Help for the Hurleys

My friends, the Hurleys, over at www.5hurleykids.blogspot.com are down to the final days of raising money to bring home their son Waid from China.

Their story is full of compassion and selflessness!! When we were adopting Jackson, somehow our families managed to connect...we were with the same agency. Throughout the adoption process, Kurt and I were preparing ourselves that we would have to travel without a group because it was a Special Needs adoption. I was thrilled when Janet and I were able to contact each other and we had hopes of traveling together to bring our sons home! Although the timing didn't work out for us to travel together, the Hurleys did manage to travel just a few short weeks after us to bring home their son Wes.

At some point during their adoption, they felt called to seek pre-approval of a blind little boy whose file was about to be returned to China. Sometimes when this happens, the children are not able to ever be adopted! This leaves them with a desperate life on the streets, begging. Kurt and I witnessed this with our own eyes. The experience was painful.

Kurt and I are thankful that God called us to adoption. Thankful that His plans were bigger than ours so many years ago! And although God does not call everyone to adopt a child into their home, He does call us to do something!!! What does that look like for you or your family?

I can't begin to tell you what it felt like when people gave out of their hearts to help bring Jackson home! I still weep when I think about people listening to that still-small voice and then acting out of obedience and love to the Lord!

In James 1:27, God's Word says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

We did what we were able to help the Hurleys bring Waid home.

Will you please pray about what God would have you to do?

Will you please pray for others to hear what God would have them to do?

Will you please pray and send this post around to your friends so that the Hurleys can bring Waid home??

His time is running out!

Sunday Snapshot:{Beachin' It}

Last weekend after dinner, we took the kids to the beach. This was Jackson's first time! Saying that he loved it would be an understatement!

As I looked out across the ocean, I was reminded of a little boy that only 5 1/2 months ago was on the other side of God's creation...waiting for us...waiting for a mama...waiting for a daddy...waiting for a sister...waiting for a brother...waiting for a chance at life...the life that God had created him for.

It was a thrill for this mama to see her littlest son captivated by God's greatness!

loving the wet sand!

finding such joy in the simple things in life

laughing as the cold rush of water came upon him!

happiness in playing with a big sister

What beauty there is between a father and a son!

A daddy to call his own!

Doing the things that dad's love to do with their sons

looking forward to what's coming next in life

The first BIG wave for Jackson!

We're looking forward to sharing many more FIRSTS with our lil' man!

broke, again

We decided on Monday to send Jackson's BCA back to Otic*n.  We have been watching it work sporadically, thinking that it was just needing a new battery.

If you held the microphone up to your mouth and spoke, the oscillator would work perfectly.  But, for anyone else talking in the room, Jackson wouldn't hear ANY of it!  The microphone would not pick up sound from even an arm's length away.  We also couldn't get any feedback with it.

Our audiologist is asking for them to REPLACE it instead of fix it again.  We're hoping to have it back tomorrow because our 6 month post placement meeting with our amazing social worker is on Saturday morning.

We've noticed that when Jackson doesn't have his BCA, he is rather grumpy.  I guess I would be, too, if I didn't have my glasses on!

Jackson has been working really hard at trying to talk.  He now will call "Maggie" (our 85 lb. Lab) in from outside.  He's saying Mama more often.  He says "Mour" (more)  and my favorite is UT OH!  I think we even got an "AMEN" out of him at dinner!