well, once again the Lord has moved mightily among us! i want to follow up and let you all know that the "for the love of levi" fundraiser last night went extremely well! i was not able to be there, but we had tee shirts and onesies present for sale. and thankfully, the davenports were blessed with nearly $5500!! i realize that in terms of medical bills this is not an overwhelming amount and that in the future we will need to fundraise again, however we will rejoice in the blessings of the Lord!! He provides every step of the way! the family is incredibly gracious and grateful for all the Lord's blessings and the way His people gave sacrificially.
i personally want to thank all of you who helped out by ordering onesies, tee shirts, or simply donating money! may the Lord bless you!
today was mia's birthday. mis is my best friend. that's what we call each other. actually, we often just call each other "pi bon" which means "most good!"
my best friend and i, we've had some pretty fantastic times together. i miss her all the time. i miss that gravelly voice and her willingness to help. i miss how we laugh at noah's attempts to talk without stuttering! i miss how she helps bethany say things correctly. i miss how she loves to hold babies and take care of them. i miss her calling zimbolita (my cat) her child. i miss her beautiful smile and laugh. i miss her sleeping next to me. or crowded in with bethany too! i miss her helping water the plants or hang laundry with belle.
i miss her spunk and even her sass. i love you, mia me!!
my dear friend, i want to write to you today and thank you for . . . everything! you have been wonderful to me for the past 25 months of my life and i want you to know i appreciate you beyond words. thank you for giving so much of yourself! thank you for extending such grace to me! thank you for caring and for acting upon what you know is right. thank you for loving the Lord with your whole heart and wanting to give back to Him. thank you for seeing a need and trying to meet it . . . EVERY DAY for over five years now. thank you, gretchen! i don't know fully, but i have an idea of how taxing this job is on you. but i also know that your love for these children outweighs the burden of the job. thank you for everything you do for each one of these children and their families.
"her children arise and call her blessed . . ." proverbs 31:28a.
these are your children, gretchen. you have provided a home, food, schooling and health care for them in Jesus' Name. wherever they live now, be it in the states, at the "o", with their birth parents . . . their lives have been touched by three angels; they will arise and called you blessed. keep it up! we're so thankful to have you.
i know, i truly know, that some days are hard. i know that you sacrifice so much. take some time for yourself and your family. spend your birthday with them. love on them and let them love on you. get refreshed. we love you. i am praying for you and i hope this is a wonderful year of life.
okay friends, let's play a game. how closely do you read my blog? do you remember this fine couple from my new year's eve pictures? meet kellie and jason davenport. they have a son named levi. levi was born with cystic fibrosis. according to the cystic fibrosis foundation, cf is "an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system."
because of his disease, little levi has spent far too much time in a hospital than your typical 24 month old. on top of the normal concerns of parenting, kellie and jason have to deal with the incredible risk of infection that levi faces constantly. they have to deal with living for weeks on end in hospital rooms while levi is seeking treatment. and sadly, this also adds significantly to their medical bills.
imagine the early years of your marriage. you probably didn't have a lot of extra cash. thankfully, kellie and jason, have a wonderful family and church family (www.copperhillchurch.org) who have been very supportive through all of this. kellie and jason have started a campaign which they call "for the love of levi." please watch the following video about levi and the fight against cf.
alright, back to my game. i'm sure you all remembered the prom picture but do you remember when my friend emily and i made custom onesies for my baby? (http://angelainhaiti.blogspot.com/2008/02/cutest.html) well, emily and i are teaming up again to make some new onesies. this time they will be raffled off or sold at an upcoming fundraiser for levi! we are really excited to be involved in helping our friends out!
here is where you can come into play: if you would like a custom onesie or child-sized tee shirt you can request one right here on my blog!! emily and i will be making them next week. they will be for donation (feel free to give generously), and all funds received will go directly to the davenports' medical bills. thank you for your support!!
as those of you avid "well..." readers know, i like to dedicate a post or two every once in awhile to a special little girl named bethany. today, march 4th, is bethany's 5th birthday! just in case any of you were wondering about the wonders the Lord works in a place like three angels, let these photos dispel all doubt:
praise the Lord God for His work in saving this girl's life!!
i put together this slide show for my little girl to try to say how much i love her. i wish i could be with her today and tell her myself, but for now this will have to do. when i arrived at the o, bethany was incredibly shy bordering on scared. she did not warm up to anyone white. i stayed out of her way, not wanting to overwhelm her. i let her come to me in her own time. and when i did, what a blessing!! she is so lovable, so full of life. she loves to help and loves to please! she loves to sing and dance. she has one of the best laughs in the world! i miss her fingers and toes. i miss the way she tucks her bottom lip into her mouth. i miss the way she says, "latide?!" when i call to her! i miss trying to figure out what the heck she's saying. i miss pulling her two fingers out of her mouth when she falls asleep.
oh tetanik, mwen sonje'w anpil! m'ap priye pou ou. le Bondye fe'm toune, ke'm ap kontann anpil!! bon fet, petit mwen. mwen te voye papa'w ale visite'w jodi-a, tande?! la'p fe anpil ti bo pou ou. sa yo mwen te voye pou ou!! na we le Bondye vle!!
i was going through my videos and came across this. i figured you'd all like to see it. though ellie may be the most vocal, a number of children are featured including an early appearance of rebecca. this was taken in august. hope you enjoy!
