Wink from Heaven: The Wishing Swing

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Wishing Swing

Caleb received his Wishing swing this week! It is absolutely delighful to see him enjoy his swing surrounded by his brothers. It truly is a wish come true for our family- for all of our boys to be able to play together...

Caleb fits just perfectly in his wishing swing!

We are so blessed to have a special place to play as a family!

We know we'll make special memories in our wishing spot for years to come

Our heart felt thanks to our wish granter Scott

And to Teno who donated all of the bark !

Swinging is magical to Caleb

Especially when he gets to be with his brothers!

We are humbled beyond words to be blessed with such a special gift. Thank you to the Make a Wish Foundation and to all who give their hearts to make wishes come true!

10 comments:

shirlgirl said...: Love the new play area for the entire family, and I'll bet Caleb just loves his new swing. Make A Wish is certainly a marvelous organization to help families who want special wishes granted. Glad everything is finally in place for you. Your yard looks awesome, too!; September 23, 2010 at 1:41 PM
Bugg's mama said...: I'm crying. That is just the neatest thing for Caleb and your family!!!!

Love, bree; September 23, 2010 at 2:10 PM
Junior said...: Oh Caleb such a special day, wonderful to see you be able to play on your swing with your brothers.
Hugs; September 23, 2010 at 2:40 PM
Becky said...: It's PERFECT! I love it and what an incredible yet simple gift for such a sweet boy. I'm so grateful your family will be able to play together and make wonderful memories in the process. Go team Caleb! xo; September 23, 2010 at 3:26 PM
Kelly said...: I love the swing set. It's so wonderful that the boys all have a place to play together. I love that last picture of Caleb and Josh. So adorable!; September 23, 2010 at 4:19 PM
Colleen said...: I love the new swing! We have a swing similar to that one and it's so nice!; September 24, 2010 at 7:47 AM
brigette said...: I found your blog through another i read. What a sweet family you have. We lost a son to what they believe was sma. Im glad u guys got your wish. How very amazing and special!!; September 24, 2010 at 8:07 AM
Brad and Hailey said...: That's wonderful!; September 24, 2010 at 11:15 AM
The Kings said...: Soooo cool!!! I'm so glad that he gets a special place to play with his brothers.; September 25, 2010 at 7:15 PM
Amanda said...: That is so wonderful that he has a swing that he can play in around his brothers! YEAH!!! I hope that he has a lot of fun!; September 28, 2010 at 11:41 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.