Wink from Heaven: The wishing tower

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The wishing tower

It was magic from the time we stepped through the doors!

Caleb was the star of the evening!

We explored the grounds,

and spent some time at the wishing pond.

We each got to make a wish and throw a special coin in the fountain. They even gave us each another coin to save as a keepsake!

Our wish granters took us on a tour of the building, and we spent some time talking about Caleb's wish. They were great sports to entertain my boys' wiggles and short attention spans! We wrote down Caleb's wish, and then we all got to write our own wishes for Caleb to be read in the wishing room.

The boys could hardly wait...

There was a special lock for our special key

Matthew helped Caleb put it in the keyole.

Caleb was full of smiles as we stepped inside. There were beautiful lights and a magic waterfall in the center of the room!

We all got to read the wishes we wrote for Caleb.

Caleb's wishes from us were put in a knight for us to keep, and his special wish was put in a golden case!

We all helped send Caleb's wish to the wishing wizard!

It was magical!

Our wish granters were wonderful!

The evening was full of magic.

My boys will never doubt that wishes really do come true!

Caleb loves to be with his brothers so we helped him wish for a way that he can be more involved in play time with them! We are hoping to use some magic to conjure up something they can all enjoy and that will be adapted to meet Caleb's needs! We will likely wait to finalize our plans for a few more months... so that the wishing wizard will have time to think of something just right!

7 comments:

Junior said...: Such a special time, can't wait to hear what Calebs wish will be.; October 18, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Janene Baadsgaard said...: I'm so glad your whole family was able to be part of this magical experience. I love you Caleb.; October 18, 2009 at 3:07 PM
Becky said...: The pictures are beautiful! I'm teary reading about your magical night. I'm SO happy that you guys got to finally do it. :) Wishes DO come true. I'm thinking of you guys all the way back here in NH. xoxo; October 18, 2009 at 3:24 PM
Emily said...: I'm SO glad your sweet family got to do that! What a neat evening for you guys! It looks like it was MAGICAL.; October 18, 2009 at 7:02 PM
Brad and Hailey said...: What an amazing experience! Knight Caleb certainly deserves it. I'm glad the whole family got to have such a wonderful evening!; October 19, 2009 at 7:01 AM
Tara Bennett said...: Oh my cheeks hurt from smiling so big during the entire post. What a wonderful evening for your family! I'm excited to see what the wishing wizard pulls out of his hat -- I'm sure it will be wonderful and perfect for Caleb and his brothers =); October 20, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Kel said...: I'm teary-eyed too. What a wonderful experience. I've never known what it's like for someone to go through a wishing process. Who knew there were magical keys and waterfalls and wizards involved! So excited for you!; October 20, 2009 at 5:27 PM

Prayer for Caleb

(written by Caleb's Grandma in her weekly column -2008-)

In my family we have a secret code to communicate our love for each other when we are out in public. We wink. When one of us is about to perform or speak, we look for a family member’s face in the crowd. Then we wink at each other. Closing one eye and winking is our secret code for saying, “I love you. You can do it. You’re wonderful.”

About three years ago, my grandson Caleb was born into our family. He must have known before birth that he would never be able to speak to us because he was born with one eyelid permanently closed. So, he is always “winking” at us, always communicating, “I love you. You can do it. You’re wonderful.”

Caleb has one eye lid permanently closed because he is missing one of his eyes . . . and he is also missing his brain. All the doctors said he would die soon after birth. They were wrong. Caleb is three years old. He is a medical miracle. The doctors say he can’t see, hear, speak, think or move. Those who know and love Caleb understand he has his own unique way of experiencing the world and communicating his love to those around him.

After Caleb was born the hospice people told us to buy a burial plot and continually warned us of his imminent death. We soon learned you can not live well in a state of fear and sadness. We decided we could spend Caleb’s entire life anxious and scared he might die at any moment, or we could celebrate each day we were blessed to have him with us. In the beginning, my daughter April celebrated Caleb’s birthday every week instead of every year with balloons and cupcakes because we simply did not know how long we would have him with us. We stopped the cupcakes after we gained ten pounds, but the celebrating goes on.

We all prayed for a miracle when we first learned about Caleb’s condition. We got one. Caleb’s birth, life and mission have had a deep and lasting impact on our lives. His spirit, eternal identity and most of all the loving, individual relationship he has with each of us is truly a miracle. Because of Caleb we know that each of us has a divine purpose and that the physical body is a sacred gift we should never take for granted. We better understand the worth of a soul and the resiliency of the human spirit.

Caleb’s five year old brother Matthew said, “Grandma. The doctors said Caleb was going to die, but he didn’t. That’s the first miracle I ever saw!”

Sometimes Caleb’s baby brother Mitchell pulls out his feeding tube while they hold hands riding together in their double stroller. Sometimes the only intervention that can get Caleb’s heart rate up is when his older brothers Josh and Matty crawl in his crib, hug him and sing, “I am a Child of God.” ...If you have a moment please offer a prayer for the little boy who has never been able to utter a single word and yet has taught everyone who knows and loves him – all the secrets of a rich and meaningful life.