HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE WORLD'S GREATEST AYI!

WE LOVE YOU AND ENJOY!

(please remember to scroll down and turn off background music)

Ask and ye shall receive.

I spent much of last evening in prayer asking God to give me affirmation as to what I'm doing. Is it what He wants? Am I following His will in doing what my heart believes is best for my child? I usually don't ask God for signs since I try so hard to walk by faith. But, last night. I did. I told Him that I needed to know that I was doing the right thing pertaining to Anna Grace.

This morning, Scott and I had a late breakfast and I put the kids down for an early nap. Then, I began to do something that I rarely do because a) I'm usually not interested and b) I don't have the time. But anyways, I started surfing blogging sites, not related to adoption. The 2nd site I open (that had nothing to do with adoption), this picture is the first thing I see.

THANK YOU, JESUS!!!! That was all that I needed.

Naptime Intermission

This is going to be brief and unexplained but I wanted to make something crystal clear. It has come to my attention that some reader(s) feel that I am crediting myself as an authority in adoption/attachment. I think that every post I have ever written about attachment, I have clearly disclaimed that I AM NOT AN EXPERT and that in no way do I claim to be, I go on further to say that I am going by what I have learned and what I have experienced with my own children, and what has worked for our family in the past. I know that holding time therapy is a very controversial topic and I expected this to occur because many people do not believe in it. I believe that each child is different, each parenting technique is different and that each parent has to do what they feel is best for their child. But, I will say that attachment issues are very real and it is pure ignorance to believe that they do not exist.

I also want to make it even more clear that Jesus Christ IS the center of our lives, in case there was any doubt in anyone's mind. There is not a time when I have done holding time, with either Kai or Anna Grace, that I am not praying over them and asking for the Holy Spirit to come and fill our hearts with His peace and unconditional love. I love my children, again...ALL OF THEM, with every fiber of my being, and would lay down my life in a heartbeat for any of them. as I suppose any parent would. Holding time therapy (at least how I do it) in no way, shape or form, physically hurts the child and the results are astounding. Again, MY PERSONAL BELIEF. By the way, holding time is not always when the child is screaming to not be held. Many, many times is it a beautiful bonding experience in which lots of eye-contact and skin-to-skin contact is attained, much like you would do with a newborn infant.

As to my feelings that I have aired publicly. I have done so because I just felt in my heart that I cannot be the only person out there experiencing those feelings. Over 50 emails now have affirmed my thoughts. They are normal feelings in the process. WE ARE HUMAN....only God is perfect. I DO NOT expect perfection from Anna Grace, nor do I from any of my children, nor anyone around me for that matter, since I know that I, myself, am so far from perfection. I am grateful that we are blessed with a forgiving Father in heaven who sees our imperfections and still loves us unconditionally. So, how could I not do the same with my own children? There is a difference between helping Anna Grace learn to love, attach and trust and trying to make her perfect, something that I would never do. I can give you pages full of imperfections that my children all have, yet I see them thru a Mother's eyes....as if they were each a flawless diamond.

But most importantly, and I know I've said this before when I delve into private situations with our family, I want to reiterate the reason why I have not made my blog private. I can't tell you how many times I have thought about doing so, especially because I know there are readers who I would prefer not reading the private details of our lives. I have prayed much about it. God has spoken to my heart each time I have prayed, going back to the first website that I created back in 2003, Formed By Love, which was created to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior for everything He has done in our lives. For years now, I have received emails from readers who have been in despair and somehow, someway, the Lord led them to read my site and gave them a message from HIM that they needed to hear. Let me reiterate that...from HIM, not me. I take no credit for any of His works and am humbled that He has used me as a tool. Hence, the reason why I have not gone private. If at any point in time it has appeared that it is MY pride or accomplishments, I profusely apologize, not to my readers, but to my Lord. I am but a mere servant to an awesome God, and I will continue to praise Him for the good AND the bad. I continue to live my life giving Him the glory and turning every blessing into praise. Ironically, I've had people write to me that they think I am overboard on giving God glory. Go figure.

Lastly, as I said in yesterday's entry, and the Lord said in the book of Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". I know He has great plans for Anna Grace and the struggles we are going thru will indeed be used for His glory. I hope some of you are around to rejoice with our family and praise our God with us when that day comes.

In His Name....

Ohilda

PS. For those still encouraged, spending an entire day carrying Anna Grace yesterday, even through my sister's birthday celebration, has made a remarkable difference in her attitude today.

PSS. I apologize for it turning out not so brief.

Live in such a way that those who

know you, but don't know God

will come to know God

because they know you.