October...Already??

As we enter October, I sure would like to know what happened to August and September!  Since you probably do not want to read 2 months worth of Saylor happenings, I will use lots of pictures!

Mycah turned 5 on August 9th!  We took his first trip to the movie theater to see Planes.  He was amazed!

A little last minute summer fun with the little boys...

A couple weeks later we celebrated Zachary's 14th birthday!  I am still not sure how that is possible?  He wanted to go to Mandalay Bay and see the Shark Reef.  It is actually an extension of the Monterey Bay aquarium in California, so it is very well done!

Then there was the first day of school!  It took a couple of weeks, but all 4 of them are finally at the same campus now.  I love K-12 schools.  They are great when you have a 9th (seriously?), 6th, 3rd, and Kindergartner.

I may or may not have been a little teary-eyed at this moment.  High School AND the first time I have ever dropped off my kids at a school and driven away!

This was actually BEFORE we even got to school!

Always ready to pose!

The kids even had a visit from Nina (thank you, Mom!) while I spent a few days in Philly.  My friend's little boy had a successful open heart surgery...2 actually...and I am so glad I got to be there!  What a little miracle he is!

And I got to do a little sight-seeing while I was there, too.

Alyssa's first meet since California.

Last week we had a visit from Opa and Oma, so we went to see the Hoover Dam and then took them to Red Rock Canyon.

And the most exciting thing....we celebrated 6 months as a family of 6!  I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it has been to watch this transformation.  From a blank stare to sparkling eyes.  From shaking his head "yes" or "no" as his main form of communication to a motor-mouth little boy!  From single word baby talk to impressively long sentences!  From orphan to treasured son, brother, grandchild, and nephew.  God is so good!  I am still humbled and amazed that He has allowed me this front row seat to witness his amazing grace through this whole process.

Mycah is now in half-day kindergarten.  He was not what I would have considered "kindergarten ready" academically, but he absolutely LOVES to go to school.  According to him, he has "alotta" friends!  He loves to watch Go, Diego, Go!  He has mastered the DirectTV remote and DVR.  He is getting quite adept at catching football passes from his brothers.  He loves soccer, and is pretty good at it!  But his favorite thing to do these days...gymnastics!  Anything he can climb on, swing on, crawl under, flip over, jump on, roll around on....he is ALL about it!!

God has used many of you to bless us with prayers, gifts, and financial support over the last 18 months.  We could not have done this without you!  You are forever woven into the story of Mycah's life.  Thank you!  

Although not every day is easy, and is often tiring, it has been a joy to watch him learn and grow in so many ways.


"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord.  'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'"

Jeremiah 29:11

Kings, Queens, and Sammy

UPDATE:  Sammy's family has found him!  Praise God for ONE LESS!!!!

As I was driving to pick up Zachary from soccer last week, I was listening to the radio and heard this song.  It has been out for a while, but seeing as I am rarely in a vehicle quiet enough to hear my own thoughts, much less the radio, I had never actually heard all of the words.  And as I listened, the words hit home.

Kings and Queens - Audio Adrenaline     

           

                Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me

                Will we leave behind the innocent too brief
                On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun
                These could be our daughters and our sons
                And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating
                I know my God won’t let them be defeated
                Every child has a dream to belong and be loved

And again I remembered their little faces.  

And then I look back at this one.  

Boys become kings, girls will be queens

Wrapped in Your majesty

When we love, when we love the least of these                       

Then they will be brave and free             

Shout your name in victory               

When we love when we love the least of these               

When we love the least of these

Yes, Mycah is home.  But my job isn't done.  I need to do more.  I WANT to do more.  There are 150,000,000 kids out there waiting for SOMEONE to do MORE.  

So I will continue to make people aware of this crisis. 

And I will pray.

And I will advocate!

For kids like this.

Meet Sammy.

Sammy is "the least of these."

Sammy is 5 years old and lives in a Chinese orphanage.  Originally, Sammy was believed to be deaf since he never talked.  But then his caregivers noticed that he could hear them.  So he was sent for testing, and recent tests have proven that he has NORMAL hearing.  Although he can hear, he still does not talk.  

Sammy needs a mommy to sing to him.  

Sammy needs a FAMILY!

Sammy is someone's son.  

Is he yours?

I would love to share more about Sammy and how anyone can do MORE for these "Kings and Queens."

Ups, Downs and In-Betweens

July 18th marked 4 months since Gotcha Day, and last weekend made 4 months at home for Mycah.  What an incredible time it has been.  Everyday he meshes more and more with our family.  And every day you can see that he is more and more comfortable at home.  That level of comfort definitely has had its ups and downs.

First for the "ups"!

Listening to a child learn a language by immersion is absolutely amazing to me!  He doesn't sit down and study vocabulary or conjugate verbs, he just listens and repeats!  And if you ever want to know what is said the most around your house, just listen to your newly adopted kiddo!  Most of it is good, but I did hear him say "what the heck?" last week.  At which time I had to have a little chat with a certain other child in my house!  We have moved from words to phrases for the most part.

"Mycah go, too!"
"Mycah NO night night!"
"Look at THAT!"
"What's that?"
"No, MINE!"
"Mycah's turn iPad!"
"I don't know?"
"Everybody bathing suit go big pool."
"Mycah do it!"
"Fine! I tell mom!"
"Are you sure?"



And my favorite for this month, said when Darrell asked him if he was going to cry at Sunday School this week,

           "No.  Mommy come back."  

So glad he is beginning to understand that!

                          

We are LOVING our new home and pool!  I have checked several times just to make sure he doesn't have gills anywhere, but it seems he's just all boy!

                   

Friends...old and new!  We have met several great new friends at church and on base.  And we even had the chance to say good-bye to some old friends before they left for their very far away, but very cool, assignment!  

Road Trip!  We have all desperately missed our California friends for the last year, so the kids and I decided to take a quick 10 1/2 hour trip to go visit a few of them!  When we were going there, Mycah kept talking about going to see "Alyssa's friends", or "Mommy's friends", etc.  

By the time we were driving home, he was talking about "Mycah's friends."  

I really think he felt just at home with everyone we saw as we did.  Being back in NorCal was fantastic.  We even managed to squeeze in 2 ER visits at David Grant...just for old times' sake!

Sadly, we had to again leave our CA family, and head back to Vegas.  But the next week was Mycah's first VBS!  Mycah was rather unsure at first, so I stayed with him on the 1st night.  By night 2, he was a pro, and he totally loved the rest of the week.  Right down to the big VBS finale for the parents on Friday.  

Total cuteness I tell ya!  What an incredibly long way he has come in such a short time.  It was so much fun, we did VBS again the next week!  Colossal Coaster!

Most of us know that adoption is not without its challenges.  These would be the occasional "downs."  Sometimes we have so many good days, that the bad ones kind of catch me off guard now.  But they still rear their ugly head every now and then.  Right after Gotcha Day, Mycah was SUPER compliant.  Almost in a catatonic way sometimes actually!  I guess that is what absolute shock will do to some kids.  He ate what I gave him, played with whatever toy I pulled out, watched whatever was on the TV or iPad with no opinions at all.  Well, let me tell you, he is making up for lost time in this area!  Which isn't all bad!  It is actually pretty healthy for his attachment and bonding.  But he has an opinion about everything!!  E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.  What to eat, what to drink, what to watch, what puzzle to take out, what shirt to wear, what wii game to play, what shoes to wear to the pool.  He even had a strong opinion last week about which arm the phlebotomist should draw his blood from.  And if he isn't sure exactly what to say, or doesn't like what you just said, he just uses every 2 year old's favorite word...."NO!!!!!"  And when I repeat myself, every 4 year old's favorite word is then used..."but WHY????"  or even a combination sometimes, "WHY NOT?"  One of my favorite things he says when I give him a choice about something is "Umm, Lessa seeee..." (Umm, let's see).

And then sometimes there's just the full-blown meltdown.  Thankfully, these are few and far between, but this pic was definitely taken on a "low" kind of night!  Oh, what I would give to know what exactly triggers these.  Although I am pretty sure this one was just sheer exhaustion!


And then for all the "in-between."  We are still working on getting his medication dosing exactly right.  I feel like we should have some sort of frequent visitor card for the lab.  His crying is no longer silent...EVERYONE knows when we are there now!  Prayers would be appreciated for this whole adrenal situation.  It is tough to keep some things suppressed and elevate others.  The medications seem to be helping some of the levels, but the doctor wants to see us earlier than originally scheduled.  So that leads me to believe that we don't have this hormonal puzzle totally figured out yet.  His bone age scan was not what I had hoped, and that will be a HUGE determining factor in his upcoming treatment.  Our next appointment is Monday.  Please pray for the doctors' wisdom, clear communication, and for Mycah's little body to function like it was designed to function.


On the lighter side, here is my new van.

OK...kidding.

But it should be.

Alyssa is back in gymnastics 4 times a week...30 miles round trip.  Zachary will be starting school next month at a charter across town...30 more miles round trip in a different part of town.  He will also be trying out for soccer at our zoned school back on our side...more miles.  I am SO glad that Mycah has gotten over his hatred towards his "big boy seat", because it will be seeing quite a few miles this year.

Sometimes I think I would like a nanny more now than when they were all little!

Or perhaps I just need a good chauffeur??