Just when I thought I might abandon the blog...

Things are buzzing in my house.

I can't spill the beans right now, but please say a prayer for my family as we pursue something that would bring about big changes in our home. More details to come this week. I promise!!

Birthday Party: Vietnam style

Norah turned two recently. We decided to have a relaxed party at our house with close friends and family and cook some yummy Vietnamese food. I may never eat another spring roll again, however. Frying food is not my favorite hobby.

Here's the birthday girl and her sister, dressed in outfits from VN.

Blowing out the candle. Grandma and she practiced this for months! :)

Pho, the main dish and a Vietnamese staple. My favorite. Here's the recipe.

Be kind...

"Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle"--Plato

A friend of mine has this posted under her signature on an online forum I frequent. Today I was reminded of it while reading another friend's blog.

I've spent a lot of time the past two weeks planning a respite night at our church for 50+ kids. I'm pumped. I'm also exhausted. Reading through registration forms and pairing the kids up with volunteers has left me drained...mostly on the physical end, but emotionally it wears on me as well.

There are lots of people out there fighting a hard battle. It isn't always noticeable to the naked eye. Some of these kids look okay on the outside, but are fighting battles on the inside.

This is a part of what I'm doing, starting with respite night tonight. Clicking on the link will take you to a website that, for now, is a placeholder. But as churches grow in number to provide respite for families who desperately need it, our coalition grows. What an amazing, awesome idea!!

hug your children tight

I had a post all set for today but when I opened up my inbox, things changed. My heart is breaking.

A mother that I know in Canada is saying goodbye to her nine year old son today. He's a very sweet boy named Ethan who has fought a hard battle his entire little life. Please keep his mom, Karen, and Ethan as well as his brothers and sister in your prayers today and please, hug your children tight.

Faith, plain and simple

Oh, how I spent the last few years agonizing over where I was going to send Will for school. We live in a large city public school system, and while it gets its fair share of criticism from outsiders, it has some really nice schools. The school where Caroline goes is wonderful! I couldn't ask for a better school, and that says something, because I've been in a lot of schools over the past ten years thanks to a past career choice.

That said, the schools that we were choosing from for Will at this stage in his life were not as exciting. From the time we made the decision to stay in our neighborhood and in our school district, my husband has had faith that we would find an appropriate school for Will. My type A, controlling personality had doubts. Serious doubts.

However, in the end, it has been a lesson to trust God (not to mention my husband!) who led us to a perfect school for Will. This morning as I picked him up, I was reminded of how patience and simple faith need to play a bigger part in my everyday life.

Bringing Healing

If you know me in real life, you have probably heard me say that adopting Norah into our family has brought about healing for my husband and I in so many ways. Ways that I can not always put into words exactly, but still powerful.

I could tell you how knowing that Caroline has a sister who will forever share that special bond makes me smile. Or, how knowing that Will has two sisters to love on him makes me teary. Or, how parenting a child after special needs makes me feel carefree.

But that's not what this post is about today. It is about the healing I receive each day by watching Norah push Will to be more, to do more. To engage in sibling rivalry. To make sure his voice is known in our home. To befriend a sibling he didn't really want around in the beginning. All because she doesn't see him as different. She sees him as an older brother. To bother, to pick on, to play with, to hold hands with.

There will come a day when Norah realizes that Will is different from other kids his age. That's okay with me. In the meantime, she doesn't cater to him as my older child does. She doesn't give up toys or the movie selection on family movie night. No, she fights him to the bitter end.

Someday, she'll still fight. I believe with all of my heart she'll fight for him. I can see it in her eyes. This is HER brother. The one that the Lord gave her.

Thank you Lord, for trusting me with these three precious blessings. I am thankful every day to be their mother!

It takes a village...

...to raise a child.

While I think this statement is true for all children, when you have a child with special needs, suddenly you are taught to depend on others, even if this does not come naturally. Of all of the lessons I've learned in the short five years Will has been alive, this has been the most difficult to accept and put into practice. Because I can do it all, or so I'd like to believe.

Along with leaning into others, I've learned to lean into God. My faith is not something I've talked about greatly on this blog, but you should know it plays a very big part in our lives and a HUGE part in the journey we've been on since Will entered our lives.

This past week, this showed up on my doorstep. Will takes one pill a day for his mitochondrial dysfunction. In case you can't see it on the bottle, there are 500 pills in there. Enough for a year and a half. CoQ10 isn't covered by insurance, and it surely isn't cheap.

My sister-in-law, who also happens to have a child with special needs, has a career that has allowed her to help families find resources for out-of-pocket expenses. The CoQ10 was paid for by a non-profit called Patches of Light which was facilitated by my sister-in-law and another of her coworkers. Check out their website. It's hard not to cry while watching the intro or reading some of the stories there. I happen to know they are in need of funding, and I hope someday to be in a place to be able to give back.

We've leaned into lots of people along Will's journey, from respite to emotional support to the latest: financial help from non-profits when Will's expenses exceeded our house payment each month. Accepting help isn't easy, and it isn't something I do gracefully. But I've realized that this is all part of God's plan for me, and so, today I am grateful for the lessons He is teaching.