Friday, April 30, 2010

Famous Adoption Folks

Click here to see some of People Magazine's featured folks who have adopted. They include 27 families, alot of them I didn't know about.

Also, found another interesting link for famous people born with a cleft lip and palate. Who knew?!

One thing I do know for sure though...all of MY kids are all destined for great things that God has planned for them!! I am enjoying every minute of watching them unfold before my eyes :)




Just Sayin'

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do.
God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know,
and holds us responsible to act." Prov 24:12

Monday, April 26, 2010

Join Us Saturday

If you are in the Atlanta area I hope you can make it out to our next Adoption Option gathering this Saturday at 5PM!

Spring Gathering, Adoption Option Meeting
> Saturday May 1, 2010
> 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
> Location: CJ and Donna's Home and Backyard
> City State Zip: Marietta, GA 30066
> Phone: 678-296-9975
>
> Notes:
> Please make plans to come out and simply celebrate Spring, and of course Adoption, with us on Saturday, May 1, at 5pm. It has been a while since we all have been together, so I am really looking forward to visiting with everyone. I will provide a ham for sandwiches, so please bring along a side to share with everyone. Oh and hopefully the weather will cooperate so that all the kids can enjoy the backyard. Hope to see you then! Be sure to invite any of your friends who are interested in adoption or have adopted as well. The more the merrier!!

Big Kid Camping

My boys ventured off on their very first overnight camping trip without mom or dad last weekend. They were lucky enough to get to go to Camp Kaleo with their church group. To say that they had a blast is really an understatement. I heard about all the wonderful events they did and I don't think there could be a more "perfect" camp for my boys. The pamphlet for the camp said buzz words like: tents, bonfires, compasses, flashlights, air rifles, marshmallows, canoeing, and even fire-building! Yes, I know, my boys heaven here on earth!! Their teacher was kind enough to share some pics with me today. Who knew they could have so much fun without their mommy ;)

Ugly

Yes, it was just an ugly weekend. The virus took Caleb down on Saturday, and then..........ME down on Sunday!! It is one wicked little virus. I am slowly recovering today here at work. Hoping this nasty bug stays away from CJ, and that it definitely doesn't plan to make a round 2 for my bunch!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Next One Down

Poor Travis is apparently the next victim :( Unfortunately he has been attacked at both ends at the same time. Now that makes for some very tricky maneuvers in the potty. I know...TMI!

Just know I am in for a LONG night I am afraid. Let's pray I don't get it next and that Caleb escapes as well.

Got the Yuckies

Looks like the latest stomach bug has found its way into our house. Faith was puking on Tuesday, and well today was Shelby's turn. Not fun for sure especially when Faith's yucky attacks us in the middle of the night. You know the all of the sheets, in her hair, on the pillows...kind of YUCK! So after we stripped everything off the bed and cleaned everything up at 1am, put her and Shelby back in the bed and then...

yes another round-ewwwwww!!

Shelby at least has spared us the middle of the night stuff, but woke up this morning with it. I can't ever remember her throwing up and she had no idea what was going on, so she just stood there in the living room floor?!? Life lesson learned for her this morning to get to a toilet or sink or trash can or something when this happens next time please.

Needless to say, not too much fun hanging out with the yuckies right now :(

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Coming Around

I just "heard" that CCAI is finally coming around and matching kids from the shared list-YEAH!!! I am SO happy to hear this new information. Hopefully this will speed up their long list of waiting parents and more importantly...

BRING MORE KIDS HOME!!

Yeah for CCAI!! I was very hopeful that they would start improving their wait-times for PAPs, especially after a candid conversation I had with their Atlanta office recently. Looking forward to hearing more about their new process, but I am already excited for the babies coming home :)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Monday, April 19, 2010

Someone Else's Problem

I just read this great post on another blog and it reminded me of the MANY comments I too received in the beginning. I agree with her post that it made us stronger and even more committed to our future children at the time. A close family member immediately threw out the "Why do you want someone else's problem?" questions right from the start. We had to learn to "defend" our decision to adopt then. But now this is about all I really need to "defend" our decisions!

Big Bowling Blast

We spent one of our Spring Break days in the bowling alley. ALL of us had a great time! No meltdowns, no fighting, no tears, just pure clean fun.

Faith was too cute thinking she was "all that" after each ball! She would high 5 you each time, SO proud of herself. The boys were more than willing to help their sisters get the ball all the way down the alley.

More great memories made :)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Friday, April 16, 2010

Helping Another Little One

I have to say that I just love how all of us "adoption folks" work together and share information. We all kind of have our own little club where you just know that everyone is there to help you. I try to put myself out there to anyone who is adopting to help them with the many questions and unknowns as they venture through the complicated adoption world. I am so thankful for others who helped me during my adoptions. We all have different views and opinions and experiences, but the one thing we all seem to have in common is the fact that we LOVE adoptions!

Here is another beautiful baby girl that I have been fortunate enough to be a little part of her journey. I met her mommy through another adoption friend who passed my information on to her. Simply through a few emails and phone calls, this little one was able to find her new mommy and daddy-AMAZING! I so enjoy helping others wade through the process. I think I get just as excited as they do with each and every step. I feel so lucky and blessed that others let me share their journeys with them watching God bring families together ;)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Recent Adoption Gone Bad

Well I finally had my first comment yesterday directed at me concerning the recent Russian little boy that was "returned" via plane. I was just flat out asked, "Have you ever wanted to send one of yours back?" I was caught off guard considering this was at my WWatchers meeting in a room full of other people. My gut response was "Well I am sure I have wanted to send back all 4 of my kids, adopted or not, at one time or another. Haven't we all?" Then I just laughed it off.

I wasn't proud of my answer or how I handled it, but it was all that came to me at the time. My thoughts to others who have talked about the story in general have been...well that lady was obviously just a crazy lady and I usually add that unfortunately there are a LOT of crazy people in this world. Her actions prove that she has absolutely no common sense.


The really really sad part is how this one woman's actions can affect so many other children. I pray that Russia does not hault adoptions due to her actions.


So I just read this great post and wanted to share it with you all. I love everything about the post and the FACT that we all need to be real about our adoption experiences, hence my blog and all of my Straight Talk ;) So please put me down on your list of people who will be proud to be your "Moving Buddy" anytime!!

Real Adoption Straight Talk

This is a woman after my own heart! She tells it like it is and I really enjoyed reading her question and answers about adoption. You can go here to read. Yes it is long, but if you are about to adopt or even interested in adoption, you should definitely take the time to read her page. Loved it!

Oh and of course if you are adopting, you should most definitely have this one on your bloglines as well. Good stuff :)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Trip to Stone Mountain

I was fortunate enough to win 4 FREE tickets to Stone Mountain courtesy of ParentsConnect! So we struck out on Wednesday of Spring Break to enjoy the day. I even suckered my sister and nephew into going with us...we had a blast!!

Sheila and the kids enjoyed the famous Sky Hike for their very first time. Then we were off to the 4D movie, which by the way Faith hated. She was terrified and her "fight or flight" instinct is very much alive as she freaked out and desperately tried to get away. Poor thing, once I finally got a hold of her we quickly exited the theater. Anyhow, nothing that a visit to the candy store didn't cure ;)



We then rode the train, enjoyed the inside play yards, then as Sheila and Austin hiked up the mountain, the rest of rode up in the Sky Lift to the top! We ended the day with a peanut butter and jelly picnic on the lawn waiting for the grand finale...the laser show. Once I convinced Faith that the laser show was not a repeat of the 4D movie, she calmed down and decided she would stick it out with us on the blanket.


All in all, we had a FABULOUS day! No meltdowns, no temper tantrums, no bugs, no worries...just friends, fun, and family!! Life is good :)

Monday, April 12, 2010

Slacking Again


I know I have been a big blogger slacker these days. But as you can see we are a bit pooped out after our Spring Break last week. Hopefully I can post more about it this week...


Monday, April 5, 2010

Spring has Sprung

We have been having a wonderful time playing outside these days in the great weather. We spent all day yesterday hanging out with family and friends. We started off with church, then over to Mom's for lunch, then off to Granny's for the big Egg Hunt, then ended the day at Dad's with dinner. Whew!!


The kids had a blast all day long for sure. Faith thought she was in heaven with all the candy. Oh and yes, she did manage to prove to all the other kids that if you eat too much candy, you will throw up-ewwwwwww!! That pretty pink dress didn't look so great with the after effects of too many red jelly beans ;) Needless to say it was a terrific day for sure and we are all so grateful for our many many blessings!!
Oh and to top it off, my dad surprised us all yesterday by announcing that he and Sandy (after 15 years) finally made it official and got married last week. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

The Reason for Living


Hope everyone has a Happy Easter remembering why we are celebrating! Tell someone today that He is the reason for the season :)