The Christian Crew

This book is from the Series Chicken Soup for the Soul and I have had the pleasure of reading it over the last 2 months, Thanks to the publishers for sending me a copy!  As a busy adoptive mom, I only had time to read at night or times of rest and I have 4 kids so, it could have been a quicker read. I enjoyed hearing about all the UNIQUE ways families were brought together and loved the amazing writings of the contributors. Since there is not ONE timeline or one story- its hard to review all 101 stories but, I did get a sense that each person, was HAPPY and joyous in their journey to adopt, as an adoptee and the few that placed. Some stories I wished would have gone on for a few more pages and some were a glimpse into these families lives so different from my own.  PROS and CONS on this book! PROS - you get to read MANY stories of love resolution, healing & faith Lots of International Adoption stories The writings were Fantastic and REAL, which felt relat...

WELL, this book, though shorter than I expected, took me a bit longer to read because I would STOP reading to go PLAY with my kids! Cara, the author, lays out all the things that STOP us from playing and gives you insight to the POWERS of play. She shares personal stories, like her adoption of Bernard and Silvanie, from Haiti! I connected with her and I have always felt like a very playful mother with my kiddos ( just look at that huge pile of laundry).  In fact, I constantly get off task b/c i'd rather play a game, make a craft, bake together or play along with my kids. BUT, I did notice a few things I was not doing! Many times, I am not letting my kids choose or direct the play time. I also get distracted by the stupid small electronic boxes we all carry around. I am aware now and am grateful and am LOVING engaging with my kiddos, slowing down and connecting with them too. There are so many good things to learn from her book! I highly recommend it to all parent...

Brandi takes you on an interesting journey as a child who is born hearing but loses her abilities b/c of a sickness she gets in her youth. You go through the emotions of herself, her parents and friends and family who learn how to navigate this very NEW challenge. She Braves it like a champ and in her young adulthood challenges what Others think of The Deaf Community, laws, closed captioning and so much more. She conquers her fears and motivates others along the way to becoming Ms. Deaf America!  She later gets married and has three HEARING sons with her husband, who is also deaf, and together they had always talked about the day they would have a little bouncy, blonde girl who signs and is as Strong as her momma! But, God leads them down a different Path and that has many bumps in the road and they eventually put there papers in for China to adopt a little girl... BUT, what happens next? Well, You will have to read about it yourself. In the Meantime, while Brandi and...

You would think after being involved with Adoption for so many years, that I would be jaded by how AMAZING other people's stories are- BUT, I'm not Jaded! I LOVE hearing, reading listening to how God works out all the details and all the timing to help expectant parents find the adoptive families and how both parties are an answer to each other's prayers! I happen to GROW up with this guy as a Pseudo- older brother! Russ was best friends with Todd, my oldest brother. I watched them play sports together, dub over Muppet movies and star wars, have fun on the lake, going to youth dances, going TP-ing, sliding down sand mountain and jumping off the 27ft drop into the river! Life was GOOD when you were hanging with the Elkins family! A few years back we all connected on FB and found out that He was an adoptive dad and He realized I was an adoptive mom, married to an adoptee! That was pretty cool to see this connection in our lives. Among us, we have about 10 other coupl...