I am not the parent I thought I would be.

Not even close.

Before I had kids I just knew I’d be the kind of mom where everyday activities were filled with learning experiences about life and guiding young hearts towards the cross.

I imagined the fun, the laughter, the learning that our family would do together, and it made me smile just thinking about it.

I envisioned a daughter who would radiate the love of the Lord to others and be a calm, gentle spirit in a dark and sinful world.

Five years into our fertility journey, God gave us the gift of Joy, our daughter, through the beauty of adoption.

From the moment she was placed in my arms, tiny and pink, I loved her and praised God for uniting us as a forever family.

It was one of the best days of my life, and I embraced my new mom role wholeheartedly by dolling her up in frilly clothes and the obligatory baby bows.

She was the apple of our eye, and our family felt complete in every way.

Parenting her was a breeze and I just knew I had this mom thing down pat.  Why did people say this was hard?

We were one of those families; our Facebook pictures always joyful since having our girl made us the perfect little family.

Yet things quickly changed.

Joy started lagging behind the development of her peers and I knew in my mother’s heart that something was wrong.

I was right.

I’d be honored if you finished reading these life lessons from my extra special girl over at KayleneYoder.com .  I’m part of an AMAZING series, Parenting Girls, so be sure to stick around see the other posts by my talented blogger friends.

How have you been touched by a special needs child?  I’d love to hear your story and the lessons you’ve learned.