Sunday Spotlight

Another week has come and gone and I'm sleepy.

It's the time of year that brings a lot of illness which translates to late nights for moms, dads, and kiddos alike. The good thing is that everyone seems to be on the mend as I write this and lots of hugs and snuggles were doled out alongside good food and some good old cough syrup and vicks depending on the day and person who was down.

Everyone once in awhile it hits me that for each face on Reece's in a child who doesn't have someone to sit up with them until the wee hours of the morning when they're sick or scared. There just isn't the resources in some places despite the amount of care and in others there isn't even that. So we keep sharing, and shouting, and praying, and hoping that one day each of these precious kiddos will find a family.


First up is Mila

So young to be listed which is such a blessing. Mila has been diagnosed with Arthrogryposis a condition affecting the joints. Both A White River and Micah 6:8 talk about their amazing kiddos who live with this condition for those who are unfamiliar with it.

Next is Byron

Byron is a  sweet little guy who is facing transfer soon as his current facility is transitioning roles. This is sad as the staff sound very involved and pro-adoption where he was not to mention his home and friends. It would be wonderful for him to find a forever home.

Stacey

Look at the life in those eyes. Stacey has some delays but is also in a space where therapy is available and she is quite determined in her efforts. Stacey is reported to be a friendly little girl who loves playing with her friends.

Finally we have Sophia

Sophia goes to school and can communicate. However she does struggle with more in depth communicating. She is listed as having scoliosis and mental delay.

Waiting

Life in the first few months after a diagnosis with autism is like some weird race that isn't sure what it's doing.

When you're first starting out it can be fast or slow as you make appointments and chase down evaluations.

Then you wait.

Then there are more evaluations.

Then you wait.

Then maybe a diagnosis. Yay, things can happen now.

Like waiting or allowing time to pass before the next thing happens (a.k.a. more waiting).

You wait for phone calls, return calls, paperwork that makes you apologize to the trees and give thanks for computers.
 You get put on wait lists where people are apologetic for the 1-2 year wait while reasserting how important early intervention is.
You wait for the (seemingly crazy) lady on another line to stop telling you how it's impossible to have a diagnosis at 2 so that you can tell reaffirm your child's diagnosis well reminding them how nice it is that you can "start" on that early intervention.

You see more people  so you can wait some more.

I don't actually like waiting because what waiting doesn't show is the life that still has to happen while you and your family wait for the next appointment or the next strategy or the next idea that may or may not help. Yeah, that's the other thing sometimes after all that waiting the appointment doesn't actually offer any help and you wait for the next one.
It's hard because life already seems a bit like a one step forward, two steps back, three to the side, with a pirouette thrown in for a good measure.
Sometimes this process feels like it was designed by one of the choreographers on So You Think You Can Dance (and believe me I am well aware of how uncoordinated I can be depending on the day).

Waiting is hard.

Sunday Spotlight

I've been meaning to write the last two Sundays but I've had the most wonderful problem. Every time I found a child to highlight they moved right on over to the My Family Found Me. So, here we go again (and cross our fingers this trend continues!)


First up is Victoria

Victoria appears to be a sweet young girl who has had adoption explained to her and would like a family. However, Victoria is getting close to aging out in her country (december 2016) and needs a family to step up soon. Her diagnosis affects her mobility and families should be open to a different diagnosis with further examinations. She loves to sing, draw, the colour pink, and cats (girl after my own heart here)

Next is Waniya, a face who's been on RR long enough to be familiar.

8 years old and a new picture with a beautiful smile and she's sitting up! Waniya has CP, vision issues, and mixed developmental disorders. She looks like a fun addition to the right family.

Last up is Nikkita

Nikkita just celebrated her birthday in January and has been waiting for a family a long time. She has CP and developmental delay including speech issues (speech paths are lovely people to work with though). Quiet, she loves playing with dolls and learning lots.

Each of these girls are unique and precious. All of them are looking for their families. If you have a minute please share these girls. Even if you aren't their family maybe your share could be the one that starts the ball so that next year their birthdays will be around family tables instead of another day of waiting.

Sometimes you're tired

I told my husband at Christmas time that I was done.

I was tired of cheering on orphans in the background and when I had time on here. I was tired of watching kids wait year after year. I was tired of watching kids move to "In Loving Memory". I was tired of watching the faces of little girls I would love to be a Mama too and can't. Sometimes the pain is too much and besides I'm only one little voice that's barely a whisper who will notice if I fade back into the vastness of the internet.

But the someone wrote this and then people on social media started sharing too,

Things like

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal 6:9

 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. 2 Thess, 3:13

Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn't wasted. 1 Cor 15:58

It was relentless, Eventually, even I can take a hint, so I stayed. I saw the faces, I prayed, we finished out Angel Tree but I refused to blog. I'm funny that way I can be so stubborn and refuse to do what I know I should. I know these kids need shared, I know these kids need loved and shouted for, prayed for and shared.

Writing scares me though. I'm an introvert and I'd rather have a root canal than face a barrage of conversations, writing is my strongest form of communication, it's a natural extension of myself. This means sometimes my heart slips through in ways I don't want to share because it's scary and vulnerable. So, when I'm low I avoid it or, at least, I avoid sharing lest pieces of my heart slip through into the scary world.

So why am I writing? My heart still aches for all the reasons it did when I said I was done. I still grieve the children I knew only through pictures who did not make it. I grieve the lost potential of the children who sit and wait.

But I know it is far better to be obedient and write even if it hurts because the pain of doing nothing in disobedience is far worse and the risk is worth it.

If a try and fail at least I've tried. If I try and reveal my heart even in brokenness it is a chance to grow. If I try and am not heard I may not yet know where this leads.

In the end I've tried and surely these kids are worth trying for.

Ginny

Tarsha

Merida

Tara

Kirk

Christmas Trees and Memories

Christmas is an odd holiday.

It celebrates newness, hope, and beginnings.

Simultaneously, it's a time to reflect on years and events now passed.

This Christmas marks so many precious firsts in our family. Our first Christmas in Ontario, our first Christmas as a family of four thanks to our little monkey's arrival this summer, and our first Christmas where Peanut is old enough to start participating in family traditions and making his own memories.

 One of my favourite traditions is trimming the tree. 

I love the memories as each ornament has its own story. Whether it's a place, a celebration, or a person, once trimmed, our tree transforms into a monument of living memories for one month of the year. Well, at least for the adults, a certain monkey is still convinced it's just a giant teething toy for his pleasure but one day, he too, will learn the history held in each branch.

But I wonder what history some of those branches will hold. 

This year while trimming the tree I came across two ornaments, each bearing the face of a young girl whose lives are now on diverging paths and recalled a third who's story holds yet another.

The first of those ornaments held the face of a young girl named Tori. Last year, Tori was one of over one hundred children on the Angel Tree. A warrior advocated for her. People shouted for her and a family stepped out in faith to bring her home. They are currently completing paperwork, waiting on dates, and raising the last needed funds so that next Christmas Tori will be home.

The second ornament bore the face of a young girl named Tara. 

Tara was also one of the many represented on last year's tree. I had the privilege of being her warrior and despite some complications on my end that almost resulted in us losing our little monkey the kindness of many saw Tara reach her goal.Like Tori, Tara is not a part of this year's Angel Tree. Her grant is too large!Sitting at over 15k Tara needs visibility and a family before she ages out next fall and her ornament becomes a memory of opportunity lost.

The final girl on our family tree is Tarsha

Tarsha will be celebrating her 8th birthday following her time on the Angel Tree and, if memory serves me, this isn't her first time through. Like Tara she is still waiting for a family to make memories to invite her in and make those memories,, participate in traditions, and share love and hope. Unlike Tara, Tarsha's grant was small enough to be on Angel Tree and her goal for this year is still a long way off.

Three girls, three different stories, so many easy ways to make a difference. 

http://static.reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2015/

Dear Santa

I remember the old song

 "he sees you when you're sleeping, 

he knows when you're awake. 

He knows if you've been bad or good"

It would seem that you know when people need a little something too.

I've heard so much about Santa and commercialism. The reason for the season and the spirit of the holidays, the attack on Christmas. Sometimes it's tempting to throw out everything and miss the good in an attempt to simplify the grey. Maybe sometimes in the grey where things are not so clear, that miracles are witnessed and wishes do come true.

Because this week you've been oh so busy Santa with stories that people need to hear.

I've heard about you visiting children, sleeping while they slept. 

Meeting children where they needed you - because sometimes Christmas is out of our depth. The way you got down on the floor or let your fingers fly with speech, For special kids you put holiday tradition easily in reach. 

I know how you sat with a young girl, almost too big to come and visit as far as her peers will soon perceive. I know you promised to pray for her Mama when your toymaker's skills weren't up to the deed.

I also know know what you did for us on a week I felt so alone. Did you see the behaviours with sensory overload and the screams from teething that echoed our home. Did you feel this lonely Mama's heart wondering what to do and decided to send a blessing to show that we're remembered too?

Sometimes our blessings come when we least expect it.

Has anybody seen November?

It's hard to believe we're peering down into 2016. 

At least, I can't believe it. 

I still expect to be prepping for speech class (which ended the 2nd Tuesday of November). 

I'm still wondering if I should start checking on Christmas baking or if there's still time to wait 

(the answer is check things, oops). 

I'm still wondering why there's no snow on the ground to help me figure out what month it is as I've long given up trying to remember something as tricky as the actual day of the week 

(today ends in "y" right??)

Yet, despite my lack of preparation, December is here and Angel Tree has officially passed the halfway mark with a mere 26 days left for each and every one of these precious kiddo's to try and reach their goals - $1000 or, even better, a family.

I'm always amazed at the barrage of requests that accompany December - our time, our resources, our attention - each are in high demand with the holiday season (and, I confess, a major giveaway for me that it had become December)

It can be so easy for faces to fade into the noise

Faces like Tarsha

It can be hard to connect a need with real child known by a nickname and an undated picture if they're lucky. Harder still to identify how a few dollars or sharing that name and picture could really make a difference.

But please, before the bells, the noise, and the lights take your gaze, take a minute and look here.  See the Jackson's, the Reilly's, the Ian's. These are the kids last year who sat with their faces fading into the bustle of our holidays. The children who people sat and debated whether it was worth sharing their picture or donating their own two mites.

These are the kids who are gearing up for their first Christmas at home. These are children who were seen because someone shared, who's family was encouraged and helped along by so many people sharing their two mites. These are the found.