Every life matters - including Emma's!

I was going to post my new speech about abortion today and about the lecture that we had about post-abortion stress disorders, BUT I took a 2 hour nap this evening...... and so I will try to post alot tomorrow!!!

Its been a absolutely wonderful week ... I am so happy this week as I watch God work wonders...
And to top it all off, we went swing dancing at a friend of a friend of a friend's mansion last night and all had a blast. I have been wearing a pedometer just for fun to see how far we walk every day (sometimes up to 7 to 8 miles!) and last night I am estimating that we danced 2 to 3 miles! Another dream come true- swing dancing in DC.

I received some AMAZING news today!!!!!!!!!! My aunt and uncle are leaving for China a week from today to go pick up their new daughter, Emma Abiella... They have been waiting for over 2 years to finally meet this beautiful baby girl and we are so excited to have a new member added to the family. Her older sister Esther (also adopted from China) is getting very excited to finally get to go to China as well. Emma will be 18 months old, and every picture that we've ever been sent, she's smiling from ear to ear. She was born with a cleft palate and cleft lip and has already had two surgeries.

Emma Abiella defies what many pro-abortionists claim - a) an unwanted child is better of never having the chance for life and b) those with disabilities have a lower quality of life and would be better off being killed than having to suffer. But Emma is an answer to our whole family's prayers of several years and will bring joy just by her presence and laughter. I can't wait to meet my new cousin (I will arrive in Indy a few days after she does!) and I am so glad that her mom chose life instead of an abortion. No one will ever be able to convince me that Emma, or any other baby, doesn't deserve a chance for life.

If you could keep my aunt and uncle in your prayers as they prepare for traveling. My uncle has had some health problems recently with his inner ear - he had surgery - but the completely incapacitating dizziness has been recently reoccurring (just yesterday). Please pray for their family every day that Jesus would heal him as they prepare to bring a new baby into their family.

This is my cousin Esther - who although only 3.5 years old - has brought SO much joy and laughter into our family and changed it forever.
Life wouldn't be the same without her. . . 

Just as the world will never be the same after the tragic death of even a single unborn child. We will never know who that baby would have grown up to become and the impact he would have made on the world - or in his family most importantly of all. 


I am so grateful that Esther's mother and Emma's mother CHOSE LIFE. 

an update.................

It has been awhile since I posted... I am so sorry! This week has flown by with loads of homework every evening and evening seminars twice this week. A very lllllooooonnnnng week, but very informative and helpful nonetheless. And SO, I back-posted 3 entries tonight, so please check those out. 2 of them are speeches that I wrote during the week for our practicums in the afternoon.

Saturday also ended a 2 1/2 day Robert's Rule of Order Parliamentary training ... The theory is that it is important as future leaders to learn how to run, introduce and stop legislation in a meeting. If/when I pass the test that we took today, I will be officially certified parliamentarian - wahoo. Even though our instructor is actually was one of 3 editors of the illustrious Robert's Rules book and obviously very much an expert, it still was pretty difficult to stay awake just because of the nature of the material. He kept making motions to execute all those who were having trouble staying awake!!! Guilty as charged. But now I can have a credential after my name if I so desire! On Saturday, we divided up into 4 teams and we all had to try to get a motion passed in the meeting and at the same time try to block another team's motion! That was really fun, and very very competitive. No wonder nothing gets done in a democracy - everything can be so easily derailed. What a crazy world we live in!

This week, besides being exhausting, has been wonderful. We're all getting into the swing of things, we have our routines down (like waking Andrew up 3 minutes before Natalie and I are ready to walk to work) (family dinners on Saturdays on the balcony) (getting free dinner at the Catholic Newman center around the corner), and most of all, starting to build great relationships. Most evenings that we happen to have a spare moment free, everyone (besides the one who studies constantly) slowly gathers into Anna and I's room - we hang out on the balcony or lounge on our "living room", talking, talking, talking. I love it. We don't have any mutual friends or any other shared experiences, so mostly we talk about politics, pro-life issues, worldview topics, religion & theology, current events, etc and of course joking around and telling silly stories. We also do crazy things too: a few nights ago, 5 of us ran/jogged/walked to the Lincoln Monument (~1.5 miles away) around dusk. By the time we got there, it was absolutely stunning in the night sky. I loved how the Washington Monument shimmered in the reflecting pool. AND then we walked back and ate ice cream.

I am lovin' DC and all the adventures - large and small. This week promises to be a great week - hey, we get to go swing dancing tomorrow! Natalie and I taught the guys last night. Life's never dull.

I'll post tomorrow on the wonderful lecture that we had today - I learned ALOT.