Mother's Day 2011!

I am a very proud mommy of 4 children! Nothing for me has ever been more exhausting or more rewarding! :) God has blessed me with 4 amazing little personalities!

1. Hallie - My tender-hearted middle-schooler who loves school and LOVES to read!
2. Emma - My emotional fashionista who loves school and LOVES sports!
3. Nathan - My little man who is growing up too quickly, who LOVES Scooby Doo, spies, and super heros!
4. Micah - My baby boy who keeps me hopping 24 hours a day and who LOVES chocolate!

This week one of my favorite radio stations was airing programs on adoption, moms, etc. On one of the programs about adoption, the speaker said something that really struck me. We often hear people say, "These are our children..., and this is our adopted son/daughter..." Now, as an adoptive mother, and for those other adoptive moms out there, we know that there is no difference in how we feel about our children, no matter how they got to us. I often forget that Micah was even adopted. He might as well have been born into our family, and in a way, I believe He was. When God created Micah in his mother's womb, He knew that Micah would come to join our family, and I believe he was created for that purpose!

The speaker on this program, did not like the concept of saying, "this is my "adopted" son/daughter," as if that somehow defined who they are. He reminded the audience that "adopted" is a legal event that happened at one point in the past. After that, we are all just children! As believers, we have been adopted by God, at the point of our salvation, but after that, we are considered just "children of God, and joint heirs with Jesus!" Romans 8:15-17 God does not see us any differently than His own son after that! Such an act of undeserved mercy and grace!

So, today I reflect on God's grace and I thank Him for loaning me my children, whether by birth or adoption, to raise for a time, for His glory!

Three Years Old!

It is hard for me to believe that my baby boy is 3 years old! He has grown so much in the last year...2 inches and 2 lbs! He talks all day long, loves his brother and sisters and is his mommy and daddy's "buddy!" His favorite activity right now is to sit with his daddy's i-phone and scan through the pictures and videos from Disney World! A Toy Story, or Stoy Story birthday as he calls it, was a must. He had been asking daily since Christmas, "My birfday next? My birfday coming up? I be three?" Almost every person he met got a personal invitation to his birthday party! His only request this year...walkie talkies! Of course, mommy came through! No gift I could ever give him, however, would compare with the gift that I received when God brought Micah into our family!

"Gotcha Day #2"

It's hard for me to believe that tomorrow, February 19th, is "Gotcha Day #2!" Or, our 2nd "Forever Family Day," as we like to call it! It just seems like yesterday that we were in India picking Micah up.

Last year I was very sick for Micah's Gotcha Day. I had just started chemo and could not do anything. My husband and my mother saved the day by cooking an Indian meal and decorating, and then, with David's parents in attendance, we celebrated Micah's entrance into our family.

This year, my oldest daughter is going to be gone to a church youth retreat, so we have done small things to celebrate all weekend. Last night, I cooked Chicken Curry and Brown Rice and we all gathered in the boys room at bedtime to say a special prayer of thanks to God for how he fashioned our family and brought us all together. This morning it has just been Micah and me. We have watched Micah's homecoming video together, danced to music while we emptied the dishwasher, we have eaten leftover Chicken Curry, I have watched him blow bubbles with his gum (his new favorite trick) and I have listened to him play songs on his guitar! It has been a great morning!

Happy 2nd "Forever Family Day" Micah, and welcome to the family...again! I would not trade you for the world!

Coffee and Adoption

One thing our adoption from India has given me is new friends. I have been able to communicate with women all over the United States and they have inspired and encouraged me before, during, and even after our adoption process. Most of these women are just names and pictures, but they have become a part of my life, forever, I hope!

One of these new friends is Kristi. She and her husband are on their third adoption from India and they could use your help. If you like coffee, or if you know someone who does, please have them check out this coffee company that she talks about below. I hope you are able to help and enjoy the coffee!

All of my Facebook friends...please help and spread the word! :) Jason and I are selling organic fair trade coffee to raise money for the last $3,500 of our adoption expenses for Ajay. $5 from each bag of coffee sold will go directly to Dillon Int'l, from the Just Love Coffee Company. Please spread the word, and post this on your status!!!!!
Go to: http://www.justlovecoffee.com/AjayArish

JustLoveCoffee Store

www.justlovecoffee.com

Martian Child

Tonight, as a family, we watched the movie "Martian Child" with John Cusack. I just want to say, "It is a wonderful movie about adoption!" We have had the movie forever and just never sat down to watch it. Needless to say, after adopting ourselves, we could not help but cry. One of our favorite lines from the movie comes when the main character's sister is trying to gently ask him if he is really ready for a child. He turns to her and says, "I know all the arguments about not bringing another child into this world, but what's wrong with loving one that is already here?" Awesome question! If you have never seen this movie, we highly recommend it to everyone!

Snow Days and Nicknames!

I must admit that I was not looking forward to Christmas break ending. I love being home with my kids and having nowhere we have to be. However, time moves on, and we got everything ready and headed back to school. Three days later...enter snowstorm! We have been off of school again this entire week! Yeah! The kids have had so much fun as you can tell from the pictures. The snow came down fast and beautifully and if it were not for the bitter cold, the kids would have played outside for hours...except for Micah. He is not sure that he likes the cold. They tried to take him sledding, but soon he was headed back inside with a runny nose, cold toes and freezing fingers. :) He wanted his blanket and the fire turned on!

All the kiddos have done very well about playing together inside too. We have literally been stuck as we could not get out of our subdivision. One of the funniest things to me is that they have come up with nicknames for each other. All day long I hear Micah calling for these mysterious people...and they come! I cannot help but laugh and I don't know where in the world they came up with the names. Emma is "momma," Hallie is "aunty Lou," Nathan is "Billy," and Micah is "Max." It is so funny at night to hear Micah telling them all "good night" using their nicknames. :)

I consider that this last week and the snow storm were a small gift to us, allowing us this extra time together uninterrupted! I guess I must come back to reality though since school will start back tomorrow. It will be back to just Micah and me during the day. I know he will miss his brothers and sisters. Today I am praising God for the blessing of our family!

Christmas Blessings!

This Christmas has been a very special one for me for many reasons.

• I'm almost to "1 year cancer free!"
• I got the white Christmas I'd been dreaming of...with 3 inches of powdery white snow on Christmas day!
• We had a blast watching Micah enjoy the first Christmas where he really knows what is going on! We had an awesome concert on Christmas morning when he opened his guitar...the only thing he had requested from Santa this year!
• Today, we got to meet another Dillon family who is in process to adopt from India! Abby and Suhas were in town visiting family for the holidays and we got to meet for a 3 hour lunch! We had so much fun and I cannot wait to follow their journey and hopefully keep in touch through the years as our children grow!

We feel so blessed and we are so grateful for the little gifts God sprinkles along our journey that make us stop and smile...things like snow, toy guitars, and new friendships!