A Rabbit Trail...

This post is a little off the beaten path of adoption, but the beauty of having your own blog is being able to go down rabbit trails if you so choose. This past week has been a heavy one for a lot of the world with the loss of singing superstar Michael Jackson. And so it has been for me. I never met the man or even saw him in concert ,but did grow up singing along with him and marveling at his ability to MOVE. I often thought to myself , when i would listen to someone interview him, that he seemed so lost and insecure when he was not mesmerizing the world on the stage. He often sounded like a 10 year old boy inside of a man's body . As the truth of how his childhood was spent became known, in gruelling practice sessions while balancing everyones expectations on his shoulders, I grew more and more sorry for him. Where were his parents in all of this? Where was a voice of reason to say enough is enough? As a small child, the world put him on a pedestal and watched him take his every breath. Over the next 50 years we would all watch him struggle and unravel as it was clear he could not handle the idol worship. Guess what ? Mankind was never designed to be worshipped. We would all unravel! He grew more and more eccentric as time went by and would make poor choices that would be his undoing. He was a perfect target for the tabloids and they chewed him up and spit him out repeatedly, forgetting that this man had a heart and a soul and feelings and loved ones that could be hurt. Whether you liked his music and style or not, there is no denying the fact that Michael revolutionized American pop music and that he was oozing with God-given talent. Many times, growing up, i daydreamed of having the chance to meet and talk with him and i would take the opportunity to assure him that i wanted nothing from him, but ,instead, longed to give something to him...the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I often felt that if ever a soul needed the anchor of Gospel and Christ's unconditional love, it was Michael Jackson. Well, I never got that chance ,and now he is gone. I would love to know if some Christian out there, somewhere, maybe did get the chance to witness to this man. My heart still hopes that this is the case, and that he did not slip from a lost and lonely life to eternal life without the Savior. I am sad for him. I don't know what i could have done differently, but if i had it to do over i would have comitted his salvation to prayer much more than i did. Life is short and we are not promised a day. This particular man's death has taught me a lot. There, but for the grace of God, go I.....
PS. I can no longer find it ,but there is one version of Michael's song "Heal the World" that seems to center around orphaned children of the world and doctors who are treating them. If anyone can locate it, let me know : )

Summertime Has Arrived In NC

Despite 91 degree heat today(Ugh!) we are still taking time to smell the roses. (Yes, I do realize that these flowers are not roses. Anybody know what they are?)

Daddy and Kate....

The Eyes Have It!

Today was a good day for Kate. She had one of many follow up opthamology appointments since getting her glasses to strengthen her weaker eye. Found out that her strong eye has 20/20 vision and her weaker eye has 20/25. Not bad. Her doctor was thrilled with her progress. I told her that if she was happy , so was I. Anyway , she said no need to patch at this time. Yeah! Go Kate and thank you Heavenly Father for continuing to heal her.

Sisters and Friends

I have a new header picture compliments of a woman i met who, as a photographer by trade, was giving a deal to families in an attempt to raise money for a missions trip. Her goal was to raise the money to travel to Greece and photograph the missionaries there and what they do, as well as photograph thier families for them. So, at the last minute , i grabbed my little two and searched their closet for similar clothes. Dressed them and threw them in the car and drove to some beautiful gardens in Raleigh where i met Kimberly. I instantly liked her and, as the sesson when on , she expressed interest in adoption. Perfect!!! One of my favorite subjects! Anyway, received a CD a few days later in the mail and this picture of Kate and Olivia was on it. She really captured these two little girls. And, as we all know, we can never have enough pictures of our kids:)

Music to my ears!

Just finished up another year of violin lessons for Hunter and Olivia and celebrated with the year-end recital. It is sooo fun listening to your children make beautiful music with an instrument. (It wasn't always so beautiful ,but now I can honestly say it is.) How splendid of our God to create music in the first place. Heaven will certainly be awesome ...filled with sounds and notes that we cannot even imagine this side of eternity.