Happy New Year to you all

2011 was an amazing year for my family, for my church family (our Pastor is CLINICALLY CURED of Stage IV throat cancer), and for many of my friends as well. As this year passes, if you are out and about, be safe. Be responsible. Don't drink and drive.

Yesterday, December 30th, was my mom's 55th birthday. She's not here with us, she died at the age of 37 (same age I am today) after several years of fighting breast cancer. It is odd to think I am her age. I am the very age she was when she left this earth, so surreal. It hurts to think what this past year may have been like for me with her here to support our adoption journey. Fully support it...alas, it is something I will never know. I am grateful for the support we did have, but really wish she had been here for this journey.

I am eager to move on to 2012 and see what is next for my family. What boundaries we will grow, what ground we will conquer and most importantly, see what God has for us too.

Happy New Year to you, in just 6 days, Jadon will be having surgery to remove his tonsils, adenoids, clean his ears and possibly place tubes. He got his glasses yesterday from the generous people at 20/20 Vision. He can see and, literally (as I type this), just took 3 steps unassisted on his own towards the family room TV!! It is amazing what sight can do for a person. Such a shame no Ukrainian thought he was worth the gift of a family, or nutrition, or sight, or...LOVE. Thank God we went when we did and we have him now in our family. Our little Ukrainian Prince. We are blessed.

When we came home, Jadon was small...to say the least. We came home 77 days ago. He could not see (he can now). He could not drink from a cup (he can now). He would not bear much weight (he does frequently now). He could not handle touch (he craves it now). He weighed 19 lbs (he weighs 23 lbs now but I am guessing he is closer to 24 lbs today). He was 28 inches tall (he is 30.25 inches tall now). He had a cranial circumference of 17 inches (today his noggin is 18.25 inches round).

Love, food, family, GOD DID IT!

If you are thinking of adoption, whether you believe in my God or not...listen to that voice prodding you. Listen. And ACT. The orphans, here in the states or overseas, ARE WORTHY. There are agencies that can help you. Child matching sites to guide you.




If you do believe in my God, and Christ the Messiah, and consider yourself a Christian...then you are commanded to care for the orphans and widows of the world. Period. Find what your family can do, adoption is not for everyone, but we, as Christians, all have a role we are commanded to claim in caring for the orphans and widows.

James 1:27

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

The worship that God wants is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good.

Psalm 68:5-6(a)

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 

God, who lives in his holy palace, is a father to the orphans, and he takes care of widows. God provides homes for those who are lonely.  

Happy New Year!!! 

 "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

Our year in review...

So much has happened for our family, God's goodness has rained down over us. Is it all cherries and butterflies? Uhhhh, no. But He is always good. Always.

January saw the new year ushered in, a fresh start..

February, we were called to adopt and committed to Alexander 20 on Reece's Rainbow.

March, we were told by the agency we were using and the social worker, JD, that we would not be approved by their organization and would likely never find someone to approve us. Thank God they were in the wrong for starting with us, period. They were illegally contracted with us since we were not using a Hague accredited agency to complete the adoption and all they "said" was moot. And, hey, we got a free water sample done on our well :) BONUS!

April, we found Gateway Woods for our homestudy thanks to Tonya (THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!) and I began to suspect that Alexander was not available after talking with one person in particular. I began to search frantically to locate the institution this child was said to be in. Jared started baseball this month :) Love watching my boy WHACK that ball!! Shawn was baptized on Easter Sunday...does it get any better?

May, it is confirmed by me that Alexander is NOT available, waiting confirmation from Reece's Rainbow (this will take many months yet still). School is out!

June our homestudy is completed in just 33 days total :) Take that JD! LOL We are approved for one child with Down syndrome ages 0-7. I find pictures from Lindy's blog this month that have Alexander in them! It is true, he is not in an institution. He is in the baby house still in his region. The original Alexander 20---now is listed as Sasha 50 on RR. We do not choose to adopt him, we continue to pursue Alexander 20, the boy we know only by video and pictures.

July, the twins turned 4!!!!! Where or where has time gone??? This month on July 6th, it is confirmed by Reece's Rainbow, there indeed was a mixup of information between the two boys. It seems Alexander's mother has not terminated her rights. We selfishly say we want her found and ask her to allow him to be adopted--thusly, signing away her parental rights.

August 3rd, our dossier arrives in Ukraine!! We still have not heard anything about Alexander. We are ready to complete our adoption. We have done all we can, we are ready. Shawn and I wrestle with our reality, do we wait indefinitely or do we let go of Alexander? Do we give him back to God and pray He leads us in the direction He has held for us all along. Mid-August, we terminate our choice to seek out Alexander and ask our team to file our dossier, we will be seeking a referral for another child. Jared turns 9 this month!!! Unbelievable how big my baby boy has gotten. School starts!!! Our days are busy for sure. All three boys attend different schools and mommy is driving lots these days.

September. Mom has been gone for 17 years on the 5th...I can hardly believe I've not had a mother for so very long. I need her now more than ever these past 17 years. My family is fixing to grow, family support is shotty at best. I want my mom. We learn of our travel date...September 25, our SDA referral appointment is Septemer 28. Geneva and Cliff will keep the kids for us while we are gone. We are praying for travel mercies and a swift process.

October...AWESOME MONTH!!! We adopted our 4th child, Jadon Andrew Taylor on October 6th. Joshua (my nephew turned 8 the day before). We arrive back home in the states on October 15th. Jadon celebrates his 3rd birthday with FAMILY on October 18th. We learn, once stateside, we had the fastest adoption in team history :) GO SERGE and TEAM!!! Just 8 days after meeting Jadon, he was legally adopted :)

November, our adoption was formally recognized in the Indiana courts. Jadon's American birth certificate arrives and was printed on Daddy's birthday (November 22nd). Janae (niece turned 6 on the 14th). We celebrated Thanksgiving with Shawn's family. Life is good.

December, my BFF Julie learned she will be traveling this month to Ukraine to adopt her son, Peter. Christmas season is upon us. Shawn and I have been married 5 years!!! And, my children are learning the true meaning of Christmas--we will not teach the twins or Jadon about Santa and Jared knows that Santa is not real. The persona of Santa exists, each day in amazing people willing to give just to give...but the man in the red suit means nothing to my boys. We will start a new tradition this year, just 3 presents a piece for my children. 3? Why 3? Well, Jesus got three gifts--gold, frankincense and myrrh. Why should my kids be any different? They are certainly no better than the wee, tiny babe born in a manger over 2,000 years ago. There will be no Black Friday madness in this house. Simple, grateful celebration. That's it. That's what we will have.

Today, in reflecting I am in awe of all my family has experienced this year. Five years ago, I was a single mom of one child. I had just bought our home and was working 40+ hours a week.

Today? Today, I am a married woman, proud to call Shawn my husband, mother to 4 boys and stay-at-home-mom.

Amazing.

God is good.

All the time.

Even in the funk, when it comes, He is good. Just let Him show you.

 "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

The REASON for this SEASON

I found this on Facebook on one of my friends page...it made me tear up. I thought I'd share because it remainds me why I celebrate Christmas with my family and children.




Recently, on The View, Whoopi told the most incredible story I feel more than compelled to share it with you. The story highlights the true meaning of the Christmas season. Reminding us all that we are all at one point in our lives, Keepers of the Inn. 

Here goes:

Every year, there is a Christmas pageant a very big and famous church in NYC. This year, the pageant's Inn Keeper was played by a young boy with Down syndrome. This boy's parents were very happy that there were many rehearsals for the pageant as they were concerned he would not remember his one line.

On the evening of the pageant, as the children playing Mary and Joseph walked up the aisle of the church, the boy stood up for his big moment. As they got closer, he very eloquently said, "There is no room at the inn." As he said his lines, the crowd collectively breathed a sigh of relief knowing the child was met with great success, then, as the boy and the girl playing Joseph and Mary started to walk away, he yelled out, "But wait"! 

The crowd and the boys parents looked on, not knowing what to expect next from the young man. "But wait", he said again, "You can stay at my house." 

The crowd, of course, fell silent knowing his sweet blunder sent the best, truest message of all. The Pastor, William Sloane Coffin, at that point, stood up and said, "Amen".

Amen, indeed...

I am in tears, once again, as I type this out. Pure love. That's what children like my boys have to offer. Real insight, is what they know. They do not know what jadedness is like. Pure love, real love; we all need it. I am not painting my boys into a box, I am not being stereotypical. I am stating what I KNOW to be true. Jadon, even, Jadon--my sweet boy who was neglected for nearly 3 years of his life...loves now. Purely. He gives kisses now. He seeks comfort now. He knows the love of the Father now.

Praise God he does. We know pure love, blameless love, true religion because of Him and our adoption journey. Our family is all the more for it. Those who don't know this blessing in our family, by their own choice...my heart hurts for them.

Merry Christmas to you all. May you be blessed during this Advent Season. 

 
"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)

OUR son's opthalmology appointment

OUR son, saw the opthalmologist today. Seems Urkainian eye exams are spot on in this case. Jadon has significant strabismus (no biggie, I've walked that mile for 9 years with Jared now). He has severe hyperopia and will soon be wearing coke bottle glasses and also does exhibit latent nystagmus when his "good eye" is covered.

We will be purchasing some MiraFlex frames, getting lenses made here in town by 20/20 vision and get my boy seeing the world around him clearly for the first time in his life.

love,

"I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:2-3 (NIV)