Celebrating 18 Years!

Today I praise God for my wonderful husband and the privilege of being his wife for the last 18 years as today we celebrate our anniversary. I am married to a compassionate and sentimental man who loves God. Who knew that when we joined hands in marriage that sunny day in June just what God would have in store for us. If you asked me today, I'd say yes a million times over. I'd walk this path with you just the same, you are my best friend. You've taught me things, given me adventure, and by your example, I've grown closer to God. I'm thankful you lead our household in a way that reverences Him and you are a good steward of the blessings He's given. I love you Sweetheart! Happy Anniversary!

Friday's Frequently Asked Question No. 1- "Why Adoption?"

This question is a hard one to answer in general because there are so many things to consider.  Different circumstances lead people to adopt.  For some people it is their desire to adopt because they see the need of so many children.   Some folks adopt because they never wanted to have biological children, whatever the reason;  feared genetic/health concerns, single parenting, etc. Some people adopt young children after their biological children have left the nest; perhaps they feel it's too much of a physical risk or they are unable to have any more bio children.  Some people frankly like being parents and enjoy having children around.  They may adopt multiple times and have new children alongside their teens or adult children and grandchildren.  They just like big families! 
Okay, so now why did WE choose adoption?  I don't know that we so much "chose" adoption, I mean we did have to be the ones to make the commitment and begin the paperwork process- but it was more like a series of events that lead us to it.  W always knew we wanted children, just never gave it much thought to how we'd get 'em.  We never thought about adoption but never ruled it out as an option either.   We just figured we'd grow our family like everyone else, but God had a different plan.  We didn't begin to think about having a family until about six years into our marriage. I had finished graduate school  a few years earlier and now the timing just seemed "better" for us.  We began talking more seriously but hadn't yet begun our family when just a few short months later  we discovered my wonderful husband had developed a serious health issue.  This required surgery, and a year of treatment (this is something for another post) but needless to say we looked at life a little different  and began taking nothing for granted.  We love each other dearly and are so thankful for God's mercy and grace during this time- I think we really learned to lean on Him and to LISTEN.  Some times if you wait quietly that's when He speaks the loudest.  I dont' mean audibly,  but to your heart where you feel it and know there's no mistaking.  It took us a few years to consider parenthood again, then it wasn't quite as easy as we had planned.  We utilized the help of a reproductive specialist and tried artificial insemination a few times.  We had made preparations for this(just in case) prior to Larry beginning his treatment.  It didn't work, four times, that's not many, but that's all it took for us to decide that maybe this wasn't God's plan for us.  We still wanted children desperately but were not willing to try more invasive fertility measures.  We truly felt that with all of our years of  marriage and no pregnancy, then 4 tries at AI that maybe we should just try acceptance.  So time passed and we became more content, I mean, I still had my husband and God spared him, I thought perhaps I was being selfish for wanting more. 
We had resigned to being childless and then a series of events unfolded and we began to seriously pray about the Lord's will. We had to make the decision to continue with more invasive procedures or accept our status or turn to other options of growing our family.   Things became more clear to us as God put people in our path, closed doors and opened others.  We trusted Him fully with this and we began exploring adoption and researching and talking to others (thanks Terri and Kelly).  We requested literature from dozens of agencies and attended seminars.  Then on July 15th 2006 we made our commitment, we mailed our application and first fees to our agency in Austin Texas.  Peace was evident- we were on our way to being parents.

Happy Father's Day!

Have a wonderful day to all of you fathers and soon-to-be papa's!

And I just wanted to say this to my Dad . . .

Thanks for playing Lincoln Logs with me Dad, thanks for making me eat beans, thanks for taking me to town with you. Thanks for approving the pink dress even when I told you I'd take the less expensive one.  Thanks for buying my first car.  Thanks for not choking me when I wrecked my first car, second car, and nearly totalling the fourth car.  Thanks for helping me through college.  Thanks for always being proud of me.  Thanks for giving me money for gas even when I insisted I didn't need it.   Thanks for making me carry jumper cables, and a blanket and water and non-perishable food in my car.  Thanks for rollerskating with me.  Thanks for dancing with me at your high school reunion.  Thanks for teaching me to bleed brakes.  Thanks for watching the Muppets with me, and ALF, and the Mac Davis show.  Thanks for waiting up.  Thanks for saying "yes" when Larry asked you for my hand.  Thank you for all your wisdom and help.  Thanks for driving me to college or work when it snowed too much.  Thank you for letting me have cats.  Thanks for eating my dinners even when they're not good.  Thank you for coming home. 

I love you !!!!!!!! 

Upcoming Series . . .

As mentioned previously, one purpose of this new blog is to keep you informed of our steps on this adoption journey.  Those of you who know us well seem to understand that our steps have slowed to a mere crawl and at times, it just seems like we're sitting down right in the middle of the path, waiting and watching as the world goes by.  So, you can better understand this journey, I want to spend some time answering some questions that are frequently posed to us.  Therefore, a "Friday's Frequently Asked Questions" segment will be featured each Friday on our blog so we can provide info to you and you'll feel more comfortable on this path with us.  Some of the questions to be addressed are:

1. Why Adoption
2. Why China
3. How much does it cost?
4. "Why is it taking so long?"
5. Have you heard anything about "the baby"?

These are just a few to get us started if you have a specific question, please post it in the comments section and I will be glad to answer.  So stay tuned to Fridays! 

Flag Day, Feathers, and Finger-lickin' chicken!

Today was/is Flag Day so hopefully everyone who owns a flag was able to display it with the respect and honor it deserves.  Let the red, white and blue, wave proudly!  Ourselves, we don't have a flag, (oops) we've been in our new house now for two years but never have had a flag.  Gee, maybe it's time!  When I was growing up,  my Mom always displayed a flag and when that one wore out, she quickly bought  a new one.  She now has a lighted flag pole in her yard unlike the house-mounted type she always had when I was a kid.  Her Dad and brothers served in the war so I guess she's always taken the display of Old Glory quite seriously.  There is something about a flag blowing and snapping in the wind, . . .  almost like it's saluting itself.  Although I don't own a flag, at least I knew it was Flag Day!
Got my hair trimmed after work and my stylist is an exstentionista, she's been adding feathers to hair for a little over a month now and they are really cool.  Last time I saw her I made my color choice  but had to work up the nerve to do it. (I work a professional job so it required some consideration)  Well, I did it today and the placement of the (two < 1/4 inch wide plumes) will allow me to wear them to work and no one will be the wiser, or have anything to "crow" about, haha, sorry bad joke.  I guess you could say I was "chicken" at first.  Okay, I'll stop . . . speaking of chicken . . .
KFC is right across from the hair salon and so, when I left the shop, one whiff, I was smitten- chicken was what we had for dinner.  Sorry for the meaningless content of this, but the more I blog, the more I can practice all the little technical tools, formats, and tricks.  So until I figure it out- there may be more of this craziness! 

Beginning to blog!

We had a previous blog which took many hours to establish and included all our adoption info, inlcuding how God used various circumstances in our lives to lead us to adoption, the timeline of our adoption process, journal entries, and a few pictures.  So why start a new blog?  Well, our old one was difficult for family and friends to access.  Secondly because it was a purchased blog site it didn't require me to learn how to blog  per say, I had to e-mail pics and such and didn't do any myself.  I was afraid that we would have difficulty posting when we traveled to China so now I am forcing myself to embark on the blogging journey.  It will take time to get it "right".  You may check back from time to time and notice a pink striped background or a nature scene.  Until I tweak and perfect, you may see lots of things on here format-wise that may look goofy or make no sense at all.  Bare with me until I can find the right "tone and mood" for our blog.  This is definitely a learning curve.  My ultimate goal is not to bore you with my ramblings but to hopefully share with you our thoughts throughout this process and to give God glory for holding our hands and lighting our way