Celebrating our One Year Forever Family Day!!

November 26,2014...sitting at my kitchen table, sipping delicious coffee, watching a gentle, beautiful snow falling outside, and Thanksgiving preparations on my to-do list.  All five girls are happily engaged in their various activities and the house feels peaceful, at least for this minute.  This morning feels so blessedly "normal"...a feeling I wasn't sure I would ever feel again when we brought our girls home from Haiti one year ago today.  I'm filled with gratitude to God for this normalcy and for this blessed moment of girls learning and playing together in peace.  As we celebrate our one year anniversary of the day we were forever united all together as a family, it is truly amazing to see how far we have all come in a year. 

The passage of time is such a mystery.  In many ways, it feels like Chelley and Naika have been with us for so much longer than a year, and in other ways, it feels as if the last year has flown by.  Some of the days in the last year have been very long and difficult and I've breathed a sigh of relief when they were over, while other days have been delightful and precious.  I suppose this is true for all of us as we experience the unique blessings and challenges that God has placed in our lives, and as He works in us according to His purposes.  As I look back over the last year, I see ways in which we have all grown and changed for the better, and I also see many ways that we all need to continue to learn and grow as individuals and as a family.  I could go on and on with all the ways that life has changed for us in the last 365 days, but that would make for a very long blog post! (Plus, I have that aforementioned Thanksgiving to-do list).

Today, I just wanted to post a quick update to commemorate this milestone and to declare once again the goodness, faithfulness, and sovereignty of our God.  When we were in the midst of the waiting that seemed to go on forever, we could not fathom what it would be like to be here, celebrating one year together.  We know that God knows every day we have on earth, from beginning to end, and He has brought us together as a family.  We are imperfect, impatient, and selfish people, in need of His grace and mercy and constantly looking to learn and grow and be shaped by Him.  He knew before any of us were born that this day would come, and He knows what the days ahead of us hold for us as a family.  Last Thanksgiving, we were just amazed to finally be all together as a family.  This year, we continue to be grateful that He has brought us all together, for the good days and for the hard days, to celebrate together and to learn and struggle together.  It is so easy to lose sight of all that has brought us to this point and to allow my perspective to be twisted by stressful circumstances.  That's why I'm so thankful for the gift of today.  A chance to stop and have my perspective re-calibrated by the truth of God's faithfulness, love, and care for us.  A chance to remember how far we've come.  A chance to say "Thank You" to our generous God and to each of you for your love and support of all of us over the last year. 

As I complete this post, I'll leave you with the video that the one-and-only Kadi Tiede made of those priceless "first" moments together as a family, one year ago today.  May you find reasons to stop, re-calibrate, and be grateful for all that God has done in your lives in this last year as well.  Blessed Thanksgiving to each of you. 

(Kleenex were needed the first time we shared this video, and are highly recommended again.  Just sayin'...)

The Last Firsts

As we rapidly approach the one year anniversary of when Chelley and Naika came home, we are also finding ourselves experiencing the last of the "firsts".

There were sooooo many firsts that we experienced together when Chelley and Naika came home. Some were monumental, like their first birthdays in our family, Christmas morning under the tree, many other fun holidays, vacations, and special family traditions. Others were smaller, like first trips to the store, first time sledding or playing at the park, and first time at a parade. As I think back over the last 11 months, it is truly astounding how many first experiences our girls have welcomed and taken in stride. (I fully intended to share more of those firsts on the blog but was too busy living them instead. Life with 5 kids has kept me on my toes and things like blog posts have fallen by the wayside.) 

Anyway, most of our family activities feel really normal now, for all of us, and it's easy to forget how much change and growth Chelley and Naika have experienced.  We are so proud of all that they have learned and accomplished!!

As the calendar comes back around to the fall, we had the pleasure of enjoying the last of the "seasonal firsts" this week...a family trip to the orchard/pumpkin patch and pumpkin carving. They had fun picking out pumpkins and enjoyed the tractor ride and delicious, fresh donuts at the orchard. Tonight, we got the pumpkins all carved and ready for Halloween. They seemed to enjoy the carving process and were very happy with their end results. The only fall first that remains is the holiday where we get to play dress up and go to all the neighbor's houses to ask for candy. It's just a hunch, but I'm thinking they're going to like that tradition too!! I leave you tonight with some cute pictures of our family fun this week.

Blessings in Abundance

"Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.  Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.  He forgives all my sins, and heals all my diseases.  He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and compassion.  He fills my life with good things.  My youth is renewed like the eagle's!" ~ Psalm 103:1-5

After last week's post about Chelley and Naika's recent experiences and difficulties with Sickle Cell Disesase, I promised a continuation of that part of our story.  I mentioned that even in the midst of the stress, pain, fear and uncertainties of those hospital visits, God was so faithful and had blessed, comforted, and provided for us in so many ways.  Many times, I find myself quick to request prayer, quick to share a need or a fear with those around me, and then when God answers those prayers, I am not as quick to thank Him and give Him glory for all that He has done in that situation.  I do not want to be like the nine lepers that were healed and didn't return to thank Jesus for their healing.  Instead, I always want to be like the one who returned to offer gratitude to Jesus for a life restored. So, here I am to share some of the amazing and wonderful ways that God has cared for our family on this new adventure of chronic illness.

These blessings are in no particular order of importance or value...just records to help us remember and proclaim His faithfulness, His AMAZING attention to detail and His perfect, timely, and abundant provision. 

• God allowed us exactly 6 months (to the day!) of good health and "pain crisis-free" living with both Chelley and Naika before the difficulties began.  This meant that we had time to get them settled in and acclimated to our family and to our country, to work on attachment and build trust, and to have them understand and speak English fluently, etc.  All of these were a huge help as we navigated through ER visits and hospital stays.  I cannot begin to imagine how much more difficult those experiences would've been for all of us if we hadn't had time to build those vital foundations before all of this happened.
• The timing was also a blessing in that Chelley's first crisis started the very next week after we'd finished our school year.  It would've been virtually impossible to stay on top of finishing our school work while spending so much time with hospital visits and Dr. appointments.
• During Chelley's first pain crisis, when we didn't know the best way to respond to her pain, God provided an opportunity for me to connect with our friend, Dr. Jay Homme, who just happens to be a pediatrician at Mayo, and whose twin brother just happens to be an ER doc at St. Mary's. They were able to provide the professional insight that we needed, while also paving the way for us at the ER so that they knew that we were on our way.  I was hesitant to "take advantage" of Dr. Homme's expertise, but the persistence of my wise friend Emma paid off at just the right moment, when Chelley first spiked a fever and the situation became even more serious.
• A HUGE blessing that is not lost on us is the fact that we live in the very same town as the world famous Mayo Clinic, which is one of the best possible places for our girls to be treated for this disease that is fairly rare in our neck of the woods.  I've lived in Rochester all my life and have never needed to be seen as a patient at Mayo Clinic. I've been grateful for the small, local clinic and hospital that has provided all the care for our family prior to this development but they are simply not equipped with the knowledge and expertise necessary to treat a disease like Sickle Cell.  We could live in a community that is hours, or even days, away from a place like the Mayo Clinic.  Instead, when we need to get our girls to the ER quickly, or take them in for their monthly appointments, we have a 10 minute drive to world class healthcare.  
• We've always believed that God moves and works in the referral process to make sure that the children who need families are matched with just the right family.  As soon as we had their names and pictures, we were certain that Chelley and Naika belonged in our family and that we are privileged to be a part of the unique plan that God has for their lives. Even with that knowledge and certainty, it is really amazing to become even more aware of the ways that God planned for these precious girls...who were orphans in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere...to be placed in a family that lives in Rochester, MN, where they can have regular and consistent access to some of the best health care in the entire world!!  In Haiti, there are so many factors that cause the health care to be unreliable and often simply unavailable.  I know families who have brought their loved one to the hospital in desperate need of care, only to be turned away because they couldn't pay in advance for the services.  I've heard that if you are able to be seen at the hospital, you usually need to provide your own food and water, as well as bring a family member or friend that can provide your nursing care.  And here are our sweet girls, receiving gentle, professional, knowledgeable, and attentive care in the best possible place.  The magnitude of what God has done for these girls and for our family as a whole is truly astounding!!
• It's also become very clear to me as I've learned more about Sickle Cell and about what our girls need in order to live healthy and pain-free lives that there is no "logical" explanation for how they survived with so few complications during their years in Haiti.  Some of the things that we need to watch for on a daily basis include making sure the girls drink enough water, eating healthy foods, not getting overheated or dehydrated, taking multiple medications twice a day, and making sure that we respond immediately to any complaints of pain or signs of fever and infection.  We were told to treat Chelley's pain as soon as she complains of any area in her body that hurts.  Using that advice, we have needed to give Chelley pain meds about 20 days out of the 30 since she was last hospitalized, just so that we can make sure that we stay ahead of any pain and thus avoid another pain crisis.  Now, just think with me for a minute about Haiti...a place where 4-5 million people (roughly half of the population) do not have access to clean water, where 7 million people do not have access to proper sanitation, where food and medicines are in short supply, and where infections can be rampant all around.  We don't know much about Chelley's first 5 years of life and how she may have struggled with her disease during that time but it is obvious that she would not have had all that she needed to stay healthy.  In a country where 1 child out of every 8 dies before they reach the age of 5, it is nothing short of miraculous that Chelley survived her first 5 years with this disease.  We know that Chelley and Naika had some of the best care in the country of Haiti once they got to GLA, but even there, it would've been impossible for them to manage and track their water intake, medicines, dehydration, and pain levels on a constant basis.  Imagine how quickly infections can spread in a setting with that many kiddos in close quarters.  Not to mention...Haiti is hot!!  How do you keep kids from overheating in a tropical place like Haiti?  The Toddler House where Chelley was living had 70 kids living there much of the time.  I have a hard time keeping track of all of the necessary details for her health and I only have 5 kids to take care of!!  Not to mention, the staff at GLA didn't even know that Chelley and Naika had Sickle Cell Disease until 6 months before they came home.  The medicines that we are giving them on a daily basis now were not available to them at GLA, and yet they only had minor complaints and illnesses during their 2 1/2 years there.  As far as we know, Naika has never had a pain crisis and Chelley only had 2 during her entire stay at GLA!  While we were waiting for them to come home, God gently reassured me that He was watching over our two precious "sparrows" while I could not be there to care for them.  Little did I know the COUNTLESS ways that He was protecting and preserving their health and their very lives until they could come home and finally be able to receive the care that they need. 
• One of the biggest stressors at the beginning of this process was the fact that we did not have any insurance coverage for treatment relating to the girls' Sickle Cell Disease.  The healthcare co-op that we are a part of was denying any claims for Sickle Cell as pre-existing.  It was very stressful to be admitted to St. Mary's Hospital without having any idea of how the mounting medical bills would be paid for.  We found comfort in trusting that God knew what the girls would need when He placed them in our family and that He would provide some kind of coverage or provision for them to receive the care that they needed.  However, it was hard not to give in to fear and doubt at the time.  As it turns out, God's provision was more than we could've imagined.  We were able to get the girls on a Medical Assistance program that is covering 100% of their visits and medications at no cost to us.  Simply Amazing!!!  
• Yet another comfort and blessing during the hospital stays and Dr. appointments came in the form of our wonderful support network of our friends and family.  As soon as the crisis began, our loved ones were praying for us, bringing us food, welcoming our other girls into their homes for hours at a time, visiting us in the hospital (sometimes with Starbucks coffee in hand), and being the hands and feet of Jesus to us in numerous ways.  We got to see the body of Christ in action on our behalf and it brought us such joy and comfort.
• Sometimes a dose of perspective can be one of the biggest blessings of all.  I was somewhat overwhelmed at first by the learning curve of how to care for our girls, as well as the realization that life would be different with two children with a chronic, lifelong illness.  However, as I spent time in the Children's Hospital at St. Mary's, I realized that so many families are facing trials so much bigger and more serious than ours.  "Chronic" isn't the same as "terminal" and I'm so gratefully aware of the fact that our girls can still lead a full and healthy life, despite their disease.  My heart breaks for parents that are watching their children battle terminal illnesses and it helped me to put our situation into perspective.  I was also reminded how many times I cried out to God before our girls came home that I wanted to be the one to hold them when they cried, to comfort them when they were in pain, to provide for their needs on a daily basis.  I have had the privilege of doing that each day, in sickness and in health, and after waiting for so long for them to be here, that privilege is not lost on this mama. I would've been undone if these crisis were happening while Chelley and Naika were still at GLA and I had to just wait, love, and pray from a distance.  What a blessing it has been to be the one to love and care for our newest daughters.

I could go on and on, finding God's blessings and provisions in so many ways, but I think this post is long enough. All glory and praise to God for all that He has done and continues to do for us.  May all of our eyes and hearts be open to see and name the countless gifts He gives to each of us every day.

"We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks....thanksgiving is necessary to live the well, whole, fullest life." ~ one thousand gifts, Ann Voskamp

Our New Adventure

Today was the 7 month anniversary of the day we arrived home with Chelley and Naika and finally had our whole family in one place!  One month ago today was Memorial Day, Monday, May 26th, our milestone 6 month anniversary.  I had grand plans to share a post about all the ways that we have adjusted and transitioned as a family during those 6 months, but that was the day that a new chapter began in this journey we are on and I've not had many spare moments since then.

We started that day with our semi-annual tradition of brunch at the Canadian Honker with Grandma and Grandpa.  We've started every Memorial Day and Labor Day this way for years.  This year, it was a perfect, sunny summer day and we had a wonderful time.  I was reminded that last year we had just returned 2 days earlier from Haiti and we were so torn as we had said goodbye to those two precious girls who had stolen our hearts and we had no idea how long we would need to wait before we could bring them home for good.  This year, it was so special to have them here and be able to celebrate 6 months of being all together as a family.

We continued the fun by spending the afternoon together as a family at the amazing Kasson pool.  This was only the second time that Chelley and Naika had been swimming in a pool bigger than a wading pool and they were so brave!!  I couldn't believe how comfortable they were in the water, and Chelley was even brave enough to go down the really big water slide!  It was a relaxing and fun time together and the day would've been absolutely perfect if Chelley hadn't started experiencing some tummy pain.  Little did we know that that tummy pain was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives and a new adventure that we didn't see coming.

Rewind to May 2013, on our first trip to GLA, when we were summoned into the orphanage director's office just before we left to return home.  She asked to speak to us and told us that they had just discovered that both Chelley and Naika had sickle cell disease.  We really had no idea what that meant.  She explained the basics of the disease, that patients who have this disease have red blood cells that form in the shape of sickles instead of forming into spheres like healthy red blood cells. This sickling can cause the red blood cells to not flow properly through the blood vessels and they can get stuck and bunch up.  This can cause pain in that area, and also in the organs that need that blood flow.  She explained that oxygen levels in the body can be a problem and that our girls won't be able to climb mountains or fly in unpressurized aircraft.  This didn't seem like a big problem for us as we weren't planning on doing any of those things anytime soon!  She admitted that she didn't have a lot of experience or knowledge about the full impact of the disease and we let it go at that.

When we brought the girls home, we were so consumed with just surviving the transition, and the girls were healthy all winter long, so their sickle cell disease was not at the forefront of our minds.  Their OMC pediatrician had wanted us to have them seen at Mayo since sickle cell is pretty uncommon in this area and OMC just doesn't have the knowledge and experience that Mayo does for these patients.  However, we didn't have any insurance coverage for treatment related to their sickle cell and we couldn't afford to have them seen at Mayo.  We didn't realize at the time how critical it is for them to have ongoing care for this disease and we also didn't realize that there were state programs that could help us get the care they needed.

Fast forward to Chelley's tummy ache that started at the pool on Memorial Day.  As most parents of 5 children will do, we tried to figure out many different solutions at home to try to help Chelley.  At first we thought it was that she swallowed too much pool water, then maybe thought that dehydration or overheating was the problem, but rest, water, and being in the air-conditioning didn't help.  Over that evening and the next day, her discomfort continued and started to get worse, and we tried pain relief and other over the counter meds and nothing made it better.  She would rest off and on and we hoped that we could just ride it out.  We were afraid to go spend hundreds of dollars at the Drs office for them to tell us that she had some very common ailment that could be dealt with at home. Finally, on Wednesday morning, as she continued to be in pain and then spiked a fever, we received some advice from a wise Dr. friend that we should have her brought to the St. Mary's ER and that we could be dealing with something very serious.

So, we whisked her off to the ER, where they proceeded to do multiple tests, labs, xrays, and ultrasounds to rule out all kinds of big and bad things like pneumonia, gall stones, bowel obstruction, etc.  Thankfully, they were able to rule out all of those things but they were concerned about the fever, which meant she was fighting some kind of infection and they obviously wanted to help her get the pain under control, so they admitted her to the hospital.  And that's when our real education began about Sickle Cell Disease and all of the ways that it impacts our newest daughters' health both now and for the rest of their lives.

Throughout the course of Chelley's 2 day stay at St. Mary's, we saw the doctors of Hematology/Oncology multiple times and learned that Sickle Cell is a disease that can cause problems in many areas and that all kinds of organs and functions of the body have to be monitored on a regular basis in order to keep these patients healthy and free from sickness and pain crisis.  A week after Chelley's 1st hospital stay, both Chelley and Naika needed to receive the pneumococcal vaccine to help them be able to fight off any potential exposure to pneumonia.  The next morning, they both had fevers and soreness at the sight of the shot but to be safe, they both had to come to the ER for blood draws and antibiotics.  The next day we had a several hour follow up in hematology.  The following weekend was uneventful and all the girls enjoyed their first day of VBS at church but on that Monday afternoon, Chelley started complaining of arm and leg pain, which resulted in another ER visit and another 2 day stay at St. Mary's to try to help her deal with the pain again. 



Needless to say, these last 4 weeks have been incredibly stressful and overwhelming for all of us.  We've been learning some of what it means to have children with a chronic illness and it has seemed at times that our family life will be defined by these crisis and by having to worry about whether or not 2 of our daughters can do basic things like bike riding, swimming, and playing outside on a warm day without resulting in a stay in the hospital.  It's been hard and sad to see sweet Chelley in so much pain and to know how to help the other 4 as they have had their lives disrupted significantly as well.  Maria and Annika have had to bear a lot more responsibility for their younger sisters than usual, and Livie and Naika aren't always so receptive to the help they need from their older sisters.  They miss Mom and Chelley and have had much more time than usual without me at home.  Matt and I have felt the stress of the disruption to our family life, the financial stress of mounting hospital bills with no insurance coverage (initially...more on that later), as well as readjusting our expectations and realizing what we will need to make to do to make sure that Chelley and Naika get the care that they need.



Over the course of the last month, we've gotten several big doses of information and education about what we need to do to help Chelley and Naika as much as possible. For those of you who are interested, here's the cliff notes version of what we've learned:



As I mentioned before, sickle cell patients have red blood cells that form in the shape of sickles (like a crescent moon) and therefore those cells have a tendency to not flow properly through the vessels and they can get stuck and bunch up.  When this happens, there can be pain and/or damage to any tissues or organs in the body that need blood flow...which is pretty much ALL of them.  So, if the vessels bunch up on their way to the lungs, kidneys, brain, etc. that can cause problems for those organs.  If the vessels get stuck on their way to tissues or muscles, that can cause pain like Chelley had the 2nd time where her arms and legs hurt so much that she couldn't use them and they hurt even when she was laying down and resting.  These episodes cause intense pain, and patients are at an increased risk for organ damage, stroke, etc.  Also, because of the lack of proper blood flow to the spleen, their spleen essentially stops functioning by the age of 1, which means they have far less ability to fight off infection than the rest of us do.  This means that every fever of 101 or higher in our girls is potentially a BIG deal that means an immediate ER visit, blood draws, antibiotics, and possibly hospitalization for 48 hours to make certain that they don't have an infection in their blood.  From what I understand, something that would not be a big deal for the rest of us can turn into a pretty dire situation pretty quickly for patients with sickle cell disease.



There is no cure for sickle cell but we've learned that there are some things that we can do to keep them as healthy as possible.  Both of them need to be on a low dose of penicillin and folic acid daily for the foreseeable future to help them fight off infections.  There is also a drug that they have just started this week that helps to increase the levels of a healthy kind of hemoglobin in their blood.  All of the medical professionals that we have talked to have said that this drug will go a long way towards keeping them healthy and preventing these crisis from happening so frequently.  Even just a few extra percentage points of that healthy kind of hemoglobin in their blood helps their red blood cells to flow smoothly and not get stuck, thus avoiding the pain and organ damage.  They will most likely be on this drug for the rest of their lives.  We've also learned that dehydration can bring on the pain crisis so we need to be vigilant about making sure that Chelley and Naika drink enough water, especially before any kind of physical exertion or heat exposure.  I ask you...did they not spend the first years of their life in a place significantly hotter than Minnesota?  How were they not in pain all the time?  Only by God's grace, mercy, and power was their health and well-being preserved during their years in Haiti, when it wasn't even known that they had this major disease!  Another thing we can do to try to head off a crisis is to make sure they tell us at the very first sign of pain so that we can try to get on top of the pain before it becomes unbearable.



One of the doctors that we saw in the hospital recently gave us hope that our family life won't always be like it has been the last 4 weeks.  That was so encouraging to this mama who was starting to feel like nothing might ever be "normal" or "easy" again, relatively speaking of course, since raising 5 girls is not usually "easy". :)  They said we just need to get a baseline for the girls, get them on the necessary meds, and have a workable plan in place for when they do start to have pain, and then we won't have an ER visit or hospital stay every week or two.  For the time being, they both need to have monthly blood draws, labs, and Dr. appts at Mayo Clinic but that's much better than spending days in the hospital or ER. 

So, that's where we are now on this new adventure to which God has called us. We have seen so many blessings, provisions, and reasons to be abundantly thankful during the stress of the last few weeks.  Stay tuned in the next day or two for the sequel to this post, where I will share many of those blessings that our generous and faithful God has showered on us so far on this new leg of our journey.
I'll leave you with a few pictures from our Memorial Day festivities, as well as some cute ones from "sister visits" with Chelley in the hospital.

So Many Firsts!! (part 1)

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has been more than a month since I updated our blog!  I wish that I was doing a better job of documenting these first weeks at home with all of our girls but I'm busier than I could've imagined.  If it was the thought that counted, I would've written several updates in the last month.  However, my days are full and my spare moments are few.  In the rare moments when I do have time, I have to decide between so many things that could or should be done, and just when I decide that I'm going to write an update here, I end up being needed elsewhere.  Today, I just decided to finally sit down to share about some of the firsts that have taken place in our family over the last month.  It may take me a week to get it written, but that will be better than nothing, right?

This week is seven weeks since we arrived home with Chelley and Naika on November 26th.  Here are some of the big and little firsts we've celebrated since that day (with pictures if I have them)!

11/28/13 -- First Thanksgiving Day.  We had a quiet Thanksgiving celebration with my parents and my brother.  Since we'd only been home two days, Grandma and Grandpa generously brought the Thanksgiving meal to us. The food was delicious, the company was wonderful, and we were so grateful to be celebrating that day full of thankfulness with our entire immediate family all in one place.  I was also VERY thankful that my parents brought the turkey and all the traditional fixings over for us, because we would've been having toast and cold cereal if it had been up to me to fix the meal!  With my arms full with our new girls, I was zero help with preparing the food but definitely found time to enjoy it.  Sadly, I managed to get through that whole day without any pictures...clearly I wasn't in my right mind!  I'm the queen of making sure every holiday and important family event is captured on film.  Oh well.  At least we had enough pictures from our homecoming to make up for the lack of pictures on Thanksgiving.

11/29/13 -- First bath in a bathtub for our Haitian girls.  A tub full of water can be a scary thing for kids that have never experienced it before but they loved their first bath and played together for a long time!  They both look forward to baths now and it's hard to convince them when it's time to get out.  I won't be sharing bath tub pictures :) but here are a couple of pictures from after the first bath in their matching cozy pjs.  We've been happy to see that they really do know that they are sisters and have more of a relationship with each other than we thought they would.

11/30/13 -- First time playing outside in our backyard and at the neighborhood park. It was a balmy 40 degree MN day and we knew we had to take advantage of the chance to play outside before the cold and snow really set in.  I'm sure they thought it was cold compared to what they were used to playing in but they now know what REAL COLD feels like since they've now experienced -28 with windchills close to -60!!  Anyway, they had a great time playing and Naika kept chanting "Let's Go!" as she went down the slide over and over again. I tipped off our favorite photographer that just happens to live a few blocks from the park and she showed up to capture some of the cuteness.

12/1/13 -- Chelley's first time at a store...to Wal-mart, of all places! I just needed to pick up a few things and she did a great job of helping me.  She seemed interested in everything and not too overwhelmed but we did keep it short. :)

12/2/13 -- Naika's 3rd birthday!!  This day brought a mixture of grief and joy to this mama's heart.  Grief because Naika had never known what it was to celebrate a birthday in a family.  Joy because every birthday from now on, she will be celebrating with her forever family!  Grief because we'd missed her 1st and 2nd birthdays, but joy because we got her home just in time and didn't have to be apart from her on her 3rd birthday.  Our celebration with Naika was sweet and simple.  Grandma came over and brought a yummy chocolate birthday cake with her (Grandpa had a previous engagement or he would've been there too).  The birthday girl really enjoyed being the center of attention and loved all of the gifts that she received.  Kadi Tiede is also responsible for capturing the fun and beautiful moments of that day.  We also had our first shortened version of home school with the older girls that morning.  It was really easy going and short, but just wanted to introduce Chelley to the idea of how school works at home.

12/3/13 -- One week home!  We took our first family outing to Grandma and Grandpa's house after we'd been home for 7 days.  It was a small, safe place and good for all of us to get out of the house! Grandma made us a delightful and delicious meal and it was a joy to introduce Chelley and Naika to my childhood home.  Words cannot describe how amazing it was to see them playing in the play house that I had grown up playing in with my sister and friends and that Maria, Annika, and Livie have found so much joy in over the years.  I can't wait until this spring and summer when we can introduce them to all of the fun that can be had at Grandma and Grandpa's in the warmer months!

12/4/13 -- First family movie night...also known as "Pamy Woowie Night" at our house thanks to Livie's cute 3 year old accent.  We watched the movie "Santa Paws" and everyone had a wonderful and cozy time.  Chelley is still singing some of the songs from that movie. :)

12/5 and 12/9/13 -- First time doing their hair!  I tackled Naika's first (on 12/5) and then Chelley's on 12/9. They each had over 70 beaded braids in their hair from their orphanage and those took a very long time to take out!  I already shared some of the pictures of that experience on a previous post so I won't post them again.  I've done 2 more hair styles for each of them since that first experience and I think I'm beginning to settle in and calm down about the hair situation.  I won't be doing any complex styles anytime soon but I'm able to do some basic braids and twists and have been thrilled with the results so far.  And let's face it...they are both adorable and beautiful and I'd really have to work hard to mess up how cute they are!

12/6/13 -- First time eating out at a restaurant.  Culver's was the restaurant of choice on a sunny but COLD day in December.  The girls did great and loved the food.  We did skip the ice cream that day since it was barely above zero!

12/8/13 -- First time going to our beloved church, Calvary Evangelical Free Church.  It just so happened that our first time at church with them was the Worship & Arts Ministries Christmas Celebration with full orchestra, choir, drama, solos, and more presenting the Joy of Christ coming to earth to rescue us.  This is something that I would've been VERY involved in helping to plan, prepare for, and present if we had not been able to bring our girls home in November.  It felt strange to sit in the congregation instead of participating up front but it was such a blessing to at least be able to attend.  We hadn't been sure that our girls would be ready for a church service yet but they were as anxious as we were to get out of the house and they sat quietly throughout the whole service, just taking it in.  I'm sure they wondered if this was what every church service at our church was like!  I didn't take any pictures of us at church that day, but I will always remember how amazing it felt to finally have all of our girls with us as we came to worship our amazing God with our loving church family that day.

12/9/13 -- First time sledding and playing in the snow.  That milestone had its own blog post as well so I won't post those same pictures again.  Chelley and Naika both really enjoyed playing in the snow and sledding in our backyard.  We've played outside many times since then and they have really acclimated well to the snow and cold.  Chelley says that she loves snow and that it's not that cold! :)

Whew...even though we were cocooning and not going as many places as usual, I'm just realizing now that we really did manage to pack a lot into the first two weeks!! Those little excursions out into our community kept us sane while we all went through the first days of this huge and often overwhelming adjustment for all of us.  I'll share more firsts soon in a part 2 post, since this post is already so long.  Hope you enjoyed these glimpses into our first 2 weeks all together as a family.