Call us crazy or tetched in the head, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
Ever since Mykah, Miracle, McKennah, Graham, Giovanni, and Grayson joined our happy crew, life has been anything but dull!
We adopted the girls from China nearly two years ago and the boys from Romania six months ago. The girls are three and the boys are going on two years. So we have eight children now, six of them under the age of five ... and six of them triplets.
They are beautiful! They are the best blessing that God could have ever brought into our already hectic lives!
Add to that fact that two of the triplets (Graham and Miracle) both have special needs. Miracle has spina bifida and is paralyzed while Graham seems to have developmental delays: he's light years behind his brothers.
We are quickly learning just how life is with children who live with disabilities. It is not easy by a long shot, but we will make it through with God's help! I KNOW we will!!
My name is Damar Riddle. I live in Eastland, Ohio, with my husband, Corbin, and our eight children, six of them adopted. You've already met our two sets of triplets; now meet our two home grown children, Meghan, aged 14, and Tyson, aged 10. They are both awesome kids (but then, don't all parents say that about their children anyway?)! I am a homemaker; as for my husband, he works for American Airlines, where he is a mechanic. He makes great money, so we don't have to worry about a thing (much).
We decided to adopt nearly five years ago. It was a daunting task: the paperwork, the medical checkups, the home studies, the criminal background checks, more paperwork, the phone calls, the endless waiting, the fear of not knowing whether we would be able to get the children in the first place .... then came that magical day when The Call came, the call that was to change our lives forever, not once, but twice. We were to be parents again, not once, but twice!
I'll never forget the day when we met our babies face to face. First it was the girls, and then, six months ago, the boys. It was a family affair; many hugs, kisses, and tears of joy were shed as we met our newest family members for the first time!
It was wonderful!
There were problems at first, as everyone tried to adjust, and then you had the special needs situation to think about. Not long after her arrival, Miracle needed surgery, as she was having blinding headaches and seizures. Shunt replacement. It was a very scary time but God brought her (and us) through the worst of it. (Miracle has since fully recovered.) Then Graham started having severe emotional outbursts and we're still dealing with this; we are wondering if he might be autistic.
So that is where we stand now. Waiting for an official diagnosis from the pediatric neurlogist, in light of Graham's "problems". We pray it isn't autism, but if it is, we will be ready and willing to help our son reach his fullest potential in any way we can.
We don't konw what the future holds, but we will embrace it as we have done in the past and enjoy our kids. Life isn't perfect, but by God, we are gonna make it! Life with our six miracle additions is anything BUT dull, and as I said in the beginning of this story, we wouldn't have it any other way!
~To be continued.~
