E7 In the Town of Microcephaly

We’re back! Goodness me, moving twelve people and their fur animals and 19 plus years of stuff was a lot of work. Add on sending two of those people to another country for a couple of weeks…phew!

But we’re moved and I’m working on this blog post at our temporary house sitting on the pool deck and watching the kids play! We are blessed to be able to stay at a great place while we wait for the “next thing.”

It’s nice to be back and FINALLY sharing Nikole’s story of her beautiful daughter, Halle. Nikole and Brad have four children, Hannah, Harrison, Hayden and Halle. Listen in as Nikole shares what she has learned in the land of Holland with their youngest daughter. Halle was born with microcephaly and microphalmia. Nikole and I hit all the points about juggling siblings, marriage, and putting Christ as priority even when things are hard. She challenged me to remember that our babies…all of our babies…are precious gifts from God!

Mentioned on the Show

  • Microcephaly
  • Peter’s Anomaly-This is the eye condition that Halle is dealing with in her left eye.
  • Hip Dysplasia-Thankfully, Halle’s days of cast wearing is behind her and she happily runs and plays like most five year olds!
  • Littlest Warrior-I can not say enough good things about their advocacy and awareness apparel. Fun and supportive of all of our kiddos!
  • Seeds Family Worship-God’s Word to song is such a great way to memorize and Seeds does it right. The music is worshipful and the words are always memorable and relevant!
  • Hope Heals-Katherine Wolf created Hope Heals out of the struggles and pain she has suffered. Out of a time of grief and what others would consider a great tragedy, Katherine has created Hope Heals to share how God has written her story and continues to do so for His glory. Her words have challenged, encouraged and lifted me up.

Support

  • Subscribe-Subscribing is a great way to stay up to date on our latest episodes and stories. Just search on iTunes for Welcome to Holland or paste the following URL in your favorite podcast app: bunchofcharacters.com/feed/podcast
  • Review-leaving a review on iTunes which will help get the word out and will give us an idea of how we’re doing!
  • Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
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E6 In Holland with Siblings

This is such a special episode for us! I sit down with five of our kids, Zoe, age 16, Ace, 14, Liam, 13, and Josiah, 11, and talk about what it’s like walking through Holland with Emmie. Ya’ll get ready for some crazy, silliness, and hopefully, some real talk about how life goes around here when we stop everything for an Emmie adventure. I enjoyed hearing from them the raw truth about how they have adjusted to life in Holland and about how much they love their super sibling.

Let’s all freak out at how little all of my kiddos looked! This was February 2016 before Emmie’s spinal fusion surgery.

Josiah was Emmie’s assigned buddy and, while he’s super quiet, he is also super protective of his buddy too.

Support the Podcast

  • Subscribe-Subscribing is a great way to stay up to date on our latest episodes and stories. Just search on iTunes for Welcome to Holland or paste the following URL in your favorite podcast app: bunchofcharacters.com/feed/podcast
  • Review-leaving a review on iTunes which will help get the word out and will give us an idea of how we’re doing!
  • Follow us on Instagram or Facebook

Are you interested in sharing your story in Holland? Drop us an email me at hollandtourist@bunchofcharacters.com!

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E4 In the town of Chiari Malformation

The Tully Family

February 2018 will be a month that Crystal Tully and her beautiful family will never forget. In a matter of moments, 14 year old Anna Grace’s active, athletic, swim life changed forever. Crystal shares her testimony of their struggles, their faith, and God’s victories over this past year. Ya’ll don’t want to miss. Again, another tissue episode but also a great worshipful one.

Mentioned on the Show

  • More information on Chiari Malformation.
  • Here’s more information on Dysautonomia.
  • To find out about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, you can click here.
  • Gastroparesis is also another disorder that Anna Grace is fighting.
  • New Horizons for Children: Crystal works for this wonderful international orphan hosting and this organization is where we met our Silas!
  • Hope Heals: Katherine Wolf’s ministry and book by the same name. Also, ya’ll, she has another book coming out called Suffer Strong…check her out and follow Hope Heals on Instagram if your on “the IG.”

Anna Grace’s contagious smile is a testimony of her faith in Christ!

Support the Podcast

  • Subscribe-Subscribing is a great way to stay up to date on our latest episodes and stories. Just search on iTunes for Welcome to Holland or paste the following URL in your favorite podcast app: bunchofcharacters.com/feed/podcast
  • Review-leaving a review on iTunes which will help get the word out and will give us an idea of how we’re doing!
  • Follow us on Instagram or Facebook

Are you interested in sharing your story in Holland? Drop us an email me at hollandtourist@bunchofcharacters.com!


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E3 In the Town of Gaucher’s Disease

Melissa MacConney joined me on the latest episode to talk about her son, Matthew and life with Gaucher’s disease and other challenges he has faced. Melissa’s an “old” friend (not saying we are old but that our friendship is old)! I’ve enjoyed watching Matthew, who is now 16, grow up and conquer so much of what a lot of people thought he would never achieve.

The whole MacConney clan-Matthew, Micah, Melissa and Mike

Mentioned on the Show

Support the Podcast

  • Subscribe-Subscribing is a great way to stay up to date on our latest episodes and stories. Just search on iTunes for Welcome to Holland or paste the following URL in your favorite podcast app: bunchofcharacters.com/feed/podcast
  • Review-leaving a review on iTunes which will help get the word out and will give us an idea of how we’re doing!
  • Follow us on Instagram or Facebook

Are you interested in sharing your story in Holland? Drop us an email me at hollandtourist@bunchofcharacters.com!

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E2 In the Town of OI

Today we are thrilled to share the story of Coale Peace and his super parents Rebecca and Kevin and his super siblings! Handsome and sweet Coale is a year old living with Type 3 Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). Listen in as Rebecca shares their story! Ya’ll may need to grab a tissue!

Mentioned on the Show

  • To learn more about Osteogenesis Imperfecta, you can head to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation site.
  • When God Doesn’t Fix It by Laura Story-This story was a big ol’ worship time for me reminding me that God’s purpose is way bigger than I can ever imagine.
  • Of course I mention J.J. Heller’s song Big Love, Small Moments. Seriously, such a precious reminder to cherish it ALL!
  • Anchored Souls is a local ministry (for now) for moms with kids with different abilities!
  • Katherine Wolf’s ministry is called Hope Heals and she has a book by the same name. If you aren’t following her on Instagram, ya’ll should definitely do that. Now. Her posts are so encouraging and exhorting!

Support

  • Subscribe-Subscribing is a great way to stay up to date on our latest episodes and stories. Just search on iTunes for Welcome to Holland or paste the following URL in your favorite podcast app: bunchofcharacters.com/feed/podcast
  • Review-leaving a review on iTunes which will help get the word out and will give us an idea of how we’re doing!
  • Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Mama’s little man!

Are you interested in sharing your story in Holland? Please feel free to email me at hollandtourist@bunchofcharacters.com!

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E1 The Beginning

Let’s start at the very beginning (Sound of Music fans sing with me!). Join your host, Abbie Character and her husband, Mark as they explain where in the world the title for the podcast came from and how they wound up in Holland in the first place.

Mentioned on the Show

Support

  • Subscribe-Subscribing is a great way to stay up to date on our latest episodes and stories. Just search on iTunes for Welcome to Holland or paste the following URL in your favorite podcast app: bunchofcharacters.com/feed/podcast
  • Review-leave a review on iTunes which will help get the word out.
  • Follow us on Instagram or Facebook

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The Big Announcement!

Coming soon, hopefully, to a podcast near you! God placed the desire to share stories of moms walking in the world of special needs (all kinds of special needs) a long time ago. When I finally stopped ignoring His prompting and got up the nerves to share with someone (Mark), He moved us forward. Check out our Teaser/Episode 00 now! And get ready for some amazing stories of God’s faithfulness both in our lives and the lives of other families!

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