My name is Sadie Dawkins. I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, with my husband, William, and our five children: Serenity Hope (15), Chadd Douglas (11), William Patrick, Jr. (9), Liam Jacob (2), and Angel Praise (1).
William is a factory worker; meanwhile I am a stay-at-home mother, homeschool teacher, and wife. I love my life, but I love my little family even more.
Two of my children (Serenity Hope and Liam Jacob) have special needs. Serenity Hope was born with Down syndrome and is mentally disabled (and has heart issues; she's had heart surgery three times); as for Liam, he was born with something called Menke syndrome, which causes increasing disability, seizures, and ultimately death. Yet we choose to love and cherish our youngest boy while he is still with us. He is nothing short of a miracle.
Liam cannot walk or talk and he is fed by a tube which makes feeding easier. He "eats" up to five times a day and gets his medications the same way. In addition, Liam wears oxygen because his lungs are so bad (he is prone to pneumonia); he is often in and out of the hospital (as is Serenity).
Even with all the uncertainty surrounding Serenity and Liam, God has given William and myself a sense of peace. Somehow He makes things all right and has blessed us with a caring network of friends and a loving church family who have surrounded us with their love and prayers. I personally think this is why Serenity and Liam have done so well even in light of their serious medical problems. I pray this continues, although I know in the back of my mind that Liam won't live past the age of three (IF he's lucky).
God is #1 in my life. He has always been so, but more so now with Serenity and Liam in our lives. He's always showing us new ways to handle any storm that may come our way and always gives us the reassurance that He is always with us and that "things are gonna be okay". I don't know what I (or the rest of the family) would do without Him!
We have seen God at work in our lives, especially during the hard times. He has delivered Liam and Serenity through some incredible experiences and hardships, things that would probably kill most people. We know that Satan will try to attack our family by throwing roadblocks to keep us from God, but we are not like most people. We fight Satan with every fibre of our being and we will continue TO lean on God to get us through whatever Satan may try to throw our way.
Just keep us in your prayers and pray that God only strengthens our resolve to resist Satan and also, pray for our children, particularly Liam and Serenity who have already been through so much in their young lives! I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks in advance and may God bless you always!
~Sadie Dawkins.
~To be continued.~
