Hey everyone! As many of you know, this time last year our Asa passed away. During that time we were so overwhelmed with gifts and love that in his memory, we’d love to do the same for another family! As I prayed about who, I felt God lead me to the Fox’s and the more I think of it, the more perfect it feels! I asked Chantel (adoptive mom of 6) to write up something about their story, but most importantly to create an AMAZON CHRISTMAS WISH LIST for her whole family! Which is where we (and maybe all of you) come in! I’ll be sharing their wishlist throughout December until it’s fulfilled, as well as sharing a GoFundMe page that was created in their honor this summer when they welcomed their sixth placement! They’re in need of some financial help toward a new vehicle that will hold their newly founded family of 8. (You can find the links at the end of this post or in my Instagram bio)

I’ve known Chantel for a little over a year now. I actually met her because she and her son (who looked to be about 5 years old at the time) walked past Asa and I in the waiting room for one of our specialty clinics. Asa saw over 15 specialists, but this one we only saw once! As they walked past me, I just knew her son had Saethre-Chotzen syndrome, the same syndrome Asa had. They were leaving in a hurry and I debated running after them, but decided not to.. and regretted it ever since!

UNTIL, one day on my Instagram I was doing a Q&A and someone asked me if we knew anyone else with Asa’s syndrome. I wrote about my brief encounter with the mom and her son from clinics. Little did I know, one of Asa’s specialty clinic nurses followed me on Instagram and saw that post. She reached out and said she thought she knew who I was talking about (because we were the ONLY 2 she knew about at our mutual children’s hospital) and that she’d reach out to her on my behalf!

A few weeks later I found myself sitting across the table from Chantel at a breakfast spot somewhere in-between our two homes. Turns out her adopted son, Phoenix, has Saethre-Chotzen syndrome and she had also experienced the loss of a medically fragile child, Rosie. At the time, we knew of Asa’s terminal heart disease but he was still with us. She let me ask all the questions and shed all the tears. To top it off, a kind stranger at the restaurant anonymously paid for our meal. I’ve seen Chantel a few times since and got to spend some time with her son Phoenix, who also got to meet Asa! It was so, so special to me.

Hence why this family feels so right for this, especially as we approach the first anniversary of Asa’s passing. The Fox’s spend so much of their time in and out of specialty clinics and the hospital for special surgeries, for their multiple kiddos who have special & medical needs. If you want to know more about the Fox’s story, this is what Chantel wrote about her family:

“We’re the Foxes. Sean and Chantel and our kids. We planned not to have biological kids when we got married and adopted our oldest, Colton (13) as a infant in 2007. He has always been an empath and old soul. After that we decided to become foster parents. We felt drawn to kids with special placement needs. We didn’t feel afraid of things like diagnoses or medical equipment so it seemed like the right fit. We were blessed with Ty (11), a brave sweet magical 4 year old at the time, in 2013. As we were finalizing Ty’s adoption we decided to open back up and wanted an older girl. We got called for Phoenix (6) instead. He is sensitive and spiritually in tune. After Phoenix got a little older and healthier we said “we want that girl!” So we said yes to Rosie. She became our angel at 8 months old after fighting a hard battle on earth. We feel like she brought us her sister Mia (7) to let us see what life with her could have looked like since they share similar stories. Mia is the bravest and most accepting kid I know. She came to us at 3 years old and has matured so much so fast we sometimes can’t keep up! Mia’s social worker had another kid in mind for us after watching our wild house during Mia’s case so we met Aramis (4) at 1.5 in the hospital where he’d lived most of his life and knew we wanted to bring him home. He epitomizes tenacity and determination and is like a grown man in a tiny body! We thought 5 kids was a lot of kids and we’d never have more…and we were so busy with sports and dance and school but then we were slowed way down by a pandemic…when a friend of mine who works in private adoption called me about a baby she wanted to make sure was respected and honored in a world that isn’t always accepting. Now that our lives are slow and we’re all home together we were able to say yes again! To our newest baby River. The brightest spot in 2020 by far!”

I hope we can bless them this season, the same way you all blessed us last year! If you’d like to give a certain amount towards a gift, reach out to me and we can figure it out! You can Venmo me and every penny will collectively go towards a gift on their wishlist.

AMAZON CHRISTMAS WISH LIST:

https://smile.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2Y9JS3GDFDTGC/?ref_=lol_ov_le

GOFUNDME FOR VAN:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fox-family-van-to-fit-family-of-8