11/19/2025
❤️
Thankful. Grateful. Blessed.
Those are just the beginning of how I feel as I reflect upon this season of thankfulness.
As I sit here tonight - after a Thanksgiving Feast at preschool- I’m reflecting upon how truly grateful that I am for God’s blessing upon our life together.
Those of you who have followed us for a while know how much of an impact this baby girl has made on our life, in her few short years.
We met her when she was just 11 months old.
She was essentially living at Dallas Children’s Hospital - being kept alive by tubes, pumps & machines.
She couldn’t hardly sit up, much less crawl or walk.
She hardly made any expression at all that first day that I met her. It was as if she was looking through me, rather than at me.
I was so overwhelmed by the hospital room, but it was her reality. Her normal.
Our story together started when we tried to help her parents who were very young & going through a tough time. They eventually asked if Dan & I would foster her while they try to work through some things.
We felt absolutely ill-equipped but also couldn’t help but think that God would guide us & lead us, If we stepped out In faith.
We began the process to foster her - which is a long, daunting process filled with paperwork, checks & balances, court visits, home visits & so much more.
I had been a stay at home mom most of my kids lives. Not just a stay at home mom but a stay at home homeschool mom. Our youngest was still nursing at the time.
I had literally never been away from my kids - & they had never been away from me - and then suddenly the Lord brought this little girl into our lives.
Dan & I became like ships passing in the night. He was working two jobs. We had seven children & a very busy homestead. He would come home & I’d walk out the door, before it even closed most nights.
I remember getting down to the hospital, getting report, checking in on baby girl, getting in some snuggles, and then driving home at about 2 AM. Every day.
Our oldest daughter was a bartender, so I would call her as she was cleaning up - she would help keep me awake for the drive.
And then each morning, we would wake up again at 6 AM and start over.
I remember all the diagnoses.
She had a central line in her chest. She was missing the fingers on her little right hand. She had a feeding tube. She was missing 75% of her intestines. Chronic lung disease. She may never walk or talk. She may never potty train. She might not be able to see or hear.
It was almost unbearable to hear.
I remember sitting in that hospital room listening to worship music every day.
I remember the doctors coming in and telling us that things might not get better.
Before we could try to take her home, she needed one more really big surgery. But there were all sorts of hurdles in the way that kept pushing that surgery back.
The days in the hospital were long and difficult. Being away from my kids was so hard.
But the thought of taking home such a medically complex baby with absolutely no medical experience myself - It terrified me most days.
It wasn’t just a physical aspect of dealing with her medical necessity, but also the logistics. The supplies. The machines. The pumps. All the things that could go wrong.
The sleepless nights.
The fears.
The endless CPS meetings & paperwork & hurdles along the way.
Her big surgery was finally completed and we brought her home.
We were in and out of the hospital for many months. With a central line in her chest, she faced constant risk of a pretty serious infection.
Doctors told us that she would need that central line for many years. I remember telling them that I was going to pray for a miracle - that it could come out. And I remember them looking at me like I was nuts.
I remember asking friends & family to pray. Asking many of you to pray. We were building a pool and our prayer was that her central line could come out before it was finished - so she could swim.
The days came and went.
Hospital stays came and went.
Her parents ultimately ended up asking us to adopt her.
Adoption day came and went. It was one of the most precious days of our life.
And then, we ended up back in the hospital. I remember begging and pleading with the doctors to give her a chance without a central line. It was May - just about 10 months after we brought her home. 10 months after we had been told that she would need the central line for years.
They reluctantly agreed to let us have a trial period without her central line … and against all odds - by the power & might of God - that line never went back into her chest.
He is so, so faithful.
Time pressed on.
We were told she would likely never walk on her own & instructed to order a gait trainer for walking. Insurance took forever to approve it - & in the process, she began to crawl. And walk. And run!
We were told that she likely couldn’t fully see or hear due to damage while she was on life support - but she began to show signs that she could do both.
We weren’t sure If she would learn to speak - and now she talks more than ever.
Short gut babies tend to linger very low on growth charts but she grew like a w**d.
We weren’t sure she’d potty train before kindergarten - and yet as of last week, she is fully potty trained during the day.
She still has a heating tube for almost all of her caloric content, but is starting to take little bites here and there. We are trusting that that will come out one day, in due time.
As I sit here tonight & reflect upon our journey - I’m in awe of God.
I’m so grateful that He brought us this little girl.
For the legacy that the miracles in her life will show people forever & ever.
For the ways that we have grown in faith & as a family through the process.
For seven kids who did not grow resentful when their mom left to care for a baby that they had not yet even met - in the midst of COVID & hospital restrictions.
For a husband who said yes to it all & stood by my side through every hurdle. Who helped keep me grounded when the weight of the world felt crushing.
For every caseworker, for our judge, for our attorney, and for her parents.
For a nurse who has become a best friend & a constant helper. 
For your prayers.
And for a God who ordained every single step of the process - and arranged every moment for the glory of His kingdom.
I’m thankful this season & always for a God who knows better than we do - and who guides our path with grace, provision & power like nothing else ever could - this side of Heaven.
For the reminder that He Is bigger than any diagnosis.
He Is a good, good Father.
Happy Thanksgiving, sweet baby bean ❤️
