May 26, 2009

A Family's Desire to Adopt a Special Needs Child.


WINFIELD, W.Va. (WSAZ) — There are thousands of children in foster care waiting, hoping for a loving, forever family.
While many of those children are perfectly normal, there are quite a few with physical and mental handicaps that often fall at the bottom of the list. But one local family wants to adopt, and they only want a child with special needs. Their reasoning dates back nearly 20 years.
“Kids like that are special,” said Carie Jarvis, who wants to adopt. “They’re not wanted. No one wants those kinds of kids. And that’s just what I’m drawn to.”
Carie wants to adopt a baby. The 38-year-old already has three teenagers of her own. Danni is 16, and twins Cody and Allen are 14. But the family doesn’t want just any baby; they want a special needs baby.
“They love you,” Carie said. “It’s not about, ‘Mommy, you’re embarrassing me’ because kids get to a certain age where they act that way. But these don’t do that; they just love you.”
Cody agreed, saying,“There’s no one that would love you more than a child with special needs.”
Cody has a few special needs of his own. He’s has Asperger’s syndrome — a high-functioning form of autism. He knows the importance of needing and receiving that little extra care.
“I do need help a lot,” he said. “I need help with handwriting. Kids don’t like me too much, so it would be nice to have someone that loves me.”
But this family’s desire to adopt a special needs baby didn’t pop out of thin air. It’s a longtime desire rooted in Carie’s childhood. When she was 12, her parents adopted a special needs baby. Michael was just 15-months old.
“He had water on the brain, CP, seizures, he was blind, he was a tube feeder,” lists Carie.
When Michael was 6 and Carie was 17, she became his medical power of attorney.
“Dad had an accident in ‘87 that about killed him and Mom was busy taking care of him,” Carie said. “Michael got real sick and was always in the hospital. I would always stay with him. I was 17, and I kept a suitcase packed. When he went to the hospital, I went to the hospital. He never cried. If he cried, you knew something was majorly wrong.”
Two years later, things did go wrong. Carie had to make the most difficult decision in her life — a decision not to resuscitate her little brother.
“Oh my God, it was horrible,” she said. “My best friend’s little boy died six hours before, and she was a basket case and she was like, ‘Carie, take care of Michael one of these days. It’s going to be you.’ And six hours later, it was me.”
For Carie, it was a loss she never fully got over.
“Michael was everything to me,” she said. “Michael was my world. He’s all I had. I didn’t date. I took care of Michael; I didn’t leave him.”
Michael’s story is a part of this family — not a sad story, but one full of love and happiness and hope.
“I think the way some people think about these babies ain’t right,” Cody said. “These are humans, too, and they also deserve attention. They don’t deserve to be treated like outcasts. They are special and need to be treated nicely.”
Carie already has started the adoption process — one that could wrap up more quickly than usual with her unusual request.
“They’re like, ‘Are you sure that’s what you want? That’s the first time we’ve had that request.’ So, I guess I’ll get my pick of the litter,” Carie said.
She and her family have agreed to allow us to follow them through their adoption process. She’s already met with the West Virginia Children’s Home Society about her desire. The next step is to return the application, take some classes and set up a home study. It’s a process that could take three to six months. We’ll check back in on them in a month or so to see how it’s going.

Source: http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/46010777.html
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact

May 21, 2009

Laundry ...Sara loves it!

So if you have been reading lately, you know that our dryer died. YAY! Ok, so not really a shout out but I have to say it has been nice to get in the sun and hang those close and thankfully we have had weather that allows meto do this. I am still trying to "catch up" with all the laundry from when the power went out but I know eventually I will get there . . . eventually. . . it's not like when you get it all done there won't be more anyway! So in the last few days Sara has enjoyed helping me hang the clothes. Something about it is exciting to her. If I remember right I always enjoyed helping my mom hang the clothes too. Then there was hiding in them when we would play hide-n-seek. Our feet always gave us away...fond memories. The other day I thought I would capture a few pictures of her helping me and then she want to pose for the camera So I have encluded those pictures as well. I can't believe she is growing up. The other day she wanted to make her own chocolate milk, "all by myself Mommy!" Naturally I was envisioning the mess I would have to clean up and didn't want to let her...but I stepped back and let her do it all by herself. I realized at that moment I am living on borrowed time. Soon she will be saying "hey Mom, can I have the keys to the car?" Boy do I NOT look forward to that. But for that moment I let go and as mom's that is what we do, teach them to fly so that eventually they will soar! By the way she did fantastic and made no messes! YAY!
oh by the way, last month in the midst of finding homes for our puppies, we adopted a little guy named Bentley. Bentley will turn 1 on May 29th. In his short life he spent 8 weeks in an abandoned home when the owner left him because his home was forclosed. He and a few other animals were left to fend for himself. Poor little guy. The original owner/breeder that sold him to the gentleman (that lost his home) went to visit him. What she found him and the other animals in were deplorable conditions. They were surviving on their own feces and were very ill. One of the pups had a bad staph infection. She took them home, got the cleaned up, fed and took them for medical attention. Bentley is a full blooded Minature Schnauzer who has all his shots and is healthy now! She was very excited when we responded to her ad about them. She herself is a trucker and has 4 pups that go with her in her semi and she could not keep Bentley and his brother Ludwig. So he is now a part of our family. We got him for Kristofer because he was having such a hard time letting go of the puppies. Ok some will say, why not keep one of the puppies . . . the truth is we can't handle two large dogs. Thankfully Izzy and Bentley get along great! Bentley is perfect for our family!

Don't forget! I am doing a short series about what our fishing adventures have taught me over on my other blog Broken Potterie. So far I have discussed - God & the Fishing Line, Tangles, and today's is Celebration.

May 19, 2009

Go check it out!

In a previous post I shared that God had been showing me some things through our fishing adventures. Well I have started a series called Fishing Line Series. I am not sure how long I will post under this series but I wanted to give you, my readers some thing else to go read. I am hoping that the series will challenge you and encourage you in your walk with the Lord. So go check it out HERE!

May 15, 2009

The fish was ....this big!

This afternoon the kids begged us to take them fishing. Can you tell they are hooked? he-he Jaron specifically is hooked! Just like his Uncle Chris he is a fisherman at heart I believe. He can't wait for my parents to get here in June. He is praying we have great weather so that he can take his Papaw fishing. Something he has wanted to do for a very long time!
I think if Jaron could be on a boat in a lake catching fish all day he would be one happy kid! Guess some time in the future we may have to consider getting him a small boat ... say in about 6 years or so. He'll be 15 then...maybe he will be ready then for that kind of responsibility, not sure if Mom is ready for that but ya gotta let your kids grow up. Actually don't have much of a choice do we?!

So we decided to go as a family and
we had such great fun! Kristofer
was on the ball catching fish. Every
time we turned around he was yelling I caught a fish. The boy was on fire. It was great! He was so happy! Plus his fever finally broke around noon today and he is feeling so much better! YAY! Kristofer has learned how to catch the fish under the boat ramp. He sits patiently and sticks his hook over the edge and watches for the fish to come up and grab it. Every fish he caught tonight which was like I think 5 maybe 6 different fish all different sizes he caught sitting on the edge of the boat ramp. He was so happy! All the kids were cheering him on! YAY! GO KIDS!

I am SO GLAD Sean went with us, because when we were leaving we realized our back tire was flatter than flat. It was sad. I have never changed the tire on the van and didn't even know how to remove the donut. Ok yes I need to know this stuff and now I do. But I have to say is was a true blessing to have him with us this time around and not because of the tire. Any time we can spend together as a family is always fun and always needed.

We even had a bit of a fishing war between Sean and I.
It was so funny watching him get all excited about the fish he caught till he got it in! HAHAHAHAHA! Sorry but I had to laugh cause his fish put up such a fight he thought it was going to be huge and it turned out to be maybe at the most 3 inches long. LOL! He was releasing his when I caught a fish (actually I caught a 3 tonight). I reeled mine in and really started laughing because mine was at least 6 inches long and way bigger than his....lol! Even the kids got a kick out of the fact that I caught the bigger fish. It was definitely one of those ... "and the fish was .... this big" stories. On the way to the van we had an unwanted visitor! A small little snake. We weren't sure what it was till we got home and checked it out online. Thank goodness for the Internet! We believe its a smooth earth snake. It wasn't very big but since we weren't sure what kind it was we or I chased it away with the fishing pole while Sean was chasing the kids into the van. I know role reversal here but had the snake been larger you better believe I would have been the one in the van! LOL. Seriously though things like that don't scare me much. I am more scared of being stranded some where without a cell phone or the means to get some where safe, specially when I have all the kids with me. Again I am SO THANKFUL Sean came with us instead of cutting the lawn this afternoon.

Eli was searching for the crawdad (crayfish) that he had watched steal his worm. He tried for a good 30 minutes trying to catch that thing. Kris was helping him but it was a crafty little thing. It stole so many worms the boys were getting frustrated. In between trying to catch it Kris was also catching fish.

Sara was having a grand time as well. She was using the net we bought today and was catching minnows. Naturally they wanted to bring them home and put then in our fish tank. I doubt they will make it till morning but it made the kids so happy bring something home that they caught.

Blessings

Everyone needs a best friend. When I was growing up I always wanted just one best friend. In high school I had Shannon and after high school came Leah, now my sister n law. Then I moved to Kentucky and God blessed me with an abundance of friends-my college roomies; Marty, Elaine, Angie, Pam and Mary. Of whom I still keep in contact with, some more than others. After college God opened doors for me to rekindle some old friendships one particular...Michele, who I am so thankful that God opened those doors again and then God placed in my life three special ladies who have really poured into my life and have encouraged me in ministry; Pastor Deanna, Pastor Tara and Jessica. All of these women are women that hold a special place in my heart. Without them I know my life would be empty. I have many friends who I love and cherish but these specific women are "my girls". I don't normally single them out but today I want the world to know that I am thankful for the friendships I have with these wonderful ladies! God has truly blessed me and ladies I love ya!
This song is for them today:

A Friend Like U (Friend Like U Album Version) by Geoff Moore & The Distance

May 14, 2009

This Week in Our Family

OK On May 8th, my Mom's birthday -HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! That afternoon a storm came across S. IL and took out many trees. The weather guys are calling it an inland hurricane. We had 106 mph winds and no tornadoes. Yes driving through the towns you would think a bomb went off. There are so many trees that are down. We lost power and began the adventure of the Kelly House Camp Out. Yes I even have a name for it. We tried to keep things calm and peaceful. But I can tell you I could see the stress on my kids faces. On Kristofer's even more. He has a routine and it was thrown to the wind from Friday till Tuesday night at 10:31pm. In fact when the power came back on and the lights came on he screamed, "Thank you Jesus!" He was so excited. He was the only child up when it came on but Wed. morning, Sara came and pulled my eye open and said, "Mommy look the lights work again!" Eli came in and said to me, "Something strange is going on....the computer is on!" So funny they were.
There were so many things God has shown me the last few days without power...

#1. POWER IS A GREAT THING!
#2. Technology can be done without, BUT IT SURE IS GREAT TO HAVE!!!
#3. Cooking out gets really old!
#4. HOT coffee is the best thing in the whole world!

Ok seriously, God has shown me a lot and I plan to expand on what God has been showing me in our adventures this week with no power and the fishing trips we have taken but I plan to post them on my other blog, Broken Potterie. I want to keep this blog more about my kids, family and the adventure's we partake in with autism.
After playing a variety of board games way too many times...Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Scrabble, Pet Shop Monopoly, and Clue...then came the card games and Uno. I have to tell you I am as Jaron said..."Boarded OUT" He said he knew why they call them board games...."The make you bored if you play them too many times!"
On Monday afternoon we headed to Wal-Mart...the one store that had power, naturally! But we headed to town for supplies; ice, batteries, food that didn't need to be refrigerated (we lost approx. $200 worth of food due to the extended power outage) and FISHING poles. The damage we saw to so many homes and businesses is just saddening. It truly looks like a hurricane went through here. Yes I know what it looks like when one goes through, I have witnessed too many of them when we lived in Florida! I will post a few pictures at the end of this post of the damaged trees. I never had my camera when we were going through the neighborhoods...kept forgetting it. Sara was so excited she put her own worms on the hooks. That day was so great! I was able to get some much needed sun for these white legs! I am ashamed to call myself a born and raised Floridian with how white I am right now. While there Jaron was looking through some weeds along the shore line and found what we thought was a nut...nope not a nut! A baby musk turtle. He is so small, never seen a turtle that small before, and so cute! He is no bigger than a quarter.
Anyhow, we headed home for dinner and then took Sean back with us and by the first night they all caught a fish except for Kristofer. Then on Tuesday we headed out again, all but Kris caught a fish. Poor guy, he so desperately wanted to catch a fish, he didn't even tell me he wasn't feeling well. It wasn't till after their baths (thankfully we had hot water) that I realized that something was not right with him. He never complains when it comes to not feeling well unless he is in severe pain. Took his temp and was surprised that it said 102.8 I about flipped. So we headed to the doc on Wed morning. Poor little guy has double ear infections and strep. So now he has meds. on board and hopefully he will start feeling better. Since they did not have school today we headed out to go fishing (which we release all fish). Naturally when Kris is sick he wants to be with me and Sean had to get his sleep, he is working the over night shifts and he has to sleep, so despite my plea for him to stay with daddy he came with us. Guess who caught a fish! KRISTOFER! He caught the first one with his hands and was freaking out. He was pacing back and forth and was so excited! Then he got smart and would sit on the side of the boat ramp and was so patient when he was trying to catch the fish. Then....BAM! He caught another fish. I have never seen him react like that in my life. He was SO FUNNY! Being gentle and talking to it, explaining that he would let it live and he released him.
Eli's First Catch!

Jaron's First Catch!

Sara's First Catch!

Unfortunately I did not have the camera with me to get a picture of Kristofer's first catch....frown! But I will take the time to get pictures this weekend I am sure. The kids are hooked on fishing...lol no pun intended...lol ok maybe a little bit.

Ok So I could make this a short post but I just want to get it done. So here are a few pictures of the tree damage. Many were up rooted due to how saturated the ground has been but even so many just snapped in the 106 mph winds. Brings back many memories of the hurricanes of 2004.

The picture below is of an old oak tree. This tree is so beautiful in the fall. Sadly the trunk just snapped under the ferocity of the the winds last Friday afternoon.

These are a few pictures of the playground in Marion we go to frequently. It is such a beautiful shaded park. Now more than 75% of the trees have either fallen or have had to be cut down. The picture below is of the train that Kristofer loves! It was covered with two large trees that were cut away. So far it looks like the train survived but that is yet to be determined.

May 4, 2009

Marriage

Last week my friend Pastor Deanna Shrodes did a week long series on marriage and covered a variety topics. It was such a great series I thought I would give you links to each day over at her blog. This is NOT light reading, Pastor Deanna deals with a lot of deep stuff and confronts quite a bit as well. I encourage you to go over and read her marriage series (5 days in all), even if you have a strong marriage what she has to say will encourage you to go further. try to read these in order, they do build on each other!

Marriage Series
Friday's topic covers a broad range of sex in the marriage questions that her readers posed to her on her comments page and through private emails.
I totally agree with everything Pastor Deanna has to say. Her answers and topics are all Biblical based. Again go check it out. Sean and I have a very strong and steady marriage. Yes we get in fights, disagreements and spats. Yes we disagree on a variety of things but we are unified. We made a covenant before God, family and friends that we were committing our lives to each other through think and thin. It's not always been easy, there have been times when we both wanted to throw in the towel. But with God's help we stuck it out and have fought for each other, the marriage and the kids. Divorce is NOT the easy way out, ask anyone that has gone or is going through it right now. It's not easy and I am not talking financially here. I am talking about emotionally. Even with out children involved emotionally both parties are torn apart. I have watch and am watching some of my good friends go through this right now and they are struggling. Please if you are thinking about divorce seek help. Seek marriage counseling. Don't throw in the towel until you have done EVERYTHING you can to save it and that means letting go of hurt as well.
Go read the Marriage Series by Pastor Deanna Shrodes, YOU WILL BE BLESSED!

May 3, 2009

So It's Been a while...

OK so it's been a while since I actually shared what is going on here with our family and with Kristofer and the adventures having an autistic child gives to our family. With good reason I haven't posted everything...actually I haven't posted anything but I will promise...later today or tomorrow. But today I want to share something...my whole life I have dreamed of working in an orphanage or even foster care. It's still is a dream of mine and one day I know God will open those doors for us. One day soon I pray God will give us the means to adopt or foster a child. Until he does though I will continue to pray for the orphans throughout the world and pray God will open that door if it be His will as well.

SO today instead of sharing what is going on here in our home I want to introduce you to my a guest speaker/writer, Rennae de Freitas. She and her husband and 4 boys are missionaries to the Dominican Republic. Please read this and let God touch your heart and if you can at all help please do! Everything and anything you can do will help!
What the Note didn't say...
She ran to me with a little note covered in butterfly stickers and placed it in my hands. "Take this to Julie*. I don’t want her to forget me. "I opened the note knowing that I would have to translate it for Julie. Julie didn’t speak Spanish. Yet even without the benefit of the language she had made a special connection with this little girl. A child who once lived as a slave in a miserable shack before she came to Bethesda Home.

The note read:
To: Julie
From: Alejandra
Julie I love you so much. Thank you for coming to share with us at Bethesda Home. Thank you for the shoes. Julie, I will always remember you. Thank you for coming to share with us. I love you Julie.
Julie & Alejandra Friends Forever


What the note didn't say, but what I know is in her thoughts everyday was this question,
“Will Julie remember me?”


Julie came with a team of women from her church and they spent just one week with the Bethesda Home children. That week was a special time for the children as they tremendously enjoy all the attention and mother love. Now, they ask about the ladies all the time and they cherish the photos that we put on the wall to remember our time together. And every time I visit, they ask me if the ladies remember them.
Bethesda Home is a home for abandoned and at-risk children. Some have mothers who are prostitutes and drug addicts; some have been rescued from domestic abuse and slavery. Sister Ketty began this beautiful rescue in 2004 and along with the partnership of her local church and other ministries; she has been able to rent a house for these children. The house that they currently live in is up for sale.
Last Thursday I sat down with Sister Ketty after she called to tell me to pray about a meeting that she was to have with the lawyers representing the house. The owners are now giving us two months to purchase the house or they will be forced to take it back.
So today we find ourselves in anticipation of a REALLY BIG MIRACLE. The owners are asking $250,000. This is a very large home and the PERFECT location for the home. We really do not want to lose this house.
Please pray for Bethesda home and Sister Ketty as we walk this journey toward our miracle. Ask the Holy Spirit how you can be a part and then ACT in FAITH & OBEDIENCE. You will never regret it. I feel a lot like Alejandra. We were blessed to meet some amazing women on the teams that came to visit but there is that nagging question in the back of my mind.


It's what the note didn't say. After the ladies left,
“Will they remember Bethesda Home?”

PLEASE consider helping us.
You can make a secure online contribution
by clicking this link
http://tiny.cc/BethesdaHome
Please note Project #14261 Class #62 in the comment field.
Or you can send your contribution to:
Assemblies of God World Missions
1445 Boonville Ave
Springfield, MO 65802
Mark your check or money order for project #14261 Bethesda Home Dom. Rep.
*some names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved
************************************
Me again...I know the economy is tough...trust me I know! But if you can help even just a few $$ I know God will multiply it. God is a big God and He owns the cattle on a thousands hills and all He has to do is sell one of those cows. But He is a God who likes to work in and through His people. Pray about what you can do! Rennae and Nelson are doing some great work where God has placed them. My sister-n-law just went on a missions trip where she was able to be with these kids at this orphanage...her life was changed. Please help them save this house!