Updates

Just a quick update on the kiddos--
Landon has learned how to tie his shoes and ride his bike. The kid is amazing. He accomplished both these tasks without Scott or I feeling like we'd actually taught him. We showed him how to tie his shoes a few times, and he's been watching carefully, but we never sat and said "now do this, now make bunny ears, blah blah blah". But he picked it right up. And as for his bike riding-- we just took the training wheels off and told him to push himself along with his feet and work on balancing and steering. He'd push off and lift his feet, then practice steering. Then we told him to work on getting his feet up to the pedals while he was coasting. next step- pedaling. It took him all of 20 minutes to learn. Smart boy. No endless hours of running behind him, holding onto the seat. Yay!
Luke is anxious to be able to do all the things Landon does, so he will probably be an early bike rider. He needs a new bike, so we are looking for one. The one he has weighs about 127 pounds and is so hard to pedal. it's one of those "tonka" 12" bikes. It is cute, and it was free, but he does not have the coordination necessary to pedal a difficult bike. So, we'll pass that on to someone else.
N is Potty trained! I can't even tell you how happy this makes me. Hooray for N! Our school district has 2 weeks off for spring break, and by the end of break, he was in underwear full time. Only a couple of accidents- one at night and one in the day. He's doing so well with his adjustment here. He certainly has a little attitude at times, but that's necessary in a crazy house like ours.
And Dylan. Our little Dylan continues to amaze us. He is crawling! and it is the cutest thing I've ever seen. I don't know if it is just because he had to work so much harder to get to this point, but I break out in a huge grin (and sometimes even a happy tear) STILL every time I see him crawl. He's been at it close to a month now. It is so adorable. And he's pulling to a stand on everything. He tried it on the vacuum the other day with an unhappy ending. He is now sporting a big bruise on his forehead. He had been avoiding crawling on the tile... until today. Now he's unstoppable. Time to Dylan-proof the house. He's precious, and all the boys (and mom and dad) spoil him.
Tomorrow will mark 3 years without our sweet Jacob. The pain of losing him still seems so fresh, and yet, it also seems like it has been a million years since I got to hold my sweet boy. awww, here come the tears. must be time to stop.

Happy Birthday, sweet angel Jacob. You would have been 4 today! I wish I could see you running around the house with your brothers. I miss you more today than I did yesterday. I love you, John Jacob Jingleheimer!

Why?

Do you know what children like Dylan are treated like in Eastern European orphanages? I feel sick to my stomach when I read articles, or watch a news clip about it. My mind quickly scrambles, wondering if there's something more I can do. I look at my little Dylan, and the light he brings to this family, and know the world would be a darker place without him. He's been so sick this past week with RSV. I can't stand to think about him in a place where he's never held, never spoken to, fed once a day, diaper changed rarely, and left to suffer illness on his own. He whimpers, and I hold him close. I stroke his cheeks. I coo in his ear. I let him see me smile at him. I tell him a billion times a day how much I love him, and smother him with kisses. When he's sick, I rub his back, go without sleep so I can hold him up to let him breathe easier, wish with every piece of me that I could absorb his pain and discomfort. Kids with Down syndrome, and other special needs, are not a waste of space. They are PERFECT. They are not put on this earth for us to put up with, they are here for us to learn from. They are not the ones that need to become more like a typical person. Typical people need to become more like THEM. Spend some time with my son, and I guarantee you'll learn something about unconditional love, about faith, about goodness and light. I love you, sweet Dylan. I hope someday I can grow up to be more like you.

a day in the life

Monday:
Landon to school bus at 7:30, N on the bus at 8:15, N home again 11:45, Luke on the bus at 12:15, Landon home 3:15, Luke home 4:00. Scott Leaves for work at 7:30am. after classes, he goes to our business in Scottsdale. He returns home around 9pm.

Tuesday:
Landon to school bus at 7:30, Dylan has Developmental therapy at 10, Luke on the bus at 12:15, Landon home 3:15, Luke home at 4. Scott leaves at 7:30 am, and in the evening teaches a college course. he returns home around 9- 9:30

Wednesday:
Landon on bus at 7:30, N on but at 8:15, N home again 11:45, Dylan has Physical Therapy at 2, Landon home 3:15. Scott leaves at 7:30 and returns home by 5

Thursday:
Landon on bus 7:30, Luke on bus at 12:15, Landon home 3:15, Luke home 4:00. Scott leaves at 7:30 and then goes to the business. home around 9.

Friday:
Landon on bus 7:30, N on bus 8:15, N home 11:45, Landon home 3:15. Scott leaves at 7:30, and sometimes gets to be home by about 4:30, unless it is very busy at the business. Then he has to go there until about 9.

Saturday:
no set schedule for the kids. Scott has to go to the business around 10am, and returns around 5-6.

Sunday:
A day of rest! no work for Scott, Church services are currently from 1-4pm.


This doesn't take into account any doctors visits, dentist visits, trips to the grocery store... or any household chores. Or the Occupational and Speech therapy Dylan is SUPPOSED to be getting, but there just aren't any therapists available currently. Starting this next week, A will be on the same schedule as Landon, and Stix doesn't currently need any services, so her schedule will remain eat, sleep, poop, repeat.

good times.

girls?????

just had to share a little of the cuteness. did you know that in that extra 21st chromosome is where extreme cuteness is found?

okay, so I never really shared the news that I promised. We have another little 3 year old boy in our home that we hope to be adopting soon! I can't post pics or his name yet, so I'll call him N. He is adorable and fits right in around here. there is about a 7 month difference between him and Luke. He goes to preschool, although on a different schedule than Luke. That's good and bad. good that I get some one-on-one time with each boy, bad that I have to keep up with 2 different pre-school schedules. He's doing so well. We had a rough patch earlier this month, but it was short lived, and honestly not that bad. His adjustment has been amazing.

Now on to girls. We are foster parents. N is a private adoptive placement, not associated with foster care at all, so we had no current foster placements. My licensing worker keeps telling me how badly they need homes right now due to recent influx of children in care :o(

We felt good about opening up one of our beds for placement, as N's adjustment has gone well, and we certainly have the space. I wanted a child 6 yrs old or older. so they called us about a 6 yr old girl - with a little sister. a 4 month old little sister. Well, the reason we licensed for 2 beds in the first place is to try to help keep siblings together. So we just couldn't say no. I like things to be busy around here anyway. So, the tally for anyone keeping track - we currently have in our home: 2- 6 yr olds, 2- 3yr olds, a 13 month old, and a 4 month old. I don't think the girls will be here very long. but while they are, I will refer the the 6 yr old as A, and the baby as Stix. Why Stix? I love the movie Willow, and the little red headed baby there is nicknamed Stix by Val Kilmer's character. The little one we have is a red head-- so cute. So, stix. there you have it. The life and times of the Spencer clan.

Year of the....COW???

When we were in IL to bring home our little man, we were having dinner with the birth family (open adoption) at grandma Sveta and grandpa Felix's house. They gave us some gifts-- okay, they gave us many gifts, and one of them was this cute little pig keychain. They told me that according to the chinese zodiac, Dylan was born in the year of the pig. Okay. cute. I don't put much stock in any zodiac, Chinese or otherwise, but it didn't bother me in the least that they kept track of that. It's just sort of a fun thing for them, I think. fast forward to October, when Sveta and Felix came for a visit. They once more came bearing MANY gifts. For all the kids, plus Scott and I. They truly spoil us. One of the things in my stash was a cow keychain, and it had a button to push that made it moo, and a little light in the mouth come on. Sveta told me that it was to represent my Chinese zodiac sign. I said, Oh, I was born in the year of the cow? The very sentence made me crack up. How appropriate. I was born in the year of the cow. I went to Wikipedia, and it turns out, it is actually an Ox. Ox sounds infinitely better than cow. Probably why the Chinese chose it. Smart Chinese. The pig is also technically a boar. so now I know. Turns out Luke was born in the year of the monkey... how appropriate is that? certainly fits him. Anyway, beginning on the 26th of Jan, we once more enter into the year of the... Ox. Scott is also an Ox. maybe good things will be in store for us this year??

Funny Landon moments

today after school I was working with Landon on his homework. Then I signed a paper that had to go back to school. He looked at it and said "is that your initials?" I told him no, it was my name. He looked at my signature with a very confused look and said "that says 'Mom'?" it was so funny. I love it when kids think your whole name is mom. I remember discovering my mom had a name.
And the other moment was one he shared with daddy, and Scott told it to me. With me being a Beatles fan, my kids tend to pick up Beatles songs quite young. One I sing a lot is "Dear Prudence". but instead of the part where it actually says Dear Prudence, I subsitute the name of whichever son I'm singing to. This is one of Luke's favorites. He even sings it back to me quite often, with the chorus of Dear Mommy, won't you come out to play?... but I digress. Landon is not a morning person so much. I am not either. Which is why Scott is in charge of getting Landon up in the mornings. He was having a hard time getting Landon out of bed the other day, so he started singing "The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you, Dear Landon, won't you come out to play". Landon lifted his head, looked over at his window, and said quite groggily "Dad, the sun is NOT up." and promptly laid his head back down and shut his eyes. That made me laugh. I can't blame him. I though having kids would "cure" me and I would do morning better, but no such luck. There are just 2 kinds of people in this world, and I am NOT of the morning variety. apparently i'm a bad influence on my children as well. Oh, well. They'll survive it.

Sweet bonding moments

So Luke came in and crawled in bed with me this morning and I was snuggling him. He was facing me, and I was rubbing his sweet little face, thinking how much I loved him. here is our conversation.

me: Luke, do you know what my favorite thing is?
Luke: what, mama?
me: snuggling with my Luke

he smiles so sweetly at me .

Luke: Mama, do you know what my favorite thing is?

I smile to myself, thinking I know what he will say

me: What is your favorite thing, baby?

Luke: ....Playing with toys.

HAHAHA!! I love how honest kids are.

Today is the day!

Finalization day for little Dylan!!! YAY!! We are so excited to have this step DONE. He is legally a Spencer boy now. Finalization takes place in Illinois (we don't have to be there) and the lawyer will get all the necessary paperwork sent out tomorrow. Then Wednesday is his first birthday. Can you hear me singing the Hallelujah chorus?

This friday we take him to the temple to be sealed to our family. For anyone unfamiliar, I guess you could call it the religious version of finalization. We are very excited. He is a precious child. He makes us all smile. And he brings me great Joy. And for the icing on the cake, this friday is also our 13th anniversary.

We also have another new little face around here, that we hope to be able to adopt. Yes, another boy-- another 3 year old boy! I'll post pics and updates as I am able, but for now, we need to keep that private.

Sadly, no encouraging news of our Serbian daughter. We love her, and can't wait to meet her. We try to remain faithful, remembering the Strength with wich the Lord placed her in our hearts.

We learned the hard way Saturday night that Luke has asthma. Not a fun night. It was Scott's birthday, so while Luke had a cough, we still went out to eat. Just a very casual meal, nothing fancy. As I said, Luke had a cough, but nothing slows that kid down. I don't worry about him until he DOES slow down. He had been going at a billion miles an hour all day. When we were out, he kind of suddenly slowed down, and asked to go home. I knew then that he had more than a cold. We got into a warm shower, to see if the steam would open him up a little. Then we got him ready for bed, and put him in our room. We have a toddler sized bed we keep in there for sick kids, or if someone has a bad dream and wants to sleep close. Luke definitely gets the most use out of it. I was rubbing his head and singing to him, wondering if I should find an urgent care to take him to, when he sat up and said "Mom, I just want to breathe". Okay, time to go. Took him to urgent care, and his O2 sats were 88. after 2 breathing treatments and a lung x-ray (clear), he was able to maintain sats at 93, so they sent us home with oral steroids, and albuterol (we already had the nebulizer) and instructions to do breathing treatments every 2 hours. After the first 12 hours, we were able to go to every 4 hours, and now he is just using it as needed. My sweet luke does have a tendency to worry me. Luke and Asthma will not mix well. The kid never slows down. I don't know much about asthma yet, but I'm sure i'll be learning soon. His follow up with his Ped is next week.

just a quick note before bed. I've gotten way behind again. Landon had to disguise Tom Turkey so he wouldn't get eaten for Thanksgiving. He decided to disguise him as Santa. It turned out really cute. It was assigned as a family project, so we all got to help. We had fun. Landon's sense of humor is really developing. I'll post pictures of his 6th birthday when I'm not so tired. ...... so it might be a while. Big news in the Spencer household, but we'll keep you all in suspense a bit longer on that, too. No, unfortunately, it is not about Aunika.

Dylan's adoption will be finalized in Dec!!! we are excited. the court date is Dec. 29, but now all the reports are in, we are seeing if the attorney can move it up for us.

Reece's Rainbow Christmas Angel Tree - Maria

**pictures of Maria posted with permission of her orphanage director**




This is Maria. Isn't she a doll? She lives in Serbia, in the same orphanage as our daughter. She was born April 30, 2006. This is what the Reece's Rainbow website has to say about her:
Little Maria is so beautiful! Her giant brown eyes and dark brown hair are irresistible! Maria just turned 2 years old, and is free and clear for international adoption.
Maria was born with an ASD II, but it seems it has closed up on it's own. She has been monitored by a cardiologist, but is not on any medications and is doing wonderfully! She was born with a hemangioma on her lower lip, so she will need to see an ENT and a plastic surgeon to remove it (if you so choose).

a family that was in Serbia stated that the hemangioma was not too bad, and another mom with some experience in the area, says they often go away by themselves. This is the little girl we have chosen to sponsor as a family for this years angel tree. Please make a donation to her. 100% of your donation goes into a grant fund for her. and donations are Tax deductible! And if your donation is at least $35, you will get an ornament with her picture on it (as long as you make your donation by Dec. 15). Visit http://www.reecesrainbow.com/angeltree2008.htm and click on Waiting Angels Gallery , then look for Maria to make a donation. Donations can be made via paypal or USPS.
Better yet, are you interested in adopting her? Serbia is typically a very quick, easy country to adopt from. Our adoption is very atypical. Our daughter has not yet been cleared for international adoption. Maria has been. Just something to consider....
And not to detract from our sponsorship is Maria, but look at this little guy named Alec (from Eastern Europe) and our Dylan. Couldn't they be twins?

Wellllll.... The homestudy update is over. she was here for about and hour and a half. I am just glad I don't stress as much as I used to. She said she'll have the report to us in about 2 weeks. that's not too bad. I would nove for it to be tomorrow, but since we have to have our USCIS fingerprints re-done as well, probably no rush on the homestudy. I sent our check and request to have our fingerprints redone, but they sent it back. apparently as of about 2 months ago, they stopped taking personal checks. Got the Money order, and will resend the request tomorrow. Hopefully they'll be as quick as last time.

I've decided to focus our Angel Tree attentions on Maria, I think. I asked Jasmina to send me some more pictures, and info on her. We'll see how that goes.

Magdalena's family is travelling for her soon. We are glad she has a family to go to. It will be nice to have our turn eventually. I think I'll start packing some basics, just to get one thing off my mind. I tried that once before, over a year ago. You can see how well that turned out for me. I was determined not to start packing again until we had definite word, but families are not being given that much notice. maybe I'll just pack the travel only items. It's hard not to feel excited and hopeful around the holidays.

well, my head hurts, and it's time to fix dinner.

I hope there is a great nationwide voter turnout today. I voted a week ago-- no lines for me. Early voting is very big here- don't know about the rest of the country.

Here is a picture of Luke from last night. He kept getting out of bed, we kept telling him to go back. finally, he fell asleep at the foot of the stairs. so cute.

My littlest Punkin

Buddy walk from Oct. 25

This year's buddy walk was a lot of fun. We met lots of new people. We carried signs saying Honoring Dylan, Remembering Jacob, and Awaiting Aunika. The best part of the day was getting to meet Max! Max lived in the same orphanage as Aunika. His family was in Serbia adopting him around the same time I was in Chicago with Dylan. I got to give Max lots of snuggles. I'm so glad he's home. He looks great!

here's pics of him with his mommy (Shawnie), Max meeting Dylan, and the 4 of us together.

Reece's Rainbow Christmas Angel Tree Project!!

It's November 1, and that means the Reece's Rainbow Christmas Angel Tree is BACK! http://www.reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2008.htm

Reece's Rainbow is a registered 501(c)3 charity which promotes and facilitates the international adoption of children with Down syndrome exclusively.

Our Angel Tree is the perfect gift opportunity for your friends and family, and the GIFT OF A FAMILY for an orphaned child with Down syndrome this Christmas. From today until December 31, you have a very special opportunity to view all of our waiting children and offer them gifts in the form of adoption grants, so families can afford the high cost of rescuing them!

With your sponsorship gift of $35 or more, you will recieve a beautiful porcelain ornament with your child's photo on the back. This is a very meaningful and personal gift, and life-saving at the same time! We have almost (100) children on our Angel Tree this year, all waiting for families and eligible for grant donations.

In only 2 1/2 years, donations from individuals like yourselves have made it possible for (120) children with Down syndrome and other special needs to find a family of their own through Reece's Rainbow. They have been saved from orphanages and mental institutions around the world. Our Christmas Angel Tree is our most important fundraiser of the year, and our goal is to find families for (30)+ children between now and December 31! Your donations towards their adoption grants greatly increase the chances of that happening!

The dire need of these children never ceases. Your small gift can literally change the course of their lives, so each of them may be HOME with their own family by NEXT Christmas! The average cost of an international adoption is $25,000, so every penny you can give truly does make a difference. Donations can be made via credit card through Paypal, or you are welcome to send a personal check. International sponsors are also welcome, and we can ship ornaments amd gift cards overseas for you!


Please visit our Waiting Christmas Angels Gallery and sponsor one or more of our orphaned children with Down syndrome today!

Forward this announcement to everyone you know, and share this special opportunity to really make a difference in the life of a child with Down syndrome!

Any questions can be directed to Andrea Roberts at http://us.mc528.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bamaroberts@comcast.net All donations are tax deductible, and 100% of your gift goes to your sponsored child!

God bless each of you this Christmas, whether you are Christian or of another faith. The need transcends faiths, ethnicity, geographic borders. Thank you for your continued advocacy and support for this ministry, and for sharing this opportunity with everyone you know!


Andrea Roberts, Executive DirectorReece's Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministryhttp://www.reecesrainbow.org/

Halloween Pics

Landon was Darth Vader, Luke was Luke Skywalker (it's what he tells people his name is anyway), I was a witch (fitting, huh?) and Dylan was The Incredible hulk. Dylan's birth grandparents brought him the costume when they came for a visit. Luke and Landon wanted Dylan to be Yoda, but it was much easier to use the costume he was given. maybe next year. They all looked very cute. and yes, my teeth were supposed to look that way, I didn't forget to brush.

Dylan is such a little smarty pants. This week, he's finally started making some consonant sounds! he says ya-ya, wa-wa, ba-ba, and MA-MA!!! yay!! Okay, I know it is just a sound, he's not calling for me, but I still like the way it sounds. his other neat trick is that he's clapping his hands. SO CUTE!! we have to get him all worked up and excited first, and it takes him a couple of tries, but he's doing it. He was so cute tonight for halloween. I'll post pics tomorrow. all the boys looked adorable. We actually had 2 fun nights. last night was the trunk-or-treat at church, and tonight they went around the block. Me and Dylan stayed home to pass out candy. Daddy took the boys trick or treating.
side note-- I had a dream about my sweet Jacob last night. I was holding and snuggling him. It felt good to hold him again- even in a dream. I woke up longing to hold him for real. I sure miss my little man.
adoption news-- Our HS is expired, so we contacted the agency, and the good news is, she can come Monday! The bad news is, she's coming Monday. Guess what we'll be doing tomorrow? There really isn't too much to do, just some general tidying. Since we are foster parents, it seems our home is inspected all the time, so I no longer worry about the little things. just a bit of clean up to make it look spit-spot. Our fingerprints are also expired, so I sent the request for a new fingerprint date. Last time, it only took 2 weeks for the appt, so I'm hoping it will be quick. our I-171h is good until Jan, so I hope we go before then. we shall see!

On the adoption front-- here is a brief re-cap of everything that has happened since Jan. '08 in 100 words or less.

We finalized Landon's adoption on April 1--exactly 3 years from the day he first came to our house. There was much rejoicing throughout Spencer land. Landon was one happy boy. He wanted to go out to eat at "Red Crab". He loves shrimp.

Oh- not on the adoption front, but news nonetheless- We had also just moved into a new house about a week before this photo was taken. We wanted a bigger house so our family could grow. It seems to be working.

We had also taken placement of little Tristan (the little blond in the photo). He was placed with us as a possible adoptive placement, but adopting from foster care is unpredictable. Our sweet little guy went back home just 2 weeks ago, and we miss him a lot. Especially Luke. They were very close. I wish his family the best, and pray they will be a good family for Tristan to be raised in. They have all our contact info, but so far, have chosen no contact.

In May we journeyed to Chicago to meet our newest son, whom we named Dylan. Dylan's adoption has been unique for us in that it is an open adoption. He lived with his birth parents until he was 4 months old. They decided at 2 months to make an adoption plan for him, and then went through several files, and weren't able to find the right family. We heard about him through an email on our Reece's Rainbow Yahoo group, and knew we had to send our homestudy. They chose our family, and we are still in awe at that. He comes from a wonderful family of Russian immigrants, who truly wanted to make the best choice for their son. They love him and miss him very much. We are privileged to be able to share our sweet boy with this family. He is pure gold. His birth grandparents just came out for a visit, and it was fun having them here, to show them how much Dylan has grown in the past 5+ months. They brought us all many gifts. Grandma Sveta also made us Blintzes. Yum!!

And all this time, we were still trying to get our sweet Aunika home. She is constantly on our minds. We got news just yesterday that things seem to be moving on her file, and they are hopeful of having her legal status cleared soon. I'm afraid to get my hopes up, but We pray it won't be much longer. We scheduled our homestudy update, and also have to get re-fingerprinted. I hope all our paperwork comes together quickly. We rushed through it all the first time, then sat and waited for a travel date. and waited. and waited. Then all our paperwork started expiring, but we still had no news, so we decided to wait, instead of rush through it all again, just to have it expire before we travelled again. Let me tell you, we get very tired of being asked if we have any news from Serbia, and having to say "no". We are praying that this time, everything will come together, and we can go get our daughter soon.

okay, so that was WAY more than 100 words, but seriously... who's counting?

*warning: picture contains EXTREME cuteness. If you are not used to such extreme cuteness (those of you poor souls not living with a T-21 angel), you may need to avert your eyes.

yes, I know, this outfit is WAY too warm for this time of year in AZ. but he's going to outgrow it before it gets cool enough to wear. and he looks so good in red. the overalls have zip-off legs, so I did take them off to make into shorts, and I rolled up his sleeves. But then I discovered this cute little outfit is going in the give-away pile. No snaps on bottom for easy diaper changes!! ridiculous! I had to take them completely off each time i had to change a diaper. so not worth it. He looks super cute in all his clothes, so we can live without these. He looks super cute bare naked also. what a blessing this sweet boy is.

okay- off to bed now.

another example of why life with a 3 year old is great. Luke has fine motor issues. getting dressed is just beyond his patience level most mornings. this morning I was quite insistent, and this is the result. both shorts and shirt are backwards. as a side note, his unders are inside out and backwards. but he did it himself. Did I leave him that way? you betcha. We ran a multitude of errands today, all with him looking super cute with his backwards clothes. we are carving pumpkins tonight-- should be fun!