2012 in Review

I set out thinking I’d just do a quick recap of 2012.  Wrong.  Any large family, particularly a family who has many children with special needs, simply cannot have a short recap of their year.  So, with that said, here’s a bulleted list of the highlights of 2012:

• January was spent in Ukraine NOT adopting our two Ukrainian host boys from Summer 2011 who we *thought* we were adopting, but, instead, God blessed us with 6-year-old boys with Down syndrome who are now our Cooper and Conner.  Matt and I spent most of January in Ukraine, with January 31 being the day we were officially declared the parents of Cooper and Conner by a judge in Ukrainian court.  We celebrated Ella’s 7th birthday and Mattie’s 14th birthday.
• February was the month we were told we could officially bring Cooper and Conner home, as the required 10-day post-court waiting period had passed.  Matt and I spent most of February in Ukraine as well.  While Matt and I were in Ukraine, Mattie and my friend, Carrie, took Selah to the ER due to suspected shunt failure, but everything was OK.
• March welcomed Cooper and Conner to Texas, then a week in the hospital for both Cooper and Conner, plus the US readoption of both boys.
• April was spent celebrating the rapid growth and development of Cooper and Conner and celebrating Sawyer’s 12th birthday.  It marked the second anniversary of the day Chrissie entered the hospital for her open-heart surgery, plus her Boss Your Heart day.  We sold our treasured 15-passenger van to an awesome family.  Cooper began the casting process to repair his bilateral club feet.  Oh, and Kiefer got a fishing hook in his eye and had his first trip to the ER.
• May marked the two-year anniversary of the day Chrissie went to dance with Jesus eternally.  We hosted a huge garage sale to raise money for the Boss Your Heart orphan ministry, in memory of Chrissie.  Cooper had surgery to repair his bilateral club feet.  Samantha graduated from Texas Tech University at age 20.  We celebrated Kiefer’s 4th birthday and Parker’s 16th birthday.
• June brought joy in the redemption of Conner as he went from 16 pounds (at age 6) to 26 pounds after just three months home.  Matt had surgery to remove his gall bladder.  We celebrated the 7th birthday of Cooper, his first American birthday. 
• July brought about a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease for Sawyer, along with a week’s stay in the hospital.  Asher (who was in our care for two years) was reunited with his original adoptive family.  We had a great time at our summer family vacation.  Selah had an ER visit due to mysterious skull lumps that ended up being an exuberant response to the plates and screws in her head.
• August brought the celebration of Conner’s 7th birthday, plus a lengthy and challenging stay in the PICU at Dell Children’s Hospital for Conner due to a mysterious case of Salmonella sepsis (a Salmonella infection in Conner’s blood).  We celebrated Naomi’s 20th birthday.  Conner and Cooper had their first day of school, plus Selah had a sleep study.  Oh, and I celebrated my 41st birthday.
• September began with a celebration of Matt’s 42nd birthday, followed by another hospitalization of a few days for Conner.  We also celebrated Meribeth’s 15th birthday.  Cooper lost two teeth.  We discovered the extent of Selah’s brain malformations and a variety of health conditions we were unaware of.
• October was the month to celebrate Selah’s 2nd birthday.  We held a Boss Your Heart birthday benefit toy drive to bless Village of Hope in Guatemala, in memory of Chrissie’s would-have-been 7th birthday.  We took a trip to Oklahoma for a team roping national finals competition where Parker and Sawyer competed.  Conner and Cooper dressed up as the most adorable Bob and Larry for Halloween at their school.
• November was, of course, a month of thankfulness, but particularly for Selah’s trip to Baltimore to see Dr. Ben Carson, world renowned neurosurgeon, as well as other specialists at Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger Brain Institute.  Naomi started school in the 18+ program for students with special needs.
• December was the month for Mattie’s Both Hands fundraising project to benefit Village of Hope in Guatemala.  Matt and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with a trip to the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas.  We purchased twenty bricks to help build a home for children with special needs at Village of Hope in Guatemala, one brick for each year of our marriage.  (It’s not too late to purchase a brick, plus your donation will be matched until midnight tonight (Dec. 31)!)  Dec. 23rd was the 1-year anniversary of the day my mom unexpectedly left this earth and began her new life in heaven.  We celebrated and rejoiced in the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, as well as all of the miracles, restoration, and redemption God blessed our family with in 2012.

God is always faithful.  He has carried us through so much, He has blessed us immeasurably.  Looking forward to the adventures God has for us in 2013!  May God bless you and yours abundantly, may you know Him personally, and may your 2013 be full of awesome adventures with our Lord.