Thanks for the Advice

Today has been a bitter sweet day here at home. While things are getting better on this end, there is a friend of mine that has been diagnosed with Leukemia. My friend is only 28 years old and has also adopted a baby from the Ukraine. In fact she is the main reason we chose to adopt. She had shown us a picture of little Leeska when she was 1 and told us about her being sent to an institution if she was not adopted. We followed her to the Ukraine soon after she came home. Now she actually works for Reece's Rainbow. Her name is McKenna Powell. She has 3 small children and has been dealing with so much in her life. Her niece was recently diagnosed with cancer in her leg. Her family has gone through a lot with this. Now this past Monday she found out about her leukemia. She is very positive about it. She has already began to take medication to help her. Today she went to get more testing done, so please keep McKenna is your prayers and pray for a miracle right now.
As for our babies, we have changed their diet to a gluten free diet and that has helped out a lot. I know now that we do not have the best doctor because he truly does not seem to think that this is a big deal. After reading all the responses it sounds to be much bigger than I even thought it was. Thanks so much for giving me all the info that you have!! I am going to search for another doctor and hopefully figure all this out. I have Friends that will not even hold my babies anymore because they know how they poop so much. They are really grossed out my them and that really bugs me to see people like that.
I don't know if I have told people this before, but I also foster puppies. If anyone that lives near by wants to adopt a chi-mix puppy I have 4 left, and 2 spaniel mix pups. I have had them now for 4 months, and they really need to find good homes. Ill post a picture of them, but please pass the info along. The adoption fee is 150.00 but they come with all their shots, spayed and neutered and micro-chipped. They are very sweet babies. I'm a sucker for pus and homeless dogs so I cant ever say no. I joke a lot and tell people I can not say no to puppies or kids!!

Tummy Issues

I was reading the comments today and I was thinking about what Patty had said. I'm not sure what that is called or how to say it, but I'm going to check into it. We have not resolved the tummy issues by far. In fact they have gotten much worse. Everyday that we wake up the babies are covered in poop. We have to carry them to the bath and wash them off. Then we have to open their window to get the smell out of their room, then we have to strip their cribs everyday. It really gets very time consuming. Then we do this about 2 more times throughout the day. We have just recently started them on the gluten free diet, but it does not seem to help out a whole lot. We are at a loss. We do not have the best pediatrician either. He really has no clue what to do. I'm looking to find a doctor that knows a little more about downs children anyways.
I was thinking yesterday about how it will be when they are all older. Are they still going to try to get into everything when they run around on their own?? Do they always scream for no reason?? Just wanting to be prepared for these things.
Eli makes us laugh everyday with the new things he likes to do. When a woman holds him he always loves to pull down her shirt and look inside it. You can see the ladies freaking out trying to fight him for thier shirt as me and Tony sit and laugh!! Then Leeska is just learning knew things everyday. She has learned to say so many new words, and she has really learned how to listen to what we say. We are amazed at how smart she is. Its so hard to think that it has only been 6 months almost 7 that we have had them home.
We have been looking at the R.R. again looking at the older children and then some of the kids with HIV. We don't know if its OK to adopt a child with HIV if you have a lot of kids at home. We are afraid that our kids get sick so often that that would make them more sick even faster. Some people say no, but I'm not sure. They have so many kids that need to be adopted. I do not know how people pick one. We had it easy because a friend showed us Leeska so we went into this knowing we would go for her.
Well, Patty if you read this I tried to respond but it would not let me. If you know more about this disease please let me know. I'm interested to see if this could be what they have. Thanks

Gods plans

That's where we are. We are trying to figure out Gods plans for us. The moving thing is wearing us down. We know if we work for my brother we would be happier, but still don't know if that's what God wants for us. I guess its just the waiting around that is more frustrating than anything. We did not put a pool in because we might move, we also did not landscape yet because we might move. We are not sure if we will homeschooling or not because we might move. There is just a lot of things riding on this move!!
As for the babies they are doing good. Right now Eli has a fever though. He has had a lot of allergy issues. We are thinking that the 3 babies may have celiac disease. We heard that 50% of downs babies have celiac deisease. The babies have such bad diareah everyday!! When we awake in the morning the babies are covered in poop. It is sooo nasty. I have to carry them to the bath and bath them every morning. So we are going to try a gluten free diet to see if this helps. Not to mention the diaper rashes they are having because of the diareah. Leeska and Nessie are about to have their second eye surgery. They had to have one for their blocked tear ducts, now the second one will be for there eyes to not cross anymore. I think this will help them to walk better as well.
We are still trying to help my brother that has lost his mind now to. We went to visit him again this week and it is just so hard to see. I have grown up with this brother that now I do not even recognise anymore. I don't even think he knows me anymore. He is always fighting the air thinking someone is there, and he is always yelling at my sister-n-law saying that she said ir did things that she has not ever done. We watched their 2 youngest daughters this week and it was heartbreaking. The little one that is 4 fell and hit her head and Tony picked her up. She grabbed his neck and just hugged him. When he went to put her down she would not let him. So he sat and rocked her for an hour. She just sat there and fell to sleep. She said her daddy never help her.. In fact, he never even talks to her. He does not think she is one of his kids. Its so sad to me. The hardest thing is to not be able to do anything at all. I keep looking into things everyday,but in Texas we are limited to the things we do here.
I'm going to get ready now for our weekend trip. W are going to the beach again, but without the babies. This will be our first trip in years alone. We are very excited about it to!!

4th Of July

We had such a blast on the 4th of July. We were invited to go to my brothers home in Austin. He threw a huge party with over 360 people there. I got to meet a few movie stars that I never thought I would get to meet. It was sorda nice. I even got a few pictures with one of the guys holding my little Eli.
The night was finally over at about 3.00a.m. Then we had to make the drive back to San Antonio. We learned on our Beach Vacation not to stay at a hotel with the babies!! We got home at about 4.30. Long night!!!
At home everything is just settling down right now. I have put the kids therapy off for a week to just get everything here cleaned up a little. We have all my nieces from Austin staying over right now. Tony keeps taking them to Fiesta Texas while I get the house picked up. I would rather clean, than take the kids to the park!!!
Tony's job is still up in the air.. He had wanted to leave at@t because he was not doing a lot of work there, but now he just is not sure what to do. My brother had offered him a job to work with him in Austin and to travel with him, but know we are re-thinking that as well. He was offered another position at his current job also. Now we are thinking that that may be the best bet so that we can hold on to the benefits. Tony has liked it there until the past few months when it got really slow. Now they told him they had more for him to do. The only problem is that other people that he knows there may be let go if he takes the job they are offering him. We have been down this road before and lost a lot of friends that way. That is the last thing he wants to do, so he is trying to figure out a way where he can take the job, and the other people can keep there jobs to.
We are still looking at homes in Dallas, Austin, and here in San Antonio. Those are the 3 places we may end up right now. The waiting is what really bugs us the most. We just want to be settled and know where we are going to go. We need one more bedroom than we have right now, and we really want a pool for the kids.
Eli is trying to walk around more right ow, and Nessie is taking a few steps. This week we are really working on potty training. This has not been a success yet!! We are having problems with Nessie taking everyone things from them right now. She fights the other babies for what she wants. It has been a real struggle.
Well, We are going to go out for dinner tonight with our best friends. They have a lot of kids as well, so people love it when we walk i together!! Please continue to pray for Tony's job and the choices that we make !!