So somehow one of the boys configured my Facebook account so that each time I tried to log in I was redirected to Temple Run. Seriously, how is this possible? Just now is the first time I have been able to take the time to fix it....anyway, the boys are doing better every day. Now that we have a good bedtime system, evenings are going much better also. The only problem is that Chip and I must be quiet as mice after we put the boys to bed bc we don't want to risk waking one of them-- creating a domino effect. We had a long day at the Embassy. What should have taken five minutes took several hours because they just changed the visa requirement paperwork...however as I just wrote someone else, they had a Disney movie playing and cookies, so it doesn't get much better than that for my boys! As I said they are doing great but there are some battles I have chosen not to even begin, like taking a bath. I don't want to freak anyone out , but I'm not sure they will have a true bath before we get back to the States. If cleanliness is next to godliness, then we have a bunch of heathens running around here....

Just wondering

At present, the boys are at least quiet, if not asleep. Picture schedule worked well for the day, now we need to figure out a reward system for bedtime. Tomorrow we return to the orphanage for a good-bye party. This orphanage is filled with beautiful, awesome kids just wanting homes. One little fellow has repeatedly pointed to himself then to Chip and then to the door-- with big eyes and a big smile that says "please". . But I promised Isa that we would only come home with three, and that is handful enough for now. But maybe someone reading this has a few extra hands to offer one of these kids? Just wondering...

Busier and better

As I just wrote to someone a minute ago, "everyday gets busier and better" with the boys. They are as active and as mischievous as they are cute. Thankfully, they seem to trust us more, but we still know that the idea of "having a family and going to America" is very different than the reality. The pic of them playing Legos (that I posted earlier) was probably the quietest that they were all day. Again, so thankful for all of you and the prayers and notes of encouragement that give us two old people the strength to keep up with three active boys.

Only 6:55 pm?!

Another long day, but Chip just informed me that is only 6:55 pm. How is this possible? I am ready for bed. Beginning tomorrow we have the boys 24/7, in a small apartment , in Lithuania, where the weather is suppose to be bad this weekend. Eieieieiiii! The boys are good boys, but they are BOYS! Everything is a contest. Farting, burping, running, jumping, hitting....I grew up with sisters, (you know talking and playing Barbies) but Chip assures me this is normal boy behavior. I do not know about that, but I do know boys are exhausting. Today we had a first -- McDonalds! Fries a hit, but surprisingly, the burgers not so much. The boundary testing continues, but we have learned that they do understand , "no." and so far, no ABSOLUTE fits! But remember, especially as you pray that we can not provide man on man coverage, its two on three. Tomorrow we go again to the Doctor for more shots-- no fun there, but an opportunity to comfort. Leaving the orphanage will be more difficult than we first thought because the women there truly love these boys. It is the best orphanage I have ever seen, a million times better than Sam's and much better than the many others I have visited. Tonight my heart breaks for the children we will leave behind tomorrow, especially Laurynas, a handsome, sweet, smart boy who plays with us every day. Please pray for him tonight and for our three boys, who will leave the only home they have ever known. I know I am redundant (and I repeat myself, and say things over and over..) but I will say it again, we are truly thankful for you and your prayers. Now I sleep.

Yea! The judge said "yes" to the adoption and to our request to return home immediately instead of waiting the 40 days. We now get new birth certificates (with parents listed as Harry and Kristin Huey) , passports with new names, visas, and a couple of other details. We plan to travel home next Saturday. Pray no glitches and for the boy's emotions as it will be difficult for them to leave the only "home" they have ever known.

No surgery needed for Sam. We are so incredibly relieved and thankful! Thankful to God, to the Fitzwilliam Family, and to all you prayer warriors. Here, things continue to go well (not easy, mind you, but well) with the boys. Each day they test us a bit more..no translation needed today when one in particular asked, (not in so many words, of course), "Did you REALLY mean it when you said, 'NO?'" And when he learned the answer to this question, again, no translation needed for his next bit of non-verbal communication. It's a weird place to be as an almost-but-not-quite-parent parenting children who have never known parents. (Did that make sense?) Fortunately, frowns and pouts dissipated with big bear hugs, kisses and, eventually, smiles. Tomorrow is court. At this point I am not sure I know what to pray; I'm so glad God has these things figured out and that I don't have to worry about it anymore. I wrote that last sentence for myself!) So very thankful tonight for The Body! (You!) Seriously there is NO WAY we cld do this without all of your support. This isnhow we care for orphans TOGEThER! It doesn't take a "village"; it takes The Body of Christ, His church.

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Prayers needed: Sam broke his femur. In my care, he broke his tibia a few months ago, so this kind of thing just happens with an active boy like Sam, but tomorrow he returns to the MD to determine if surgery is needed. So hard to be away from him during this time, but hugely thankful to the Fabulous Fitwilliam Fam for stepping up to the challenge input absence. pleas spray for them also.

How do you keep three active boys occupied all day in a small apartment? You dont, you go to an indoor playground! FEight bucks an hour is money well and money that will CONTINuE to be well spent as long as we are Lihtuania. We are thnakful that the boy's orphanage, unlike Sam's, is a warm loving environment. Sam only left the orphanage to go to the hospital, where as these boys go to school, to parks, to music lessons, to the movies,...and .......to indoor playgrounds. Tomorrow is the doctor appointment.... Not looking forward to that. Three boys, lots of shots. Prayers appreciated.

To bring you up to date: Chip and I are in Lithuania adopting three boys .below are my FB  posts: 

Jan. 3 

oK, so if yesterday was Mentos and Coke ( describing mt emotions as a spewing mess)  today was that times five. The boys are awesome. They clearly have yearned for a daddy and instantly fell in love with Chip, constantly seeking to hold his hand and his attention. It was fun to sit back and watch (and NOT be the one taking three boys to the bathroom.) The boys are bright, healthy, energetic, and shockingly small. They are little (LITTLE!) boys. They love and look out for each other. Dominykas is easy-going, mature, and obedient, Justinas (pronounced You-STEEN-as) is strong- willed, quiet, intense, and obviously very intelligent, and Deimantas (pronounced DAY-mon-tas), with glasses almost as big as he, is precise, loving and sooo very stinking cute. It truly was easy to fall in love immediately. Mentos and Coke. The orphanage seems to have done an excellent job with the boys to include preparing them to become a part of a family in America; they would have readily flown home with us today if allowed. More Mentos and Coke. Our day with the boys went better than we had dared hope, and yet we were sobered by the presence of the other orphans who witnessed our joyful first meeting. We were especially moved by a beautiful teen girl, who outwardly showed no emotion as she silently watched. (Yet again....Mentos and Coke.) How was it that we packed the EXACT number of extra toys to give to all the other children? And these toys were crammed into an already overstuffed suitcase at the last minute -- an after thought, or some, myself included, would call it a God-nudge... (You guessed it....more Mentos and Coke). Maybe someone reading this post is feeling a God-nudge in the direction of adoption? Is it you?

We have been home a week and Sam is doing really well.  He is only able to sit upright a couple times a day and only for a few minutes each time, but we will gradually begin to build that up over the next few weeks.  This is the first time he has ever been able to sit upright with a straight back.  He looks so tall and handsome, and, as he put it, he feels "like a prince".  We are so very happy with the result and as always grateful for your prayers.  K

We had a very good day here at the hospital.  Sam continues to have minimal pain.  He developed a little pressure area, which we are monitoring, but if that continues to improve, we will go home tomorrow.    After this surgery,  the kids are usually in a body casts for several weeks.  Because of Sam's decreased sensation, the MDs opted not to cast him.  Especially after this pressure area, I am convinced that this was the right decision.  However, the down side is that he will be in bed for the next two weeks.  In spite of this Sam has been a champ and his spirits are great.  I believe this is in part due to the prayers of you saints.

During Sam's surgery, the OR nurse called to update me on his condition.  After the update, she relayed the following to me:  In the OR before they put Sam under he was talking to everyone and asked how many boys and girls were in the room.  After someone gave him the count, he said, "good we got em beat, boys!"  He then asked this nurse her name.  After she told him, Sam said, "that is such a pretty name."  Finally, he started to doze, but twice before he went under he yelled, " Hey people! Over here! I'm not asleep yet!"

Thanks again! K

So here we are again..sitting in the hospital after one of Sam's surgeries.  He had hip (major surgery) and kidney reflux (minor surgery) performed last WED.  The hip surgery was to increase hip mobility so that Sam could sit upright.   (He had no hip movement before surgery.) Sam tolerated the surgery very well and the hip surgery appears to be a great success.  His pain, which was excruciating after his last hip surgery 2008), has been extremely well controlled.  We spent the first two nights post surgery in Pediatric Intensive Care, but moved to a regular room last night.  The kidney reflux part of the surgery was, as the MD put it, "about a 50% fix".  Overall, we are very pleased and so very, very thankful that Sam's pain has been so much less than before.  His biggest pain today was the IV.

I apologize for lack og posts since the surgery, but this is truly the first time I've had access to the internet.  We are at The New Walter Reed at Bethesda Navy Hospital.  I just discovered that we can get a decent signal on the ward above ours.  I don't even have phone reception except in a few places in the hospital.  Now that I have found this little secret signal, I will post daily.  .

We hope to go home on Monday.  I'm tired. Thanks for your prayers.  K

Home at last

Praise God.  Friday afternoon we rec'd the OK from our ortho to travel North.  We arrived home here in Virgina last night (Sunday).  We were welcomed by a gaggle of children in our driveway, all happy to see Sam.  And extrovert Sam was oh so happy to see them.  So now we wait for Sam's back to heal so that we can have hip surgery.. We've said it so many times before, and it continues to be true; we couldn't do this without the prayers of you Saints..THANK YOU!!!!  K

ER and Ortho visit

Swe are still fighting this UTI, but a late night visit the ER resolved some very painful tummy issues so Sam is eating, drinking, and overall feeling much better. We did recieve some frustrating news at our ortho visit yesterday; Sam's back is not healing as well as we had hoped. The Dr recommends a back brace and warned that we will likely need to wait longer than three months for hip surgery. (Sam's back must be healed before we can have hip surgery.) To bring you up to date, Sam will require hip surgery in order to sit upright again because now his back and hips are both straight. He's like a little board which is uncomfortable and frustrating, but as we keep reminding ourselves (and him), this is only a temporary (4-5 months) situation. Prayers always appreciated..K

UTI..

Although Sam's back is doing better, he is now fighting a nasty urinary track infection (MRSA) that he can't seem to kick. He is taking heavy antibiotics and feels pretty yucky. He has spiked a temp a couple of times, but so far we have been able to get it down and avoid the ER. Chip leaves today for DC. We are still in Columbus, with my parents. Prayers appreciated...

Home--sort of...

Sam was discharged from the hospital late Tuesday afternoon. He contracted a urinary track infection for which he is receiving antibiotics, but we still thought he would do better at home. So far, we were right. We are at my parents home (in Columbus) and my mother (Super Gmother that she is) is thrilled to cook anything Sam thinks he might consider eating. The threat of another IV has kept Sam drinking enough to stay hydrated. (Compared the trauma his body has endured, an IV is minor, but it still packs a punch to his psyche.) So all and all, we are rocking along. Maybe not rocking..

Ironically and sadly, Dr Devito, the gifted doctor who performed Sam's surgery, was in a cycling accident and broke his neck a few days ago. According to his office, he is expected to make a full recovery but he wont be practicing anytime soon. Please remember him in your prayers.

Many of you have asked how Isa is doing with all of this turmoil. She has been staying with my sister and her two teenage cousins. She has spent a good bit of time with them over the past year so it was a very comfortable setting for her. Our family was reunited yesterday. Although not overly concerned about Sam, Isa seemed genuinely happy to see me and Chip. Don't get me wrong, Isa doesn't bear Sam any ill will, but she doesn't comprehend/believe the magnitude his surgery. As she put it (describing a wealthy family in Colombia), "Fancy doctors tell reech (rich) people stuff so dey (they) have drama like tv." Isa is not (usually) into drama. She has a grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it-kind of philosophy and she respects mental and physical toughness. considering her background, this isn't surprising. So as you pray for Sam, please remember Isa. Her scars are not so visible, but they are still just as disabling...

Thank you for all the emails of encouragement and, as always, we thank you for your prayers. We couldn't walk this path without you.

blessings, K

Day 6

Sam is doing better, but he's still in a funk. We're going to leave the hospital even though Sam is still not eating or drinking. We're hoping his spirits and intake improve with a change of scenery. Pain is manageable, but of course moving him is still not pleasant. We have rented a reclining wheelchair, so even though Sam can't sit upright, he will be more mobile.

Though we have a long road ahead (another surgery in a few months and the aggravation of not being able to sit until then) this surgery was still a success; Sam's back is straight. He's almost a foot taller. It's incredible.

Thank you so much for the emails and especially the prayers. Good night...K

Day Four Back Surgery

Sam had a better day in terms of pain, but he is becoming more withdrawn and depressed. The docs tell us that this is very normal, but we've never seen Sam like this, even with his other surgeries. Pray. K

Day three --back surgery

Today started off rough. Sam began having muscle spasms in his back, which were very painful. He was miserable and at one point (our typically upbeat) little man said, "I can't win; I wish I were dead." Thankfully, at about 1:30 this afternoon they found the correct med cocktail to give him relief and he has slept most of the afternoon and evening so far.

In addition to pain, Sam is also becoming frustrated as he realizes he won't be able to sit up in his wheelchair (or anywhere else) for the next few months (last blog: his hips won't bend). We'd really appreciate prayers for his pain physically and otherwise--that he would be able to trust God through this difficult time.

As always thankful for our praying Saints, K

Long over-due update and back surgery

I will give an update on Sam and then give a little info about Isa and our family in general.

Sam had the much dreaded back surgery yesterday. We spent last week at the beach (a whole other story) so I had no Internet access there. Therefore I wasn't able to communicate as well before his surgery as I would have liked. So far his post-op experience has been better than we could have dared hope. Pain is managed well, no nausea, no neurological complications, and no signs of infection. Praise God! He is still heavily medicated and in a deep sleep even now. There is, however, a down side..prior to surgery, we (neither therapists nor doctors) were able to isolate his hip vs back movement...so once they locked his back straight they didn't know if Sam would have enough hip flexion (bending) to be able to sit. Turns out he doesn't--so now he has straight back and straight hips. He is not able to sit upright (which is a real problem)...so as soon as he is able to tolerate (a month, two?) Sam will require another hip surgery- similar to the one he had in Kansas. So we are trying to figure out how to manage day to day activities until we have surgery...and are trying to decide if we will stay here or go back to Virginia for the surgery.

So that brings me to Virgina; we moved there in June. (Chip moved in April.) Chip's mom, Mama Peggy, passed away at the end of FEB. We miss her very much. Before Mama Peggy's death we were able to spend almost every weekend with her in Columbus. We spent a lot of time in the car, time which God redeemed; it forced us to bond as a family more quickly than I think we would have otherwise.

So that brings us to Isa--she been home nine months and is doing really well. I didn't blog so much about her adjustment because I'm not sure how Isa will feel about her story being so public. However, I don't think she'd mind if I tell how funny she is. Isa loves to imitate people in our family. She does us all, but my favorite is her impersonation of me on my death bed: back of hand to forehead, "Sam, do your homework! Isa, no kiss boys!"

So I will continue to update on Sam's progress. As always, the Hueys are sustained by your prayers. Thank you...K

Isa is home!!

Isa is home. When I last posted, we were on our way home. We arrived safely and received a wonderful reception. Thank you to everyone who made it so special. It was perfect!!!!

We all slept in a little late the first morning. Just as Isa was entering the kitchen at ten-thirty, we spotted a little family of deer in our backyard. We often see deer in our neighborhood --but never at that time of day! I have no doubt that God arranged that just for Isa's first day in Georgia. Isa was impressed by the deer and it helped to offset her disappointment of not having a TV in her room, which she immediately noticed.

We've spent this week helping Isa get settled into her new life. She is doing very well and seems happy. She has totally bonded with Sam. They are too cute together! Everyday she seems to interact more as if she is part of our family and not just a visitor. Yesterday I got her to unpack her suitcase and today she left her shampoo in the bathroom. (She had been packing all her toiletries each time she showered.) As I type, she is at a taco-party with a group of girls from our church. Of this small group of eight or nine, three are fluent in Spanish! What a blessing!

It has been the prayers of you Saints that have sustained us on this journey to bring Isa home. Thank you!!! Love, K