He Makes All Things Beautiful

I had an amazing, inspiring time with 450 other adoptive mommas at the Created For Care Retreat this past weekend. 

The retreat was held at the beautiful Legacy Lodge at Lake Lanier, Georgia:

It was so great to be able to meet so many beautiful AGCI (our adoption agency) mommas all in one place: 

My dear friend Ginny and me. Ginny and her husband traveled to Ethiopia with Chris and me on both of our trips.

My sweet friend Mindy and me. Mindy received her referral for a precious baby girl while we were at the retreat!

Tricia, Larisa and me. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with my sister, too, and we had a great trip to Georgia and back. We shed some tears, laughed hysterically, and had a few incidents on the way home that made for a very interesting time! :)

 This sign was posted on one of the trees at the resort, and seemed so fitting after a refreshing and restoring weekend:

Themes at the retreat:

This was waiting for me when I got home late Sunday night. It says, "To mom from Ashton, Jordan and Jalen. Welcome home."

And here is the beautiful video that kicked off the weekend. There might even be some familiar faces in it!

I'm already looking forward to going back to Created For Care again in the future!

Have a great day, everyone!

A Road Trip and Some Other Stuff.......

So here's a bit of randomness for your day:

1. Tomorrow, my sister and I leave for Atlanta, Georgia, for Created For Care, a retreat/conference for adoptive and foster care mommas. I am excited to get away with my big sis for the weekend and also to meet so many other women who have adopted or are in the process of adopting. Several of the ladies that I traveled to Ethiopia with will be there, too, so it will be so great to connect with them again. And there will be other mommas there that I "know" through blogs or email, but have never met in person. I'm really looking forward to a wonderful weekend!

2.  You can pretty much be assured that your boys aren't telling the truth when they come upstairs and tell you that all the toys in the basement are picked up and you ask them, "Should I go look and see?" and they say, very passionately, "No!" (That would be Jordan and Jalen for you!)

3.  Shana had a dream that I was a little girl. Everywhere I went, I had to ride in a Conestoga wagon. I realize I'm getting older, but didn't think I was that old.......

4.  The twins frantically called me over to the window the other day so that they could show me the big snake on the patio. It was actually just an earthworm.........

5.  Chris and Jordan decided to trade shirts the other day. Here is the result:

6. The twins got to meet their great grandparents and some more of Chris's extended family in Illinois for the first time this past weekend! Then, we spent a couple of days with another AGCI family. It was so great to share experiences, stories and laughter!

7.  We have been enjoying the beautiful weather lately. It has been in the 80's this week, even though the first day of Spring was just yesterday! We having been spending a ton of time outside, and the twins are amazed that it can actually be warm sometimes here in Ohio:

Have a great day!

"He's Not Heavy; He's My Brother!!!"

Referral!!!! And Some Other Stuff......

I am so excited to announce that my sister and her husband received a referral yesterday! David and Larisa are now parents to another little boy - 2 1/2 year-old "S" from Ethiopia! He is such a cutie, and we can't wait to meet him! Please pray for "S" and his birth family as they go through this difficult transition, and for David, Larisa and Yikealo as they prepare their hearts and home to welcome a new son and brother! May God richly bless them as they become a family of 4!

How well I remember those overwhelming, excited, giddy emotions that come along with a referral. In fact, I experienced them all over again yesterday when Larisa called to tell me the news! I smiled like an idiot for the rest of the day, and couldn't bring myself to get anything else accomplished. I surprised the kids with the news when they got home from school, and even took pictures of them as they looked at their new little cousin's face for the first time! Yes, I know I'm pretty pathetic, but I hadn't felt quite like that since we got our own referral last June!

********************

We sat down to dinner last night (which Jordan proclaimed to be "Yummy, dude!") and Jalen decided that he wanted to say the prayer. It came out something like this: 

"Thank You for the food..........hospital..........happy birthday..........all better..........when Jesus comes..........Amen!"

********************

We've been enjoying the warmer weather we've been having. Spring is definitely on its way! The twins love to play outside, and yesterday when the temperature reached 68 degrees, they were convinced that it was warm enough to go "splash-splash" in the pool. Much to their dismay, I told them it wasn't quite warm enough yet.....

********************

Why is it that boys will make weapons out of almost anything? Jalen just made the "shoot" below, and is now planning to go outside and shoot some lions.......

********************

And finally, a parting shot of Woody and Buzz......

Have a great day, everyone!!!

The Cancer Redemption Project

   This is a very inspiring interview with a young husband and father who is redeeming his cancer to help orphans in Haiti.

 

Backseat Drivers.....

Jordan and Jalen LOVE to ride in the "mekina" (car, van, truck, or anything else with wheels). And every time we go somewhere, there is a constant stream of instructions and orders from the backseat:

"Amama, stop! I want to see the truck!" (As we're driving along at a good clip on the interstate.)

"Amama, go!" (When we're stopped at a red light.)

"Amama, be careful! Don't fall! BE CAREFUL, AMAMA!!!! (As we're driving on an overpass or hill.)

" Amama, I want to drive over there!" (Pointing to the field beside us, even though I've explained many times that we really must stay on the road.)

"Go that way, Amama!"

And on, and on, and on. Now, would you really trust directions from two guys who looked like this?

They are quite the little backseat drivers......