Ballerina Bowler

These were too hilarious to pass up. So our Tessa got into her closet recently. She saw her pretty purple tutu and decided it was a good day to be a ballerina. Then she saw her bag of bowling pins and ball, and decided that was a good idea too. What do you get with a tutu wearing ball thrower??? You guessed it...a bowling ballerina. That's our Tessa!

A Hug From Their Great Grandma!

The Kerger family has been blessed with four little girl cousins so far, Tessa, Mia, Gracie and Krosby. At Tessa's baby shower, she and I were given a very special gift. A relative of ours had a dress that had been made by my grandmother many decades ago. My grandmother had made it for her niece for her first birthday. She had kept it all these year. When she learned of Tessa middle name, Phyllis (my grandmother's name), she decided that this was a perfect opportunity to pass this dress on to the little one named for her. This handmade dress is so beautiful. When we put it on Tessa for pictures, it was like she was getting a hug from her great-grandmother in heaven! How could we not share that special hug? Here is Tessa in it.

Here is Mia.

Here is Gracie.

And recently, the youngest finally got her opportunity to share in the hugging. Krosby was the only one of the girls walking by the time we took pictures of her in the dress. It was even a little short, so her mommy thought ahead and brought some white leggings to the photo shoot. Smart thinking mommy!

We are so happy that all the girls got to partake in the hug from above! We miss you Great-Grammy! But we know you are watching from above enjoying all your grandkids from afar!

Puppy Love! (Our 100th Blog!)

It has been awhile since we posted some cute bulldoggie pics of our Pearl. She is getting so big! Last time she was at the vet about a month ago, she weighed 25 pounds. I hear her brothers are even bigger! She is such a lover! She loves to be around people, especially our kiddos. She is always trying to follow Tessa around, and comes and sits by Nate whenever he is on the floor.

Our lab Chimi and Pearl have grown to be best buddies! Here they are trying to squeeze into the crate together. Silly doggies!

HELP BRING BROCK HOME!

In our last post, I shared about the little guy I had fallen for, Brock. Since then I have been in communication with his forever family. I am so happy that God has given me this new friendship based upon a mutual love of not only Brock but children with Down Syndrome as well. We are wanting to help them in any way we can. To the right of the blog you will notice a link to donate money to help Brock come home. Our family would love to help their family, bringing Brock a few steps closer to the arms of his new family. If you are not in a place to donate money, please include the Mulkey family and Brock in your prayers. I will keep everyone updated as I hear things. Have a blessed day!

A Bittersweet Answered Prayer

For as long as I can remember, I have felt very connected to people with special needs. It wasn't hard to figure out what I would be doing shortly after starting college. There has been so many students with special needs that have touched my heart. Even with my ability to fill this love through my work, I still feel that God is calling us to pursue something more permanent.

About a year ago, I came across a website that highlights international children with Down Syndrome waiting to be adopted. (http://reecesrainbow.org/) Every once in awhile, I browse the site to see those precious little faces. Prior to Christmas, I came across a very special little boy. His name was Brock and he stole my heart. One of the things that drew us to him was his resemblance to our little Nate. Even Tessa mistook a picture of Brock for her "Bubbas".

Since then, we have been praying and considering the possibility of adding this little guy to our family. We know God's timing is perfect, so we were going to research the steps and begin praying to make sure this is where God was leading us to serve. All along, I was also praying for Brock. I felt selfish to only pray that he be part of our family. God also laid on my heart to pray for the possibility that he be adopted by another loving family. And so I did. I prayed that no matter who the family be, Brock would get a loving family that cherished his little face enough to call him theirs. Today God answered that prayer.

It is hard to think of all the love and prayer I have poured into this little guy and not end up with the happy ending of taking him into my arms. But I am so happy that he DOES have someone to call his and someone who is anxiously waiting the same things I was. Viewing their blog, they look like a very special family and I couldn't be happier for them.

We will be following this family's journey as they bring this little muffin home. We can't wait to see what God has in store for the Mulkey family, along with what he has in store for us.

http://throwingastarfish.blogspot.com/