Faith to Move a Mountain

In November of 2011, I started this blog as a sort of journal to chronicle the events of our son Quinton's adoption. Quinton is a little boy who was born with an extra special something. Quinton has down syndrome and was given up at birth by his parents because he has down syndrome. His birth parents must not have had any idea what a blessing he would be or I am sure they would not have given him up. Unfortunately in Eastern Europe (Quinton is from Ukraine) people with disabilities are not accepted in society and at the age of 4-6, they are sent to adult mental institutions where most of them die :( Although it breaks my heart that his parents have missed out on such a joyful little boy, God has used this unfortunate situation to bless us with a gift greater than I could have ever imagined: the gift of our first child. If you ever considered adoption-do it! Don't let money deter you. God provided over $20,000 for us to adopt Quinton. We were not fully funded until 50 minutes before we boarded our plane to Ukraine. If you have never considered adoption, go back to the beginning of this blog and read. You will see what a blessing adoption really is. Many people tell us that we are angels for rescuing Quinton, but the honest truth is this: Quinton has given me far more that I will ever be able to give him. He is my little miracle, my silly bug, my baby boy, my love. HE IS MY LIFE!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Growing Up Too Fast!

I actually wrote this post a while ago, but when I got up to get the camera card I knocked over the computer and busted the screen :( It cost somewhere around $160 to fix (and that was with a police discount) making this officially the most expensive post yet! Anyways-the important thing is that the computer is fixed and I can start posting cute pictures again. So, here is the post from I don't know how many days ago :)

I just cannot believe how much Quinton changes everyday. He continues to amaze me. One of the toughest things though is finding a balance between the teacher in me that wants to see him learn new things and the mommy in me that missed the infant phase of his life and wants him to stay a baby just a little longer. Last week my little guy decided that he could hold his own bottle. I know that this is fantastic, but I won't lie. I love the time that we spend together-holding him in my lap and feeding him his bottles. Oh well, we still have a little more work to do so I will enjoy the moments while they last.



We got a call from the doctor last week letting us know that Quinton's blood tests did indicate that he has some mild hypothyroidism :( I know that this is far from the worst news that we could have received, but my heart just sank. He will face enough challenges in his life. This is just one more hurdle we have to get over. So now we will add pediatric endocrinologist to our list of specialists we need to see. Hopefully we can get his levels under control and it will not be an issue. Update: Since I wrote this post, we have had some more testing done which indicated that Quinton does NOT have hypothyroidism! Yay for lab errors!

As far as doctors are concerned, we have been so blessed. Dr. Kelly was great with Quinton and so were his nurses. They are working on referrals to a cardiologist, the endocrinologist, and a special chromosome clinic at Duke. He also quickly referred us to the early intervention team and they have already been out to the house to start initial paperwork and they will be out the first week in September to do an evaluation to determine what therapies he will benefit from. I am so excited for him to get started!

Lots of people have asked if we have made any progress with feeding. The short answer is yes. The past week or so, Quinton has been willing to eat some applesauce or yogurt from a spoon, but he has a really hard time. He sticks his tongue out, so it's hard to get food in and once you get it in, he puts his thumb in his mouth like a bottle nipple to help him swallow. We will get there though. It is definitely a step in the right direction.

We have been very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have been so generous with their time and have also showered Quinton with some very nice gifts. A very sweet lady named Sharon who only knows us through this blog sent a case of those denim diapers all the way from Florida. They are so cute. Sharon-I will try and get a picture of him wearing them soon :) Thanks to everyone who has come to visit/babysit and who have sent/brought gifts. We really appreciate it.

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my students. I am excited to see them again, but not so excited about leaving Quinton. Luckily my mom and dad were each able to take a week of vacation, so he will not have to start daycare until September.

It seems like there is so much more I would like to share, but I can't think of it right now. Hmmm...guess that means I need to be better about keeping up with this blog ;) It's been hard to find the time lately. Quinton certainly keeps us on our toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Well, here is what you have all been waiting for..pictures!







4 comments:

  1. I LOVE HIM! The towel picture is my favorite!

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  2. He is so sweet. He just looks so different too, it is amazing how much they change in such a short amount of time.

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