When we prayerfully made the decision to adopt Jaelynn, I never doubted that God would provide a way for us to do it and I rarely worried about how we would take care of a child with special needs. In the last couple of months my faith doesn't feel as strong as it did back then. I still know that God will continue to take care of us, but some days it is hard to see past our present circumstances. The last two months have been difficult as we get past one hurdle physically only to meet a new challenge. It has been an exhausting time which have added to feelings of loneliness and frustration.
Though we had some tough days, God again has been faithful. He has taken care of Jaelynn in some situations that were very scary and she is on the road to recovery. Things are starting to slow down and I'm looking forward to not having weekly appointments that are two hours away. Jaelynn has handled things fairly well but she is very intuitive and always has her ears open to make sure she knows everything that is going on.
She has been back to school for about two weeks and she loves it. 
She is looking forward to celebrating her seventh birthday. Because of some confusion over her birthdate she hasn't celebrated a birthday since coming home. She has requested a princess tea party with lots of sparkle. She is most definitely a girly girl and loves all things pink and sparkly. It's hard to believe it has been a year since we first met our girl. She has blossomed every day from a little girl who did everything to please us to a feisty little girl who is not afraid to speak her mind or give an opinion. At times it can make you want to pull your hair out, but then I think about it and I am thankful she feels so comfortable with her family and that her adjustment has been smooth.
Medically she has a small outpatient surgery coming up in about a week. She will also require small outpatient surgeries about every six to nine months to lengthen the rod in her back to guide her growth. She had several incisions on her back and most have healed up nicely, but she has one that is not healing. Please pray that it would begin to heal and that it would not require any further surgeries. She also had a small spinal fluid leak after the first surgery in August. The neurosurgeon is going to follow up with an MRI in December to make sure it is not any worse. If she begins to have any symptoms she will need to have the MRI before December. She is a tough little girl and has touched many hearts as she has interacted with doctors and nurses over end last several weeks. Our desire is to be a light and advocate for the least of these even through the hard situations.
Thank you to everyone who has been an encouragement to us. We really appreciate all the prayers and concern for Jaelynn. The road ahead may have some bumps in it, but we know we are not alone.
Saturday night update:
Jaelynn had a full day today. We started the day off with a community picnic and then did a little bit of shopping. We ended the day with trick or treating (where we live trick or treating is always the Saturday before Halloween). This was her first time to trick or treat and she had a ball! We also got to go on a hay ride which she also enjoyed. She was pretty tired tonight at bedtime. I think she will sleep well.
