The Christian Crew

I'm not sure if you have noticed when looking at people's adoption profiles or not but, lots of them start off with the Basics on How great of an Option They are and how grateful they are for you looking at their profile, taking time to read their letter, how hard this choice is for the expectant parents and how courageous you( the expectant parents) are etc. The rest of the profiles of some are almost like a beauty contest- Pick Me, We are the typical Ken and Barbie, or We are the Most Fun and we Travel but, what I am seeing is a huge void of  Honest, open, Vulnerability! MANY profiles are wonderfully Open and honest and I LOVE THOSE ONES! Putting your family out for the world to see and to be judged is one of the Hardest things adoptive couples have to do. Not even counting the super nosey evaluations, background checks, credit reports, blood tests, financial records, psychological interview and personal references we have to Endur...

Me being NUTS on the Leap of Faith! I have just experienced an amazing weekend! These last couple of days I have been surrounded by 25 incredible birth mothers and a birth father too!                                Our Colorado chapter hosted the 1st Annual High Adventure Birth Parent Retreat at Wellington Lake! It's the first time I've tried putting a retreat of this magnitude on and It came together beautifully with the help and donations of many wonderful people, God and friends!  We all tried really HARD things like the Leap of Faith, the catwalk, zipline, and the HARDEST was the high ropes courses. We enjoyed yoga, hiking, canoeing and water play on the lake and the birth parents had open group sessions throughout. I know it helped them a lot but, I had no idea what this experience would do for me... You see, we...

A Very Merry Christmas! may you make lots of memories and cherish every moment with your children and family! And Some special time with your birth families- if you are so blessed! Have a Happy New Year too! Be back after the Holidays!

So... Brielle is getting pretty good at tracing and writing her name and other small words! And today she decided to use the chalk to her advantage after church. She is such a creative little girl and sometimes a little sneaky with her masterpieces too. She loves getting her hands on anything she can to draw, cut, glue, color etc. Luckily, we are here to help direct it properly- most of the time! Since this picture has the W.O.W. in it. I want to share OUR view on this! We totally agree with it! Everything in Moderation, Every Herb is ordained and Constituted by God for the use of Man,( of course the obvious one- no addictive substances) and greater knowledge and wisdom comes through obedience to these health laws of the Lord. And we want to be great examples to our children as well! Neither of us struggle with major parts of this and we plan on raising our kids to be happy, healthy and fit children. That does not mean we are in perfect health though- both of us are striving to be a bi...

...Nellie!! So, i just went on a blog hopping- reading spree. And I've decided on a FEW things!!! Some in particular to this blog... 1. I want to gear this blog continually to the advocating for adoption side, regardless of our hopes for another child. 2. I want to FEATURE birth parent stories more often! 3. MORE ADOPTION EVENTS will be posted on our blog 4. I will NOT CHARGE money or make money by anything that is posted on my blog. I will select what the contents are and i will go on inspiration and faith as i head down this path. I don't need peoples money and I'm Happy to put my LOVE for adoption to better USE! I'm not trying to down play those who need to charge for ad space on their blogs/sites either- It's just not what I'm about or do i need it! ( thanks honey for all your hard work in real estate and taking care of us so well:) 5. I WANT TO GIVEAWAY more. My photography will be something I DONATE to those involved in adoption ( Especially Birth Moms) ...

bad mom if I can't help but laugh about HOW CUTE and silly my Kids are??? Sometimes, when my girls make cute, little errors or do things that are funny ( maybe not to them) It's hard not to laugh with delight . But, once I start, it's hard to stop laughing sometimes. You know the feeling when you are noise-less b/c your laughing so hard. Or your eyes fill up with tears or you think you are going to wet yourself b/c you abs cannot stop contracting from laughing so stinkin' long!?!?! Yeah, And it's always at terrible times too. I will pin point times in upcoming posts but, for now... Here's what i was laughing about lately... Brielle LOVES making Snowmen and as the snow has been melting it actually is working better to make them so, B went to town and did a great job all by herself. I'm so proud of her too. What a hard worker. What cracks me up is what she called it... Look Mom, I made a One -Eyed, Elephant, Alien Snowman for Aria! Such a creative...

The girls go to go see Tangled with their (twice removed ) cousin Mairyn! It was a great flick and the girls got tangled cups that we bough at the Disney store the day be fore and a whole bunch of treats! Aria had a hard time towards the last part of the movie and i think i will wait a few more months to take her again. Brielle did fantastic! Then (cue horror music) ... we went to Chuck E Cheese.... The girls LOVED it and i HATE this place with a passion. It's just not my cup o' tea. They didn't want to leave, either. what a smirk on that mousey face. Grrr! I must admit though- i enjoyed watching the girls play games like whack-a shark and squirting the target. I personally like Skee Balls the best and have realized that i now SUCK at them! Brielle liked the play area and the cage- thingy too! That too freaked me out. Not to mention the germs. The girls had a fun day, all in all and i hate to say this but, we promised to take Brielle there the actual day of her birthday to ...

We had way too much fun this day! Garden of the Gods is situated near Colorado Springs and it's a pretty cool park. Though it's not a huge place- it is so interesting to see how the layers of sediment have eroded over time- leaving these formations of sandstone and limestone. Us with Gpa Danny! some horses pulled up and we just had to pet them! The girls were just doing a "shake your booty" cheer and asked dad to give them a hug! It was funny and cute. And YES- one of our most important goals in life is to keep our daughters "off the Pole". Kind of a Vegas joke since we used to live there:) This is Jessica, our friend and a birth mother, watching and protecting Aria, who has her moments with her. They cuddle some days and sometimes Aria wants nothing to do with her. I chalk it up to terrible threes. And the fact that she's been a baby too long. Here these two crazies are obviously trying to hold up the rock:) So silly! My dad!!! Balance Rock ( well, i t...

Makes me Cry with JOY!!! I don't Care how, who, or where my future children come from. I don't care if my kids "match" my skin color. I don't even think twice about ME anymore b/c it's NOT about ME!!! It's about the children. I cry for different reasons all the time but, today, i cried watching a movie about a couple who adopted 2 babies from Ethiopia. It tugged at my heart strings and I remember meeting my friend Shay's newest Addition from Ethiopia. Her one and only Son, in house full of girls! He was gorgeous and so sweet and when i got to meet him, he was so friendly but, you could tell He knew who his mommy was. I asked Shay about why she chose Ethiopia- she said something like" it just felt like where we were being led to find him". I Often wonder if adoptive couples let themselves be LED in their adoption journeys anymore. I wonder the same thing for Birth Parents. I wonder if people are just going with the easiest, cheapest, or most...

Going to Henderson and Las Vegas for Thanksgiving week and MAN, I'm excited to see my friends and family!!! I'm excited for shopping and watching UNLV basketball with my man, getting some more PHOTO sessions in and hanging out with my F&F!!! So, far i have 12 sessions booked over 2.5 days . I can't believe it! I'm so stoked b/c i LOVE photography and i LOVE that I'm shooting again. I've been doing only a few shoots here but, i LOVE what I'm shooting ( mostly adoption photography)!!! PLUS ( major BONUS) we get to visit with Brielle's Birth mom and her Family!!! I mean all of them- great, great grandma too!!! They are our family too! We love them heeps! So, get ready people in those areas- here we come!!!

Last week was so AMAZING and long . With 2 placements within 5 days and all the other day to day stuff i do with my girls and husband- it got a bit crazy BUT... I LOVED IT and i wouldn't trade it for the world! I Put up some Placement pics and hospital pics of Jessica on my photo site - so check those out. The 2nd placement will be on there shortly!!! PS. Birth Parents ROCK!!! Brielle's Birth mom turned 22 last week. Brielle made her some art and sent her a bag of candy corns b/c she said she wanted Kara to have treats on her Birthday! I sent her a SPA Day package for her to get pampered at a local spa( where she lives)! WE LOVE her and her whole family and miss them a ton but, GOOD NEWS... Looks like we will get to see them around Thanksgiving!!! We also hosted a B-day Party for our little friend , Cora, who turned 7! She has been so fun to get to know and a bunch of us moms and teachers are rallying around her to let her know of our love for Her! Her bio- mom is an addict ...