Friday, February 13, 2009
a short update
So, here it is a short little update about Amari. Yes, he is finally moving in here on Monday AM. This is 1 month after the first phone call. God is so amazing! It all seems to be coming together now. God has moved mountains! It is not in the greatness of my faith, but the greatness of our God! He is amazing! More to come.....
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
it has been a while...
Well, it has been a while since I have sat down and had time to put some of my thoughts and progress on life on here. Once again it is time. I have been busy at work getting all of our stuff done for becoming foster parents. As most of you know it is a process to say the least just because of all the paper work that comes with having one of these little ones put into your home. I have to say that I am grateful for the process though just to protect them as they transition from one home to another. Although when we are on the receiving end of a baby it seems long when really it has been less than a month since we got "the call". I am extremely amazed at God provision in this. I am not one to be shocked by Him because He has shown so much of Himself to us through life and just recently through Kasi's surgery. Now here we are and I am just so full of joy I feel like I could explode.
One thing you don't know is that the month of Jan. I thought I was pregnant. Not because of any "real" signs, but because my body and mind were going crazy with this thought. Some of you don't know that Ron and I have secondary infertility in which we could not get pregnant, with no explanation. In the last 10 years we have had only 2 pregnancies and both were ectopic. (tubal) The first they used chemo to dissolve and I was on bed rest for about 2 months and the second I ended up in emergency surgery because I was bleeding, which means my tube was getting stretched and could burst. Long story short I had to have my right side removed.
Okay with that said, you know how crazy it was for me to have these feelings in Jan. I only told my very best friend, Kristie, this and she went through this with me. Talking me through this and then she was on her knees and thought, you know I think you are going to have a baby too. I then thought we were both crazy and I went into the Dr. to have my blood drawn just to make sure. I couldn't risk another ectopic. I went in and it was negative. I was kind of defeated, but not really. I thought it was just God's way of saying you don't need to trust in that, trust in me. So, I did! I was already going crazy about Sept. about when I would be do and the way I would tell everyone after everything that we have been through. I was also excited for Ben to have a little sibling. All of those emotions. Well, on Jan. 12 my cycle began and I was crushed. I didn't understand and was throwing my arms up to Him because I was resolved to have only 3 kids! I cried and I cried with Kristie who continued to try and build me up, but was confused herself at why we thought we were so clear on this one. I never have thought that so strongly before and here it was SO strong.
That brings me to the fact of Amari was born on Jan. 12 and we got the call on the 15th that he would be moving into our family if we would have him. Now you know why our God is So awesome. I am just filled with joy and over-flowing! God had this planned! I remember talking to Ron and he was excited and said we just lost our den. And then I called Kristie, my words to her were this, we are so STUPID!
How can we ever know or begin to understand our God who is bigger than our everything. I don't have to wait until Sept. I might not even have to wait 1 month. That is unheard of. Only God can do something so much bigger than us. There are not words to even describe this.
So, where are we in the process. I am happy to say that we have met him. Last Friday we did spend our first 2 hours with him. I am also happy to say that his foster parents love him very much. This is great for Amari, but not so great for them. They were hoping to adopt him as well and when they found us with his brother they were kind of crushed. Okay, really crushed! My heart goes out to them and all foster parents! We pray for them and Amari all of the time. That the last few days be precious for them and that God will give them peace. At the same time because of all of the love they have for him it would be the best if he were placed here quickly. Just so they don't get any more attached. I would love it of you all could pray for Amari and the family. Also, know that their birth mom is out there hurting and trying to drown it ways that are not healthy. She has been living a life that is a circle that she feels she can't get out of. Yes, people choose this, but when people treat you as your life doesn't matter and tell you what they think you are worth you start to believe it. She has lived this way far to long to just walk away. So we pray for her safety and for warmth for her. We don't know if she has regular meals or a safe place to lay her head. I can't judge her....I am not in her shoes. All I know is that God has blessed us with these beautiful little boys that she has chose to give life to. Praise God for His hand in that as well and allowing us to be prayer warriors for her too!
God knows my name and I am humbled by that. Once again He has put me in a place where all there is is worship. Worship Him in and through everything. Our God is a GREAT God! He Reigns! In Heaven and on earth!
Bring the Good News!
Also, Kasi is still doing amazing! And....I got all the paper work done in less than a week and it usually takes 6 weeks to 2 months. God worked in every place of that too. More of those stories to come!
One thing you don't know is that the month of Jan. I thought I was pregnant. Not because of any "real" signs, but because my body and mind were going crazy with this thought. Some of you don't know that Ron and I have secondary infertility in which we could not get pregnant, with no explanation. In the last 10 years we have had only 2 pregnancies and both were ectopic. (tubal) The first they used chemo to dissolve and I was on bed rest for about 2 months and the second I ended up in emergency surgery because I was bleeding, which means my tube was getting stretched and could burst. Long story short I had to have my right side removed.
Okay with that said, you know how crazy it was for me to have these feelings in Jan. I only told my very best friend, Kristie, this and she went through this with me. Talking me through this and then she was on her knees and thought, you know I think you are going to have a baby too. I then thought we were both crazy and I went into the Dr. to have my blood drawn just to make sure. I couldn't risk another ectopic. I went in and it was negative. I was kind of defeated, but not really. I thought it was just God's way of saying you don't need to trust in that, trust in me. So, I did! I was already going crazy about Sept. about when I would be do and the way I would tell everyone after everything that we have been through. I was also excited for Ben to have a little sibling. All of those emotions. Well, on Jan. 12 my cycle began and I was crushed. I didn't understand and was throwing my arms up to Him because I was resolved to have only 3 kids! I cried and I cried with Kristie who continued to try and build me up, but was confused herself at why we thought we were so clear on this one. I never have thought that so strongly before and here it was SO strong.
That brings me to the fact of Amari was born on Jan. 12 and we got the call on the 15th that he would be moving into our family if we would have him. Now you know why our God is So awesome. I am just filled with joy and over-flowing! God had this planned! I remember talking to Ron and he was excited and said we just lost our den. And then I called Kristie, my words to her were this, we are so STUPID!
How can we ever know or begin to understand our God who is bigger than our everything. I don't have to wait until Sept. I might not even have to wait 1 month. That is unheard of. Only God can do something so much bigger than us. There are not words to even describe this.
So, where are we in the process. I am happy to say that we have met him. Last Friday we did spend our first 2 hours with him. I am also happy to say that his foster parents love him very much. This is great for Amari, but not so great for them. They were hoping to adopt him as well and when they found us with his brother they were kind of crushed. Okay, really crushed! My heart goes out to them and all foster parents! We pray for them and Amari all of the time. That the last few days be precious for them and that God will give them peace. At the same time because of all of the love they have for him it would be the best if he were placed here quickly. Just so they don't get any more attached. I would love it of you all could pray for Amari and the family. Also, know that their birth mom is out there hurting and trying to drown it ways that are not healthy. She has been living a life that is a circle that she feels she can't get out of. Yes, people choose this, but when people treat you as your life doesn't matter and tell you what they think you are worth you start to believe it. She has lived this way far to long to just walk away. So we pray for her safety and for warmth for her. We don't know if she has regular meals or a safe place to lay her head. I can't judge her....I am not in her shoes. All I know is that God has blessed us with these beautiful little boys that she has chose to give life to. Praise God for His hand in that as well and allowing us to be prayer warriors for her too!
God knows my name and I am humbled by that. Once again He has put me in a place where all there is is worship. Worship Him in and through everything. Our God is a GREAT God! He Reigns! In Heaven and on earth!
Bring the Good News!
Also, Kasi is still doing amazing! And....I got all the paper work done in less than a week and it usually takes 6 weeks to 2 months. God worked in every place of that too. More of those stories to come!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Some more info...
Hello everyone! I just thought I would give you a little update.
First of all Kasi is doing great! Amazing! I didn't really expect anything different though. God has been so good to her and all of us through this process that we are living in His goodness everyday. The joy He has given can't ever be stolen. He just keeps adding to it daily. And through everything that we have in front of us we know "it will be okay". Always!
So the update on little Amari. He is a little more then 5 lbs now. He was born a little more than 6 lbs, but he had stomach surgery a couple of days ago. He is doing great and back at his foster home. He had pyloric stynosis, for those of you who know the medical stuff a little bit. I do know what this is because it is the very first surgery that Kasi had as a baby. Kasi's of course was a little more complicated and after Kasi had her surgery at 5 weeks she stopped breathing and such. That is when we found out about all of her heart stuff. Needless to say, Kasi wasn't out of the hospital for a long time after that surgery. The fact that Amari is back at the foster home means everything is great! I am happy about that. I know that even though we are not there to love on him, God is where Amari is and is loving him more than we ever could.
We will be able to meet Amari in about 2 weeks. There are things that have to take place with the courts first before we can start our meetings with him. I understand this too, and I know that it is a long process because we went through this with our little Ben too. It is okay though because it will be faster than in Ben's case. Ron and I are starting our foster licensing either today or tomorrow. We will be working on that for a bit, but we will be able to have Amari in our home before that is complete. That is exciting news for sure! We are praying that he will be with us within 2 months. So, here is the subject of prayer and praise. Praise because God is faithful. I know some people think we are crazy for doing this, but I am young yet! And the fact that this little guy was known by God before his existence means God knew where Amari needed to go as well. So, when God chose us for Ben, He chose us for Amari as well! We are His and these little ones are His too!
I would love it if you could pray for protection over Amari too! He will be with his birth mom for supervised visits. This is if she shows up. It would be good for all of us if she didn't show up. It would just make things move along faster, but Christina needs prayers too. Pray for her mind to be open and for her to realize that the best thing for Amari is to be with his brother. If she does that, everything would be over quickly. Right now she is contesting Amari being taken from her. She is not saying she is going to change, she is just saying "I want my baby". God is good and in the middle of it all. Pray, Pray and pray some more. Where ever God leads you in this case!
I think that is all for now! We are looking forward to a new little one here soon! We are going to be painting and moving furniture around! We are in need of a new born car seat. This is our first real need! It has to be less than 5 years old, really 4 because we are going to be using it for the next year.
Have a great day! Thank you for reading this and praying with us! Celebrate who God is! Be AMAZED!!!
First of all Kasi is doing great! Amazing! I didn't really expect anything different though. God has been so good to her and all of us through this process that we are living in His goodness everyday. The joy He has given can't ever be stolen. He just keeps adding to it daily. And through everything that we have in front of us we know "it will be okay". Always!
So the update on little Amari. He is a little more then 5 lbs now. He was born a little more than 6 lbs, but he had stomach surgery a couple of days ago. He is doing great and back at his foster home. He had pyloric stynosis, for those of you who know the medical stuff a little bit. I do know what this is because it is the very first surgery that Kasi had as a baby. Kasi's of course was a little more complicated and after Kasi had her surgery at 5 weeks she stopped breathing and such. That is when we found out about all of her heart stuff. Needless to say, Kasi wasn't out of the hospital for a long time after that surgery. The fact that Amari is back at the foster home means everything is great! I am happy about that. I know that even though we are not there to love on him, God is where Amari is and is loving him more than we ever could.
We will be able to meet Amari in about 2 weeks. There are things that have to take place with the courts first before we can start our meetings with him. I understand this too, and I know that it is a long process because we went through this with our little Ben too. It is okay though because it will be faster than in Ben's case. Ron and I are starting our foster licensing either today or tomorrow. We will be working on that for a bit, but we will be able to have Amari in our home before that is complete. That is exciting news for sure! We are praying that he will be with us within 2 months. So, here is the subject of prayer and praise. Praise because God is faithful. I know some people think we are crazy for doing this, but I am young yet! And the fact that this little guy was known by God before his existence means God knew where Amari needed to go as well. So, when God chose us for Ben, He chose us for Amari as well! We are His and these little ones are His too!
I would love it if you could pray for protection over Amari too! He will be with his birth mom for supervised visits. This is if she shows up. It would be good for all of us if she didn't show up. It would just make things move along faster, but Christina needs prayers too. Pray for her mind to be open and for her to realize that the best thing for Amari is to be with his brother. If she does that, everything would be over quickly. Right now she is contesting Amari being taken from her. She is not saying she is going to change, she is just saying "I want my baby". God is good and in the middle of it all. Pray, Pray and pray some more. Where ever God leads you in this case!
I think that is all for now! We are looking forward to a new little one here soon! We are going to be painting and moving furniture around! We are in need of a new born car seat. This is our first real need! It has to be less than 5 years old, really 4 because we are going to be using it for the next year.
Have a great day! Thank you for reading this and praying with us! Celebrate who God is! Be AMAZED!!!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wow
What a crazy title for a blog post, but there is nothing more to say. There really aren't words enough to explain the joy that we are experiencing here at our home. God is faithful!
I will start with Kasi and her Dr.'s appointment today.
Kasi had her Dr.'s appointment this morning right away so she had to get up like a normal 12 year old. Bummer! She wasn't excited about that, but the news we received made it all worth while. The Dr. took X-rays of her back and came in the room full of smiles. He looked at Kasi and said, "Are you ready to go back to school?" We both looked at him and said "are you serious?". Yes he sure is! He showed us the X-rays of her back and it looks amazing. His words are she is doing spectacular! Praise God!!! He is astonished, and amazed as well. This is an awesome thing because when stuff like that happens it is ONLY God. And that is who we can point to for all of her progress. Kasi and I talked about how awesome it is that we are not in control of our own lives. We sure would miss out on the blessings of seeing Him do "immeasurably more than we could ever think or imagine". We are so excited. And Kasi will be going to school tomorrow.
Since this blog is called our journey in faith, I think I might start the next part of our journey as well. You see God is always working as we all know and the places He works in sometimes catches us by complete surprise. That is exactly what He has done.....again!
There is a long history to tell you about with our little guy Ben and at this time I am not going to put all of that in. I will do that because it is an amazing story, but for now we need prayers and celebration at the fact that Ben's birth mom chose life again! She had another baby boy on Jan. 12. We don't know many details, but we do know that Amari was taken at birth and went from the hospital to a foster home. We received a call on Friday at 2:00 in the afternoon and the case worker said they really like to keep siblings together. We have to agree! So, the DeRoo's are growing again! It is amazing to think that God, when He gave us Ben, already knew He was giving us this little one too. Now the prayers that I am asking for are two fold. You see we have met their birth mom. Her name is Christina and she is lost. She doesn't know love or the love of God. When I see her all I can do is hold her and cry. Which is what I have done with her a few times in the past. We have not seen her since Feb. 14, 2007. We know that she is making the same decisions as she has in the past and that is why Amari too will need a safe place to live. We pray for her and we pray for Amari. For Amari, that the transition will happen quickly and for him to be loved on by the family God is giving him to. For our family as we wait to hear how long and what we will need to do for all of this to happen. We have no idea what the time frame looks like. We also have no idea what the cost might be. I know God will provide so we will walk in faith during this next step in our journey.
Thank you for all of your prayers and if you have any words of Truth that God might have for us, please share!
How amazing is our God! I will share the even more amazing parts to come! I am speechless....but I do have something to say. God IS! the I am!!!
I will start with Kasi and her Dr.'s appointment today.
Kasi had her Dr.'s appointment this morning right away so she had to get up like a normal 12 year old. Bummer! She wasn't excited about that, but the news we received made it all worth while. The Dr. took X-rays of her back and came in the room full of smiles. He looked at Kasi and said, "Are you ready to go back to school?" We both looked at him and said "are you serious?". Yes he sure is! He showed us the X-rays of her back and it looks amazing. His words are she is doing spectacular! Praise God!!! He is astonished, and amazed as well. This is an awesome thing because when stuff like that happens it is ONLY God. And that is who we can point to for all of her progress. Kasi and I talked about how awesome it is that we are not in control of our own lives. We sure would miss out on the blessings of seeing Him do "immeasurably more than we could ever think or imagine". We are so excited. And Kasi will be going to school tomorrow.
Since this blog is called our journey in faith, I think I might start the next part of our journey as well. You see God is always working as we all know and the places He works in sometimes catches us by complete surprise. That is exactly what He has done.....again!
There is a long history to tell you about with our little guy Ben and at this time I am not going to put all of that in. I will do that because it is an amazing story, but for now we need prayers and celebration at the fact that Ben's birth mom chose life again! She had another baby boy on Jan. 12. We don't know many details, but we do know that Amari was taken at birth and went from the hospital to a foster home. We received a call on Friday at 2:00 in the afternoon and the case worker said they really like to keep siblings together. We have to agree! So, the DeRoo's are growing again! It is amazing to think that God, when He gave us Ben, already knew He was giving us this little one too. Now the prayers that I am asking for are two fold. You see we have met their birth mom. Her name is Christina and she is lost. She doesn't know love or the love of God. When I see her all I can do is hold her and cry. Which is what I have done with her a few times in the past. We have not seen her since Feb. 14, 2007. We know that she is making the same decisions as she has in the past and that is why Amari too will need a safe place to live. We pray for her and we pray for Amari. For Amari, that the transition will happen quickly and for him to be loved on by the family God is giving him to. For our family as we wait to hear how long and what we will need to do for all of this to happen. We have no idea what the time frame looks like. We also have no idea what the cost might be. I know God will provide so we will walk in faith during this next step in our journey.
Thank you for all of your prayers and if you have any words of Truth that God might have for us, please share!
How amazing is our God! I will share the even more amazing parts to come! I am speechless....but I do have something to say. God IS! the I am!!!
Monday, January 12, 2009
One month has gone by....
I can't believe it is Jan. 12 already. The past month has flown by with time continuing to go by swiftly. I have to say the days are busier with Kasi not being in school. I get to set her up for come classes and do homework at other times during the day. She does help around here once in a while which is nice, but she can't do much. Just fold laundry really.
Her hands and feet still turn color, but I am just letting it go until her next Dr. appointment which will be next week.
Her spirits are up, although she would love to go out and go snowmobiling. That is out of the question for this year.
We play a lot of games here and that helps pass the time. She also got alot of "stuff" to do from all sorts of people so she keeps busy with all of that. She is working on making a book and scrap booking some pictures.
Kasi is starting to eat a little better too. She is not keeping up with Aubree though and believe it or not I think Aubree has had another growth spirt so she might be taller once again. I am not sure who will end up winning the battle of height. I do know that I have them both by at least 4 or 5 inches. That is the way it is supposed to be :-)
Kasi's back looks great too! Her incision has healed up nicely. It does feel funny being out of her brace and that only takes place when she takes a shower. She is very cautious when she gets in and out. I help her of course.
I think that is it for now! I am praying for her actual fusion to exceed everything that the Dr.s expect. It would be awesome for her to start having a little freedom back. We will see, next week!
Thank you all for your prayers! God is an awesome God.....don't ever forget!
Jodi
Her hands and feet still turn color, but I am just letting it go until her next Dr. appointment which will be next week.
Her spirits are up, although she would love to go out and go snowmobiling. That is out of the question for this year.
We play a lot of games here and that helps pass the time. She also got alot of "stuff" to do from all sorts of people so she keeps busy with all of that. She is working on making a book and scrap booking some pictures.
Kasi is starting to eat a little better too. She is not keeping up with Aubree though and believe it or not I think Aubree has had another growth spirt so she might be taller once again. I am not sure who will end up winning the battle of height. I do know that I have them both by at least 4 or 5 inches. That is the way it is supposed to be :-)
Kasi's back looks great too! Her incision has healed up nicely. It does feel funny being out of her brace and that only takes place when she takes a shower. She is very cautious when she gets in and out. I help her of course.
I think that is it for now! I am praying for her actual fusion to exceed everything that the Dr.s expect. It would be awesome for her to start having a little freedom back. We will see, next week!
Thank you all for your prayers! God is an awesome God.....don't ever forget!
Jodi
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
This Week---Kasi again:-)
Hey its me again!! Well, many of you thought I started school on Monday because something still needed to be done to a few class rooms for wireless so I didn't start school. Which I think it is ok because then I kind of get a little break before I start. Hopefully everything will be done tomorrow if not by the end of this week! Also my feet and hands turned really purple today and they hurt so badly. I told my mom that I needed to sit down there and now. Well, thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
Love all of you lots!
Kasi
Love all of you lots!
Kasi
Sunday, January 4, 2009
It's me Kasi!
First of all hi to everyone! Well first of all I "start" school tomorrow! I'm so excited! Also alot of you ask me about my hands and feet. Well they do hurt. They especially hurt when they turn really purple. Normally they turn purple when i stand up for a long period of time and put alot of pressure on them. I also wanted to say thank you for your thoughts and prayers. They have helped alot and you may not know it but I "feel" them.
love all of you so much,
kasi
love all of you so much,
kasi
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Jan. 1 2009
First...Happy New Year to all of you. It is great to look back at the past year and see God's hand in our lives. I am so thankful for all the many blessings He has given me!
This is just a quick update. Last time I wrote it was about Kasi's feet and legs. I did call her cardiologist and he wanted to see us first thing the next morning. We were there and they actually got there a little early to see us which was nice, no wait :-) Dr. Malcolm did a EKG and took her blood pressures. They were a little high, but not so bad. Then they did an ECO, all of this is a normal appointment for her, just so you know. All of the results were the same as before the surgery. This is good because it means that her aorta has not narrowed any more than before the surgery. It also did not improve. He stressed the fact with us again that he has had many Dr.'s look at her case. Three from U of M and the specialist around here. They know that they cannot just go in and "fix" her aorta. They can't balloon it or do any of the "normal" techniques to fix her aorta. They would have to replace it and all the major vessels that flow off of her aorta. So, at this time we are going to watch and wait. He said her body is still adjusting to it's new form. I have to call him again at the end of next week to let him know if anything has changed.
I want you to know that Kasi has a hard time with this. I keep her down for most of the day and she only really walks around for brief time periods. Her hands are now getting purple as well, and today I was not the only one who saw it first hand. So did the family. This is not a normal just turn purple this is a yuck color and her face at times is grayish. I am not being funny about this. I made Kasi sit again for a while and she just cries. She is sick of it and her comment to me was...."Mom, you know it doesn't help. It just is what it is." I held her for a few minutes and she got herself put back together and went on. She knows it is not "normal" and I think she is just praying it goes away. That is what I am asking too. We have seen God work amazing things in her already and I am sure He won't stop now. I am just praying for His will once again to take place and for us to be all He wants us to be through this. It is a long haul and it is only 3 weeks out. We have a while to go and it is a life change for a bit. Pray for patience and understanding as we go through this. Understanding for Kasi as we MAKE her sit and rest. She still doesn't have pain so she thinks she is good to go. She is not!
Thank you for all of your prayers and continued support to our family!
We love you all!
This is just a quick update. Last time I wrote it was about Kasi's feet and legs. I did call her cardiologist and he wanted to see us first thing the next morning. We were there and they actually got there a little early to see us which was nice, no wait :-) Dr. Malcolm did a EKG and took her blood pressures. They were a little high, but not so bad. Then they did an ECO, all of this is a normal appointment for her, just so you know. All of the results were the same as before the surgery. This is good because it means that her aorta has not narrowed any more than before the surgery. It also did not improve. He stressed the fact with us again that he has had many Dr.'s look at her case. Three from U of M and the specialist around here. They know that they cannot just go in and "fix" her aorta. They can't balloon it or do any of the "normal" techniques to fix her aorta. They would have to replace it and all the major vessels that flow off of her aorta. So, at this time we are going to watch and wait. He said her body is still adjusting to it's new form. I have to call him again at the end of next week to let him know if anything has changed.
I want you to know that Kasi has a hard time with this. I keep her down for most of the day and she only really walks around for brief time periods. Her hands are now getting purple as well, and today I was not the only one who saw it first hand. So did the family. This is not a normal just turn purple this is a yuck color and her face at times is grayish. I am not being funny about this. I made Kasi sit again for a while and she just cries. She is sick of it and her comment to me was...."Mom, you know it doesn't help. It just is what it is." I held her for a few minutes and she got herself put back together and went on. She knows it is not "normal" and I think she is just praying it goes away. That is what I am asking too. We have seen God work amazing things in her already and I am sure He won't stop now. I am just praying for His will once again to take place and for us to be all He wants us to be through this. It is a long haul and it is only 3 weeks out. We have a while to go and it is a life change for a bit. Pray for patience and understanding as we go through this. Understanding for Kasi as we MAKE her sit and rest. She still doesn't have pain so she thinks she is good to go. She is not!
Thank you for all of your prayers and continued support to our family!
We love you all!
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