Today, I’d like to introduce a new guest blogger, Amy Stout. She’s mother to Kylie, an enchanting little girl. Amy blogs about life with Kylie, who has been gifted with a unique blend of traits including curiosity and autism. In her first post, Amy talks about what mothering Kylie has taught her about grace.

Full of Grace

Her name: Kylie, means “Full of Grace” or “Graceful one”. Though the meaning of her name isn’t as important for her as it is for me.  When God gave us that name, I think he knew we would need a day to day reminder of what GRACE truly means.

Maybe it is because God knew in advance that yesterday Kylie would dump an entire can of baking soda in my first cookie dough of the holiday season.  It happened right before my own eyes!  I was mixing the dough with one hand, dumping the flour in with my other hand (I am a classic multi-tasker), and my third hand (EVERY mom has a third hand, right??) didn’t catch her in time.

I swiftly “thanked” my husband (who was supposed to be on “Kylie duty” -and who, I would like to add, had 2 hands freely available-AND who had thought it would be “fun” to pull her step stool up to the counter AND THEN walk away).  My “sincere thanks” was laced with just a tiny drop of sarcasm. (ok, so I’m not perfect!)

Christmas Memories

His response was to explode in laughter and simply say “Christmas memories” (I was up to my elbows in flour and baking powder and I have to confess, he almost lost his life right there).

Dan went on to suggest that we throw the batch away and start over… “Oh no!”, I replied, “Christmas Memories, remember??!!  These are Kylie’s first cookies and we ARE baking them (and …heh, heh, heh…YOU are eating them, I whispered under my breath).  They might be the size of the empire state building when they are done, but we ARE baking them.”

Dipping into the Grace Bucket

Grace was also required the day that Kylie decided to demonstrate the appropriate technique for applying water proof mascara – all by herself!  (She has been watching her mommy, but I promise you that I have better aim than this!)

Kylie also dipped into the grace bucket when she decided to skip the makeup pencil and go for good ol’ inexpensive MARKER… !  And to tell the WHOLE story, I must confess, I needed some grace too…

The night before these pics were taken, Kylie had colored on her legs with permanent marker while daddy was on “Kylie duty” (are you seeing a pattern here?). I gave my precious hubby a thorough scolding for not watching Kylie close enough.

The very next day, when I was on “Kylie duty”, I turned around to find my princess’ face covered in marker. She was rather proud of her art work and I had to eat a big slice of humble pie! (Although…at least when it was my turn it was dry erase marker and not permanent marker!)

A Flood of Grace Required

And I wouldn’t want to leave out the water incident of last week…Yes, here it comes…Wonder who flooded the toilet? And yes… in case you are wondering… the BASEMENT floor under this bathroom got a good cleansing.

Despite all the grace being doled out in this household- or maybe because of it- Kylie still remains the most precious gift we have ever received.

As adoptive parents, we were gifted with the pleasure of sharing an intimate pregnancy with our birth parents.  We knew Kylie was coming and we planned for her to arrive.  We never imagined the grace we would need in the days to come, but God has given us an abundance.

Gift from God

We wanted her name to be special- a marriage of her birthmom and adoptive mom’s names.  Thus, the name Kylie came to be.  Her middle name would be “Mattea”, meaning Gift from God.

We had no idea that Autism would enter the picture or that Dan would lose his job, but we knew that God would be faithful in anything!  He is with us through the baking powder, waterproof mascara, flooded sinks and all the permanent marker face paint!  There is not a thing that he can’t help us through.  He protects our marriage and he provides for our family in miraculous ways.

We are completely human, continually mess up, and still he is here! We smudge the canvas and mix the paints and still his brush creates the most beautiful picture…the picture of GRACE.

“May grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God our Father and from Jesus Christ his Son, be with us who live in truth and love.”   (2 John 1:3)

Pictures of Grace

To see more pictures of grace & Kylie, visit Amy’s blog at http://histreasuredprincess.blogspot.com. When you stop laughing, please leave a comment about a grace lesson you’ve learned while raising your child with special needs.

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