8.5 Months Home

It's been so long! Sorry guys! It's kinda crazy how much time has passed already since bringing Gabe home. We're coming up on Christmas and we're happy to have our little guy here with us to celebrate this year,  even though he has no idea what Christmas is.

We've spent the first 8 months keeping Gabe's world very small, partly because it took so long to get his insurance going, but he truly needed that time to just be at home and get comfortable with his new life. The Lord works in mysterious ways, if he had insurance from the beginning we would have started all his appointments and therapies soon after coming home and I know now that he wouldn't have been ready for all of that. He has gone from being angry, upset, grouchy, and aggressive to  mostly a happy little guy (as long as we're at home). Still working on going places but we'll get there.

We finally made it to the ophthalmologist where he was diagnosed with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, this condition affects the brain as well, so he's scheduled for a sedated MRI in January. He may still have some light perception but the doctor said we would have to wait until he can tell us because his pupils did not react to the light  You can see him squinting in the sunlight in one of the pictures below.

So, Gabe is getting started on all of his therapies which include: physical, occupational. speech, and feeding. He's also starting preschool on January 4th, three hours a day, Monday -Friday. His teacher is amazing, I love her already and his TVI is also very sweet and has so many ideas for the classroom.  The class has three typical kids and six special needs kids, Gabe will have either the teacher or and aide with him at all times, they take turns with the kids that need constant assistance. They have made a little safe area in the room for him start out in to get used to the sounds and just being in school without getting too overwhelmed being in the middle of all the kids. Once he gets comfortable they'll transition him to the regular routine. He will be starting orientation and mobility training in the spring and I'm really excited for him to learn to be more independent.

After months and months of barely any sleep I broke down and ordered a weighted blanket for Gabe, I was hesitant to buy one because they are pricey and he doesn't like blankets, but that blanket is magical!! We just put it on him after he falls asleep and he now sleeps without waking up for hours during the night. Woohoo!

Six Months Home!

Gabe has been home six months now. In some ways it seems crazy that it's been half a year, but in other ways I just can't believe we made it this far! My how things have changed and improved greatly. We still have a long ways to go but we will get there.

Gabe finally has insurance so I've been busy scheduling all the appointments he needs. He will be starting therapy and preschool in the next few months.  I think the schedule and routine of preschool will be good for him.

Below are a few facts about Gabe

Things Gabe likes:
-spinning
-jumping
-climbing
-swinging
-playing with daddy
-sleeping
-eating
-music
-slides
-water

Things Gabe doesn't like:
-going places (it's getting better though)
-feeding himself
-walking a lot
-waking up (that's getting better too)
-waiting 2 minutes for his breakfast to be made
-drinking water
-grass

Pictures!

Abby thought it would be hilarious for a Chinese boy to get a picture with a hay bale.

Gabe likes to booty bounce on the trampoline. Soon he'll be jumping all over it!

He's feeling the under side of the bench.

He was tired and ready to go home but the lighting is pretty. :)

Why are you so cute???

It's so nice to have the school playground right behind our house.

                                     

Laughing hysterically at the sound of the table moving on the patio.

I can't wait to see where we are in another six months. What a journey this has been. Thanks for following. We love ya'll!

The First Time

The First Time
About a year ago, my parents called my two brothers and I into their room. We thought we were going to be going on a vacation or a trip, but that wasn’t the case. My mom started off by saying, " How do you guys feel about adoption?" We were very confused at first. But I assumed she was wanting to adopt. It was silent. "Do you want to adopt?" I asked. My parents both looked at each other and my mom stated, "Your father and I have been looking at adoption websites and have had our eye on this one little boy for almost a year, we decided we wanted to adopt him and we were wondering if you guys would want to also." Me and my brothers looked at each other in shock. We didn’t know what to say. "Well, I will think about it, it’s a lot to take in all at once." Said Jake, my older brother. "Sure, I'm fine with it." Caleb, my younger brother stated. Then my parents looked at me. "What do you think about all of this Abby?" My dad asked. I was in such shock that I didn’t know what to think. I told them I would think about it too.
The next day I went into their room and I asked them a bunch of questions. They told me it was defiantly going to change our lives. They also said that he was blind. That made me think of how different things will be, living with a blind child. I asked my parents to describe him to me, so they did. They said he was born in China and abandoned outside on orphanage at 10 months. After one year, Bethel, an orphanage for visually impaired children, found him and brought him to their orphanage. He is very blessed to have gotten to bethel because his other orphanage was very bad. Bethel named him Gong Xin, which means treasure.
My mom had seen him on the bethel website several times and felt that she had to adopt him because she keeps seeing pictures of that specific kid. I helped pick his American name. We all decided to name him Gabe, but his middle name would be Gong Xin.Adoption is a very long process, but after one year of fundraisers, phone calls, inspections, interviews, and a whole lot of paper work, we would finally get to bring him home.
In March, my parents left for China and would be gone for two weeks. Me and my two brothers had to stay with my aunt while they were gone, because we had to go to school. But finally on March 31, 2016 they had come home. My whole family was waiting at the airport. It was 10 pm. I was nervous but excited at the same time. We saw them get off the plane and I was so relieved to see that my parents and my newly adopted brother had made it home safely. Holding him for the first time was the most amazing feeling. It was as if I had known him for so long and treated him like a brother my whole life even though it had been my first time actually seeing him and holding him in person.
He was only three years old, which meant I had to act differently around him because my other two brothers are much older. Now that we would be living with him and he was so young, we would have to be much quieter when he naps and much more careful, especially since he's blind. This also made me think differently on how much more challenging his life is than mine. I need to be more appreciative and helpful to others because I may have something that they wish they had.
Gabe has been home for five months now and is adjusting quite well. He knows our voices and loves to be held. It impresses me on how he is doing se well after being through so much in his life time. He has had many people come and go in his life time and never knows where he is going or what is going on but he stays brave. We really want him to know that we
are never and will never leave him. So that he can go to sleep at night knowing we will be there when he wakes up.
This experience taught me not to take things for granted because Gabe only got to eat rice and milk every day before we adopted him and he never really knew what a family was or meant. I am lucky enough to have a family that I love and trust. Also to have a variety of food which I can eat at any time unlike he could. Gabe inspired me to push my limits and to never give up. Because he never gave up.

Written by: Abby Sloan

5 Months a Sloan

Yesterday marked 5 months since Gabe became a Sloan, and he is doing amazingly well! Thank you all for the prayers. I think we are finally turning a corner, we have more good days than bad days at this point, Praise the Lord! In the last few weeks we've been able have visits with family, run a few errands, and he's even been waking up happy. These things may seem small but they are big victories to us. He has come a long way in 5 months and I pray it keeps getting better and better.

Insurance update: It looks like Gabe will be getting insurance eventually. The phone hearing did go in our favor but it still might be a while until he's actually covered. The good news is that his coverage will go back to our original application date.

On July 31st, Bethel (the foster home where Gabe lived) held a Bethel families reunion in Nashville! We were so excited about it since we live so close. Well, we ended up missing it because the timing wasn't working out with Gabe's nap time, we were super bummed but luckily we still got to spend an evening with Anna and Tabitha who work at and for Bethel. We are so thankful for all they do and for the wonderful love and care Gabe received at Bethel. What a blessing!

About the photos: Gabe loves to lay on the floor vent when the air is on, cracks me up! Our goldendoodle does the same thing. I'm hoping it starts to cool off so we can enjoy being outside. Whenever Gabe hears a door open he tries to walk in that direction so I know he wants to go outside but when we do go out he's a little whiny, unless he's in the baby pool and I don't blame him because its so hot! Our other kids adore Gabe! Caleb has started to hug him all the time so that he will learn to like hugs... it's totally working! The last photo is  hilarious, that little crooked smile he does. Oh, and he has mastered the little slide. He hated it at first, but now he can climb up and down the steps, slide down, and even climb up the slide from the bottom, just like all kids do. ;)

Thanks for following our amazing little journey. We love you guys!

3 Months of Forever

Has it really been a month since I wrote a blog post? Im a slacker. I know everyone wants to know how we're doing. It's a difficult question to answer because it changes daily or hourly. We have good days and bad days. Let's focus on the positive first.

Gabe has improved in a lot of ways already. He sleeps great at nap time and bedtime, he will eat some crunchy foods, he doesn't chew but he moves it around in his mouth until its soft enough to swallow. Before he would reject any crunchy texture. He does great at following our voices while walking and he even explores on his own a little bit, he knows to hold his hands out in front of him to feel for obstacles. We recently had a successful, short trip to the grocery store. That's a big yay! He learned to drink from a straw, but now he won't drink from an open cup. We're working on it. He is starting to understand basic everyday phrases and words, he says mama a lot, but I'm not sure if he's really saying it to me. He is showing more emotions now. At first he was either really happy or mad and screaming, no in between. Now, he whines, he cries a genuinely sad cry, and he still is angry and screaming sometimes. In between all that he's happy, joyful and loves to play!

In some areas Gabe is regressing as well, which is normal. Going to sleep, especially at bedtime is a long process. He gets really sad sometimes and pushes us away and just cries until he falls asleep, this takes over an hour every night. occasionally he will let us snuggle him but not often. Gabe's mood can change in an instant and that makes it hard for us to know what to expect. The issue that concerns me the most is his sensory issues with sounds, but mostly voices. He covers his ears and cries or whines at any unfamiliar voices, even the tv. He didn't do this in China or when we first came home. Im not sure if it's the unfamiliar language thats upsetting him but its getting increasingly worse. I apologize for all the birthday parties and family gatherings we've missed but we just can't. I'm sure people expect us to be getting out and about more now that we've been home a few months but we're not there yet. I wish we are, we miss you guys!

Gabe doesn't know that we are his forever. All he knows is that another big change happened in his life and he's having a hard time dealing with it. We are loving him, meeting his needs, and trying to earn his trust and love. I was hoping at this point, being home 3 months, we would be doing a lot better, but there is no time frame for grief and healing, every child is different and so we wait, and pray for his heart to be healed.

"God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile."
~Max Lucado~

I never know if I should share the super hard stuff, but maybe it will help someone else in a similar situation not feel so alone, and also let you guys know how to pray for us. We're still waiting for the insurance mess to be worked out. Please keep praying about that.

2 Months Home!

Yesterday marked 2 months home. Gabe is doing really well as long as we stay home and don't have  many visitors.  We just can't go places with him yet, he gets so overwhelmed with unfamiliar situations and voices. Sometimes outings can't be avoided though. Abby and Caleb had a dentist appointment yesterday and it didn't go over well with Gabe. We arrived at the dentist and waited just a couple minutes in an empty room until they were called, then they are the only two kids getting their teeth cleaned in the room we were in, but Gabe still screamed the entire time. I sure hope it gets better with time.

We got another letter from the Insurance company, we will now be having a phone hearing. We should get a letter letting us know the date it is scheduled for. Please pray that they will cover him. He desperately needs insurance and services.

He still isn't a big fan of the grass but we're working on it.

Gabe loves his swing and so does everyone else. Also, who needs toys when windows are so fun! He spends so much time sitting on, feeling, knocking on, and trying to climb the windows.

Picture Blog: Home Life

I don't have the energy or time to sit down and write a blog so this week we have a picture blog. Just a quick update: All of Gabe's blood work, genetic testing, and stool samples came back normal. Praise Jesus!

Prayer request: We've been trying to et Gabe's insurance started but we received a denial letter in the mail this week. It was denied due to a mistake on their part, but apparently that doesn't matter and we still had to file an appeal which can take 90 days. I had to cancel his important appointments, the ones that take months to get into. We can't start therapy or do anything until we get this figured out.  Meanwhile, we have doctor bills rolling in from the appointments we already had that we thought would be covered. Please pray that the appeal will not take 90 days and that  Gabe will have insurance soon. Thank you, friends. We love you!

 Gabe has recently found his eyes and has been pressing on them. I blame the eye drops.

                                         Gabe loves you!

                                            His thumbs pretty much stay soggy all the time!

                                           Big sister love.

                                           Cooper Dog Sloan

                           Gabe is touching and feeling the grass on  purpose. This is huge!

                                          These are blurry but so good! Daddy is the best!

                                               Don't worry, it's not as hight as it looks.

                                            Another day, another window to climb.

 I think this face is so funny. I was trying to get a good pic of his t-shirt but this is the best I could do.

Bethel Part 2

Well, Abby let me know that I need to write another blog. There is just no time! I am busy with Gabe all day long and during his nap time I try do do all the housework that needs to be done. It is very much like having a baby. He needs to be entertained, I can't turn on a cartoon for him to watch while I get stuff done,  he doesn't really care for toys, and he won't walk around on his own much at all.  Whew! Toddlers are exhausting, but I wouldn't change a thing!

So, this is Part 2 of our Bethel visit. Enjoy these pictures, and don't miss the special little guy at the end.

                                 
                                         Play time

                                         Gabe wasn't into it.

The Bethel mamas. they were so sweet, you can see the love.

This is Yong Qiao (Charlie), there is just something about him. I LOVE him! I have always loved him from the very first time I saw him. How adorable is he!? We got to see him briefly while we were visiting Bethel and he was just giggling away and so happy.....and he needs a family! If you or someone you know might be interested in adopting an adorable 5 year old boy,  just ask me for details on who you can contact for more information. Blindness isn't scary,  these special kids just need a chance to thrive! Check out Bethel China's website to see all the kids that have adoption paperwork ready are waiting for families.