What Does Writing Meen To You?

For me it meens that I can do what ever I want to do. I could fly into the sky or jump hire and hire. I can be big or small. What does it mean to you?

Are you a kind of person that likes music or baseball or sckool? Write about it. Write about you, your life, what you like, who you know and what they like. Be you. Be who you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Eden

To My Future Children

Precious Dear One(s),

We haven't met, and hopefully we will not very soon, but I pray for you so often.

I am truly sorry that you will have to live in a society my generation created. I'm so sorry for the mistakes we will make. I'm so sorry you have flawed humans as your role mode

For my little girls, I hope you can forgive society for pushing you to be what you never can be. I hope and pray you will see yourself as the true angel you are. You  are a beauty. You are so loved. 

I am sorry that men will think things of you that are untrue. I'm so sorry that you will have to unrealistic ideals of beauty. I pray that you can look past those ideas and see the woman of God you can and will be.

For my little men, I hope you can take up the torch. I pray that you will be able to learn the respect and honor that so many generations seem to twist. I pray that you will find the skills to protect and love everyone you come in contact with, rather than look to the flawed human ideas of love passed on through my generation. 

I'm so sorry that you are often given so much pressure by society. I'm so sorry you will have to fight for your purity every day. I pray that you will look past this and see the man God has called you to be. 

My generation craves attention. We seem to need things that generations before us didn't even consider to be a part of everyday life. I'm sure you will end up in the same boat. 

The millennials (my generation) are wanting more power, money, love, sex, jobs, popularity, status, technology, scientific advances, and more. I'm sorry we often lose the focus: to prepare a way for a new generation. 

I pray that you don't always follow us. We didn't do things perfectly. I pray that you can look forward and understand how important it is to make this world a better place for your children and even more generations. 

Learn the important things that my generation so often misses...

Respect for authority,

Responsibility in money,

A strong work ethic 

True acceptance of your neighbor 

I want to apologize for my mistakes. I'm sorry I am flawed. I'm sorry I will mess up. I wish I could make your life so perfect and easy. I wish I could pray away all fear of the future. 

The thought of what school life with be like for you scares me. The thought of what society will expect from you as your gender roles are changing in society scares me. The thought that many preferences and morals through beliefs are no longer so easy to live by, and the thought of how it will get harder, makes me almost want to lock you in a closet the moment you may come into my life.

But I'm not going to do that. 

I'm just going to pray for you and your future friends. I'm going to pray for your future father. I'm going to keep praying for your extended family and their friends and relationships. I'm going to keep praying for significant leaders in today's society.

And I'm going to trust that you will do the same someday, should you choose to. 

What a blessing you will be to me.

Love,

Mariana Christine

15 years old

Love That Ice Cream

Love That Ice Cream

based on the poem, Love That Boy by Walter Dean Myers

By Anonymous King Member

I love that ice cream
Like a dog likes peanut butter
I said I love that ice cream
Like a dog likes peanut butter
I would eat it in the morning
I love to say
Yo 'sup ice cream

It calls to me like my grandpa
Tastes better than milk
I said it calls to me like my grandpa
And tastes better than milk
Wen I'm happy it tastes good
When I'm sad it tastes good

I like to hold it
Like to lick that cherry ice cream
I said I like to hold it
And lick that cherry ice cream
I can't have it now
But I'll have it by and by

I've got lots of ice cream to eat now
Before the setting sun
I said I've got lots of ice cream to eat now
Before the setting sun
I'll be the big fat strider
And a good eater before I'm done

Living with Blind Faith

Having an 8 almost 9 month old baby brother who (as far as we know) is completely blind has been bringing new revelations to my life. I feel as though I am learning so much about myself and the world around me through this little boy.

I am learning that I live too much by sight.

When waking up in the morning, I look at my clock to tell me what time it is. I go downstairs and look to see if my mom is there. I look outside to see if the bus is there before leaving my door.

I look before leaping.

In these few examples I have come to the conclusion that I primarily live by sight.

My brother has to (and will have to more as he grows older) reply on someone to dress him. He has to rely on someone to tell him what he is having for dinner. He will need to rely on voices to tell people apart. He will have to memorize the smells and feels of the earth to determine differences of experiences.

My little brother will be at the hands of strangers to lead him to where he had to go through life if he gets lost. He may have a seeing eye dog who will literally lead him through life. He will read with his hands. He may have friends that could take advantage of him. He will rely on my parents and my siblings to teach him about the world and everything in it. He will live by faith.

I see few reasons that he will have an overly difficult time believing in a God he cannot see.
He will be living in a WORLD he cannot see... What is the difference? 

So many times in life I say I want to live in faith. I say things about how I wish I could wake up and trust in the lord to guide my day, but I only do until things get hard and I have doubts. Don't we all? We want to believe in something that sounds ridiculous but then we think through life. We look at the hurt around is. We see the pain and suffering. We see the blind man on the side of the road who has no home. We look at the girl on the corner and know she has no where to go. We look at the hurricanes and destruction in the world and wonder why that could happen.

I look at my little brother and wonder why God would do something so "horrible" to such a beautiful creation. I get angry and wonder why God made his life so difficult taking away one simple sense. I feel as though he crippled Victor with such a simple disability. I look into the future and wonder how he will live on his own.

But then Victor starts laughing (as he so often does). He will smile when he hears my mom's voice. I watch him literally reach out his little hands to feel my hair once he hears me talking. I see him turn toward my dad singing. I watch the wheels turning in his head when we place his hand on my dad's guitar and he feels the music. 

What a smart boy...

I see how blessed this boy is. He knows nothing different than having no sight and he is happy. He is joyful. I don't know if I have ever seen such a happy baby.

I really understand how much Victor has it made.

He will be able to truly live by faith in a way I will never be able to.

I will never have his faith. 
I wasn't born with the gift to feel and hear to his ability.
I wasn't born with the simple trust that he has.
I don't have the opportunity to teach my family so much about faith as an 8 month old baby.

Who really is the disabled child?


- By Mariana Christine 

What Adoption Means To Me -Mariana

What adoption means to me- celebrating Victor's adoption day

Having three adopted siblings brings up so much conversation in my life that most teenagers don't have the pleasure to face and speak on. 

I often get asked about my family. At first people, once they hear how many children we have, either assume we are Mormon, Catholic, or crazy a homeschooled family (possibly guilty of the latter of the three). As I show them a picture of all of us, they then change their posture and tone and don't write me off as some kind of nut case child whose parents have too much time on their hands (or maybe they do, but for different reasons then they initially assume ). To put it very honestly, my friends and strangers alike start asking common questions about adoption. Which is good. I enjoy those questions. 

The typical questions come about in a multitude of ways. Of course i have become quite good at combating these purely curious questions with challenging their ideas of adoption.

Person: "How many are your siblings?"

Me: "all of them."

P: "No, no... I mean how many are..."

M: "how many are adopted? (Smile) three"

P: "Oh, well... Which ones? (Thinking I would assume them "racist" if they assumed the ones who look nothing like me are the adopted ones)" 

M: "The ones with beautiful skin." (this is a new conversation reply I've been using lately. I seriously enjoy it.)

P: "Oh, well... Is it fun having that many siblings?" 

M: "Absolutely. It's also hard... But I'll never be bored. It's certainly hard to do 'nothing' at my house." 

P: "Well, where are they from?" 

M: "My mothers womb, Utah, Kenya, and Harrisburg."

P: "Really? Wow! How did you get them all? Tell me their stories"

This is where the small talk conversations differ from the people who are actually interested. 

I tell them each story.

It's honestly a joy for me every time. Telling how each story is laced with amazing amounts of God's provision and grace. Telling how we truly couldn't have gotten through any of them without family support, friends support, and the love of Jesus. The last one is most important. 

I love hearing how people then share their interests. 

"Yeah... That's amazing. I actually always wanted to adopt. I want to adopt when I'm older."

They tell me how they want to have kids of their own first, then adopt or visa versa. I hear about people who have family that adopted. I hear people talk about how adoption has made their family/friend's family so much better. I also hear how adoption has been the breaking point of a family. 

Here is what I say or would like to say.

All adoption is different.

All adoption is blessed by God.

All adoption comes with baggage.

All adoption brings out your family's OWN baggage.

All adoption saves lives.

All adoption cares for the uncared for.

All adoption supports the future of this nation.

All adoption brings life.

ALL adoption brings hope.

People often think that adoption is just like having a child of your own, just not your own.  Some assume that it will be a perfect and beautiful thing. Usually, adoptive parents/families walk into adoption with rose colored cheeks...

And then time passes...

The honey moon phase ends...

And things come up they didn't suspect.

ALL adopted children are traumatized to some degree.

Even adopted babies somehow have to deal with the "loss" of their blood mother/father once they grow up. Oftentimes, older children become "stuck" at an age where they last felt "safe" in life. Usually this means the last time they were happy with their biological family or the last time they weren't being abused by someone. Adopted children have to deal with their own family's generational baggage that they may not even know about (why do so many girls out of the foster care system end up pregnant as teenagers?). 

I've seen all of this baggage (and more) come up in my family because of adoption. Scared yet? Want to know why?

The devil hates adoption? Why?

It gives life

It gives hope

It gives love

How repulsive that is to him! 

He loves bringing up the baggage in adopted children's lives. 

He loves seeing the family unit torn apart because of the baggage that comes from adoption. 

But God loves adoption. He blesses it. He loves anything that has to do with orphan care and helping the hopeless. 

So, those who feel called to adopt:

Put on your armor. Place your sword of truth on what you see in adoption.

Truth: Adoption brings life and love!

Why wouldn't God bless it? Why wouldn't the devil want it destroyed? 

It brings so much life! 

So much hope! 

So much joy!

As the day of my brother's official adoption is so near, I am realizing truly what adoption means to ME.

You ready?

Hope

Joy

Life

Love

A world full of little blessings that are now living with the life you have to show them in Christ.

Q: What could be of an equal challenge... but so worth it? 

A: YOUR calling whatever it may be.

Right now, for my family, it's adoption. It may be for you too. 

Mariana Christine King

I Know What I Like

By HopeAnne King

HopeAnna struggles with reading, even remembering a letter from one day to the next.  One thing that has helped her reading motivation is for her to write stories, and then I make them into photo books.  This is the latest story, based on the book by Norma Simon.  Her answers were very enlightening.

I know what I like.

Do you know what you like?

I like to make cookies.

I like to make letters.

I like to make friends.

I don’t like to make people sad.

I like to touch new people.

I like to touch animals.

I like to touch the petals on roses because they’re really soft.

But I don’t like to touch slobber from Jesse’s mascot head.

I like to be a dancer.

I like to be a kitty cat because I love cats.

I like to be a cheerleader.

But I don’t like to be cranky.

I like to smell roses.

I like to smell food (like Linus).

I like to smell dandelions.

But I don’t like to smell dogs or trashcans.

I like to see movies.

I like to see what I can do for my family.

I like to see flowers grow.

But I don’t like to see boy movies like Star Wars.

I like to hear the birds sing.

I like to hear airplanes.

I like to hear people talking about things that I’ve been doing.

But I don’t like to hear dogs growl at people.

I like to taste cornbread.  Remember when we had it when company came over?

I like to taste ham loaf.  It’s precious.

I like to taste macaroni.

But I don’t like to taste buttermilk.

I like to catch fireflies.  They have lights on the back of their butt.

I like to catch grasshoppers.

I like to catch things from falling.

But I don’t like to catch centipedes and spiders.

I like to try doing things that my teachers say I should do.

I like to try to be patient when I don’t get something my way.

I like to try chicken because I had a chicken leg the other night and it was yummy.

But I don’t like to try things that people force me to do that I can’t do yet.

I like to play Mommy and Daddy because I’m always the Mommy with my doll in bed.

I like to play King and Queen.

I like to play house.

But I don’t like to play school.

I like to go to Chuck E. Cheese because I like the jumping horse.

I like to go to Hershey Park because I like the Carousel.

I like to go to gymnastics at Messiah College.

But I don’t like to go to the McDonald’s that doesn’t have a playground.

You know what you like and don’t like.

I know what I like and don’t like.

I like being me.

I’m a girl – I like being a girl.

Everyone likes friends,

And we all like to be friends.

Living through loss

By Mariana

I'm not sure why I'm writing this, maybe I felt led to. Maybe I'm writing to help sort through my thoughts. Nevertheless, I wanted to share my thoughts on living through loss.

I heard from my mom that when a child is born and brought to life, and even before their birth, a family dreams about this child's life; they imagine the child growing up, playing sports, dancing ballet, becoming Valedictorian, and student body president. They imagine all the perfect lives their child will touch. They pray about the child's future spouse and the life that will happen because of this new one.

I also heard that when a child is found out to be disabled, something dies. This idea of the perfect child dies. So do a few dreams. So do a few hopes.

I know that it's not only the parents that have to suffer a loss. The siblings have to suffer a loss, too.

I remember how hard this past year has been. I remember when my mom had to leave so that we could bring home a blessing. I remember that temporary loss but I also remember the feeling of victory as we brought home our newest treasure. I remember the days I would sit thinking about how I was going to help raise up my little brother and how proud I was to hear, "He is perfect!" and "I'm amazed at his life! What a miracle!"

I also remember the day I found out that my little treasure, my living miracle, wasn't "perfect" anymore. I feared the worst when my parents didn't answer my texts after promising me they would. I remember how that Wednesday was one of the hardest of my life. Something was lost.

Going through the process of grieving a "dream" can be very similar to grieving a person. Because you are. You just don't fully know this "person" yet, and finding you never will is devastating. I can't imagine how parents go through loss with all their children. Living through the loss of their child's purity, through the loss of innocence, the loss of trust, the loss of control. Because I see it all the same. But I have never gone through such loss with something so little that I cared so much about.

When you give up so much to fight for what you believe in, you imagine a fairy tale ending. Fighting for a, by scientific terms, fetus's life and fighting for the right to say he is a child of God even though he is practically "unborn" is something not every sister thinks she will go through. You don't imagine yourself as a temporary mom as a fifteen year old. You don't think that will happen.

It's just going to be SO HARD for him.

Finding out that life just isn't fair is one of the hardest things of all.

Even though we don't have all the answers yet, it's hard to realize some things. 1. I can't play peekaboo with my brother. 2. He will never see me smiling at him. 3. He won't be able to play sports. 4. He won't be able to see a sunset. 5. He can't see me perform in one of my musicals/plays 6. He will have a harder time playing an instrument. 7. I can't show him a picture of his brother at college. 8. I won't be able to color with him. 9. We can't play hide and go seek. 10. His life, which already wasn't easy since the moment he was born, will be so much harder.

My heart literally aches.

How do you go on with life after something like this? Dear friends, please don't make "retard" jokes, you have no idea. Dear Facebook, stop posting things about abortion, you have no idea.

How do you move on?

You move on with the peace of knowing that this IS perfect. 1. Victor will love music! 2. He can hear me sing 3. He may be the best Christian! The boy won't have to worry about believing in the unseen. His whole life will be him living by faith everyday of the unseen! 4. He can reach so many more people that I will ever be able to. 5. He survived so much in his first six months of life and he can PROVE that he still is a child of the most powerful.

What a testimony this boy will have.

Who am I to doubt the overall plan on this boys life? How can I go on? I can know that through all of this trial, there is so much more than anyone can see yet.

What can I see?

I see a beautiful boy, whom I adore and can't wait to see grow up. I see a family keeping to their calling with adoption and caring for the ignored and left behind. I see parents who instead of growing apart through so much separation and pain, have become stronger in Christ. I see grandparents who didn't "sign up for this" maybe being one of the greatest examples to us all! I see an "imperfect" family, not caring about their insanity and lack of perfection, but moving on and using what they have.

Most importantly? I see that it doesn't matter what I can see or what I cannot see. I just have to love by faith.

How do you live through loss? Faith in the unseen, faith in the plan, and faith in the one who made it so.