Gah.... it's been awhile.

I think the one thing I now realize I appreciate about blogging is that it's a diary of sorts... mapping out where I am in life. Even though I haven't updated in awhile and pretty sure that since it's been so long no one is following... it's nice to look back and see what went on in my life.

My beautiful children are getting so big and spring is near!! We are so very excited. We started gardening and have just bought a juicer for my daily carrot, apple, lime juice cravings! So yummy!

I love that spring brings new life! This time two years ago I was preparing to go into labor with my first and every day was like waiting for Christmas. We have been continuing to pray each and every day for another little tummy baby!

Thinking about what I would like to blog about this summer....

Thank you for your prayers!

This past week has been a bit hectic... yet so peaceful all at the same time. A little hard to explain. Due to the personal nature of Noah's injury we really need to make sure that our words are very guarded at this point since he is now in our care. We really just want to thank you all so very much for your continued prayer and support. He has really enjoyed all the new toys and gifts and is adjusting very well to our family. He is a sweet heart and has proven to be quite the talkative young man.

He will get his stitches removed next week and then he is so excited about "going swimming" as he has never been!!!!

At this time I wish I could offer up more information however we really are trying to take all the necessary steps and follow all the rules set into place by the state until certain matters come to light. We just discovered this today and are really just praying for the Lord's will in all things.

Keep praying for grace and peace and that the clarity of what is on the Lord's heart for Noah would be made manifest to all the parties involved.

Thank you all again. We love our friends and family!

Almost Monday.....

Most people are usually excited about Friday... but not us! We can't wait for Monday morning when we finally get to go get to bring Noah home! Paco texted me today and said that our house feels so empty without him. We feel so blessed to get to share our home with him!

*He was telling me something important. Francy is eating her first cheeto.... he was sharing.

Thursday we all went to visit as a family. He pushed Frances up and down the halls in her stroller. He was so excited he kept telling all the nurses it was his baby. :) Then he shared his "chips" with her and his cookies. He made sure that she got her own bag and that every time she wanted one of his, he gave her one. We played trucks in the hall ways and made way too much noise. We sang loudly and played with balloons. It was like we all fit. It was hard to leave. We made him a little calendar so that he can mark down the days until he gets to come home. He is so excited and was telling all the nurses that he gets his "own room".

I asked him what he wanted in his room and he said "well some toys, please". "What kind of toys Noah?" "CARS!!!" he yelled. He also is so excited because we said we would all go to see the Clifford exhibit at Crown Center once he gets to feeling better. He wants to see "the big dog".

Yesterday I had to work and Frances had a fever all night so daddy went to visit Noah alone. They played some more and watched a movie. When it came time for Paco to leave Noah kept asking him why he couldn't go too. Paco said "I promise you can come home soon, just not today." He gave him a hug and smiled... Noah was smiling too.

I called him to say goodnight... he said "Hi Mommy!" At this point I don't know if he understands... he mostly calls me that because the nurses do but it still is so cute....

We will start his out patient therapies on Tuesday along with our first social worker in home meeting. Paco is going to take a few personal/family days and we will just spend the time getting to know this little guy! We can't wait.

*Noah took this picture. He loved the camera.

We just wanted to say Thanks again to everyone for all your love and support! Seriously, we have been overwhelmed at the response from everyone in our community and even people we have never met! Everyone's prayers and encouragement has meant so much to us. Thank you!

At the end of the day it is all about Jesus and brining glory to His name.

We are truly blessed.

*Frances has had her purple flower blanket since she was born. We got Noah the brown one so that they could have matching bedtime blankets. He wanted to sleep with both until he came home.

Getting to know Noah

Wow.... I feel like so much has happened in the past 72 hours. I am pretty sure God does it this way because otherwise your brain might think too much. Sounds off I know... but if I think too much then I can get myself into trouble. So where are we now... Oh yes,it's Wednesday and I am updating my blog. Ooooofta, okay I am really my mothers daughter.

So, day three in the getting to know Noah. Yesterday I

went to meet up with a few of his therapist. Mainly his physical therapist and his speech therapist. Both gave him a glowing report. The speech therapist has been the only person to voice any types of concerns for his future progression. She says he is doing amazing but still thinks his language skills are too "broken". I am not sure she really understands that he has only been in the US for about 8 months.... and that 2.5 of those were in the hospital so of course his language skills are a bit broken. I actually think his English is better

than my sister Haly's was after her being in the US for 8 months and that is with a brain injury. He doesn't like to use complete sentences but can and will when prompted and he is still a bit forgetful at times. I feel like I can hear a bit of his little Ethiopian accent and can tell in some of his mannerisms. His physical therapy mainly consists of playing *hehe* which is so fun and working on his motor skills. He only has problems with his left side being weak if he gets too tired. They say eventually he will learn how to compensate and it will go away. I couldn't even tell when I was there that he had any difficulty at all.

As far as things I have observed.... he is your typical four year old boy. He likes to tease and play with basket balls... those are his favorite. He says "no" a lot but will still do whatever it is you ask him to do any way. They think it is because he may not be able to remember or think of what he wants to say fast enough. Him and Frances both have the same favorite word. I am going to have to find them a new one. Like "sure"! He loves animals, and music! He loves music. The Lord knew who his daddy would be. IHOP here he comes!!! Maybe a new drummer in the house soon. :) When I talked to his doctor today... finally she also gave him a glowing report and said he would be discharged without any special instructions aside from the eating pre-cautions because his swallow reflex is still delayed, and the need for more basic therapies.

Today, he got to meet Frances for the first time. He was

looking at her picture when we walked in and his face completely lit up. He was so excited to see her! At one point she even accidentally bumped his head and he showed no signs of anger... he said OUCH!! followed by a "that's ok". Even when she took toys away from him he let her. She wanted to be near him.... Frances loves other kids despite the fact that her sharing skills are poor at best, just ask Odessa. ;) But he was calm and patient with her. In a matter of a few minutes of them being together they were both smiling and sharing and mos

t of the fear and anxiety I have been feeling were almost instantly gone (yes folks, even when you say yes and know it's God it is still a bit nerve racking. It's a lot to chew on in three days.) It was as if the Lord was giving me my own personal ministry time and just showing me a glimpse of His sovereignty that I so often take for granted. His goodness is all around me, I have lacked for NOTHING in my lifetime.... I grew up in such an amazing family and married an amazing man of God. I have the most beautiful little girl. What more could I ask for... seriously. And yet God in his kindness still continues to blow me away with his constant goodness and desire to meet me in my weakness.

On a side note....

This past year I have really just been pressing God to increase my faith and my favorite song these days per John Thurlow.... "Help me to trust you. Lord, help my un-belief. I want to be dependent, I want to be dependent on you." I have really just been praying this since probably last November when the Awakening meeting first started. When you grow up in the American culture it's so hard to put aside the desires for your own "American Dream". Where does God fall into all of that I just kept pressing myself. Not that any of that is bad... please don't get me wrong. I love my cozy house and my nice car and my privacy fence however my dependency has to be on Jesus. I didn't want to take the goodness of God that I experience EVERY DAY for granted. I wanted him to help my un-belief that he

REALLY IS THE GOD OF MIRACLES!!! I have never doubted or questioned the goodness of God but was just pushing my heart to press in for more and asking God to really open up my heart to step out in faith.

Saying yes in the un-knowing is really hard for me. Sometimes we pray prayers and don't really think about what we are praying.

"Lord, let YOUR kingdom come and YOUR will be done" how many times have we all prayed that one!

The Lord has invited our family to not just pray the prayer (which by the way, is how we got to where we are right now)... but to actually give him complete control and to trust in his complete sovereignty. He is sovereign in all things. He is teaching me every day. One day at a time... because He is always good and always faithful. He who began a good work in the Arteaga family will be faithful to complete it.

The fact that Noah is even alive... much less can function completely normally and will be neurologically intact for the rest of his life is overwhelming to me!

Seeing Noah with Frances was like a literal kiss from God. He knew my biggest fear and concern and he addressed it almost instantly. Yes, of course there will be tough days... but that is to be expected. Kids are aways and adventure that is for sure... there will be ups and downs. I am very aware that this isn't just some romantic idealization. For real people, you have one kid and you think that's tough... then you have another and one kid seems like a piece of cake. But I do know that it is about taking it one day at a time and praising God for friends and family who are willing to help and be your support team.

So..... in closing THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU all so very much for your love and support. I am so blessed and truly amazed at all of the love and prayers we have received in such a short amount of time. Many people have asked how they can help and Lord knows we really will need it. Today we are just working on getting the basics as we have NOTHING for little boys. How I can be swamped with girl stuff and have nothing for boys still amazes me but we will fix that soon I hope.

Any way, thank you all again for your love and support. We will keep you updated!!!

News about Noah!

As I sit here and right this.... I am still in shock! I can't even believe I get to write it! What a crazy insane day!!!

After what has felt like FOREVER of un-knowing we finally got a call today and to the point they said "he is ready to go home"! This happened at about 12:30 today. I was like seriously.... after weeks of calling and not knowing anything at all.... whether he was even out of a coma they were ready to send him home! Like tonight?? In a week?? When!!!!

So initially that is all we knew... I was freaking out, okay what does that mean is he okay, can he talk, walk, eat..... ahhhhhhhhh what is his prognosis what will his life look like. The case worker had NO IDEA!!! I was like okay... well can I talk to someone who does. Waiting for 20 minutes to talk to someone who did was like waiting for paste to dry.... for real!

Finally, I get a call from his social worker at KU... who by the way, is amazing. I truly appreciated her candor as she felt no need to paint a flowery picture or give me an overly optimistic outcome based on what I wanted to hear, yet she was so helpful and answered my questions so thoroughly.

Ok, drum roll please.... in a nut shell. She told me that he has had the most extensive craniotomy procedure done they had ever seen at their facility! In order to allow the brain to swell without causing more damage they remove an actual portion of the skull. She said that initially the doctors had given him 24 hours to live and that was being optimistic. She also said he will continue to need extensive therapy for the next several months, probably every day..... long pause.

Okay, I said but what does the future look like???? Well, she said as my heart sunk, "the nuero surgeon who did his surgery said that in a year from now, you probably won't even be able to tell he even had an accident." LONG PAUSE.... and I am sobbing. I just kept saying "we were all praying" and then more tears. She continued to tell me of how all the doctors and nurses have fallen in love with Noah and how he is truly a "miracle boy"! That he can walk, and eat, and talks ALL THE TIME!!! She said "I don't know what you were all praying but whatever is what don't stop because it's working!" "Would you like to meet him?" More tears.... followed by a when... today?

At 2:00 Paco and I headed to KU to meet our little Noah boy. Just last night my husband sent out his monthly news letter and had an entire section dedicated to Noah. He just kept saying I feel like God has such a plan for his life, to be like Noah in the Old Testament and that his body will be restored and that it will be a sign and a testimony of Jesus and His coming Kingdom.

We get to KU and I am on an adrenaline rush and we run into the gift shop and grab a stuffed giraffe. We get to the PICU and they let us right in. We walk into a room filled with balloons and streamers and the most adorable little Ethiopian boy and my heart just melts.... I look at my husband and he gives me that "don't cry" look. He has a large scar across the top of his head that extends from ear to ear. He is still pretty swollen but the nurses said the swelling has gone down a lot since his last surgery on Thursday when they replaced the portion of the skull that initially had been removed.

"Hi Noah, my name is Liesl, how are you today?" Big smile, "Okay i guess". He starts blowing a kazoo. "I like your little piggy" (he had a stuffed pig on his bed) The nurse says, "Noah can you show her your pig". He lifts it up for me to see. "what does a pig say" I ask. He wrinkles his little noise and proceeds to grunt like a pig. "Pigs stink!"

"haha, yes they do stink". The nurse came in with some medicine and asked if she could put it into his PICC line (a fancy IV).... he say no. She said she had to and so he let her. I asked him if I could sit on his bed, he said "sure!" He was watching Airbud quite inattentively. He proceeded to tell me all about what would happen next, but still remained rather quiet. He looked tired. We stayed for about an hour and he fell asleep.

They said that since his surgery he is on IV pain medications and has been more tired and not eating much however prior to that he was riding bikes down the hallway and eating several bananas at every meal. The said I have my work cut out for me as he eats NON-STOP!

He was very polite, saying please and thank you often I was surprised.

We discovered that he just celebrated his 4th birthday on July 16th!

We will probably get to bring him home this up coming Sunday or Monday so we have our work cut out for us! I have to go every day to learn his therapies and then next week we will have to drive down town every day to continue them but they say he is doing remarkable and is extremely determined! He still has some left sided weakness but is expected to do well.

Now we are just getting things ready for his arrival! If you would continue to keep in your prayers. He has already had such a rough adjustment this year already being adopted from another country and then having this accident occur. (In case this wasn't clear before.... Noah had been previously adopted from Ethiopia last November.) Pray that the Lord would give him peace and joy. That he would bond quickly and that him and Frances would both adjust well. That our house would be filled with the Holy Spirit and the fullness of God.

Pray for provisions as we will be needing a lot in a short amount of time.

I also work 2- 12 hour shifts this up coming weekend so our time is a bit crunched.

Thank you all so much for your prayers... KEEP EM COMING! We need them! Will keep you all updated as I know more.

God is so good and what more can I say. :)

Never even seen your face.

A prayer for Noah

I have never even seen your face

but today I pray for peace and grace

I pray that hope and love would abound

That you would rest safe and sound

That you won't feel so all alone

That His heart would be your home

That you would know your in our dreams

And that it won't always be as it seems

His ways are just and true

His love is just for you

No matter what's been done

You will always be the one

The one He came to know

The one He came to claim

The one He died to love

The one He lives to rename

I have never seen your face

Or held you in my arms

But He's the one who formed you well

And will deliver you from harm

Noah is a three and half year old little boy from Ethiopia who was recently adopted in the past 6 months. As many of you know my parents have adopted 3 girls almost two years ago from Ethiopia and so because of this my mother was approached by a friend of hers who is an attachment therapist. She asked my mom if she would be willing to have Noah come over for visits and meet my three Ethiopian sisters because that might be comforting for him. The attachment therapist had evaluated little Noah and felt that he was very appropriate and sweet but quiet. She felt concerned for him and wanted to help him adjust.

My mom immediately called me and said "now Liesl, I am not going to tell you what to do but please just pray about it. There is a little boy named Noah and...." Well of course my heart was immediately burdened for this little boy and I told my husband casually over dinner just to see what he would say. My husband is my perfect half in every way... I would be the one who would say YES! all the time and then get in over my head... at least when it comes to kids. Which isn't always a bad thing mind you but he is a wait and lets pray and see what is on the Lord's heart type of guy which is exactly what I need! So I already knew what he would say, which he did, but he also said "hmmmm, I really want to meet him." Now, you have to understand my husband loves kids but he wants the perfect will of God for our family and doesn't want to do things just because it's seems like it's a good idea. I so appreciate that. In everything I do I want it to be done within the will of God for my life and for our family. We prayed for a week or so and Francisco (my hubby in case you didn't know his real name) said one night... "well if anything happens we will take him." I love that man.

Any way, to shorten things up.... we all started praying for Noah and had set up a day to meet him. The day came, but Noah never showed up. We still prayed. My mom, husband, and I all agreed that there was just something about Noah and somewhere in our minds thought maybe God was going to make him a part of our family somehow. Then again, we were able to set up another play date. Thursday morning on my mom calls me and all she says is "he's in the hospital, and that is all I know!" I knew exactly who she meant and felt as if I had been punched in the gut. She quickly hung up to see if maybe she could find out why, where, since when?? We didn't even know at this point why he was in the hospital or what had happened but we both knew that regardless we were to pray. For the sake of the people involved I cannot go into details however as of June 29th, 2010 little Noah has been in critical condition in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) due to injuries resulting from shaken baby syndrome. We have not been given much information as there is to be an investigation. Also, we have not been allowed to visit because of the extent of his brain injuries and the doctors not wanting him to become over stimulated. We do know that he is alive and occasionally alert but nothing more. PLEASE continue to pray for Noah that he would make a full recovery! Shaken babies usually have a very poor prognoses and there quality of life is greatly diminished. Possible outcomes range from seizure disorder, mental retardation (mild or severe), life altering disabilities, paralysis, blindness, deafness, or even being in a completely vegetative state.

We do not know what the outcome for little Noah will be in regards to his health or even in regards to his living situations. We hope to be able to make him a part of our family somehow if at all possible. Thank you for reading and for joining in praying for Noah.

Uterus for occupancy... utilities included.

Our little one is almost 15 months old and boy are we ready for another one! My husband said to me the other day, "We just make em so cute, why don't we just have a bunch!" Golly, now I know why I love that guy! It is true though, despite me being a partial momma, we did make a pretty cute little munchie the first time around. The hard part is in the waiting..... and then remembering that God's timing is always perfect!

So, Jesus thank you so much for our beautiful little girl. If your ready so are we! Please give us another little blessing soon and many more to come! Amen

Because who wouldn't want another one this cute!!