We Will Never Forget...Cockayne Syndrome

Over the years our family has had the honor of knowing so many precious children with Cockayne who have now gone to their forever home. Today we remember each and every one. Next month, on May 22, it will be six years since our own Emma danced her way into the arms of the Lord.

Do not lose heart....do not feel sad. Do not feel pity...because....

We rejoice knowing we will see her again.
And we know we are blessed to have

Held and Loved

A

Child with Cockayne.

Through her short life she taught us about what is really important in life, unconditional love, looking beyond the surface.

Holding Emma, you could feel the Love of the Lord pouring out of her tiny body.
Yes, we are thankful for sufferings, even for Cockayne.

Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.

- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

And She Waits

How many more days, months will she have to wait for us to scoop her into our arms, whispering to her in a language she won't even understand "we have come for you".

                                                   Little One...we are coming for you.

But before we can get to her we have to raise money.

It is not impossible.

But friends, there is a mountain in front of us.

We have had several fundraisers and have basically broke even.

Some fundraisers haven't even raised a penny.

Not a single penny.

So, I am asking for your help. Ideas? Advice? Input for Fundraising.

I have considered selling t-shirts, having a yard sale, bake sale, selling enchiladas, doing an online auction but with goodness knows what...

the only thing we have right now is a autographed picture of Peyton Manning!

Every grant I have looked into we don't qualify for.

We don't have a ton of credit cards which is a good thing I guess but don't even have enough to get cash from!

Airline miles??? No clue how to go about that. All I know is we don't have any and don't have the contacts to advise us.

Time is running out.

And she waits.

It's looking bleak.

Not giving up hope. Praying for God to open a door and lead us.

Adopted...Children of God

A sweet adoptive mom with the most adorable children ever (no, seriously go to her blog and check out her kiddos and princess from a far away land, in fact from the SAME orphanage as Little One...adorable!) posted this song and info on her blog.

On this glorious Good Friday I can't even begin to tell you how this song resonates with me.

I HAD to share!

Christian music group Third Day is asking families who have adopted to send pictures of their family, children or adopted child with a sign that simply reads 'Adopted'. They will edit these pictures into a video to play behind them on stage while they sing this song!Adoptive families, CLICK HERE to visit Third Day's official website for more information, watch the music video and find out how to email them your own picture!

Have a blessed Easter weekend.
We are rejoicing here, thanking God for moving mountains.

For reminding us He has it all in His hands, down to the tiniest detail.

Our Ebenezer

It would be so easy to throw in the towel. Frustrations rise. They aren't moving fast enough...all the powers that be. It must be our fault for not saying the right thing to woo those into moving anything quicker.

And time seems to be a critical part of the journey to Little One.

Time. Timing. It's not about US.

Today a friend shared with me the Ebenezer stone.

For any of us struggling with Timing, waiting, over and over dying to self.
We have this as our reminder.

Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—"the stone of help"—for he said,

 "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!" —1 Samuel 7:12, NLT

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood. —Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

We are HOLDING ON. We are raising our Ebenezer.

Up to this point the Lord has helped us.

He will never let us go.

He loves Little One more than we can fathom.

We have been convicted to let go of ALL of our fleshly desires to control

Circumstances We Don't LIKE.

Holding on to faith. We remain Steadfast. Our Ebenezer.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Waiting

"Love Grows"

That was Paige's answer to the social worker's question "what do you think about having another brother or sister?"  way back when we were having our home visit last winter.

Yes Paige, it does.

We have so much love to go around.

Somewhere in between piles of paperwork and waiting I find myself dreaming of the day Little One will be here. Another child added to the mix of chaos and calm (wait...calm? what am I talking about?)

I love the things my kids do (well, most of the time...)

When I find things like this...I have to grab my camera.

Someday I pray Little One will be right in the middle of the pictures...with Peyton and Paige.

I pray that soon we will be taking pictures of all the funny things she does. Like this...

Paige's imagination in action. Why are the babies covered in bandaids?

Little Mommy...she can't wait to have a little sister to love.

Christmas Eve...sprinkling "reindeer food" in the lawn for Santa's arrival. Will Little One be here this coming Christmas??

Paige's birthday...we look forward to the day we can sing Happy Birthday to Little One!

One of our very favorite family destinations...Destin, Florida! We go every summer. The kids

play in the sand, the water, the pool. It's a week of relaxing and so much fun. What will Little One think of the ocean?!

We are waiting for you Little One...waiting for the day you will tuck your own dollies into your own little bed.

Love Grows Little One.

We are waiting to wrap you up in our arms and never let you go.