11/30/2012

Sometimes I hate coming up with names for my posts so today it just gets a date.

Anton is talking a lot. He is now saying some 5 word sentences which is a big deal! My favorite thing lately is to listen to Anton and Judah talk to each other. Judah will bring Anton a toy and ask him if he wants to play with it then Anton will answer him and they just carry on this cute little conversation. Anton also likes to correct Judah. He will tell him "Judah Adoniram don't say that" or in a whiny voice he will say "no Judah no." Judah LOVES Anton and within the past few days they seem to have gotten closer to each other. They are always together and really love playing with each other. Judah will just play and play with him and he always calls him "my Anton" He will say "Mommy My Anton needs a cup" or "My Anton wants to sit at the table" Their bond is growing stronger and stronger and I know they are going to be the best of friends.

Here are some cute things Anton has said lately:

I asked Judah and Anton if they wanted to watch Cars and Anton said "yes yes I so excited."

A few days ago I was holding Anton when he leaned over put his cheek up to mine and gave me a huge hug we stayed like that for about a minute and then Anton said "Mommy I so happy." It was the sweetest moment ever and it made me cry!

Anton is also really good at remembering peoples names. The last time we were in the hospital we had a nurse the first day we were there and she didn't come back for several days but once she came back and walked in the room Anton said "Hi, Rachael." We were both shocked he remembered her name.

We were teaching Kenya the Lords prayer for Sunday school and within a few weeks Anton had learned most of it just by listening to me teach it to Kenya.

Oh and one more crazy cool thing he did. My nephew Blake was talking to Anton and he pointed to the word you on his shirt and he said Anton what does this say and with out missing a beat Anton says "you." We all just looked at each other like "he did not just do that." So the next day I typed out the word you and sure enough Anton knew what it was. He only knows that word and his name but I still thought that was amazing.

He is so happy and content and such a joy to be around. I sure do love my boy!

I hope you guys have a great weekend!

We met Anton for the first time...

It was one year ago today that we met Anton for the first time. That day was like a dream and even the memories don't seem real because it was such an amazing day. We didn't blog while in country and I don't think I really blogged about our first trip at all but I did email updates to our family and friends and so I am now going to share those with all of you!

So here you go DAY 1 OF MEETING ANTON:

We had our meeting with the Ministry of Education today and it went so good. She told us all about his medical condition and his parents. She even copied the paper she was reading for us so we know have his full name and his parents names (we found out in court his surrogate signed the paperwork so we don't have his bio-parents info). She questioned us about how we are going to be able to care for him and was happy with our answers. She told us "thank you so much for wanting to adopt our Anton and for knowing how to care for him." Then she gave us the invitation to meet him and we were off!  

Our first visit with Anton went REALLY well. We were thinking he wouldn't want anything to do with us and that he would cry the whole time but he did great. When we first walked into his part of the hospital I saw him through an open door and I got SOOOOO excited. We didn't get to go to him right away though because his doctors wanted to ask us a few questions first. They drilled us and I think maybe got us a little more prepared for court with all the questions they were asking. After about 45 minutes of questions the doctors seemed satisfied with our answers and took us to see him. 

His nanny was helping him walk out of his room as we were walking up and I couldn't believe we were really getting to see him. We watched him for a few minutes before we really tried to interact with him too much. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him but didn't think we would be able to hold him the first visit. Well not too long after we first saw him they took us in his room and started showing him our family picture that has been in his room for several months now and they would say Papa and he would look at Jason then they would say Mama and he would look at me or his nanny (he called her Mama but they had also been teaching him that I was Mama) :) He recognized us from the picture which was amazing!  Then is nanny handed him to Jason and he did really good. He didn't cry at all or try to get out of his lap. I LOVED getting to see Jason holding our son and interact with him. Then his nanny gave him to me and he cried a little but overall did really well.

We played with him for a few minutes and talked to him but then he was ready to go back to his nanny. We were able to spend about 45 minutes with him before he got tired and wanted to take a nap. At that point we said good bye and went back into the doctors office for more questioning. They wanted to know how we liked him and if the meeting went as we expected to which we replied we LOVE him and it went way better than we could have thought. They also asked what the Grandparents thought so we told them how excited they were and how they can't wait to meet him. 

His doctors really liked us and are very glad we want to adopt him and are able to care for him. 

We will go visit him again tomorrow and watch them feed him and watch them do his dressing change. We are really excited they invited us to watch his dressing change because at first it seemed like they weren't going to let us be there for that. 

We love you all and thank you so much for praying! God is so so faithful and we are so blessed by everything that has happened so far on this trip! 

and now for some pictures! 

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I am so excited we emailed our family and friends, it is so neat to go back and read what was going on each day! 

What Disability Says vs What God Says

...For now I live with disability.
Disability still says ugly things to me.
Disability is a part of this broken sin-filled world.

But God has so many beautiful things to say.
And so I’m filled with hope.
God’s words grow louder and louder in my life.
The glory of his grace and mercy grow stronger and stronger.

I need to listen to his words.
I want to listen to his words.

God’s words change everything.
God’s beautiful words have changed my life.
And that is how I live with disability.

Read the entire transcript of this 9 minute testimony from God's Good Design in Disability

The Gospel

four years...

I can't believe it has been four years since I held my daughters...

Melody and Madison, I love you sweet girls and I miss you more than words could ever express.

this blog...

I have opened blogger hundreds of times only to close it because I didn't really have anything to say. I have tons of pictures to share but when I think about writing a blog my words fail me. Jason suggested just posting pictures he said I didn't have to write a ton. I thought I would give it a shot and who knows my writers block may leave me. Here goes...

But see now I thought of stuff to say, ha. I think I am going to do an update on Anton because I haven't done one in a while then I will try and just post pictures.

Anton has been battling infections since July, in fact he was readmitted to the hospital for a week in October because his infection was back and he wasn't feeling well at all. Thankfully we didn't have to stay long and we got to go home the day before Kenya's 6th birthday.

While we were in the hospital Judah, Jason and Kenya visited a lot.

Kenya put on a puppet show for her brother.

Even with his medical diagnosis Anton is the happiest most content child EVER!

This was our room! It was HUGE and had a really neat view of the hospital.

This is Kenya and I on her last day of being 5.

A few days after we got home his skin started looking bad again and his fever came back. I was freaking out because I didn't want to have to go back to the hospital. In the hospital his cultures came back showing he had Pseudomonas so I was giving Anton vinegar baths everyday to kill his infection. It was working great and most of his wounds were scabbing over. Then I noticed a few wounds were draining more and getting worse so I was pretty sure those had MRSA. I took Anton to the doctor and they cultured his remaining wounds and  they were MRSA. They put him on  antibiotics for 10 days and also put him on bactroban cream. He also had his first ear infection since he has been home. It went away on it's own though and it wasn't too bad. After the 10 days his infection was still there so we started doing bleach baths (it kills MRSA) and are continuing the bactroban and his skin looks AMAZING. He only has a few wounds and they are very small. His right leg is also getting a lot better. We took him to a new derm and she put him on KeragelT because that leg hasn't healed since we brought him home. It is still missing a lot of skin but it looks a TON better.

I talked to another EB Mom and she told me their routine to clean out the bed and bathroom so I have started doing that and it has made a world of difference. I think the way I clean now has a lot to do with the reason his infection is almost cleared up. I have added a few steps to what she told me but here is what I do... Once he wakes up in the morning I change out his pillow cases and sheet, I use cavi wipes and wipe down his crib, mattress and pillow cases. Then I bleach out the tub before I bathe him, then after the bath I bleach out the tub then rinse that out, then I scrub it with comet and rinse that out, then I fill up the tub with water and poor vinegar in it and let that sit for 15 minutes and then rinse that out, after that I cavi wipe the inside and outside of the tub, the light switches, the door knobs, sink and soap dispenser. I think that's it...

Anton had also been throwing up a lot. Every time he cried he would throw up. He would throw up 6 or 7 times and then he would eventually throw up blood. If he cried at night I had to FLY out of bed and run to his room in hopes to calm him down before he puked. It was a hard few months. He had done this for several months so his GI decided to change out his G-Tube for a GJ-Tube. This would make his food go right to his intestines because we didn't think his stomach could tolerate the food.  We slowed down his feeds until he could get scheduled to change out his tube and wouldn't you know it he stopped throwing up!!!  He is also sleeping through the night again! Life around here is getting easier! He has only spit up once since we slowed down his feeds, other than that he has done amazing! We still have the G-Tube which I like because I can change it if it comes out. He is doing great and is feeling a TON better.

Anton is doing great in physical therapy. This week he learned how to stand up by himself when he starts by sitting on a stool and he learned to lay down.

Anton standing up watching cartoons.

He also started to crawl!!! He doesn't do it a lot but the first time he did it I was sitting on one end of the couch and he was on the other side then the next thing I know he was crawling over a pillow to get to me. It was so cute and I was so excited!

We have had a great few weeks and I am so glad Anton is feeling better! Well there you have it, all I have to say is "I'm not going to write anymore" then it starts flowing.

I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Amelia and Allison/ UPDATE

UPDATE: I am crying my eyes out as I type this, God is so faithful and so good. They were able to successfully separate Amelia and Allison. She hasn't update their website yet but keep checking it if you want to hear more updates! 

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Hey guys I just wanted to stop by and ask for prayer for Amelia and Allison Tucker. They are in surgery right now to be separated. I can't imagine the emotions their family is experiencing but I know that God is so faithful. 

Here is their website if you want to check for updates. Their Mom Shellie said she wont post update until after the surgery is over and they get to see the girls.

Thank you all for praying for these sweet babies!  

   

Presidential Election Reflections: (God's Sovereignty over the Presidential Election) [2008 repost]

Here is something I, Jason D., posted in 2008, but I still think it relevant today (Listen to readout of article):
_________________________________________

I have read some good prayers today from Al Mohler and from The Blazing Center blog.

I posted this on election day, but thought it still had relevance with Obama's inauguration going on today. I think it is a good reminder for us all,... so here it is again:

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Post-Election 11/05 Update: If you don't want to read my long post below, I think Justin Taylor summed up what I was getting at very good and pithy:

"No matter who you voted for--or whether you voted at all--it's important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

• We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
• We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17)."

_________________________________________

My original Pre-Election 11/04 post:


I pray that you would rest in God,...
Specifically in His ownership and rule of the earth:

For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
- Psalm 47:7-8

...the world and its fullness are mine.
- Psalm 50:12

For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
- Psalm 47:2

He is in charge of the rulers of the world and governments and presidents:

...Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings...
- Daniel 2:20-21

...the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will
- Daniel 4:17

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
- Romans 13:1-2

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
- Proverbs 21:1

No matter who is elected His plans and sovereign rule will NOT be frustrated:

Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
- Psalm 112:2-3

For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
- Psalm 135:5-6

The Lord of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand,
- Isaiah 14:24

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
- Psalm 33:10-11

...he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”
- Daniel 4:25

...I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
- Isaiah 46:9-10

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
- Proverbs 19:21

The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.
- Proverbs 16:9

The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.
- Proverbs 16:33

What should a non-Christian's response be to God's sovereign rule? I think Paul says it best:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
- Acts 17:24-31

and a Christian's response:

The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
- Psalm 33:16-19

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,...
- 1 Timothy 2:1-3

If by providence our new president or any earthly ruler is reading this, here is something extra for you:

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
- Psalm 2
"We don't have to despair or be driven into fearmongering or slander. No matter who wins, let's avoid despair. Let's avoid letting this consume us. Let's not sink to bitterness or slander.

Our citizenship is in Heaven. Our hope is not in one who will promise change (in whatever party/ideology), but in the One who never changes. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is still in control! Our salvation does not lie in human governments. Our hope is not in a candidate. True change does not come with a new administration. Let us hope in Christ!"

- last quote from http://makinghome.blogspot.com/2008/11/freedom-in-gods-sovereignty.html

Feel free to leave your election advice in the comments.

Soli Deo Gloria,

jason d.

p.s. to end with some truth and humor, always remember we will never find a Savior on Capitol Hill: