What a dollar bill can say

One year ago, April 29, 2013, we saw our 8th child for the first time. I knew what I was going to see, but I could never have been totally prepared for what awaited me under that cover.

One year ago today we showed up at the hospital. Not fully comprehending what would happen next, we took out a pen and signed paperwork saying that we took full responsibility for a wee little baby with no hope and future. They took us back and had us scrub for 5 minutes, then we took a walk down a hallway and into the NICU, to the bed that was to be his for the next 3 months. And we laid eyes on our son for the first time. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into, but God did. Through the past year, we have learned how to trust the Lord through many dangers, toils, and snares. Through chaos in our home. Through not knowing if we would bring this little guy home. But amazingly, God saw little Victorious through his NICU stay and through a difficult diagnosis of blindness. And through it all...God has opened up doors of opportunity that we never thought possible.

To help our family and friends back home understand what 1 lb. 13 oz. looks like, the nurses took a washed and scrubbed laminated dollar bill and put it next to Victor. No flash allowed so as not to disturb Victor's sleeping and growing.

Fast forward one year. No sterile dollar bill. Flash photography. And a baby who did not want that dollar bill in his picture!

Victor Noah King, you are victorious long life of faith in the One True King. God promised that though you'd be disabled, you would also amaze. You are amazing!

The kids want to know if we plan to strip him to his underwear when he's older just so we can get the yearly dollar bill photo. Don't worry; not gonna happen.

Celebrating life

Surrounded by family, we celebrated Mr. Victor's first year of life yesterday with red Converse, of course! Thank you, Mariana, for the wonderful cake!

Listening to the Happy Birthday song

Not interested in touching the cake or the ice cream but boy, was it good!

Fun with his talking Elmo

What a priceless gift from PopPop!

Motivation

How do you motivate a blind child to move?

Well, if I could definitively answer that question, I would have quite the following.

Alas, I can't answer it. That's why we take photo after photo after photo and never get that perfect shot.

Calling his name will not get him to look.

Singing songs will not get him to lift his head.

Ringing bells or clapping your hands will not get a face to the camera.

Pleading and begging will not motivate him to open his eyes or focus them in the same direction.

The same is true for getting him to crawl. Who wants to move when you can't see where you're going? We've tried all the same noisy tricks to motivate him to want to move forward, to no avail. However, give him a piano and he becomes Tom Hanks in Big.

Wait til Ms. Diane comes for therapy today. We have a lot to show her!

Happy Birthday, Victor!

April 13, 2013 was just a typical day in the life of the Kings.

I was working on background checks for the staff of the non-profit for which I am a board member and scheduling homeschool evaluations for the next two months.

We were discussing Annie rehearsals for Eden and HopeAnne.

I was feeling discouraged on the adoption front, knowing that Eden's date of April 20 was approaching but that there had been no recent glimmer of hope.

Jesse was at a camp-out with a group of middle school boys doing what guys do on these things, eating lots of meat, playing with fire, making torches, laughing, etc.

I was in the midst of a discussion with a non-believing friend, continuing to pray for peace, joy, and freedom.

HopeAnne was recovering from what I thought was pink eye and strep but what turned out to be pneumonia.

I was dealing with my own physical symptoms with pain and fear.

So maybe it wasn't just a typical day for the Kings. And maybe that was because there was a beautiful young woman in Utah who was bleeding profusely and who went to the hospital with fear for herself and for her baby. Maybe it was because this young woman was not only dealing with the physical pain of delivering her 25 week old baby but because she was also dealing with the emotional pain of knowing she was going to go home without that baby. Maybe it was because there was a young woman on the other side of the country who was frightened and alone but who was soon to become connected to us through the life of a little boy. That life being a gift that she chose to give to him. Her decision brought her great pain, grief, and fear.

A note to my prayer partners that day brought this response...

"So....are you guys storming the gates of hell or what?  Sounds like the enemy is rather ticked off.  I think it's awesome and I will joyfully join this battle for health ....  This tells me that you are doing something very right in the Kingdom.  XOXOX

Standing with you in prayer.

I released (in the name of Jesus) 400 angels to your home to care for "family matters."

Bless you all and thank you for letting me know.  I will keep praying."

We didn't know, we couldn't know, that those "family matters" included a baby already born who was soon to become our son. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. Victor!

In our joy and celebration, we know that there is a very sweet woman with a void in her life. We know she remembers this day. Please pray that my message to her today is received with the same message of love and hope with which it is sent. Pray for this young woman to know the Savior who loves her and is pleased with her. Pray that she knows that she is loved and valued by us and by her "Noah."

And continue to pray for "Victorious Long Life of Faith in the One True King." Pray for total healing. God said that he would amaze and he is doing just that!

God is good.

 All the time.

 All the time.

God is good.

This, I love

I walked in on this scene the other day. Sibling moments like this always make me happy.

Hitting a moving target

Victor loves to jump. If he feet are touching something, he's jumping. If he's sitting, he's trying to get onto his feet so he can jump. So we knew that getting his first haircut, ridding him of his mullet and shaping his hair up for his first birthday was going to be a bit of a challenge. We knew our dear friend Brenda would not only be up for the challenge but would be thrilled to share in this moment with us. And thanks to her expertise, she left with all 10 fingers and I left with my nose.

What a handsome almost-1-year old!

And we can't forget the brother who also got a haircut. :)

He talks!

He coos. He babbles. And now he talks in real, totally not understandable back-and-forth conversation!

I have continued with my ban on consulting developmental charts. This is so unlike me. The past 6 times I had the book right by my bedside, checking it monthly to confirm that my child was on or ahead of what he should be doing at each step of the way. Not this time. I do, however, remember enough from college psychology and education courses as well as first-hand experience, to know that we are behind in the game. And that's okay. We will celebrate each milestone, each developmental step, each small step in the right direction. This week, it's "talking."

It started a few days ago. Victor had been making the /g/ sound for a few days and would often say, "Ga."  Mariana was holding him. Every time Victor said, "Ga," she would say it. Soon, they were engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with Victor listening very intently, eyes open wide, eyebrows up, eyes "looking" upward, mouth open, and drool pouring out. Hey, at this point, you celebrate everything. The next morning, as Mariana got ready for school, she came over to Victor and started the conversation, "Ga." Immediately, his listening face came on and after a few moments of concentration he responded, 'Ga." Now he does it with everyone.

And the best thing of all, he has added /m/ to his repertoire of sounds. "Mom," the best sound in the English language. At least until they're old enough to say it with disrespect. But we have a long way to go for that one.