The Christian Crew

Oh My Word - this has to be one of the hardest things for most of us to do. Like how often do you meet someone you want to impress and just unload all things private and sacred in your life on them? Practically Never! The same goes for Being In the Adoption community/world. It's a HARD space full of judgement on all sides. And most of those things we all judge each other on, are irrelevant in nature! Who Cares if you are a stay at home or work at home mom or if you cook dinner ever single night for your kids with 3 different tastes. Who even cares if the expectant mom is living on a diet of kool-aid and Cheetos.  The THING I've learned through adopting 3 times is that YOU have to LET things GO that don't matter and you have to LOVE someone where they are at! You can't wish someone better or change the fact that the Adoptive parents let the kid read Goosebumps at age 9 when you think they are too young. Just Stop it. Let's focus on Building each other UP and se...

It's so funny how, in passing Brandon will say things like- This next baby's room is going to be Ridiculously awesome and beautiful! Or we will bring up what ART we want in it!  They may seem like small things but, it's some small details that are meaningful to us. Each of our kids' bedroom has had pictures of birth parents in them. It's to remind us how important each kiddo is, not just to us, but to our baby's or children's birth parents and family. There are so many secret desires that I have or that I hope for. They might seem silly but, to me, I think they will be bonding as well. Like how I hope the expectant mom of this baby girl, wants to design the room with me, even if we have to do it online! Or I hope she is cool with helping pick the middle name out  together. I hope she likes LOTS of kids who will want to climb all over her, embrace her and surround her with cute chaos , when she visits!  Life is too short to sweat the small stuff, some may ...

YEP, after 13 years we are still SMITTEN with each other!   and how do we celebrate???     WE go WHitE waTeR RaftInG! Of COuRse!  we went once before we had kids on our 3rd anniversary trip, so it was fitting we go 10 years later! We are the two on the Right front! we had Fish for dinner and went to an antique store! It was wonderful just to have a few hours of thrills and feel like Kids again!

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...

...That some people have no idea how special they are! If we could all remember Where and Whose presence we came from everyday- I think we'd treat each other better! B helped decorate this by saying which letters she wanted bling on and Aria handed me most of the crystals! Way too much fun! My girls will either hate crafting ( b/c i do it often) or love it as they grow up. I think it's important to learn some skills like the arts and crafts. I enjoy doing arts like sewing, decor, cake decorating, jewelry, photography and making baby boutique products!!! Life's too short to be bored. These are things I do in my spare time and our girls enjoy doing most of them with me:)

s o, I'm still way behind on editing our own photos. I'm having tons of fun doing everyone's, though! Here's the girls in their fancy Christmas Dresses. Much more photos of December to come... ( yep far behind- i know) here's a few from our family shoot too. We have way too much fun being crazy in love ! I am so blessed to have husband who is my best friend and such a great daddy to our girls! Both his parents and his birth-mom should be so proud of the man he is today!!! Here's our fabulous Blue STEEL!

So, this pic is from the nuggets game against the Knicks. We went with some awesome clients of Brandons! They are totally cool and would love to hang out again! now below is the game against the BUCKS.. Here's what went down... some balling and some more Rocky's Sons! Rocky ( in yellow) decides to punk out a crazy dude dressed up in a reindeer outfit cheering for the bucks ( notice brandon sitting by the crouching deer) so Rocky takes matters into his own hands whoever will donate a buck -will pay for Rocky to beat on the loud, menacing Deer ( buck fan) Many people stepped up to donate and it caught on for the whole rest of the night! Until Rocky chased the Deer away. Not pictured is a 6 year old following the Buck out of the walkway, swinging the bat at him. It was hilarious. Why? B/c the Buck was Jesse and Brandon was his sidekick!!! Yep, then after the costume change the boys came back and sat in seats on the opposite side and cheered for the Nuggets ( who totally shut them ...

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...

a flight for Brielle's awesome birthmom, KARA, to come see us for the week of her birthday! I'm so excited to see them at Thanksgiving and have her and her little boy come up for a visit. They better get ready for some good times and snow!!! This will be the first Birthday that Brielle's whole Birth family won't be at b/c we live 12 hours away now. But... Having Kara there will be so Special. We are very close and can't wait!!! Plus, January birthdays can be tough. So, i go ALL OUT when it comes to them b/c i know how it feels ( mines the 4th of Jan.). I always wished mine was in the summer but, i can't change that and I'm so glad i was born when i was. Even if it was only for the purpose of making Brielle's Birthdays even better!!! She's hitting the big half decade mark too:) Man, has it really been that long? It feels like only a few blinks ago, we were standing in a hospital room gazing at this perfect tiny baby and amazing young woman. Now, Kara...

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!!!

Need i state who we are? Okay then- Brandon is the Wizard of OZ, I'm the wicked witch, and Brielle is Dorothy and Aria is Glinda the Good witch. More detailed pictures to come soon! We have WAY too much fun! Hope all your Halloween celebrations were great too!

So today i had the privieledge of doing a Photo shoot for the Larson Family with their 2 kids and 2 BIRTHMOMS!!! It was unforgettable and I am so happy for them and a bit envious ( in all the best ways) too! I can't wait to have another amazing birth parent and child as part of our family when It's the right time:) Here's to waiting and hoping and praying!!! * This is the shirt B and A wore and IT'S almost an understatement!!! They really do have him wrapped around their little pinkies! Hope to learn more about our adoption family? Click on the words underneath our picture!

Here's the link to the Sunday Placement Family ! Congrats to Mike, Maryanne, Chelly and Little Baby Gabriel or Jacob ( what ever they decided:) PS... Open Adoption Is the BEST! ( in my opinion)

so little time! I have been trying to finish up all the projects in the next 5 weeks (before holiday season starts and before the Nov. Fireside) and here's how I'm doing.... The Paci and bracelet set will be for auction on my FB page and i made 7 bracelets today (no more for a while) I finished the apron by adding a satin hand ruffled trim and handmade flower too! This blanket was made for a special baby who will be placed with her adoptive family in the upcoming months- made by me and her birth mother and friend. and I finally finished Aria's 3rd B-day Piggy Bank- now BOTH my girls have one!! I only have a few projects left: Making the girls 4 dresses- 2 costumes for Halloween (nothing was cute enough that i saw or worth the crappy material it was made of) and 2 throw blankets, and 4 more bracelets and 1 binky clip. I have to distress the kids furniture and clear out our office- move it downstairs and start getting that room ready for a baby or child (that may be a LONG ...

down at the park is our fav. place to catch Crawdads! One of the last times we caught these 5!!! The girls LOVE to show them to the other kids and try and touch the backs of them. then we release them back into their watery homes! Some of these tiny lobster looking things are fast and furious. Others are NOT and we like to catch those ones! Now it's tradition when we go to dekoevend park- play, swing, and catch crawdads!

...will have to be reported tomorrow:( I'm totally burned out from going to the Water Park with the girls! Pictures will come soon and Many More Good things! I have decided to help other couples get some exposure on my blog as well. So 2 times a month i will feature another hopeful family or couple! It just love helping others in this regard. When NEW couples get into the adoption Arena- some have a sense that's it's a competition when it's totally NOT. Of course everyone desires to be chosen but, It's not anything that you can do to make yourself look better to a birthmom than another couple can. you have NO idea what she may be looking for in a family! And God has His hands in this - so, Leave it to the PRO! And other good news... I will be doing an Auction On FB in a bit to closeout all my CC Baby Inc. products. More on that later. Have wonderful Sunday friends and readers!

Man, i feel like a bit of a basketcase somedays! The whole adoption process and waiting is sometimes overwhelming! I decided today- to FOCUS more on Where God is leading us to and not necessarily where I WANT TO GO! I mean that we are trying to LISTEN to the Holy Spirit more and where it's leading Our Family. I am so grateful for inspiration and peace that comes from doing what is right in our hearts. Lately, I've just struggled with the whole "waiting for someone to pick us" thing! I've come to the conclusion that : It will happen when it's RIGHT and meant to BE and that even though we put our whole hearts out there to be openly criticized by prospective birth parents- I"M OKAY with being picked apart. Someone may not like my dark curly hair. Someone may not like that Brandon is a mortgage lender and Real Estate Agent! They may judge us as un-cool b/c we have 2 kids and we are not "NEEDY enough". They may think we are total nerds or hate that ...