Soooooooooooooooo Overdue

This post is sooooooooooo over due.  Ugh.  I can't keep up!  I think about this blog at the strangest most inopportune times-- like now at 11:27pm on Tuesday night.  But hey why not put a lil post up on the latest doings in our home!
Since the last post the following has happened:
1) Luke turned 7 years old
2) I turned 40 and Chris & I swam with the dolphins for my birthday!
3) Jenna turned 1 year old
4) Zack graduated from Pre-K
5) We had a nice visit with Kaycee's Tummy Mommy at a park
6) Texts and photo books sent to Jenna's birth family-- her birth mom has a new job so not sure when we will see her next-- waiting on her to let us know...
7) I took 6 weeks off this summer to spend with the kids-- crazy, chaotic, exhausting and fun!!
8) I accepted a new job with the school system as an Occupational Therapist and will begin 2 weeks from today!  Very excited to be on the kids schedule but nervous about working full time-- I haven't really done that since Luke was born!
9) We enjoyed some beach time
10) I coached Zack's tee ball team-- due to lack of volunteer coaches... 
9) We took a wonderful vacation to GA and TN

Here's some pics documenting it all...

 Ok I'll try to be better...

Passions

These past couple months have been so busy and exciting and amazingly fulfilling and oh exhausting too.  But that is what life is about right?!  So I wanted to post today about several things that have been getting my blood stirring and me pumped up the past 2 months.  These are in no particular order really....

1) Take Shape for Life-- I started this weight loss plan the end of October and by the middle of January I had lost 20 pounds.  I LOVE it!  It is sooooo great for my busy life style-- no counting points, carbs or calories.  I am so happy with my weight loss and feel so great that I have decided to "pay it forward" and am now a Health Coach.  I even have my own website!  www.Ifeelgood.tsfl.com Several of my friends have started on program the past month and I'm loving watching them get healthy!!

2) Empowered to Connect -- I went to the Empowered to Connect conference in Orlando in February and it was incredible.  I have read lots of parenting books and watched parenting videos but this was by far my favorite.  It is for kids 'from hard places."  Well I don't think my kids are from hard places but they even talked about babies adopted from birth having higher Seratonin (fight-flight responders) because of thes stress their birth mothers were under while they were pregnant and making their adoption plans.  Honestly, the course was best for my 2nd son Zack.  He came in this world 12 weeks early and spent his first 9 weeks of life in the NICU.  He is my "spirited child."  The techniques from this course have helped me dramatically with him.  Honestly, it is hands down the best parenting course ever.  One of the best things I love about it is that it is also Faith Based.  Love that.  For more info check out: http://empoweredtoconnect.org/resources

3) Created for Care -- I went to this retreat that was created for moms who share the spirit of adoption last year and it was wonderful!  This year I recruited several local friends to join me and we even went a day earlier to be able to relax and connect.  It was awesome once again.  I love being with 450 Christian moms who have adopted children or are waiting for their child to be matched or come home.  We all "get it."  The passion for adoption and the love of God in the conference room and small workshops is just incredible.  This year's theme was "LOVE BIG."  I LOVE that!  Especially after coming off of the Empowered to connect conference just a few weeks earlier which focuses on Trust Based parenting.  The thing that stuck in my head the most was when Andrea (the driving force behind these conferences) said "We gotta pour the love in-- pour the love in-- pour the love in..."  and when she said "He's got this."  God does have this.  He sure does.  Trust Him.  He's got this.

Yep.

4) Desperate- Hope for the Mom who needs to Breathe: This book is one I am reading with my Girls Prayer Group and with my Sister-in-laws.  It is fantastic to affirm that motherhood is challenging and tiring and tough and awesome and rewarding and incredible.  This book was written for women to read and share with each other so that we don't do motherhood alone.  So we call on God and trust Him (I'm sensing a theme here).  So that we reach out to one another for support and help hold each other up.  I've only read the first four chapters but so far its awesome.

 

So that's what I've been most passionate about this past 6 weeks... Phew.  I love being a mom.  I love God.  I love my husband.  I love my kids.  I love my family.  I love my friends.  I am one blessed girl.

Have a Blessed Easter!

  

Family

Phew. It's been a busy couple of months! I have been meaning to write a hundred times and then have something else to do. My goal is to write once a month starting now. ;)
December and January were awesome!

We spent lots of time with our families. We were blessed to spent time with Kaycee's Birthmom and her son around Christmas. Jeremiah is 8 months old and a sweetie.





















 We also had my brothers and sister in law in town along with my parents for the Christmas holiday. I hired a photographer to take pictures of us all to document the occasion.

 In January, we went to Jacksonville to visit with Jenna's Birthmom and her son and daughter. We love spending time with them also!

We feel so blessed to have open adoptions with both of our girls. I know they don't understand any of it yet but our boys understand and it's neat how they just roll with it. No questions -- all just matter of fact. Kaycee and Jenna grew in their Birthmom's tummies and were placed by God in our family. Luke and Zack grew in my tummy and were placed by God in our family. It's neat how they are cool with it all and haven't questioned. We will always be open to questions and we talk openly about adoption in our home but for now it's no big deal.


Dictionary.com defines family as:
family[ fam-uh-lee, fam-lee ]
noun
1. a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for: a single-parent family.
2. the children of one person or one couple collectively: We want a large family.
3. the spouse and children of one person: We're taking the family on vacation next week.

I like this better than Webster or Wikipedia.

This article is all over my FB news feed right now... 

Michael Oher, Adopted Family Celebrate Super Bowl Victory

 

Leigh Ann Tuohy is quoted... 

Families don’t have to match,” she said. “You don’t have to look like someone else to love them. There are wonderful kids all over this country who need a forever family. And we believe there are no unwanted kids, just unfound families.”

Family to me is made of love- God's love. I am blessed to have such an awesome family.