On Birth Mother Day...A Letter to Bruik's Mommy

 

On Birthmother Day today, I wish to honor the Mommy of Bruik.
Bruik and I think and dream of his mother, who now lives in Heaven, with much love. Often he speaks of her before he goes to sleep.
A letter to Bruik's Mommy for Mother's Day:
Dear One,
Do you know the first thing Bruik wants to do, right after he meets Jesus? He wants to see you and his Daddy and fall into your arms.
As a Mama who has lost babies,knowing they live where you also are,I know the ache of separation of being apart from your child. Perhaps your emotion is not ache, since where you live, all things are made right? Do you understand better than I that we shall all be reunited in just a moment, in the grand story of forever??...But I know you pray, you yearn, you are waiting for Bruik as I wait for my babies.

We WAIT...and we LOVE...until...

Many times, as I am rocking Bruik or playing with him, especially in those times when I am reading a book to him, and his sweet curly head is resting heavy on my shoulder, I picture YOU holding my little baby boy and girl as they wait for me, while I get to love on your Bruik here on Earth.

It's a holy exchange of love.

A Sacred entrustment to love your child as my very own. And this love connects me to you.
I see your beauty in his handsome face, pouring through long eyelashes in soulful eyes.
I feel your joy in his quick joy and when he spontaneously starts to jump up and down or to dance with such passion and talent--he surely did not receive that from this mama!!
I sense the pride you feel for this one...as he darts with such skill down soccer fields and runs like a gazelle in the backyard.
I sense your patience and your laid-back ways in his gentle movements among our large family group. He settles us with qualities brought from your family tree.
I know you are pleased with his kindness, with what a loving and caring, and obedient, and pleasing son he is.
And do you see this photo of him this year? I know you loved him like this. I can FEEL it in his embrace...I can SEE it as he scoops up other little ones to love them with natural nurture.
And you know, I have made a covenant love promise before God to love your son in just this way...
Sweet lady.... Mrs. Adama, YOU have become my family..my VERY OWN. Just like "blood kin" to me. And on that day when we all see Jesus...I too want to quickly find you...I will be close in line, after Bruik gets his love greeting in, to hug your neck and say, "Thank you."...."I love you." You are family to me...forever.

Love Always,

Gillian

And here is our story of another woman so DEAR to our hearts, Ava's birth mother. This story was written soon after we traveled home from Ethiopia. How she fills my heart every my heart leaps for joy over our precious "sparkle bug", Ava (Rekeb) Aday.
Ava's Mommy's Story 

 Please keep us in your prayers as we will be meeting the birthmother of our newest baby to join our family on Tuesday evening. We so look forward to knowing her, to loving her well.
Blessings!! 

A Love Letter of Sorts

Oh,my heart ♥, God is doing it AGAIN.

He is telling us His story of destiny of another life He is weaving into our family.

We have watched with awe as God has named each one of our children...each name so fitting...even the ones we thought we were picking out!!..some names have been miracles, like our son, Bruik, who we decided to name, Bruik, after Baruach (gift to God) in the Bible and to give our new son an Ethiopian name as well as a name from our family line, Clement, Richard's middle name, which means, "Mercy".

 When we received our referral information, telling us about our little son, on that sole piece of paper, the only information history we would ever have of his story, at the top was one name, before their early death, his loving parents had named this little one, BRUIK. Named, God's gift or Gift to God on BOTH sides of the world!!

And He did it again with Ava Aday--that story is on This blog--its a miracle as well! 

http://tuckerfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/2009/10/daisy-daisy-ava-aday-we-love-you.html

And with each of my birth children...I was astounded as I recently unpacked each of their names and found His fingerprints ALL over them!

So, knowing He has a "name", a destiny for each of us, that is "written in the palms" of His hand, I was listening for what He would name this new one to our family.

Right away He started whispering to my heart...in simple daily activities and in preparations and advocation and prayers for this little one in the Marshall Islands He is naming this one.

Phrases,

 words...

This time, even on the day we first heard of this baby who needs rescue He said,

"LOVE...DOVE...ROSE"

 "lovie dovie"

 "My Love, My Dove"...

Always one to bring what He says to me to the Word, I of course am finding this one written as a beloved in the Song of Solomon. One night late at night He said, "beloved" "David" and when I looked up the name of the "one after God's own heart" I found that his Hebrew name means, "beloved".

Beloved...Love...Dove...Rose

And then the family was talking over names for baby--we do not know if this is a boy or a girl...if the baby is a girl, we do know the birth mother's name and many in our family were asking to name "her" after her mother. To know a birth mother, to our family is SUCH a sacred honor...we have not had this privilege in our other international adoptions. This sounded sweet, however, I was hoping for a Biblical name for this one...last week, I could not sleep...I tossed and turned, playing with baby names and knitting them to our last name...

The mother's name kept coming to my heart...It was the middle of the night but I careful got up, trying not to wake up Richard and looked up the Hebrew meanings of the names God had been putting on my heart. EACH NAME'S definition was "BELOVED". HOW ABOUT THAT!!!!

 And as I looked up the mother's name, its definition is, "GRACIOUS ROSE". Our little "Rosie Love". :)) Our "Lovie Dovie" A dove in a safe nest..brought from the islands...

or David :)

our beloved son with the heart of a King before God...a worshiper...

And so...Sunday morning was an important morning for solidifying plans to bring this baby and Mother to the States. It is an act of faith and courage to press forward into many unknown details...but we turned the "fire" of avocation up higher...knowing the time is now for this rescue.

 Part of this journey is so hard on a heart becoming very tender in love toward a new child and encouragement is gold in these times. So it took my breath away when, during a regular church service, yesterday, right after I sank into my seat, breathing out trust to God and asking for a Word of confirmation over this child...that...God would name this child, singing over him or her.

 During special worship a lovely woman, Sarah Beford, got up to sing a beautiful, simple song. And I was undone. Over and over in this simple song of worship from Song of Solomon...Sarah sang "My Love, My Dove, My Fair One."

If you saw me in my seat under a river of tears...I was under the pressing of awe that once more we are caught up in GOD'S STORY and song of a life He is rescuing, redeeming, and launching into this world for HIS GLORY, for HIS renown. One Life, SO PRECIOUS to Him ...and two family lines needed to be intersected so that the fullness of His joy and plan for this one baby's life may be realized...the wonder of it all is quite beyond my capability to understand!!

 But I am joyfully in awe.

As I got home from church Sunday..phrases still washing through my spirit for this little baby like gentle waves on sand...I sat and studied in my Bible...in part, I found that the land of Sharon (rose of Sharon) is a fertile land, a fruitful place where King David's cattle grazed...

and that it is carpeted in these wild flowers on its plain in the Spring..

I found that the wild rose is in DANGER from being trampled and from enemies (like our little one is now) and needs the protection of the king...that the wild rose is ruddy and beautiful, Like Jesus. ♥

...that "the rose delights not in fat soils and rich clays, but in rubbish and roses that grow there are of the sweetest smell; such was the earth of Sharon"...and here is this one...who's place is so hard and yet such richness will come from their life's destiny as they are transplanted in our home...OH MY!

"Behold you are fair, my love. Behold you have dove's eyes."

Happy Birthday, Bruik!!

Happy Birthday to Bruik!!

Bruik has greeted the day today with "B" shaped pancakes and dancing with YELLOW (favorite color) crepe paper streamers after breakfast to chipmunk music ;)

--a fav. with the six year-olds in the house!!

We'll be making our way to Jump Zone and then the pool for a pool-side family birthday celebration. :)

Bruik, you bring us great JOY!

Bruik is giving, kind and a very loving,obedient son.

He's Jack's buddy,
Ava's example,
Daddy and Mommy's sweet companion,

And a delight to us all!

God has blessed Bruik with a bright mind that is learning to read and loves to create ALL sorts of wonderful magenet block and lego creations.

He also has been physically gifted--he is beautiful in action in any Sport!


Bruik has a sweet friendship with God. His prayers are such an example of simple conversing with a loving Father. Bruik has SUCH a real and tender love for God's Word (the Bible). He often asks to read with us. At night he snuggles with the Word either close by or in his arms. He trusts the Holy Spirit's power and can be the first to lay hands on the sick in our family or to trust in God's provision for us.

We see the light of Jesus shining on your precious life, Bruiky!




This is the blessing Bruik, our "Gift of God" has us sing over him each night. (his name means, "Gift of God"--see our post on the miracle of how his name came to be under this post in the labels--"naming Bruik") I just looked the blessing up--it is from Numbers 6:24-26 --it actually is the priestly blessing God told Moses to teach to Aaron to say over the Israelites.

Very fitting for this child who's heart beats after God.
Would you please pray these verses with us today for Bruik?...


The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

“‘“The Lord bless you

and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.”’

“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Love, Gillian

The Dream

Today our little Bruik--affectionately known as, "Bruiky" or "Bruiky-mon" by our Daddy is a little under the weather. I get the snuggly privilege of holding him and bringing all the right sorts of treats that make little boys feel better--you know--fizzy drinks, snuggles in our favorite chair, treasured books, and just the right Tom and Jerry movie--I may not know the title but Bruik loves it by heart! His laugh is infectious even on a "sick day". I love resting my cheek on his soft curly head and pondering the wonderfulness of this beautiful boy.
I have blogged in the past about how the name we chose off of Ethiopian Name lists, Bruik, means, "Gift of God". Months later, when we received our referral for our little boy, we only received a couple photos which we carried in our pocket, put on the dashboard of our car, and showed to whoever we came in contact with--you know this well, adoptive families!! No videos or updates--just the bare bones-- but it was mystical and wonderful...and perfect for us. You see, the only other piece of information we received about Bruik was a faded copy of a form that was in Amharic and English translation. It had just a couple of informing details on it --no birth date-- but our little boy was healthy, details of how very tiny he was for his age, information that he was a true orphan-both parents deceased but that they had given consent before their deaths for him to be brought in to care--and something that immediately confirmed that this was our son--in the name space--out of all the names that could have been in that space--his given name was, BRUIK. His mama and papa in Ethiopia and his mommy and daddy in America ALL had chosen this special name for him. "Gift of God".
We have treasured our gift from God. How we are made for one another. What would we have been without his gentle ways? The way his pure heart just "gets" the Lord? The other day I cleaned his room. When he came back home and went up to his room he exclaimed, "Mommy, thank you!! You cleaned up my room with God's strength!"... Watching him play with his brothers and watch over his baby sister makes my heart both ache and beat at once. Often, when it is time for bed, after he is tickled by Daddy (a must!!) and we have prayed over him and spent time pondering how amazing the Lord is before he slips off to sleep, Richard will then bend over his ear, so perfectly nestled in all those soft curls, and whisper, "Bruik do you know who you are?" Bruik smiles and sleepily answers, "I am God's gift to you. or, "I am a gift." "Yes, you are God's gift to me" Daddy hugs back.
The other morning Bruik came downstairs very animated. "Mommy!!!DaaaDy (in his Ethiopian Accent)I had a dream!! After telling us his dream, he then told his brothers and sisters and shared about it for days--it must have been very real to him and very special--and we saw the fingerprints of God--and again got holy chill bumps as we listened to it. :)
"I had a dream. In it we were all in the living room. The whole family was there. Mommy and Daddy were there. In the middle of the floor was a big present. Daddy opened the present. He looked inside... And IT WAS ME!!!! I was the present!!!"
May God Bless you today as you love on your PRESENTS--or maybe long for a present from afar--blessings to you today. As for me, I'm off for another Bruiky snuggle!!

So Grateful,
Gillian