A Special Young Lady

This evening we had the joy to celebrate the birthday of one our pre-teens at the Eicher Home. This young lady, Adelyn, who turned 12 today, celebrated her golden birthday. It was her day, her evening, and I think she soaked up all of the happiness she could from her birthday. Adelyn is like that.Adelyn came to the shelter three years ago with her two older brothers and younger sister. To say that life had been very unfair to Adelyn and her siblings would be like saying the sun is hot. It would be quite difficult to describe it all, but in one sense life only just began when they came to our home. There was so much room to grow.

And Adelyn has not stopped. She likes to take it all in, even though it may take her a bit longer when compared to others. But that's okay - at least she has the chance now to take it all in.

We are very proud of Adelyn as we are of her siblings. Given a lot of room to grow, and the opportunity to do so, they have grasped what they've been offered. And Adelyn usually does it with a broad, if sometimes uncertain, smile on her face. She likes to share with others what she's seen, learned, or heard. She loves to ask questions to know more about what's going on in her world, even though she doesn't always grasp the answer quickly. But when she understands, or begins to connect the dots so that things make sense to her, the toothy smile always comes to her face as if to say, "here's another thing that connects us together."

Adelyn's special day today was another event in her life that connected her together with others and let her feeled affirmed and important. It was her day to shine!