Love is colorblind…
This summer, one of my best friends from high school asked me if I would consider watching her 13 children. YES, I said 13! I expected to be “in charge” of her children for several days, as she and her husband, married over 30 years, enjoyed a MUCH deserved vacation. They were celebrating his 70th…
My Connor story….
The following was written from a younger sister’s heart, two years and three months later… He called himself Ronnoc the Cunning. Ronnoc is his name spelled backwards with a twist. He thought it was funny. He was clever. One summer day Connor picked me up from volleyball camp. He asked me how camp was. He…
Climbing mountains…
Imagine starting out without basic needs being met for years. Being moved from the only place you knew, although a tough place to be. Blessed to be taken care of, yet not your permanent home. Directed again to a new family, feeling stability for four years, only to lose a brother that loved you dearly. I…
Some days you just need to give a shout out to loved ones! This week my Uncle Larry was promoted to his heavenly home. He represented many things in his life. When I spoke to him recently, he was telling me he was grateful that our family, like his, adopted children. He was blessed as…
Who recieves the gift in adoption?
Adoption is truly a rare, lovely gift. It is not a quiet gift. It is decorated with many colors. You will see them all. One can imagine a sparkly package with a perfect bow. For some, years of weeping are held inside this package. Opening the memories inside can be scary. It takes years of…
Firecracker! Firecracker! Boom Boom Boom…
A question was placed before our children in the form of the following: Who do you believe suffered more from the loss of your brother…birth siblings or adopted siblings? Indeed, questions such as these were required to complete a year long process of paperwork to close out what already seemed like an eternity of grief.…
Are you adopted?
Five years ago today our family forever officially grew! As we arrived in the courtroom with our team of supporters, the judge smiled as he announced we would need a larger room to accommodate our crew! It was a celebration from the beginning. Adopting two children who were not gifted an easy start in life,…
Did you call?
I’ve spent most of my life wondering what my calling was. When you begin college you are called to declare a field or major. Some of us declare and then realize we really just don’t know what we would like to do with our life. It is a daunting task to try and figure out…
The gift of adoption…
This past Sunday, a wave of tears poured down my face as I watched the baptism of beautiful baby boy. The tears were of thankfulness for this child and my own. As I tried to stop the continuous water moving down my face, my two youngest children clung to each side of me. Only five short years…
What is your story?
When Connor graduated from high school in May of 2014 we gave him this verse: “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” Jeremiah 29:11. In our minds we expected he would have a…
Walking in the light…
One year ago today, was the last day, our family was together. It was Truman Family weekend. We were thrilled to see Connor, meet his roommate and for his siblings to see Truman State University. We were blessed with beautiful weather. Connor had just pledged Pi Kappa Phi fraternity the evening we arrived. We went…
Five years…
Five years ago today our party of five grew to seven. On August 28, 2010 we gained two precious little hearts longing for a forever home. We had absolutely no idea what our journey would look like and went blindly into a larger family overnight. Thankfully our youngest were pulled into foster care from a…