Monday, March 17, 2014

Three months later.......

Yes, we have survived another month of transition.  I can say that things are getting a bit better, but still not where we would like them to be.   But we are going to focus on the positive!   Here are some highlights from the past month:

  • Toby has shown a lot of signs of transition in that he feels comfortable with our life.  He gets around the house with ease knowing his boundaries and knowing what is expected of him.   We still need to bring things down to his level in regards to organization (step stools, lower hooks, etc..)  but overall he is adjusting to the way we do things here at the Faile home.  Last month was a month of breaking things, but he has improved in that area... thank goodness!
  •  He is also showing a lot of progress with church.   We have an awesome team of volunteers who assist with Toby so I can still interpret the Sunday morning services and work with David at the Meet and Greet.   On Sunday morning, Toby goes to "Kids Worship" and Sunday School where friends give him one on one attention interpreting and helping.  I am so thankful for everyone that is a part of "Team Toby."   On Sunday nights, I join Toby in Preschool Praise.  He really enjoys dancing and signing to the songs.  On Wednesdays, we do an adapted Awana with Toby.  He gets a 30 minute lesson with a special group of students and he really enjoys it!  I am so thankful for the progress being made at church.
  • Toby started Preschool on March 10.  So far he is doing a great job.  It is a class designed to have Deaf children in it as well as other children that may or may not have special needs.  We were so impressed on the first day when many teachers/interpreters greeted Toby in ASL.  He really liked that too!  Today was his first day to ride the big yellow school bus and he LOVED it!  Buses are his favorite thing to play with at home and to look for when we are driving around town. Now he gets to actually ride one.  He doesn't quite love books yet, but loves the story that has to be expressively told to him.  He is still learning the letters of the alphabet, but it has been a slow process.  He would much rather learn the sign for something instead of a letter.  ...in time that will change!
  • We are still continuing to go to various doctors and have testing done.  He had another hearing test and had his hearing aids repaired (although they broke again the next day).    He can pick up VERY loud noises when wearing the aids, but he cannot tell me what the sound is.  Toby will be having more tests done on the cause of his deafness, possible growth issues, lead in his bloodstream and digestive issues as well.  Please continue to pray that we get everything straightened out with our little guy.
  • He is an absolute sponge and has such an intelligent mind.  This has really helped him adjust quickly to all the changes that have happened to him in the past 3 months.  It is so hard to believe that we have only had him for such a short time and he has come SO far.  We have taught him the gospel with a little object called the Evangicube...  He loves to see the gospel message shown with this cube and he can tell the story of the gospel so clearly with his signs.  This brings tears to my eyes...especially when he knows who Jesus is. It all started when he saw a cross and wondered what it was.  He was so fascinated as we vividly explained the Easter story to him.  I can't wait for Easter this year so he can celebrate what he has learned.
  • Thanks for your continued prayers this month.  I had to take a break with my "Signing with Toby" videos because my time is so limited to get things done around my house.   They will continue when I can finish up our taxes and paperwork to re-adopt Toby here in the US.    That means a name change for birth certificate, social security cards, etc...  Please keep on praying that Toby's obedience improves.. We are seeing glimmers of hope in this area.  (:
  • Here are some pictures that we took from the last month.   Enjoy!

Taken in 2013 while we were early into the adoption process....


 In 2014,We finally got our boy home!


Toby LOVES to help out in the kitchen!


Lookout girls... this boy LOVES to do chores.. He is so helpful!


Even vacuuming..


So sweet!


and mopping too!


Toby's first day of  Preschool here in America!  He did a great job!


Horace Mann Preschool



His first American teacher (besides his Mommy (: )

Toby could not wait to ride a bus.  His dream came true today!

 The bus driver and assistant said that he did a great job on the bus today!  Yeah Toby!

David and I were able to get away for two nights in Cincinnati.  We went to the Weekend to Remember Conference.. It is marriage conference.  Since we will be celebrating 25 years together in July, we thought this would be a great refresher for us.  Little did we know that it would be life changing and get us back on track.  Adoption as wonderful  as it is, brings a lot of stress in the home.  It also was putting a wedge in our relationship.  We really needed this time alone to talk and get back to the basics. (BTW, Toby did great staying with some precious friends while we were away.  We are blessed that there are no attachment issues with Toby and that he quickly adapts to new situations.   He knows we love him and that we will ALWAYS be there for him even if we have to go away for a few days.)    While we were in Cincinnati, we stopped at the grilled cheese restaurant featured on Shark Tank, Tom and Chee's . It really was delish, but the company was even better!