Searching for Answers

We are home from the hospital. Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray as we search for the answers as to why Diezel keeps having these episodes.

URGENT PRAYER FOR DIEZEL

Laura here--Steff just called on her way to the hospital. Diezel lost consciousness and has extremely rapid breathing. He began with the rapid breathing, so she called the nurse. Then he lost consciousness in her arms. Gadese came and laid hands on him and started praying. They were going to call the ambulance and then he woke up. The nurse said to bring him in right away. Again just now while she was driving to the hospital he began losing consciousness. Please pray for them. She is incredibly shook up as you can imagine we all would be. Pray for wisdom for the medical staff as they care for him right now. And for complete healing of Diezel's little body. I will update you if and when I hear more from Steff.

Coming Soon

Almost two weeks ago our family was blessed with special visitors. Stepping out of the Boat
took a huge step of faith and drove her 5 children and husband down to stay the week to help. So that a made a total of 16 people all living together. It was purposeful chaos. It was awesome. I loved her. I loved her children and her husband was the most laid back guy I have ever met. Why was it a step of faith for them. Well... We have never met before. I know shock! Right? It wasn't until we were talking about how cool it was while our children were listening did it dawn on us. Hmmm. Is this something we would want our kids to do? We had a great time explaining that one to all the listening ears who were like, "You mean you met online". Yes we did. Not the smartest idea I guess, but definitely the best idea. About three months ago we started talking on the phone everyday. She knows more about me than people that have known me for years. I love this woman. Anyway back to the original reason for this blog post. The kids. Our kids hit it off. While Stepping out of the Boat was helping me with the twins her husband and our combined kiddos were hard at work making a movie. After hours of my oldest son editing it we are ready to share the masterpiece. Well almost. My son thought showing the trailer to peak your interest would be the way to go. Enjoy.

A Day In the Life...

I don't know how many times I've sat down to try to update everyone on the twins. I write wonderful blog posts about them in my head as my body struggles to stay awake after everyone's bedtime. I lay in bed with all the days details floating around. I think to myself I should get up and blog about it, but I never do.
They are doing amazingly well emotionally and developmentally. They are not the same kids I met a month ago. A few simple but wonderful changes are: Bath time. For the first few weeks they were terrified and screamed during bath time. Now they love the bath. I mean love it! Right after dinner they both run to the bathroom and start screaming to get into the bath. If I ever can't find them the first place I look is in the bath tub. There they will be just sitting in an empty tub fully dressed.
The second thing that has changed is their relationship. During the first few weeks they never interacted with eachother. I even questioned if they were twins let alone related. They wouldn't look at eachother, they could care less if the other one was crying. They completely ignored the other. I really think they were in survival mode. Every baby for them selves. Now that they feel secure and the threat of death is gone they are able to appreciate each other. They are adorable when they talk to each other. They walk and hold hands, they stick up for each other. If Luke takes a toy from Diezel then Daizey will puff out her chest, shake her finger, get in his face and let him have it. It's hilarious.
Every day they are coming more and more into themselves. They fit beautifully into our family. They have more personality and fight in their little bodies.
I think the real stress comes from their health issues. There is a huge struggle in this area. It is here that I cry the majority of my tears and feel defeated. They have both lost weight over the last few weeks. I get advice from 15 different people all with 15 different view points on the subject. It gets so overwhelming and it doesn't help that I'm exhausted so I can't even begin to wrap my brain around the issue. Here's the fact their output is way greater than their input.
A few days ago when I posted I felt like i already failed that day and it was 8:00 am- Let me paint a picture in your mind. It's 5:30 am the twins are already awake. I'm alone yet again. (For those of you who don't follow my blog regularly my husband has been gone the majority of 7 months in Los Angeles) I know it could be worse and normally I can accept that, but this is my woes me post:) I woke up to that smell- the one I smell throughout the day. Oh man, not already. I look in the crib (thank goodness he was in there because normally they are entangled in my arms.) There is poop everywhere. I throw away again another outfit and another blanket.
I put him in the bath, strip the sheets, get Daizey up and dress them both. I start breakfast it's now 5:30am. I make eggs and almond butter pancakes. Daizey again refuses to eat. It has now been 4 days since she has really eaten much. I try something new I put her in her crib and told her she needed to eat. ( I'm begining to think this is a control issue, which I totally understand, but this is a dangerous one for a 13 pound 2 year old) After I took her out I had a success. Praise God she ate!!!!! Diezel has ate all his breakfast. Like always, he eats like a champ. At about that time the girls wake up. I start to cook them breakfast. Next thing I know I smell that smell again. Oh man. There is poop all over the highchair in his hair, down his leg and on the floor. And oh yeah breakfast is burning. I turn off the stove. Strategically remove Diezel from his highchair start the bath, but before I could finish Daizey projectile vomited all over the kitchen. The doorbell rang and it was the girls ride to school. They haven't eaten, their shoes are nowhere to be found. First things first though the poop explosion the the girl covered with vomit. I get them both in the tub, get the girls out the door when I hear a scream, "mom""mom""mom". My other two year old was at the gate screaming I want my mom. Jace tried to help him, but no he wanted mom. I let him up only to have him slip on the poop.
Okay now if this was a once in awhile morning . No problem, but no this is my day everyday. What I find interesting is how my perspective changes. My circumstances don't change but the way I view them does. One hour I can look at my babies and be at total awe with what God has done. The next I can be looking at the same babies and be on my knees crying at what God has done. Please just know I am sharing the realities of my heart. I love them and am overwhelmed with joy. I am also overwhelmed at times with worry and weariness. I know that they are meant to be ours and God's will is divine. I also know that if I would have known the extent of their needs I would have felt ill equipped. Thank God He is able to handle all of this.
A little perspective.
Hudson just turned 4 months and Daizey at almost 2 years old.

Stefinition-Potty talk

What is a Stefinition? It is my personal defintion of a word, place, thing, event, feeling.

Potty Talk- The time in which I lock myself and my three toddlers in the bathroom so I can talk on the phone for 5 minutes.

Patience and Strength

I already feel like I'm losing the battle today.

Family

This is Alebachew with Jennifer and her amazing family. Alebachew or "Alex" was an employee of our agency. He is an amazing man. He was so easy to love. Jennifer and I had a lot of fun with him.

Alex was always there for us. One of our goals in Ethiopia was to be God's hands and feet. Before we left for Ethiopia our prayer was to be used no matter how big or how small. I raised money to take with us to use for God's plan. Alex gladly and without hesitation took us to see the true realities of the country. I will forever be thankful for his willingness to help. He took us to a village where there was a big church on top of a hill. People hungry for food, thirsty for water, dying of diseases waited outside the gates perishing, clinging on to life. We came across this man. I thought he was dead. His body was lifeless. As I turned away, Alex went over to him and helped him up.

This is Gadese. She is Alex's wife. Throughout our stay in Ethiopia we found out about her. She is an ex Olympic athlete. She was hit by a car and can no longer run. Last year Alex and Gadese were pregnant with their first child. At 8 months she developed pre eclampsia and they lost the baby. They are now pregnant with their second baby and terrified.
After prayer and discussion and with the help of Jennifer and her amazing family Gadese flew home with us. We are humbled that God would chose us to be His hands and feet in this young couples lives.

Last week she had her first visit to an ob/gyn here in America. It was beautiful being with her during the ultrasound. I will never forget the pure joy we felt seeing the heart beating. Even though Gadese and I speak different languages, the language of motherhood is universal.

She is such a strong and courageous woman. I am learning so much from her. Imagine flying across the world with someone you don't know, who doesn't speak your language. Leaving your family, country, the man you love for a chance to give life to your unborn baby. Imagine the strength of her husband to ask a stranger in a different country that speaks a different language to take your wife home for the chance to give life to your unborn baby. Now imagine being the one blessed enough to call this couple your family.

Praise be to God.

Please pray for them.
Pray for strength for both of them during their separation. Please pray for God to open a door to have Alex come to America to be with his wife. Please pray for us as we walk in faith to provide medical care for Gadese and her baby.

Guess Who is Home?

Because Every Mother Matters!

A few of you have heard me talk about my passion for the people of Uganda. Last Christmas I was blessed enough to be apart of a campaign to bring water, food and medical care to a small island in partnership with Orphan Children Rescue.
I have the opportunity again to work with them on another project. Brandi and I have teamed up to start a national campaign called Because Every Mother Matters! The goal is to deliver birthing kits to thousands of women who lack even the basic necessities to deliver their babies. We believe with access to simple tools to aid in the birthing process that it will help bring down the overly absurd mortality rate.
This is something I am extremely excited about. I feel so privileged to be a part of this.

In All Things Give Thanks 4-9-08

On top of the severe malnutrition the twins are fighting Hep A infection, Giardia, Pneumonia, gastroparesis and ear infections. They have been given a feeding tube. That is not going so well.

Please pray for wisdom for the doctors.

In spite of all the medical stuff, the twins are amazingly strong emotionally. They are bonding beautifully even in the hospital with countless new faces coming in. Daizey smiles so much now and is walking a lot when she feels well. She is inquisitive and filled with so much spunk. She is nicknamed, "Diva" at the pediatric unit. Diezel finally walked more than 10 steps. Last night he cruised the hallways. He walks like a little old man with hip problems. I was laughing hard watching him strut his stuff. He is a snuggle bear filled with a wonderful spirit.

I have been so blessed this week. My cousin Laura drove all the way from Texas with her children to help this week. She was and is a gift from God. It has brought so much peace not having to worry about what is going on at home. She has taken care of my children and home with such love and grace. I will always be so thankful for what she has done for our family.

I received a box of clothes from a woman I never met in Corpus Christi, Texas filled with exactly what I needed. It was such a God send. They came at the perfect time. So Laura, if you are reading this, thank you so much. You touched me deeply.

Our church has been wonderful. I truly am humbled by everyone's generosity.

This past weekend a family that I met through this blog drove 3 hours to my house to take care of the kids. They adopted three kids from Ethiopia months ago. They were a beautiful family. Thank you Jess.

Laura(stepping out of the boat) How do I begin to tell you what you mean to me. You are my soul sister. I love you. Thanks for being my best bud. BTW- Brittney is still calling about her wig.

Jennifer- You asked about the hospital it is the University in Columbia, Mo. Thanks for being there Sandra. Ethiopia would not have been the same without you and your family.

I don't want to leave anyone out. You have all touched me and blessed me. Every single comment has been appreciated and read. Thank you for your never ending encouragement. Your prayers have carried me through.

God Bless you all.
Goodnight.
Steffany

Good evening! this is Jennifer Fox giving an update at the request of Brandi.( Steff I hope you don't mind). I have been talking to Steffany the past couple of days and this is what has been going on with the twins. They both had to have feeding tubes put in yesterday. Diezel is not responding well to his and has had to have his stomach pumped for blotting and tubes put down his nose. I am sure you can imagine how he feels only being two? They are so malnourished that they are on 24 hour feedings. Diezel also tested positive for giardia and a couple of other things. They have a disses control specialist that it keeping a very close watch on both of them.(Praise God!) As for Steffany and Adam they are hanging in there but are tired of living at hospital and miss their four children at home. Their bio children are having a very hard time with mom and dad gone for such a long time. Please continue to uplift them in prayer. Steffany is such a beautiful person ! She has taken the time to call me in the mist of her problems to check on my daughter and to give much needed advise to me and my doctor on what to check and recheck for. I have so come to love and respect her family. they have such a heart to help others. May God hold them in the palm of His hand and bring healing quickly to Daizy and Diezel........ Jennifer

2 More Weeks in the Hospital.

Today was a hard day.

It was also Lukas and McKayley's birthday today.

I think I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I miss my kids. I miss being alone with my husband. I miss my home.

Please don't misunderstand me. I feel very blessed and thankful. I wouldn't change anything for the world. I have seen God do amazing things these last few weeks. He has brought so many people in my life. I have been truly humbled by all the prayer and support. He is teaching me so much through all of this.

Wed. Night

Bounce

We were all including our pediatrician (who saw the twins 10 hours after landing) completely caught off guard with how quickly Diezel went down hill. When we first went to the doctor on Tues am they had improved so much. They were alert, eating and drinking(way more than my other kids do)They looked great. The doctor and I decided to touch base everyday, but we both felt considering how far they came and the fact we had spoken while I was in Ethiopia and how good they were doing that they would be better off at home away from the germs at the hospital. We agreed to take it day by day. On Wed we talked I told him Diezel's diarrhea had increased but he was still eating and drinking and playing. On Thurs am I took them back to the doctor Daizey was doing great and Diezel was still having Diarrhea as a precaution we decided to admit them at that time under mutual consent for aperiod of 23 hours. He still looked good. Within 1 hour of being admitted he did an forseeable nosedive. We almost lost him. It took us all by surprise but most of all the doctors. They had never seen anything like that. I was terrified. They were terrified. Just as quickly as he took a turn for the worse he bounced right back. I can not explain what happened. It is easy to get stuck in the if I just would have path, but there is no sense in it nor is there any peace there either. Looking back would I have had him admitted first thing tues am? Probably not. There was no reason at that time. They would have not given him any IV's then just like they are not giving Daizey any now. When I first sat down to write this post sitting in the hospital holding my babies after being awake for days, I wanted to share all the great milestones that happened today. Like the fact that Daizey walked today for the first time, that she finally bonded with her dad, and she ate in front of people. /i wanted to share that Diezel walked today and is doing great. I wanted to thank everyone for their support and prayers, I wanted to praise God. Instead I ended up having to defend myself and my doctors decisions to a person named anonomyous. A name i can't even spell. I know you left byour comment out of concern and not judgement. So with that I say thank you for caring and God Bless you.

PEACE.

Update on Diezel

I heard from Steffany. They found out that Diezel has pneumonia. They are running tests on him to see what is causing his bowel problems...parasite, disease, virus, malnutrition, etc. The results will come back in 3 days. He was completely dehydrated. When they put the catheter in, not even a drop of urine came out. Stef said the doctors are not sure they want to start Diezel on an antibiotic for the pneumonia due to the condition he is in. They aren't sure what effect the antibiotic would have on his body. They are monitoring him closely. She is concerned that if it is something viral that Daizey doesn't get it, because she has even less reserves than Diezel. He declined so extremely fast. Pray for divine wisdom for the Dr.s. Pray for supernatural healing, and for their hearts to be flooded with peace and rest. Pray for Daizey's protection and continued strength. Pray for the children that are at home as well. They were just separated from their parents for a period of time, so this is hard. Steffany wants to be with all of her children. There are so many things for us to cover in prayer...please pray as the Holy Spirit leads you.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Urgent Prayer Needed--

Laura here--Stef just called from the hospital. Diezel is not doing well at all! He keeps going in and out of consciousness. His body is cold. They were catheterizing him right now, and may be moving him to ICU.

Please pray for the Dr.s to have divine wisdom to care for him. Pray for healing over his entire body. Pray for Daizey as she is also in the hospital. And pray for Stef and Adam...it is so hard seeing your dearly loved children so sick.

Going to the Hospital

The twins are being admitted to the hospital. Diezel lost over a pound since tues.

Thanks for your prayers.

Grateful

Wow! I just finished reading all the amazing comments. I am so completely in awe. I sit here humbled and amazed by everyone's faithful prayer. There is no doubt in my mind that your prayers carried us through this adventure.

We are thankful to be home. In spite of the lice, pink eye, colds, 2 very needy toddlers and the awkwardness of having a stranger living with us, I'm actually quite peaceful. Maybe it's the lack of sleep:)

Diezel and Daizey are getting better everyday. They are continuing to amaze and inspire me. They are filled with strength and determination.

We had a great doctors visit. They have gained a lot of weight. They are filling out more everyday. I love my pediatrician. He wanted to admit them. I did not. I see how much they are approving. The difference from one day to the next is miraculous. I just felt like if they were admitted that a lot of ground would be lost. Daizey has some serious trust issues that I am working with. If it was 4 days ago, I would have admitted them in a heartbeat, but they are both eating and drinking great. Daizey is finally having output. So we decided to touch base everyday and if the improving stops or if at anytime they backslide in they go.

I have so much I want to share with you all. Even with all the stress of my time in Africa it was a dream come true. I met amazing people, created friendships that will last a lifetime and came home with a heart overflowing with gratitude.

Pray without Ceasing

He who is in us is GREATER than he who is in this world! Satan in laying it on thick for the Boster family. They came home to two children at home with major pink eye and fevers. And of all things another infestation of Lice! Steffany spent the morning coming hair trying to get all of the lice out and then treating Faith's hair with the medicated shampoo. She was just getting ready to leave for the Dr. and is going to talk with him about everything that is going on with their kids. They only had a few hours of sleep because the babies were up all night. Please pray for supernatural strength and energy to flood them today as they care for all of their children. Stef can't wait to get on her blog, but just hasn't had time. I told her I would let everyone know how they can be praying today!

*Pray for Jesus Christ and the Victory that is His Alone to bind satan and his demons from attacking them any further.

*In the blood of Jesus may all fear, despair, doubt, anxiety and darkness be cast out.

*Pray for divine and supernatural wisdom and clarity for the Dr. to know how to best treat each of them.

*Pray for an overflowing of strength and energy for Steffany, Adam and Leah as they care for the children today.

*Pray for a flooding of peaceful hearts as they go to the Dr. and for the children at home who are ill.

*Pray for each and everyone of them to receive complete healing from the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ.

Steffany has an incredibly attitude...she thought the whole lice outbreak was comical for her to come home to.

We will not cease to be intercessors for your entire family, Stef!!!