Friday, July 30, 2010


so we get to brooke's house and ethan and josiah run and jump in her lap. it was just beautiful. every now and then brooke would look at ethan and smile really big. she loves her brothers. her brothers are the only ones that i know of that can get that close/personal to her for a lengthy amount of time w/o getting slapped or hit. it's just precious.

i got to spend some time w/brooke yesterday at the group home. she seemed a bit reserved and to her self...however it was great to be in her space and sit close to her!
even though she is just 3 miles down the road i miss her!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

easter


yes, i'm just now experiencing Easter in July...in more ways than just one.
brooke came to church w/us on Easter...and it was adorable!

she crossed her legs and everything while she was in her dress...

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

finger/Advocate

brooke has been picking at her fingers so badly that 2 infections have come up on different fingers. she has been to the doctor w/both and they have drained them. she has lost each finger nail and has been on a anti-biotic to ilmenite further infection. it looks painful and must feel painful.

the boys at the cottage got to meet brooke yesterday. josiah and ethan answered the questions they had..it was sweet. josiah and ethan were so proud to introduce her to them! i loved seeing the excitement!

Just yesterday bill and i were talking about Jesus being our Advocate. I loved thinking on Him as such and it was a huge encouragement to me knowing that He has not only paid the price for us...but daily He fights for us and presents us to His Father....
I love being an advocate for Brooke. I will continue to be her voice and fight for her when she cannot...

Monday, July 12, 2010

just beautiful

just so you know....when we are off duty at the children's home i do not have access to a computer to share information, news, pictures, etc...except on facebook. we do not own a computer right now....so posting does not happen as often as i would like...

with that said...we have been out of pocket for 10 days. bill went to Guatemala and i took the boys to Memphis, saw family, visited some special friends, and came back home to spend some one-one-one with brooke. Bill had a very interesting trip out of the country....and me, i felt like i went out of the country as well. Needless to say it was good for all of us!

It was great to spend so much time with brooke. i took her to the dentist in Pensacola, Fl ate lunch at the relief house and then i took her back to her group home...later that Tuesday night she spent the night w/me and we had a little slumber party. we ate pizza and drank coke in the bed...watching TV of course! it was truly a girls night! she finally drifted off to sleep around 10:30. i took her to school the next day. Wednesday and Thursday i was busy packing up our relief house for us all to move to another house the children's home owns. i spent more time w/her at her group home both days...just hanging out in her world. bill came back on Thursday night...so Friday we grabbed her for some ice-cream at marble slab. the picture (on facebook) is just amazing!!! i will have to post it on the blog soon.

Sunday was a beautiful day with brooke. i asked her staff if they could join us at church...and gladly they came. i love when she comes to church w/us. typically we sit in the back and every now and then you hear a "yep" or "hello" echo thru the sanctuary. i love the sounds she makes! Sunday, i had no idea we would get to participate in the Lord's Supper. brooke has never been in a service w/us where we have done this as a family..but Sunday was our day. i wish you could have seen and experienced what i saw. leaning on her daddy's shoulder she watched us carefully as i grabbed 3 pieces of the bread and 3 cups of the "juice"...(after she hit the tray w/her foot...i almost lost it all...but thankfully i caught it.) at "our" special time, i gave the piece to brooke in her little fingers and she put it in her mouth...and then we proceeded. it was beautiful! i cannot paint the picture w/words, not could i "paint" it at all except to say it was so peacefully beautiful! i will never forget that day. i needed that day...and God knew it!

God is the keeper of our hearts. He is doing a work in our hearts and i'm finding that i cannot be without Him not one second. I'm trusting that He is making a way for us...for all of us. As the proverbs says.."and she smiles at her future".

Brooke's future is all smiles....and i'm leaning heavily on Him for it!