Giving.

I am so excited and thankful for all the purchases of With an Open Heart. Those purchases have allowed us to do a little bit of giving so far this year, and I truly love this part!!

We donated to the Run for the Little Flowers, an event organized by Katie Murphy each year to benefit the Little Flower Projects. Their special body of work includes hospice care for orphans, special medical care for infants, and long-term medical care for severely disabled children.

We donated to Harmony Outreach to help a little girl named Kirsten get her life-saving surgery to fix her broken heart.

We donated to a fantastic and worthy organization called Love Without Boundaries to help support one of their Healing Homes. I recently learned that LWB only keeps under 2% of their donations for administration. The rest goes directly to the kiddos. Gotta love them for that.

And most recently, we donated to A Childs Hope International by purchasing meals for The Orphan's Table on Orphan Sunday. This organizations provides food packets, free of charge, to orphans around the world, and our donations help cover the cost to ship them. They run 100% by donation only! You too can participate by purchasing these packets, and on Orphan Sunday (November 3rd), you can gather with family/friends for prayer and discussion and share a meal eaten by orphans around the world. See the links above for more information. I purchased 15 meals to give out at my upcoming book signing. Recipients to be chosen by the Holy Spirit!

We have also given more than a few books away to the adoption community for fundraising purposes for use in giveaways and silent auctions. I love doing this because it gives us the ability to share Daniel's story AND support a good cause...definitely a win-win!

Our giving will continue, but I just wanted to give y'all an update on what's been happening so far! We are so humbled and grateful beyond measure, friends, to be able to give back in Daniel's memory.

Hopefully, our baby boy's angel wings will continue to spread far and wide. Thank you so much for your support. All Glory to God!

Averie: a Princess and an Angel

It is a really sad time for some dear friends of ours. Today is the day they bury their teenage daughter, Averie, whose life ended last week. She was a true princess.

Why is this relevant to With an Open Heart, you wonder?

I've meant to post about this particular family for a long, long time. Jimmy worked with Averie's father, Tim, for several years at John Deere Landscapes. They became very close friends in time. And when Daniel was in the hospital, this family decided to become an anonymous group of princesses who sent large, gift-filled boxes to Madi in an effort to boost her spirits.

Well, the tradition then continued after Daniel went to Heaven. For each holiday, and sometimes in between, Madi received these great big boxes filled with her favorite snacks, candies, and some toys in the mix. It was so heartwarming to see her face light up when we excitedly announced the arrival of a package from the princesses. She'd grin from ear to ear as she ripped apart the wrapping paper for each item.

Averie was one of those princesses. Her generosity, along with her Mom, Dad, and sister, gave Madi--and our family--so much joy during such a tough, tough time.

And then Charlie came home. He even benefited from their gracious act of kindness, too! These princesses stopped at nothing to keep their sweet tradition going.

This amazing young lady even went on to start her own charity called Nickels for Nutrition.  

Last week, we received word that Averie had gone to Heaven. We'd known she had struggles, as many teens do in the troubled times of our modern world. Can you even imagine the anguish that her parents and sister (and everyone else in her life) must be suffering? My heart bleeds for them, and for Averie. 

Thank God for the unconditional love of our merciful Father! He understands her pain and sadness. I feel certain that Jesus is hugging Averie tightly and holding her close right now.

Tonight is the service to celebrate Princess Averie's life. I was informed, by our religion teacher at St. Vincent's, that today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels, and I found this online:

"Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not only for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God at death. 

The concept of an angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being is a development of Catholic doctrine and piety based on Scripture but not directly drawn from it. Jesus' words in Matthew 18:10 best support the belief: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

I pray that Averie will now look after her family as their guardian angel. May the mere thought of that give them even an ounce of comfort during this difficult time, and may God our Father wrap them in His divine embrace.

Won't you please, please pray for Averie's soul and for the peace and comfort of her family? You can read about her funeral services here. And if you'd like to contribute, in Averie's memory, to her Nickels for Nutrition charity, donations may be mailed to: Nickels for Nutrition, Regions Bank, Attn: Tracy Patino, 7950 Airport Road, North, Naples, FL 34109.

Though I never had a chance to meet you here on earth, Averie, our family will always remember you as one of our special princesses with a generous and open heart, and now you are an angel, too. May your wings spread as wide in Heaven as they did on Earth.

Rest in peace, sweet child.

Change is Good.

It's no secret that I've been working on a revised edition of With an Open Heart. I have changes to make, and I really haven't been quite pleased with the royalty structure with our current publisher. Not that I expect the book to bring in big bucks, but if releasing a second edition will allow us to give more to charity, that would make us very happy. 

I'm continuously amazed at how I've connected with such kind and supportive people, mostly through Facebook, thanks to our widespread adoption community. And now, I've "met" yet another angel to guide me when I recently discovered  a writer named Kay Bratt. 

Kay is a seasoned author of nine books, mostly all about China and her experiences, including her memoir, Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage. Upon arriving in China on an expatriate assignment with her husband in 2003, Kay was instantly drawn to the cause of China’s forgotten orphans. Moved beyond tears by the stories of these children, she promised to give them the voice they did not have. With the help of her readers, Kay continues to raise awareness and advocate for at-risk children. 

Kay's most recent work is the new release of The Scavenger's Daughters, which is Book One of her trilogy called Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters, and has already made it into the top 100 Amazon Ebooks making it officially an Amazon Bestseller. I can hardly wait to dig into this one, but Silent Tears is first on my list!

When I wrote to Kay and asked her if she would mind taking a look at my book, she graciously--asking nothing in return--provided me with the most constructive feedback ever. The precise push I needed to get going on those revisions.

Kay's most welcome praise was that the story is beautiful, and "the writing is phenomenal." Okay...I'll gladly take that! But I really need to share that wonderful compliment with Marilyn Murray-Willison, who made me a better writer. My book's writing style would not have been so poetic without her editing assistance and coaching.

So, back to our changes. The key word here is "mystery." The book's formatting needs some. So Kay suggested that I reconfigure some sections to add a little intrigue. Now, I'm full steam ahead with this project and this new challenge.

Yeah...change is good.

Thank you, Kay, for your generous heart!  Thank you for encouraging me to "think big." With your assistance, hopefully Daniel's story will touch many more hearts, and our family appreciates it more than you'll ever know.

Follow Kay on Facebook.
Follow Kay on Twitter.
Follow Kay's blog here.

Miami Book Fair!

I am super-excited about this!  

With an Open Heart has been reviewed by the Miami Book Fair and I'm pleased to announced that I've been accepted as an exhibitor in their Writer's Row section!

This particular book fair has been around for thirty-years now, and it is one of the largest and most well renowned book-centered events going.

Here's a little history:  "Miami held its first book fair, called Books by the Bay, in 1984. The two-day street fair grew steadily each year and by the 1990s, the renamed Miami Book Fair International had become the largest literary festival in the country. The eight-day book party draws hundreds of thousands of book lovers to downtown Miami each November for a festival of all things read and written."

The week long event runs from November 17 - 24. I will be there exhibiting all day on Saturday, November 23rd. Wish me luck!

More details to come as I receive them!

Stopping the Clock

The kids and I were in the car yesterday returning home after visiting with an old friend. Well, not an "old" friend, actually...but rather a dear friend. You know what I mean?  Anyway...you can read more about that here.

On the ride home, we were near the Mausoleum in Boca Raton, where Daniel's ashes "live," so we did not want to pass up a chance to stop.

As we neared the cemetery, Sophia (one of Madi's "sisters") made the observation that Madi is so much closer to Charlie than she was with Daniel. 

I, then, pointed out how Charlie's been part of our family for over two years now, and that Daniel was only with us for four months. I followed up my explanation with, "Doesn't it seem like he was with us for so much longer?"

Sophia replied, "Wow, Auntie Lisa...it's like God stopped the clock for us." 

Such a profound statement from an eight year-old child, isn't it? I wish she had given me that quote before I published the book!

Thank you, Sophia, for your wonderful perspective. Yes, it definitely seems like God stopped the clock for us so that our time with Daniel seems like an eternity.  

Praise Jesus.

The Call

I remember it well, four years ago on this date.

I was driving home in our brand new minivan. Madi and my friend's daughter, Julianna, were in the back seat. We were coming home from the grocery store and the bank when my cell phone rang.

I remember exactly where I was, too, when the call came in. Stopped at a red light, the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Barwick Road. When I saw the caller ID register "Beth Smith," our contact with Holt International Children's Services, my heart skipped a beat. After all this time, the moment's still fresh in my brain.

Two weeks prior, my Mother-in-Law lost her six-year long battle with uterine cancer. We were by her side for the slow decline of her health; her spirit never failed. When that phone call came from our adoption agency, I just knew in my heart that Grandma Pauline was already calling in favors up in Heaven.

"We have a little boy who needs a home," Beth said. I felt the sting of tears as I took in the details of this 18-month old toddler. I desperately needed to "keep it together" in front of the kids, so they wouldn't be aware of what might be unfolding. I called Jimmy right away to prepare his heart.

I made it home with the kids; I'm surprised I remembered how to drive, since my adrenaline was kicked up several notches. I raced into the house, shaking, and waited for the email to arrive. I waited for Jimmy to get home, too.

Together, we opened the email, and there he was. It felt so surreal to meet our son this way.  Those medical conditions listed on his file were completely foreign to both Jimmy and me, and truly...they really didn't matter.

We loved him already. We knew he was destined to be ours.

Jimmy and I did the research about his heart conditions and the medical procedures involved. We battled with fear over the weeks to come. But the work of the Holy Spirit had already been done. God had already opened our hearts to this beautiful special needs orphan whose greatest need was the love of a family.

What struck us most was that he was given up at seven months of age. Our hearts broke for that child who had to have known love. What was going on in that impressionable little mind of his? Jimmy and I agonized over those thoughts. It hurt our hearts to know he was alone.

You know the rest of the story. And if you aren't familiar with it, I've shared Daniel's life in our family, from beginning to end, in the book. I invite you to share in our journey and read about this precious little boy who changed our lives and our hearts.

Forever.

Teresa

You might have seen Facebook postings about Teresa's heart transplant. Perhaps you've been following her family's story all along. Or maybe you saw her precious face on the Today Show. You can read all about her on their family blog.  Teresa's funeral took place this morning.

Our adoption community (and the world) lost a beautiful princess this week, but Heaven gained a most beautiful angel. There were literally thousands of people praying for her--over five thousand--just on the Facebook prayer group alone. This child's reach has been amazing, and as everyone came together to pray for her survival, her passing reminded us that God doesn't always answer prayers the way we expect Him to. 

I hear, through the family's Facebook prayer group, that they are standing strong. I am not surprised. That is surely one of the blessings in loss. It's as if God puts you in a protective bubble. They are surrounded by so much love and support right now. And though grief--as we know--comes in waves, it sounds like they've made a choice to rejoice. This is when real faith kicks in--when we ask ourselves that question from the back cover of With an Open Heart:

"What happens when we have one plan, and God has another?  Do you still believe?

Their family's motto, all along, has been "Believe in Miracles."  They are a faith-filled family, and I feel certain that they still do believe. Teresa's life has been nothing short of a miracle. Teresa loved Jesus so much, that the Catholic Church made a special exception and allowed her to receive her first communion early. She earned that ticket to Heaven.

Tiaras are now being sported all over the world. Families have been inspired to adopt. New charitable organizations have been born, and the ripple effect for the greater good continues. Hearts are bursting open with love--all over the map--because of this one child. There are even mentions that Teresa may become a saint. Her life has made an enormous impact on many. How can you not be joyful about that?  Praise Jesus.

This is one of the ways in which Teresa has impacted me.  I noticed, through the prayer group, that many people were writing about their own little angels, in order to provide words of comfort and inspiration to the family. And then I realized that there are so many other parents out there, like us, who've lost children and have beautiful angels in Heaven meeting Teresa! 

And on the day she went to Heaven, I imagined Teresa being surrounded by children. I believe that Daniel was there to greet her, and it became obvious that other members of the group believe their babies and children were there to greet Teresa, too. 

So, Teresa inspired me to create a Facebook group designed for families who have "Angel Babes." I wanted those of us with angels to connect, so we could all imagine them forming a big circle of love around Teresa. It's not always easy to talk about loss with those who haven't shared such a devastating, yet beautiful, experience. The group has been more of a blessing than I ever imagined or anticipated. The stories I have read are the most amazing and powerful testimonies, much like Teresa's, to the goodness of God! Our forum is also be a "safe" place where we can share ourselves with those who've experienced a similar loss. And even though some members have wounds that are very fresh, it is clear that the group has already proven to be an incredible support system. Teresa is with some wonderful little friends up there.

I hope that someday the Bartlinski family will join us in the group, so they, too, can know some of Teresa's new friends. They, along with sweet Princess Teresa, will always be "honorary members," and on each anniversary of Teresa's passing (July 1st), we will remember her and thank her for bringing us together.

Please continue to pray for their family as they pick up the pieces. If you feel moved to give to their "Believe in Miracles" charity, the information can be found on their website. 

Half the Sky Foundation, who was also instrumental in our Daniel's care, has also created a fund in Teresa's name. Here is the link.

Thank you, Bartlinski family, for sharing your story of faith, love, and courage with the world. This weekend, as we reflect upon receiving the referral--four years ago--of our own China "heart baby" who resides in Heaven, we remember and celebrate your angel, too.