Apparently

Blogger thinks I take and post too many pictures.  This blog will no longer let me post pictures, so we've decided to start a new blog.  This blog will still be open, but we will no longer be posting on it.

Our new address will be:
http://familyformedbyadoption.wordpress.com/

I'm still getting used to wordpress and am not quite done with all of the different tabs that I want to have, but just give me a little time.

Hey Jincy- I even put a timeline for Charu's adoption on there just for you!!!  : )

Medical stuff...

It seems as though since we've arrived home from India, Charu has had all of the spotlight in regards to medical issues.  When we arrived home we had countless routine tests done on Charu and some of them were less than fun.  Results from the tests showed that she needed a round of strong antibiotics to get rid of hook worms and after getting rid of the hook worms we then learned that she also had giardia.  Not fun, but pretty typical for a child who lived in an orphanage for the first few years of her life.  Once Charu was feeling better and her appetite was picking up, Charu caught a nasty virus and had a seizure which landed her in the children's hospital for a few days.  In the hospital, they ran every test imaginable including a spinal tap.  After that time, Charu has stayed relatively healthy with the help of her endocrinologist (and her one visit to the cardiologist which turned out to be nothing) who regulates her Thyroid medication every three months.

Allie, being the oldest child, must have decided that she didn't want to be left out.  She's been having recurring UTI's and so her pediatrician decided to do an ultrasound the day before Thanksgiving.  I've had at least 40 ultrasounds through our infertility treatments and so I'm pretty good at reading them and knowing when somethings not quite right.  The day after Thanksgiving my suspicions were confirmed when our pediatrician's nurse called to inform us that Allie only  has one kidney and the one that she has is not working at 100%.  They referred us to a nephrologist back at the children's hospital.

On Monday, I took Allie to the nephrologist and he spent a long time talking to us about living with one kidney.  Basically, we need to work hard at taking care of her one kidney.  This morning we did bloodwork and urine tests to get a better look at how everything is working together.

That's about all we know for now.  We are going to pray that Allie's one kidney is relatively healthy and that it stays that way.  We also pray that we have little to no complications throughout her life.  Any prayers that can be sent our way would be much appreciated!!!

Blogging...

I think every person who blogs at one time or another wonders whether or not they should share pieces of information about their lives on their blog.  I've been faced with this dilemma many times over the four years that I've been blogging and lately I've been thinking a lot about the reason why I blog.

In the beginning, we I started our blog so that Allie's birth mother would be able to see pictures and updates on her whenever she was up to it.  We didn't want to overwhelm her with pictures on difficult days, but still wanted her to be able to see the child she gave birth to and loved so very much whenever she felt she desired.

As time went on, the blog became very therapeutic as I blogged about infertility, adoption, and life in general as a mom.  As we began our second adoption, this blog began to update and inform our family and friends about our lengthy journey to our second child.

When we found Charu on the Waiting International Children's List, we knew almost nothing about the adoption process in India.  This blog became a way to connect with other Indian adoptive families (there aren't a lot out there compared to other countries).

At this time, I haven't been blogging too much although so much has been going on in our lives.  I want to continue to blog because I adore the families whom I've "met" and love staying connected to them.  I plan on trying to blog more in the near future to catch our family and friends up on the changes in our lives as there have been many.

As far as what to share and what not to share.  Our daughters' adoption stories are theirs and we won't be sharing details of their adoption stories on the blog.  However, I do think it's important to document what's happening in their lives (even the difficult parts) and to share with other adoptive families whom may be going through or will go through the same things.

All in all, I'm praying that one day when our children read our blog they know that the whole blog was written to show how very loved and cherished they were even before they were in our family.  I want them to see that they WERE in fact planned...they were a part of God's plan which is even greater than anyone's plan here on Earth.  I also want our precious children to know how loved and prayed for they were and are not just by us, but by so many loving and wonderful people we've met along the way.