Real home schooling

Derek called me on his work break, so I exited the school room to talk with him. When I returned, Cherish had turned her lap sideways, and Matthew had perched himself up on her lap. I snapped a picture.

Their bond: Cherish sleeps with Matthew at night, and Matthew wants to hang out with Cherish all day. ALL day. And, she always accepts his nearness. She LOVES to have him near him! She adores her brother (but not so much her math that she is working on). Sweet brother and sister love! 💙💗

Spreading her wings

Today, Hope joined the world of traditional school.

She was excited to spread her wings and fly!

We hope she excels at school

and loves her new learning environment!

Matthew met Grandma

Matthew met Grandma today for the first time, and when he felt how good it felt to be held in her arms, he didn't even let Derek take him away from her! That says A LOT!! 💗

Daniel

Daniel had his physical on Wednesday, and the blessed child did not cry, wince, or tear up at all! He had his chicken pox, MMRV, polio, and DTaP in his arms.

The poor little guy never complained! So, I had no idea one of his arms had swollen up and was burning hot--until I took his shirt off to give him a bath.

He has been so gentle and kind--odd for feeling so sore and with a 101° F fever! Here he is just resting on the couch:

He has been so easy-going about everything! God bless him!

Also, we received a call from one of the surgery coordinators. Matthew will have surgery March 9th, and it will begin with the urologist and end with the oral surgeon. Matthew is in pain, so we are looking forward to getting the surgery over with so we can move on to healing and health!

Sleep-deprived EEG--updated

Sweet Matthew finally gets to sleep after being awake since 3 a.m. His tender, loving daddy has been his constant playmate. 💙💚

Update: Matthew had a normal EEG, so he has been cleared for surgery. As soon as both surgeons can find a matching date and an open operating room at Wolfson's Children's Hospital, Matthew will have surgery. In the meantime, Matthew remains on an antibiotic to keep the infection in his mouth from getting into his blood.

Surgeon #3...

does not have to join the surgery with the first 2 surgeons. Yay!!

Matthew has a sleep-deprived EEG tomorrow afternoon and must wake up at 3 a.m. (Tuesday). The surgery date will be determined once Matthew clears his EEG.

"The Jesus Film"

Tonight, Matthew is watching the children's version of "The Jesus Film" for the first time--in Mandarin Chinese! He's hearing the Word of God for the first time--and it's in his heart language!! It gives me goosebumps!

Follow-up on Matthew

Early this morning:

If you can't find Matthew, look in the school room. He is often found sitting at Andrew's desk looking at Andrew's school books, children's magazines, and even folders with no pictures! He loves books in all forms!

Our family has been quite busy, so we are so thankful for a morning without appointments. We needed a slow morning.

To catch us up, months ago I made the children's well visits. Since we have been having yearly home studies at the beginning of each year, our children's physicals have all come together to be at the beginning of each year (for clearance with home studies). So, I kept them on the same schedule this year--not knowing how busy things were going to get.

Cherish had her well visit with vaccinations on Monday, Hope has her well visit with vaccinations today, Andrew has his on Friday, and Daniel has his on Wednesday.

In addition, Matthew has been to see the dentist (surgeon #1), general physician, hospital lab for blood work, urologist (surgeon #2), he will meet his ENT (surgeon #3) on Monday, and have a sleep-deprived EEG on Tuesday--to be cleared for surgery as soon as possible.

The infection in Matthew's mouth needs surgery as soon as possible, and we are trying to get his other surgeons to join the surgery so he can go under anesthesia as few times as possible.

Surgeon #2, urologist, has decided to join the first surgeon. Matthew has a hernia that is causing blockage by the tube leading from the kidney to his bladder. The surgery will include sewing up the hernia, and leaving a button on the outside of his lower abdomen to ensure the hernia stays closed. This, and other things that the surgeon will fix, will take about 3.5 hours.

So, added to the dentist who needs a minimum of 3.5 hours to fix Matthew's teeth, he is up to about 7 hours of anesthesia.

We meet with surgeon #3 on Monday to see if the ENT will want to remove the cysts from the back of Matthew's head at the same time. I doubt it. I am assuming that surgery on the mouth and surgery on the abdomen will not be followed with surgery on the back of the head. However, we were told to go and find out, so we will meet him on Monday.

In addition, Matthew does this all day long:

Therefore, he will have a sleep-deprived EEG on Tuesday to ensure he will be safe under anesthesia.

Please continue to pray for our family. We have lots going on, and we need the Lord's wisdom.

Homeschooling is still going on, but momma is not being a drill sergeant about it. We worked ahead diligently in the beginning of the year, as we knew transition time would come with unexpected hurdles to jump.

The more we get to know Matthew, the more we are aware that he has been living in constant pain. I am so thankful God chose us to adopt Matthew, and that we are able to see and meet his needs right away!

💙 "Thank You, Jesus, for Matthew!" 💙

We would like to give a special "Thank You" to all the families who have been bringing meals. What a blessing!!! Thank you for caring for our family in such a tangible way!

Silent cries

This evening around 5 p.m. Matthew fell asleep on the floor near the kitchen. I periodically watched him sleep as I passed by him on the way to and from the kitchen.

At one point, I knelt down next to him to really look at him. What cute lips! What adorable pudgy cheeks! What sweetness!

As I was taking in his gentleness and peacefulness, Matthew began to cry--silently. I watched to see if it was just a passing cry. No, he continued to cry--silently.

I picked him up and cradled him in my arms. He cried on and off for about 2 hours!

All I could think about was the number of orphans who have terrifying dreams and who cry without being comforted. 

Matthew finally calmed, but refused to go to bed. His crying sounded like he was scared. Cherish made him a bed next to her on the floor, and Andrew and she surrounded him until he fell into a peaceful sleep.

God bless my dear sweet children who seem to completely understand the needs of the newest ones coming home. They seem so tender and gentle--even during crying spells.

All clear!

We have received Matthew's test results back from his blood work and stool samples. He is "all clear" from all infectious diseases, ova, and parasites. We are so thankful!!!!

Matthew got his hamburger!

Today, my friend Shinhea came to the dentist with Matthew and me to help interpret for Matthew. What a gift!!

Matthew has been complaining of having pain in his teeth/jaw, and there was evidence that he needed to be seen by a dentist immediately.

Shinhea was able to ask Matthew questions for the dentist and report back his answers. Shinhea helped me to continually soothe Matthew during the whole process.

Though the visit was very traumatizing--due to his immense pain, I could tell Matthew was comforted by having Shinhea by his side.

Poor little guy will need to have 3½+ hours of dental work done under anesthesia at the hospital, but for now, he has begun an antibiotic.

After the visit, little guy was rewarded with the hamburger he had told Shinhea on Sunday that he was craving.

Although he only ate about four bites, it was fun to see him enjoying himself and getting to know "Auntie" better.

In addition, I would like to give a huge shout-out to George and Carileen for continually babysitting during all our doctor appointments. THANK YOU, Pappy and Nanny!!!!!