Holidays!!

We had an incredible Holiday season!!

Sweet times with family - eating lots of great food, fellowship, and thinking about how different NEXT years Thanksgiving and Christmas will be!!  

Praise the Lord that I have made it through my first Trimester without any major problems!  I have been VERY fatigued, and had a few cravings... but no significant or major morning sickness or other problems.  My kidneys are doing well and holding in there...  My blood has become more anemic... but that is a bit normal.

So Thankful this Christmas for my AMAZING Family and for what the Lord is doing in our lives!!

ANOTHER GOD-SIZED MIRACLE!!!

It is with a little Hesitation, yet the Loudest SCREAMING that we share with you, our prayer warriors, some FANTASTIC GOD-SIZED News.

The kind of News that will force Everyone who hears to Stand in AWE of our Great and Mighty Savior!!

It is for THIS REASON that we just can't bear NOT to Share of HIS Good Works!

We are 9 weeks Pregnant!

I know.........  Shocking........... believe me..... we are still beyond ourselves in shock.

We have been told for 12 years, 12 YEARS HEAR ME, that this day would not likely EVER come!  We were told in 2001-2003 that if I ever did become pregnant, that because of my kidney condition... I would likely miscarry quickly and never carry to term... OR in the "RARE" chance I ever did... My kidneys would quickly fail and then I would be on dialysis!

These were the last words that we heard in 2003 that sparked our passion for adoption!  We started process for Caleb within MONTHS of hearing this news.

NOW......  My kidneys are SO much better than they have ever been.  We have seen very slow progression of their healing over the past 12 years.... HOWEVER, AGAIN, the thought NEVER entered into our minds to even try... after all "Chemo had likely killed any eggs that I had to begin with."

On October 30th, the night after we shared with many of you in Caleb's Baptism, I informed Chris that I had missed a cycle, but really thought nothing of it.  Other than being VERY tired and heading to bed at 9:30 or 10 every night... I had no clue!  Of course, my PRECIOUS husband was insistent on a pregnancy test to which I completed really only to humor him as I "knew" it couldn't be possible.

WELL.........  I was WRONG!  By a LONG Shot!!!

I called my GYN and got an appt for this past Friday.  My doctor was very excited!!  It was still all so surreal for Chris and I.  Disbelieving even being in that office.  We persistently asked... ok... let me be correct... CHRIS persistently asked for the Ultrasound.  

AND THERE OUR LITTLE PEANUT WAS!!  What a precious one!!!  We even got to see her/his little heartbeat beating so fast.  S/He is still too little to be able to HEAR the heartbeat.  Chris and I both about started BAWLING!!  We've been constantly texting each other "Eeeeeeeeeeee" as our little SQUEAL for excitement!

So here we are......  Another GOD-SIZED Story in the Making.....  So Unbelievable that it MUST be our Lord and Savior!!

The boys are very excited!!  Caleb is probably the most excited as Negash simply flippantly says "I saw that one time inBonosha!"  LOL!!  Love them!!

***PLEASE pray for the Continued health of the Baby, my health, my kidneys, Chris and the boys, and all of us together as we embark on UNCHARTED Territory for our family!

*I laughingly say that "Only in OUR family would a biological child actually introduce yet another culture!!!"  :D 

We love you all so much!!  We couldn't fully decide if we should tell this right now or not..... but just as Luke 19 says "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

It is just TOOOOOOOOOOOO much of a Testimony to the LORD'S Greatness to be Quiet!!!

*We Covet and Cherish your prayers for us during this time!  You guys have been such Warriors for us during our adoptions and Brazil and now!!  We thank you so much!!

~Beverly  - for the Fryar FIVE!!!!!!  :)

 

SOCCER TIME!

The boys played in the YMCA Soccer league this past fall!  They had a BLAST!  It was all a little new to Negash, but he learned quickly and started to love it!!

 Look at these HANDSOME MEN!!!  Can you IMAGINE the GIRLS in a few more years?!?!?!?  So stinkin' handsome!!

Fall Pictures

 The boys waiting for Dad to finish his Race!  Chris ran several races this summer/fall and we loved watching him!  GO DAD GO! :)

 The Boys HAMMING it up in the backyard!!  They are so crazy!  Always wanting to show off their muscles!! :)

Negash was "KING FOR THE DAY" on his Birthday!  He was so Proud!!  :)

Summer Fun

A little update via Pictures!! :)

We had a BLAST over the Summer!  We got to go to North Carolina and have a blast with Casey and Megan and family... And we had our family vacation at Dad's!!  It was a lot of fun!! :)  Negash was FEARLESS on the Jet Ski and at the lake!  (like that scary kind of fearless!)  So many great memories of the boys' first summer together!

And NOW introducing.... ASTHMA!!

The Friday before the 4th weekend, Negash's school called and said they heard Negash wheezing.  They then asked if I knew that he had asthma or anything...  I had heard him wheeze twice before, but always with a cold.  I just assumed that I had gotten a little over zealous with the Cough Suppressants before school! :)  Once I decongested him, he was fine!

So I conceded and left work to go get him.  Once there, he was really pulling air HARD!  Poor fella!  I took him on to the doctor FULLY EXPECTING to get the "you over did the suppressants and need to decongest him first, push fluids, and monitor" speech.  INSTEAD we got a Chest Xray, blood work, and a breathing treatment.... and ended up with the diagnoses of Pneumonia, Strep throat and ASTHMA!!   Poor fella!!

So began our July and August "DANCE WITH ASTHMA MEDS."  

Asthma is new for me... I mean, OF COURSE, I studied it in school and I get the basic anatomy and physiology of it... but I had no PERSONAL experience with it.  THANKFULLY, I've had people come out of the woodworks with personal experience!!  They taught me many "tricks of the trade"!!  I'm so thankful!!!

We had to go back and forth every 2 weeks after some pretty big attacks for more steroids, changing inhalers, new drugs... etc.  *NOW (September) we are on twice a day breathing treatments.  And the rescue inhaler as needed. 

Negash is so cute... he called it his  "MyHaler"  :D

Please pray for my baby's little lungs!!

June in Review!

As I tiptoe back of the past few months, I fully anticipate making a diligent effort and even SCHEDULE if I need to, to keep this a bit more up to date!  I usually post all the cute and funny things that happen on Facebook, but I will be sure to post here as well! :)


June brought more adjustment and bonding.  The boys were out of school and spent a week or so at the YMCA having a blast!!  Negash's school has a summer camp/"summer camp for scholars" and they worked with him one on one to help him with his English.  I'm just amazed at what he knows!!  


We also got to celebrate Father's Day! :)  The night before Father's Day, we got to go to a wedding of one of my PRECIOUS patients!  These pictures were taken after the wedding!

Still so hard to believe that Negash has been with us 3 months now... it completely feels as if he has ALWAYS been here!  His FULL ,  CRAZY personality is starting to show in FULL Force!  Again, only the HAND of a POWERFUL and MIGHTY GOD can pluck this child from a foreign land and insert him so PERFECTLY into our family!!  


I LOVE to come home and just let the boys go play!!  I love turning them loose in the cove to play with the other kids!  We have 3 boys next door (who are moving soon) and 4 girls next to them... all between ages of 4-10!  How perfect!!  


Caleb cracks us up as he "TRANSLATES" for Negash.  This is usually just re-stating the EXACT SAME MESSAGE with a few silly hand motions... but HEY... it works! :)  


The boys got new bikes!  Negash is still sort of like a "Bull in a China Shop" at many things!  He falls off his bike almost daily!  He comes in with a bloody knee all for me to clean up for him! :)  I love cleaning his Boo-Boos.  He thinks it's funny that we make a big deal about it.   


I love my boys!! :)

May in Review!

May was another fantastic month of *FIRSTS* for Negash and our adjustments to being a family of Four!!  My 8 week Family Leave drew to an end...  Negash and I had a great time together and we were able to get out and do lots of things each day!  We worked on school things too and I felt like we had made some good progress!  When it was time to enroll him in school, I had no idea I would face such opposition.  Apparently, TN state law for BOTH private and public schools states that ALL children must complete a Kindergarten program.  Because Ethiopian schools (and the rest of the non-American world) run on a January to December school calendar, he had only started Kindergarten.  They were requiring Negash start Kindergarten in August... when he would be 7 years old.  No negotiating even the possibility of moving him up once language was acquired... was told "we can catch him up in Junior high".  Nice...  BUT, the LORD KNOWS, and He had planned a different environment for him!  We found a Montessori school that was willing to help him out during the summer to get him as caught up as possible and for him to start 1st grade in August!!  AND... when I toured... found out that HIS TEACHER is ETHIOPIAN!!  Isn't GOD so GOOD!!!  We have been blessed by his little school that has a HUGE Personal interest in his learning and his growth!! 

He started his school in early May and loves it!!

We got to visit my brother and my niece in St. Louis!  The boys had a BALL!!  We went to City Museum (all these pics) where the kids got to climb in and through EVERYTHING!  It was incredible!!

This pic is from the 10 story slide through the middle of the building!

 Caleb and Brooklyn fearlessly went into every Nook and Cranny in that place with Negash right behind them!  Caleb has always loved climbing like a little monkey, and this place is the MECCA for that!! :)

 This was at the pool at the hotel!  We are pretty sure this was the first swimming experience for Negash!  He is FEARLESS!  Once in the water for 15 mins, he was jumping and putting his head under!!  Awesome!!

We also went to Six Flags in St. Louis.  Negash rode one of the fastest roller coasters in the nation and did SO GREAT!!  He was lovin' it and laughing the whole time! So Precious!

 My precious friend Stacy, her husband, and son came up to Memphis and we went to the Children's Museum.  Negash had the BEST time riding the police motorcycle and climbing all over the fire truck!

We are seeing more and more of the Negash's precious personality coming out as each day passes!!! He and Caleb have just about figured each other out and are getting along great! Of course, there is tattling... and more tattling... but we are very careful to make sure we hear Negash's side of the story too! :) Getting back to work and getting into a Routine was also nice... It took some adjusting, but we all did great through it all!

April in Review

April in Review: Here is a brief look at some pics and some activities from April.


The boys and us with Dad.

Some of the Random Craziness that goes on around here!!  The Lord has Magnificently PLACED Negash in our family and he SO Completely MATCHES our craziness!!  God is so Good!

At the Zoo - Being cool!

Brotherly Love!!  Not sure if it's choking, or hugging... either way... They love each other! :)

My Handsome Prince!

Easter Morning, 2011

Loving on their precious Daddy!

Negash in HOG HEAVEN... He LOVES Firetrucks!!  ...and Motorcycles!

Negash has settled in so well!  It's more like he's been here all along!! He's witty and sneaky and so funny!  He's learning so much everyday and is very motivated and eager to learn!  We are so blessed!!