Voting

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Letting Go...

This photo was taken a week ago on our last day with Barron. For a number of reasons God has asked us to let go of something that we treasured. It was extremely hard for our family. But He came along side of us and provided  a very good home for Barron. He has a new family that treasures him like we did. We are so thankful for that, but it is still bittersweet. Funny thing is...I never thought of myself as a horse owner, but I really loved it. It sort of changed me. Horses are just an amazing part of God's creation. The fact that He could design such an animal points to His majesty and supremacy. No wonder His Son will return to this earth riding a horse....

Monday, June 27, 2011

Two Teenagers Now!!!

Logan, my newest teen (and Penny)
Hunter and Barron

Well, this weekend officially made me the mom of 2 teenagers.Heaven help me!!! My Logan turned 13 over the weekend, joining her 15 year old sister, Hunter. Personally, I think the teenage years can be a challenge. I would take the" terrible 2's" any old day. The secret??? Whatever it takes to keep them walking with the Lord even though the World is constantly pulling them in other directions. I long to enjoy these years to the fullest, but their are days when I hang my head and feel  failure pressing in. Praise God for His grace and mercy over and through our situations!  Praise Him that He loves our children even more than we can imagine!(Praise Him that I won't have another teenager for 5 more years!) Anyway, Logan had a very good time celebrating with her family and grandparents. We are THANKFUL to have this young lady as our daughter. Happy Birthday, Logan... we.hope and pray that this is your best year yet!!!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

How Beautiful!

My husband and I (and the rest of the family) spent last weekend in a little country town seeing Randy's eldest daughter (Elisa) get married. We also photographed the event...no stress here! It was a beautiful ceremony and Lisa was completely elegant in her gown. She was a radiant bride if ever I saw one. Randy and I also took her portrait the week before. Yes, you heard me right, I said the WEEK before the wedding...no stress here! I could not help but be reminded that this year marks 20 years of marriage for me and Randy. Twenty years! Is it possible? It also brought to mind that a successful marriage makes Christ the center. I can look back at the ups and downs and give thanks that He was ever present for us to lean on and still is. Randy and I wish all the happiness and joy in the world to Elisa and Ryan.
The new header photo is of Kate looking out of the church where the wedding took place. This church was built in the mid 1800's and overlooks the graves of Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Day Question???

Anybody out there know of anything SEXIER than a man who will take another man's child as his own...give that child his energy , love, guidance and support in every way??? A man who would give that child something very precious.... his last name.... and the reputation that goes with it???  Me either!!!!  
                                      (Just a little plug for my valentine today.)
Lisa

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Chinese New Year Celebration











Two Saturdays ago we all went to watch Hunter, our 14 yr old, dance the double ribbon dance at this year's CNY celebration. She was the token white girl dancing but it doesn't bother her so it doesn't bother me. I have to admit, however, that I did wonder how many people in the crowd thought she was Chinese and had albinism. Anyway, my girls are allowed to dance because we are a part of FCC here in Raleigh. FCC stands for Families with Children from China and since we have Olivia, we qualify . Olivia was not dancing this year as she would rather do a double back hand spring than twirl. Oh well. It is a lot of fun to watch these girls dance , but sobering to know how drastically different their lives would be if families had not stepped up and adopted them. So much talent and beauty and potential and wonder in these little lives. Praise God that they are now in a place where they are appreciated for the treasure they are. So many are still languishing in orphanages. It's haunting.
On another sad note, Olivia , a few years ago, did dance the Scarf Dance with about 30 other 4 yr old Chinese adopted little girls. This year there was no Scarf Dance. I thought they had just done away with it because it was a lot of work (can you imagine teaching 30plus 4 yr olds to dance??/) and they didn't have the teachers to do it. But no...there was no Scarf Dance this year because there were no 4 yr olds signed up to dance, presumably because of the massive slowdown  in adoptions out of China over the past few years. Tragic!!!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

My Kate Turns 4!







Unbelievably my littlest girl  turned 4 last week. We just happened to all be sick with what we thought was the flu, but what turned out to be just a rogue virus, so there wasn't much of a celebration on her actual birthday. (Yeah, now we can still catch the flu!) So, this week, we celebrated with Kate's friends at ballet. It was just right. Eight sweet kids, a wonderful hostess (thanks Jody) and Duncan Doughnuts with sprinkles...just right!!! Kate ...this is your mother telling you to stop growing now!!! I don't want you to get any bigger!!! Not one bit bigger!!! Happy Birthday sweet baby: )

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl!

Olivia turns 8 yrs old later this month but we had her party today to try and dodge the Christmas schedule rush.
She had a great time with her friends and family, and my special gratitude to Hunter and Logan for taking over the horse and barn segment of the party. I am so thankful that this little treasure could celebrate her life with a family who loves and cherishes her beyond words. How many children in this world pass over their birthdays, year after year, without even knowing it as they languish in orphanages . Lord, raise up an army of families to rescue your littlest lambs.... and Happy Happy Birthday Olivia!!! We love you very much!!!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Amazing Gift to be Thankful For...

What an amazing gift we Americans have been given. A few hundred years ago God stirred the hearts of men and women to leave house and home and set out across the ocean for lands unknown. They risked life and limb for freedom and opportunity and the ability to worship God without persecution. This was the sight I awoke to this week in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It was awesome!  It was beautiful!  And I couldn't help but think that our founding forefathers , by the grace of God,  fought to establish this beautiful land as the country we all know and love...the greatest country in the world ....a gift to us all.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Fall, Ya'll!!!

It is , of course, officially fall here in the Carolinas, but it really doesn't feel like it to me until the NC State Fair rolls through . This year the girls entered the Fair competition with foods and crafts. Hunter, Logan and Olivia all won ribbons so it was a banner year! Especially thrilling was the blue ribbon that Logan brought home for her first quilting project. Girls, we are so proud of you!!!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Look How I Spent My Day....










My friend, Kristin, and I and 5 of our 8 children headed north to Virginia today to spend some time with our dear friend, Adeye, and her kids. God gave us beautiful weather, a perfect fall day  to spend outdoors. As Adeye would say, it was "lovely"! Ps. Thanks , Kristin, for getting the whole thing started with Starbucks!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Our Treasures from Afar: What did those shirts say?

 I stole this from my bloggy friend Karin. If you have just 2 minutes, you should click on her link and watch the video she has posted. I trust it will make your day: )

Our Treasures from Afar: What did those shirts say?: "I don't know if you have been as mesmerized by the rescue of the Chilean miners as I have been, but wow. I noticed as they were pulled from..."

Monday, September 27, 2010

Unbelievably Blessed!

OK, right now I am noticing that my blog is at the bottom of everyone's list as I am finding that I am only capable of posting once a month. But I do want to do at least that much! And I have had this post rattling around in my head for a while. And today is  the day that I am I letting is out.....
Life on this planet is tough. That is just the way it is, we live in a fallen world! All around us people are   hurting , hungry, lost and alone. Most of US (reading this blog) are parents that have had the opportunity to follow God down the path of adoption. We have read the Bible and understand that it is our duty and privilege to care for the orphans of the world in some capacity.  We have experienced the joy and anticipation and thrill of bringing home a child that needed a family. We know how blessed we are to have these hand-picked little ones come into our lives, look up at us and call us Mommy and Daddy. We know that the adoption road can have twists and turns but we can  endure because we LIVE the blessings of adoption on a daily basis. However, what I have been thinking about lately are the women and men that enabled us to become adoptive parents in the first place. For every child that is orphaned , there are a set of biological parents somewhere. For every time an adoptive parent  first gazes at that referral photo on the laptop, a biological mom or dad has surrendered a child because they knew they could not keep it. For every moment of glee in our lives over this new addition to our families , there existed a moment of confusion, terror, and desperation in the life of someone else. It is very sobering. Adoption is a wonderful thing. It is the fulfillment of God's promise to make beauty from ashes. But at its very core is a broken life or heart, probably more than one. But... what really focused me on blessings lately is the fact that, for whatever reason, God picked me and you and most of my blog friends to be the ones to stand in the GAP between hopelessness and hope, between despair and dreams, between life and death... for little boys and girls all over the world. I have thought , lately, that I could have been that mother surrendering my child to an attorney or orphanage because my situation was dire. I could have been the one with the broken heart, longing to hear some word about the state of my child that I left at the gate of an orphanage in a wicker basket at 2 or 3 days old because I could not bring her home to my distraught husband. There are biological mothers all over the world that endure this reality on a daily basis. I could have been one of them....
But I am not. By God 's infinite grace , my spirit was made aware of the need, I was supplied the money , I had access to people in the adoption realm that could make it happen, I had family members supporting us, I had a home and resources that a child would need, I got the adoption shower and well wishes and prayer support, and then..... I got to go and claim this bundle of joy for my own. And now, on a daily basis, I get to watch her grow, I saw her first steps, I get to calm fears and bandage hurts, I get to teach her about Jesus, I get to hear the funny things she comes up with , I get the looks of adoration and the warm hugs and smushy kisses. I get all of this!  Why should one woman get ALL of this??? It is simply unbelievable blessing. I take it for granted too much of the time. But consider this, instead of cyberspace uniting us to blog and compare the ins and outs of adoption ,we could be united by immeasurable loss of a child that we felt we could not keep. I praise God in Heaven for turning His face toward us and blessing our families with the miracle that is adoption, and I lift up the mothers and fathers that actually created these children that we call our own. I praise Him for giving them the courage not to abort and I pray that he will bless their sacrificial hearts.

My friends, we are so unbelievably blessed  (just in case you haven't felt that way lately)....


Monday, August 9, 2010

Back from the Beach...

Hello Again! Does anyone still check my blog for new posts?
Our family has just returned from the coast. It was a fun and fast week. I really didn't want to come back to be honest. School starts in a week and I don't feel ready or able. How can summer almost be over???? Wasn't it just May 31st? OK, enough whining.
The beach was beautiful as always. A thousand little creatures to observe and waves to ride. We witnessed 3 weddings, believe it or not, as well as two men hopping up from their towels and calling their family members in from the surf (because they thought they saw fins).Did I mention that it was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel while we were there? (I think everyone was a bit jumpy.) I knew we had seen too much of it when Kate declared to me that the tide pool had a shark in it.
Anyway, we had the chance to take lots of photos which is so much fun. Friends asked us to photograph their family in the dunes and we loved the challenge and learning opportunity. Hopefully and prayerfully we got some shots that they will love.  And now for a few of my favorites from the week...

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Just Plain Fun!

Last week I finally got to meet a friend of mine, Adeye, that I have only known through blog land for the past 18 months. When I discovered her blog, she was the adoptive mom of 2 and pursuing 1 more little girl in the Ukraine. I gleaned and gleaned from her godly wisdom and exhortation. I was bolstered by her courage. I had so much fun getting to know her from afar. Then, as God would have it, my real life girlfriend , Kristin, and her husband, decided to adopt through the same ministry and country as Adeye  and they were able to meet in person this past winter. Fast forward 6 months....
Now that the adopted little ones are all home, Kristin and I made the trek north and Adeye made the trek south and we were able to meet , the 3 of us and our 15 children, just over the Virginia state line. I have no more words so I will just let the photos tell the story.