Leanna Banana.....

So, It occurred to me tonight, that I have had SEVERAL people recently show concern or ask how we are doing with Leanna.....people worried we are stressed, overwhelmed etc.

This leadeth to a blog post....

First off, thank you. Thank you so much for thinking of us, supporting us, and caring for our family. I am always so Blessed by peoples comments on pictures of our lady, people that ask what new words she has learned......etc. Nothing means more.

But, Honestly.....and I truly mean this......We are doing so, so well!!
Leanna is amazing. Always learning.
When you are preparing to adopt a child, especially an older child, you go through a lot of training. The agency wants you prepared for what will probably happen once you get home.....tantrums, sleepless nights, teaching our child to chew since she probably only received liquids....etc.

This is not Leanna.

I often tell people that in most ways, Leanna is my easiest child. She is perfectly happy playing alone. She sleeps like a dream. She isn't a picky eater. She rarely fusses. She loves a good routine which makes all of our lives flow better. She is a champ.

Now, don't get me wrong, girlfriend is still potty training, she has a massive stubborn streak, and she still likes to strip on occasion. But, she is a kid, and kids test parents. Kids have bad days. Kids can be ornery. There are 5 short Parkers in this family, and they all have equal shares in the ornery, stubborn, silly, and joyous departments......Most days, the leader of the pack in the ornery department ISNT Leanna. Id say Joel and Luke are carrying that title nicely.....good thing they are both so stinkin cute!

I hope this post will help put some minds at ease. We are doing great. We are so Blessed. We are so in love with our Roma Darlin. She is so smart, always learning, always making progress, always happy. She LOVES to sing. She LOVES kisses. She LOVES peanut butter.

 

Bitter Chocolate

So, you know how bitter chocolate is like 65% bitter and then 35% good? in my humble opinion. Milk Chocolate is the only way to go. I digress....

That was last night for me. Mostly bitter, but a pinch of sweetness.

Leanna is sick. For the first time since being a member of Team Parker.
Last night she threw up. She didn't cry. She probably wouldn't have made a peep had we not been in the next room and heard her awake. Sad reality of orphans, they are pretty good at fending for themselves.

Sean, being the one of us with an iron stomach, cleaned up the mess. I gave our lady a bath, then wrapped her in a bath towel and just snuggled her. Eventually I started rocking, and she fell asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about how this was the FIRST time in her almost 7 years of life where she had a Mommy and Daddy holding her as she felt sick. That rubbed her back as she took a bath. That tickled her tummy as she fell asleep.

After Sean got her a bed set up in our room, I moved her there. She was pretty out of it, but grabbed onto my thumb, like a baby would do to your finger.. Every time I started to move away, her little grip tightened. At one point she started humming in her sleep, which was her way of self comforting in the orphanage. I told her, Mommy is here....and she stopped.

Heck yes I cried.

This morning, she was still feeling icky, but every time I picked her up, she would kiss my cheek before putting her head on my shoulder.

Really heartbreaking on one hand, and such joy on the other.

Thank you God for giving us this amazing gift..... Even if it breaks my heart that it took 7 years for her to get a family. Pray for the orphans, friends. There are so many of them. Last night there were probably hundreds of kids, sick in their beds. Nobody came to them. Nobody cleaned them up. Nobody got them a cup of water. They were alone. This was Leanna just 5 short months ago.

The little things.....

Yup, it has been FOREVER since I blogged on here. Trust me, it is not for lack of things to say. BUT, now instead of waiting for our little lady to come home.....she is here, and I am busy!!!!


I feel like the last couple weeks have yielded some amazing things in the life of our little Leanna Laurie. Now, to you these may seem like "little things"....but, to us? They are huge. life changing. hope giving. Blessings.


Over the last couple weeks, out lady has learned 4 English words. FOUR!
Up
More
Water
bu-bye


Up until now, she was understanding a lot, but really only saying Momma and Dada.....and sometimes would attempt her siblings names. Our next word, Lord willing, will be "please".....as girlfriend doesn't always say these words in her "nice voice." My hope is that if we can add please, it will make the nasty a bit less irritating.


Then today, I saw this:::

 

I know what you are thinking. WOW!!! ha! okok, why is this pic so awesome? She is sitting up while she plays!!!!! One problem that we have with Leanna is that she wont sit up when she plays, she is always laying down. On the floor, on the couch, on the coffee table....always laying down. She will have a toy with her, but she insists on laying down which means that we aren't working on those core muscles that she really needs to strengthen. Today, not only was she sitting up, but she did it for a long time. Where is she at the moment? laying on my coffee table.....but, still.....progress!!!!

ok, im going to sign off for now, but wanted to update you on our little Bulgarian!
Sidenote:::: I know several of you have commented on our referring to Leanna as "Our Bulgarian" etc. People say that she is now an American and that we shouldn't linger on her sad past. Thanks to a sweet friend sharing a blog with me recently, I discovered that I am not alone in my thinking....
She IS Bulgarian. Roma. Gypsy.
That is her roots. Her heritage. What she is.
Is she an American? Yes! Is she a Parker? Yes!
But, she is also a Bulgarian. From Targovishte, Bugaria. With Roma blood. And I am so proud of who she is. She will always know who she is.

This is my view. And, since she is my daughter, you all have to deal with it. Ha!

Saddle up your Horses.....

Not gonna lie. This day has been a doozy.

 

Woke up at 4:45am to leave and have Leanna checked in at Children's Hospital by 6am. Im not a morning person. I don't even try to be anymore. They made me dump my coffee. Not cool, not cool.

 

Leanna was supposed to be under for 30 minutes, she was under for almost 90. Praise God the Dr called the front to let us know everything was fine, he just needed more time. When he was done, he took us to a corner of the waiting room to try to tell us all of his findings. He found a lot. Readers digest version? There is nothing normal about her eyes. Cataracts. small size. glaucoma. It also appears that one of her eyes quit developing at about 20 week gestation. Not sure if it is a genetic thing or if the birth Momma did something at that time to hinder development. Basically, there was a specialist telling us that he was bamboozled and wanted to send us to ANOTHER specialist to get a second opinion. I am NOT optimistic that there is anything we can do for her right eye, apart from getting glaucoma surgery to keep what vision she already has. Her left eye is completely in Gods hands. The anomaly there may or may not be effecting the optic nerve. if it is, well.....that is daunting.

The good news is that we have great specialists that are going to do whatever they can to help our lady. The other Blessing is that Leanna doesn't care one way or another. God knows the plans He has for her. My Momma hear is scared, but I need to "Let it go"....insert Elsa singing.

When we left the Hospital I got a nasty migraine. It is called no sleep+stress+meanies making me dump coffee= icky pukey migraine for the rest of the day. THEN we had an epic battle with all of our kids at least once tonight. At one point I had all 3 boys whining/crying, Leanna throwing toys, Megan being a drama mama......I totally went out front and sat on the stairs. When it rains it pours, right? Ya, we had us a downpour tonight. I happened to chat with my friend, Jamie, tonight and told her that this day was a trial and that I felt like a mean Mommy. She sent me this::

I needed this. I needed this bad.

A final little tidbit of news, Leanna will probably be starting school this next week. She was invited to be in the life skills program at the Elementary school the boys go to. Its a great school. She will have access to a lot of therapies. They are letting us choose whether she goes whole days or half. We aren't ready for full days. Heck, we aren't ready for half days. But, our little lady needs help getting caught up. And especially if we aren't going to have great vision, she needs to be strong in all other areas.

In the words of Steven Curtis Chapman:
"saddle up your horses, we gotta trail to blaze"

Prayer requests::
A miracle for Leanna, specifically that we can still fix that left eye to get her more vision.

For her school career....and for Sean and I to have peace about her not being with us 24/7.

More specialists mean more medical bills. Just prayer we have peace that God will provide, as He always does.

I would also love to have good interaction with my babies tomorrow. I think we all agreed that this wasn't our best day.

One month since "Gotcha!"

Yup, its been a month since I walked into that orphanage.  One month ago I walked back out holding my daughter. Leanna has known the love of a family for one month....and, frankly, she is completely diggin it!

So, just keepin it real....there has been some challenges. Some behaviors that girlfriend picked up in the orphanage that need to be dealt with. BUT, attachment issues??? ya, none. This girl has craved love and attention. When you pick her up, she is like holding a little koala.....arms around our neck, legs wrapped around our waist....and she is usually pulling our head towards her so that she can get some kisses. She LOVES kisses. She has also decided that she really enjoys a good back rub.....but, who doesn't??

Some have wondered how she likes having siblings. It is safe to say that she is loving having older brothers. She really likes being near the boys. Sometimes she likes plopping down on top of the boys. Megan? Well, that depends on her mood. Leanna doesn't always feel like sharing Mommy and Daddy, so it kind of irks her when we are holding sissy, when she feels like she wants to be held. Megans hair has been pulled more than once, but Megan has been a trooper....and Leanna is learning.

So, instead of writing out all of the medical updates...im gonna copy the statuses from my facebook:::::::

PEDIATRICIAN UPDATE::: He thought she was pretty cute! Everything seemed good. He laughed that she had a bit of a belly on her, otherwise skinny, body. Could tell she was enjoying her meals. We got her current on shots, she was a trooper. Also had to get blood drawn to check for anemia, HIV etc. He just wants to really know EVERYTHING.....especially since we don't have a family history. Poor baby ...didn't enjoy that part, but she stuck tough. Super stoked that he wants me to deliver a specimen to analyze for parasites (what is with my kids and needing to provide poop samples this year??? seriously grody). girlfriend was ranked "under 3rd percentile" in height and weight. She weighs a whopping 25 lbs now, which means she has gained a couple since we got her here. He asked me if she was "non-verbal." I assured him that when she has something to say, she doesn't hold back. And, sure enough, when he started poking and prodding, he got an earful of Bulgarian. We are pretty sure she wasn't being kind.

 

EYE DOCTOR REPORT:::: It was all good news. Im not going to even attempt to tell you all the technical stuff, cuz it is confusing. Bottom line, The eye doctor said she will never have 20/20 vision, but that he thinks 20/40 isn't out of the question (which means someday she can drive etc.). Her peripheral vision is great, the cataracts are in the central part of her eyes. We have an apt on the 28th... in Spokane with her ophthalmologist. If you think of the cataract as being a dirty camera lense.....the tentative plan is to get surgery to remove the dirty lense. With adults, you would then put in a new, clean lense....but Leanna isn't old enough for this. So, the plan is to remove the dirty lense, and get her glasses that will allow the brain to start communicating with her eyes. Then, when she gets a bit older, we will get the new, clean lense inserted.

 

 

DENTIST REPORT:::: No surprises there. Actually, there was one....no cavities!! I was shocked. She has completely grinded her back teeth down to almost nothing. We had figured this. She has a couple teeth that appear to have a lot of build up on them, but they are baby teeth, so this is ok. As far as her bite, again we weren't shocked. Where there is ideally 1-2 millimeters between bites, hers is ...at 10.....which means that eventually we will be looking at braces and surgery. This isn't just for cosmetic reasons, but it can cause different breathing/sleeping challenges. This surgery would probably be at around age 14. All baby teeth, and he thinks she will start losing them soon. Next report will come on Tuesday after her Pediatrician visit. fun fun fun.

Ok, im off to parent. I will try to be better at updating this blog now that we are getting into a routine. Thanks for all of the prayers, love and support. Trust me, it has been felt and appreciated!!!!

Thank you.....

I wanted to take a minute to say "Thank you"......to everyone that has supported us financially, prayerfully, emotionally.....

"Thank you" seems so insufficient for the tremendous Blessings that we have received this past year. We have had people pray for us faithfully, I have had people listen to me cry when I have been frustrated, We have had people give their time, talents and treasure....all in the name of "Leanna."

It has been such a humbling experience, but also a powerful one. It is hard to step out and ask for help. Even when it is such a worthy cause, saving a life. It is still hard.

Our family will always remember your generosity. Leanna WILL know about all of the people that loved her from the first day, and who fought along side of us to get her to her forever family.

Someday she will see all of the pictures we have collected. Yard sales, silent auctions, online auctions, a donation table at spa night, tastefully simple fundraisers, bake sales, cake pop fundraiser, desserts donated to sell for "Deva".....the list goes on. She will hear about the person that paid my cell phone bill for the last year, the dear friend who paid my way to ladies retreat, the family members who sewed adorable items to sell to help us raise money.

Blessed Hugely

So, THANK YOU ALL!!! so, so much!

A Baby Registry for my Bulgarian Baby

So further proof that I have the BEST family and Friends.....after all of the love and support over the past year+....I have had several friends ask me if I can put together a baby registry for Leanna. Each time I give them "the look" and each time they assure me that they really WANT me to do one.....so......I did. As it is kind of an unusual list, I thought I would explain a bit...

(Those who are completely uninterested should return to their normal Tuesday night viewing)

We registered for a lot of items under the "feeding" category. Leanna is a 6 year old child that is VERY underweight and was never taught to chew food. So.....that should be enough to help you understand the list of pediasure, food pouches, bibs, baby bullet...etc.

pull ups and wipes? Ya, she isn't potty trained. moving on...

TOYS--The list has a couple developmental items (leap pad), cozy coupe, little trampoline (for leg strength).....but you will notice the main theme is Duplo legos and plastic animals.
The Duplo legos are something I hope Leanna will learn to do with her sister. They would be good for sensory and problem solving....and fun to play with Megs.
The plastic animals? Well, I have a friend that just brought her blind son home from Bulgaria (he is precious!)....he LOVES plastic animals and carries them everywhere....so, she suggested that we get some for our Leanna girl.

baby gate....self explanatory.
monitor....self explanatory

tooth brush??? um....you might want an explanation. Leanna has had NO dental care. They don't brush her teeth and we anticipate having a long road ahead as far as fixing our sweet girls teeth and bite.

Something not on the list. CLOTHES! Our goal is to have a wardrobe set up for Leanna, so that sissy doesn't need to share. This is going to be a big adjustment for Megan, and sis LOVES her clothes! We didn't want to create a problem by requiring that Megan give up her things right out of the gate.
Leanna is a size 4/5
She could definitely use::
a swim suit
sweats
jeans
short sleeve shirts
footed jammies

Here is the link

https://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=80541754158

We are so, so, so grateful for all of you. The love you all have for Leanna is such a Blessing. We couldn't have made it through this journey without your love and support!!