I am just wondering "why" even tho its really none of my business. Why the choice of the growth hormone to help Anna grow? Did you feel she was too small and needed to grow more, maybe that is her nature to be smaller? Was it her choice?? please forgive me if I am being too personal just wondering is all.
We need to decide about doing growth hormone treatment too because my kid's body is producing much less growth hormone than normal, so height is short. How has it been? Are the shots hard or painful to do? How much is it helping? How do you feel about it? Thanks!
this question is tough so i understand if you don't answer it. :-)
what will you tell Alexsey if he ever asks why you took Dennis and left him in the orphanage for a year? as adults, we can understand it - i know i do - but from a child's perspective it probably won't be so easy. once he realizes that you were there but didn't claim him as your son for awhile, he may ask about it, and i'm just wondering how you'd approach that with him.
again, this is something that i understand, so PLEASE don't take it as criticism at all... i'm just asking how you'd handle answering Alexsey's questions since he's still so young.
Just wanted to pass on this website of a wonderful family who is trying to go back for the bio siblings of her adopted daughter. Very interesting, good luck to them! http://wwwourchinagirl.blogspot.com/
Please forgive me if I am asking too personal of a question however, my husband and I would love nothing more than to adopt a little girl, however it seems that it is going to cost us $14,000 for a domestic adoption, or $20,000 for an international adoption. The money factor is delaying our moving full force forward. That being said. . .how do you do it? How are you able to afford so many adoptions? Are we missing something or are the agencies just trying to take us for a ride?
Do you know if Dennis´s parents gave him up solely because of his facial issues or were there other factors involved that meant they couldn´t look after him? Do you think they were encouraged to just leave him and go home and forget about him?
Thank you for being so generous with your time again.
What are the children's full names? John had a list of the middle names to be matched with the first names, but I never saw the results! Also, what about Alexsey's name?
funny you should ask if we have anything to ask. tell me about your daughter who is alcohol affected? how do you teach her that her behaviors are not acceptable? My little Russian may well be alcohol affected but no proof, he also has adhd and I am running out of ideas of ways to get in his head and get the message through! simple basics like respect, which for him I have defined as kind and gentle with everyone and everything. instead its constant blowups. he also has adhd. do you have any kids with adhd? oh thats two questions! hope you will let me have a twofer cus I am at my wits end here and you seem to be such a good resource!
Is Dennis getting any speech therapy since the latest surgery? I am just wondering...being with such a large and wonderful family, I am sure he has lots of role models also to help him along! He's come so far...
Hi, first I'd like to say I really enjoy reading your blog and me and my children don't have children yet, but I'm learning from you! :) What is the prognosis for Dennis' speech? Will he be able to talk? Also I'm curious as to what hobbies/extracurricular activities all your children do.
I worked at a special needs camp with children with visual impairments while I was in college. I seem to remember that eye prosthetics either are stationary or can move with the eye musculature if it is intact. If I am remembering that right, does Dennis have adequate muscles or will his eye be stationary?
(The only thing I remember for certain about the prosthetics is how amazingly real they look. In fact, I had a co-worker who had 2 and I only found out after we'd all been discussing caring for the prosthetics prior to the first children coming).
I was wondering what you guys like to do best as a family? Do you watch movies together and if so, do you have enough seats for all? There are 6 people in my family and most of us end up on the floor when we watch movies. Thanks and I'm praying for you all!
I need some advice and help. What do you tell you children when they are being bullied by another child? Tyler is such a target for bullies due to his kind personality. We have a bully at the baseball field. I told Tyler to tell him to stop and walk away and that is not helping. He has even started pushing (even tried to hit her with a baseball) Brianne. I was so angry I told her to smack him. Luckily she is only 2 and does not understand me. LOL And yes I know I said I would never post again due to the commenter, but I needed some help.
How many loads of laundry do you attack each day and do you limit your children's clothing so you don't have mount washmore? And.... how much does an average meal at a restaurant cost???? LOL (you don't have to answer that one) :)
* I remember reading somewhere that Anna has FAS. Do her and Sveta have similar disipline problems? Cognitive level, etc.? Or is she even affected at all, and just has physical characteristics?
* How does Dennis fake eye work? Does it always stay in that position? Or does it move with his head so that it appears he is looking at them? Is he a candidate for an eye transplant? Do you have to take it out and wash the eye cavity out?
I know it is a lot of questions, I have no experience with any of this and I'm just curious. Thanks, Sarah
Where do I start? I mean, being able to afford it? I would LOVE to adopt again and my heart just cries for the failed adoptions... where do you begin? How do you "sign up" for those kids?
I have adopted all of my kids through foster care, so i don't have a clue about international adoptions...
I have been wondering if Sveta's full first name is/was ever Svetlana. I love the meaning of that name (Sveta, too) and it's so fitting in your family!
While talking about names, was any of your children's first names changed by your or their previous adoptive family?
Another question, as now my brother and his wife are considering international adoption to expand their family--too much of a genetic gamble in having more biological kids--they are wondering around what age orphans in Russia/Ukraine start to have a Christian identity that goes beyond Christmas/Easter? They are Orthodox Jews and wouldn't feel comfortable raising a child with a previously established Christian identity as Jewish--pretty much the same way it wouldn't be acceptable the other way around either.
And one last question: Do you know anyone who adopted from Hungary and is sharing their experiences somewhere? Hungary is their other target country.
I do not know if you will see this or be able to personally answer this but I decided to ask anyway.
My son was diagnosed with sensory integration disorder when he was 2 years old.He is now 3 years old. I believe it is your son William who has this same disorder. Since moving overseas to Germany with my family my son has not been able to receive OT services and so his issues have gotten worse. We just came back from vacation and while on vacation I definately saw the difference between him and other children his age. We went to the Netherlands and while the rest of our family enjoyed the flowers and scenery my 3 year old became totally overstimulated and tantrumed the whole time until he fell asleep exhausted. He was more interested in the little placards that told the names of the flowers than the flowers themselves. He was obsessed with finding and touching every single placard in the park. He is so overwhelmed with his sensory issues that he is very behind for his age verbally. He can't even answer a simple question like "What did you do at the park?". Yet he can recite the whole alphabet and recognize all the letters, sing numerous songs in which I understand every word he's saying and act out full dialog from his favorite movies. It is so strange that he has some skills that are age appropriate but lacking in others. The reason for all the background is to ask you a couple of questions. 1) When was William diagnosed with sensory issues, how have they manifested through the years and how have you dealt with them? 2)Is he behind for his age in any areas(academically or socially)? 3)Does he have issues with being overstimulated at home or while you are out with the family and if so how do you deal with it? Right now I am so overwhelmed with dealing with my son's sensory issues(which at times makes the whole family miserable) and with homeschooling my other 3 children that I feel at my wits end. Any help or advice you can give me as a mom with an older child with sensory issues would be greatly appreciated. If you can't answer this in a blog and would prefer to e-mail me my e-mail address is melissamoss79@live.com. Thank you for being so honest in your blog about everything you deal with on a daily basis with your family. It really does help those of us out here reading your blog who are also struggling day to day with parenting.
My wife and I adopted a little boy who is 7 years old and has FAS. I loved reading your post on Sveta but do you think she will always have to live with you or do you think she will be able to live and work independently?
My wife and I love reading your blog learning from all your experiences.
I have enjoyed reading your blog so much over the last year, since I first discovered it.
I was raised Catholic and religion was definitely a part of growing up in my family, but I feel as though over the years since I have gotten away from religion and I do want it to be part of my life, my hsuband's life and my son's life. I respect your religious strength and how it is such a part of your life.
You mention many times how you give yourself grace and from the context I can imagine what is meant by that, but I want to know in your words what you mean when you say you are giving yourself grace.
Do you have a "schedule" for your days or weeks? Is there a certain day you go to the store, clean, etc? What types of things do you do with Dennis during the day? Is it scheduled at all? Needing some fresh ideas and activities for my kids and for me to do with them during the day. :) Thanks!
26 inspiring thoughts:
I am just wondering "why" even tho its really none of my business. Why the choice of the growth hormone to help Anna grow? Did you feel she was too small and needed to grow more, maybe that is her nature to be smaller? Was it her choice??
please forgive me if I am being too personal just wondering is all.
Being a new reader to your blog (I came across it via Courtney's Storing Up Treasures blog) I'm curious to know:
1) Was Dennis born with his condition, or was it due to an accident of sorts.
2) Which are your biological children and which are adopted?! They all look so alike!
We need to decide about doing growth hormone treatment too because my kid's body is producing much less growth hormone than normal, so height is short. How has it been? Are the shots hard or painful to do? How much is it helping? How do you feel about it? Thanks!
this question is tough so i understand if you don't answer it. :-)
what will you tell Alexsey if he ever asks why you took Dennis and left him in the orphanage for a year? as adults, we can understand it - i know i do - but from a child's perspective it probably won't be so easy. once he realizes that you were there but didn't claim him as your son for awhile, he may ask about it, and i'm just wondering how you'd approach that with him.
again, this is something that i understand, so PLEASE don't take it as criticism at all... i'm just asking how you'd handle answering Alexsey's questions since he's still so young.
praying for all of you,
michelle
Just wanted to pass on this website of a wonderful family who is trying to go back for the bio siblings of her adopted daughter. Very interesting, good luck to them!
http://wwwourchinagirl.blogspot.com/
I know this has been asked before what does hubby do for a living?
Please forgive me if I am asking too personal of a question however, my husband and I would love nothing more than to adopt a little girl, however it seems that it is going to cost us $14,000 for a domestic adoption, or $20,000 for an international adoption. The money factor is delaying our moving full force forward. That being said. . .how do you do it? How are you able to afford so many adoptions? Are we missing something or are the agencies just trying to take us for a ride?
Thanks for letting me ask!
Do you know if Dennis´s parents gave him up solely because of his facial issues or were there other factors involved that meant they couldn´t look after him? Do you think they were encouraged to just leave him and go home and forget about him?
Thank you for being so generous with your time again.
What are the children's full names? John had a list of the middle names to be matched with the first names, but I never saw the results! Also, what about Alexsey's name?
funny you should ask if we have anything to ask. tell me about your daughter who is alcohol affected? how do you teach her that her behaviors are not acceptable? My little Russian may well be alcohol affected but no proof, he also has adhd and I am running out of ideas of ways to get in his head and get the message through! simple basics like respect, which for him I have defined as kind and gentle with everyone and everything. instead its constant blowups. he also has adhd. do you have any kids with adhd? oh thats two questions! hope you will let me have a twofer cus I am at my wits end here and you seem to be such a good resource!
Is Dennis getting any speech therapy since the latest surgery? I am just wondering...being with such a large and wonderful family, I am sure he has lots of role models also to help him along! He's come so far...
Hi, first I'd like to say I really enjoy reading your blog and me and my children don't have children yet, but I'm learning from you! :) What is the prognosis for Dennis' speech? Will he be able to talk? Also I'm curious as to what hobbies/extracurricular activities all your children do.
my comment should read my husband and I, not my children and i have no children LOL but I'm sure you figured that out :)
I worked at a special needs camp with children with visual impairments while I was in college. I seem to remember that eye prosthetics either are stationary or can move with the eye musculature if it is intact. If I am remembering that right, does Dennis have adequate muscles or will his eye be stationary?
(The only thing I remember for certain about the prosthetics is how amazingly real they look. In fact, I had a co-worker who had 2 and I only found out after we'd all been discussing caring for the prosthetics prior to the first children coming).
I was wondering what you guys like to do best as a family? Do you watch movies together and if so, do you have enough seats for all? There are 6 people in my family and most of us end up on the floor when we watch movies. Thanks and I'm praying for you all!
I apologise if this is too personal, but at what age were Rachel and Annalyn adopted by their previous families?
I need some advice and help. What do you tell you children when they are being bullied by another child? Tyler is such a target for bullies due to his kind personality. We have a bully at the baseball field. I told Tyler to tell him to stop and walk away and that is not helping. He has even started pushing (even tried to hit her with a baseball) Brianne. I was so angry I told her to smack him. Luckily she is only 2 and does not understand me. LOL
And yes I know I said I would never post again due to the commenter, but I needed some help.
How many loads of laundry do you attack each day and do you limit your children's clothing so you don't have mount washmore?
And.... how much does an average meal at a restaurant cost???? LOL
(you don't have to answer that one) :)
I have a couple questions:
* I remember reading somewhere that Anna has FAS. Do her and Sveta have similar disipline problems? Cognitive level, etc.? Or is she even affected at all, and just has physical characteristics?
* How does Dennis fake eye work? Does it always stay in that position? Or does it move with his head so that it appears he is looking at them? Is he a candidate for an eye transplant? Do you have to take it out and wash the eye cavity out?
I know it is a lot of questions, I have no experience with any of this and I'm just curious. Thanks,
Sarah
Where do I start? I mean, being able to afford it? I would LOVE to adopt again and my heart just cries for the failed adoptions... where do you begin? How do you "sign up" for those kids?
I have adopted all of my kids through foster care, so i don't have a clue about international adoptions...
I love your question posts!
I have been wondering if Sveta's full first name is/was ever Svetlana. I love the meaning of that name (Sveta, too) and it's so fitting in your family!
While talking about names, was any of your children's first names changed by your or their previous adoptive family?
Another question, as now my brother and his wife are considering international adoption to expand their family--too much of a genetic gamble in having more biological kids--they are wondering around what age orphans in Russia/Ukraine start to have a Christian identity that goes beyond Christmas/Easter? They are Orthodox Jews and wouldn't feel comfortable raising a child with a previously established Christian identity as Jewish--pretty much the same way it wouldn't be acceptable the other way around either.
And one last question: Do you know anyone who adopted from Hungary and is sharing their experiences somewhere? Hungary is their other target country.
Do any of your adopted children still speak Russian/Ukrainian? If not, would it be an option for them to learn it when they are older?
-Tiffany
I do not know if you will see this or be able to personally answer this but I decided to ask anyway.
My son was diagnosed with sensory integration disorder when he was 2 years old.He is now 3 years old. I believe it is your son William who has this same disorder. Since moving overseas to Germany with my family my son has not been able to receive OT services and so his issues have gotten worse. We just came back from vacation and while on vacation I definately saw the difference between him and other children his age. We went to the Netherlands and while the rest of our family enjoyed the flowers and scenery my 3 year old became totally overstimulated and tantrumed the whole time until he fell asleep exhausted. He was more interested in the little placards that told the names of the flowers than the flowers themselves. He was obsessed with finding and touching every single placard in the park. He is so overwhelmed with his sensory issues that he is very behind for his age verbally. He can't even answer a simple question like "What did you do at the park?". Yet he can recite the whole alphabet and recognize all the letters, sing numerous songs in which I understand every word he's saying and act out full dialog from his favorite movies. It is so strange that he has some skills that are age appropriate but lacking in others. The reason for all the background is to ask you a couple of questions.
1) When was William diagnosed with sensory issues, how have they manifested through the years and how have you dealt with them?
2)Is he behind for his age in any areas(academically or socially)?
3)Does he have issues with being overstimulated at home or while you are out with the family and if so how do you deal with it?
Right now I am so overwhelmed with dealing with my son's sensory issues(which at times makes the whole family miserable) and with homeschooling my other 3 children that I feel at my wits end. Any help or advice you can give me as a mom with an older child with sensory issues would be greatly appreciated. If you can't answer this in a blog and would prefer to e-mail me my e-mail address is melissamoss79@live.com.
Thank you for being so honest in your blog about everything you deal with on a daily basis with your family. It really does help those of us out here reading your blog who are also struggling day to day with parenting.
My wife and I adopted a little boy who is 7 years old and has FAS. I loved reading your post on Sveta but do you think she will always have to live with you or do you think she will be able to live and work independently?
My wife and I love reading your blog learning from all your experiences.
I have enjoyed reading your blog so much over the last year, since I first discovered it.
I was raised Catholic and religion was definitely a part of growing up in my family, but I feel as though over the years since I have gotten away from religion and I do want it to be part of my life, my hsuband's life and my son's life. I respect your religious strength and how it is such a part of your life.
You mention many times how you give yourself grace and from the context I can imagine what is meant by that, but I want to know in your words what you mean when you say you are giving yourself grace.
Do you have a "schedule" for your days or weeks? Is there a certain day you go to the store, clean, etc? What types of things do you do with Dennis during the day? Is it scheduled at all? Needing some fresh ideas and activities for my kids and for me to do with them during the day. :) Thanks!
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