Cannot Fail

When you don't give up you cannot fail --Derek Redmond. 

(Look how hard he is trying - Precious One)

I saw the above quote at Ann’s blog - Crazy For Kids.  It was perfect since last week was another tough week for both Aiden and us.  As he gets older I can see that the Sensory Processing - Sensory Seeking issues are also getting bigger.  I started 1st grade with Alia and Joeliana, and Aiden jumped right into it with them, which I wasn’t quite expecting.  I wasn’t sure if he would be ready yet.  I was hoping that Corbin would join the girls, but HE is the one that isn’t ready.  I don’t stress over a 6 year old not being ready for “formal” academics.  There are plenty of fun ways to “teach” that do not need to be stressful to a child that isn’t ready for it yet. 

Seeing Aiden in “school” mode though was also an eye opener.   I sit here trying to find the words to describe what he does...there is so much energy in this little guy...no, not “energy", but ENERGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great big bouncing off the ceiling intense energy.  He would never make it in a public class room.  I stay in a constant state of trying to direct this little darling adorable tornado in a positive way - which just isn’t possible, and it is exhausting.   A few things happened last week that re-surfaced the need for me to find an Occupational Therapist and get the help that both Aiden and I need.  Those who know Aiden all understand...he isn’t “bad” and nor have we neglected  to discipline and train him.  In fact Aiden has one of the most tender and loving hearts I’ve seen.  It’s like the engine in a car - his behavior can quickly start running at 100mph, and he can’t get it to slow down.  He literally craves and seems to need high-energy, high impact activity.  And, of course there are situations daily that trigger immediate explosions of disorganized energy.  Besides that, he is crazy strong for a 5 year old.  And not afraid of anything.  

  I felt overwhelmed last week about how and where to get the help that we need and that is why that quote (and if you go to Ann’s blog, there is an awesome video story behind the quote), meant so much to me.  Of course we wont “give up” or quite; we will pick ourselves up again, pray to the LORD for guidance and wisdom, and keep on walking beside our son until we cross the finish line. Because this little guy is worth it all!!! 

Several Times This Week

Several times this week I sat down for a few seconds to write about this week, but we continue to have slow and “no” internet working here from about 4:00 p.m. and through out the evening.  Of course, this is the time that I usually have a few minutes to sit down and write since Steve is home.


Sooo, 
here’s the quick of it all before I must run down stairs and then I hope to follow up better later this afternoon;
-Hear once from Kalyn and they are all doing great.
-It’s been a hard week for a few of my little ones...I really need the LORD’s guidance for Aiden’s sensory things, and a few of the others have been very argumentative and “tender”.  By Wednesday, I was really wore down and tired...you know - the emotional stuff that makes you feel fuzzy minded and just “heavy”.  I love Aiden so much!!!  And I know the LORD has given me a special job to mother this little guy, and that He (God) will provide what I need to do that job.  Having said that  - well, after working with the yelling, fighting, crying, screaming, throwing, and heart wrenching “I’m sorry, Mommy”, only to start it all over again - EVERY day and almost EVERY minute, and then - well, the other things...
I don’t mean to complain - 
Yesterday I actually looked up “tired” and “burdened”  and “weary” in the Bible - ha-ha... I know, that is pathetic isn’t it.  And the LORD did give me a wonderful verse that encouraged me and a wonderful post from another mother that I will share later.  I can’t share this verse right now because my Bible is down stairs, and I am upstairs sitting with above mentioned child who is sitting here with me (for probably obvious reasons-his world has HAD to become a small circle around me).  So God knew how much His WORD would encourage me! Which is good, because,
-We had a dr.s appointment for Caresse.  I have been concerned about the leg that she has had two surgeries on.  It seems to be growing crooked.  Her AWESOME dr. confirmed that it is and that she needs a surgery right now to insert a plate into her knee to see if that will stop it from becoming worse and potentially “crippled”.  Poor Caresse, who has had 5 surgeries, skin biopsies, and so much pain in her leg sat there and cried and cried!  I couldn’t figure out why she was THAT UPSET.  When the dr. left I found out the problem.  She got upset when she heard that she needed a plate inserted into her leg and she heard that the dr. was going to numb it...my poor darling daughter thought that she was going to have to be AWAKE for the surgery and that they were only going to numb the spot.  Good Grief...I WOULD be crying in terror too!  After she found out what was going to happen, she was only “a little” upset.  On the drive home though it began to sink in that she had to have another surgery, be on crutches again, and hopefully be up and walking well by Jace’s wedding.  So her surgery is June 24th if you all would please be praying.  
-It’s funny - the above made me think something...special needs is talked about (rightly) a lot in considering to adopt a child with a special needs.  By adoption definition, Caresse is a “special needs” child. There is a difference though.  Caresse was born into a family and a culture where she could receive the medical help that she needs.  So many parents and children do no have that option.   Special Needs doesn’t have to be a “life sentence” for a child.  I love Caresse of course, and will do what I can for my child, and when we adopt a child into our family, if that child has a SN, our thoughts are not focused on that, but on the fact that he or she is our child and we will do what we need to do to help them.  I am so grateful to so many of you who have adopted SN children...you shine a light in a scary place.  May the LORD lay more of those precious children who wait on the hearts of others who can help them with the challenges that they face just because they are poor and live in a country where they cannot receive the medical help that they need.  “Special Needs” is not “who” they are, but just a beautiful situation for the LOVE of Jesus to shine into the lives of precious ones who are looking for help and waiting. 
AND that is the “quick” update - LOL.  Aren’t you glad I didn’t write out the long version.  
AND also, here is that site that I mentioned above that has encouraged me so much this week.  I will be spending time reading and meditating on the verses that she mentioned...
AND by the way, I love you guys!  Thank you for visiting our blog, for praying for us, for listening to me when I just need to chat.  Thank you for sharing our lives with us.  I am SO GRATEFUL for you all.  

A Little Story About A BIG Boy (SPD)

There was a mother who was blessed with a precious little blessing who was born in Africa.  When she went to Africa to bring her baby home, the first words that where told to her by the nanny in the baby house was that my new son was “very big”.  And it was true, for a baby growing up in an orphanage in a 3rd wold country, he was surprisingly large, and our big adventure with this little guy had just begun.  As the boy grew the mother began to notice his insatiable craving for movement, noise and action!!! And LOTS OF IT.  She teasingly began to say that her little man did everything BIG...living, laughing, tantrums and loving.  She noticed that he climbed higher and lived more dangerously than other 3 year olds, that he had amazing strength and a low tolerance to pain, that he tried really hard to “be good” but tended to be in trouble a lot, that his level of activity was usually supersonic, that he had problems with self-regulation, that he was CONSTANTLY in motion - even at night (every since he was a baby he had banged his head on the floor), that he loved crashing, bashing, bumping, jumping, and roughhousing, that he constantly touched things and invaded others space, just to name a few.  As her little man turned 4 and his strength, ability and energy level climbed, this poor and tired mother began to think that may by there was something different with her little man.”
This story is of course true and is about Aiden and me.  You could say I “hit a wall” in trying to figure out what to do with him and his INTENSEness in every area of our lives.  I am wore out most days by the time Steve cames home from constantly trying to put a protective shield around my little tornado us and our house. We have fixed 4 holes in our walls where he went down the stairs and hit the wall - with.his.head - it never even hurt him.  We have holes in doors where he dropped chairs.  He broke my nose when he accidentally was giving me a hug.  I tell him to jump on the floor and not the couch and he smiles at me and say “I was just kissing it” (and he REALLY means it). Well, I decided it was time to find some help.  
So I got sick.
Yup, I started getting sick Sunday and it got worse last night and I have been in bed all day today.  But I have put my time to good use and have been doing a lot of research and lookin’ into how to help my little man.
I had read a book which I saw at this blog by Lisa called Sensational Kids, by Lucy Jane Miller several months ago and teasing told Steve then that I really thought Aiden might have some Sensory Processing “red flags” in the Sensory Seeking area, but then I kind of let it go.  Well, I picked it back up yesterday and really felt that Steve and I needed to look into this.  And our little Aiden has MORE THAN ONE of the red flags for the Sensory Seekers.  
What is Sensory Processing Disorder?  You can find out here...Hartley did such a good job that I don’t feel I need to rewrite it.  You can also read her article on Sensory Seekers if you want to here.
Here are a few exerts for the Sensational Kids book that really stood out to me.
“Sensory seekers are often responsive, creative, and fun to be around.  They can be immensely enjoyable.  But when their drive for sensory stimulation is running their lives and running the lives of those around them, they can be overwhelming, too.”
“...the sensory craver’s extreme need for sensation is on a constant collision course with behavioral expectations.  The headlong rush to sensation not only appears willful but can and does lead to injuries and property damage.”
I decided to share here about our walk with Aiden as we learn what we need to do to support him as he grow up to be all that the LORD has created him to be.  Just as we did when we struggled with Kalyn’s learning needs (which is Dyslexia), I want to learn about Aiden’s needs and how to best help him.  
So stay tuned, there will be more to come on this...may be (if I can possibly keep up with him), I will write a “day in the life” of our little energizer.

This Makes Me Smile

(Picture by Kalyn)

Sara wrote a cute post about the smile of her little guy and asked us to share what makes us smile.

This picture of Aiden actually makes me laugh.  It so captures his silliness, and honestly, no one can be around this child for long without realizing that he LIVES BIG and loves even bigger.  

So, share with us what makes you smile!!

Aiden Siafa

My little Liberian son.  When we heard that a newborn boy was in need of a family, we emailed immediately asking to be your family.  Soon a picture of this adorable little baby filled my thoughts constantly.  


Traveling to bring you home was such a wonderful experience since it was my second trip to Liberia and I was getting to see friends from the last trip.


Two surprises awaited us...
you were HUGE for an almost 5 month old baby.  In fact, I was “warned” before they brought you upstairs that you were one “big baby”.  As they handed you to me, I thought “Wow, he really is big!!!  I should have known this was just the beginning of your “bigness”. 


Second surprise, you had an older  sister who was in the orphanage and I was able to meet her.  Of course, after that meeting I knew that we would need a miracle so that we could bring her home and keep ya’ll together.  (And that’s another story, but yes, we got that miracle.)


And now, here you are-FOUR years old...hardly a baby anymore. 

At four, you amaze us with your strength, which seems subhuman at times.  You REALLY are one of the most muscular and strongest little boys we have ever seen.  But the beauty of you is all that HUGENESS is on the inside also.  You love large, you play large, you get angry large (we are working on LARGE training for this one), you laugh large and just enjoy life in your special way - WITH ALL YOU’VE GOT. 
I love you dearly my little man!!! And I am so glad that God gave you to me!!!


(P.S.- come back later family and friends-I have a little give away because I love you all).