The Gift of Grace

I just found out about a wonderful children's book about limb differences called, "The Gift of Grace". Grace was told by a little boy at school that she must be stupid because she has a stupid little hand. She was upset because she knew that wasn't true and it inspired her to write this book when she was five years old.

You can read more about her story in this article, Bully Inspires Girl Missing Fingers to Write Book".

I love Grace's message that we are all "wonderfully-made". I instantly ordered a copy for Gavin and I can't wait for it to come so we can read it together!


The Gift of GRACE

by Grace Mary McClelland

Illustrated by Nancy Moskovitz



"Hello, my name is Grace. I wrote my story when I was five years old. In my book I tell that I was born with a special hand. The fingers on my right hand are smaller than the fingers on my left hand. And instead of five fingers, I have four.

A wonderful artist, Nancy Moskovitz, has painted pictures of me to tell my story. When I look at them, they take my breath away! I bet they will do that to you.

Each book will donate funds to the Hands-to-Love camp in North Florida. This camp was started by a hand surgeon - such as mine, who borrowed bones from my toes to make me fingers. And you can't really tell when you look at my toes...which by the way I love to polish!"

BUY "The Gift of Grace" by Grace Mary McClelland

James Reimer's #1 Fan

If you know Gavin well you know about his passion for hockey. And especially his fascination with goalies. On any given day you will probably find him wearing his goalie pads, blocker and catcher and the beloved goalie helmet he got for Christmas.

His team is the Toronto Maple Leafs and his favorite player is JAMES REIMER. He watches the game and copies James' every move! He has all the moves down pat. He LOVES James and gets excited if he even hears Reimer's name mentioned on TV or the radio. He has told me many times, "I wish James Reimer could come to my house and play hockey in the basement with me."

He has a James Reimer poster on his wall which is the first thing he wants to show anyone who comes to our house. He often tells us "I'm not Gavin, I'm James Reimer."


Unless you know him and see him in action, you wouldn't believe it. And if you didn't know he "only" has 1 hand, you would never be able to tell by the way he stops, blocks and saves the puck. He has no fear and no shortage of energy!

I recently contacted the Leafs (Fan Services) to share Gavin's story and see if there was any way they could make his dream of meeting James Reimer come true. I knew it was a long shot but we wouldn't know unless we tried.

Gavin was so excited to get two packages in the mail this week! He felt so special. Now he has a James Reimer bobble head! And also a Leafs toque and puck. It may not have been much to some but it sure meant the world to him!


As I write this, the radio is on and they are talking about all the pressure that rests on the shoulders of young goalies in the NHL. I wish Reimer could know that whether he has a great game or a not-so-great game, there is a little boy I know who is just happy to see his favorite player in action and get caught up in the excitement of a hockey game.

My Funny Valentine

I hope all our friends had a happy day yesterday! And more importantly, I wish we could feel so loved and appreciated every other day too. Because Valentines Day is really just one silly day that I happen to like. (mainly for the chocolate and cupcakes) But there are 364 other days in the year where we should be telling our loved ones how much we care and doing simple gestures to show it. Isn't that what it's really about?

Anyways we had a great day and Gavin was just a little excited about getting Valentines treats!

Doin' Things One-Handed

As if Ryan Haack wasn't cool enough already, now he has this awesome caricature of himself for his website, Living One Handed. Personally, I think its pretty awesome!

Come to think of it...his whole website is pretty awesome. If you haven't checked it out, you definitely should!

I am loving Ryan's "how-to" videos in which he shows himself doing simple, every day tasks one-handed. (Because that's how you do things when you have one hand. *wink*)

He covers the typical parental worries of how a one-handed child will tie their shoes or zip their coat, as well as the more important skills like how to make snowballs and shuffle cards. And my personal favourite - How to Hold Twins One-Handed. I look forward to more of these helpful and humorous How-To videos. Thanks so much for sharing Ryan. As I may have mentioned, you are AWESOME.

How to Tie Shoes One-Handed

How to Zip a Coat One-Handed

How to Put Toothpaste on a Toothbrush One-Handed

How to Wash Your Hands One-Handed

How to Make a Snowball One-Handed

How to Shovel and Use a Snow Blower One-Handed

How to Peel Fruit One-Handed

How to Shuffle Cards One-Handed

How to Wrap a Present One-Handed

How to Do "Where Is Thumbkin?" One-Handed"

Want more?
Subscribe to the website.
Subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Follow on twitter.
Like on facebook.