Doctors said that Willa Jean, our youngest child, would never walk or talk or do anything on her own. God had other plans.
Willa Jean is walking (for short distances, on a wheeled walker) and is learning to communicate via ASL (American Sign Language). She also signs in the children's choir at church.
Everywhere she goes, Willa continues to draw people to her. She has the love of the Lord all over her; people see Jesus when they look at our daughter. She may not be able to talk, but her actions (and her signs) "speak" volumes.
We want to give people a sense of hope, especially people who are facing situations similar to ours: we want them to know that even though a child may be disabled, they can do what they want to do, if they are given the opportunity to do so.
During the Christmas pageant at church, she played the part of an angel. She looked resplendant in her robe of white, sparkling angel's wings, and golden halo parked on top of her golden curls.
Willa did a beautiful job. She smiled the entire time the pageant was going on; after the service, people came up to us and said what a miracle she was, many with tears on their faces. They were very proud of her, but nothing like we were. She did great!
People still tend to underestimate Willa's capabilities because of her obvious physical disabilities, but Willa is a very smart little girl. She knows when people are being nice to her or are being condescending towards her (which she hates). She knows what she can do, and if she wants help, she will tell people so; otherwise, she tries to do things by herself.
Willa has cerebral palsy and learning disabilities. She goes to a special school for children who are disabled and does well in all her classes. Her favorite class is music. She also loves to read and is currently learning how to write her letters. Hopefully within six months or so, she will be writing her name or simple words. The world is her oyster; there is no stopping Willa: once she puts her mind to do something, she will do it, guaranteed!
Besides participating in the chidlren's choir at church (or in special services), we allow Willa to play on the Miracle League, which is a baseball team made up of children like herself, children who are disabled. She enjoys it, and last year, she hit her first home run. Oh, she was so happy, and so were we when she (and her helper) went around the bases, much to the roar of the crowd!
Willa loves to draw, read simple books, go to church, go to therapy (she calls it playtime), go to school, hang out with her friends Tobie and Casey (both are in her class at school; both are hard of hearing), and go to the mall. She also loves to go out to eat; every Sunday, after church, we go to Cracker Barrel, which is her (and our favorite) place to go dine.
Well, I hate to run, but we have to get ready for church. They are having a special missions conference this Sunday and next, and we don't want to miss a thing. I also have to sing on the worshp team; tonight's my night to sing. I will write more about Willa and our family in future stories; I hope you enjoyed reading about her! We surely are blessed in having her in our lives; she is certainly special in more ways than one!
