Difficult, Strong and Powerful

Difficult, Strong and Powerful from Gina Shiflet on Vimeo.

An Introspection 3

It has become a tradition in our family to produce a mini-documentary every adoption anniversary (May 20th). It's amazing to see how much Andrew and Kathlena change from year to year and to see the interviews go from "alright sweetie, answer the question please" to "alright, I think that's enough (HINT HINT)" in just three years time.

This year J.Michael helped me with the filming and interviews which was interesting, to say the least. We attempted to use two cameras to capture two different angles but I think we ended up with more outtakes than actual footage. We couldn't turn both cameras on at once so there was always a delay between the turning on of camera 1 to the turning on of camera 2. Then of course, there were the times when we'd forget that one of the cameras was still recording...oops. It was also a typical hot, sultry Houston afternoon and after a while the cast and filming crew got restless as you will see but I won't spoil it. We had a good time making it and I hope you'll enjoy watching it.


So please be sure to visit our adoption blog and see AN INTROSPECTION 3

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Christmas 2010

I first must apologize for the long pause on updates and posting.  I have actually tinkered with the idea of giving this blog up altogether, but I do so love to share some of the wonderful moments the Lord gives our family and to be reminded myself as I look back over the year of God's faithfulness to us.  So, with this year coming to a close I have thought more about how this blog helps me preserve our memories and even though there may be long pauses and I don't get to post all the posts I would like to share that it is worth keeping.

So, here is the drive-by version of the last three months.  Calvin has grown so much especially, since his first birthday-Oct 18th.  He is walking, climbing, chattering, giggling, high five-ing, piano playing, huggy, smoochy, and just plain adorable.  Much training and learning during this sweet season.  We all are learning more about our home from a 2ft perspective!

Camping Meridian State Park November 2010

First Camp out...brrr it was cold.  November 2010 Meridian State Park

Walking

High Fives

Playing Piano

Kathlena's vision has continued to improve since her surgery.  She still needs to wear her glasses for now and we are patching 4hrs daily to continue to strengthen her left eye.  She is doing very well with the patching.  Of course having an older brother who also is patching is a great encouragement to her.
Since glasses and surgery Kathlena has made great strides in her writing and letter recognition.  We are so excited for her as this whole new world of pre-reading is emerging for her.  She continues to be my great helper.  She loves to be in the kitchen with me and run errands...especially to Jubilee.  She loves to help me with the produce.  I am so thankful to the Lord for His grace in Kathlena's life as she continues learn about putting her trust in the Lord and not allowing fear to rule her spirit, but leaning on Christ and His Word for courage.  "We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus" -Romans 8:37

Go-Cart riding/checking on the cows at Nana's-September 2010

 Sisters September-2010

Kathlena and her morning cup of camp out hot chocolate at Meridian State Park. November 2010

"Just hanging around" at Meridian State Park November 2010

Andrew has been growing in so many ways.  Growing vertically as his pants testify!  It seemed all of the sudden, but really I should know by now as it seems to happen with all of my children around their birthdays.  Andrew celebrated his 8th birthday with a little chilly swim party, but Andrew was thrilled to get to celebrate with friends so the cooler weather he didn't mind.  He is becoming quite the young gentleman.  He is a great help with his younger brother and Calvin just adores Andrew.  It is such a sweet sight.  The Lord has given Andrew such a sensitive spirit and he is drawn to babies and the elderly.   Such a delight as a parent to see their child's God given talents and personalities grow and be used for His glory.  Andrew's vision continues to improve by God's mercy and diligent work to continue to patch.  We are now only patching 2hrs a day which is a cake walk compared to the days of all waking hours, but it has paid off.  Andrew is regaining his binocular vision and can even see a couple of letters on the 20/25 line which is nothing short of a miracle considering where we started.  What an amazing God we serve!  We would be praising Him for any vision restored or maintained, but that He has given Andrew back so much of what he had lost--what mercy we cannot fully comprehend. May Andrew always know, hope and trust in the great mercies of God all the days of his life. 

Shared birthday dinner with PawPaw at The Goose's Acre in the Woodlands. September 2010

A quick pic with his sister Emily while we were shopping at Hubble and Hudson after dinner. September 2010

Andrew is so sweet on his sisters.  Here is another snapshot with Kathlena in the produce. September 2010

Birthday boys-Andrew and PawPaw Shiflet September 20th

Andrew's first kid birthday party.  Water balloon fights were so fun.  Thanks DoDad for helping!

Andrew is an influential big brother who takes seriously his role.

My always inquisitive, thinking little boy.

A new bike for his birthday.  He has worked diligently even through patch therapy to learn how to be a responsible bike rider. 

J.Michael definitely has to be given notice to his phenomenal growth as he now stands just taller than eye level with me.  Literally, he grew inches over night and his clothes look like he was wearing Andrew's! What a young man he is becoming.  Working with his father and our Mr. Fix it man around the house.  He can assemble just about anything.  He is now working with his father and learning new carpentry skills. A great opportunity for him to learn from his father both skills and application of  biblical truths as he "walks along the way" with his Dad.

Kayaking with Andrew at Meridian State Park

Emily and J.Michael bike riding at Meridian State Park during our family camp out in November

Christmas 2010

Emily celebrated her 16th birthday in October.  She is such the young lady.  She contributes greatly to her father's house both in deed and in spirit.  She is still our song bird who teaches/practices with her siblings hymns of the faith.  Her beauty radiates from within.  Her love for the Lord manifests in her love and service to her family and those she comes in contact with through church and community.  Most of the pictures and videos in this post have been taken by Emily.  We appreciate that she has taken on the role of historian in our family as our family has grown.  

At church in October 2010

Emily and Calvin at Meridian State Park November 2010

 Merry Christmas 2010

As for David and I we are beginning a new chapter in our lives.  Earlier this year David surrendered to a call to the ministry as one of the pastors of a new church plant from GFBC Spring called GFBC Conroe.  A call to ministry that he has wrestled with for some time, but the how and when was confirmed through the GFBC leadership training class and the Elders of GFBC.  Through the planting of this new church it has become apparent that now is the time for us to make some significant changes that have been a long time in the works.  

So, in October David left his corporate job of ten years to dedicate more time to the church plant, developing his skills as a pastor/teacher and to explore some long time goals of starting a family business where he could work along side his sons and daughters.  He is currently working on developing a custom woodworking business.  Woodworking has been a skill he has been developing since shop class in high school and pursued a little at a time over the years.  While mostly self-taught he has had a few opportunities to take some classes, and attend woodworking conventions.  Woodworking has proved to be a handy skill that he has used to build furniture and create custom organized areas in our various homes throughout the years.  I have to say that he has spoiled me with his talent in this area.  I design or tell him what I want for a certain area of the house and he then creates the picture in my head.  I have rarely found just the item I want in the market place, it is usually a combination of pieces that David can then put together and make it fit in the space I have for it.  Now, we are hoping to share this skill with others to create custom woodworking designs for their homes and allow his sons to learn this trade (or I should say continue to learn and spend more time doing it!) with him.  Where all this will lead we do not know, but we are walking in faith, trusting the Lord to provide through our diligent, honest, hard work. 

 

Meridian State Park November

Merry Christmas 2010

In November we were given another gift.  The gift of life.  A new little Shiflet to be born next July.  My cup runneth over.  We are so grateful to the Lord for His mercy and grace on our lives.  I am feeling well.  What an amazing year 2010 has been for the Shiflet's.  It truly has been a year of learning to live Deuteronomy 6.  We marvel at all that the Lord will do and bring us through in 2011. 

Post-Surgery...Kathlena is doing great!

I must admit that so much of this day was deja vu for us.  Waiting in the same lobby chairs, signing paperwork with the same receptionist and we even had the same nurse recovery nurse, Theresa that we had with Andrew.  All of the people we worked with were wonderful both times.  Kathlena's surgery was delayed a while due to some complications with the first patient who was a tiny 9 month old.  Thankfully, this baby after getting the  additional attention needed was doing fine.  During our wait Kathlena had daddy read her some books.  Daddy has a great voice for reading stories and while he was reading "Mailing May" one of Kathlena and Mommy's favorite stories I think he entertained someone else who was waiting too. 

After our 2+ wait in the lobby we headed to OR prep thinking that it would still be an hour or so until Kathlena would be heading to surgery--wrong!  We flew through OR prep time compared to when Andrew had his surgery.  We did manage to grab a few quick pictures of Kathlena getting her smiley face to mark which eye was having surgery and practicing her deep breathing with her mask before heading to anesthesia.

 As we passed through each of the same rooms memories flooded back from Andrew's surgery last year.  It seems so long ago that we were going through Andrew's surgery.  In many ways it was.  Andrew and Kathlena have changed greatly in the past year.  Going through this surgery with Kathlena made me realize how different we all were a year ago.  Of course it helped to have gone through this before, but even Kathlena's level of trust and comfort with us is so much more now than a year ago.  I remember Andrew being so concerned about leaving us and all the care that the nurses took to make sure we were there up until the very last minute and that we were the first thing he saw out of surgery.  Kathlena was swept away waving with her bunny and favorite pink blanket in tow.  She had no worries that we would be on the other side of this surgery.  This was a huge moment of courage for her and we were so proud of her.

Kathlena's surgery went by quickly only a little over a half hour and we were being called back to meet with Dr. Mazow.  He was very pleased with her surgery.  Her eye was quite swollen, even more than Andrew's, but he wasn't overly concerned as it was well in the normal range.  The swelling would subside in a day or so.  After talking to Dr. Mazow we were sent to the recovery waiting room where we waited for Kathlena to begin to wake up and to receive post op instructions.  We met a sweet nurse, Jan whose daughters took Russian in high school as their foreign language.  We were blessed again to share about the blessing of our adoption journey of faith with those who were caring for Kathlena.  We were soon called back to see Kathlena who was snooooozing!! She was so out!  (She doesn't even remember recovery)  The nurses let Daddy hold her and we tried to wake her up, but she was really zonked.  Daddy would sit her up and have to hold her head up like a small newborn.  I thought  she was coming around so I tried to give her some  apple juice.  She sucked in, but didn't swallow so it just dribbled out.  Bless her heart she was really out!

     Daddy holding Kathlena.  Sweet nurse Theresa had pity on us and our long ride home so she told us if we were okay with leaving with her asleep we could go.  Daddy scooped Kathlena up, carried her out saying you don't have to ask me twice we are good to go!

Kathlena slept the whole way home.  We had to stop at Randall's for some Tylenol and while I waited in the car with Kathlena she suddenly woke up.  She was like an amnesia patient.  Suddenly awake and no idea where she was or how she got there.  We were so thankful though that she rested comfortably for the ride home.  Once home she was greeted first by Andrew who wanted to entertain and take care of her.  It was so sweet.  He could empathize with her and went back and forth to get her anything she wanted or needed. 

We all gathered around to remove Kathlena's bandages and see her beautiful eyes again.  Even Calvin was waiting anxiously to see.  ;)

Wow!  Our beautiful Kathlena.  We are so thankful for the skillful work of Dr. Mazow and his team.  It is truly amazing the difference this simple surgery makes to restore and preserve vision.  We are so thankful to the Lord for His provision and comfort to us throughout this day.  We were blessed by the many friends and family who checked on us and prayed for us as we approached this day.  Thank you!

Preparing for Surgery...Kathlena

We have all of Kathlena's pre-op paperwork and visits completed as of today.  We were cleared by her pediatrician last week and deemed healthy for surgery.  She is now set for strabismus surgery next Wednesday, Sept. 8th.  We are excited even though it seems to have come about rather suddenly.  We have always known that it would be likely that she would need surgery.  In the past three months though it has become evident that sooner rather than later is necessary.  We have been in glasses all summer and while they have been helpful, especially in slowing down her nystagmus, her eye continues to turn out so, surgical straightening is what is required to keep her vision as strong as possible in both eyes.  We are thankful for our ophthalmologist, Dr. Mazow who also did Andrew's surgery a little over a year ago.  As Kathlena would say, "we know the drill" so, that has made it a little easier.  Kathlena at the beginning of our talks about surgery was not so thrilled...in her words "no, thank you surgery" to be exact.  Points for politeness were given though!  She is better now and is actually looking forward to it.  I think it has helped knowing that Andrew has had the surgery and recently one of her friends at church also. 

I have been reading and thinking back to when Andrew had his surgery and have been surprised to find so many similarities.  Andrew was also missing a front tooth at the time of his surgery.  He look so little back then and that was only a little over a year ago.  He is growing up so fast!  His surgery has been such a blessing and we are so grateful to have the technology to help restore his vision.  Such a different world this past year has been for him.  We pray that we see such a change with Kathlena from her surgery as well. 

Kathlena's surgery will be the same type of as Andrew's surgery just on different muscles.  We had been expecting to eventually have nystagmus surgery which is more extensive surgery than strabismus.  It would seem for now that her nystagmus has dampened on it's own and that type of surgery will not be necessary.   We are so thankful for this!

For Mom and Dad pending surgery on one of our babies is never easy.  We pray for the Lord to minister to us and Kathlena as we trust Him through this time.  I am thankful for the many friends and family who are praying for us and who have been so kind to check on us...Thank you!!

"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect." Psalm 18:30-32

Look out for falling....teeth!

It has begun once again in the Shiflet household.  Teeth falling out like rocks from the side of an unstable cliff.  Kathlena has entered that time where whistling will cease; pronouncing "th" can only sound like "f" sounds and no food is too soft to keep from dislodging one of these loosie goosies!
It all began last Friday.  Kathlena was enjoying her usual ham and cheese sandwich.  Very soft and perfectly harmless right?  Well, not today...a few bites in and Kathlena with a quizzical look on her face said "Emily, did you put tomatoes on my sandwich?"  Emily looks at her sandwich seeing red stuff on it and thinks to herself, "did I put tomatoes on her sandwich?  No, so what is that red stuff?"  After a few minutes of investigation and questions it is discovered that the red stuff was not tomatoes at all, but blood from a missing bottom tooth.  Only the tooth in question was no where to be found!  Oops, it must have gone down the hatch with the sandwich that dislodged it.  This was quite disappointing for Kathlena as she has been waiting for well over a year for this exciting rite of passage to be bestowed upon her--losing her first tooth!!!.  She, however could not be convinced that she actually swallowed the tooth.  Now in her defense we have no concrete evidence of the tooth's whereabouts since,  well...uh Mom was willing to just "let it go...;)"  So, sadly I have no first tooth to baggie up, label, date and put in Mom's treasure chest of children's teeth she collects for each child.  Somehow though this is fitting for my out of the box, uncontainably energetic Kathlena.  It makes for a much better story.
Now fast forward to today and once again we are eating lunch on a beautiful Friday afternoon.  Only this time the culprit is a glass of water.  Apparently, it bumped her loosie goosie top front tooth knocking it into a rather unpleasant looking position of sticking straight out.  Upon Mom's inspection it is discovered that the tooth must only be hanging by a thread, but a tough thread at that because despite my twisting and tugging it would not release itself into the safety of Mom's hand to be stored and recorded neatly in Mom's treasure chest of teeth.  The front ones are so priceless and this was going to smooth over last weeks debacle of "loosing" the first tooth.  But, once again Mom's plan is foiled!!! Somehow while "not really jumping off the couch, more like sliding she claims" the front tooth flies out to some unknown hiding place in the living room.  While we are excited to have yet another baby tooth extracted sadly it too is lost!  We looked high and low for it to no avail.  My hope now is that my meticulous 10month old who combs and scours the floors for tiny objects to put in his month and scare his poor mother to death will not be the recipient of the "lost" tooth.
Well maybe next week I will finally get to have a tooth of Kathlena's to put in my treasure box, but for now I only have this great memory. ;)

Furry Muffins--Emily and Kathlena's Story

It was already a stressful morning, the day we leave for vacation always is. We had woken up well, let's just say not as early as we would've liked, we still had most of the packing left to do, and we were trying to get to the beach in time to swim, but we hadn't even got breakfast finished yet. Mother was making Blueberry Muffins when Kathlena and I (Emily) came in to help. After what seemed like forever the muffins were at last ready to go into the oven. I greased the muffin pans and set them on the counter between the oven and the pantry. I heard footsteps above me "I guess somebody's in the attic" I said. "Dad's looking for another Rubbermaid tub" Mom replied. (This time we decided to go to tubs instead of suitcases). I turned to empty the dishwasher, we all were relieved that the muffins were finally going into the oven. Mom went over to pour the batter into the pan, Kathlena went over to watch. I was bent over the silverware drawer with my back to them when I heard a loud crash behind me and Kathlena scream.. I turned to see Dad's right leg hanging from the ceiling directly above where Mom stood.

There was a yellow cloud of insulation pouring down all over Mom who was still pouring.

It was all over her, the floor, the counter, and...

...the freshly poured muffins.

It wasn't so funny when it happened but by the next day we were able to laugh about it and the following week after our vacation we had it repaired. After we paint over it you'll never even be able to tell that the hole was there.

However, the incident was quite traumatic for Kathlena, for some time afterwards she was shaking so badly that she couldn't speak other than "it was so scary". But after awhile even Kathlena was able to laugh at it...at least a little. Now she has fun telling the story over and over again for her brothers who missed out on the action.

Here's Kathlena's side of the story captured on film:

We arrived at the beach house without further incident though we didn't make it in time to swim. Andrew and Kathlena were simply beaming with excitement as you can see in the pictures below.

Kathlena's 5th Birthday

Our sweet, active, keeps us in stitches laughing Kathlena has turned 5yrs old today. It seems impossible that 5 is already here. Just yesterday she was this little toddler/infant who was learning to speak only a few words of English and now she is talking and asking questions about everything around her. Her witty sense of humor and keen observations of life around her are evidence of phenomenal growth in such a short time.

She loves to run, jump, and play with her big brothers. She loves to sing hymns with her big sister Emily-her favorite song being How Firm a Foundation. She also loves to listen to Emily on the piano. She has such a love for music. Her swing in the backyard is a favorite place to pass the afternoon away. She continues to enjoy books and has begun to "read" the pictures and read books to her dolls and Calvin that she has heard so many times that she has memorized them. A few favorites are The Very Hungry "Caterkillar", The Grouchy Ladybug (well all Eric Carle books) My Big Green Pocketbook, Lentil, Harry the "Dury" Dog, If you Give a Mouse a Cookie and The Napping House to name a few.

Kathlena is very proud of being able to hop on one foot and can hop on either foot. She has also learned how to march and enjoys marching around the house. Her favorite job is still helping Mommy though. She is great at helping me in the kitchen always ready to sample Mom's new creations as well as old favorites...just to make sure it is still good! She makes sure everyone has a neatly folded napkin at their place and forks or spoons according to the menu. She is a great "food runner" too as we get a plate ready she runs it to the table to whom it belongs. She is also a big help with her little brother Calvin and is enjoying her new role as "big" sister. A role she has transitioned into pretty smoothly. Sharing Mommy and Daddy in a big sister role has been a good growing experience for her. She continues to grow in confidence in her place in her family.

Kathlena began her birthday with breakfast at Eden's Cafe with just Daddy. Below are pictures from their breakfast. Kathlena had scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, fruit, and water. Kathlena said Daddy had Coffee, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, and fruit also. Kathlena said her favorite part of the breakfast was that Daddy gave her the rest of his scrambled eggs. It is no secret that Kathlena's favorite food is "scrambles" eggs. I believe she could eat her weight in them if we let her! :)
It was also special because their server is a friend of ours from our church youth teaching days. Thank you Amber for making Kathlena's breakfast with Daddy special!


Later we all went to a special concert that our friend Inna told us about. A friend of hers was doing a piano concert benefit for autistic children in Russia. Irina Svrovna is the friend who put on the concert. She played beautifully and we enjoyed listening to her. Here is a picture of Emily with her. Kathlena enjoyed getting dressed up and an evening out of listening to a piano concert.

After the concert we headed home for Kathlena's special request birthday dinner. She wanted beef steak, stir fried carrots and vegetables, and mashed "uhtatoes". Her favorites which Mommy is glad to fix for my sweetie just turned 5 year old daughter.



Kathlena with the Very lonely Firefly by Eric Carle that Emily gave to her. She knows her sister well!

Cash!!! Kathlena opens her gift that came in the mail from PawPaw and
Grandmommie. The look on her face says it all.

Another favorite book If You Give a Cat a Cupcake...thank you big bubbie!

Andrew picked this out for Kathlena. It is a great game that we can play as a family. It helps kids to use synonyms for the word or act it out while others try to guess.

A wooden baking cookies set from Daddy and Mommy. Kathlena loves to pretend cook and really help cook in the kitchen. I look forward to eating some yummy pretend cookies soon.

The part K has been waiting for...drum role please! Blowing out the candles!

Great Job! You got them all!

Chocolate cake with ice cream in the cake. It hardly gets better than this! We love you sweet Kathlena. You are growing up too fast, but with each passing year we love you more and praise the Lord for you.