Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Current Events Update

 We feel it is time to update you all on our current situation and it's effects on our adoption. On
April 18th, 2016 Tait was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. We were immediately admitted to Primary Children's Hospital where we would spend the next four weeks as Tait would go through Induction, the first phase of chemotherapy treatment. While we were in the hospital I contacted our adoption agency to let them know about the situation. They suggested that I write a letter to the Ministry of the country where our daughter was to explain our situation and the possible length of Tait's treatment and how it might affect our ability to meet deadlines. I also expressed our desire to continue with the adoption as we feel so strongly that we are connected with this little girl and that we would do what we could to continue with the progress of the adoption should they deem it admissible. We waited two weeks for a response. When we finally heard from them it was not what we were hoping to hear. They felt very strongly that we should focus on our child and the matter at hand and that they would be relisting her. However, if we were to find ourselves in a position to complete our adoption (completed paperwork, funds paid and able to travel) and she were still available, we would still be allowed to continue with the adoption. To say we were heartsick would be an understatement. Our adoption agency offered their support and will either hold our funds submitted until we are ready to adopt but would also support our decision to continue the process at whatever pace we were able and hope that our daughter would still be waiting for us.

 Tait completed his induction and achieved the objective of "remission" at the end of the first 28 days. For this we are grateful. This does not mean that he is out of the woods yet, only that he is where he needs to be to continue treatment at a lower risk than had he not achieved remission. Tait is currently in the Consolidation Phase of treatment. He still gets chemo daily and lumbar punctures and has to be seen weekly at Primary's in Salt Lake. He has been anemic and has had blood transfusions. He has side effects to the chemo but so far they have been relatively mild. This phase takes a couple of months. When he completes this phase he will go into Maintenance Phase which is less intensive but lasts a couple of years.

 So where does this leave us and our journey of A Sister For Tait? We are continuing to work as diligently as we can on our paperwork. We will continue to hold out hope that Tait's sister will be waiting for us. We will continue to be positive about Tait's diagnosis and hope for no complications in his treatment.

 We hope you will continue to follow and support us in this journey. We would love your prayers, positive energy and continued support both emotionally and (if you are in a position) financially. We appreciate your concern as we have noticed countless visits to our site. We will try to keep you updated of our progress from this point on.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Paper Pregnancy

   A fellow adoptive family referred to the long process of filling out form after form as a "paper pregnancy". I have to say it truly does feel like a pregnancy. Things seem to move in slow motion despite the fact that papers and fees seem to come due awfully fast. We are currently working on our Home study which entails obtaining background checks, certified copies of birth/ marriage/ divorce documents, parent training certificate (requiring so many hours of training), guardianship forms, and of course the 25+ page autobiography of your life. All of these have to be notarized. And this week we meet with our social worker for our final interview.

   We started this whole process in December and everyday it gets harder to not be able to see our little girl. I have faith that things will all work out in the end. I have had this feeling since the moment Cory said yes, so I just keep plugging along and ticking things off the "To Do" list. I have to give a huge shout out to all of you who have helped along the way. Your kindness and willingness to help means the world to us and we couldn't be more appreciative.

   Here is the video they sent me of our little girl when I inquired about her. Enjoy!

Monday, March 21, 2016

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful local Down Syndrome community. Here are our pictures from World Down Syndrome Day celebration 2016!



Sunday, March 13, 2016

This is what it's all about

While we are filling out stacks of paperwork for our adoption some dear friends are half way around the world meeting their little boy for the first time!  I asked if I could share their story and they said yes! So grab some tissues and see what this adoption thing is all about. http://www.findingbabybrother.blogspot.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CubE84KfKz8&app=desktop



Monday, February 22, 2016

Oh, The Feels!

 This weekend some good friends of ours were blessed with the birth of their newest kiddo. Only this birth was a little different, as their newest addition is adopted. It was an amazing and crazy whirlwind of events that all worked out beautifully in the end. We visited them in the hospital and as I sat snuggling on their new bundle of joy I had to fight back the emotions. I think about our sweet little girl constantly. Every moment she is not here with us is a moment we could be making memories (however mundane they may be).

 As I held that brand new baby, I found myself envious of all the extra time our friends will have with their child.  Surely, our little girl knows nothing about the family that is missing her. Nor does she know about all the hours we put into the piles and piles of paperwork. I take some comfort in the fact that she has no idea of the suffering that I go through every day that we can't bring her home.

 As I held that little spirit so blessed to have  not just one family, but two families that love him so very much and want only the best for him, I am reminded of the miracle of adoption. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to, someday soon, hold our new child in my arms. To show her the love of not just one family but many. I will take comfort in the fact that at the end of this long, long process, there will be love and memories of our own to share.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Fundraiser frenzy!

 We have a thousand things going on right now trying to raise funds for our adoption! Yard sales, Bake sales, Bunco night, a paint night, Zumbathon, a concert... Yes we are crazy at our house. Fundraising is almost a full time job! Add in my actual full time job and teaching Zumba two nights a week and a very active 3 year old, you get one crazy schedule.

 I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank everyone for their support and help. I have so many people who have taken on various tasks of organizing events, advertising, brainstorming and allowing me to bounce ideas off of them. I truly appreciate all you have done and continue to do to help make this adoption a reality.

 Stay tuned as I will be updating with new events and fun things we have planned!

Friday, February 5, 2016

We are not Angels...

  I'm not sure why people say that kids with special needs are only given to 'special people'. As far as I know, my husband and I are not angels, nor are we saints. We are just two typical people who happen to have a child with Down syndrome.

  Don't get me wrong, we love our kiddo and try our very best to make sure all of his needs are met. Just as we have done with our other children. This is what a parent is supposed to do.  As parents our job is to make sure that those "needs", whatever they may be, are addressed.  If your child has bad vision, you get then glasses.  If your child has asthma you make sure they have medicine.  If your child struggles in school,  you make sure they get extra help. Sometimes this means you must learn certain skills to help your child.

 As a parent of a child with special needs we just learn what we need to to help or child.  If your child is nonverbal,  you learn sign language. If they are unable to to physical things you figure out a way to adapt.  This is what love is.

 Tait was not given to us because we were special to begin with.  Like any parent, having him has made us strive to be great patents. Our hope is that our adopted child can benefit from what we have learned so far in our journey. And that we can continue to learn through loving her.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

We have been given permission to share a few pictures of Tait's new sister.  She is in Eastern Europe and she also has Down syndrome.  We are so excited!


Saturday, January 30, 2016

Little man has been sick. The nights are long and he's needed lots of snuggles.  While laying awake with him one night I wondered to myself if I was truely ready and capable of caring for another child. But, just as I was beginning to run through the negatives, he snuggled up to me and put his arm around me. Tears welled in my tired eyes and my heart filed with enormous love.  All of the doubts washed away. I couldn't help longing, once again, to hold our little girl.  I wondered if there was anyone to comfort her when she is sick.  If anyone rubbed her back when she was unwell or unable to sleep. She needs us and we need her. I can't wait to hold her in my arms and share our love with her!

Thursday, January 28, 2016

I saw this today and immediately thought about our sweet little girl on the other side of the world. In an instant we fell in love and now our whole world has begun to transform as we prepare to bring her home.  
More details (and pictures) to come as we continue to make progress!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Meet Tait


 I thought since we were calling this "A Sister for Tait", you might want to know a little bit more about this amazing kid. 

 Tait is three and has a serious love for music. He prefers classic rock like Steve Miller Band, AC-DC, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. However, he enjoys Warren Haynes, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Pitbul and Bruno Mars. Basically, he's a sucker for a good beat. He loves to play drums while dad plays guitar and usually asks for a jam session at least once a day. In between jam sessions you can find him playing his acoustic guitar, kazoo, or harmonica.
  
 Tait also has some pretty sweet dance moves and loves to show them off in my Zumba classes. He almost always leads the warm-up and warm-down and he knows some of the routines better than I do. My students get a kick out of watching him and sometimes I get a little jealous that they watch him more than me. 

 If there is anything he loves more than music, it's tortillas. I swear he could live off them alone. He will eat anything else in the carb food group but is not a fan of meat. Occasionally we can sneak some in his pasta or into a quesadilla but he glares at you if he finds it and usually ends up feeding it to the dogs. 

  One of Tait's favorite activities is to go off-roading. He loves to go on the bumpy dusty roads and look out the window with his binoculars. He and dad spend a lot of time out in the Jeep looking for ducks, deer, and the elusive elk. It's funny because he gets cranky if we are in the car for more than forty-five minutes but he will spend all day on the back-roads without complaint.

 Tait loves to give hugs and if you're a guy, with a beard you had better be prepared to pick him up and hold him. For a long time. And he may even blow mom a kiss and try to leave with you. I suppose this could be because all the men on dad's side of the family look like hairy mountain men with big bushy beards. 

 Mr. Personality is somewhat of a celebrity at school. Not only does almost everyone know him by name, but he knows which class to go to to find his friends. He has a very good friend at school who also has Down syndrome. He is an adult and has made it known that he intends to adopt Tait when he gets his own house. I should probably be a little more concerned...

 So, there is your brief description of  the illustrious Tait (aka Tait Man, Little Man Tait, Taiter Tot, Tait Dude). Here are some pictures:



  

Friday, January 22, 2016

Can You Miss Someone You've Never Met?

 


  Last night I read a fellow adopting family's post on their progress. They had just sent more papers to their son's country for review. "One step closer", she said. And as I was lying in my bed, this line repeated over and over in my head. "One step closer..." I have known from the beginning that adoptions take a long time and that there are so very many steps before I should start getting my hopes up, so to speak, but I can't help the overwhelming feeling of missing this child I know so little about.

  I have only seen a couple of pictures and read a brief bio about her and yet I feel as if she was somehow my child and she has been taken from me. Kept far away with no contact and no definite plans of ever being with her again.

  When we first discussed the possibility of adopting her I kept saying that if it was meant to happen, it will happen. Things will work out somehow. And although I truly believed this in my heart I have had a hard time keeping positive as the daunting piles of paperwork and ridiculous amount of fees keep coming. We knew that we would have to depend greatly on fundraising and grants to meet these goals but before we can start applying for grants we must have completed several costly steps first.

  We will persist, though, because a part of my heart is halfway across the world waiting for her forever home. My only hope is that my gut feeling can stay strong enough to win those little doubts that sneak up and try to take over.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

In the Beginning...

Foreword

 Cory and I have been together forever...well, actually, it has only been 7 years, but it seems like an eternity. Here is the condensed version. We have both gone back to school twice, changed professions 3 times, taught 2 teenagers to drive, watched them both graduate, moved 3 times, had a daughter that was stillborn at 28 weeks, a miscarriage, and our son who has Down syndrome had open heart surgery at 6 months. Whew!  So, now that things have started to settle down we have decided to adopt a sister for Tait.

 Let me elaborate. I have a friend who is in the process of adopting another child and while I was looking at the adoption site I came across a picture of this adorable little girl who is 2. I immediately started to cry and I just knew that we needed her as much as she needed us. Sounds corny, I know. Well here is the kicker, I decided to show her profile to Cory who is the more logical and rational one, knowing that he would just grunt and tell me we can't afford an adoption...blah, blah, blah. Surprisingly, his response was, "When can we go get her?"

 Needless to say, I did some research and talked to a few people who have experience in this area and contacted the adoption agency. So, here we are. We have started the process and everyday I think of this sweet little girl on the other side of the world and long to hold her in my arms. I can't wait for Tait to have a sister to play with and probably fight with. I love to see the twinkle in Cory's eye just like the one he has when he talks about "Tait's sister". 

 My intention is to try to document our journey for anyone who would like to follow along. So join us.

https://www.youcaring.com/the-levanger-family-498423