Eden

First of all, I want you to know that I am not a blogger!!  I am going to try to write at least 2-3 times a week.  I looked back and read stories from China and about cried because I had forgotten them.  I wonder how many more blessing and stories I have forgotten about my girls?  Hopefully this will help me remember all I am blessed with and document little things along the way.

I thought I should tell you a bit about my family.  I want to spotlight my littlest one today.  Eden is 5 and WONDERFUL!!  She is such a delight to be around.  She is smart and ridiculously funny!!  She probably keeps Jesus, God, and Holy Spirit in a belly roll for the most of the day.  She loves to sing and clap her hands to any song.  She will pick out the rhythm and rock out!

Here is our first posed family picture.  It is at her orphanage.  She is pointing at the door as if to say" Hey, get me out of here!"

Eden was a "waiting child" meaning she had a special need.  She had cleft lip and palate and a growth and developmental delay.  She became a Yarbrough at 17 months.  She weighed a whopping 14lbs and was 21 inches.  She was on a bottle and wanted to be fed every 4 hours (that included night time too!!!)  

The last 4 years have seen so much change.  She has had so many obstacles to overcome.  

When Eden came to us she was diagnosed with a severe sensory integration disorder.  She would not play with toys and constantly tapped.  After her 3rd birthday, her tapping turned into head slamming and hitting (punching) her head and her personallity just left.  We sought help, but no one could help her stop.  It was heart breaking to watch.  We bought her 2 safety helmets and I made some padded gloves.  Those made her very happy and kept her safe.  The helmet and gloves caused her many problems as you can imagine since she could not use her hands and her face mask impairs some of her vision, but we had to protect her.  In November of 2012, a friend of ours got us an appointment at Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to see a psychiatrist that specialized in adopted children.  What a blessing this doctor was to our family.  She helped Eden in ways no one had been able to.  Two days after we started "Play" therapy (which I thought was a joke and almost laughed in the doctors face when she told me what we were going to do),  Eden's langage improved three fold.  She was talking, she was playing, and for the first time in my life, I experienced the sound of a child's pitter-pattering feet running down the hall to find me!!!! (She had always just sat and waited for me, she never came to find me).  Play therapy was what we needed.  This wonderful doctor taught me how to talk to and handle Eden differently and Eden responded beautifully! This summer, we found some ear peices for her safety helmet and attached them.  We were able to take her gloves off and she could not beat her ears anymore with this new addition!!!!  She started using her hands.  Now she touches everything.  She colors, does bars at gymnastics, she climbs kid climbing walls, and she feeds herself sometimes!!!  We have started pre-K homeschool and she is doing great! This little girl is nothing short of a miracle and amazing!  I have claimed and will continue to claim that God did not create Eden to beat herself in the head.  God had big plans in store for her!  If you think of Eden during your day, please say a prayer for her.  Please pray that God will continue to be glorified in her life.  Pray that He will continue to use her story to bring other childen to forever homes.  Pray that God will grant me the wisdom I need to help her.

I thank my Jesus in advance for the miracle and healing He will continue to provide for her!

Here are a few pics of her, some in her helmet and gloves.  You can only imagine the comments and stares we get when we go out!  Sometimes it is down right funny!!!  

Hope you enjoyed a snip-it of my little bit!  Next time you get to meet her big sister, which, she is ablsolutey CRAZY about!

God bless!

Amanda