Something to look forward to...

2011 will mark the year of my 40th Birthday and the year I visit the Amalfi Coast with my husband and our friends K & B.  I have never been to Italy and I am beyond excited about this trip.  Even if we have to fly-in babysitters from Pennsylvania in order to go.  Even if I'm going to miss my kids like crazy when I'm not knee deep in shopping, eating amazing food, or having gellatos.

If anyone has ever been and has a file of favorite spots, hotels, and must do's please let me know. Even if you are just pulling it from your personal wish list file I'd like to know...and I'll blog about it. Share the love and all that.

Maybe turning 40 won't be so bad after all?

Miracle in Franklin: The rest of the story

Earlier this year I posted a video that I saw at the Generous Giving Conference, entitled, Miracle in Franklin.

I wanted to share the sequel to that video. The other side of the story.

Something I never really wrote about when I posted that video was this:  That video brought me to tears. It was so touching but what brought me to tears was that I desperately wanted to adopt and my husband did not.  My longing grew stronger with each month and I must admit that I didn't want to sit around and think about what we could do for other people through generous giving. I wanted to think about how I could adopt the children I wanted.

I cannot exactly pinpoint when a change came over my husband, but after agreeing to pray about adoption he agreed, and not grudgingly. He embraced it and said, "...and when we adopt our baby I want to help other people adopt too."

What started as a desire to financially fund 1 adoption per year turned into 5 adoptions in the first year.

We don't believe God is through with us on the adoption front. Of course, I believe He has another special child in mind for our family while my husband does not.  However we both agree that we have developed a heart for birth parents and are committed to partnering with an organization that provides support and opportunity to birth parents both before and after they place their children for adoption.  We are in the process of exploring that right now.

I cannot tell you how magical it is when you allow God to use you in His miracles and blessings.  It is like getting a front row seat!  


Won't you consider letting God use you this coming year?  I think the most touching part of this story is that this couple wasn't incredibly wealthy.  The gift they gave was sacrificial in many ways. It took them out of their comfort zone and yet they were richly blessed through their willingness to let God use them to bless another family.

Remember the part in the video where they said they have 9 children? In the first video they had FIVE.  That part makes me smile because when they were asked at the conference if they would adopt again the wife said, "NO!" and her husband said, "YES!" 

Say Yes to God this holiday season!

Gotcha Day

A judge finally made OFFICIAL what had already happened in our hearts...

Baby Sister is now officially and legally a member of our family forever more.  As if she was a blood descendant born into wedlock with all the rights and privileges of an heir. 

That is what the actual document says. Isn't that just amazing?

Part of our testimony before the judge included a statement from our family read by my husband.

He said:

We thank the court for this opportunity to make legal what has already happened in our heart.  (Baby Sister) is a blessing to our family and a gift from God.  We cannot imagine our life without her and consider it a privilege and honor to be her parents.  We look forward to raising our daughter to be who God intends her to be and promise to love, cherish and protect her.

And that about sums it up.

What a very Merry Christmas we will have as we celebrate the newest addition to our family and her very first Christmas with us!

Everything to me

This video was played during our two-day adoption class. The purpose of the class was to primarily give adoptive parents a heart for their future child's birth parents and to learn about the various types of adoption one can have.

The story behind this video is that Mark Shultz is adopted. He loves his adoptive family and really had no desires to meet his birth mother or had any feelings either way towards her. He wasn't angry with her but he also wasn't filled with emotion about her either. While performing at a Christian conference (about adoption)an adoption professional spoke to him about what birth mothers sacrifice and give their children, how hard it is for them to go through the grieving process and what they hold on to throughout that process: the dreams for a BETTER situation that they wanted for their child.

This song was the result of his realization about how much his birth mother loved him, what birth mothers give and sacrifice------and how much he now loves his birth mother, even though he has never met her (at the time I saw this video).

Homemade Snow

The weather dropped below 60 degrees today in South Florida which means that most Floridians were FREEZING, turning on our heat and vowing never to go outside...or maybe that was just me?

At any rate, I had to create some indoor fun, so we made snow!

In hindsight, I probably should have had them play with the snow outside---to give them the full Snow Day experience, but I didn't. Maybe tomorrow. According to the package this stuff lasts up to 14 days!




You can buy your own Super Snow by Dune Craft! 

The Visit

I was excited to dress Baby Sister to see her birth mother for the first time post placement.

I knew her favorite color was red, so I made sure she wore a special red outfit complete with matching flower headband.


Little thought was really given (on my end) as to what we would talk about. I had no agenda. It was an opportunity for me to see her and for her to see Baby Sister.

But all did not go as I thought, even in my limited thoughts & preparation for the visit.

Feelings were noticeably hurt by the obvious signs that Baby Sister had bonded with me.  There was the turning of the head towards me when she heard my voice. Then the noticeable smiles and laughs she put in my direction---even though I purposely sat on the opposite side of the room.

It reminded me of the first time I held Baby Sister in front of her birth mother. Holding her felt awkward. I didn't know the nuances of her personality and I was nervous.  Overtired she began to cry and I immediately handed her back over. If I was a dog I'd have put my tail between my legs.

Now there she sat, holding the daughter that was hers and was now mine.  The tables had turned and it was she who no  longer knew the nuances of Baby Sister's (ever changing) personality.

I hurt for her.


Questions were asked,

"Do you think she remembers me?"

"Do you think she knows who I am?"

Comments were made,

"I worry that she's going to forget me."

"She seems to really like you a lot."

Leaving was awkward. At one point I actually asked her if she wanted me to leave the room. No sooner did the words come out of my mouth did I want to suck them back in.  Thankfully, that suggestion was laughed off.

Of course not. You don't need to leave.

But it made me sad, when I thought it would make me happy.  It is hard to tell how the visit made her feel. I took a ton of pictures for her but I am not ready to look at them.

I pray these visits help her validate her choice.  Her social worker tells me they do. 

I'm not sure yet what they do to me.  But adopting Baby Sister was never just about me.

232 Boxes

The boxes arrived today. All 232 of them.  Lets just hope all of our earthly belongings fit into them and I don't have to try to get more boxes over the Christmas holiday.

 In preparation for the move I:


Found a place in my garage to store the 232 boxes and packing supplies that await me


Outlined a packing plan (room by room) with deadlines, which begins tomorrow


Decided that I would set up Christmas in our rental home, maybe. I'm going to sleep on that one and see how I feel in the morning.  There is an emotional component that I have to deal with: It will be Baby Sister's First Christmas and I'm resentful that she has to spend it elsewhere (temporary rental home) because we have to move out of the house we just finished building last year due to construction issues.


If you are facing a huge project, remember to break it down into tiny baby steps. By doing so you will be able to focus on tiny bits and pieces instead of the entire project which will make it seem less overwhelming. 

When dealing with emotional matters try to pin point why they are emotional for you, so you can gain perspective before weighing the pros and cons of each decision. 


I know in the end that it matters more that Baby Sister is with her Forever Family then what house she spends it in.  So, I will most likely just set up Christmas at the rental property and try to make it as festive as possible (which definitely will not be possible in a house full of boxes).


Baby Steps....I can do it....