No Hands But Ours Post

I recently had a story about our Jillian featured at No Hands But Ours.  It is an honor to be a part of their mission.  I remember nearly five years ago now when I stumbled on their site.  It was our first special needs adoption and I devoured their information when I found it there.  It was so encouraging and has continued to be a place that encourages, supports, and challenges me.  Check out my post here..

http://www.nohandsbutours.com/2015/03/28/your-daughter-has-autism/

Jilly's Gift

 Jill was given money from her grandparents for her birthday.  She does not love stuff.  Toys..she could care less.  Swimming.....now swimming is something she LOVES.

So, we used her b-day gifts and took her to the indoor water park to celebrate.  She was happy-  REALLY, REALLY happy-to see this pool space!

She played and played.  She smiled and smiled.  At the end of the first day, she slept like a rock for the entire night.  She even woke up the next morning signing to swim again.  It was rough waiting for the park to open at 9:00 because she was up at 6:00 AM.

 We visited the aquarium too and she enjoyed seeing the fish.

 There was a water table there.  The girls loved it.

It was nice of Jilly to share her birthday experience with our entire family.  We all had a great time together.  There was a clown show where Anna Mei picked up an Elsa headband.  The girls also enjoyed the dj show in the waterpark where they won the cake walk.  Grateful for these girls and this man and a few days in the water!  We are so very blessed!

Calling All Adoptive Families..HELP with our T-shirt project

OUR LSC For Molly Kate IS HERE!

We are getting closer to travel (about three more months) and still have about $10,000 (ALOT of money, but I can say with confidence it will come..somehow) to raise so we are excited to do a reprint of our shirts and are asking you to help.  Please spread the word.  Our immediate need is $2,000 to qualify for our matching funds through Brittany's Hope that we were awarded this week!

ADOPTIVE FAMILIES .. We are in need of names of adopted children that can be listed on the back of our fundraising shirt.  We have designed a front logo that says (adopt) 1 more loved with 1 john 4:19 referenced.  This logo will be on the front of the shirt, but we would like to list names of your adopted kiddos on the back as a testimony to the many one mores that are thriving in a loving family.  We featured more than one hundred names on our last t-shirt and it was such a testimony!  PLEASE EMAIL ME DIRECTLY AT, slmaster16@hotmail.com, WITH YOUR CHILD(REN)'S FIRST AND MIDDLE NAME so that it can be included on our list!

(Order information is in the right column, but it may not visible on some mobile devices.)

The front of the shirt looks like this..

The back view will list the names of the precious kiddos who have been submitted to me so far and look something like this....

(This is last year's list graphic so your kids won't be on it yet, but rest assured if you have submitted them they will be on the final project.)

The back design also includes 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

 (It isn't too late to submit names to me.  Shoot me an email, slmaster16@hotmail.com, to include your adopted child's first and middle name on the list.  Then, order a shirt or two.) 

 

Shirts are $20.00 shipped.

You can order using Paypal.

Shirts are available in sizes Youth XS-XL and Adult S-XL. 

(Paypal Buttons and Ordering Information is in the right margin and is not viewable on mobile devices, but can be seen on your tablet or PC.)

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your part in our daughter's story!

A JOY so BIG

I just spent two hours in the warm sunshine at the park with my little girls.  I climbed, slid, dug, swung, ran, and laughed until my body aches.  (A reminder I am not so young these days. :) I also did a bit of sitting and just watching.  Watching my girls playing still takes my breath away.  I remembered today the five months of going to the park everyday with Jillian when I first brought her home. I remembered walking the same path. every. single. day in silence praying she would have some sort of break through.  I remember coaxing, carrying, being led, eventually swinging her on my lap, and finally going down a small slide after five long months of praying.  To see her today, climbing up the three story structure, running around carefree, enjoying a picnic, digging in the sand, and throwing rocks..it is almost inconceivable that she was so broken.  It is almost forgettable those five months of coaxing and those fifteen hard months as she learned to trust me.  In addition to the hard of those months, I remembered the closeness of my Lord and the purpose He whispered to my heart as I learned to be this little one's momma in those first months home.  Each season of this adoption journey has been such a blessing, but today..today watching them gave me the biggest JOY.  These are the moments in life that I simply turn my face to heaven and say..really Lord?  really?  Are these precious, amazing, little treasures running to me calling momma?  That the Lord should bless me so with these beauties is truly beyond my comprehension.  That I get to be the one holding Anna Mei up as she triumphantly conquers the high ladder leading to the biggest slide still baffles me.  That I am the one that Jillian needs when she signs "momma" and "help" brings me more JOY than my heart can stand most days.  In these moments of JOY, I smile and think of Molly Kate imagining all that she will add to our family.  I simply can't wait for the moment I can hold her the first time and begin this adventure together.  God has been so abundantly good to allow me the privilege of caring for these children.  My prayer is that I never forget the JOY of today as the hard will come and go, but the JOY of this journey is eternal because the Lord is in it!

Six

Six?  Really?  Our miracle is six years old today.  She has grown into an amazing, beautiful little girl.  We are crazy, head over heels in love with this wonderful blessing! 

 We had a "sand" theme to celebrate her.  Birthdays usually really stress her out so I wanted to find something that she would really enjoy.    She LOVES sand.  She loved this cake.   I loved that she smiled.

 How old are you?

 Her birthday cake was in a bucket and really looked like sand.  She played and played

 and played some more in it. 

 She blew out her candles with ease.  We have come so far in the last four years.

 I continue to be amazed watching her come to life.

 I could just cry watching her enjoying so much. 

 I made her a sensory bin that looked like sand though it was dyed bread crumbs.  SHE LOVED IT!  FULL OF JOY!

 It was a HUGE mess, but well worth it to see her smile. 

We love you our beautiful, miraculous little babe.  She has enlarged our hearts and shown us more of Jesus than we could have ever imagined.  We are crazy, crazy for her! 

Seeing Her and Fear

Two weeks ago now, we attended a Ch*nese New Year event with other families in our area who have adopted treasures from China.  We were hooked into a group like this back home, but since moving here we just hadn't connected with this one until now.  It was a sweet time of fellowship and one this momma so desperately needed during this wait because we weren't there five minutes when she walked in.   She was about nine years old and, as she approached the craft table where Anna Mei and I were crafting, I noticed her immediately.  Standing there, right next to me, was a precious girl whose hands matched those of my Molly Kate who is waiting in China. Here, right before me, was a precious, young girl with radial club hands.   Instantly, I started to tear up and I tried with all my might not stare at her because I just wanted to drink in her beauty.  She stood at the table next to us and cut out her craft like an expert while talking to her older sister the entire time about the beautiful dresses everyone was wearing. I did my best to make small talk with her and act normally because seeing her literally took my breath away.  It was as if God was giving me a precious glimpse into the future.  This young woman could manipulate those beautiful hands of hers to perform just about every task that anyone else could and watching it made my heart soar!  Sadly though, it was about time to find a table and sit down for dinner.  The room was large with tables in the middle.  There were nearly fifty tables and no assigned seats.  Daddy had already taken Jillian and settled into a table at the edge so she would be comfortable.  Anna Mei and I completed our craft near our new friend and were headed to sit down.  As we parted, I was praising God for that small glimpse of her and assumed that we would be parting ways as there was a large crowd with lots of seating options.  I settled in, whispering to Sean about all that I had seen this young woman do, and then I went to fill plates for the girls.  Imagine my surprise when I returned to our table and found her sitting down right across from us.  God is so good!  I talked with her more, watched her write, color, use chopsticks, and I felt God's presence so strongly whispering..trust me in this!  Eventually, her father asked if our newest waiting treasure was a special needs referral.  We answered yes.  Then, the moment I had been waiting for...he opened the door by asking what her special need was.  Well, actually, I answered, she has radial club hands!  We visited some more and he told me that radial club hands didn't stop N from accomplishing much.  In fact, it rarely slowed her down.  They had adopted her nearly seven years ago when she was two and look at her now!    I left so filled!  I needed that little moment because, as is common during these months of waiting, I have been battling some fear.  I have been letting the what ifs invade my truths and haven't been clinging to Him near enough.   There are many, many unknowns in this journey.  There are many unknowns as we walk this road and just about every road the Lord will lead us down, but what I do know is the Lord has us here so whatever the outcome..WE ARE IN HIS WILL.  He is good.  He loves us.  He has a plan to use this to bring Glory to Him.  I don't know what that will look like or how this will all be, but I trust that I am right where He wants me to be!  There are days that this seems crazy!  There are days that I obsessively look up syndromes and club hands and second guess all of this.  There are moments that I wonder where another little one will fit on my lap...how my arms will hold three, but there is one thing I know for certain 100% of the time..God is in this.  He loves me.  He will never leave me.  He desires that the orphan be cared for.  And one of my favorite verses..Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6  I cling to His promises in scripture during this wait and this night, this vision of this precious, amazing young girl, was like an extra balm for my waiting heart!