It’s crazy to think about how much can change in four months. Four months ago yesterday we were still waiting for children to arrive at the home. Four months ago today, however, the first little baby arrived to be taken care of at Judah Quy. Less than a week later two more little ones arrived, and we’ve been working with these three since then. Some days are tough and I feel like we're not accomplishing anything, but when I look back over these last four months I see that I couldn't be more wrong!
Esperanza came to us at 11 months of age and the size of a newborn. She has since then put on nearly 2 pounds, and greatly improved in health!! She came to us eating less than 40 mL of milk in a sitting, and now is eating baby food and drinking between 60 and 90 mL! Also, that night she first arrived and the first few weeks to follow, she was very stiff, inactive, and quiet. If you were to see her now you would hardly believe she’s the same little girl! She can sit, almost by herself, she’s rolling over, kicking, waving her arms, even when she sleeps she keeps moving around. She’s also gotten to be a loud little chatterbox! She’s smiling and cooing all the time, and her cry is not one you could ignore. One more thing that’s so different is that she’s no longer having seizures! I remember the first few times she had these attacks we wondered if we weren’t losing her. She stopped breathing and responding to anything and just got blue in the face. It was so scary! After a while her attacks got less severe, where she would continue breathing but just not respond, and recently we got her on a new medicine and I believe it’s been over a month since her last attack! Praise God!
Then there are my two little boys, Lucas and Diego, who came later on that week. While they didn’t come with any health issues like Esperanza, but they’ve undergone their own types of improvements. The first week was the worst for little Diego. I can still picture the poor little guy, standing pointing at the door just balling wanting to leave! It was a tough adjustment for him. And for a long time after he just was not a very happy fellow, but lately he’s so much happier, it just makes me smile. Lucas was a little bit quiet when he first came as he adjusted to being here, but overall he didn’t mind so much. But, you can tell that he’s been growing and learning in his time here. Both the boys have improved in their talking, although they’ve still got a long ways to go! They didn’t really speak at all when they arrived, but their vocabulary now contains probably four to six words. It doesn’t sound real impressive, but it sure helps us when they can tell us a little bit of what they want as opposed to pointing and squawking for everything!! They’ve also listen/obey better than when they came (well, Lucas is more of the trouble causing one than Diego, but anyway…). They’re walking and running with fewer issues and are no longer terrified to climb up and go down the slide by themselves. I know they both have a long way to go and are far from what’s healthy for kids their age, but on harder days it is nice to look back and see how far they’ve come since getting here. They are growing, they are learning, and most importantly they are being loved and cared for.
I’m sure many other things have changed in these last four months, whether they’re things I can’t remember or didn’t even notice to begin with. God is at work here, and there’s no denying it! I’m so blessed to be a part of this. I know God is changing things in me too. And I look forward to being here and seeing God continue the work that He’s started, both in the kids life and my own.