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Showing posts from November, 2015

dear church, don't forget that love drives out fear

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My heart is heavy.  The emotional climate in the world right now is so tense.  Dear Church, dear sons and daughters of the Living God, dear followers of Jesus Christ,  pause and consider the opportunity to show Love when the rest of the world is filled with hate.   The world is in choas and that can cause people to panic.  When we panic we do not think out of wisdom but out of fear.  The situations going on around the world are complex.  There are leaders who are not leading. There are strong, able men who should be standing up against this evil but instead are running in fear. There are many who are only concerned about money and power and influence.  There are few offering real solutions to allowing people safety in their homelands.  There are many being led down a path of destruction and foolishness.   In the midst of people fleeing from the Middle East there are some who are filled with evil and hate.  But there are also many who are trying anything they can to find refug

what is family?

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I orginally published this post December 2013.  It remains, by far, my most popular post of all time.  The video at the end is such a gift to this mama.  I thought I would post it again for those who have become a part of our lives in the past two years and to encourage anyone who is thinking about adoption.  As we head into the holiday season, I am so thankful for each of my five incredible gifts.   A little over a month ago our adoption agency, CHSFS, contacted us with a request.  The email wrote, "I know you are busy but as the saying goes if you want something done ask a busy person. Would you be willing to be in a documentary?"  Film students at Catholic University were given an assignment to make a short documentary style video.  Two students wanted to make a video about a family who had adopted a child with medical needs.  They contacted CHSFS and asked if they would make the connection. This is where we came in. We were surprised at the request but imme

she needs to come home

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The thought has been around since day 1.  In recent months, though, it has turned from a "maybe someday" to a "we need to do this now".  We are pulling my daughter out of public school and bringing her home.  The details are still in the working out phase but the end goal is set in stone.  Come 2016 I will be add home schooling mom to my hat rack. I have fought it.  I have claimed that I can't.  But what we can't do is stay in the same pattern we are currently in.  In my heart, I truly believe this is going to breathe life into our entire family.  But it is still scary.  Thankfully, she is beyond excited and that excitement helps to motivate me forward. We will have time to search down some more answers to what is going on inside of her complex mind.  We will have time to go back and learn some of the things she has missed out on.  We will have time to get to know each other deeper.  Time.  She currently misses at least six hours a week of school du

the realities of being a child with a "special need"

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I could hear the crying before I saw her face.  As she turned the corner, her brother was right on her heels.  An ugly crying meltdown is not an unusual occurrence and generally has resulted from frustration or an overreaction to something small.   Here we go. But this time it wasn't something insignificant.  She couldn't get out any words in between the sobbing.  Thankfully she had her brother to interpret for her. We were in a new environment.  A party with some of their Daddy's friends.  All of the kids had gathered to play together outside.  They started to play some kind of game that required running.  A girl, who had made herself the boss of the group, decided that my daughter was too slow and uncoordinated to be able to participate and was told this loudly in front of all of these new friends.  Yes, the sobbing was genuine this time and the result of having her own fears  and frustrations acknowledge and proclaimed in front of a crowd. The lion came out in