Hi, today we are passing through a door to a world of wonder, delight & amazement, come on in, I have been waiting for you to join us…
I have prepared a mini Gf Apple cake with a dollop of Lf cream on the side, accompanied with an Australian afternoon tea which is a strong black tea that contrasts the taste of the Apple & the cream perfectly…this is such a delicious combination…I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am…shall we begin our time of reflection together…
Have you ever looked through the eyes of a child…the world looks so amazingly different compared to our jaded adult eyes…don’t you think…But what about seeing the world through the eyes of a child with unique & special abilities (also known as special needs & disabilities)…
My seven year old granddaughter little Miss L has just such unique & special abilities, from a wee babe she has shown unique ways of communicating with the world around her & with those of us whom are a part of her world.
Little Miss L has such an amazing love for life & for all around her. She enjoys gathering us together for group hugs & lavishing kisses upon us.
I took her on a little Miss L & Nani date a few weeks ago for a school holiday treat. I had planned a Teddy Bear’s picnic in the park but because of the freezing temperatures here it was far too cold for that plan.
So we went to plan B, to the Art Gallery where they had a Sensory Exhibition for children. It was a lovely warm fun time together, the exhibition was interactive & they had an area set up in the exhibition as a lounge room for a “reading experience”.
Little Miss L loves sitting snuggled into my side when reading story books together…we read 7 such books…sitting together with little Miss L’s arm around this little Nani (I am tiny too). Sooo cute…
Then we decided to have a picnic lunch in the warmth of the car…out of the icy blasts of the wind…
Where we had parked the car…there was a group of our tall Australian Eucalyptus trees, a sports oval & passing traffic…Little Miss L pointed out the wonder of the wind blowing through the leaves in the Eucalyptus’ & the low flying aircraft overhead….then winding down the window of the car door, hung out as far as she could to wave to the pilot (with Nani holding onto her!).
She saw a bus & told me her big sister & brother go on a bus like that to their school. A sportsman walked past & little Miss L was fascinated by his brightly colored sports shoes. Everything was such wonder, amazement & delight to our little Miss L…she had opened the door of wonder & awe of the little things around us & it was delightfully infectious!
As we drove along we sang at the top of our voices a family song that I sang with my parents, my daughter’s sang & now my grandchildren sing with me….Little Miss L especially loves the yeh, yeh, yehs (that her voice has mastered)!
This all sounds like a fun & simple day out…it was absolutely a fun & enjoyable day with my amazing little granddaughter….
But nothing has been simple for our little Miss L…just a few of her unique & special abilities are (shared with the permission of her Mama);
- Apraxia of Speech means she has not yet mastered verbal language, but is mastering sign language beyond my knowledge of signing. She has her voice!
- Low muscle tone means muscle control for differing functions we may take for granted, are difficult for her but Little Miss L keeps on trying. She has tenacity!
- Hearing loss means that sounds to our little Miss L, are as we hear underwater but Little Miss L constantly keeps listening & pointing out the sounds she can hear like they are beautiful gifts to her. She has a beautiful appreciative spirit!
The world for our little Miss L may be more challenging than for those of us who may not have her unique & special abilities….but to our Little Miss L, she takes these in her stride because to her, her world is full of wonder, awe, love & affection for others…& the pure joy in the ordinary that she sees as absolutely extraordinary!
Just as the ancients wrote,
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has done and prepared for those who love Him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9 Refer
Let us be mindful dear friend, of the wondrous joys that the Creator of the universe has for us…as through the eyes of a child who sees the extraordinary in our ordinary…
May we all come to see the blessings that are being bestowed upon us…
Until next time…
Jennifer
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Just beautiful Jeni and love to miss L
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Thank you Jan,
Lovely having you drop by, I’m glad you enjoyed our time of reflection together!
I will definitely pass your love on to our little Miss L!
Blessings,
Jennifer
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You are blessed with a very special grand daughter. I loved your description of your outing.
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Thank you Brigid, yes I am very blessed…
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Little Miss L sounds like such a joy and I,m sure she is. So much to learn from children, no wonder they are loved so much by Jesus.
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Our little Miss L is a joy.
And we can learn so much from our little ones… did you know that the saying “out of the mouth of babes” comes from the Word in Matthew 21:16!
Yes, Jesus loved having little children around Him, they aren’t tainted by the prejudices that adults form along the way.
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Jennifer, what sweet times with your Miss L. Your poignant post spoke to my heart, may I never lose the wonder of God’s creation as seen through the eyes of a precious little girl.❤️
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She is very sweet our little Miss L, yes I resound with your hope too Pam, may I see the blessings that are bestowed upon me by our heavenly Father continually.
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What a delightful adventure! I love hearing other grandmothers share such fun times! Our grandchildren are grown or nearly so so our adventures are quite different than they once were. Our oldest (24) is now a nurse (as of a year ago) working a night shift in a midtown hospital and it is mostly listening about her challenges and encouraging her that happens unless we are able to see each other and then she loves to have tea together. (She lives 510 miles away.) Her brother, 19, is a college sophomore, an introvert with the most gentle of hearts, is one where we catch moments together and sometime those happen when playing a game of some sort. Our oldest grandson is 21, will be a senior in college and then on to medical school to become a neurologist. This summer he has a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health where they are researching origins and cures for Parkinson’s and I totally love hearing him share about all that is happening there. His sister, 17, a high school senior, is busy looking at colleges to attend following graduation. His younger sister, 15, is busy with teaching swimming, playing violin, and doing karate. She and I carry on email news. Their youngest brother, 13, is a cellist and a real miracle of the Lord I will tell you about sometime. This last group of 4 live 350 miles away.
As you can see, I cherish any time I can get and we travel to see them pretty often. This weekend our daughter is coming for the weekend and that means the last 4 I mentioned will be here with us, but even that is changing because the oldest who is at NIH for the summer is driving separately due to a meeting today and will leave for most of the evening to drive to a wedding in Pittsburgh. Then nest weekend the 24 and 19 year olds who belong to our son are taking a road trip to visit an aunt and uncle in Ohio and us.
Each season with them has brought a special set of memories and opportunities.❤️ Thanks so much for sharing this delightful one of yours!
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You are a proud Grand mama Pam! Smiling. How lovely that you can spend precious time with them even though there are great distances involved!
Yes, the challenge as a grandparent is to adapt to the change (which seems to happen far too quickly) with the different seasons of their lives & enjoy each season for what it is.
Have fun this weekend! ♥
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What a treasure of a grandchild. We have specially abled kids and adults at Mass. It always reminds me of the incredible diversity of God’s creation.
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She is a little treasure, I love those words Elizabeth! God’s diversity is definitely amazing!
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Such a beautiful post, Jennifer…sending lots of love to you and Little Miss L! ❤ Our grands are just that–GRAND! xoxoxoxo
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I love that Bette! ♥
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Very precious outing and seeing everything with wonder and joy and through the eyes of your granddaughter!! Blessings to you and Little Miss L!!
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Thank you Shayndel, yes very precious.
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What a sweet story of love and wonder. Special grandmother and granddaughter!
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She is absolutely sweet is our little Miss L! Thank you Debbie for your kind words.
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Jennifer, this is so beautiful! What a lovely day together with your precious granddaughter. She sounds like a bundle of joy. May we all learn to see with the eyes of a child so that we don’t miss the extraordinary in the ordinary moments. I see where God did have us writing about similar themes. Children are special to me and I love being around them. Mine are grown, but I have grandchildren ranging in age from 18 mos. to 15 yrs. Blessings to you!
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How lovely Gayl that you have grandchildren similar in the age range to me, although mine are slightly older!
Blessings,
Jennifer
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