Our RIDICULOUS Anniversary

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY....

my husband said YES....

to a RIDICULOUS idea....

international special needs adoption...

our 6 bio children were 18 down to 1 1/2....

our oldest would be attending college in the fall...

it made NO SENSE for us to spend time and money and effort to open up our lives to stranges to complete a homestudy....

paperchase for docuements to apostille.....

obtain government clearances of every kind...

This was the only picture we had.

It was captioned:

Boy. Born July 2010. Cleft palate and arthrogryposis.


That's it.

And on faith my dear husband gave his FIAT and exactly one year later my sweet Henry lies cuddled up in my bed, after I gently had to extricate myself from him holding my hand and having his head on my shoulder.

It was RIDICULOUS.

And it is amazing.

Be Ridiculous.

Who would have thought that 2 moms, in the regular course of a day of homeschooling (her) and potty training (me), could have done something so crazy.....??

At 9am on Friday Feb. 24th Malcolm's grant was a bit short of $2000....

we hoped to bump it up to $2500 by the end of the day....

That goal was BLASTED by noon....

and this Monday morning, February 27th, Malcolm has $5080.72!!!!!

And we know more is coming from people who are sending in checks "snail mail"!!

Who would have thought???

Not us.

It seemed ridiculous really....

I am reading a book about Mother Angelica, the cloistered nun who started the EWTN Catholic satellite network....as the author notes...

"If a fifty-eight-year-old, crippled, cloistered nun with only a high school education could create a media empire with little more than faith and guts, what excuse do you really have?" (from Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality by Raymond Arroyo)

Maybe pictures inspire you more than words...

Here is the truth:

"We have lost the theology of risk. There is an inner confidence that we've lost. We've lost zeal. We've lost guts. Unless you are willing to to the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous." (Mother Angelica)


We....the body of Christ here on earth...need to get out there....

and LOOK RIDICULOUS TO THE WORLD!!!!

Because at the end that is all that matters....

"I'm not afraid to fail, because I've always learned something when I've failed. I'll tell you what I'm afraid of- and when I think about it I break into a cold sweat - I'm scared to death of dying and having the Lord say to me, "Angelica, this is what you might have done had you trusted more." I'm petrified of that." (Mother Angelica)

What are YOU going to do today....this week.... that looks ridiculous.....

....but really is the thing that matters most??

Comments welcome to inspire others!!!!!

God is moving mountains for Malcolm!

******UPDATE*******


As of 5pm CST, almost $3500 in verified funds has been raised for Malcolm's grant fund with Reece's Rainbow!! A "crazy" goal to raise $500 in one day has resulted in almost $1500....and we know that several more checks are on their way "snail mail"! 


Malcolm's mom and dad: GOD HAS GOT THIS!!!!


Don't let fear stop you! We will stay with you on this journey!!! We are already planning another fundraiser and another appeal in March!


To everyone who heard his story and made a donation....THANK YOU!


To everyone who is praying for Malcolm.... THANK YOU!!


To everyone who was looking for proof that God is alive and that love conquerors all....


have a blessed weekend!!!

Henry continues to recuperate from croup...

we are trying to feed him A LOT to make up from the weight he lost in the hospital - he is back under 14 pounds, phooey!

He is liking solids more and more every day! We add coconut oil and green superfood protein powder and flaxseed to his pureed fruits and vegetables to give him some more caloric and nutritional oomph! He also takes lemon flavored cod liver oil every day...and thanks to the generosity of some awesome milky mommas (since my personal stash is now gone) he takes about 5 ounces of breasmilk every day to help heal his little tummy!

But this post is not about Henry...

it is once again about this little guy who weighs heavy on my heart...

Malcolm.

You may remember him from this post: http://www.bringinghenryhome.blogspot.com/2012/01/all-you-henry-fans-will-have-to-wait.html

Here is his full profile on Reece's Rainbow: http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=Malcolm&x=3&y=10

Here is the highlight that makes my heart ache:

Malcolm needs family badly. He is very emotional, sensitive and not a leader by nature and is being hurt by older and physically healthy children in the orphanage. He can hardly walk but retains sensitivity in the feet. There is a chance only in the presence of caring and loving parents Malcolm can walk independently in a future but in the orphanage environment the child is afraid of everything even walking. Malcolm has a favorite little toy: stuffed tiger, he carries it everywhere, he kisses it, puts to sleep, worries about it. Malcolm is interested in all new, he knows the names and colors, understands commands, has attachments to friends in a group, he goes on contact easily and is pleased to dialogue


But can you see the walker in the new picture above?? Malcolm is walking!!!

Here is the video that proves it!!!


http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIWyKFJCHKc0%26feature%3Dmfu_in_order%26list%3DUL%26fb_source%3Dmessage&h=IAQHrgISl

His CP is truly treatable!!! We have medical treatments here in the US that will most likely make him a totally independent walker!!! 

Go HERE to see: http://w3.cns.org/university/pediatrics/ch20.html

I know a family who is in LOVE with Malcolm but cannot adopt him...

They have already moved his grant fund with Reece's Rainbow close to $2000!!

RR knows that when a child's grant moves over $2500 people start to inquire!!!

Can we do this??

Can we move Malcolm over $2500 TODAY, this First Friday of Lent???

Can you make Malcolm part of your prayer and fasting and almsgiving???

He is scheduled to be moved to an institution when he turns 5 in April!

Oh my heart. This shy quiet loving boy who is already being bullied by other boys in a BABY HOUSE (children 0-5)???

How will he fare in an INSTITUTION with boys AND MEN ages 5-45?!?!?!

I cannot imagine it.

I will not stand for it.

Malcolm lives in an expensive country to adopt from. They have lots of rules. They require 3 trips.

But Malcolm is worth it.

So worth it.

Please join me in sharing his story...

in bulking up his grant fund...

and in praying him home.

No place like home.

We are being discharged. It was touch and go for a while...

But God is good.

Henry beat croup AGAIN...

And Pneumonia...

And RSV...

What if he was still in the orphanage?

What if he was so sick in the hospital we met him in rather than in Children's Hospital, a world class medical institution here in the US?

God you are good...

Even in sickness...

Your mercies are never ending!!

I. Hate. Croup. and Pneumonia. and RSV.

For those of you not on FB, you missed our trip to the ER of Children's Memorial Hospital on Wednesday afternoon as Henry kept getting worse.

You missed our admission Wednesday night with an initial diagnosis of croup.

You missed the Thursday morning doctor visit to inform us he had a little spot of pneumonia on his right lung.

You missed the Thursday night doctor visit to inform us that he tested positive for RSV and that this infection would probably peak in the next few days.

You missed a few pics of my poor pathetic sweetie who has not smiled in 4 days (I will try to post here but I am using the Blogger app on my phone and I hear it can be temperamental).

You missed my Friday update that attempts to wean Henry off oxygen 3 times all failed.

You missed this morning's hope that the oxygen weaning will be successful so we can head home... I am so missing my Tessa Lu and other children.

But now you are caught up.

So please pray.

I. Hate. Croup.

Henry is down with another case of croup....I am typing one-handed while keeping him carefully balanced in an optimum vertical position for maximum oxygen saturation....

the good news is we probably will avoid a stay in the hospital this time (unlike last October)...

the bad news is he NEEDS to get well before his cleft palate repair, which we have been waiting months for and is scheduled for Feb. 17!

A few prayers would be appreciated.

Coffee would be too...I think I slept a total of 83 minutes last night.