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Category Archives: Our Adoption
January: A Look Back
And just like that the first month of 2012 is behind us. I’m not sure how fast it went at your house but I must say it went by at lightning speed at my house. Every month flies by now. I have had to become very intentional in creating memory moments and reflecting on our lives in the fast lane.
As many of my readers and friends know by now, I much prefer the slow lane but have to speed it up a bit to keep up with my crew. It’s just the season we are in.
I am blessed once again as I look back at the moments lived in January 2012:
1. This little cutie who was just playing sailor on the beach turned 16. When people say, “Don’t blink” because you will turn around and your children will be grown, what they mean by that is “DON’T BLINK!!”
Connor is very involved with ROTC and Civil Air Patrol. He actually just received his first part time job. He was in an interview pool of three other candidates and he was chosen. Sorta makes a mom proud 
We celebrated another birthday as well in January. This one was a first for our newest daughter, Lidya. She joined our family last April and it has been such a blessing to watch God transform both the heart of a former orphan and the hearts of her new family.
Since is was so close to Christmas and we still try to keep things on the down low with her, we opted for a little trip to Build-A-Bear at the mall, because you know…there is no over stimulation there whatsoever!
I have to say, the sweet worker knew how to bring life to the whole process of a stuffed bear.
Lidya was pretty impressed with the whole process and giggled quite a bit.
Liday got to pick out a heart for her bear and make a wish on it.
The final result is we have a new member of the family. A pink bear in a blinged out ensemble which Lidya named “Eve”. We consider this great progress since naming her baby doll she received at Christmas, “In Awhile”…
Wish I had known about this coupon before we headed out.
She definitely enjoyed her first birthday she has ever celebrated. It was a privilege to be her Mommy for this special time. She is pretty much looking forward to the next one.
I have also spent some much needed time in the Psalms. While I have not been able to copy a chapter every day, I have been very intentional in carving out time for this.
I also experimented with a few more organic dishes including this grass fed beef with organic barley I wrote about in this post. The kids are still asking for more.
On the family time front, we have been quite successful at a partial deletion of the Disney Channel from our home. Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t thing the Disney Channel is an evil thing. Not at all. But it does tend to take over and the girls get far to comfortable watching the same tween arguments as the shows repeat over and over. So how did we do it? We just turned it off. Cutting edge technology, I know. We simply turned the stupid thing off.
That’s a quick look at what turned out to be a quick month. I would like to think February will not go as fast but I know better.
Do you have any plans for February? Any special ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day? I would love to hear them.
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2012 Goals: Wait…What About 2011 (Part 1)
I love the start of a new year. We have cleaned up from the holidays, started back on our regularly programmed schedules and can sit for more than a minute and catch our breath.
Time’s up. Back to work.
Quite honestly, that is not far from the reality of my reality. It’s just how it is for this busy mom of 4. There is much to do and not much time to do it. So before I look ahead to the goals I have for 2012, I need to reflect on 2011.
In 2011, we watched God accomplish His plan of restoration in the life of an orphaned little girl. We watched God make Himself and His heart known to my family. We are just a regular family who decided it was not okay to just say we had faith but to step out and live that faith. We learned:
1. “Loving my neighbor as myself” acknowledges that fact that it would never be okay for “myself” nor my children to live and grow up without a family. In an orphanage . Wherever it may be. It’s simply not okay.
2. We watched (and participated) in humble awe as God provided financially for the adoption of our daughter. Like I said before, we are just a normal family. We juggle financial commitments just like most every other family. We did not have the 34K set aside to pay for the adoption. But God did and through diligent fundraising efforts (I could seriously write a book…) sacrifice, generous supporters, adoption grants and gifts, the entire amount was paid for in cash.
But when a fatherless child looks at her Daddy for the first time, it looks like this:
3. The summer months were filled with our Lidya learning our language and experiencing being part of a family. I won’t pretty it up for you. A strong 4 year old little girl doesn’t necessarily become strong because she wants to, she becomes strong and holds on to that strength because she had to. We watched God soften her little heart and were amazed to see her 3 older siblings love her as if she had been part of their family all along. They are my rock stars.
4. As school started up in the Fall and I launched Going Thrifty, I learned 4 kids in 4 schools meant 4 drop off times and 4 pick up times. This schedule forced me to be as efficient as I could be in my posting of deals to share with you all. In a later post, I’ll share my business goals but let’s just say I have been blown away with the fabulous response from the readers of Going Thrifty. I can honestly say I am excited each day as I sit down to work in my office. I am blessed.
5. Those 4 kids. Yeah…we’re busy. My 16 year old is active in Civil Air Patrol. My 13 year old plays tackle football (aka…legalized battery). Three sports seasons and three broken bones. We’re nothing if not consistent! My 11 year old became a state champion gymnast for the third year in a row. We are busy and we are blessed.
But you know…we are just normal. We are just like you. We do our best with what we have. When we know better we do better. We try to work hard and we try to work smart. I have learned as I read about the lives and goals of other bloggers, we are ALL on different paths. We all have unique journeys. What works for me will not necessarily work for you and visa verse. But my hope is I am always encouraging to you on your path be it through posting deals, sharing great ideas, or just offering encouragement. It’s my love language, after all…
I’ve never been good at writing down my goals. I’m working on that. I suppose I am fearful of not achieving them. But in 2011, I learned some goals that were never written down were discovered as they were lived out.
May it also be so in 2012!
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Ann Voskamp’s 1000 Gifts Free Phone App
During our adoption process, a facebook friend introduced me to Ann Voskamp’s Blog, A Holy Experience. From that moment on, Ann became my online bff I would never meet. (actually, I have learned to never say “never” anymore…) I had a cup of coffee with her everyday. Just me, her words, and David Nevue
If you have not read Ann’s book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
I highly recommend you not only read it but clear a space on your bedside table as you will want it close at hand.
Ann now has an accompanying phone app available for free download right now. Read all about it over here and make everyday Thanksgiving.
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