WOW!

Our little water boy has learned a NEW trick.

Yes he has, and he is quite proud of this new skill.

Watch carefully what the Marvelous Aaron Nalle can do with his arms:

From this.....

To this.....

Catch that??

Not sure what you just witnessed???

Our little guy has never in his life been able to go into the crawl position, because his arms and hands have always been too weak to support him.

But once he gets in the water, he can crawl all he likes.

He can go from sitting to crawling...

And that makes for one happy little boy.

And very proud parents.

P.S.We are so glad that we decided to take the summer off from surgeries for Aaron.  It has been a blessing to see him swimming and playing without worrying about all of the travel and the casts and the therapy sessions.

In mid-August, Aaron is scheduled for surgery on his right arm to unlock his elbow. It's a pretty scary surgery: it involves moving the tendon and cutting and rotating the bones. It all sounds extremely painful. We are not looking forward to the ordeal, especially because we know that it may be only the first in a long line of surgeries to help him gain better use of his arms and hands.

The Tale of the Sandboxes

We spent our first days at Aaron's institution in a bit of a daze.  We wandered around the grounds following the whims of a child who had never before had the freedom to explore wherever he pleased.  He took advantage of his new freedom every chance he got throughout out time there, through 65 exhausting visits. One of the things he wanted to check out was a large sand pile across from the shed where he spent his days.  He wanted to load his favorite dump truck with sand. We thought the pile was a makeshift sandbox for the boys, so we let him play there. 

Aaron was in his glory.  He dug to his little heart's delight. We, on the other hand, found the situation slightly less glorious. We were uncomfortable in the sand pile because it was situated right in the middle of two groups of older boys. We were forced to watch those boys act out behavior that burns deep in our memories to this day. This was Aaron's world, and it was not pretty. But we didn't want to disrupt Aaron's fun, so we stayed. Only one boy ever joined us in the sand pile, a sweet, gentle older boy who didn't belong in all of that chaos.

Three times we played in that sand pile. Three times we dug our hands into that sand, carving out roads and building mountains. We were oblivious. We thought it was play sand. 

The third time we played in the sand pile, I made a sickening discovery: someone was using this sand pile for something other than play. I dug into the sand and uncovered a pile of human feces covered with maggots. My stomach lurched as I quickly covered up my discovery and stood up. Aaron and Elijah were both sitting next to me, contently digging in that filthy sand pile.

I didn't freak out, although I thought about it. We were living in a world in which we had to be extremely careful not to offend anyone. Our sweet friend was playing with us that day, and Aaron was happily sharing his truck with him. So instead of dragging Aaron and Elijah out of there and running for cover (which is what I would have done at home), I moved them to the other side of the tree.  The sand was thinner over there, so I hoped it was a spot less likely to be chosen as a toilet. As we left I had the misfortune to turn around and see one of the older boys walk over to where we had just been sitting, drop his pants and pee right into the sand pile. I was almost sick to my stomach. 

It was the last time we played in that sand pile. Now we don't think it was there for the boys at all; we think it was probably there for the maintenance men to use when they mixed their thin concrete.

Fast foward to a year later...

Two weeks ago we bought Aaron a little pool, which we placed by the old slide Rob built for the older boys when they were little.  Under the slide was a disused, weed-filled sandbox.  On Saturday I cleaned out the sandbox, and Rob refilled it with leftover sand from one of his jobs.  Aaron was in his glory!  A real, honest-to-goodness sandbox complete with seats!  I felt like weeping as I watched him.  The memories of the sand pile across the ocean washed over me as I watched Aaron happily building houses for everyone in the family-- in a sandbox filled with nice, clean sand, placed there by loving hands and a loving family. 

My heart aches deep within me for those Lost Boys across the ocean.  Boys who will never have the pleasure of digging to their heart's delight.  Boys who don't have buckets and shovels and castle molds.  Boys who don't have little backhoes and cars to drive on the roads they create.  Boys who don't have little pools to in which to splash and play.  Boys who have only hot, empty sheds and long days filled with Nothing.

It has been almost a year since we first crossed that ocean.  It has been almost a year since we walked the roads of that faraway village.  You would think that we would be able to forget what we witnessed.  You would think that we would be able to cast aside those sad memories and move on with our life and our little son.  We can't.  Those memories continue to haunt us, and we continue to grieve those boys' condition. They have Nothing, not even a pile of clean sand to call their own.

And that is one of the many reasons why we cannot turn our backs on the Lost Boys. 

One of many....

...to be continued.



Guess Who???

GUESS WHO GOT HIS DRIVERS LICENSE TODAY???

I'm getting old.

Just saying....

Silent

He sits in silence. All day, every day.

For at least 10-12 hours, every day: Silence.



One lonely boy in a wheelchair, hidden on a seldom-traveled path between the buildings of an institution for unwanted boys with special needs.

Legless and alone. Wheelchair-bound. Separated from all of the other boys, for some unknown reason.

With no books, computers or toys to divert his attention. No one to visit him or keep him company. No job to occupy his hands or his mind.

With no parents, no friends and no one in all of the wide world to care about him, he simply sits, all day, every day: Silent. Alone.

He is just one of the many Lost Boys who sit all day, every day at Aaron's old institution. Like all of the Lost Boys, he never experiences anything that remotely resembles a childhood.

He is one of many reasons why our hearts broke last year when we were over there retrieving Aaron: this poor legless boy in the wheelchair.

Every time we saw him, we smiled at him and waved.

Sometimes he would wave back, but only sometimes. Most of the time, he would just look away.

We were not there for him. We were not there to help him or take him out of there.

This picture from the Hartmans gave us sad confirmation that he is sitting there still. It grieves us to think of him still sitting there, nearly a year later, with no company and nothing to do.

Day after lonely day.  Year after lonely year.

He is one of the many reasons why we cannot turn our backs on the Lost Boys.

One of many.

.....to be continued.

The Patience of Summer

I was sitting in the office, and Aaron was just around the corner, out of sight.

He was singing the ABC song.

Off-key, missing every other letter.

A happy boy.

I was smiling to myself in the office, listening to Aaron's happy sounds.

Then Rob came downstairs. He heard the singing, and looked over into our little family room.

And burst out laughing.

Happy Boy.

Patient Summer.

On this Sunday... Would you do me a favor?  Go help my dear friend Renee.  She is adopting from the HARD COUNTRY.  The one where it costs a fair fortune to rescue a child. 

 It's the same country where IAN lives. Ian's new parents are in the middle of their 2nd trip there right now, and sure would love some encouraging comments on their blog. 

Gretchen is not feeling well, and tomorrow they have to endure medical exams from 8 DIFFERENT DOCTORS.  Yuck!  The Stewarts are also waiting to see if they qualify for a grant that would help them cover the final costs of their jaw-droppingly expensive $50,000 + adoption. That's an unbelievable amount of money, but Ian is WORTH EVERY DIME SPENT.  Please pray along with us that they get that loan.  Then maybe they can put some proper shoes on that little guy and get him out of there!!!

Please don't forget to help my friend Renee and her family. You have to go to her blog to really understand why they need help. Some of the people they were counting on to support their adoption have turned their backs on them. Not everyone supports adoption, not even all Christians. It is hard when Christian people abandon you at the precise moment when you're trying to answer God's call.

But these kids are worth a little bit of suffering.

Just look at the pictures above of a little guy sitting on "My Summer" and singing the ABC song off-key.  He is worth every single dime we paid on our quest to get him.  He is worth all of the time and tears it cost to bring him home.

Renee and Gretchen long for the day when they, too get to hear their little ones making happy sounds, safe in their new homes. Off-key, and not caring one bit about it. Loving Life.  Free.

Shout Out

Take a deep breath people!!  Then give a loud SHOUT OUT!!

HOORAH!!

God is moving mountains across the ocean!!

As many of you know.... and as I posted a week or so ago HERE.... Aaron's former country is changing the way they are doing adoptions.  It is closing one government agency (the SDA) as of THIS MONDAY and opening a new agency that hasn't even been established yet.

It has been cause for great concern.  So we have been praying. 

I listed 6 prayer requests on that blog post: 

1. That the 33 families in country would get through their process before Monday.
2. That Sweet Caroline's dossier would be submitted and grandfathered in when the new agency opened.
3. That the special needs list would be expanded.
4. That the transition from the SDA to the new agency would be quick and painless.
5. That God would provide for the facilitators' needs during the transition.
6. That God would comfort the hurting families who missed the cutoff date, some by mere days.

That is what we have been praying for dear friends.  And Our God has answered many of those prayers....  in one fell swoop!

Get this: yesterday, the Cabinet of Ministers voted to prolong the authority of the SDA while they create the new agency.  THAT IS HUGE! 

In that one vote, PRAYERS ONE, FOUR, FIVE AND SIX WERE ALL ANSWERED!! 

All of the families who got their dossiers in under the wire are now going to be traveling within weeks instead of months.  Plus, the SDA will be allowed to continue processing new dossiers as long as their child MEETS THE NEW CRITERIA. 

Unfortunately this means that all of those children under five whose special needs are not on that short list will continue to be shunted to the side until the list is expanded.  SO PRAYERS TWO AND THREE ARE STILL ON THE TABLE!!  But God can move that mountain as well.

So give out a huge HOORAH! Because this affects a whole host of RR families, who can now proceed with their adoptions! 

But keep your knee pads on and keep storming heaven, because there are a lot of little ones who are still stuck.  Sweet Caroline is among the many little ones who will continue to wait until that list of special needs grows a little bit longer.

I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Fatherless Friday

This morning I dedicate Fatherless Friday to all the Little Lost Boys who need Daddies...

Daddies willing to give up their view of perfection...

And instead see as God sees...

To love as God loves...

To hate injustice as God hates injustice...

To protect as God protects.

To care as God cares.

I dedicate Fatherless Friday to all the little boys who desperately need Daddies.

Daddies who are willing to cross oceans...

To rescue the forsaken.

To love the unloved.

To not turn their backs on the needy and helpless.

Daddies...

Fathers...

Men...

There are little Lost Boys waiting across the ocean for you.

All the Lost Boys on this page are found on the OTHER ANGEL BOYS page at Reece's Rainbow.

Back Up Time

I wish I could back up time for Aaron.  I wish I could.

He has lost so much and in so many areas is just plain way behind.  I wish I could back him up two years.  Grant him a few backward birthdays so that instead of turning 7 next month we could wind his clock back and let him turn 5 instead. 

I wish I could do this for him. 

He is not ready to be 7 or even 6 next month. 

He is only now learning to count to 10.  He is only now learning color words.  He only knows a few letters.  And some days he doesn't even remember that he has learned any of the above.

He has so far to go. 

Sometimes I get caught up in the comparison game.

You know the one. 

How does your kid match up against all the other kids.

I'm not stupid enough to try to pit our little guy against kids who spent their lives having the luxury of families and homes.

But I sometimes, wrongfully, compare him to other adoptive kids.

When it comes to the dimples, attitude, obedience and willingness to please - Aaron shines.

He will win any contest in those categories.

When it involves directions and mechanics - again - he excels.

When it involves his ability to understand us - he is doing fine.

When it comes to his language skills, well, let's just say that some days I despair.  He is having a beast of a time remembering the words that make up our language.  This is having a profound affect on his ability to progress past point A in basic kindergarten skills.  Counting, colors, shapes, numbers, letters. 

How far he needs to go seems beyond reach some days.

And when I read about other kids who come sailing across the ocean, already mastering the English language before they hit the shores, I fall into the comparison trap.

I want Aaron to match up.  I want him to be on par with those kids. 

I want.  I want.

It isn't pretty and it is wrong.

Comparing is wrong.

Aaron is Aaron.

In the same way that I have had to learn not to compare my other sons to their peers (and yes I sin in this area too), I need to accept, love and cherish Aaron for who he is.  He is unique, special, fearfully and wonderfully made.  He came out of a world that would cause many other children to bend and break.  That alone should give me pause to rejoice.  If he never learns his colors - okay.  I will definitely be a bit sad but our son lived in hell and he was not broken. 

He was not broken.

I still want to back up time for my little guy.  I freely admit it.  For his sake.  I would love for him to be only turning five next month.

But I also want/need to stop playing the comparison game. 

I need to stop trying to figure out where he lands on the 'smartness' scale.

I need to rejoice in what he has accomplished and encourage him in his areas of weakness.

I need to just let Aaron be Aaron.

Check it Out

I've always been a bit jealous of all of the people out there who have really cool blog designs-- the ones with all of the neat pictures in their headers and the classy layouts. I've always thought my blog looked a little bit clunky next to some, but I've never taken the time to do much about it.

Until today, when our blog takes a big step up out of the bargain basement

with a seriously cool new header, compliments of Lucille Brown.

Lu is absolutely our favorite web designer. She designed our new website, BiblioPlan for Families. She also works tirelessly to keep the Reece's Rainbow Blog fresh and current.

If you need any art or web design work done, you really need to contact Lu. She does digital illustrations, layouts, business cards, leaflets, banners, letterheads, logos, branding, corporate identity-- all of that sort of thing. Her stuff looks good. Not only that, but she also loves the Lord and loves kids with special needs.

If you want to see what she can do or want to ask her to help you with a project, click HERE.

You will NOT be disappointed!!

Aaron's Proudest Accomplishment

For this Fourth of July..... We present.... Aaron's proudest accomplishment......

How's that???

P.S. - Aaron has NOT mastered swimming and he is actually quite dangerous in the water.  Because he has little use of his arms and has range of motion issues in his knees, he has not figured out a way to get his feet underneath him when he is in a floating position.  He LOVES the water and loves going under the water but we do have to watch him carefully because once his feet go out from under him, he is unable to right himself.  It scares this Mama a bit silly!  He is getting swimming lessons from a wonderful swim team coach who has been incredible at figuring out how best to teach Aaron.  He absolutely loves her.  She has taught hundreds of children how to swim but none quite like Aaron.  We appreciate that she has been willing to consult with others on how best to teach Aaron.  What he is doing in the water under her direction is exciting both for Aaron and for us.