Surprises are always fun. But imagine if you will the surprise of finding out that you have a forever family anxiously waiting to bring you home! Our sweet Rylie received that wonderful news today.
We hope you enjoy this short video of Rylie’s joy as she looks at her family for the first time.
Thank you to one of our dedicated volunteers in China for capturing this sweet moment in video.
No matter where you look in the world, there are several things that seem to bring universal joy to little girls.
New shoes seem to top the list! Especially when they are a lovely color and have pom poms!
We think Rylie would like to thank the generous sponsor that made these toasty warm winter boots possible.
That is, if she could stop looking at them…
It’s amazing what a child’s determination can do.
Olivia never ceases to amaze us.
Olivia was born with spina bifida and clubfeet. Yet with proper care, love, support and encouragement from our carers, look at what she has been able to accomplish. She can play hide and seek while crawling on the floor and over obstacles.
She can stand alone while holding onto something for support and can walk along holding onto the railing for support.
Olivia wears her AFOs for support and has become quite confident in her abilities to move around with her walker.
She has her own unique little gait, but she is on the go. She goes where she wants and there is no stopping her!
She has even developed her own way of getting around on a trike.
Olivia and her caregivers have certainly ignored the often expected limitations from her diagnosis. Others would have assumed that with the combo of spina bifida and club foot Olivia would spend her life in a wheelchair. Her pediatric walker, the TLC she receives from her carers, and her tenacity have made quite a difference for her.
The sparkle of spunkiness in her eye is unmistakable and we look forward to what the future holds for Olivia!
**A pediatric walker made a HUGE difference in Olivia’s life. If you have a small walker you’d like to donate to help one of her friends, please contact us and let us know.**
On the 12th our precious Ellie headed to “the big city” with one of our most trusted carers to have her long awaited cleft surgery.
Because we had finally found a successful way to use Duoderm tape to help prepare her for the surgery, we had high hopes that she would be back home at the House of Love in time for Chinese New Year.
And look who’s back! Ellie got back on the 20th, just in time for CNY and is looking great! The repair is obviously still swollen, but you can already see it’s looking good.
The biggest precaution right now is just have to wash the incision site with special medicine after every feeding. We were even able to pay for special stitches and glue from the US, so there is nothing to be removed. That means no trip back to the hospital for stitches removal ~ hooray!
Ellie is very happy to be back, and of course we are thrilled that she is home. We look forward to her continued recovery. Ellie still needs two sponsors, would you like to be part of her story?
With many generous donations to our Holiday catalog, December was a fun month for all of the children at An Orphan’s Wish. And thanks to a special sponsor in the states, three of our children ~ all girls ~ had a double reason to celebrate over the holidays.
Olivia, Sarah and Julia compare fairy wands.
Oliva, Julia, Sarah and Emmie celebrated birthdays in December. Olivia turned 3, and Sarah, Julia and Emmie turned 2. In addition to their tasty coconut cakes, the three little beauties in the club foot unit each received a special gift.
Now we have three little fairies loose in the clubfoot unit! Aren’t they precious?
“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” — Jacqueline Kennedy
“There are hundreds of languages in the world but a smile speaks them all.” ~ anonymous
Leave a comment and let us know what you think Julia’s smile says!
Every three minutes, a child is born with clubfoot. Clubfoot Casting care at An Orphan’s Wish was created to treat orphans born with clubfoot, who otherwise would not have an opportunity to have their feet corrected. Daniel is one of our little guys who came to House of Love in need of assistance in April of 2011.
In only a short time he was determined to be a good candidate for casting, and during the last few months his personality has flourished in the loving care of the HOL staff. Usually once the bracing protocol is well underway, the children are placed with a foster family. We’ve even better news than that about little Daniel! We are pleased to announce that Daniel was adopted by a Chinese family the week before Christmas!
We are excited that Daniel will be celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year with his new family! We’ll miss you little guy!
Today we are sharing with you thoughts from the heart of one of our volunteers, Sheri. Below she shares the reason she heads up taking care of our in memory/in honor of cards.
“Years ago my grandfather, who was a true man of God, passed away.
I was a teenager at the time and was working as a delivery driver for the local florist after school. At the funeral I sat thinking of all the time and money people had spent on the beautiful floral arrangements. The flowers were indeed beautiful and my Grandmother, being a flower person loved the daisies, roses and mums. But there was something really sad about the fate of the flowers being left at the graveside to wilt and fade without anyone even enjoying them.
A few weeks later after “life” had settled down, my Grandmother received a card in the mail. The card stated that a long time friend had donated money to the Louisiana Children’ s Home in my Grandfather’s name. At the time, the Children’s home existed not as an orphanage but as a home for children to live while their parents worked on their own issues. The children lived in loving Christian family settings. This gift would have made my Grandfather smile because the things he loved most were God, family and children.
Several months later a family moved in my area, just one street over. Ben was the middle child and was in my grade. Ben was a really nice guy and he and I became really good friends. After we got to know each other pretty well he confided in me that this was the first time in years that he had lived in a home with his parents. In fact, he and his two siblings had spent most of their childhood growing up in the Louisiana Children’s Home.
Perhaps my Grandfather’s memorial had clothed him, fed him, or given him a warm bed in which to sleep.
It is a great honor for me to be a part of the Memorial and In Honor of Cards at An Orphan’s wish. We have several cards that are beautifully designed and can be mailed to honor or remember someone. You simply tell us who to send it to and provide an inscription and we do the rest. Or if you would rather hand deliver the card, it can be mailed straight to you.
So maybe next time you would like to show your love to someone you will remember my friend, Ben and the life changing impact a few dollars can make. Flowers and gifts are beautiful but caring for the life of a child lasts forever.”
We thank Sherri for giving this perspective on meaningful donations in lieu of flowers. Leave us a comment and let us know who in your life would appreciate this type of gift.
