I know, I'm a terrible blogger.  Seems like 140 characters, quickly posting a pic or status seems much easier these days!  I did read through the blog not long ago and was quickly reminded of the incredible graciousness and faithfulness of the Lord.  I like having this journal and wanted to do an update on our precious little man.

I don't even know if I mentioned that he got really sick in December and this resulted in a swallow study.  The study revealed that Abe was aspirating both purees and liquids.  Not good.  He was then allowed nothing by mouth, all nutrition and hydration had to go through the feeding tube.  It was hard but everyone hoped that a repeat swallow study 6 months later would show improvement and he would once again be able to resume oral feedings.

Oral feedings are "normal" and when you have a child with severe special needs you like to have a few "normals".......so it was difficult to let it go.  Our repeat swallow study was yesterday.  I just knew it would show my boy was a swallowing king! It did.not.show.that....

He is indeed still aspirating solids and liquids, even his own saliva.  Bam.  It hurt.  I was not prepared for how sad it would make me.

Abe on the other hand is just fine with this!  He made it very clear during the study that he did not want any of it...... he can't communicate with words but he made it known that he is not interested in resuming oral feeds!  He pushed his tongue out, gagged and bit the spoon to prevent it from going in his mouth.  So the problem is me.  The loss of a "normal". The worry of him aspirating his own secretions.

I have some amazing friends and family that sent encouraging texts, let me cry on their shoulders and phone, reminded me of an awesome song (Oceans by Hillsong), brought me wine and cookie dough and a precious hubby that took me to a patio with a margarita.  We sat out there and cried together and quickly reminded one another what a gift this kid is to us, to others.

I'm thankful the Lord is faithful to encourage.  Faithful to reveal truth.  Faithful to remind me that He is God and I am not.  Faithful to provide the right scripture.  Last night He gave me Jeremiah 33:3.  "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."

He always answers prayers.  He does not always answer them the way we would like.  I do trust, rest in the knowledge that His ways are good.  That He loves Abe and knows his deepest needs.  So we keep pressing into Him and pressing on..........

My sweet friend Heather gave me this song, such rich truth.  Interesting enough, she sent me her journal entry for yesterday am.  Guess what scripture He gave her??? Yup, Jeremiah 33:3!  Our God is certainly in the details my friends. :)





"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"

― Martin Luther King Jr.

― Martin Luther King Jr.

― Martin Luther King Jr.

― Martin Luther King Jr.

― Martin Luther King Jr., I Have A Dream

“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies. (from "Loving Your Enemies")” 
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

I think since I have become so horrible at keeping up with this blog, I should try to cover as much as possible in this here post.  I will use pictures to help get you up to speed.


 Seriously, have you seen two cuter Indians?  Abe came home from school wearing this and Eyasu was in his first ever school program.  Moody and I both fought back tears, not going to lie.



Pray each of you had a blessed Christmas and are off to an excellent 2013!  I personally think it is going to be a great year. :)

Please take the time to read, pass along, pray............  (click on link to read)

I was going to do an update on sweet little Abe and a procedure he did yesterday but felt led to post this first.  Will do that soon. :)

The lovely Izzy was my assistant today.  The lucky winners are: (send me your mailing address if you won and I will put your book in the mail!)  Congrats.

and last but certainly not least---- Debi from The Jenkins Journey to Ethiopia Adoption

If you didn't win, treat yourself to the book.  It is an excellent read! Go buy it here.

I am giving away several copies of Levi Benkerts "No Greater Love" and all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered to win.  Why?  Because I love what Levi and Jessie are doing for the vulnerable orphans in Ethiopia.  I love their hearts and feel blessed to call them friends.  You will be blessed to read their story.

Loving this rainy Saturday birthday morning!  Moody let me sleep in (glorious) and I'm feeling very loved from friends and family.  Seriously birthdays are just more fun with facebook right? :)

I have been meaning to post this for a few weeks and time keeps getting away from me.  Last night we added to our family in a new way! At the end of the summer we started to look at options on getting more help with Abe.  Since he was starting school, our current schedule would change. We have been so blessed with Gloria as she has been part of our family for years! We just needed additional help as we try to manage the busy teens and the very active little ones.  I started doing some research online one night and just typed in "nanny dallas" thinking some database would exist that I could get some leads on a special person to help with my special guy.  The first thing that popped up was "nanny vs. au pair, you might be surprised".  I was curious so I clicked, but I was definitely thinking...au pairs are for the wealthy families living in the Hamptons (no offense.....the Hamptons are lovely!) but it was my pre-conceived attitude.

I started doing some research and we started to see this as a real possibility for our family.  Au pairs are individuals that have graduated from high school and desire to live in the States for a year and in return provide you with 45 hours of childcare.  They live with you, teach your children about their life and culture and get to experience a new culture for a year.  It is very affordable compared to other options. The hours are flexible based on your schedule.  This is huge for us as our schedule is always different based on the boys games, etc.

An adoptive mom (thanks Kristin) told me to look at Cultural Care as they have used several au pairs from that agency. We began pouring over profiles and videos.  Au pairs come from countries all over the world.  One day Avery ran outside and said, "I found her!!"  I went in to see a precious girl from Sweden holding a little brown baby.  We watched her video and just knew. She is from a small village in the southern part of Sweden.  At one point she said she loved to visit her church and then it showed her playing guitar while her father played the keyboards and they were singing "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me.  The girl loves Jesus!  What a gift. She has done mission work in Tanzania as well.  She is one of 5 children and her younger sister has special needs.  We couldn't believe what a gift this might be to our family.

We love adventure, we love exposing our kids to new cultures and experiences and we honestly love having people live here with us.  We began emailing, had a precious Skype call where Moody prayed and her father prayed a beautiful prayer in Swedish.

So last night my dear mother, Izzy and Avery picked her up at the airport (We were already at the boys football game because her plane was delayed several hours) and brought her straight to the homecoming football game.  Man, talk about culture shock.  Friday night lights and homecoming mums, how do you really explain that?  She said it was just like the movies. :) We love her already.

We are excited about this next year.  I'm obviously looking forward to the help with Abe and crew, but are expectant for all the Lord has for us with this new addition.  I think Moody is thankful that I wasn't asking for another smaller Alexander!

So you will be seeing more of Ottilia here.  Pray for our time. Know the Lord has much in store for all of us.