her kidney. Next week we have two more tests and then the following week is filled with followup appointments with a urologist and a nephrologist. So far we know that her left kidney is barely functioning at around 7% and that her right kidney is scarred as well. Living with one kidney is not unheard of but we must do everything we can to make sure the right kidney can do the job of two and stay healthy. Please continue to pray for her as she endures some pretty grueling tests this week and pray that God will touch and heal her little body.

Before heading to the beach, we met with our International Adoption Specialist. He took baseline measurements and evaluated her developmental milestones. Overall she is functioning between 15 and 17 months, with speech lagging behind. He wants us to get her hearing checked to see if there is any issue there that would add to her lack of verbal communication. I can tell she is trying to imitate our sounds and she is beginning to follow simple commands like "please get your pants and let's put them on". Hopefully with our constant conversation and repetition, she will begin to add more words to her repertoire.

After hearing and vision tests, the urologist and nephrologist, we will be headed to the cardiologist and neurologist. There can't be too many more "gists" left for us to see! I am incredibly thankful for the level of medical care in our area and blessed that we are able to get Natalie the kind of care she needs. She was scheduled for surgery in Russia if we did not adopt her and it looks like the procedure they had planned would not have been a long term solution to her kidney issue. I praise God that she is with us now and I pray that He will continue to give the doctors here wisdom in how to treat her.

We are overwhelmed and blessed by our precious Natalie. Thanks for letting us gush over her with you!
Love,
Karen

I'm 21 months old today!

We are so blessed to finally be sharing a 'birthday' milestone with Natalie. Four months passed from the time we saw her till 'Gotcha Day' and each month seemed like an eternity. We can't wait to celebrate her two year birthday in October!

Yesterday we made it to the pool and she LOVED it! We went with Natalie's cousins, JP and Jake and Aunt Angie. She clapped, laughed and squealed with delight the entire time. We are so glad that she likes the pool and the water. We were worried, since bath time was not her favorite thing. But now, even bath time seems better to her since our visit to the pool.

Today has been a sick day. Natalie has had a fever since early this morning and we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. This afternoon it spiked to 102.8, which can be a bit scary (for the parents). But we were able to get it down with cold compresses and Tylenol. She sat in her Aunt Rhonda's lap for quite a while today, which is a definite indicator that she still isn't feeling well---to get her to be still is not easy---she likes to be on the go. I am sure Aunt Rhonda didn't mind holding the little patient!

This past Sunday we made an appearance at our church so all our church family could see her. There have been many prayers going up on our behalf and we wanted everyone to see her and share in our joy. Natalie is a testimony of God's faithfulness and we want to be careful to give Him the glory for her life and for the privilege of being her parents. Truly 'nothing is impossible with God".

Blessings,
Karen