In August 2011, our daughter Aster was diagnosed with a severe speech disorder, and was recently confirmed as having Apraxia**. At the age of two and a half she could only say fifteen words. At the age of three she could barely say five, and those five were very hard to understand.
We didn’t know what the future held; we just knew we’d been praying and waiting for two years to hear her precious voice. And now it was diminishing. I was in shock. And honestly my heart broke a little more each day for the first several weeks.
I knew God was in control and that He could completely heal her. But my mommy-heart hopes and dreams for hearing my little girl’s voice were shattered. And my world turned upside down for a while.
When we shared our story on Facebook and at some speaking events, many of you spoke hope, grace and truth over our hearts. You comforted us with your prayers and claimed God’s promises over our little girl.
Aster has been going to speech therapy two times each week for six months. Her progress has been very slow. In January we discovered her two year molars never formed enamel so a little over a week ago she had surgery, and little silver crowns were put on them.
What happened next was almost miraculous! The crowns must have relieved severe pain we didn’t know about because she couldn’t tell us. And she never indicated it either. (Her pain threshold is incredible!) Her progress in the past ten days has been amazing. Then last weekend, when they came to get me from the airport after a speaking event, Aster started babbling a ton.
So, I got out my iPhone, turned it to where she could see herself when it was filming and we witness a break-through on camera!! Here’s a sweet little peak into God’s faithfulness! {Note, she had never done this before!}
I can’t help but celebrate the “good things HE planned long ago” for a little girl who needed a family to help her find her voice – and for a family who needed a little girl to help them experience the depth of God’s love!
Thank you Lord for the gift of our precious little Ethiopian princess!
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A precious miracle from God. What a blessing!
Precious.
What a precious little one. She is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Renee, thank you so much for sharing this part of your life with us!! Aster IS a beautiful Princess, as her name says, and God has such wonderful plans for her life!!!! How special that he chose YOU to be her Mamma!!!! My prayers remain with you and your family!!!! Blessings!!!!
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL. I WORKED WITH THE SPECIAL NEEDS ADULTS BEFORE I RETIRED. ONE MAN IN PARTICULAR WAS SUCH A BLESSING (ALL WERE} . HE COULDN’T TALK BUT HIS PARENTS HAD TAKEN SUCH GOOD CARE OF HIM AND TAUGHT HIM SO MUCH. HE IS IN HIS LATE 50’S I THINK. IF HE HAVE HAD THE KNOWLEDGE AND TEACHING METHODS THEY HAVE NOW I AM SURE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TALK.
YOU ARE SO BLESSED TO HAVE A PRECIOUS DAUGHTER LIKE YOUR PRINCENESS SHE WILL TEACH YOU SO MUCH. THANKS FOR SHARING. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS TODAY.
Wow, the beauty and wonders of youth!! Not just Aster but you and the rest of your family. Good to see you enjoying God’s blessings together.
Thank you Renee for sharing this. This just reaffirms that God is awesome and He is worthy to be praised! Aster is so precious and she is doing an amazing job. I am so proud of her! You guys are truly blessed. Thank you again for allowing me to rejoice with Aster and your family!
What a beautiful and sweet little girl Aster is! Good job Aster! Thank you for sharing!
Our mighty God is painting a beautiful rainbow for Aster. Thank you for sharing, Renee!
Priceless!!! That was awesome!!!! Thank you for sharing this with us. I pray I never take for granted another day the voice that my daughter has! Here I thought that sometimes she talks too much and to see your little girl who is trying to find her voice make me so thankful. I pray complete and total healing for her in the name of Jesus!
How precious!!!!! Having a 4yr old boy & 2yr old girl myself I know how wonderful & blessed moments like this are:) Awesome job Aster:) We r all proud of u here:) May God continue His amazing work thru her!!!
Our son, Henry, also has this issue and we now cherish every word that comes from his mouth. I remember when our girls began talking we never could count all the words in their vocabulary. With Henry we knew the exact moment he said I love you for the first time, when he said Jesus and when he spoke our names. God gave us and him this…we have a gift of slow motion.
What a precious girl. Thank you for sharing this video with us.
What a blessing your beautiful daughter is. Thank you for sharing the video. Watching it brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart. As I read your post, something we are doing with our kids came to my mind. Check out this website http://www.brainhighways.com. Blessings!
As I was watching this, one of my dogs, who is also named Daisy, was sitting beside me at the computer. She is used to being hauled up to the screen so that my daughters can see her and talk to her(sometimes I think they miss her more than me!) Anyway, you both got her attention when she heard her name, as her ears pricked up, then she looked at me as if to say, wait a minute, I don’t know those voices, but they are calling me! A cute moment and a wonderful sharing of yours to start my day. As a mom whose daughter went through both speech and physical therapy after an auto accident, I can tell you those people are a gift and their work blesses many lives.
Thanks! It is also a message for all who are in trouble and feel lonely… that God is always there and He is working the way to get you!
wonderful! God surely has great things in store for Aster! Keep on keepin on!
What a beautiful and wonderful blessing Aster is to be part of your family. Thank you for sharing with us.
How sweet.
So love it. Aster is precious and she did very well!!!!