Brian...........

Brian Lamont.  He is so hard, and I will admit, this could be a very depressing post, because I am struggling with him at this point.

When we were approached about adopting Brian, and his sisters, we were told he had mild CP.  I do believe this is true, however, anyone who has spent 30 minutes with him can tell you this is the least of his issues.  Brian has autism, significant cognitive delays, anger issues, lying issues, post traumatic-stress disorder, ADHD and the list goes on.  He was also abused, neglected, and kept stuffed away in his bedroom for most of his life, before he came to us.  There are very clear reasons for many of his behaviors.  His former caregivers were cruel to him, and blind to his needs.  So, we were basically handed this child, whom we had no idea how to deal with.  Brian's issues were things I had never been exposed to before.  But we knew we were his family, and we moved forward.

Brian can be so incredibly sweet.  He tells me he loves me.  He likes to have his back rubbed.  He makes me pictures at school, and appreciates simple things I do for him.  But he also punches and kicks the younger children.  He pinches them so hard he leaves welts and bruises.  He lies continually.  I can never believe a word he says.  When confronted, his entire demeanor changes, and he gets an eery look on his face, and is completely non-responsive to anything you say or do.  It is a wee bit frightening.
Simply asking him to take a shower can be a war somedays, but then others, it is no issue at all.

I am noticing a pattern to his behaviors, and I am seriously wondering about the possibility of him being bi-polar.  He will goes several weeks with excellent behavior.  And then we will have "hell week".  Right now, we are having a bad time.  But hoping we are almost done.  He is currently in his room, after punching Toby in the back, and pinching him so hard on the leg that Toby has a bruise already.  And then of course, he lied, and said that he was simply "pushing Toby off of him".

Please keep us in prayers.  I try SO hard to see Brian through God's eyes.  But it is a daily struggle.  I feel like I am constantly on guard with him, making sure he does not seriously hurt anyone.  He is a child of God's and I am privileged to be his new momma.  But this momma needs some prayer warriors to hold her up right now!

Bless you all.   And my hats off to you mommas who have autistic children.  You having been given a pretty big task.....God must think you are pretty special and capable!

Finding Joy!

Hello friends!  Just a quick note to let you know we are all thriving!  And finding JOY in all we do!

Daley has been amazing lately, sleeping better than she ever has, so happy all of the time, and being more mobile than she has ever been!  She brings me joy!

Dale and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage this month.  Wow, I feel old!  My sweet husband is such an amazing man!  Best thing that God ever gave to me!  He brings me joy!

Brogan, Zachary, and Landon have settled into their new home in NC.  And God has chosen to anser my prayers.  He has provided them with Christian friends, and they have even found a church they like there!  This brings my heart such joy!  Love them and miss them dearly!

Patrick is home this semester, attending RCC instead of ONU.  It is great to have him home to help with the kids and the farm, and saving us lots of money, with the lower tuition costs.  Patrick is such a great guy.  He brings me joy!

I have gotten lots of joy our of basketball this season.  I have 7 playing.  Watching Keagan and Timmy's team take on Bronwyn's team has been crazy!  I cannot believe how good they are all playing!  Impressed!  And Toby and Brian are playing together on a team as well, and are both doing fantstic.  Brian's team has accepted him so well, that is a blessing.  And little Rory man is doing his best to make baskets and steal the ball on the 1st grade team, with mom and dad as his coach!  My first time coaching, and I love it!  And Meng is a cheerleader, and is showing the church just how loud she can yell!  Basketball this year has been a blast, and I look forward to it each week.  It brings me Joy~!

Brittany is taking her 2nd semester of guitar lessons, and WOW she is getting good!  Hearing her play, brings me....you guessed it....JOY~

And Brianna.  I am struggling finding something she is interested in!  Besides boys!  LOL  Brianna is a crazy, funny, sweet, helpful child, who brings me joy!

Lastly, my critters are bringing me lots of joy this season.  I have had 15 lambs born on the farm so far, with more to come!  They are all so beautiful, and remind me how amazing the gifts of life is!  There is simply no way these babes were an accident of nature.  I have every belief that God created each and every living creature, by His hand, and for a great purpose!  Amen!

Do you need some joy?!?!   Aks God to show it to you.  There are things all around you, that if you take the time to notice and enjoy them, they will bring you JOY!

Blessings, my dear friends!

"Danny"

Well, this little handsome African prince is Danny.  He is waiting for his forever family to find him, in far away Ghana, Africa.  And.......I cannot get him off of my mind.
Sometimes I think I have gone crazy.  My life is SO hectic and busy.  We have more doctor appts in a month than most people do in a year!  Daley's sleep habits(or lack of) are SO difficult, that I am ALWAYS exhausted, and I can barely keep up with the kids schooling.  And we JUST finalized B, B, & B's adoptions last month!!!
But.....I see this little man, read his story, and my heart breaks for him.  He NEEDS the love of a family.  He NEEDS someone to support him, to snuggle him, to kiss him when he's hurt, and to help him reach his potential.  Is that me?!?!   Could I possibly take on another child with huge needs?!?!   Is God asking me to be his momma, or just to help find his momma?!?!   Wish He would just send me an email and let me know!  LOL
Anyway, I have no idea my role in Danny's life.  The odds of an agency or even Illinois approving us to adopt again are pretty darn slim.  But, God can move mountains, if He chooses to.
Please help me pray for Danny!  Have you heard Kings and Queens by Audio Adrenaline?!?   Well, Danny is a future King!  :)

Merry Christmas 2012!!!

Merry Christmas 

from the

McKinney Family!

We pray that Jesus Christ has blessed you this year, and that you continue to serve Him in all you do.  Being a Christ-follower is truly the Great Adventure!  Never forget to thank Him for His mercy, His blessings, and His guidance!

 We have had a year of GREAT blessing and GREAT change!  Here are some highlights:

Dale continunes to work for SIU Springfield Neurosurgery. He is working his tail off, but is loving doing brain and spine surgery!  He recently began facilitating the opening of Tzedakah Christian Health Center, Macon County's first FREE medical clinic!  Hoping to open in February!

Ann has put a lot of her energy into advocating for adoption and even facilitating several adoptions.   Daley's therapies, homeschooling, and the farm keep her way too busy!   She also began a running program, and ran in her first 5K race this fall!  What a great stress-reliever!

Brogan & Zachary  are PARENTS!  Landon Nelson New was born on Brogan's birthday, March 19, and has blessed ALL of us with his beautiful smile, and crazy antics!  He is such a treasure!  And B & Z are fantastic parents!  Zachary recently accepted a job in Cherry Point, NC, as a civilian police officer for a Marine Base.  Too far, but we're very proud of him!
Patrick is a sophomore at Olivet Nazarene University and he is loving it!  His major is Intercultural Studies.    He has a fantastic girlfriend, Danyne, and we have enjoyed getting to know her!  

Keagan is in 7th grade, and continues to be obsessed with football!  Actually, with all sports!  He has GROWN so much this year, and is not my “little Keagan” anymore!  

Bronwyn is in 8th grade, and spends a lot of playing and learning music.  She has gotten very good on her keyboard, and is taking guitar lessons.  She is also involved in gymnastics.

Toby is in 4th grade.  He has two passions lately, building/fixing things, and learning about constellations and the stars! God has blessed him with a very healthy year!

Rory is in First grade this year.  He is doing SO well!  He loves his cats and his dogs, and spends lot of time playing with them!  He has also become quite a gymnast!

MengYan  is also in First Grade.  Her health continues to improve, and she has been such a blessing to our family.  Recently some friends adopted a daughter from China, who has the same blood disorder, and Meng has been SO helpful and caring towards her!  She has a very compassionate heart.

Daley  just turned 3 years old!  Daley is by far the most spoiled child ever!  She has made some huge gains in her therapies, her sight, but mostly in her interactions.  She has just blossomed, in part, due to the love that all the kids show her every day!

BIG NEWS:   There are 3 more of us!   December 21, we will be going to court, to officially adopt             

                     BRITTANY, BRIANNA, and BRIAN! 
We met these kiddos last year, and fell in love.  Permanently adding them to our family is one of the very best decisions we have ever made.  They have blessed us, grown, us, tested us, and taught us.  And they have opened our eyes to the need to older child adoption.  What are people so afraid of?  We are proud as can be to be parents to these three!

 2013......We have lots planned!  A family mission trip to inner-city Indianapolis, another mission trip for some of us to Nicaragua, possibly building onto our very-crowded home, and making some road trips to NC!

Thank you for your friendship, your prayers, and your love throughout this year!
May God richly bless you and your family!

Dale & Ann, Brogan & Zachary & Landon, Patrick, Keagan, Bronwyn, Tobin, Rory, MengYan, Rory, Daley, Brittany, Brianna, and Brian!

Adoption Day!!!

December 21.  Many people feared this was the day the world would end!  For us, it was an amazing new beginning.  December 21 is the day we went to the Coles County courthouse, and became the official parents to Brittany, Brianna, and Brian!  Bringing these three into our home and life was one of the best decisions we have ever made.  We are honored that they want to forever be a part of our family!  They have grown us, taught us, and challenged us.  We are blessed!  Enjoy these photos of our special day!

Five Generations of LOVE!

This photo needs few words.  Five generations.  I see this photo, and I think of so many things.  First, I see my grandmother, Mary the Great.  What an amazing woman she is!  She taught me so much as a child.  She was a very strong Christian, very active in her church, very strong in her faith, very accomplished in everything she ever set out to do.  My own mother, Marcia.  I have such fond memories of her teaching, teaching teaching.  Teaching my siblings and I songs about Jesus, teaching us Bible stories, and teaching us to care for others.  She was/is one of the best Sunday School teachers out there!  She loves the kids in her class, and truly finds joy in helping them learn about Jesus.  My daughter, Brogan.  I am SO proud of her.  She is a spunky, beautiful, bold, and crazy young woman, and has proven to be an excellent mother.  She has seen much of the the world, having served in Haiti, and Ethiopia, before residing in Germany with Zachary.  She has so much future ahead of her, and I am EXCITED to see it!  And Landon.  What a beautiful little man.  So HAPPY.  He surely knows how much he is loved and treasured.  He gives me such joy, and brings tears to my eyes when he does the littlest things, like reaching for me, or trying to smack with with his toy phone!  :)

God has surely blessed my family.  Blessed us with LOVE.  Blessed us with the good sense to serve Him.  I pray that He continues to bless every generation of our family!

Some of Jim B's amazing photos!

Keagan getting ruffed up!  Don't worry, he was laughing, not crying!

Rory the tormentor!  And as he holds a Bible, of all things!  LOL

Miss Daley on a stroll through the farm!  Also pictured: Marshmallow the kitten, Pippa the dog, and Nutmeg, RosieMiri, and Joash the cows!

Keagan was supposed to bathe this chicken for the fair!  He did not appreciate this chore!  LOL

This is Meng's buddy, Steve.  He is one of the few people she chose to bond to, when first coming to the US.  He remains a dear friend to her.  We are secretly praying she will influence he and his wife to find their treasure in China!  And btw, this was taken at a friend's adoption fundraiser.  The Law family is working towards bringing Gabby home from China!  :)