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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Responsibly Pestering You All

I know I have been pestering all of you to buy some goods to support a family who is adopting and a lot of you don't even know them.  I am sure you are wondering why?  Why am I making the effort to purchase, sell, and mail items?  Why do I keep bugging you?


Well, let me try to explain....


There are 147 MILLION reasons.  
There are an estimated 147 million orphans in the world today.  
147 million children that need to be fed
147 million children that need to be bathed
147 million children that need proper medical care
147 million children that need shelter
but most of these children just want one thing....to be loved.
147 million children that need a Mommy or a Daddy to hold them, to protect them, to keep them safe, to tell them everyday that they are loved.


As Christians, any one who believes in a God, as human beings, we are responsible for these children.  We can't stand by with the thought, "God is their Father and is always with them."  He might be.  But God works through us!  He has no physical hands to feed, bath, care, provide shelter, or to tuck a child in at night while whispering, "I love you and always will."  No, he needs us.  He needs us all to step us and take responsibility for these children.  


If only 7% of people who claim to be Christians would adopt or sponser a child, all 147 would be taken care of.  


All of you reading this, including myself, could adopt now.  We could save and raise enough money.  Yes, we would have to give up this 



 for 



 or this


for 



Okay, so most of us don't have the convertible, but you get my point.  We could all make sacrifices.  We could all adopt, but most of us are not.  I'm sure not all of us are called to adopt, yet many are, and are ignoring our calling.  


But we can still take responsibility for these children without becoming their Mommy or Daddy and we must.  One way is to support those willing to sacrifice all the things that we are taught in this society to be important.  We need to support those who are willing to step up to their calling and adopt a child in need.


Brian and Carrie Woods have done so over and over.  First, there was sweet little Grace (4 yrs old), then Haven (3yrs old), and then JoJo and Manny (both 1 yr old).  Several if not all of these children would most likely not be alive without them.  And now they are stepping up again, and adopting 8 month old twins.  Some of you might see this as irresponsible in this world.  Who could possibly properly care for SIX children?  (Well, I assure they can, and they will do a wonderful job.)  I see them being nothing but responsible to all of God's children.  


Of course, those of you who have adopted know that we are not the gift to our children, but they are the greatest gift God could have ever have given us.  With accepting this responsibility, Brian and Carrie are rewarded over and over each day.  As all of their beautiful children wake up happy to see their Mommy and Daddy, they are rewarded with smiles, hugs and kisses.  You see, as you add more members to a family, more and more love is created.  


But even knowing these rewards.  We are still frightened our life will change to much to act.


So for now, we can support those adopting. Support those who have adopted. Give monetary donations to a good nonprofit organization.  (I personally recommend Our Family in Africa).  Go on a mission trips to a third world countries.  Speak out.  And Pray.  Pray for all 147 million of these children.  Pray that those called to adopt will finally listen to their calling.  Pray that people will support them and help provide for the cost of getting these babies to their forever home.


So, the reason why I keep pestering you all...is because they are able to see beyond the fright that most of us have, they only see the love.  They are taking responsibility for the rest of their lives.  I think the least we could do is take the responsibilty to help get them home.


You can read more about Carrie and Brian and follow their journey by clicking on their names. If you would like to purchase an item or give a donation towards their adoption, and are not on FaceBook please just leave a message : )

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Thanking God

So, I've been a little busy.  I hate that I haven't blogged about all the great things that have happened in my life.  But the truth is...
I just haven't the time or the energy.

Well, first of course I have to introduce little 
Owen Charles Sullivan.  
Born June 21, 2011 at 9:08 pm, 
weighing 8 pounds and 2 ounces, 20.5 inches long.




 Who has become not so little in the last two months. 
(Now close to 17 pounds!)


You all know that my pregnancy with Owen threw me for a loop.  I was expecting a little tiny black baby girl and ended up with a big white red headed baby!  But God has has given me a wonderful gift no matter the color.  I am so thankful to be able to nurse a little one again.  There is just nothing like it. 


When I first gave birth to Owen.  It was so strange.  I looked at him and thought he is so precious.  But....I didn't feel that immediate bond that I had felt with Liv and Parker.  I'm not for sure why.  It is most definitely there now and was shortly after.  I actually bonded much quicker to Chad and Ian.  I think this is because I had a pictures to look at every second of the day.  
They were more real to me.  

Owen has helped me see how calm and sweet my two wild ones can be.  
Chad and Ian are wonderful big brothers.  
They are so gentle.  
My only complaint to them is, 
"Owen has had enough kisses today."






The older two are so much help.  They love him so much.  They have a very special bond with him and even stronger bond with me because they were in the delivery room with me!  That is a whole other post in itself.  




Owen has made me realize again how blessed I am.  I hear him cry and I run to him and pick him up.  I simply say, "It's OK. Mama is here."  But this is what I am thinking, 
"Thank God I am here.  
Thank God I am able to take care of you.
Thank God I have the means to keep you.  
Thank God that I have the nutrition to have breast milk to feed you.  
Thank God I am able to hold you and love on you."  

Everyday now I think about Ian being the same age in an orphanage of over 100 kids and 1 caretaker.  I can't help but cry. What happened when he cried? Nothing.  I know there was no Mama there to pick him up.  There was no one to lovingly tell him it was OK.  There was no formula to feed him.





And poor Chad.  He had a Mama to take care of him and all of a sudden he was in a "Cave", as Chad calls the orphanage, with no one to feed or love him.  


How do you ever recover from that?  
How do you possibly as a parent make up for that?  
How do you deal with knowing your children have suffered so much?  
How do you deal with knowing there are so many other children out there suffering right now?  

It is all so much.

Then I see this and all I can do is Thank God that he has chosen me to a Mommy to all five of my children,
and pray that he will help me answer my questions,
that she will help me realize 
her plan for me and how I will help those children.



Monday, April 25, 2011

Words That Make You Go Hmmmm....

There are so many things that people have said lately to me that make me want go "Hmmmm......What the heck were you thinking!"   So, I decided to share a few.

* While at a restaurant Jamey and I were asked TWICE by two different people, "If we were going to keep them?", referring to Chad and Ian.   Hmmmm.....This is just rude!  Chad is 3 going on who knows what and he understands what you are saying!  

* As one of the above people were leaving he dropped a ten dollar bill on the table.  In response to our surprised looks, he said he really wanted us to have it.  Hmmmm.....Is this because he just offended us by asking if we were going to keep our children?

* I had someone approach me the other day and asked when my due date was.  I responded, "June 29th."  His eyes got real big and then he loudly stated,  "Wow!  You are already SO BIG!  Seriously, how big are you going to be by then!?!"   Hmmmm.......this guy is just lucky we were in a room full of witnesses.

* Last week we took Chad and Ian to an appointment with a pediatric surgeon.  The doctor comes in and reviews our paperwork, clearly stating we are their parents with the same last name.  Talks to us awhile, hears the boys call us mommy and daddy.  As she starts taking some notes she asks, "So, are the boys adopted?"  If you could have seen Jamey's face, I was trying hard not to laugh.  She explained that her children look very Asian like their father and people always assume that she adopted them from China.  So, I guess she didn't want to assume that we hadn't some how miraculously produced to very black babies!  Hmmmm......and she is going to possibly operate on my babies!

* Then there are the comments that have been made over and over by different people.  Usually, they are something like, "Wow!  When are you due?  You are going to have your hands so full.  You poor thing.  I just don't see how you can do it."   Hmmmm.......baby is coming whether you are comfortable with it or not!  How about some support : )

* "Where are you going to put all those kids?"  Is a common question.  Hmmmm.....We do not live in a mansion or anything, but we are blessed to have 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths.  I see nothing wrong with a two or three of the kids sharing a room.  

So suprise!  We are going to keep all FIVE of our children!  Yes, this is my third pregnancy and I am soon to be 35, so my belly is nice and stretched out!  We are just as excited about number 5 as we were with 1,2,3, and 4!  I guess God just made me crazy enough to believe that we can handle 5 kids!  

Yes, lucky for me that God has blessed me with humor, as I just have to laugh at the things most people say :)




Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Helping Others Adopt

You all know how my heart is all wrapped around adoption.  And even though we can not adopt again at this time as many of you can not either, we can do something!  

I have some really great friends who are adopting!  I am so happy for them!  Dessica comes from a very large family and is a wonderful mother.  Not only are they adopting, they are adopting FOUR beautiful brothers!  How awesome is it that! These boys get to be adopted and stay together!  They are a member of our small group at church and we are helping them raise money for their adoption.  We have created a chipin account, so click below and donate any amount!  Please help bring these boys home.