Snow!

You may be able to take the girl out of the north, but you can't take the north out of the girl.

Moments.

(Psssst: Love the below - she got excited & started to say something - so cute!)

(snapshots.)

Adoption. How our journey began.

My husband & I adopted (domestically) 4 children in 6 1/2 years. I thought I'd offer some insight as to how we got started.

Building our family. It became my full time job. (I was not working outside our home at the time - fortunately I had quite a bit of time to devote.) I was obsessed & I was determined. I am a hard worker. I love to work & I give 150%. So I made building our family my new job. I did all my own networking & it was not easy, by any means. Our adoption journeys were exhausting, heartbreaking, expensive, depressing & emotional. Way back in the beginning (2000) someone once told me "Strap on your seatbelt - it's one hell of a ride." I couldn't have said it better myself.
I hear so many couples say "but I'm so tired, no one chooses us, I'm just ready to give up". I understand. I was there myself so many times. But I soon discovered, giving up was not an option. For whatever reason, this is the path God has chosen for us to build our family. Your baby is out there & your baby needs you. You can't stop. You can't give up. There is no quiting. When you're down & out, you pick yourself right up, you dust yourself off & you keep on trucking. There are thousands of couples waiting & wanting to adopt. Your competition is fierce. Fight the fight because believe me, it's worth every exhausting step.

I prayed for a baby & I prayed specifically. At the beginning, it was a rather simple prayer "Lord, please let us adopt a baby soon". Good. Dandy. But as time went on & we were presented to more birthparents, I prayed more specifically "Please Lord, let them choose us. Please!" When it didn't happen, I began getting angry. At that time, my prayers became even more specific. Desperate, in a way. When presented to a possible match, I would get down on my knees. "Please Lord, let this baby be ours. We have been praying for a baby. This is a perfect match. You know all I've been through. I'm tired. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of being told 'I'm sorry, they chose another couple' & I'm so ready for a baby. I just want to be a mom!" Years ago, I touched on this very subject on an adoption board I'm a member of. The moderator actually contacted me & they published my writing. I'm pretty sure I printed it out - I'll see if I can find it & I'll post it at a later date.

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(The paragraph below should be moved down - but Blogger is not letting me copy & paste so I'll just separate it, then pick back up.)

If you are currently waiting to adopt, this is what I/we did:

If you seem to be stuck in a rut with little activity, consider updating your adoption profile. Tweek it. Time & time again. If you have a website - update it. Tweek it so it matches your profile. Add more photos. Birthparents love seeing photos. Add gobs of them! About everything pertaining to you & your life. Let me stop here & say - if you don't have an adoption website, get one! The internet has become a very valuable tool (even moreso today than 2 years ago) in the adoption community. Many matches are formed because of & via the internet. (Once you have built your profile on-line, research adoption websites (such as ABCAdoptions.com/ParentProfiles.com) & inquire about advertising your profile on their site. This can be done for a monthly fee - some sites less expensive than others.) Google adoption sites & view other profiles. Get some ideas, but don't copy. At one point, years ago, I discovered that a couple had copied my entire adoption profile. It was almost verbatim. Changing the personal information, of course. I was livid! I had spent years (literally) writing & tweeking, writing & tweeking. How dare they copy my profile! I contacted the "Christian" facilitator we were working with. Let's just say they couldn't have cared less. All that said, be sure your information in your profile & on your website is yours. Unique. Interesting. Humor if there's a place for it. Speak honestly & from your heart.

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Rebecca asked the quetion "How did you adopt 4 children in such a short amount of time?" I can't tell you how many times I have been asked this question. And believe me when I say, I don't have an answer. I honestly don't know. Like you, I know so many couples who have waited years just to adopt one child. Why were we blessed 4 times in 6 1/2 years? We are no better than anyone else. We're not special. We don't have a fancier house, we don't drive more expensive cars, we are just a normal couple/family. It's terrible when I get asked that question & answer "Honestly? I just don't know." I won't know that answer until I can ask God myself.

When we began searching for our own child, we requested a full CC baby, either gender, no drugs/alcohol/mental issues. Adoption is a learning process - every day it seems you can learn something new. When we were searching for baby #2, I had a little more experience under my belt. We then made the decision to become more lenient; we were open to considering different situations on a "case by case" basis. By the time we were ready for baby #3 & 4, we were open to mixed races & would consider drug exposed situations. We were never open to alcohol - I've done a lot of FAS research & for us, we just weren't comfortable with that.

The more open & flexible one is to considering different types of situations, the less your wait time will be. There aren't near as many couples waiting for bi-racial/AA children as there are couples waiting for full CC babies. The same with drug & alcohol exposed situations. Those can be frightening situations & couples tend to shy away, which is normal, especially in the beginning of the adoption process. Because we lowered our expectations of what type of baby we desired, I feel we didn't have to wait as long. As time pressed on, we finally realized - we just wanted a family! God could work out all the details. And He did. Just perfectly. Ü

I have such a deep passion for all facets of adoption. I have offered my assistance (though, I am no professional) to many, many couples. If I can help you in any way, please shoot me an email. I'll be more than happy to help any way I can. Ü

100 Interesting Facts About...Me! Original post 3.28.06.

Maybe you won't find them that interesting. Baha! Even though things have changed since that time - I'm not going to alter anything. I ♥ these! Ü

Ready? Go!

1.) I LOVE my life! :)

2.) I am almost 39, but people think I look younger. Yippee! :)

3.) I am VERY witty. VERY. I am also my biggest fan. LOL! :)

4.) My husband has a LOT of patience when dealing with me. For that I am thankful. :)

5.) I have major OCD. Major. I am counseling myself because it's cheaper. :)

6.) I do not have a lot of patience! Some days are better than others. :)

7.) I want braces. :)

8.) I was almost kidnapped at my very 1st apartment community when I was a leasing agent.

9.) I became a very young apartment manager at the age of 23. :)

10.) I have never been fired from a job. :)

11.) I have never done a single drug in my life. :)

12.) I have been married 4 times. No, that's no typo. :)

13.) I was not a Christian until I was 30.

14.) I WAS going to hell.

15.) I am NOT going to hell! :)

16.) I pray I can help to keep others from going to hell!

17.) I LOVE people! I have never met a stranger. :)

18.) I am addicted to US & In Touch magazines.

19.) I am definitely an extrovert. And proud. :)

20.) I hope & pray my children are all honest, friendly, sociable, hard-working, affectionate & happy.

21.) I am an animal lover. :)

22.) I am a birthparent advocate! :)

23.) I am a 'black or white' person. To me, there is no gray. I'm working on that. :)

24.) I had a horrible, horrible upbringing.

25.) I love diet coke! :)

26.) I am an extremely finicky eater.

27.) I ONLY drive black vehicles. :)

28.) I have had sculpt nails on approximately 732 times. LOL! :)

29.) I want dark hair, but my hair refuses; no matter what, it always goes blonde again. Ugh!

30.) I used to be a member of a Bass Club. Quit laughing. :)

31.) I used to get up at 2:30 a.m. to fish in tournaments! :)

32.) I finally wisened up & discovered I LOVE the mall instead of an icky day of fishing. :)

33.) I LOVE to shop & I LOVE shopping for my children's clothes! :)

34.) I have two Dooney's - but I refuse to carry them because I prefer my Target purses. :)

35.) I have a bubbly personality. :)

36.) I drove into a cement wall once (um, in a Lexus!) because I was looking at a shopping strip. :)

37.) I have terrible depth perception.

38.) I am an awesome driver - though my husband would argue with that one. :)

39.) I have road rage! Very severe too I might add. I seriously need some help. LOL! :)

40.) I love working in flower beds & keeping an immaculate yard. :)

41.) I love decorating & keeping an immaculate home. :)

42.) I LOVE to clean! :)

43.) I am one of the best, true friends you will ever find. :)

44.) I have very few friends because they aren't "true".

45.) I do not like ice cream. :)

46.) Occasionally, I like something chocolate. :)

47.) I love vacations & staying in expensive hotels (that's my husband's fault!). :)

48.) I love HGTV. :)

49.) I love the color pink! My favorite color. :)

50.) I "won" Best Looking all 4 years of high school. :)

51.) I was Homecoming Rep. my Junior Year, & Homecoming Queen my Senior Year. :)

52.) I don't look like that anymore. ROFL! :)

53.) I love to help others. :)

54.) I love to laugh! :)

55.) I wear visors (hats) all the time & have almost my entire life. :)

56.) I was born in Peoria, Illinois. :)

57.) I HATE Texas! :)

58.) I yell a lot. I'm working on that. :)

59.) I expect everything to be perfect. I won't settle for less. :)

60.) I have been on nightly medication for Classic Migraines for 14 years.

61.) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my babies! :)

62.) I have been blessed by God immensely. More than I could ever deserve. :)

63.) I quit working when hubby & I got married 10 years ago. :)

64.) I LOVE working! :)

65.) I began working at age 15. :)

66.) I got married the 1st time at age 18. :)

67.) Infertility has been my greatest blessing. :)

68.) I am addicted to the internet. :)

69.) I never wanted the internet...hubby did. Thanks hubby! :)

70.) I like & hate to fly. :)

71.) I have 4 piercings in each ear. :)

72.) I would love to have a tiny tattoo. :)

73.) I HATE stepping on toys!

74.) I love taking photos. :)

75.) I love the rain. :)

76.) I love cold weather & I hate hot weather. :)

77.) In high school, I was angry at my hair & slammed my hand through a glass window. I ended up at the hospital. I refused stitches. Because of all that, I missed my senior class picture!

78.) I have had way too many stitches. :)

79.) I love driving around! :)

80.) I love going to the lake & I can pull our boat very well. :)

81.) I have only 4 cousins. I haven't seen them in over 25 years.

82.) I am a child of an alcoholic.

83.) I drove an ugly, nasty, piece of junk GREEN car as my 1st car. It shouldn't even be classified as a car. My dad didn't even pay cash for it - he traded some blinds for it. LOL! :) (wasn't funny then)

84.) I called that piece of junk Kermit. :)

85.) I am quite "frugal". :)

86.) I love jewelry! :)

87.) I am NOT a morning person. :)

88.) I love being in bed & I love sleeping. :)

89.) I am VERY frightened when I am alone at night while hubby travels.

90.) I want more babies! :)

91.) I barely graduated from High School due to my upbringing.

92.) I love to have fun! :)

93.) I am very spontaneous. :)

94.) I am not fond of little critters (i.e. snakes, lizards, spiders, etc.)

95.) I found a snake in my house one time & called the police. Duh. :)

96.) I called the gas company out because I smelled gas coming from our new oven...our oven was electric. Duh again. :)

97.) I thought someone was breaking into our house & I called the fire department. :)

98.) I'm really not that dumb! LOL! :)

99.) I won First Place in a typing competition but couldn't go to national finals because I failed English.

100.) I can 10-key faster than anyone you know. :)

101.) I am absolutely, positively terrified that my children will grow up hating me. That is my greatest fear!

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So fun to read what I wrote almost 4 years ago! If you've known me long, you can tell by this list that I am a very honest person! LOL I ♥ that.

The only discrepancy I noticed was #60. That # should have been around 16 or 17, I think. I've been on that medication for close to (or over) 20 years.

This post received some very funny comments - I'll have to find & post those at a later time.

So - did you find any of these things interesting? Ü

What is Audi doing tonight?*

He's had a bad day. His night is not much better. He just spoke to his Uncle on the phone. And was instructed by dad, not to mention his (*Uncle) divorce. And he did. Gasp! Think before you speak, Audi! (He's cute sitting here, heh?) Ü

(Hey! Photo is not a snapshot - woohoo! I can still shoot on manual! I thought so. :)

Moments.

Bed jumper.

Let me narrate for you. ☺ I start laughing because hubby is to my left, jumping & spinning while Mercedes is jumping & spinning. Then, you see his funny, dork self lunge on her. Which they both thought was hilarious. The tape is then cut while he gets a rear chewing. ☺ Do you hear the background music? That is Audi, SINGING IN THE SHOWER! LOL He always sings in the shower & he had no idea I was taping Mercedes. ☺

Those are jammies on backwards (with the feet cut off). She can escape two or three wrappings of duct tape around her diaper, so we have no choice but to dress her in this attire @ naptime. It's quite a nuisance, really. I had to wake her from her nap today, so I didn't put her clothes back on. At bed time, we put socks on her, then footie jammies, then jammies with the feet cut out on backwards, in hopes of keeping her warm. I allow her to have a blanket now that she is older, but anything in her bed besides her Taggie gets thrown out. Anything extra doesn't have the privilege of sleeping with her. ♥