This song has been playing in my head all day! I just love Matt Maher!! I saw him in concert last year and it was great! I hope you all had a blessed Easter! We sure did!!!

Created for Care Retreat-- Part Two

Sooo I've been thinking how I'm going to sum up the retreat in my "Part 2" post and it's really difficult to put in words the amazing weekend. So I'll try now:
I knew this was a "Christian Adoptive Mom's Retreat" but didn't know that I was going to be so filled by the Holy Spirit all weekend long. It was awesome having people talk freely and opening about God in their lives and families and how we need to TRUST HIM. I have been a little anxious at times this go around with waiting and this weekend reinforced the need to put it all in HIS hands. Boy, He has not disappointed me yet and I know He won't with Jenna. When I wake up to Kaycee singing on the baby monitor every morning I think "Wow-- I am so blessed. What a gift she is to us." I know Jenna will be an incredible gift as well. Anyhow, the weekend surprised me with so much praise and worship and I LOVED it!!! I felt like I was at a Women of Faith conference for a group of Adoptive Moms Only!! As I was inspired after I left Women of Faith back in October, so was I when I left this retreat. On Sunday, I went back home to Central Florida and posted on our Central Florida Adoptive Families FB page and set up a Moms Only Lunch in April. Since our group started in July we have always done family play dates (which I LOVE) but after this past weekend I knew that we needed a time to just connect as adoptive moms and share our stories, struggles, and joys. I'm really looking forward to it!

So what did I get out of the Created for Care Retreat??
1) Rejuvenation of Faith filled with goosebumps from so many worshiping moms together
2) Stronger Trust that God has our adoption story written and we must be patient
3) New understanding of different types of adoption-- international, foster, domestic
4) True connections with my "Blogging Buds" and new friendships
5) Education on racism with adoption and tips on raising our daughter of a different race
6) A sore jaw from talking so much....

I decided next year I am going one day early just to rest and enjoy the retreat center. I did not rest much at all-- I didn't want to miss anything!! This was an amazing weekend and I am so grateful to the women who put it together!!

Created for Care Retreat-- Part One

So this past weekend I drove up north of Atlanta alone (boy was that peaceful!) to a beautiful resort called Lake Lanier Resort (www.lakelanierislands.com) for an incredible retreat for adoptive moms. It was called Created for Care http://createdforcare.org and over 450 women-- Adoptive or waiting to adopt were there! I was sooooooo excited! I've always said that I feel like adoptive moms/families are like their own little club-- we just understand each other more than other people understand us. We have had people say the craziest things to us and searched within ourselves for the best responses to be kind and educate when really we just want to hit them over the head! Anyhow, my weekend started meeting a "friend" of mine who I feel like I really know even though we never met! She contacted me almost 2 years ago through the Bethany Christian Services FB page because I put a post there. We ended up talking on the phone and then following each other on our blogs and FB through both of our adoption journeys. She is just as cool in person if not more!! She roomed with me and another girl she brought who she met at their Bethany Adoptive Parents Training weekend and Cherie is a waiting mom too! That was the beginning of the excitement of the weekend!
My first breakout session was with an Adoptive Moms panel-- I LOVE panel discussions. It's so fun to see what people have to say and soooooo neat to see several women all with awesome families built through different types of adoption telling their stories! I must admit I was most excited to see/meet Aimee Powell (Mac Powel's wife-- lead singer of Third Day). I have read their stories in magazines and seen some of their testimonies but so cool to meet her in person and what an awesome person she is-- not that I ever doubted it...
OK--there is so much to say that I'm going to put this in a few posts...

Psalm 27:14 and Psalm 31:24

So these are the scripture verses I have been meditating on this past week. If you aren't sure what they are go look them up! ;) We are at the 3 month mark of waiting which is really NOTHING. Some days it is nothing and I'm so busy and other days it's just a grip on my heart wondering when our daughter will be brought to us. I have complete faith that God will bring her in His perfect time. I must admit it is MUCH easier the second time around!! Kind of like having your 2nd child-- you don't get as nervous or as anxious as the first time. It is still so very exciting but I know it is all going to work out just right...
So I've been blessed to be able to minister to other waiting families with Bethany. About a year ago I contacted Bethany's Director and told her that I love making digital scrapbooks and would be willing to help edit or make books for couples that may be having difficulty with it. She said "Ok great-- thanks. We'll let you know." I never heard anything until December. She called and asked if I could help them. I was so excited. I filled out paperwork and became an "Official Bethany Volunteer." I am now the Profile Book Consultant and I love it!! I love helping couples make their books go from ok or good to awesome! It is very rewarding! Just this last week one of the families I talked with and reviewed their book brought home a "stork drop" baby after their book had only been "out there" for 2 weeks! I was sooooooo excited for them! I just LOVE seeing families built through adoption. It is such an awesome blessing!!!

Adoption Friends

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my adoption friends-- old and new! There is a special bond people who adopt have that is just so awesome! Back in July I had a bunch of adoptive moms and their babies over for lunch. We were talking about how there was an Adoptive Families of the Tampa Bay Area on Facebook that we had become members of but we thought it would be neat to have a Central Florida group. That night I started one on Facebook. It started out with just the 5 of us from the group and maybe a few more we knew. Right now we have 46 members! I love it! So we got together last weekend for a play date in Winter Garden-- it was 30-70 minute drive for everyone depending on where we were coming from. I always wish there was more time to talk at these things! This time a girl named Jen came with her son and daughter. It was our first time meeting them and we are soooo psyched they joined us! They are awesome! Also a couple that we had met at Magical Families recently relocated to Orlando and hooked up with us! It was great to have them and their boys there!!! Have I said how much I love our group?? tee-hee...
Anyhow, here are some pictures from last Saturday:

Surrender

Ever notice how sometimes it is easy to turn things over to God and sometimes it is really hard?? I have to admit that I still don't think automatically to pray right when stressful situations hit me. I usually get angst and my mind goes a million miles a minute trying to figure out how "I the almighty one" will handle all this with grace and make it work out perfect. WRONG. I'm always wrong when I think I am in control. When will I learn???
A few weeks ago Chris (my husband), was putting Luke (our 5 year old) to bed and Chris' knee dislocated. He was in NC at the time so I did not witness the event but when my tough husband who can "block out" pain says he was seeing stars and was considering going to the ER, I know it was bad. It took three weeks to get into the orthopedic surgeon. He went Tues. MRI Wednesday. Results yesterday: Bad ACL tear. Surgery necessary.
Now my husband is a Physical Therapist so he can't return to work until he is fully recovered-- 2-3 MONTHS! Ugh. I thought I was going to throw up when I heard that last night. Let me tell you why... we are waiting for a newborn baby to adopt and I wanted to take 2-3 MONTHS off!! Really what I think would be best is if we get matched while he is out on leave. He only needs 2 weeks (insert smile) and then it'll be like when he broke his leg 8 years ago-- he couldn't work and was bored to death. So today I am surrendering all of the to God and putting in a special request for our daughter to be brought to us while Chris is out on medical leave... I know He's laughing at me but I'm still requesting. Praying. Hoping. Surrendering for today.

Survey

Well, I haven't posted anything because we are just waiting for God to bring Jenna to us and He currently is not in a rush which is fine. We know He has the perfect precious daughter picked out for us... Don't get me wrong, I do get anxious and do daydream about "The Call" but overall I'm pretty busy so life keeps me distracted! My friend Kelly tagged me in a survey on her blog From Empty Womb to Overflowing Heart, so I thought it would be fun to answer her questions. I'm not playing the game completely but I will answer her questions mainly to have something to post here!! Ha!

11 Random Questions for You:

1. Favorite thing to do in your "spare" time?
"Play" on my laptop or read

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Africa and Australia-- I have always loved those countries and would love to spend time in each of them-- some day I will...

3. If you could choose any dream job what would it be?
Hummmm I think I have my dream job. I love being a Home Health Occupational Therapist The only other thing I can possibly think of is getting paid to help "waiting families" make their profile books or helping people make digital scrapbooks. That's a neat dream job I think.

4. If you have a guilty pleasure, what is it?
Chocolate chip cookies-- I love them and have trouble resisting

5. What has been the hardest question you've been confronted with regarding your childs adoption?
I don't know-- I know I was really bothered when someone I work with told me that laws don't matter and Kaycee's birthmom could come take her away any time. It made me so mad.

6. If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Mother Theresa or Oprah

7. Favorite restaurant?
We really don't go out to eat that much- I like Bonefish Grill and I also like a local Italian place called Naples

8. What book are you currently reading?
No Biking in the House by Melissa Fay Green and Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory for my Christian Girls Book Club

9. If you struggled with IF, do you ever feel that people regard your decision to adopt as a "last resort" or "second best"? If so, how do you deal with it?
I didn't struggle with it exactly but when I was miserable on bedrest with my second son and crying because I knew I could not physically have anymore children my sister in law said "you guys can always adopt" I never forgot that...

10. Whats to your immediate left?
My iPhone and my dog

11. If someone gave you 1 million dollars, how would you use it?
These days 1 million is not really that much... sad but true. I'd buy a new house with a pool and pay for all my kids prepaid college plans in full. I'd donate $100,000 to charity Then it would be gone. :)

Thanks Kelly for stimulating my mind!! I'm so looking forward to our Central Florida Adoption Play Date this Saturday. Stay tuned-- I'll post some pics!!