About the Wesley family

2009

2010

2011

2012

Charles and Alexis Wesley have been married seven years. They have one awesome four-year-old daughter, Laelia, who begs them daily for a brother from “the baby hospital.” For the last year, this family of three has been praying at bedtime for one special little guy who Reece’s Rainbow gave the alias “Joel.” The couple started doing a fundraiser for Joel, and Alexis was invited to co-author an adoption blog for orphaned kids with arthrogryposis where Joel is featured. Laelia even started to save all her change in a toy safe devoted to Joel. They advocated for Joel and prayed for him, but did not feel they could handle an adoption.

This did not stop Alexis from falling in love with the little guy or bugging the Reece’s Rainbow staff about him every few months (for research purposes for the adoption blog *cough*). Charles was very hesitant about adoption, but after some calculating, he agreed that they could handle special needs adoption. It did not take one epiphany to decide on Joel, but millions of small nudges and pieces falling into place over the entire last year. But the deciding factor came when the couple discovered that Joel did not suffer from seizures—a fear sprouting from Joel’s “convulsive disorder” diagnosis, and something they had been actively praying about. Then it became very clear that they could not only handle adding him to their family, but they would LOVE to!

After meeting many former Reece’s Rainbow kids with arthrogryposis through amcsupport.org as well as at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, it became clear to the Wesley family that these are some of the best kids on earth. Now instead of begging God to send Joel a family, the Wesleys get to be that family!

“I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” ~Hudson Taylor