Shoe designed for people with special needs!

This is a great article on a new shoe designed by Nike for those who have difficulty putting on regular shoes. Could be really helpful to a lot of people!





http://www.kptv.com/story/29582869/nike-creates-shoe-specifically-designed-for-people-with-disabilities?autostart=true

Steps

Mr Sweetness and Light took his very first steps with two legs! He got to try it out for about 15 to 20 minutes. This first leg is a rough one so changes can be made to suit his uniqueness.  More work will be done on it since it couldn't be adjusted any further for him. Our prosthetist said to expect more adjustments as he learns to walk because his gait and stance will change over time. At his next appointment, the leg will get fine-tuned even more and then he will meet with the physical therapist who will help learn to use it.





I cannot begin to describe the joy I felt watching his first few steps. Since I didn't have any of my children as infants, this is the first 'first step' experience I've had with any of my kids. I wasn't sure whether to make a fuss--after all he is 15 years old and boys that age don't really want that kind of fussing since they're 'grown up now!'

Firsts...

When I began the journey to adopt my children there were many things I never imagined: Telling nine year old Miracle Man to come down from 25 feet up a fir tree the day before major surgery; Explaining to 14 year old Mr. Sweetness and Light why he shouldn't climb on top of our roof at 10 p.m. to look at the stars (never mind how he got himself up there in the first place!); Learning about hair--how MM didn't like it--never mind that he was using the clippers to shave the dreaded stuff off the tops of his arms; Spending 1 1/2 hours curling Miss Sunshine's hair for photo day.

The past year has been full of all sorts of firsts: Mr. Sweetness and Light played sports for the first time: baseball, soccer, swimming. His first P.E. class. First trip to the beach. First time going to church. Miracle Man graduated from middle school and started high school. (And boy have I gotten short! Every time I turn around I'm getting shorter!) He drummed up his first job--on his own, might I add. I can't believe what a man he has started to become! He's showing initiative, working hard, growing into himself. Miss Sunshine sang in choir and joined track team. She's set her sails and looks toward the stars.

Last month,  we attended a clinic for challenged athletes. SL learned how he could swim. Learning how he can as opposed to how he can not. That mindset became so important during his adoption. It is a good life lesson. Figure out how you can do something rather than looking for all the ways and reasons you can't. Over my life I have watched so many people do the latter rather than the former.

Tomorrow SL will get fitted with a rough prosthetic leg and begin the journey toward walking on two legs--something he could only dream of 18 months ago. The road ahead won't necessarily be easy. He will have to use muscles in ways he has never done before. Just the motion of walking will be so alien for him. There will be socks and liners and medications none of us has experience with yet. Eventually, there will be an operation--but the folks at our hospital want to get him on the road to walking before that occurs because it will give him a positive mindset when things are hard and not working just right. He will get to know what it is to walk before any other changes get made. What freedom he will experience by not having to have a crutch to lug around all the time! He dreams of new firsts now:  riding a bicycle, driving, running in track. I've cautioned him that this first leg is a walking leg, not a running leg. "Why can't I have a running let?! I don't want a walking leg! I want to run! I hate walking legs!" How does one answer that? I did give an answer. It feels so much like holding him back--something I never want to do. We have to apply for a running leg. Prosthetics aren't cheap. A first prosthetic runs about $9,000 and subsequent ones could go up to $50,000. I will figure out how we can get him his running leg.

New Page!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give you a heads up about the newest page here. There can be a lot of hidden costs after you get home with your child as well as the need to find resources you weren't expecting. The newest page is called adaptive resources and will be a work in progress covering all that stuff you'll need after you're home with your bundle of joy! Check back often to see what's new!

National Step Forward for Orphans Day

May 16, 2015 will be the third annual National Step Forward for Orphans Day. Both Ends Burning will be hosting activities in at least 20 cities across the nation on that day including showings of their award-winning movie Stuck. Links to their website are on the Positively Paying Forward page. I will be hosting a viewing of Stuck in the Portland Metro area earlier in the month--time and location to be determined at the moment.

Just one more

Beautifully written article about proceeding to bring home just one more child. Loved ones and friends who haven't been there mayn't realize the discernment families go through in making that decision and the whys behind it. We are in discernment right for not one, but two more. At the same time. I tempted God. Funny how that goes!


http://www.nohandsbutours.com/2015/02/19/adoption-hard-start-harder-stop/#comment-15324

Beautiful Hong Kong!

We slurped up our breakfast and checked and double checked that everything had gotten packed and nothing left behind. We felt rather sad to leave the Louidon. It was so special there. If we get the opportunity to visit Guangzhou again we will certainly stay there.






Some of our last sights in Guangzhou included Ikea--who knew?!

And folks exercising in one of the parks. I really liked how much people did in the parks in China. It seemed like the parks were in constant use and for activities we wouldn't do in the U.S. --like the folks practicing their dance moves and a choir practice.







We took an early morning train in hopes of visiting more places in Hong Kong after arrival there.

Our guide got us into the correct queue for the train and away we went. I'm not sure whether the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong was a bullet train--I kind of think it was but it sure didn't seem like it went all that fast (not that shooting pictures out the window wasn't challenging because it was and I did take a lot of them just to make sure I got something memorable and useful from the trip.

These beautiful art works were in a magazine in the seat pocket on the train. All I could think was, "wow!" Wish I knew where they were exhibited, might have been nice to have seen them in person.







As we left Guangzhou, high rise buildings gave way to smaller buildings, houses, apartments. Dwellings ranged from ultra nice and obvious luxury to humble, tarp and plywood affairs braced against the elements.












I would love to have BBQ at this place...could I afford it though?! I'm thinking, not. What a gorgeous building though. I wonder what it is besides serving BBQ?

Maybe some koi from this fish farm would be a better idea.












Ponds, streams and gardens punctuated the landscape. Green foliage everywhere. During the trip, ladies made their way along the corridors with carts of food. We didn't eat any, having brought along our own snacks.

Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong early in the afternoon.







We ate lunch in the train station where we were cautioned not to feed the birds.










Finding a taxi to take us to our apartment proved a bit more challenging than expected as did navigating the MTR station in Hung Hom. We got turned around a little bit but eventually emerged in the right place and got a driver to take us where we needed to go.

It felt so good to get to the Bridge Apartments out in Tsuen Wan that we almost didn't want to leave our unit. Indeed, we did stay overlong there and ended up not seeing as much as I'd wanted us to on our first day there. This is a night shot of the lobby.

View from our room looking toward Tsuen Wan.

The Bay Bridge with harbor traffic. Around the left of the bridge the harbor runs past Lantau Island to the sea. We have a new bridge at home called the Tumwater which reminds me of the bridges in China every time I see it.

We forged on and took the apartment shuttle to a shopping mall where we connected with a bus that took us to the Hung Hom MTR station where we could connect with a train into Kowloon. The shuttle/bus stop is the small structure in the lower right portion of the picture. Once in Kowloon, things were pretty easy to navigate.






We hit upon going to see the lazar light show which lights the buildings and sky three times a week. For the best viewing you'll want to go to the Walk of Fame. When you get off the MTR, and go up to street level, you will likely see this street sign with a large hotel behind it and the building also. Know that you are close to where you want to be!

Had we arrived in the area earlier in the day, we found there was an art museum we could have toured. Mr. Sweetness and Light loves art so that would have been really good for him to see. The art museum is the building beyond the one with all of the colorful lights.

We walked along the Walk of Fame past the clock tower and the Star Ferry terminal. From what I understand, a lot of people get married in front of the clock tower, hence the wedding cake topper! People were getting their pictures taken in front of it and I had to wait to snap this shot until they all finished.

What do you suppose we found after passing the Star Ferry terminal? McDonald's! All right, we eat at Micky D's. Interesting affair. You could order upstairs on the street and take your food into the restaurant downstairs or to go. You could also order downstairs in the largest McDonald's restaurant I think I have ever been in. It had a large lounge type area with comfy chairs and a large table, another area with lots of tables in front of the counter, another beyond that and another beyond that one. Must get incredibly busy. We learned that the offerings aren't the same and also learned to check out the individual restaurant deals, which again, weren't the same as at home. Silly me, don't know why I would have thought that!





Good thing we arrived early for the lazer light show! It got very crowded! What a show too! My pictures just don't do it justice!

Afterward, we wound our way back to the MTR and whizzed back to Hung Hom to catch the bus back to the shopping mall where we would catch the last shuttle back to the apartment. It was a very, very long walk through the mall and we had to get help from some of the locals to find the shuttle stop. Thanks to them, we got where we needed to go. The walk back to the apartment would have been even longer!


Next day, we awoke early to head into town. I wanted to see the Lantau Buddha and ride the cog rail up to the Peak again. It was not to be. Not this trip. Sigh. We retraced our steps from the night before to Kowloon and the underground McDonald's. We ate a hurried breakfast then sprinted over to the Star Ferry.
The Star Ferry was founded by a Hong Kong resident of Indian origin. Depending on the source of information, it variously gets its name from the founder's Zorastrian religion which has a star as one of its symbols, the names of the boats which all had 'star' in their names, or the inspiration of Alfred  Lord Tennyson's poem "Crossing the Bar." Whatever the true origin of the name, most agree that the Star Ferry routes are among the attractions not to be missed!





As we raced to catch the MTR to Lantau Island, we passed this Apple store--can you see the crowds of people?! I think Apple had just released a new iPhone model and everyone was trying to get their hands on one!









Why had we done this? To see the most Chinese venue in all creation......drum roll, please.....

Hong Kong Disney

Yeah, I know some might disapprove. But kids. Way cheaper than California or Florida--so if your children are old enough and you're on the fence about it, do it!  And there was no California Adventure park torture for mom-who-can't-turn-around-twice-without-nausea me. The HK Disney also is much smaller and at least on the day that we went, much less crowded. 

Only a couple of the rides had longish lines---the longest one being the Autotopia. Mr. Sweetness and Light rode the Grizzly Gulch roller coaster five times in a row! Talk about a glowing face!That alone made it all worth while. He had never ridden a roller coaster. 

We didn't spend a lot of time looking at trinkets there, although it would have been nice to have gotten something. The souvenirs weren't inexpensive nor was the food. We limited ourselves to having Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles. I think they were something like $5USD each!








As the night wound down, we found ourselves staying to watch the fireworks shot from the top of the princess's castle.










Too soon, we had to make the return trip to our lodgings. We wished so very much that we could have stayed there longer.