Words are a wonderfully imprecise at times. I often tell my kids to listen. I can feel like Charles Stanley some days! "Listen! Now, Listen!" But it recently occurred to me that I may need to define my terms a bit.

Listen, I recently told one of my children something he needed to start doing. He had that blank stare so I asked if he was listening and he said, "I heard you." Pressing further I asked, "What did you hear?" to which he honestly responded, "I heard words coming from your mouth." Now, listen! Frustration is not quite a strong enough word...

Handicap. Special Needs. Exceptional. Medically Fragile. There are different ways people try to label or explain situations like our daughter, Macayla. The designation is important as it keeps us aware, aware that everyone's needs are a little different. 

Children like Macayla have uncommon needs. It is not common to need a feeding tube, wheelchair, or anticonvulsants. I guess that is why I prefer the term "special needs." 

We are experiencing other uncommon needs. Adopted children struggle in ways that are uncommon in one sense, but in another sense, their needs are ones to which we can all relate....