The story about a bighearted and compassion-filled mother who has adopted many children with serious special needs is grateful to have the children in her life.
I look at the faces of my beautiful children, and I now see love and hope when there was once pain, suffering, and uncertainty. I realize just how far they have come, and how much they have accomplished in life; and I am at once deeply moved to tears and realize just how blessed I am to have them in my life.
As you know by now, my husband, Bill, and myself have taken on the responsibility of adopting children after our own three children died; and we took in children who were abused, abandoned, and children with heartbreaking handicaps that nobody else would want. Because of their handicaps or their ages (most were adopted after the age of two), they were considered "unadoptable" or "throwaway children"; and once we read about them and first saw their pictures, we couldn't get these precious little ones out of our minds; and so Bill and I set out to adopt them, which we ultimately did. We just didn't start out with one; we didn't stop until our family reached an incredible 50 children!
God saw to it that we would be the parents to these children; so this is why we took in children from Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States, and South and Central America, and now, through adoption, these children are now tied together and are brothers and sisters. Even though the majority of them are not related to each other by birth or by blood, they ARE now related to one another thanks to adoption, and they are very close to one another (although at times I DO wonder, especially when they fight!). Now it has gotten to the point to where we CAN'T imagine our lives without ANY of the children, and they have taught me that no matter what barriers or handicaps they may face, they WILL overcome, and they are so determined to make their place in an often unkind world NOT geared to their specific disabilities.
Even those who are NOT disabled benefit greatly from their disabled brothers and sisters: in their disabled brothers and sisters, our non-disabled ones learn compassion, tolerance, acceptance, and dignity, and they realize just how blessed THEY are; they could have ended up like one of our more seriously disabled children and become disabled themselves; and they also know that they are there for them and can help them whenever help is needed. They don't stare or make rude comments about disabled people, instead, they embrace them and take them under their wings because they know how it is like to live with disability, and they know of the daily struggles and hardships that our disabled children face every single day of their lives.
Our children are all flourishing and growing like weeds; I look at them now, and see just how much they have accomplished since being adopted by us, and it is amazing to see the transformations that are taking place in these young lives. Our first two adopted children, Johnny and Ronee', as two examples, whom we both took in as babies, are now nearing teendom, and they are starting to have teenaged concerns, and they are slowly but surely shedding their little kid days behind them. They still battle with their health, but their courage and faith in a Loving God is unending, and they have far exceeded any doubts or expectations pinned upon them by their doctors. They are both taller, heavier, and are steadily but gradually losing their childlike build; and they are both emerging into beautiful preteens.
Our one daughter, Jodie, as another example, is now making her wants and needs known orally; she is now speaking after years of silence, and she is having a whole new world open up for her. She will never walk or do much for herself, but to be able to talk now after years of not being able to is a major Miracle, and every day we thank God for her; and we are always moved when we hear her sweet voice call out our names and tell us that she loves us.
And our youngest girl: Enriquesa is now going on the age of six, and she is really coming along. She can do so many things for herself with her artificial limbs; and it is amazing to watch a little girl who was born without arms or legs feeding herself, dressing herself, walking by herself on her wheeled walker, and taking a bath. And her sister, Deborah, who was born WITH legs (but legs that are paralyzed, thanks to spina bifida) but without arms: she can now get to place to place with her electric wheelchair, and she can also attend to most of her needs; and she also has a beautiful singing voice.
And our oldest son, Anh, who was just given a Miracle Healing from God above: he no longer has to worry about cancer or the treatments; he is now CANCER FREE! He can now concentrate on being a normal teenaged boy, and right now he is having a ball. He feels so much better physically, and he is now even contemplating in joining the soccer team, even though HE is on crutches! He loves to play soccer, and he is serious about it, and he is getting to be quite the good young soccer player!
I see the beauty that is inside each of these children, and every day, I fall down on my knees and thank God for them. He has brought them to me and my husband, and we are now, at long last, a COMPLETE family, a family I have always dreamed of having! Even though it took the tragic deaths of our own three children, God knew in His Heart that we wanted a family of our own, so He brought us broken children to love; and now, because of His Grace and Mercy, we now have an "International Family", and NOTHING, or NOBODY, can EVER take our little Miracles away from us! Our children are now OURS forever, and they are a daily reminder of just how good God HAS been to both my husband and myself!
These song lyrics and art are tales, tides and twinkling lights - tunes telling stories of warmth and sun, city and sand, paths that lead, and the coins we can keep in the Karma Bank. Spirit's been bypassed for sorrow, dreaming of a better tomorrow .
Note: Since my husband's cancer surgery 4/25/05, this book content has been integrated into the public speaking content for audiences interested in a sassy approach to personal and/or community awareness events. Another chapbook on intimate love poet
I look at the faces of my beautiful children, and I now see love and hope when there was once pain, suffering, and uncertainty. I realize just how far they have come, and how much they have accomplished in life; and I am at once deeply moved to tears and realize just how blessed I am to have them in my life.
