Joshua is putting two words together

Okay, I am in a funk and this is NOT like me. That in itself is bothering me. I hope this is short lived. I suppose it is because the loss of my sister. We usually spend Thanksgiving together. We didn't get invited to any of my other sisters so that didn't help. I'll get over it.....just takes time. Anyway, on a good note......


Joshua is putting two words together more often. He is 29 months and will be 30 months in eight days. He only says a few things with two words but I know that he is progressing and that is awesome! The IU will be setting up an apt to get together to talk about transition from Early Intervention to the Intermediate Unit. Joshua is really good in some areas yet behind in others where one would not expect. He is behind in his personal care....example...taking off his socks. He can't take off his socks, yet his fine motor skills are excellent. He does not comprehend certain things, yet others he does. He seems to be overwhelmed in large crowds and screams a lot. One on one he is excellent and no issues. It is a mystery to me as to why he can not comprehend certain things. Maybe perhaps not having proper stimulation the first year of life can do that?? I'm not sure. He gets crabby often and we can't figure that out either....maybe it's just typical two year old frustrations and not being able to express himself.

The girls just love him to pieces. they still fight over who is going to dress him etc. It cracks me up that they compete to take care of him. They are so good with him.

I will try and get a pic posted soon. He has a cold with a runny nose, so when he gets over it I will take a pic and post:)

My sister went to be with the Lord

My sister went to be with the Lord after a long battle with her cancer. Please pray for her husband and two children.

Thank you ALL for your prayers and support!!!

Update on my sister- Also, Can his cheeks get any bigger?

My sister is not responsive today. She is in her final hours. I am praying for peace for her. I am praying for her husband and two children. My husband has been incredible through all of this. My sisters and I have really bonded together through this. God is amazing how he can make something so difficult in one way, be such a blessing in another.

Can Joshua's cheeks get any bigger?? His cheeks do not fit his little body! They crack me up.....I just had to post a pic.

Went to see my sister last night

I went to see my sister last night at Lancaster Hospice. She was not very responsive as her organs are shutting down. She can not open her eyes very far and when she does I can see that she can not see. Her urine bag had blood in it. I just talked to her, read Psalm 23, and prayed. I told her that I was going to miss her and that I would see her again in Heaven. I told her that I would see her soon. I also told her not to be afraid that God was with her and she nodded slightly. I said it two times and both times she nodded ever so slightly. That was the first time that I had ever talked about her dying. I was glad that I did. My heart breaks thinking that I will not be able to see her during the holidays that we spent with her in the past. Yet, I rejoice when I think of her seeing the King and Lord our God. The thought of her being able to talk and with God is just amazing. She doesn't have much time on this earth and soon she will spend eternity with God.

Two of my other sisters and my oldest daughter were all around her bad last night and we all just held my sisters hand and talked to her. It was so amazing that we could all come together and be with her at the same time. We all live far from each other. It was an amazing night on many different levels and I am so thankful to God for the opportunity.

Thank you all for praying. The internet is amazing......none of us know each other and yet we support and pray for each other. WOW....How Great is our God!!

Bought a bread machine

I bought a bread machine this week from the thrift store. I started out with making the basic bread. That was so easy. I put all the ingredients in the tub as directed and pushed start! Can't get easier than that! I made whole wheat bread yesterday and my family loved it! That was a winner! Today I sliced the bread and put tuna on it for my daughter and she loved it! I thought for sure she would complain, but she really liked it. We all loved the whole wheat bread so I will be making that throughout the week from now on. I love making homemade bread because there aren't chemicals and preservatives. I really thought making bread was going to be a project, but it was so easy. We are trying to stay away from toxic chemicals if possible.

I bought the ingredients to make homemade soap. I was told that it is much cheaper to make it yourself and non-toxic. Hopefully I can get to it sometime next week.

One of my girls is sick with a fever and congestion this week. Please pray for healing. She has been laying in bed since Monday. I am hoping that the rest of the family doesn't get it.

About Joyofbaking.com

I am taking up a new hobby........ baking. I found a really great site that I wanted to share for those of you who are interested in baking.





The site is.........
About Joyofbaking.com

I made an apple pie today with the kiddies. Have to start with the basics:) This was a big deal for me as I was never a baker.

Here is the finished pie.......

A new hope for my sister-please pray?

My brother in law has a cousin who is in a new business of natural healing for cancer patients. At first my brother in law was sceptical, however after hearing from various people including myself, "what do you have to lose-the medical community has given up on her" etc, he wants to have her try the nutritional products that his cousin has to offer. Apparently if you feed the tumor with the proper nutrition the tumor will shrink. His cousin said, IF her kidney's have shut down there is not much that she can do for her. This is a very promising treatment, IF she will eat or drink the juices on the protocol. I am praying for healing and ask if you read this blog to please pray for her to eat/drink and heal. Pray that it not too late for this treatment. Her name is Terry. God is in control and I am trusting Him. I am praying for her to be healed in His name through this new hope that we have of Natural organic nutritional means.

Edema is settling in

Grim news this morning that edema is setting in my sisters legs to her hips. I am continuing to pray for her pain and recovery. I know there is a slim chance of remission, however, I will not lose hope and will continue to pray. God is in control. She is suppose to go to hospice if they get approval from the administrator. My heart hearts so much it feels like it's going to burst. I lost both of my parents at a young age and a sister when she was 38 to cancer. This is another big sister with cancer. My mother was young when she died of cancer. It is a horrible disease. October is a tough moth for me as my Dad died in the month of October and the memories of that.

On a lighter note-Joshua has been happier than he has since we brought him home. His laugh is a belly hackle. That is a major improvement as he just didn't laugh from the belly like one would expect. This journey to attachment in bonding may be a long one, but it is beautiful to see the progress he makes. I was concerned that he wasn't able to really bond and smile like he should, but lately my concerns are out the door. He seems like he is starting to trust us and open up. He still has trust issues when we are in a large crowd and we are working on that. I praise God that he doesn't have RAD and that he is able to trust us. RAD is a horrible thing for adoptive parents to have to go through.

Praying for my sister

I found out in the last 24 hours that my sister's cancer is terminal. I went to see her in the hospital yesterday and at that time I did not know that. I was praising God that I didn't know a head of time because I would have just cried like a baby. She was talking a lot yesterday and I was so incredibly blessed to have the privilege to joke and talk with her. I tried to cheer her up. She was so happy to see my triplets and son. She told me that she is going to miss them. I was told today that she does not have much time. My heart is aching. I am praying for her pain as it is so great. I am also praying that she is able to be awake to talk to her husband and children in her last days. She is young to have anal cancer. Her cancer is aggressive. I am praying for a miracle from God. Where there is life, there is hope. I will not stop praying. God is in control, and I will pray.

Need prayer and have a praise

My sister went through treatment for about six weeks and the tumor shrunk. However, it metastasized in her lower abdomen. She is in a lot of pain in the lower front and is very weak. She has not eaten in a few weeks. The last time she tried to eat she couldn't keep it down. Maybe it's the strong meds shes on, I'm not for sure. Please keep her in prayer to ease the pain and possibly get stronger to go through treatment. At this point the Doctors are just trying to control the pain. Even if she can get through this and get treatment, the cancer will continue to grow no matter what. It is an aggressive cancer. I saw her last week at home just before she got admitted into the hospital. I hope to visit with her in the hospital in two days.

Today is our triplets birthday. They were born 10 years ago. My husband and I are incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. The first year went by so slowly and ever since it just flew by. They are into LPS (Littlest Pet Shop) and they have them all over the house. They are the cutest little animal figures. I told them if they fight over them, I'm keeping them, because I want them, they are so cute. They love their little brother Joshua dearly and are so good with him. I thought by now (16 months) the novelty would have worn off, but they still want to help with him. It's amazing! God is so good to us.

28 months old

Joshua is still behind but he is progressing!

25 months old

Thank you all for praying

Thank you ALL for praying for my sister. I thank God for your prayers. Her cancer is anal Cancer and it is near the sphincter. He Dr. said that it has been growing for about 7 years. I had never heard of a cancer like that. Her treatment will be radiation and chemo everyday during the week, with the weekends off. Her port needs to be prepped before the week begins and fixed to have some relief for the weekends off. This is not going to be pretty for her as she will experience negative symptoms from the treatment. Her ride to the hospital is over and hour and they have a brand new car. Her Dr. told her after a few weeks of treatment she will absolutely hate him. Please continue to pray as she is so angry. Please pray that she will come to peace with God through this process. This is so upsetting to me as I have lost my mother, sister, aunt and uncle to cancer. My mother and sister were very young when they passed away. This is not a nice disease. It is furious. God is in control and I will look to him to watch over her as she will have to endure horrible side effects from the toxic medications on her body in order to kill the bad cells.

Please pray for my sister who starts Chemo this week

Pleas pray for my sister as she has colon cancer and will be starting treatments this week. She has pushed the family away emotionally and is not really talking to me. Her daughter is acting the same way. It is so bizarre that they made it a point to tell me about the cancer and treatments and now they push the family away. Please pray for all of them at this time. Pray for me as I am just appalled at how they are acting towards our family.

Joshua had his annual Early Intervention Evaluation and he will be receiving services in PT, OT, and speech. He will continue to have private PT and OT. He is progressing in all areas, but still needs some catch up time. He is walking up a storm and it it such a blessing to see him up and about! He gets scared when we are in large crowds and seems to have sensory over load during those times, but if I hold him, and let him know he is safe, he calms down. I will be working with all the EI team on his sensory issues in the coming months. If anyone has any suggestions, email me or post. Thanks:)

Almost 24 months and 1 year home!

In five more days Joshua will be 2 years old! In six more days will mark our one year Adoption Day! It is hard to believe that a year has passed since Joshua was put into our arms forever! We are planning on getting together with family to celebrate his Birthday and Adoption Day next week.

Joshua is wearing orthotics to help his flat feet and to help stabilize his hips. He seems to be walking better since they were put in a month ago. He is receiving EI services in speech and PT, and private OT, and PT. He is really starting to catch up!

I hope to post some pics next week:)