When Superheroes Lead You to Yours

February 1, 2017 Michelle Cuthrell

Joy and J.J., the two host superheroes who stayed in our home and in our town for 30 days this winter, just wrecked us.

Utterly, completely, totally wrecked us.

In the most beautiful, precious, perfect possible way, these two superheroes, one with a sparkly extra chromosome and one with cerebral palsy and mobility issues, among others, shattered our hearts, opened our eyes and SHOWED us something we thought we already knew.

That special needs are really super needs in disguise.

That the things that make these children look scary on paper are actually the superpowers that save days and hearts and LIVES in the real world.

That these kids — they are actually the secret treasures of the world. The gems. The best kept secrets of every orphanage in China.

Introducing a Girl to Boy World

December 14, 2016 Michelle Cuthrell

On the eve of becoming a temporary mama to a GIRL for the very first time in my home, may I just make a confession?

I'm getting nervous.

Not just nervous about what to DO with a girl. (When all else fails, purchase a 14-pack of bows on Amazon and fake it ‘til you make it. According to my sweet girlmom friend, "The bigger the bow, the better the mama." My new colorful collection of hair accessories says I am a girl mom BOSS.)

But how to protect one in the midst of boy world.

I bought a brush (because getting these boys to use the TOOTH kind is already a battle — I don’t even KEEP one around for the hair), I borrowed boots, I bought bows ... but none of my friends had a full armor body suit in a children’s size 7. Nor did they have gas-blocking nose plugs, noise-cancelling children’s ear phones or booger defense shields that might protect this sweet thing from the waste that is flung from the noses of these boys on a daily basis. And I'm starting to worry about how I can protect this sweet superhero from this lovely mess of dirty, loud and crazy chaos that is about to change her world.

From Us to Them: How God Used a Trip to China to Change Our Focus and Our Hearts

November 3, 2016 Michelle Cuthrell

At first, it was all about us.

Adoption became a conversation in our home in 2011 not because of the 132 million orphans around the world in need of forever families, but because of the two people living in Kentucky at the time who wanted to grow their family.

Who wanted more superheroes.

Who loved life with two boys and couldn’t wait for life with three.

As we began talking about and considering and praying about adoption as a means to grow our family (because we had decided long ago that if we wanted more than two superheroes, we wanted to adopt them), we pictured the adorable faces of beautiful, healthy children — children who needed families, but honestly, who didn’t need much else.

Sure, God, we thought, we’ll be part of this whole orphan crisis solution. As long as we’re holding healthy children we get to bring home at young ages who won’t experience Reattachment Disorder and who play, think and act like our other children.

Here we are, Lord. Send us. Just don’t send us any of those children who will have medical needs, emotional needs or take forever to bring home. Because really, God, we’re doing YOU a favor here. I mean, we’re being YOUR hands and feet! The least you could do is hook us up.

And then one Facebook post from a dear friend changed our entire perspective.

The Blessing of the Extra Chromosome: One Mother’s Story

October 26, 2016 Michelle Cuthrell

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

In an effort to share the heart of these beautiful blessings with the extra chromosome, I asked my sweet mama friend Joanna Sowders to share her story of birthing and raising one of those very special superheroes.

Because friends, after signing up to host one of these extra special superheroes this winter, I’m learning that there is nothing down about it.

In fact, more and more, it looks like the parents of Down syndrome superheroes are actually the lucky ones.

This mama sure is.

5 Tips for Preparing Your Superhero for Surgery Day

September 27, 2016 Michelle Cuthrell

Before we adopted a child with medical special needs, hospital stays were a scary foreign concept to me. I’d only ever stayed overnight in one to deliver our first two children, and I’d never held the hands of a child who’d undergone surgery.

And then we brought home the little boy we affectionately call “Superman,” and for a season, hospitals became our second home.

At age 5, Superman has had 14 casts and 10 surgeries/procedures under anesthesia, most of them while living inside our home. And after parking in children’s hospital garages at 5 a.m. more times than I care to remember in this lifetime, I’ve learned a few things — mostly through too-little-coffee surgery mornings, clearly a rookie mistake — about preparing myself and my superhero for surgery.

Blog

Before we adopted a child with medical special needs, hospital stays were a scary foreign concept to me. I’d only ever stayed overnight in one to deliver our first two children, and I’d never held the hands of a child who’d undergone surgery.

And then we brought home the little boy we affectionately call “Superman,” and for a season, hospitals became our second home.

I invite you to join me HERE at Beautiful in His Time to read about five great ways you can prepare yourself and your child for surgery.