A memorial Video of Melinda.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/284221/40/Rome-missionary-left-to-raise-7-children-on-his-own
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Update and important news / prayer request
We are preparing for the funeral as a family and the closer we come to it, the more real everything becomes to us. We are now accepting that we will be laying our mother in the ground on Friday morning.
The results that we have received from Grayson's medical tests have indicated that her white blood cell count is normal, and her platelet level has increased from 72, to 79. We are so happy that she is feeling better and that she is progressing, but she is still feeling sick and needs prayer.
After the funeral tomorrow, there will be a time for fellowship and as well, you will be able to write your own personal memories, prayers, and messages in a journal and also inside a picture frame with Melinda's photo in it.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Obituary for Melinda
Melinda Michielsen Evans, formerly of Rome, GA, passed away March 13, 2013 at the
Hospital in Santo Domingo after a brief illness.
Melinda Michielsen Evans was born in Rome, GA at Floyd Hospital on April 1, 1971 to Louise Free Michielsen and J. L. Michielsen. She was a graduate from Armuchee High School in 1989. She married David William Evans, son of Sam and Jean Evans of Rome, August 18, 1990 at the First Baptist Church of Rome. At the time of her death, she was serving as a missionary in the Dominican Republic with her family.
She is survived by her husband David and seven children: Jackson Cooper Evans and his wife Erin of Antigua, Guatemala where they are missionaries with YWAM, Jacob Wesley Evans, Denver, CO, Grayson Elizabeth Evans, Sarah Joy Evans, Tyler Isaac Evans, Elisha "Eli" Samuel Yu Evans, and Naomi Rose Yu Evans of the Dominican Republic. She is also survived by her mother, Louise Michielsen and a brother Wesley Lewis Michielsen of Dacula, Ga.
Melinda was best known for her loving spirit, her tremendous love for David and their children, her enduring love for her Mother, her great zest for life, and her unending faith in God. She grew up in the First Baptist Church of Rome where she learned about Missions in Mission Friends, the GAs and Acteens. This planted a seed that led to the mission work that she and David felt God led them to do. As a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Rome she grew in her abiding love of Jesus Christ her Savior and was nurtured by loving church friends and her Pastor Rev. Jeff Chadwick.
Melinda had many talents. She sculptured and made beautiful pieces of pottery on her very own pottery wheel and painted portraits of the children along with seasonal scenes. Some of her other hobbies included crocheting, quilting and scrap booking. She will be remembered for her loving heart, her sweet spirit and kindness to others. Her spiritual devotion, trust and faith have been present in all of her relationships and Life's work.
A memorial service honoring the life of Melinda Michielsen Evans will be held at the First Presbyterian Church at 4:00 pm on Thursday, March 21. The body will lie in state in the sanctuary of the church from 2:30 pm until time for the service. Following the service, the family will greet friends in King Hall. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers contributions can be made for the Evans family at Food for the Hungry: www.fh.org/63502.
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Melinda-Evans&lc=4768&pid=163731565&mid=5464715
Hospital in Santo Domingo after a brief illness.
Melinda Michielsen Evans was born in Rome, GA at Floyd Hospital on April 1, 1971 to Louise Free Michielsen and J. L. Michielsen. She was a graduate from Armuchee High School in 1989. She married David William Evans, son of Sam and Jean Evans of Rome, August 18, 1990 at the First Baptist Church of Rome. At the time of her death, she was serving as a missionary in the Dominican Republic with her family.
She is survived by her husband David and seven children: Jackson Cooper Evans and his wife Erin of Antigua, Guatemala where they are missionaries with YWAM, Jacob Wesley Evans, Denver, CO, Grayson Elizabeth Evans, Sarah Joy Evans, Tyler Isaac Evans, Elisha "Eli" Samuel Yu Evans, and Naomi Rose Yu Evans of the Dominican Republic. She is also survived by her mother, Louise Michielsen and a brother Wesley Lewis Michielsen of Dacula, Ga.
Melinda was best known for her loving spirit, her tremendous love for David and their children, her enduring love for her Mother, her great zest for life, and her unending faith in God. She grew up in the First Baptist Church of Rome where she learned about Missions in Mission Friends, the GAs and Acteens. This planted a seed that led to the mission work that she and David felt God led them to do. As a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Rome she grew in her abiding love of Jesus Christ her Savior and was nurtured by loving church friends and her Pastor Rev. Jeff Chadwick.
Melinda had many talents. She sculptured and made beautiful pieces of pottery on her very own pottery wheel and painted portraits of the children along with seasonal scenes. Some of her other hobbies included crocheting, quilting and scrap booking. She will be remembered for her loving heart, her sweet spirit and kindness to others. Her spiritual devotion, trust and faith have been present in all of her relationships and Life's work.
A memorial service honoring the life of Melinda Michielsen Evans will be held at the First Presbyterian Church at 4:00 pm on Thursday, March 21. The body will lie in state in the sanctuary of the church from 2:30 pm until time for the service. Following the service, the family will greet friends in King Hall. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers contributions can be made for the Evans family at Food for the Hungry: www.fh.org/63502.
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Melinda-Evans&lc=4768&pid=163731565&mid=5464715
Update on the Evans
Hello from the Evans,
We want to take a moment to update everyone as a family on our progress in health and with the funeral arrangements. The little ones are doing better and so is David, but Grayson is not doing so well. She is being checking out now by a pediatrician as I write you. We are praying for health over her body because she is sick with many symptoms of the Dengue Fever. We are still awaiting the results of the tests that were done last Friday by the Infectious Diseases Specialist.
The funeral will take place on Thursday, March 21 at 4:00pm at First Presbyterian Church of Rome, GA; the viewing of Melinda will take place prior to the funeral service, beginning at 2:30pm.
My father has decided to stay for 6 months at a house provided in Garden Lakes, Rome. This will allow him to heal and have time to recover, allowing the kids to have a consistent life were they can process the past 6 months of their lives and more importantly, their lives with their mother.
Prayer Requests:
We need health and energy to continue with life. Financial gifts are very appreciated right now more then ever and we ask God to open the hearts of the little guys and allow them to feel free to mourn and grieve for the life of their mother.
Note:
To access The Evans Family's personal CareCalendar site,
We want to take a moment to update everyone as a family on our progress in health and with the funeral arrangements. The little ones are doing better and so is David, but Grayson is not doing so well. She is being checking out now by a pediatrician as I write you. We are praying for health over her body because she is sick with many symptoms of the Dengue Fever. We are still awaiting the results of the tests that were done last Friday by the Infectious Diseases Specialist.
The funeral will take place on Thursday, March 21 at 4:00pm at First Presbyterian Church of Rome, GA; the viewing of Melinda will take place prior to the funeral service, beginning at 2:30pm.
My father has decided to stay for 6 months at a house provided in Garden Lakes, Rome. This will allow him to heal and have time to recover, allowing the kids to have a consistent life were they can process the past 6 months of their lives and more importantly, their lives with their mother.
Prayer Requests:
We need health and energy to continue with life. Financial gifts are very appreciated right now more then ever and we ask God to open the hearts of the little guys and allow them to feel free to mourn and grieve for the life of their mother.
Note:
To access The Evans Family's personal CareCalendar site,
visit http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/143258 and enter
the following information in the appropriate spaces:
CALENDAR ID : 143258
SECURITY CODE : 6721
For those of you wanting to make a financial contribution to the family, they can be made through Food for the Hungry at the following link. www.fh.org/63502
Thanks again for everyone's generosity. David and the family are overwhelmed and so grateful.
Over All may God have the Glory of it all!!
May our life and my mom's testimony resound within our hearts and minds. May we be changed, strengthened, and encouraged by the love that she gave while being with us and that she left us.
GO WITH GOD AND SERVE HIM WELL
Thanks again for everyone's generosity. David and the family are overwhelmed and so grateful.
Over All may God have the Glory of it all!!
May our life and my mom's testimony resound within our hearts and minds. May we be changed, strengthened, and encouraged by the love that she gave while being with us and that she left us.
GO WITH GOD AND SERVE HIM WELL
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Medical Information from the Evans Family
We were all evaluated yesterday (March 15) and we are now waiting for the results of the blood tests. We are all medically stable and recovering from the Dengue fever, and a couple of colds. We are now working on having Melinda's body flown to the US, and will finalize the funeral arrangements later on. They will be announced in the Rome News Tribune. If you would like to help out with anything please email us at careforevans@yahoo.com.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Coming Clean :) finally....
Good Sunday morning to all ~ Sitting here in the window desk space of my home in the Dominican, I can say that TODAY is a NEW day ... Hallelujah. Have you ever had span of time where in the thick of it you can hardly breath..much less, think of means to communicate ? maybe you have to be an over thinker, artistic type like me to find yourself in such a bind as that... i'm not really sure. Honestly, since meeting our sweet Naomi Rose and beginning our beautiful journey with her, life has left me speechless more times than I've ever recorded. I have never stood in deeper puddles of tears, nor more frequently, than in these last months... a blog post for another time would be filling you all in on the challenges we've met since being here in our country. I have always been steady in my walk with the Lord no matter how close the flames came to me... I have even had seasons of life where many many hours have been spent laying on the floor, crying to the Lord to save me ... sleeping with my Bible in my hands under my covers with me so as to feel THAT close to the Lord and his word that my PROTECTION truly lay next to me ..... these days...... i have allowed exhaustion to take over, to become numb and mindless to the battle around me... i have chosen to take up my worldly sword and stand before my enemy with a glare and gloating matter that in the end have left me wounded and weary.
Last Sunday, I found myself in church...husband at home with 4 of our children... he was on his 2 day of a nasty "flu" like "cold" .... Only at his request did i leave home... This was the very first church visit we've had since our time in the states. At the first note of the first song God took my heart and cared for it so deeply that i fell apart.... oh the LOVE that i received from my Savior and Lord... i honestly can say that the presence of the Lord was there as thick as the ocean sand after a heavy rain.. FULL of water for my weary soul.... the message was from Matthew 22 : 37... Jesus saying to one of the "experts of the law" ... his question to Jesus was , " what is the greatest commandment ?" ... Jesus replied , " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. " This is the first and greatest commandment. ( it goes on with more beautiful words... ) In a matter of moments i heard so very clearly the Lord speak to my heart... oh Melinda .... that is your hurt.. your exhaustion, your emptiness.. your LONLINESS... God began to speak to me :
Dearest Melinda,
I have brought you here and provided your "little" to teach you that you need MUCH of me.
I have given you days with no water to show you that I ALONE am your water when your soul is parched and you are coughing up sand.
I have given you days with no power to show you that I am the LIGHT of the world... a candle alone will give you a path at night and even make you cozy in your little world child, but a candle will burn out ...it is even dangerous to have near with little ones around... oh Melinda, can't you SEE ... can't you see me?..even when the world gives your darkness, that if you desire to see MY way, you MUST SEE me FIRST ?
I have taken your refrigerator and your stove from you to show you that child, you CANNOT depend nor rest in the comforts of "your kind of foods"... there are ways to live that can only be explored if you rise up to them... you Melinda, did not rise up when i asked you quietly and now i am TEACHING you a better way... I am your BREAD ..I am your WATER...I am your POWER and I am your strength... WHEN you lean into me.... I have kept my word to you true recorded in Dueteronomy... i will never leave you and i will forever go before you like a consuming FIRE in front of you and scorch by flame your enemy ( my wording) ... THEREFORE , David and Sarah Joy will , by my allowing, WILL survive this virus ( Dengie Fever) that appears to be overtaking them... Melinda , you MUST rest... NINE days of fever and fatigue are NOTHING to me...in MY time child..in MY time..
Psalm 37:8 .. Refrain from ANGER and TURN FROM wrath; do not FRET - IT LEADS ONLY TO EVIL. Do NOT be angry with me child... you are sitting in sin ... your temper is overshadowing your days sweet girl.
My Dearest Melinda, I , your God have bought you and and paid the highest price for your heart child. At the roll of a dice and the sneering of a crowd, I turned my back on my son... in the darkness of a storm a CURTAIN was torn FOREVER ... a new day dawned ... salvation for the sinner was awakened and IN YOUR HEART i have called you out to be mine ! Do not loose a moment of sleep on your OWN behalf... I WILL battle this war around you... you are mine... no worker of the enemy ...not even a misquito may have your life without my word....NOR the life of your HUSBAND NOR your CHILD... do NOT forget..they are MINE FIRST child. I love them MORE THAN YOU Melinda..believe it or not .
I am passionate for you child.... I am committed to you child... you are MINE and I am YOURS ... i desire great amounts of JOY to come from these days together... will you meet me Melinda?... will you LOVE me with ALL of your HEART ? with ALL of you SOUL ? with ALL of your mind?
Talk to me.... I'm listening...
Your Father in Earth and Heaven ,
Abba God~
And so, a new day has come... yes.. Abba God... i AM listening. I am being STILL... and with tears the size of creation I HEAR YOU !
....
This is where I have been....
Coming Clean.... FINALLY ~ Thanks for listening... May your days be blessed. May the Lord meet you where you are and for crying out loud....
COME CLEAN... you'll wear yourself out...believe me ! It's better to rest at the Lord's feet than to just sit there yanking on the edging of his robe ! He's waiting for you to come clean .....
Last Sunday, I found myself in church...husband at home with 4 of our children... he was on his 2 day of a nasty "flu" like "cold" .... Only at his request did i leave home... This was the very first church visit we've had since our time in the states. At the first note of the first song God took my heart and cared for it so deeply that i fell apart.... oh the LOVE that i received from my Savior and Lord... i honestly can say that the presence of the Lord was there as thick as the ocean sand after a heavy rain.. FULL of water for my weary soul.... the message was from Matthew 22 : 37... Jesus saying to one of the "experts of the law" ... his question to Jesus was , " what is the greatest commandment ?" ... Jesus replied , " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. " This is the first and greatest commandment. ( it goes on with more beautiful words... ) In a matter of moments i heard so very clearly the Lord speak to my heart... oh Melinda .... that is your hurt.. your exhaustion, your emptiness.. your LONLINESS... God began to speak to me :
Dearest Melinda,
I have brought you here and provided your "little" to teach you that you need MUCH of me.
I have given you days with no water to show you that I ALONE am your water when your soul is parched and you are coughing up sand.
I have given you days with no power to show you that I am the LIGHT of the world... a candle alone will give you a path at night and even make you cozy in your little world child, but a candle will burn out ...it is even dangerous to have near with little ones around... oh Melinda, can't you SEE ... can't you see me?..even when the world gives your darkness, that if you desire to see MY way, you MUST SEE me FIRST ?
I have taken your refrigerator and your stove from you to show you that child, you CANNOT depend nor rest in the comforts of "your kind of foods"... there are ways to live that can only be explored if you rise up to them... you Melinda, did not rise up when i asked you quietly and now i am TEACHING you a better way... I am your BREAD ..I am your WATER...I am your POWER and I am your strength... WHEN you lean into me.... I have kept my word to you true recorded in Dueteronomy... i will never leave you and i will forever go before you like a consuming FIRE in front of you and scorch by flame your enemy ( my wording) ... THEREFORE , David and Sarah Joy will , by my allowing, WILL survive this virus ( Dengie Fever) that appears to be overtaking them... Melinda , you MUST rest... NINE days of fever and fatigue are NOTHING to me...in MY time child..in MY time..
Psalm 37:8 .. Refrain from ANGER and TURN FROM wrath; do not FRET - IT LEADS ONLY TO EVIL. Do NOT be angry with me child... you are sitting in sin ... your temper is overshadowing your days sweet girl.
My Dearest Melinda, I , your God have bought you and and paid the highest price for your heart child. At the roll of a dice and the sneering of a crowd, I turned my back on my son... in the darkness of a storm a CURTAIN was torn FOREVER ... a new day dawned ... salvation for the sinner was awakened and IN YOUR HEART i have called you out to be mine ! Do not loose a moment of sleep on your OWN behalf... I WILL battle this war around you... you are mine... no worker of the enemy ...not even a misquito may have your life without my word....NOR the life of your HUSBAND NOR your CHILD... do NOT forget..they are MINE FIRST child. I love them MORE THAN YOU Melinda..believe it or not .
I am passionate for you child.... I am committed to you child... you are MINE and I am YOURS ... i desire great amounts of JOY to come from these days together... will you meet me Melinda?... will you LOVE me with ALL of your HEART ? with ALL of you SOUL ? with ALL of your mind?
Talk to me.... I'm listening...
Your Father in Earth and Heaven ,
Abba God~
And so, a new day has come... yes.. Abba God... i AM listening. I am being STILL... and with tears the size of creation I HEAR YOU !
....
This is where I have been....
Coming Clean.... FINALLY ~ Thanks for listening... May your days be blessed. May the Lord meet you where you are and for crying out loud....
COME CLEAN... you'll wear yourself out...believe me ! It's better to rest at the Lord's feet than to just sit there yanking on the edging of his robe ! He's waiting for you to come clean .....
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
C.R.A.Z.Y.....
wow... our life here is C. R. A. Z. Y.... crazy busy, crazy different, crazy stretching, crazy amounts of opportunity to do life in ministry mode, crazy labor intensive.... just crazy. I keep thinking that i will have the time to catch up on this blog... update our Rosie "stuff" , our ministry "stuff" and life is FLYING by... there are a million funny things and things of huge importance that are happening and you are missing them all .... because I'm waiting ...waiting on time, waiting on the "right" way to say something, waiting on the internet :) ..... and so I have decided the easiest thing is just to start loading photos and give a brief info tag and move on...
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| Our home in the Dominican... just moving in... LOTS of work to do :) |
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| Banana tress in our yard |
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| coconut trees too. |
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| our windows have bars and little slats of glass that we roll up during the night ... we have also put screens on these to keep all of the million miscitoes out during the night |
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| my kitchen sink... this is where I wash dishes AND ALL of our clothes ! whew ! |
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| I have to laugh at this one... it is a picture of our stove and our refrigerator ... both of which were GONE the day we moved in unannounced to us :) |
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| God kept a very cool little swing from a coconut tree in the back yard for play |
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| backyard...just the frame on the trampoline much to my joy... no thank you on the trampoline... i have NO idea where the hospital is yet for any broken bones :) |
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| it DOES double as a GREAT laundry line though :) |
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| these are the windows being taped up with screen to keep bugs and "other" guest out... :) |
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| I was so very overwhelmed when we first moved in to our home...i still am on many days quite honestly.. it is very labor intensive as i've mentioned and i'm just not ( was not ) skilled in eating from the cuff, (no stove OR refrigerator) , no power, no water on many days (usually on the days, so far, when sweet Rosie has poopy diapers) , no car to venture out ..... just when i needed a word from the Lord on the vision of such living for me ... Eli ran in and shouted that he had found this heart shaped rock in our back yard.... THANK YOU LORD ! You DO hear the cries of your people and CARE for us WELL ~ I am CERTAIN that you love us all |
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| this man QUICKLY became SUPERMAN.... aka ...inverter guy.. |
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| i didn't even know what an inverter was until i met this man..... it is a HUGELY important GIFT given to us by several people from the states.... it basically means that in 90 degree weather at night .... we can have AIR via FANS...ahhhhhh! |
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| this is the inverter.... it also makes coffee, fans work , lights come on and our computers charge..... NO ONE TOUCHES the inverter :) |
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| travel buddy visits the DR ..... with her sweet husband... they came with lots of goodies and encouragement. Notice to the monkey in the background :) |
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| Our version of the "Walton's " dinner table.... |
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| Grayson preparing popcorn for her English class that she has going on Saturdays. |
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| kids leaving school in our community |
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| Veggie and fruit vendor in our neighborhood |
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| Rosie goes NOWHERE without her sunglasses... TWO pair are always better |
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| Lynn's husband giving a try at getting down a coconut.... he did it ! |
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| David and Lynn... fun! |
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| my Valentines' Day present slash campfire coffee time with Dave.... sweetness. |
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| We enjoyed our Valentines Day coffee served in our Starbucks coffee mugs...each one is from the country where our boys are living... Cooper in Guatemala and Jacob in Denver, USA |
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| Grayson began her English class this past Saturday with two students... so sweet . They showed up giving her a Valentines day bear..... |
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| .....30 minutes into her class of 2 , 13 more children walked up the hill with one mother who also attended class... we were all BLESSED beyond measure at the turn out... everyone saying that they had a blast and will return next week. yea~ whew...LOTS of photos... more to come...as i said...LOTS going on here... LOTS of ministry , life and blessing.... adios for now.... |
Saturday, January 26, 2013
I apologize for this being so long getting out. Our time with our little Rose is an every day changing time and it's hard to keep up with her past as we go so quickly forward... praise be to God ! Forward...ahh... her past is so passing. Yea ! goes my soul while not forgetting at the same time. I have taken much time to pray, pray , fast even and pray again in regards to this post. After time in a fast, I decided even to seek council from a dear friend who is involved deeply in adoption and all to familiar with the surprises, blessings and hurts these journey's of surrendering can bring. After her council, I have decided to share some photos and ..with a sad heart.. with hold MOST of Naomi's story..the details... the juicy .."you're not gonna believe what God did" stuff... WHY? .. i know ! This is the stuff that NEEDS to be heard and seen ..BUT .. NEVER at the cost of the gospel, someone's job and the blessings of someone else receiving the goodness that i did in China. Just gotta trust me... God shocked me and a handful of people the ENTIRE time !
So... here are some photos... a million more to come as i can post them. We are about to move again here in the D. R. for the THIRD ( yuck! ) time this coming Thursday and so there is so much to post about that is happening in our every day. My thoughts are to throw out some photos today...prayerfully the internet will work ( most of the time it doesn't ) and i'll throw some more out tomorrow and then on with life and ministry here in the D. R.
....... and so....
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| Signing TONS of papers at the place where i was to receive our little Rosie. |
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| Getting my hands on our Naomi Rose for the very first time... hilarious little fact for ya... i HATE angry birds... i NEVER have gotten the attraction to it... what does she come to me with as her ONLY toy..yep ~ an angry bird window sticky thing.... uggg. Hilarious... her only attraction to it at the end of the day was the sucker part that adheres to the window ...and so what did this angry bird hating mama do ? I cut the bird , gave it to the house keeper and passed the sucker on to my beloved... problem solved...happy mama...happy girl . |
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| this is where her story gets tricky.... the short of it is ... when i received our littlest, i was handed a very wounded child. I was told that she couldn't walk for long periods of time, she can't go potty, she only eats rice, she doesn't drink anything, she cannot feed herself, she may not hear, she has never spoken a single word, she never hits anyone or herself and she is attached to no one and no one is attached to her.... ( silence and LOTS of tears fell at these painful words) a miracle of enormous proportions occurred. We left... Finally... together at last. Mother and Daughter... Healing Rain literally fell from the sky ... i knew without a doubt that God had spared my life for this child and this child had been spared for my life. the details... the challenges... belong to God. I am TOTALLY at peace with this. Everything is miraculous. |
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| checking me out ... :) |
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| trying to escape..no chance girly girl... you are LOVED passionately for the first time in your life... no chance i'm letting you go. |
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| Our Rosie loves her thumb. |
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| photo of the Healing Rain that fell from the sky as we left the center. A more appropriate exit could not have been arranged. Rain falling .... washing away the stench of a sketchy and painful past... only to dry and make a fresh spot for LIVING . |
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| Just to end on a smiley note and a happier spot in the trip... while rain fell outside we headed to WalMart of all places... riding the escalator up into one of the largest WalMarts i've ever personally been in :) New places... New days..... more to come .... :) |
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