Sunday, June 15, 2014

Father's Day

 These 5 kiddos have been abundantly blessed by their heavenly Father for the gift of their earthly father. 

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing Daddy! We love you!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

"Happy Birthday, Lindy!"

Our beautiful, big girl turned 6 today! 


This is her first birthday home, and we are so happy to celebrate her precious life together as a family! She decided that she wanted a princess party theme with Rapunzel (her favorite princess) and her favorite colors, yellow and pink. She opened up a Rapunzel costume this morning so that she could wear it at her party. Of course Joy and the cousins were more than happy to join in the dress up fun!





Lindy wanted to eat pizza, watermelon, and yellow princess cupcakes, and she wanted to drink 
pink Cherry 7 Up!





Lindy is not necessarily a fan of being the center of attention. She handled herself very well, though, and we were so proud of our gracious girl. She humbly received her gifts and was very polite. She carried this Rapunzel doll around for the rest of the evening, and she is now safely tucked into bed with her. She was very happy to receive her very own scooter, and she is looking forward to trying it out tomorrow!




We love you, sweet princess Lindy! And we celebrate the wonderful gift of your life!


Saturday, June 7, 2014

Arthrogryposis

Arthrogryposis. This is a big, fancy, medical word which means that a person has multiple joint contractures (stiff joints) or dislocated joints in the body at birth also affecting muscle tone and strength. It is often caused by impaired fetal movements in utero, and it is not progressive. Since the day we met Joy, we have wondered if this would be a correct diagnosis for her. We suspected that this diagnosis would shed some light as to why her hip and knee joints are the way they are. Our orthopedic surgeon hasn't been convinced that Joy has arthrogryposis because it often presents itself not only in the leg joints, but also the feet, arms, and hands. In its most severe forms, it affects every joint in the body. Since only Joy's hips and knees are involved and she is fully mobile, our doctor calls Joy an "all star" in this camp. These are pictures of how her legs looked before her surgery a year ago.



And these are recent pictures of her legs. You gotta love the pose! Her right knee was never straight and even hyperextended. Due to surgery it is much straighter, it bends in the right direction, and it is continuing to get more flexible. Her left knee did bend, but not much. With physical therapy and without surgery, it is much more flexible. Both hips were dislocated, and they are now both resting securely in their sockets.



We saw a geneticist this past week who has now confirmed that Joy does has a form of arthrogryposis (there are over 200 types). This news is not surprising to us and is even somewhat anticlimatic. It doesn't change anything that we have already done for Joy medically, nor does it change the physical therapies that we will continue to do. It just helps us to gain a deeper understanding for her condition and the specially made, unique little person she is. God knew exactly what He was doing when He made her! Joy is continuing to make good progress physically, and her cognitive development and growth astound us. So, we continue to move forward encouraging Joy to accomplish her maximum God given potential. We also know that God uses our weaknesses to show His great strength!

"The joy of the Lord is our strength!" Nehemiah 8:10





Tuesday, June 3, 2014

"Pose Please!"

Mia LOVES to take pictures! And her favorite models on which to practice her photography are, of course, her little sisters. And they are usually more than happy to pose for her! So, here's the latest photo shoot of our little China dolls!