Spaulding for Children 2011 Annual Report

NEWSLETTER
When You Least Expect It
Some may say that it is coincidence or chance. I say it was
fate. It was a normal Saturday morning, which had come all
too soon. I woke with a tired feeling. I decided to get up and
get the day started. As usual, I had a full day planned. I tried
to see what I could eliminate from my schedule. I thought
very hard and almost convincingly eliminated a trip to 300
Bowling Alley. The children who we were sponsoring as part
of our church’s Share-A-Gift program were going to be there
that day. The Share-A-Gift Program is a youth program that
allows them to bring gifts for those who are a part of Spaulding
for Children. This was our second year and we thought it’d
be nice to meet some of the kids that we sponsor. I had an
overwhelming feeling that even though I was super tired, I
needed to go. So I gathered about eight children together and
we all headed to the bowling alley. When we walked in the
foster children had already started bowling their second
game. Jacquela
The kids that I brought with me were slowly starting to mingle with them. They talked
and it wasn’t long before they were laughing and having fun. There was one little girl
there in particular that I talked to that really caught my attention. She was the girl that
my youngest daughter was sponsoring. When I saw my daughter talking to her, I walked
over and began getting to know her as well. She had such a mild and meek demeanor. I
fell in love right away. After being there for about an hour and a half, I loaded all of the
kids back into my truck and headed home. I listened to the kids as they talked about the
children that they just met. They couldn’t stop talking about the day. I started listening
to my daughters talk about Jacquela - the little girl we both met. I knew in my heart that
I wanted to adopt her but was amazed to hear my own daughters say they wanted her as
a sister as well.
On my way home I called my husband and told him about Jacquela. Later, he admitted
that he knew the first time he heard me talking about her that I truly wanted to pursue
adoption. The following Tuesday my husband had an opportunity to meet her when she
came to the church to prepare to be the spokesperson for the children that we sponsored.
She was planning on coming the following Sunday. After she left, my husband said he also
wanted to adopt her. Sunday, Jacquela arrived at church. She spoke to the congregation
at the end of the service. She did a wonderful job. We then started contacting those in
charge of handling Jacquela’s case at Spaulding for Children. We were blessed to have
Spaulding for Children to help us to make this dream come true. We started the paperwork
in December 2010. Jacquela came to live with us at the end of June. On November 18,
2011, she was officially declared ours according to the courts in the state of Texas. But in
our hearts she was always a part of our family.
Jacquela and her sisters, Dariane and Ashleigh.