Happy Things

Some happy things today!  Todd's cousin April has finally received their court date (NEXT WEEK!) and will finally get to see their 2 babies from Ethiopia!!  So exciting!  Check out their blog here!  Congratulations April and Brian, we are so very excited for you and will be praying for you!!

The next happy thing is something that just warms my heart.  This special group of high school girls decided to do something to help 'one of the least of these'.  Love it!

Why Adoption?

As I have pondered my own responsibility to the widowed, orphaned, poor and outcast, I have been shaken to my core a couple of times.  When I have heard the stories of mothers in Africa giving up their children for adoption because they know they cannot feed their babies and they will starve to death.  I cannot help but ask,"Why not me, Lord?".  I cannot fathom giving up my children.  In fact, it makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it. 

Or mothers who have to prostitute themselves out at night because they are so desperate for food for their children and in the process contracting HIV/AIDS.  Read the story here.  "Why not me, Lord?"  WHY? Why have You given me so much?


Or when I am rocking my babies and they finally fall asleep - completely content with a warm full tummy, how can I ignore the millions who are crying themselves to sleep tonight.  Cold and hungry....no starving. How can I ignore this? 

Again comes the why? Why Lord have you blessed me to overflowing? These verses almost haunt me.  Maybe 'convict me' is a better word choice.

.....For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required...Luke 12:48
 

and

 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  1 John 3:16-18

I think somewhere in the midst of having my eyes opened to the great sorrow and pain of others, and knowing that someday God is going to look at my life and ask me how I cared for His least. He is going to look at MY LIFE - my blessed, full, spoiled, rich life.  How can I ignore this?  I can't.  I can't look the other way anymore.  This is where my personal call of adoption began. 

Sweet and Sour

The Sweet

My youngest daughter ( she's 5 yrs. old) says funny things.  All the time.  She isn't trying either.  I am not sure if it has to do with that fact that she was in speech therapy for a while or what.  That and the fact that she tells you exactly what she is thinking.  As my husband says, there is noooo filter. So this combination is hilarious. 

Here are some examples of some words that she has come up with all on her own:

glassable - an item that is breakable

woodable - an item that is not breakable and usually made of wood, of course

a foreache - when your headache hurts in your forehead

that ring dong fing - a doorbell, of course

A great example of the no filter...........

Todd was feeding the baby a bottle early on a Saturday morning. S wanted Todd to read her a book. She found a book and climbed on the chair with Todd as he fed the baby. I decided to video tape them as they were having a special 'bonding' moment together. It was really sweet.  So I start video taping and S in timing so perfect you could never have planned it on purpose says,

 "Dad, your breath is sooooooo gross!" 

The Sour

I love my kids!!  I can't wait to bring our little guy home and integrate him into our family.  I look forward to it so much.  My big worry is that they will transfer him to the older orphanage before we can get there to him and we would not be able to adopt him.  Will you please pray for me/us?  Please pray for peaceful patient hearts.  I know God is in control in my head but my heart still worries over how this is all going to work out. 

INCREDIBLE

The first video sets up this incredible story of a father's love for his son so you need to watch it.  BUT the second video is just so beautiful........please don't miss it.     

The Early Years

Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy's quest for Rick's inclusion in community, sports, education and one day, the workplace.

Dick and Judy soon realized that though Rick couldn't walk or speak; he was quite astute and his eyes would follow them around the room. They fought to integrate Rick into the public school system, pushing administrators to see beyond Rick's physical limitations. Dick and Judy would take Rick sledding and swimming, and even taught him the alphabet and basic words, like any other child. After providing concrete evidence of Rick's intellect and ability to learn like everyone else, Dick and Judy needed to find a way to help Rick communicate for himself.

With $5,000 in 1972 and a skilled group of engineers at Tufts University, an interactive computer was built for Rick. This computer consisted of a cursor being used to highlight every letter of the alphabet. Once the letter Rick wanted was highlighted, he was able to select it by just a simple tap with his head against a head piece attached to his wheelchair. When the computer was originally first brought home, Rick surprised everyone with his first words. Instead of saying, "Hi, Mom," or "Hi, Dad," Rick's first "spoken" words were: "Go, Bruins!" The Boston Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals that season. It was clear from that moment on, that Rick loved sports and followed the game just like anyone else.

In 1975, at the age of 13, Rick was finally admitted into public school. After high school, Rick attended Boston University, and he graduated with a degree in Special Education in 1993. Dick retired in 1995 as a Lt. Colonel from the Air National Guard, after serving his country for 37 years.

The Beginning of Team Hoyt

In the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped."

This realization was just the beginning of what would become over 1,000 races completed, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons (6 of them being Ironman competitions). Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.

In a triathlon, Dick will pull Rick in a boat with a bungee cord attached to a vest around his waist and to the front of the boat for the swimming stage. For the biking stage, Rick will ride a special two-seater bicycle, and then Dick will push Rick in his custom made running chair (for the running stage).

Rick was once asked, if he could give his father one thing, what would it be? Rick responded, "The thing I'd most like is for my dad to sit in the chair and I would push him for once."

The 2009 Boston Marathon was officially Team Hoyt's 1000th race. Rick always says if it comes down to doing one race a year he would like it to be the Boston Marathon: his favorite race. Dick Hoyt hopes that he is able to push Rick in the Boston Marathon when he is 70 years old (2011)! Neither Dick or Rick are ready to retire yet.

 

Team Hoyt Link

Every Single One

The other night when I opened my Bible to do my devotions, my Bible fell open to a prologue to the chapter. 
The commentary read,
"Every birth is a miracle, and every child is a gift from God."

I believe that.  EVERY child is a gift from God.  Every single one.

The rich ones and the poor ones,
The perfect ones and the imperfect ones,
The healthy ones and the sick ones.

God knit each one in their mother's womb.  Every single one.  Every single one has worth and value in Our Father's eyes.

.   

We humans have the tendency to think a mistake has been made.  Even the disciples did this......

Remember this passage:

 ¹And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
 ²And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
 ³Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest (displayed and illustrated) in him. (John 9:1-3, King James Version)

I LOVE THAT!  God has a specific purpose - a divine plan for those we view as less than perfect!!!

Every single one.  These sweet children need a family.....desperately.  You can help whether it be through adoption, donating funds (so that financially strapped families could adopt), and your prayers.  These children need to hear about Jesus too!  Let's be the hands and feet of Christ to others today. 

Because they are all precious in His Sight...Every Single One 

Anna
HIV+





Silas
Cerebral Palsy

 

Trina
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 

Garrett
Down Syndrome

 

To find out more information about any of these children, click Reece's Rainbow.

 

The Promise

I thought I would share a fascinating look into what a Baby Home or Baby Orphanage looks like in Eastern Europe.  A Baby Home is typically for orphans ages 0-4 years old.  Sometime after a child turns 4 years old, they are transferred into an orphanage for older children or to a mental institution.  Our little guy is probably in a similiar facility right now.  We ask that you would continue to pray that our paperwork would get approved quickly.  They are 'holding' him for us at the orphanage but we know he will turn 5 in the coming months.  We need to get there as soon as possible.  The thought of him being transferred......well I just can't go there right now.  If the video below gives you problems, here is the link to view The Promise.

When Life Gives You Lemons.......

My husband went down to tuck our oldest son into bed tonight and he had been reading in his brand new devotional about if life gives you a lemon to make lemonade. As they discussed his recent kidney surgery and how that was a “lemon” they discussed how he could view surgery and the 5 day hospital stay as “lemonade”.  Our son discussed how well the hospital staff took care of him and helped to make him better. And I know that he has learned about how much his family and friends care for him. 

We recently found out that our little guy in Eastern Europe just came through heart surgery (2 weeks ago) over there and my husband asked my son if that helps us to better understand what our little guy went through - especially since he didn’t have Dad or Mom there with him. He replied, “but he will soon!”

Now you who know my oldest will really appreciate this next comment............He went on to say “When I’m President, well.......I should write to the President. We should build a building in Washington that kids with disabilities could live at. Families then could adopt them and not have to pay a lot of money. It would be difficult, but I think that America is up for the challenge. I think that the President should also pass a law that everyone has to donate $20 to help with adoption.”