It's A Wonderful Life

 I have several posts in my head but somehow my computer has freaked out and I can't post pictures on the blog. It's time to take it in but I need Doug to do that and he has been pretty busy. Hopefully it will happen this week. I really need my computer over the next couple of months.   Anyway, back to what I was getting at. I found a post on this blog that shocked me. I knew the orphanages struggled but not like this. I thought I would share what one of the oldest adopted children of the family said to his mother. If you want to read the whole post here is the link.    http://wwwourchinagirl.blogspot.com     Monday April 8,2013     He made me cry I cried. I couldn't help it.  Now understand, I am not a crier. I don't cry often. But I felt my heart just break.  BROKEN.  I felt broken. And I understood for a few moments how God MUST feel, although I have no doubt that He shielded me from the full force of ...

What do Toilets and birds have in common? Nothing. :) But Toilets and Strollers most definitely do. Can you guess how? This is just a random compilation of experiences in the Walker home. While Gideon was in the hospital the kids had some excitement. They woke up to a bird in the house. After some gentle manipulation they coaxed it out. They then went on the hunt to see how the bird got in. This bird had obviously been trapped in the laundry room because he left his mark, if you know what I mean, on the cupboard, floor and clean clothes. Funny, I cleaned it all up when I got home after a long sleepless night in the hospital not the kids. :) They were too grossed out by it.  No hint was found as to where the bird got in the house. A few days later another bird got in. Still no clue where he came in from. Weird. Yesterday Gideon walked out of my bedroom with the rod that holds our toilet paper. I knew from that he had been playing in my bathroom. 2 year olds and bathroom...

A day or two after we got back from China I was changing Gideon's diaper. As I have done for many of the babies in our house, I take the diaper off, fold it up and toss it to the nearest child to put in the garbage outside. This one action started a ritual with Gideon. As soon as I finish changing his diaper he has to grab it and throw it to the child of his choice so they can throw it away. Now, the kids don't think this is such an honor but they are all good sports. Unfortunately for Niya and Marshall Gideon likes their names best so they are called most often. This morning when I took off the diaper Gideon jumped up before I had him dressed. I had mistakenly handed the diaper to Pierce to throw away so Gideon had to hurry and take charge. Gideon, wearing only his diaper, grabbed the used diaper out of Pierces hand. He then started yelling "Niya, Niya". I looked over to see Gideon, with his arm raised high diaper in hand, staring down Hyrum. Hyrum knew he was pe...

This morning we were off bright and early to see the doctor. We weren't sure what to expect or how long it would take so I wasn't as prepared as I should be. Gideon's adoption has thrown me for a loop. With Hyrum and Bria I was always prepared with food, diapers and water. Now, I forget one or the other most of the time. Poor Gideon (and Mom) were up until 3:00 am.. Because of the lack of sleep, Gideon was an angry bear. I didn't even have food and water to appease him.  This made things a little difficult when we had to do x-rays, the echo and EKG. Thankfully we got through it with all the information necessary. The doctor is pleased with Gideon's recovery and said he has flown through it. He did warn us that there are still possibilities of complications but they are not very likely considering how well he has done so far. We asked some very blunt questions and got clear answers on what to expect from here. The surgery that Gideon had did not close any doors fo...

Yes, the laundry got out of control again. Any bump in the road causes a  laundry pile up. So this time I decided that since the kids are off track that they would have the opportunity to fold. :)) Here is what happened.   All the kids brought the laundry into the family room so there would be room for everyone to help. Pierce picked up the camera and decided it was more fun to be the photographer.   Casey then turned on the soundtrack of Cool Runnings. This started the dancing. Gideon loved his newer found abilities to dance.   Bria is a great worker and once she gets started she will help to the very end. Getting her started is the problem. :)   Hyrum loves the praise. As soon as he gets it he is done.   Gideon even tried his hand at folding, or unfolding.   Notice the kids hiding in the back by the couch. I have evidence now! Anyone that has children knows there are some that have a harder time working th...

As a mother it is very satisfying to see the evidence of love between children. We witness these acts of love more every day with Gideon being the instigator of much tenderness. We have done 8 adoptions and know that what we are experiencing now is a gift from God and from a pure little boys heart.  The children came to visit Gideon in the hospital and while we were there Hyrum walked up to the bed and Gideon grabbed his hand and held it for a long time. Gideon had only known the children for a week at this point but he quickly developed  a love and trust in them.  Yesterday Gideon grabbed on the Bria hand, or finger, and walked with her.  He was so sweet with her and just wanted to be close. We got another picture of Gideon holding Bria's hand. We just missed the kiss that he gave her. Gideon has brought so much love and peace to our family.  We could never imagined the blessing Gideon would bring to us. I hope that through this experie...

This week has been way too busy. In my mind I expected to come home from the hospital and sit with Gideon while he was still down. I was with Gideon a lot but there was no sitting. This little boy has been up and around all week. Even when he was not on pain meds he didn't slow down. Gideon has a new found energy and is using it to the fullest. He wants to be in the middle of everything. It has been pretty clear most of the week when he was in pain. He would start to fuss or cry and grab at  his chest. A clear sign medicine was needed. He doesn't like the medicine but has been very compliant, that is until he started to feel better.   This was the progression of administering his lasiks last night. You will notice the bruise on his cheek.  Hopefully Gideon will become more steady and not fall as often. Today was a different story. He decided to run away when it was time for medicine. Our compliant little boy has disappeared. I guess that means he is ...

  This picture was taken before Gideon's heart surgery. You can see his bluish lips and cheeks.  That was a pretty common site before surgery. The stairs are a challenge because he is so unstable. We don't know if he is wobbly from being light headed at times or because he lacks muscle tone due to the lack of proper nutrition during the first two years of his life, but whatever the reason, we hope he gets stronger and more stable quickly now.  More oxygen to the brain has to be a good thing!   We are noticing how much weight Hyrum and Bria have gained in the 18 months we have had them.  So we expect Gideon will do the same, especially now that his body is working better.     Gideon with his handsome older brother Creed.  It's been hard to catch Creed with a good smile in pictures lately - so either he really likes his new younger brother or he is not embarrassed anymore by the braces he just got taken off.   Maybe bot...