Verity Is on the MOVE!

 Verity has places to go, people to see, and things to DO! 😂🥰

It's been over 3 years since the "Go, Baby, Go" event when we got this car. At the time, Verity was SO tiny. She had to be propped in place with all kinds of pillows and things around her to keep her upright and safe. She had no idea what to do with the big red button. All these other kids who were in the same age range were zooming around in their vehicles...and we were running around bent over helping her go.

I had such mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was so fun and exciting to do this project, and our therapists from The Resource Exchange worked hard to get Verity approved so that she could get a car. But on the other hand, I wondered...what was it all for?? My tiny little girl had no idea what was going on. Developmentally as well as physically, I just didn't know that she would ever be able to use this thing.

But we kept trying. And Verity kept growing. And now she's over 4 years old and weighs 27 pounds, 12 ounces. She is almost 36" tall. AND SHE KNOWS WHAT TO DO WITH THE RED BUTTON!!! Granted, steering is a skill we will have to work on, lol. But the point is...Verity is on her own timeline. She will ALWAYS be on her own timeline. We celebrate every milestone, or every "inchstone" as I heard another parent say. Other trisomy kiddos may be walking or talking or eating orally or doing any other number of amazing things we were told trisomy kids will "never do"--and we celebrate with and cheer for every one of them. Maybe Verity will one day do those things, but for now? Now, we rejoice that she can sit in her little car and make it GO by pressing a big red button. 

To God be the glory, great things He has done! 

Verity's Village - An Update on Our New Nonprofit

Things are happening fast around here, and Mom (aka Beverly) is spinning lots of plates at once...meanwhile...Verity has it made in the shade!

If you haven't heard our BIG NEWS, we have started a nonprofit ministry! Born of a dream that began in our hearts in the midst of desperate times in the early months of Verity's life, Verity's Village has taken shape in this first phase as a way to offer hope, encouragement, education, and practical support to families who receive a life-limiting diagnosis (of any kind) for their babies.

Our dream is to CHANGE THE NARRATIVE surrounding genetic anomalies...

from heartache...

...to HOPE!

If you've been with us since the beginning of this journey, you know the heartache we experienced after receiving Verity's diagnosis. Even when we were privileged to bring her home from the NICU after 18 days, we lived in constant fear for her life--after all, she wasn't expected to make it to her first birthday. Chronic sleep deprivation plus the stresses of a military move and life as a homeschooling family with 9 children led to some pretty dark times, to be honest. 

And yet...through it all...God's enduring faithfulness shone in the darkness.

And now? Life isn't easy by any means, but it's full of joy and HOPE. (And by the way...that HOPE would be present even if the Lord had decided to take Verity to heaven. We don't have hope simply because she is alive but because her life is eternal, and we will all live in heaven with Jesus someday thanks to His wonderful, gracious gift of salvation.)

Save the Storks gave us a generous $10,000 grant to launch Verity's Village this past spring. Because of that, we have filed our articles of incorporation and are waiting for final IRS approval for our nonprofit status. 

Meanwhile, though, we have made some huge strides! 

• We run a private, online support group for those who have received a prenatal diagnosis, providing practical support, education, resources (such as those listed below), and care packages. 
• We've published a special pregnancy journal for moms whose babies have a life-limiting diagnosis. 
• We have also published a 30-day NICU journal.
• I'm in the final stages of editing the book I wish I could have read when I was pregnant with Verity, From Diagnosis to Delivery: What to Expect When the Unexpected Happens During Your Pregnancy. 
• We are spreading the word about the services we provide to families in these situations through any means possible! We have sent out approximately 85 care packages in 2021. 

I'm doing as much as I can over the summer because soon the homeschool year will be upon us! Verity's Village needs to grow, grow, GROW because we NEED to reach more people. The needs are great. This is a HARD journey, and many (probably most) families come to us heartbroken already and feeling alone, afraid, and hopeless. We are here to walk them through this difficult journey and help them with the hard decisions so they can find hope, peace, and purpose no matter what happens. 

Would you like to know more? Reach out! We'd love to hop on a Zoom or get together in person (if that's feasible) to tell you more about our mission and how we've already been able to support over 120 families. You can view our temporary web site also to learn more...Storks is helping us with this aspect of our ministry, and we are still working on our logo and brand guidelines. Once that's finalized, we can go forward with our very own web site.

Would you pray for us right now? If you'd like to be a prayer partner or even support us financially, please reach out. We'd love to chat with you!