Day 1:

Today our new son joined us, after weeks of waiting and worrying.  Little Martino Jose' Danielo, aged six, is now safe here in our home.  Seems like a lifetime since we waited for him, although it's probably been more like a year or a year-and-a-half.

When we first saw Martino's picture that the adoption agency sent us, we fell immediately head over heels in love with this little boy with the huge, black eyes, thick, black hair cut in a bowl style, and round, chubby-cheeked face.  We could not say no; we wanted him immediately as soon as we saw his photograph!

We learned from the adoption agency that Martino had some disabilities.  He was born with Down syndrome and was mentally disabled; he also had some issues with his heart and had already faced several major heart surgeries (and would probably need more in the future).  We didn't care; we were more than ready to love him as our own and give him the life he might have never had hadn't we stepped in.

Now Martino is here, as big as life, and we can't help but stare at him or pinch ourselves to see if this is a dream.

Day 2:

Martino had a relatively easy first night, but he cried out several times.  Guess the poor little guy is scared; he isn't so sure where he is or who we are.  I or Gary (husband) try to comfort by whispering reassuring words (in Spanish) in his ear; this seems to quiet him ... until the next time it happens.  He also cried twice because he soaked his diapers clean through and needed a change. 

Our other children are as excited as we are:  they have a new little brother they can call their own.  They've learned all about him from the time we found out that we were getting him and they've included him in their bedtime prayers every night.  I just hope and pray they learn to accept him and see the potential in him instead of looking strictly at what he cannot do (his disabilities).

Gary and I have decided to call Martino "Martin"; it seems easier.  If he is going to live in America with us, he might as well have an "American" name.  So his name will be Martin Joseph Daniel Maxwell.  We know this much:  he doesn't speak English.  Not to worry:  Gary is fluent in Spanish, and I am pretty good at speaking "Espanol" myself.  Spent a month on a missions trip in Guatemala when I was a teenager; learned Spanish very fast there.  LOL  I still speak/understand it to this day; Spanish came very easily to me.

We will, in turn, teach Martin English; this is America, so he must learn English, or else he will be severely limited, in terms of job opportunities.  For now, however, it is todo Espanol, so he won't feel so overwhelmed by living in a strange country with people who speak different languages different than his own.

Day 3:

Today, we took Martin to the doctor's.  Doctor pronounced him relatively healthy; his heart is behaving itself, but he told us to try to keep him as calm as possible or else there could be potential problems.  No worries; if there's one thing we don't need, it's our new son getting sick and/or ending up in the hospital!!

After he got a shot (of course, he howled), we took the children for some ice cream.  That quieted Martin down; soon the pain of the shot was forgotten as he stuck his face into his bowl of ice cream.  He looked like a human strawberry with his goopy, red face!  LOL

Day 5: 

We took Martin to the store to get him some clothes, shoes, and of course, diapers.  Lots of diapers.  Seems that kid goes through more diapers than the kids did when they were little ... *Sheesh*  I just hope he doesn't have a kidney infection ...

We also took him to the school where he will be going starting next week:  he will be going to an "early-intervention" program at the local YWCA, even though he is six, several years older than the other kids there.  He has to; he is mentally disabled.  Even though he is six, he is more like a two-year-old.  He is very immature:  he cannot read, write, or talk; when he does talk, his speech is unclear, and it's in Spanish. 

I just hope the school has someone who can speak/understand Spanish ...

One week (Day 7):

Hard to believe that Martin's first week with us here in America has gone by so fast.  Now his time with us will be measured in weeks, months, even years.  It has been a mixed bag of good and bad.  Martin is a pretty good kid, but he does have a stubborn streak, and we have to work hard at keeping him calm, so his heart doesn't act up again.  His heart acted up on day five; he turned pale, started sweating heavily, and started panting for air; we didn't know what was going on, so we took him to see Dr. Galvez.  Dr. Galvez gave him something to calm his heart, and then he was fine several hours later. 

Dr. Galvez gave us some heart medication to give to Martin when he is extremely agitated, and he told us to monitor his breathing.  He said if there were signs of extreme difficulty, we were to bring him to the ER as fast as possible, and he also suggested that he be put on oxygen therapy, just as a precaution.

Day 12:

It is now nearly Memorial Day weekend.  Both Gary and I are off from our jobs; and the children are off from school until Tuesday.  We can have a picnic at the park or perhaps visit the Veterans Home and see the Veterans currently living there and honor their brave sacrifices to our country.  We can also see the parade, which is scheduled for two o'clock that afternoon and see the fireworks in the evening at the park's main pavilion/stage area; there will be special patriotic or military themed music prior to the fireworks.

I know the kids will enjoy that.  I don't know about Martin, but Willow, Cadence, Gavin, and Wyatt are looking forward to a day full of music, patriotism, and fun.  They have always loved fireworks, even when they were younger than Martin.  Hopefully the fireworks won't scare Martin; if they do, I can take him to the restroom and hold him in my arms until the fireworks are over.

I will have to run along now:  time for supper; have five hungry kids (and one big kid -- aka Gary!) to feed; they are hanging around (or on) me like leeches.  I will write in here again with more stories about our family, in particular, Martin, who has proven to be nothing but a joy and a blessing to us.  God has been good in bringing us this special child; we are indeed grateful to have him in our lives!  Take care and God bless; talk to you later!

~Love, your friend, Wynette.  :)

*to be continued.*