Today I'm feeling...

Today is the one year anniversary of Treasures of God Children's Home!!! YAY! I wanted to write a fun celebratory post of all that has happened to get us this far. But something happened last night, and I want to share about that instead.

This week all the girls have been off from school, and we have been doing fun activities all week. Seeing movies,

playing hide and seek,
going in the pool,

 inviting friends over to play,

(Sam is 8 months older than Sara. Just for a size comparison. :) )

making popcorn and watching movies at home,

picking up new glasses for Lupita,

(She is so cute in them!)

and yesterday I needed formula for Marcy, and some meds, so I took the girls along to wander around the mall, and wanting to treat them to something while we were out. We decided to take the girls to Pizza Hut so they could play in the play place. 

I LOVE Watching Lupita and Shirley together. They are such good friends, and Lupita loves to help her with whatever she needs. In this case, I could go sit down, as Lupita had figured out how to lift Shirley up on the the big steps, and get her down the slide. Good job Lupita!

Luz loved the chicken wings!

I was trying to get a picture of all of us. And when I looked at it, that is when I was mad.

I had to leave half of my family at home. We just don't have room to safely take more than 3 girls in my personal vehicle. And it bothers me. Not just because we can't go anywhere all together as a family, but also it means extra trips to the City, because I can't schedule the appointments all at once.

I've been trying to raise funds for a van for a while now. I started a gofundme page, and I have written in my newsletter. Our total donations to date to the car fund: $951. How much we need in Canadian dollars: $45,000. ($34,000. USD) Sadly our Canadian dollar has been dropping and that is really affecting all ministries negatively. 

Used vans in any kind of half decent shape are almost impossible to find here, and sell very quickly. Vehicles are heavily used, and lightly maintained. We do a lot of driving between the City and here (about a four hour drive one way) for medical appointments and since we are a bunch of women and children with special needs, we need a van in very good shape!!! So I feel like my only option is a new van. 

As part of the gofundme page, they send out updates every once in a while. About a week and a half ago there was a story of a man who had lost a lot of weight, and needed money for skin removal surgery. He had $55,000. USD donated in 5 days. Now I know that that surgery will have a huge impact on him and his life, and I'm glad he can get it. But I couldn't help but be frustrated and jealous at the ease with which he came up with his money. I try not to be, but I am.

I know you don't have $45,000. in your back pocket. At least nobody I know does! But I would really like to ask for your help. I'll be honest, I hate asking for money. So I don't do it often enough. The problem of not enough money coming in is partly my fault, as I'm not letting the need be known.

I'd like to ask you to go to your Bible study group, friends, family, co-workers, etc. Anyone who has a heart for children with special needs. Ask them to put together a fundraiser. Ask them to make a personal donation. Hit up Uncle Fred, Cousin Lucy, co-worker Ned, husband Bob, friend Christina, etc. You get the idea. Please share this blog. Please share it on Facebook. People can donate throughout the gofundme page here. If you'd like to make a tax deductible donation, please visit the Canadian CTEN page or the U.S. CTEN page. If you donate through CTEN, please send me an e-mail at hogartesorosdedios@gmail.com  stating your donation is for the van, otherwise it will go into our general fund (which we also need, but that is for another day! ;) )

I will update every once in a while, so that you guys know when we have hit our goal. Thank you so much for all your support. Thank you for spreading the word. Thank you for working to better the lives of my girls. I can't express my appreciation very well in written form, but know that I really do appreciate it. 

I want to add one side note. Maybe it isn't even necessary, but I'll mention it anyway. I like to treat my girls. I want them to feel loved, and taking them out is one way I can show them I care about them. But every time we go for ice cream, or pizza, or a movie, I pay out of my personal funds. I'm blessed to have enough to share with them. So please know that all donations made to the home go towards their food, shelter, schooling, medicine, dr appts, etc. 

Hope you all have a great week! We are having our one year anniversary party on Sunday, so I'll share some pictures and stories next week.

Tuesday Praise and Prayer.

I've decided that praising and prayer shouldn't be relegated to just Friday of every week so I have decided to do a praise and prayer post any day of the week!

And maybe I've decided to do it that way because I keep forgetting to do it on Fridays.

I'll let you decide.

Praise:

• BOTH of my little babies gained weight this week!!!!! I am so thrilled!!!!! This is the first time in a month that either of them have gained. Thank you for your prayers and donations for formula.

• My two oldest girls are on easter break, and are home for the whole week. Yay! We played hide and seek outside for an hour and a half yesterday. A little harder than you'd think, as I had to hide 4 out of the 5. One kid just came out of her hiding spot anytime someone called her name. One kept crying and/or wandering out of her hiding spot. One kid would be found, then run and hide again because she never wanted to be found. One kid kept crawling out of her hiding spot. And one (who I thought would be the easiest to hide!) moved her feeties and gave her position away! So. Much. Fun.
• We are coming up on one year of being Treasures of God Children's Home. I can hardly take it in. Praise God we have made it this far. 
• We have two new monthly sponsors and we are going to receive a large special donation!!! 
• In the last three and a half weeks we have only gone to the doctor ONCE!!!!! I have been communicating by texts with Marcy's gastroenterologist, and Sara's ENT doctor but that doesn't count. :) This is some sort of record!!! Though I'll break that next week when 4 girls have 5 appointments in the City. I am so thankful that these girls have been stable. 

Prayer:

• Sara and Lupita are going to have their tonsils and adenoids removed. We don't have a date for this yet, but hoping for the week after Easter. Please pray that the surgeries go well (they are high risk because of their special needs), and that it fixes their sleep apnea problems.
• Marcy is going to have a G-tube placed, hopefully at the end of April. This is a small tube that goes through her abdomen and directly into her stomach. It allows us to feed her with more ease. She is eating small amounts, but not enough to survive. She has been with her NG tube for almost a year, and it is not a long term solution. We will continue to feed her by mouth, but the G-tube will allow her to safely get the extra nutrients she needs. 
• Training and wisdom for our staff.

Thanks all for celebrating the good with us, and keeping out girls in your prayers! I really appreciate it!

I lied.

I hate lying. I don't do it often. And when I do, if you've known me for more than 10 minutes, my face usually gives it away. But last weekend I told a bald faced lie. And to Lupita no less.

I took Lupita to McDonalds. We have been having some serious issues with behaviour at school, and punishing was NOT working at all. So now I have resorted to the highly effective parenting tool; bribery! If she behaves at school during the week, then we get to go on a date, just the two of us. It has worked like a dream for almost a month now.

She got ice cream, and we ate our treats together (I like that part). Then it was time for the play place!!!

Very quickly I noticed that four or five girls had noticed that Lupita looked different. They quickly banded together and watched out for her. When she would head towards where they were (not to talk to them or anything, just playing), they would scream and run away. And my heart broke every time. I wanted to knock those girls heads together, and take Lupita away and love on her forever and ever where no one would ever call her names and say or do mean things. I prayed she wouldn't notice.

But my Lupita is too smart. We got in the car to go home and she said to me, "those girls were scared of me". Crap. I'm so glad I didn't have to look her in the eyes. I know, I'm a wimp. I remember talking to my friend Ruth before she even came to me, telling her I didn't know what I'd do when kids made fun of her. When she began to realize that she looked different. What would I say? How would I help to build her confidence and make it through this rough world? Life is hard enough without other little girls screaming and running away from you because of what you look like. 

So I lied. I told her they were playing a different game, and that is why they were screaming and running around. She didn't say anything after that, but I know this girl. She is smart, and sees and understands a LOT of what is going on around her.

Please pray that I would have the right words. That me loving on her will be enough. That I will give her the confidence she needs to make it through. That she will KNOW that God loves her. That He allowed her to be this way for a reason, and He doesn't make mistakes.

Monday Praise and Prayer!

Well, Friday praise and prayer was postponed, as we ended up taking Sara to the ER, and I forgot to write it!

Praise:

• Marcy has had solid bowel movements for a full week now! I didn't realize how normal changing a diaper full of diarrhea, and changing her clothes after every feed had become. I started noticing that sometimes there was just pee, and it was taking me by surprise! I am so thankful that she is doing so much better. The formula has been very expensive, but praise God we have enough donations for a full month! I don't know how long she will be on this particular formula, but I am thankful for God's provision. 

Marcy at 7 months old, weighing 7 lbs, 8 oz. She had only been with us a couple of days.

Marcy in the same outfit, same doll stroller.

She is 1 1/2 years old, weighs 15 lbs, 6 oz and has been with us for almost a year!

• We were blessed to have a team from another local ministry stop by to visit us. They brought us formula, vitamins, medicines and a suitcase full of clothes for the girls! It was a fast visit, but a good time of showing off my girls! 
• We have a professional photographer, and videographer coming!!!! I am SO excited about this opportunity. Two people are coming to spend a couple of days with us, at the beginning of April. Since I just take pictures quickly with my phone, I am excited to see what they will come up with for me! I get so excited every time I think about it! I'll show some off as soon as I can. :)

Prayer:

• Sara. As I mentioned earlier in this post, we took her to the ER on Friday morning. She has sleep apnea, caused by her small head, and we are on a list to have her adenoids and tonsils removed to fix this problem. All of a sudden on Friday she was much worse. While sleeping, she was gasping for air, and needed to be in a very specific position to keep her airway open. When she finally woke up, she was still having some gasping and couldn't seem to keep her airway open. Praise God, by the time we got to the hospital where our pediatrician was, 20 minutes away, she was breathing normally. For some reason, her muscles have become weak, and her tongue has been blocking her airway. Or her adenoids have suddenly become swollen. We're unsure which it is. This means she stays within arms reach of one of us at all times, as I am scared of what can happen. Her surgeon is out of the country, so I'm not sure when we will be able to do the surgery. Please pray that she breathes easily and well while sleeping. Please pray for us as we watch her. 

• Please pray that Marcy's intestines will heal while on this new formula. 
• Please pray for increased speech for Shirley. Her newest word is "que?" when I say her name. It is the cutest thing! I think she will have so much to say, once she can get those words out!
• Please pray for me. For patience and wisdom and good rest when possible. 

Thanks all! Have a good week.

Thank you!

Thanks to my mom and two good friends (Taraleigh and Susan!), I have 3 1/2 tins of formula for Marcy for this week. Thank you!!!

I misjudged the amount of formula in the tin, and one tin is only lasting me two days, instead of the three days I thought it would! I have enough to get me to Monday, when we re-evaluate. Yay!

"Thanks for helping feed me, so I don't have to try and eat these keys!"

New edit:

I didn't actually confirm the amount donated, I just assumed. And we all know what happens when we "assume". My friend sent enough for TEN tins of Marcy's formula! Praise God!!!!! :D

Celebrate!!!

Yay for solid poo!!!!

For the first time in over a month and a half, Marcy had a solid poo! She has had diarrhea, and a lot of it was pure liquid, since the end of January. We tried many different formulas, medicines and came up with many negative test results. I was (and still am, as we still don't know why) getting very worried. Being a nurse can be difficult at times, because I often think of the worst that can happen, and get stuck on that. At this point we don't have a diagnosis, but at least we have found a formula that works for her for now.

This formula, though effective, is very costly. We are looking at $70 every three days. I am hoping this isn't long term, and we re-evaluate with her gastroenterologist on Monday. But until then, I'd like to ask your help with the cost of the formula. If you can sponsor a can of formula ($70), or even part, please donate through Canada CTEN or USA CTEN. Please then e-mail me at tesorosdedios@gmail.com to let me know you have donated towards her formula. Thank you!

I think about how God brought Marcy to me. I was praying out loud over Marcy on Saturday, and she was just playing, not paying attention to me. When I said "Thank you God, for bringing Marcy to me" she all of a sudden looked up at me and gave me the biggest grin! She knows it is a good thing too. :)

I am convinced Marcy would have died had she gone home, or even stayed in the small rural hospital she was in before she cam to me. God has a purpose for her life, and has done true miracles in her life. I LOVE that I get to be a witness to this. 

Friday Praise and Prayer.

I am going to try to get a regular Friday Praise and Prayer post out again.

Today's praise:

• Sara is feeling better. She had pneumonia a week and a half ago, but with antibiotics and good care, she is doing much better. 

• Luz is also doing better. She has had a chronic cough since she arrived in mid November, and we had tried several different treatments. Praise God this last one worked! Whereas she used to regularly cough until she choked (even to the point of waking her up at night), she hardly coughs at all now!

• Shirley is making great strides in her developmental milestones. She is starting to mimic more words and sounds, she can stand up and walk by herself, and is even working on feeding herself and using the bathroom!

• Lupita is doing better at school in the last week. She had been having some behavioural issues at school, but with a different approach, she has really improved and done so well at behaving!

• Marcela started a new medication for her (very) high blood pressure, and she is like a new baby! I suspect she has had high blood pressure all her life, or at least the whole time she has been with us, and that has been giving her chronic headaches. Once we got the BP down, she has been much more active, smiley, happy and with such a fun little personality! I love to see it, though feel sad for all those months that she was in pain. :(

Prayer:

• Marcela. She has had bowel issues for over a month and a half, mostly constant diarrhea. Since November, she has had at least 5 major infections that needed to be treated with antibiotics. Her little body has very little resistance to anything, and is almost like a patient on chemo. She didn't get a fever when she had pneumonia. Or when she had pus running down the back of her throat. Or when she had a urinary tract infection. She has very few signs telling us she is sick, so I have to be very attentive to any change.  

The point of all that, is she needs prayer first of all to boost her immune system and get her body to the point where she can fight infection. The doctors and I need wisdom to see when there is a problem, and to know how to deal with it. I also think the antibiotics have done damage to her intestines, and that is part of the reason we are having such issues. If the diarrhea doesn't stop this weekend, she will end up getting biopsies done next week to see what is going on. Please pray it stops. She is tired from not getting enough nutrients (it isn't absorbed, she just has diarrhea immediately after she eats. Sometimes while she is still eating), though we give her enough milk. She still remains such a happy baby through all of this. It has been a rough week for her with blood draws (that is a story in itself!), diarrhea and vomiting, etc. She is still the cutest thing you will ever see. 

Have a great weekend! And thanks for keeping our girls in your prayers.