The Words You Thought You'd Never Hear From Me

I've.

Joined.

(gulp)

Facebook.

Don't everyone gasp at once!

I almost feel like a traitor to my faithful anti-facebook friends, but, alas.....

the things you do for your kids.

This one's for you, Lily.

Y'all can actually thank my friends Leslie and Marcille for convincing me that using Facebook to get the word out about Lily's adoption and our upcoming fundraisers was a good idea. ;)

Truthfully, I've had a fb account for several years because I had to "like" I.O. Metro in order to get a $125 discount off a chair we bought there. I think that even my anti-facebook cohorts would agree that saving $125 was a worthwhile reason to join.

The only other reason I've used the account since then was so my friend Michelle could easily send me pictures she'd taken of our family.  So Michelle has been my one and only "friend" for a while now.

Then Miss Lily came along.

While researching her orphanage in China, I came across a family's blog. This family was also adopting a little girl who had lived in Lily's orphanage. I contacted Kelly, the author of the blog, and she said she was a part of a fb group of mama's who had adopted/were adopting from Lily's orphanage, so she asked me to join the group.

I joined this beautiful fb group of ladies and, honestly, words can never express what a blessing these girls have been to me over the past 3 months.

{I plan to write a post (or several!) about these wonderful families so stay tuned!}

Now it's time to spread the fb love because, despite our current "standstill" with China over Lily's health, we want to move forward with fundraising.

I'm praying that fb will help us cast a wider net --- and not just to help us raise money but also help us raise awareness about the need there is for orphans to have forever families to love them.

I'm still a little wary of the whole fb thing, so if I don't know you, I probably won't be your friend...

But if you're already my friend in real life, go to fb and ask me to be your friend.

{That all sounds SO STUPID, by the way - HA!}

And for no reason at all, other than the fact that he's so utterly cute, I'm posting a pic of my li'l man :)

Practicing turning pages in my book

Mommy, you're so silly!

Love y'all!
Elaine

She Made It!!!

We got word today that Lily has made it to the medical care center!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

This is the second time I've gotten news about Lily while at Wal-Mart - I bet those people think I'm Cuh-RAY-zee!!!

That's the only news we got, but I've been praying so much for Lily today --- that she handled the long drive well; is adjusting to sleeping in her new bed; and is loving her new nannies.

It is already Wednesday morning in China. I have no idea if today will be the day that the doctors will start running tests and making assessments about her health.

I hope so. But I'm so nervous about it all.

I wish I could be with her so badly.

I literally want to run to her.

And trust me.....I ain't never wanted to run nowhere ;)

Love,
Elaine

The Great Unknown...Where Feet May Fail

My previous post was written on Februrary 18th.

The very next day I received a phone call that caused me to remove it from this blog.

I re-posted it today....but we are in need of some intercessors for our sweet Lily.

On February 18th, I had gotten word that our home study was being submitted for a final check to our adoption agency - GREAT NEWS!!!

The CCCWA (China's Center for Adoption Affairs) had given us pre-approval to adopt Lily in December and now we were being given the stamp of approval by the powers-that-be in America: 

We were in the clear! We are fit to be Lily's parents. WooHoo!

I was feelin' good about things so I decided it was time to make our big announcement on the blog! :)

Less than 24 hours later, I got a phone call from our adoption agency:

They told us that Lily's health is deteriorating and the CCCWA is no longer allowing her to be adopted.

In between the long periods of silence when I couldn't speak because I was crying so hard, I managed to have a decent conversation with our case worker and got as much information as I could about the situation.

Lily's health is bad.

Doug and I knew this when we decided to adopt her.

We even knew her life might be short.

And the thought of burying another child makes my hands shake even as I type these words.

But, oooooohhhhh, dear friends.....

When you KNOW the Lord has spoken....

When you EXPERIENCE His peace when fear is gripping you....

You MUST say "Yes!" to the great unknown.

We said yes, and now things hang so delicately in the balance.

Lily is OUR daughter. 

Doug and I saw her face for the first time on November 9th, 2013.

Over the days that followed, as we prayed and sought the Lord's guidance about whether or not we should adopt her, I discovered a piece of my heart that I'd never felt before....

A piece that was created just for her.

And just as with all of my other children, I can't remember a time when she wasn't there....

It's as though she's always been in my heart.

But when I got that call, y'all.....

My feet failed.

I took my eyes off of God.

I forgot the truth of His character.

I felt like Doug and I had heard Him wrong.

I felt defeated.

I even took my blog post from the previous day off of the internet.

THANKFULLY, the Lord was gracious enough to quickly get a hold of my waning spirit, and, within 24 hours, my mind had been renewed as He reminded me of all the ways He has made known to us that we should walk this path toward adopting Lily.

SO.

What are we doing about this news?

#1 - We're praying. We're praying for Lily and her health. Please join us in praying for our little girl.

#2 - Our adoption agency has persuaded Lily's orphanage NOT to take her file from the CCCWA....yet. They've bought us a little time.

#3 - We are managing to get Lily transferred out of her orphanage and into a medical care center. As of today, Lily has not yet been transferred, but we expect to hear that she's been moved within the next day or two.

We are waiting (anxiously!) for her to make this move to the medical care center. Once there, doctors will re-examine her, run tests and, hopefully, be able to provide us with much more extensive information about her diagnosis and prognosis.

When we shared this news with our small group this weekend, they asked, "What can we pray for specifically?"

We landed on the word DISCERNMENT.

Please pray that the Lord will provide discernment to the doctors who examine Lily, our adoption agency, the CCCWA and our family - That's A LOT of people who are in need of some discernment, y'all. 

But just LOOK at the precious life these decisions will impact!

As always, thank you for your love and support!

Elaine

We're Expecting...

...a 3-year old! :)

Yes, friends, the Lord has led our family to embark on a new faith adventure: ADOPTION!!!

On November 9, 2013, we first laid eyes on a picture of a little girl in China who was in need of a forever family.

This cute li'l thing stirred our hearts.

The first picture we ever saw of our daughter

When Doug and I saw her picture and read about her situation, we contacted the adoption agency who had her file.

We had A LOT of questions, and they answered them.

We spoke to our doctors here in Jackson about her medical diagnosis, and they helped us understand her medical condition as best they could based on the old information that was provided to us.

Over the course of the days that followed, we knew that the Lord was asking us to walk in obedience and pursue the adoption of this precious little girl.

On December 18th, we got our official pre-approval from China to adopt our daughter,

 Lily Meili Williams!!!

The most recent picture our adoption agency has of Lily.
Through the power of the internet,  however, I have even more recent pictures :)

Stay tuned for more of our story!!! (And more pictures of Miss Lily!)

Would you call this post Last Minute or Strategic?

This Saturday, November 2nd, Benaiah's school, The Little Light House, is hosting its first big fundraiser of the year, a 5k called Laps for Little Ones.

Obviously, Benaiah's first day of school :)

If you like to run and/or walk, pu-leeeeeeze come support this awesome ministry by participating in the 5k.  It costs $25 to pre-register and $30 to register on race day.

Apparently there are people in this world who get up on Saturday mornings and go for a run....for fun! Ha!

If you know anyone like this who lives in the Jackson area (I know very few), tell them to be at Jackson Academy at 8am on Saturday for their morning run.  Not only will they get their exercise but they'll get to meet some of the cutest kids on the face of the earth all decked out in their Super Hero costumes! :)

Two of Benaiah's sweet classmates

You can register by clicking here.
And be sure to say that you're running for Benaiah Williams!

With my teachers, Miss Carolyn and Miss Tammy

The Little Light House is a Bible-based, early intervention school for children with special needs, ages birth - 6.

Our family feels SO BLESSED to live in an area that can provide Benaiah with this amazing, loving environment.

Benaiah's spot at the table

And get this:  It's TUITION FREE

This year, each family has been challenged to raise $4000.  If we meet our goal, the daily expenses of The Little Light House will be met for the year and we are praying that it will also allow the school to hire new teachers and therapists for a fourth classroom!  There are about 40 kids on the waiting list, so it would be awesome if 8 of them could be taken off by the creation of this 4th classroom.

So far, our family has raised about $1200 so we have a few more dollars to go :)

Practicing waving with Miss Tammy and Mr. "C"

If you're not a runner/walker or you live too far away, we've set up a First Giving donation page in Benaiah's name.  You can go here to donate any amount of money you feel lead to give.

Mr. "C" giving Benaiah some lovin'.
I A.D.O.R.E. this kid and he loves Benaiah so much!

So is my plea for your help last minute?

Um, yes.

Sorry.

But it's also somewhat strategic.

How's that?

Tomorrow's PAY DAY!!!

When all y'all see that your pay checks have gone through to your bank account, click right on over to Benaiah's First Giving page and help our sweet little school out.

In conclusion, I just have to say that The Little Light House is awesome and if you had a child with special needs, you'd want him or her to go to school here.

And if that doesn't tug at your heartstrings, let me show you something that will:

The whole school surprised me and Doug by sending this picture to me while we were in Atlanta.

They had their own special balloon release in Caroline's memory!!!

Lump in throat.  Tears falling.

What did I tell you?  This place is amazing!

Love y'all!

Elaine

Register for race:
http://www.llhms.org/fundraising/2nd-annual-laps-for-little-ones-5k-and-fun-run/

Donate $$$:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/benaiahwilliams/lapsforlittleones

The Road to Atlanta

Four weeks ago, Benaiah and I relocated (temporarily!) to Atlanta, Georgia so that he could recieve treatment through an intensive feeding therapy program at a medical facility called the Marcus Autism Center.

Although Benaiah has grown MUCH taller over the past year - He's the tallest 2 year old you've ever seen! - he hasn't gained much weight - only about 2 1/2 pounds.

When we changed from infant formula to Pediasure in January, he began to get sick and vomit every day.

We couldn't put him back on infant formula, however, because it doesn't contain all the nutrients a toddler needs, so we were stuck with the Pediasure.

Because of his low muscle tone, Benaiah is limited in the consistency of the foods he can eat as well as the amount of food he can eat since his body seems to digest things slowly.

So not only were we stuck with the Pediasure, but we were dependent upon it in order for Benaiah's nutritional needs to be met.

The vomiting reached a new level in March and he was hospitalized for dehydration and failure to gain weight.

Daddy and Benaiah taking a stroll through the hospital

Multiple tests were run while we were in the hospital but nothing was ever found that could pinpoint why Benaiah was vomiting so much.



I don't like being in the hospital, Mommy :(

 

The nurses had to wrap his hands with diapers so that he wouldn't pull out his NG tube.
He didn't mind.  He enjoyed chewing on the diapers. :)


12 days later, we left the hospital with an NG tube in and with a more elemental formula called Peptamin Jr.


I'm so happy to be home!!!


Unfortunately, Benaiah continued to get sick, even with the NG tube and the new formula.

And that's when we heard the dreaded word:  G-tube

A G-tube, or gastrostomy tube, is a tube inserted through the abdomen that delivers nutrition directly to the stomach. It's one of the ways doctors can make sure kids with trouble eating get the fluid and calories they need to grow.

G-tubes serve a great purpose, but my "Mama gut" told me that this was not for my son...not right now anyway.

Doug and I began researching ways to avoid getting a G-tube and ran across several websites about Feeding Therapy Programs and how they aim to help kids with G-tubes become independent of them and how they help kids avoid getting G-tubes by helping them gain the skills they need to recieve most of their nutritional and caloric needs from food.

There are only a few of these programs around the country.  The program at Johns Hopkins and the one here at the Marcus Autism Center were the 2 that I was most impressed with, so it was a pretty easy decision to choose the one in Atlanta since it's closer to home and we have family and friends who live in the area.

Then the work began....3 months of doing paperwork, waiting, getting rejected because of insurance complications and an infamous "contract" that would never get signed, more phonecalls, phonecalls, phonecalls, waiting, rejected again, phonecalls, phonecalls....

Finally, we had to get our attorney involved in order to reassure all parties that the documents that were written and signed do ensure that money will be paid for services rendered - because it's not about Benaiah's health, but about whether or not payment will be made, right? Ugh! - and we finally got a start date of August 19th.

And that's how we got here!

Stay tuned to find out how things are going.... :)

Back From My Break!

I've enjoyed a little break from blogging since completing our 20 day celebration of Caroline's life.

But now I'm back and have so much to share....and so many things for you to pray for! :)