quote of the day

"I'm perfectly contented.

I'm so glad that I didn't go to live with a different family."

Oh Lil, you are such a ray of sunshine in our lives!

wordless wednesday

Strengthening the strong

Many adoptive parents (myself included) spend hours praying for, talking about and researching ways that they can best help the children who have come to them through adoption.  So many of these children have had traumatic pasts and are hurting emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually.  It is appropriate and right to pray, seek counsel and pour one's self into the training and up-bringing of these precious little ones.

But, I have also realized that I need to be attentive to the one(s) who does not seem to be so needy, who has not had a traumatic past and who is strong emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually.

In our family, Adam is a precious gift of strength to every member.  He is kind, generous, giving, thoughtful, and mature in His love for the Lord and others.  When asked if there is anything that he needs, he will honestly say that he truly doesn't need the attention that some of the other children need.  He is happy, grateful and content.

Now, I am extremely grateful for Adam's maturity in this response.  But, I don't fully accept his answer.  And it's not because it isn't true.  Actually, I think that it is.  He was our first child and was given oodles of attention!  He's got lots of it stored up inside of him. 

But, I also know that in order for Adam to stay strong, he must continually be nurtured, encouraged, and shown that he is loved and valued for who he is.  The most important way that this will happen is for us to continue to teach Adam that his value comes from who he is in the Lord.  He is a treasure in God's eyes, and as Adam daily comes to Jesus for refreshment and love, he truly doesn't need the same sort of attention from others (even his parents~!).

But, because we are his parents, and because we represent the Father in his life, we WANT to show Adam how much he is valued and loved by us.  He is just so much fun, and we love him with all of our hearts, so we want to do special things for him even if he doesn't appear to be particularly needy.

One of the fun things that we have done for the past couple of years is to have a Friday night party with Adam (thank you Meredith for this great idea).  When all of the other children are asleep, we get Adam up out of bed (sometimes this is quite a process, as he is a heavy sleeper!), and we bring him into our room.  We chat, and often have fun snacks.  We spend a half-an-hour or so simply loving on this boy who is constantly showing so much love to others.  It is a blast!  And Adam is so grateful to have this special time together.

This time, Adam's eyes were open, but sometimes we have to wake him up with chocolate!

There was a lot of laughing on this particular night.

Oh, how I love that smile!

Are there things that you have done to encourage your children when they are doing great?!  What are ways that you strengthen your children who are already strong?  I'd love to hear them!

my favorite part

The Indian restaurant, the yummy chocolate, and the sweet cards were all wonderful.

But, this was my favorite part of Mother's Day...

I just love my precious babes and their incredible hugs!!

Happy Mother's Day and a prayer request

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mamas out there!

Honestly, ladies, so many of you truly amaze me with your dedication to, enjoyment of, and sacrificial love towards your precious babies!  I'm so thankful for all that I have learned from you and for all of the love that is evident in your lives.

And, of course, a special Happy Mother's Day to my own mom!

Mom, you have truly always been there for me, you taught me how to think of others, and you have blessed me with unconditional love.  Now that I am a mom (of 5!) myself, I appreciate you so much more.  Thank you for all of your love, self-sacrifice and encouragment.

I love you!

Friends, could you say a special prayer for my mom today?  My dad was in the hospital after a minor stroke and during the MRI they found an aneurism in his brain.  He will probably be having surgery sometime in the next couple of weeks.  I would so appreciate your prayers for both of them. 

Looking for a great Mother's Day gift?

Do you remember precious Evelyn?  She's one of the little girls who died recently at Sarah's Covenant Homes in India.  Her death could have been prevented if they had had access to emergency medical equipment.  And because of that, SCH is doing a fundraiser so that they can buy this equipment for their medically fragile children.  And it's a great fundraiser!

For a donation of $10 or more, they will send an email to your mom (or anyone else that you specify) with a picture of one of their beautiful kiddos holding a paper flower.  The flower will have a personal message written on it from you to your mother.  Wouldn't your mom just love that?!  This is a Mother's Day gift that will really last, and that could save a child's life.  The fundraiser goes through Friday.  Go here to order your flower.

surgery update

I am so sorry that I haven't written an update regarding Jadon's surgery.  As it turns out, the orthodontist can do a little more work on Jadon's teeth to tighten the gap before surgery.  This is good news because otherwise Jadon may have had to have 2 surgeries, since the gap was so wide.  That means that his surgery will be delayed for 6 months (he's pretty happy about that!).

This is a picture of Jadon after his first U.S. surgery. 

Is he cute, or what?!!

All of the nurses wanted to take him home.

He was such a sweet little patient.