What have Dave, Robin, Joshua and Sarah been doing since they got back from Bolivia????

When I did the Bolivia section of our webiste I was really just thinking about it as a way to stay in touch with people without having to write a bunch of emails. I really had not intended to do anything with it after we got back. However, since we returned, a number of people have expressed interest in the kids and asked why we haven't updated the site so I am starting this new section to let people know what has happened since we got back.

As I write this it is now late December. I will go ahead and put this page out on the site but it will take me a while to get it completely up to date. I will also add more recent photos as I get the chance.

We got back on 9/18/02. Robin didn't go back to work immediately but took another two weeks off so that we could get settled in and get some things done.

Because we didn't know ages of the children we might get or what their level of development might be we had very little of what we needed for the kids when we left. Before we left we got a heads up at about two weeks but when we got our referral it was 6 days before we needed to leave for Bolivia which left us little time to buy anything but the things we would need in Bolivia. We had one new crib that had been given to us by a ministry I used to work for. We hadn't bought a second crib because we didn't know if we would need it (we could have ended up with 2 1/2 year old twins and not even need the one we had). Before we left we took a chance and bought one car seat and an inexpensive, very used double stroller at a garage sale. While we were gone our friend Bill bought a second car seat and put both seats in the van and then met us at the airport with the van when we got back. While we were gone our friends Sue and Roger assembled our one crib and bought a second one.

So, we had a lot to do when we got back. We bought a high chair and one of those walkers like Joshua had used in Bolivia. Because a regular stroller isn't much use around here with our dirt roads, we bought a double sport stroller. We bought a couple of portable cribs that we could use on trips. We took the kids to the doctor so that they could have a preliminary check-up in the U.S. We took Sarah to the Orthopedic specialist to have her hip displasia looked at.

The second weekend we were back we went to Durango to see my mom. Joshua and Sarah did very well on what was their first 300+ mile car trip. While we were there we hit a bunch of garage sales and were able to get a bunch of other stuff we needed.

Shortly after we got back from Durango Robin went back to work. We got Sarah started going to physical therapy for her displasia and a related conditon. We worked on getting settled and getting in to a routine. Some of the ladies in our church put on a shower for Robin and the kids on October 12. We started going to church with the kids. We go to the 8:15 service and it's about a half hour drive to get to church. The first time we took the kids we got up at 5:30. We do a little better now but we still have to get up early to make the early service. The kids do great in the nursery. That is probably the result of having been in an orphanage.

In the weeks after we got back we had visits from or made visits to all kinds of friends and relatives who wanted to see the kids. The kids have been good about traveling and about meeting new people. Between friends, relatives and the baby shower the children got so many gifts that we were amazed.

Shortly after we got back Joshua began to be able to scoot around on his bottom and then to roll around and to crawl backwards a little. Then he could finally crawl forward a little and then he just took off and began crawling all over.

We went to Durango for Thanksgiving. The kids actually make that trip pretty well given how long it is. On Thanksgiving we cooked the smallest of the turkeys we raised last summer. I think it was 21 pounds dressed weight. It was quite tasty.

We saw all kinds of friends and relatives over the Christmas holidays. We cooked the biggest of our turkeys on Christmas. I think it was 32 pounds dressed weight. We open our presents Christmas Eve. I think the kids had as much fun playing with the wrapping paper as with anything they got.

It is now late February. I haven't been doing a very good job of getting this thing caught up but hopefully once it is I will be able to keep it a little more up to date.

The kids had a check-up with the doctor in mid January and Sarah saw the orthopedic specialist too. There is really no sign of her displasia and there is only a trace of a related condition which has to do with how she alligns her head. She is going to do physical therapy until about June. The doctor thought Joshua should at least have some evaluations done at the same place we take Sarah for therapy. The doctor is just comparing him to development charts for normal American babies without taking into account the fact that he came from Bolivia, lived in a situation where he was neglected and then in an orphanage where he didn't get that much chance to be active and he really isn't taking account of how much progress he has made in the time we have had him. Still, it isn't a bad idea to at least have some evaluations done. The doctor said he was sending referrals but he never did. We finally were able to figure out that with our insurance we didn't actually need his referral and get appointments scheduled. So, he will get to see a physical therapist and a speech therapist in mid March.

Sarah began to be able to scoot around on her bottom a little and then to crawl backward a little, then forward a little. Now she is crawling all over the place. She can also bear weight on her legs a little. She hasn't been able to fully pull herself up yet but she is trying. She can stand can stand a little if you put her in a standing position where she has something to brace against or hold on to.

As long as we have had Joshua we have been trying to get him to stand. For months he could stand for a short time holding on to something if you placed him in a standing position. Then one day he pulled himself up. Then he could walk a little if he had something to brace against like the sofa or the coffee table. Now, if you stand him away from everything he can stand on his own for a few seconds or take a few steps toward something he can use for balance - like a table or the sofa.

We took the kids skiing with us for the first time in February. We went to Snow Mountain Ranch and rented a sled to pull them in. I will put some pictures out on the site. We didn't do all that much skiing but the kids handled it really well. The sled we rented wasn't a good design. It was just a gear sled for cross country skiing that they had shoved some blankets and pillows in. Robin and I are going to try to build a better one. You can buy them but they are expensive and there is only one model that is made for two kids.


4/27/03

On March 17th we celebrated Joshua's second birthday. We think that date is probably off by several months but we went ahead and celebrated it because it is the only date we have.

On the 18th and 19th we had a blizzard. I think we got about 3 feet of snow on average here but because of the wind we had spots that had drifts that were much deeper and some spots that were almost bare. It pretty much shut everything down for two days and actually we weren't able to dig out to the road until mid-afternoon on the 20th.

We finished the pull sled we were building for the kids and took them skiing twice in late March. They did very well with it. They seem to like being pulled around in it but a good deal of the time they just slept.

Because of the children's background and the age at which we got Joshua, he is somewhat behind developmentally. We had him evaluated and decided to put him in physical and speech therapy. He started walking well about the time we started therapy but he wasn't really talking. The speech therapist suggested we start teaching him American Sign Language to get him started communicating. She said that will often help stimulate a child to speak. He learned the signs for eat, drink and more and now is saying a few spoken words as well.

Sarah learned to pull herself to a standing position and then to walk some while holding on to a table, the couch etc. Now sometimes she is able to balance for a few seconds without holding on to anything.

On 4/26 we got to see the other couple we were in Bolivia with and their daughter who they adopted at about the same time we got Joshua and Sarah. They live on the east coast but were out here visiting family. It was great to see them. We did all kinds of stuff together when we were in Bolivia but it is unlikely that the kids remembered each other.


6/30/03

We celebrated Sarah's first birthday on 5/01.

In late May we took a trip to Indiana to attend the wedding of one of Dave's friends. While we were out there we visited some of Robin's relatives. We drove and the kids did pretty well for two days in the car each way. While we were out there we visited Lincoln's Boyhood Home and New Harmony. New Harmony was the site of two early failed experiments in communal living. It's still an actual small town but several historical groups have come together to restore some of the buildings so that you can wander around the town and tour them.

Sarah can now stand unassisted for pretty much as long as she likes and she can push herself into a standing position with no help or support. When she feels like it she can walk several steps on her own and she can walk more if you hold her hand. She can crawl much faster than she can walk. We think she could walk more but doesn't want to because it is slower for her to get around that way. At one year we moved her off formula and on to whole milk and she also made the transition to eating 3 meals a day (with occasional snacks).

Joshua is walking well. He is saying a few words and signing a few words and occasionally he will string several understandable words together. A few weeks ago we moved him out of the nursery and into the two year old class at church. He can use a spoon some and a regular cup some.

We took them overnight to Dave's Mom's Cabin for the first time in June and we will take them again Fourth of July Weekend.


09/01/03

Joshua is walking better but he still has some trouble with things like curbs. He is saying a lot more words and combining a few words together. He still signs a few things. He can feed himself some with a spoon but that can still get pretty messy depending on what he is eating. He can use a regular cup if you help him. If you don't help he tends to take a few sips and then dump the whole thing on his shirt. At times he tries to help us around the house a little. He has also begun to do things in play that mimic things he sees us doing. He is still in physical therapy and speech therapy.

Sarah is walking pretty well. She doesn't walk as well as Joshua but she is more adventuresome, less worried about getting hurt and less likely to get upset if she does fall. She is saying a few words and signing a few words. She is still in physical therapy but we have cut her back to twice a month and may cut it out entirely before too long.

We took the kids to the cabin over the 4th of July. We had a big group of people down in July and one in early August too. We have had relatives visit with us for the day or overnight several times this summer. We also made a couple trips to Boulder to see relatives. On the third weekend in August some friends of ours came down from Denver and we all went to the annual Christian conference that Robin and I always attend. We didn't make it to the conference last year because we were in Bolivia.

We went down to Durango for Labor Day Weekend. The kids are getting to the point that they aren't too happy about long trips in the car but they do ok with them. While we were in Durango we got the kids in a full sized swimming pool for the first time. Sarah had no problems but Joshua cried and screamed for a long time. He did finally calm down and enjoy it. The drive over to Durango and back were both really pretty. I have made that drive dozens of times but it can change a lot depending on the weather, the time of year, the time of day you drive through certain areas etc. This trip the weather was good, the sky was very blue and everything was still completely green (sometimes by this time of year trees in the mountains have already started to turn). Also, as Robin has pointed out, this summer with the worst of the drought over everything has seemed so green. It's almost like the plants and trees that survived are trying to make up for lost time. One bad thing about the drive is that in good weather it used to take 6 1/2 hours but with the kids it takes more like 7 1/2 or 8 hours.

There are so many photos on this page that it loads very slowly, so please be patient.