Finally…everyone is in bed. I wasn’t going to blog…Rich has been out of town and JUST pulled in the driveway…he along with the 4 children are all sleeping soundly–BUT this is one day that has to be in our “blog to book” for Isaac to read one day…so it MUST be blogged:) And–before my sleep-deprived brain forgets…I must write it as I don’t want to forget a THING from today’s miracle!
Just over 3 months ago, we received Isaac’s referral. I was OVER-JOYED to hear our case-workers voice that day (if you missed that entry, you can read it here). I didn’t really share much about his referral at the time–other than he was severly malnourished and we felt like God was saying–HE IS YOUR SON…TRUST ME! We got the call on a runway in an airplane waiting to take off–so we didn’t get to see his pictures before praying about and deciding to move forward. I had prayed that the Lord would make our first referral phone call our son and give us the peace and strength to trust Him. As I listening on that airplane with my head practically ducked under the seat so I could actually hear every detail…my heart leapt and sank at the same time…
“Extremely malnourished…possibly born prematurely…7 pounds at 6 months…he is now 8 months and 10 pounds…isn’t able to drink formula so UNICEF is providing a special formula…8 months and not holding his head yet…not turning…” the list seemed to go on…BUT really—my heart heard very little of it…and the PEACE that surpasses ALL understanding over-rided. My heart LEPT. This was OUR SON!
I’ll NEVER, EVER forget the tears streaming down my face as my husband told me, “Who cares if he doesn’t walk! Who cares if he doesn’t lift his head! If this is the son God set apart for us—let’s do this!” MELT. The plane landed and I quickly dialed AGCI to shout, “We ACCEPT! We want to move forward!” Only…I got the answering machine saying they had closed for the day. That night I had a dream and saw that sweet face–AND he was CRAWLING. I am not a weird dream person—but I am now a weird dream person;)…because I KNEW that was from the Lord. He loves us so much–that although I TRIED to call and say yes right away—He wanted to assure me that HE WAS IN THIS before I did. It was SUCH a joy to call Kiersten, our caseworker at AGCI, and shout that next morning, “HE IS OURS!!! We know it! We want to move forward!” I will never forget her giggling on the other end and the TEARS on that phone call as we declared this was the Lord!
I will admit–I was scared. I flew to Ethiopia wondering. On Gotcha day…he cried–ALL. DAY. LONG. I was sure it was neurological reasons—he made no eye contact and I kept asking my mom and sister, “Something is off isn’t it?” BUT…I was so content and overjoyed–as I had my son. I just wanted them to break it to me easy and tell the truth…because I could take it. WELL…today–I got some truth and I am REJOICING! I know we may have setbacks…I know this is just the beginning BUT today we got such a great report and I am so thankful.
Because of the malnourishment, we had lots of tests run last week. Today–we got the results. I had Aunt Reid come over to stay with the kids while I took Isaac Temesgen–and to see our doctor walk in and SHAKE HIS HEAD and say, “This doesn’t make sense.” Then…he proceded to tell me how ALL his levels were perfect…his immune system BETTER than normal…his protein levels showed NO sign of malnourishment…his bone density—perfect…everything–to him–didn’t make sense. And again—MY HEART LEPT! Jesus said, “TRUST ME!!!” did He?! I wanted to tell our doctor that we sought the Great Physician before seeking his expertise and to us—it made PERFECT sense! He threw our nutrition plan out the door (we had discussed what direction we’d go in…Ensures, vitamins…extras of this and more of that). He said whatever we were doing was more than enough–because he had GAINED 2 pounds since we were there just 7 days ago! The only thing he could classify our son with today was “excessive weight gain”. HA! Did you hear that?! He was in awe of his cognitive and neurological gains…this 11 month old baby in my arms who has only heard the English language for 2 weeks did all “his tricks” on demand for Dr.Penny: he waved BYE-BYE…kissed mommy (my favorite!)…and he gave the doc a high five (actually several of them…because as soon as you see my son start smiling WHO can RESIST not holding your hand out there longer and letting him hit it a few more times!? Seriously?! He told me this wasn’t normal! I told him we fully expected some “not normal” results:)…but this wasn’t quite what I had in mind!
WE PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM. FOR HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED! Does He still perform miracles today?! ABSOLUTELY!!!
We will still be starting physical therapy, and we are praying and hoping he will crawl before he walks…and hoping he will crawl for awhile to stimulate more of that brain…so I’m perfectly happy if he just crawls this year and waits to walk at 2. Our doctor says crawling is very important for his mind and brain stimulation—so we’ll be doing LOTS of tummy time and putting patterns in front of him to help him focus and build brain connections. His upper body and strength is jello–so we have a ways to go…but I’m certain we will get there soon! So thankful for a good report…and I’m just AMAZED at what the doctor said today!!! Yes, it really doesn’t make sense does it?! I’m so thankful how the Lord has healed our son!!! He goes to sleep each night laying beside me and twisting my hair with his tiny fingers and rubbing my face. So thankful for the connection we are building and so thankful for all God is doing in his life and in our hearts in the process!!! I would have NEVER learned the things I’m learning had we not followed Him in the miracle of adoption…I totally get why people adopt again and again and again. It’s God’s heartbeat…caring for orphans and building families…and to share some of God’s heart…it’s just amazing!
Wish you all a great week!
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