Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Blog Mishaps

We just realized that we had a little blog issue on Sunday and one of our links was not working properly. Hopefully that is all straightened out and you can click all of the links at the top as well as sign up to receive posts via email or RSS feed.  We have also linked a private Facebook page that is connected solely to our blog. We will still maintain our personal and individual Facebook pages.  For those of you who may not be as familiar with blogging, here is a breakdown of what you can find on our blog: 

** disclaimer- our blog will cover the below items, but will certainly cover much more than just adoption themed posts- so don't think that our blog is only about adoption. =) (though we will certainly use it to keep everyone updated on our process) 

FAQ: this section will highlight frequently asked questions about our adoption, our timeline, etc. and we will continue to add to this section periodically. 

Our Adoption: this section will highlight posts that pertain to our adoption process

Life: this will highlight previous posts that cover our day to day happenings. 

Resources:   this link will provide adoption or ministry resources that we have found 
                  helpful. We will continue to add posts to this section

Faith: this section will highlight stories that pertain to our faith and to areas of ministry

Pray.Give.Go:  this section will highlight ways that you can be involved with orphans, 
                      foster care, adoption, or support those who are. It contains prayer guides 
                      as well as a donation link.




We are excited to have you join us in our journey!







Monday, July 30, 2012

Dinner Conversations- July 29

No, I did not make a mistake today by writing "July 29" on my title. As life would have it, I had the goal of putting this post up yesterday, but unfortunately the day slipped away from me before I could get it posted.  Some days are just like that.  This date, July 29, 2011, will always hold a special place in our hearts.  When asked "What are some of the most important dates in your life?" I would imagine that this question brings up a number of different memories- Graduating from high school or college, a birthday, your first date, a wedding anniversary, becoming a Christ-follower- I'm sure these would top some of our lists. 

When Nate and I look back at a number of important dates in our lives, a very important dinner conversation occurred on July 29- one that would change our lives forever. 
It was an ordinary day actually, there was nothing very eventful about it. We had gone out of town, walked around for the day and did a little browsing, and then went to eat at 'Not your Average Joe's', a place some friends of ours had introduced us to a while ago. Quite honestly, I'm not going to lie, we might do just go there just for the bread and dipping oil. The food is very good, but this restaurant has THE best bread and dipping oil combination and it's just too good to pass up. (and trust me when I say I've had some good bread and dipping oil at a number of great places, but love the combination they put together at this restaurant)

So, we were finishing our dinner when out of the blue Nate just says at random, "I know what we are supposed to do". (this is where I give him a very strange look that clearly says "what in the world are you talking about?")  Now understand that this comment didn't make sense at all to me, as there was no context to what we had previously been talking about that I could even guess where he might be going with this.  So I did what any very respectful wife would do and kindly asked, "So what do you think we are supposed to do?" (hoping that somehow I'm going to clue in to what he's thinking right now)  It was at this moment that he led into his thoughts and asked me what I felt God was leading us to do regarding adoption, which we had been discussing off and on for months, but not as intensely as we had since the end of June and the month of July. We had been praying and seeking what God would have us do in this respect as we had really felt God leading us in this direction.  He began to share with me that He felt God had been showing him through various circumstances over the month of July that we needed to take this next step of faith and begin the process. I have to admit, I may have almost choked on whatever I was eating at the moment, but I wasn't surprised at all that this would be where God would lead, as I had really felt this leading in my heart as well; however, I truly wanted God to show Him first and allow him to lead us both in this decision, since it was such a life altering one. (and truthfully, I didn't want the fact that I work in adoption or am very comfortable with the dynamics of it, to be a persuasive factor either in our decision)

So, I don't think I need to go into the rest of the details of that night, other than to say July 29, 2011 will always be a special date for us, as God had confirmed in both of our hearts the decision to following His leading to adopt. There were several other topics of course that came up that night- "Where do we adopt from?" " What is our next step?"  "When do we start?" (of course he just laughed and said "you're the professional in this area, just tell me what I need to do")  (I think since the decision was made he would have started filling out applications that night if I would have let him)
As we reflect back to a year ago, we are both reminded that one day a little girl will come home, a little girl born in our hearts on July 29. As we celebrate this day, we want to provide her with a piece of her story. There are special days where we will continue to write to her so that as she is older, she will have letters, cards, and journal entries that will help her to understand that even though we didn't know who she was, where she would come from, what she would look like, or when she would come to be a part of our family- we considered her to be a special part of our lives, our first child loved months in advance even before we knew a face or a name. 



Saturday, July 28, 2012

It's Summer Olympic Time

I might be just a little excited about today, as it is the start of the summer Olympics in London. I just love the variety of sports represented and the stories that are so brilliantly told about the lives of athletes from around the world. It's actually one athletic competition that Nate and I enjoy watching together. I always enjoy hearing the stories full of inspiration and challenges that many athletes have faced in order to participate in the greatest competition of their lives. I can remember watching the Olympics as a child and absolutely loving every minute of gymnastics and watching Mary Lou Retton win the gold for the U.S. There have been some amazing years of both summer and winter Olympics since that time, but there is just something about the summer Olympics that I absolutely love. 


The opening ceremonies last night were pretty incredible, and as always had some interesting moments, but I still have to hand it to Beijing for hosting one of the best opening ceremonies of all time. (and it's not because we are adopting from China that I say that-- it was just the incredible creativity they used in their opening ceremonies in 2008. It was nothing short of amazing.


I am looking forward to sitting on the edge of my seat, cheering on Team USA, and hoping for a lot of gold medals. Now, if only I could just sit back all day and watch these games and not have to work-- now THAT would be the perfect summer. Enjoy watching the games!



Saturday, July 14, 2012

Watermelon & Summer

It doesn't take much to make me happy....really. There is one word that makes me very happy- WATERMELON.  This one little slice of sweetness is something I have been craving all summer, but for some reason I hadn't yet come across a watermelon anywhere that actually wasn't seedless. Call me crazy, but I just don't think a seedless watermelon can compete with a good old-fashioned watermelon full of seeds. Last Saturday as I was doing my grocery shopping, I even chose where I was shopping based on the fact they had watermelon on sale. Now imagine my disappointment when after looking everywhere, I come to find out that they had sold them all.  Really?  Do they actually sell out?  Needless to say, I left the store with a little less pep in my step because I just knew I was going to find that watermelon I have been wanting all summer. 



Well, look no further-- today was my day. As I walked with a friend through our outdoor market downtown, I laid eyes on the most beautiful green watermelon and yes, I got just a little excited. Ok, maybe that's an understatement- a LOT excited. I've been dreaming of juicy watermelon and wanting to make some of my fun summer recipes that call for this refreshing treat.


What happened next....well, I'll let you see if you can figure it out...


Did you really think that I ate all of that?  Ummm, nope, but I now have a fridge full of red, juicy watermelon getting chilled for later this evening.  What's more exciting--  there is another large half in the fridge just waiting to be cut up later in the week. This just made my weekend. 


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Fourth of July Through a Child's Eyes

I can remember as a child that I couldn't wait to go to see fireworks with my parents and siblings every 4th of July. It's funny how years later, not much has changed. I guess now instead of going with my parents and siblings, I now go with my husband to see fireworks. I'm not quite sure what it is, but there is just something pretty amazing about fireworks.


Tonight we were laughing as we couldn't remember why we couldn't recall seeing fireworks last year, but later remembered that this time last year, we were in the middle of "no where Colorado" camping (ok, ok, so I guess Rocky Mountain National Park is somewhere, but goodness did it feel like the middle of no where to me- and I consider myself to be someone who actually does like to camp)  


As I was thinking back to last summer, I had to recall that this was the very time last year that Nate had brought up the topic of adopting, and we had spent much of our road trip talking about this idea, praying about it, and starting to read through the book 'Adopted for Life' (which, might I add, I highly recommend reading). I will be sharing more on this story soon as I know many of you would like to know more about "our story" and how we came to where we are today in this process. 

I remember last 4th of July, we had two little kiddos from Ethiopia camping beside us, who had recently been adopted (as we would later find out) and who enjoyed watching Nate and I put up our tent when we arrived. We thought it was too bad they wouldn't be seeing fireworks on the 4th (ok, maybe I was having a pity party because I wasn't going to see any this particular year) 


Typically the 4th of July is just one of those holidays that somehow caters to a kid (or to those who are still a kid at heart).  I can't help but wonder if this time next year we will have a bright-eyed little girl watching fireworks with us [that is of course if we let her stay up past her bedtime =)] 


I think one of the reasons kids might like July 4th so much is that they know it's one of the few nights during the year when their parents will let them stay up past their normal bedtime and they get to be loud late and run around outside late at night. Somehow adults kids are just always "in awe" of fireworks.


Let me take a moment to share how tonight's conversation behind us went:


CHILD:  "Mom?"


MOM:  "Yes?"


CHILD: "Mom, do you know what fireworks are made of?"


MOM: "No, I do not know what fireworks are made of." (said with exasperation in her voice because I have a feeling "little Bobby" had asked one too many questions already..)


CHILD: "I think they are made of fire that comes in different colors."


MOM: "Uh, ok, maybe so".




I think that I can understand his logic when I see a picture like this above-- it sounds like a good theory to me. The rest of the night all that ensued from behind us were "ooohs and aaahhs" throughout the rest of the show- of course complete with little kid cheers. Oh to be a child again on the 4th of July. 


Happy 4th of July!