Since I'm no longer blogging about Amanda's journey to her new family, I started a new blog: http://myobviousfamily.blogspot.com/. I'm not sure if I'll ever post there, but my husband thinks it would be good for my emotional brain. Maybe it will be about special needs kiddos, maybe it will be about homeschooling. It will probably be a catch all for everything.
Beth
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
One year ago today
One year ago today, we became the happy parents of a two year old girl we chose to name Amanda Grace Benson. It was the fulfillment of a prayer prayed in 1995. So, on September 14, 2009, we said hello to this little peanut:
Right from the start, she charmed everyone she came in contact with while at the same time, giving Brett and his Dad a challenge. Unknown to us at the time, she was dealing with a parasite and ear infections. She was one little girl who really needed to get some medical attention.
Coming home, she continued to charm everyone she met with little dances and little smiles.
She grieved China when she woke up from her naps and seemed like there would be no end to the tears (hers and mine). It was tough for our family and her. Somehow, we had to learn to be a family. Up to this point, all she knew how to be was an orphan. She needed to learn how to be a daughter. She had to learn that she was finally safe, that there were people who would never leave her, and that she would always find love no matter how she behaved.
She also had to learn how to get along with this crew of boys:
She's learned that Caleb is going to watch out for her, Judah is someone to care for, and Nathan is going to be a good one to fight with and play hard with. They all love her and know she's always going to be their true life sister.
She's grown a LOT also. She's gained 10 pounds, 4 inches, two shoe sizes and quite a bit of hair. Here are pictures of her in the same outfit:
Before:
After:
The sleeves are too short, the pants are too short, and the jacket barely covers her tummy. She had to learn how to eat food other than steamed eggs, rice, and noodles. She still LOVES her noodles, but now eats mostly what we eat. She still has quite an aversion to fruits and vegetables, but she's getting there. More importantly, she's healthy. There have been no ear infections or any reason for concern after all her initial problems were cleared up. She's a strong and healthy little girl.
She came afraid of things like wind, animals(stuffed and real), trees, flowers, and grass.
Today, she LOVES dogs and wants to hug and pet them. She loves outside and begs to run in that big outdoor world. She runs and jumps and climbs with scary abandon. She loves her stuffed doggy that caused her great concern and fear at first.
One year ago, all she could manage in speech was "ah ah ah" for what she wanted and a lot of whining. Apparently, the ruptured ear drums spoke of months and a couple of years of ear infections where she was never truly able to hear spoken language around her. She had no babbling sounds. Nothing more than "ah ah ah". Today she is telling her brother, "Don't hit doggie!" She is communicating her needs and wants with words instead of whines. A little help from hearing aids has really progressed her speech.
One year later, she has embraced being our daughter as we have embraced being her parents. Love at the beginning for us was a constant choice, but now has become a feeling. She sees us as Mommy and Daddy and knows that she can cling to us when she is scared yet be free to run and play knowing that we won't leave her alone. She is no longer an orphan, but a daughter.
This post concludes the story of Amanda as far as this blog is concerned. I wanted a place to chronicle her first year with us and this has been that place. I wanted to write down all that happened, so that she would know that she has always been thought of and always been loved since the moment she was conceived. Amanda, we love having you as our daughter and look forward to many, many more years of seeing you grow and change while seeing all the plans God has in store for you. We love you Amanda.
Right from the start, she charmed everyone she came in contact with while at the same time, giving Brett and his Dad a challenge. Unknown to us at the time, she was dealing with a parasite and ear infections. She was one little girl who really needed to get some medical attention.
Coming home, she continued to charm everyone she met with little dances and little smiles.
She grieved China when she woke up from her naps and seemed like there would be no end to the tears (hers and mine). It was tough for our family and her. Somehow, we had to learn to be a family. Up to this point, all she knew how to be was an orphan. She needed to learn how to be a daughter. She had to learn that she was finally safe, that there were people who would never leave her, and that she would always find love no matter how she behaved.
She also had to learn how to get along with this crew of boys:
She's learned that Caleb is going to watch out for her, Judah is someone to care for, and Nathan is going to be a good one to fight with and play hard with. They all love her and know she's always going to be their true life sister.
She's grown a LOT also. She's gained 10 pounds, 4 inches, two shoe sizes and quite a bit of hair. Here are pictures of her in the same outfit:
Before:
After:
The sleeves are too short, the pants are too short, and the jacket barely covers her tummy. She had to learn how to eat food other than steamed eggs, rice, and noodles. She still LOVES her noodles, but now eats mostly what we eat. She still has quite an aversion to fruits and vegetables, but she's getting there. More importantly, she's healthy. There have been no ear infections or any reason for concern after all her initial problems were cleared up. She's a strong and healthy little girl.
She came afraid of things like wind, animals(stuffed and real), trees, flowers, and grass.
Today, she LOVES dogs and wants to hug and pet them. She loves outside and begs to run in that big outdoor world. She runs and jumps and climbs with scary abandon. She loves her stuffed doggy that caused her great concern and fear at first.
One year ago, all she could manage in speech was "ah ah ah" for what she wanted and a lot of whining. Apparently, the ruptured ear drums spoke of months and a couple of years of ear infections where she was never truly able to hear spoken language around her. She had no babbling sounds. Nothing more than "ah ah ah". Today she is telling her brother, "Don't hit doggie!" She is communicating her needs and wants with words instead of whines. A little help from hearing aids has really progressed her speech.
One year later, she has embraced being our daughter as we have embraced being her parents. Love at the beginning for us was a constant choice, but now has become a feeling. She sees us as Mommy and Daddy and knows that she can cling to us when she is scared yet be free to run and play knowing that we won't leave her alone. She is no longer an orphan, but a daughter.
This post concludes the story of Amanda as far as this blog is concerned. I wanted a place to chronicle her first year with us and this has been that place. I wanted to write down all that happened, so that she would know that she has always been thought of and always been loved since the moment she was conceived. Amanda, we love having you as our daughter and look forward to many, many more years of seeing you grow and change while seeing all the plans God has in store for you. We love you Amanda.
Friday, September 10, 2010
How much does she know?
As Amanda has been able to hear more, we are understanding more of what goes on in that little head of hers. Yesterday, we were watching "Wipeout" - a classic boy show. There was an Asian woman contestant and Amanda proclaims "China Mommy". A few contestants later, an Asian man shows up. Amanda proclaims "China Daddy". We have never pointed out people to her saying what their cultural heritage is. We've never told her that this person is from China, this person from "name country here". We've told her she's from China, but never realized that maybe she sees her asian features as Chinese. This amazes me.
Beth
Beth
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Amanda's Compassion
It's been a rough few days at the Benson house. Judah, our oldest, went through spinal surgery a month ago and took a turn for the worse. Needless to say, I have been a puddle of tears. I took him to the doctor to see what they could do and as Judah was getting his blood pressure taken, Amanda pointed to the cuff and pronounced "boo boo". She then gave him her special sticker that she had picked out for herself.
Today, I was sitting in the bathroom crying from frustration. She came up to me and gave me a hug. Then she got "doggie" - THE doggie and gave me her security toy. She had doggie give me a kiss and then gave me another hug. Eight hours later, she came up to me with this little concerned look on her face and said "mama cry." The compassion in this child amazes me. It goes way beyond her years. God told me that Judah would change her life. I can already see it happening.
Today, I was sitting in the bathroom crying from frustration. She came up to me and gave me a hug. Then she got "doggie" - THE doggie and gave me her security toy. She had doggie give me a kiss and then gave me another hug. Eight hours later, she came up to me with this little concerned look on her face and said "mama cry." The compassion in this child amazes me. It goes way beyond her years. God told me that Judah would change her life. I can already see it happening.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
5...8...2
You know how a lead guitarist shouts 1..2..3 and then rocks out? Amanda has her own version. Today, she put her guitar around her neck and shouted, "5..8..2!" and then proceeded to rock out. And rock out she did.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Doggie
I've never had a child who had a "security" blanket or toy that they carried everywhere. Enter Amanda. She was terrified of this toy at first and now she carries it everywhere. She LOVES her doggie.
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