Thankful

Last Thanksgiving, one of the bloggers I follow, Patti Rice of A Perfect Lily posted on her Instagram account that she’s going to do a Thanksgiving video and put all the pics of our kids in it. Of course I got excited with the project. Patti’s blog is one of the blogs I read everyday because she writes sensibly about motherhood and raising a child with Down syndrome. Her 10th daughter, Lily also has Ds. Patti has 11 kids and she homeschools all of them. Superwoman sya period. If you want a new account to follow, follow her @perfectlily because she posts videos of Lily dancing which are so freaking adorable.

So going back to the video, I sent Noah’s picture in and waited. Then the big announcement came. It was night time here in Manila when she announced on IG that the video was already in her blog and so I watched it with the lights in our room all already closed. The only light came from my iPhone screen and I was bawling. I was crying. My heart was bursting. I saw pictures of kids and adults all with Ds. The video is such a wonderful  thanksgiving for their lives.

Noah’s pic appears at the 6:41 mark. The whole video is around 9 minutes long. I still cried today when I was watching the video. My heart is proud and thankful that Noah is celebrated not just by friends and family but by people halfway round the world. I am thankful for the gift of friends, offline and online who have embraced our family and most especially Noah. I am thankful that Noah continues to grow happy and healthy. He is our family’s heart. He makes us appreciate the little things in life. He teaches us about loving and living every day. He is our joy, our snuggle bug, and our little wonder.

Here’s the video. Steven Curtis Chapman’s Fingerprints of God is so perfect.

I can see the tears filling your eyes
And I know where they’re coming from
They’re coming from a heart that’s broken in two
By what you don’t see
The person in the mirror
Doesn’t look like a magazine
Oh but when I look at you
It’s clear to me

That I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it’s true
You’re a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you’re covered with
The fingerprints of God

Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God’s hand and perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what He’s been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living, breathing
Priceless work of art

And I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it’s true
You’re a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you’re covered with
The fingerprints of God

Just look at you
You’re a wonder in the making
And God’s not through
In fact, He’s just getting started!

THANK YOU!