These Are MY Thoughts

I am going to spew here. I don't think too many people read this blog and I try very hard to keep my politics/personal views off of Facebook. However a couple of things are on my mind and I feel strongly that I need to express my opinion....even if no one ever reads it.

1. Chik-Fil-A and Jim Henson Productions. Seriously. This really bothers me. People are entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. As a consumer, as long as I get what I'm paying for, I don't care if the movie I'm seeing was created by a gay man, a gay woman, a straight person, or what color they are. As long as they don't try to cram their beliefs down my throat, I DON'T care. I don't think that stating my opinion or beliefs means that I can't fulfill my professional obligations. That chain has not discriminated against anyone working at their store, anyone who has come to be served, nor do they try to cram their beliefs down anyones throats that are in their restaurants. Scripture is not posted on the walls, no one says God Bless, and they are hospitable to whomever enters their restaurant. So I don't care what their CEO believes. I care that he gives me a yummy chicken sandwich. As I stated above, I don't care if Kermit is gay, straight, green, or a frog. If I've payed to see the Muppets Take Manhattan, then I want to see the movie.

I feel a little better.

2. The Aurora shootings. How is saying you are sorry that people were injured and/or killed an admission of guilt from people who weren't even in the same state? I am so very sorry for all those effected by these shootings. My heart breaks because I can put myself into their shoes; the mother who lost a child, a sibling who lost a best friend, or losing my other half. I also can't imagine the horror of a mother whose child commits horrible acts such as this. How could this be the same baby I rocked, the little boy that I read books to and laughed with? How could this be the same young man who sat at my kitchen table and loved my cooking? I know I would be ripped to the core. But I do know that I could say to another hurting human being, I'm sorry.

Feeling better.

Hope at Three

Hopie turned 3 on April 23rd (much to my dismay). She is in preschool at South Rowan Academy and loves school. She has learned so much. She sings the alphabet song and various other songs. She knows all her colors and loves books. She has Grace and Philip wrapped around her finger.

Likes- Rapunzel, Imagination Movers, Disney Jr., Doc McStuffins, Octonauts, and several other Disney movies. She loves to draw on my iPhone, yogurt, cheese, pizza, spaghetti, chocolate milk, chicken, and chips. She likes to be outside, ride her bike, and play in the car. She loves her pinkies and b's. At night, she has to have Mommy or Daddy lay down with her and she will say, "You lay with me?" Of course we oblige. She loves to write and draw.

Dislikes- Being told no, green beans, having her hair washed, having her hair combed, having Mommy put clips in her hair, going potty, Bad Sheep (Carolina),  and not getting what she wants.

Philip at Seven

Little man turned seven on April 2nd. His hair is just as red as ever and so is the temper that goes along with it. He is in first grade and is a quick learner. He is reading very well and has taught himself how to count money (including making change) and telling time. He does not mind being in the spotlight and just participated in the 1st grade PTA program. What a HAM!

Likes-   Mario, legos, being outside, eating junk food, bacon, pizza, hot dogs, eggs, Angry Birds, playing with my iPhone, telling stories, riding his bike, playing with Hope, red Kool-Aid, and spending money.

Dislikes- Not being able to win at whatever game he is playing, cleaning up, taking a bath, anything nutritious to eat, getting his homework done, brushing his teeth, and practicing because he thinks he already knows it.

Grace at Eleven

Grace turned eleven on April 4th. So I can remember...

Likes- Sleep, eating, watching Disney Channel, her iPod, making movies, being with her friends, annoying her younger siblings, animals, and trying to be the boss of everything.

Dislikes- Getting up in the morning, reading, school, wearing dresses or anything purchased by her mother, not getting her way, her siblings at certain times, anything that puts her in the limelight, going to bed at night, and being told what to do.

Grace is a beautiful girl who is growing up very fast! She is very bright and is so very social. She can be a huge help to me and is becoming so mature. She recently started reading the Hunger Games trilogy and is actually enjoying reading for once in her life! I am amazed by her each and every day.

Adoption!!!

Kelly @ Kelly's Korner is having a Show Us Your Life and today's focus is adoption! Of course, those who know me, know how near and dear this is to my heart. Thanks to adoption, I have my sweet Annalee Grace. (Please forgive the fact that I haven't updated the blog in over a year!)

My story started back in 2001 one Sunday during church. A family was having their infant daughter baptized and my heart just hurt watching them. I wanted a family of my own, but with no boyfriend even, my hopes of having a baby the old fashioned way weren't really a reality. After praying about it, I realized that I would never regret not being someone's wife, but I would regret not being someone's mom and I had the power to be a mom. So I started researching adoption.

Grace (on the right) and her best friend, Zhanna. They were adopted at the same time from the same babyhouse. The girls have known each other longer than their parents have known them.

My sweet Grace this past summer.

The rest of the story is posted on this blog. From the paperwork to getting Gracie's first pictures to coming home. It's all here.

I do want to say the following about adoption. I've been an adoptive Mom for over nine years. The first thing that drives me nuts is that people think I "saved" Grace. I didn't save her; she saved me. NO ONE should adopt because they want to rescue a child. You should adopt because you want to have a child to love, raise, and care for for the rest of their life. It isn't just a commitment until they are 18 or 22. Family is forever.

My second statement is that while the most important thing is love, it will not make everything magically better for a child who has suffered loss. Most adopted children feel this loss throughout their lives at different times and in different ways. Grace was adopted when she was 7 months old. She doesn't remember the babyhouse or her first meeting with me, but she is effected by the loss of her birthmother. This is something that adoptive families will have to deal with and just because you love a child with your whole heart and soul, it won't wipe away the emotional scars that your child carries.

If I had an opportunity to adopt, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm blessed that I met Randy when Grace was 18 months old. He fell in love with both of us and became a father to Grace without hesitation. He formally adopted her and then we were blessed to have two homegrown children. I still long to adopt again. I knew the minute I held Grace in my arms that God had orchestrated the whole shebang. He found my daughter for me halfway around the world and gave me the the resources and determination to go get her. He has shown me over and over that it is no mistake that she is mine. I thank God everyday for giving me what I have always wanted most in this world- a family to call my own.

Look at my Pooh Bear! Oh, how I miss her being that little.

All three of my precious children, Grace, Hope, and Philip.

Hope is 9 Months Old!

Our sweet baby is 9 months old believe it or not. She had quite a busy month!

Another ear infection required Rocephin shots and a referral to the ENT. We met with the ENT and she just had fluid on one ear, but he did recommend placing tubes in her ears. He felt like the cause was the size of her eustachian tubes and that hopefully one set of tubes would do the trick. We had your tubes placed on January 20th. I'll post that story in a different post.

This months other highlights include:

• Taking a bath in the big girl tub. You loved it. Your favorite bath toy seems to be an Elmo figurine.
• You can say a couple of words. Bye-bye (with a hand wave) and Momma are your two words.
• You will sometimes finish nursing and look up at me and say, "Mom mom momma." It melts me each and every time.
• You worked really hard reaching for whatever you want and are starting to get in a crawl position.
• You learned how to clap your hands. Gracie taught you how to do it. You also include your version of "Yea!"
• You managed to pull up on the Jumperoo. But once you got up there, you had no idea what to do and how to get down!
• You LOVE to eat. You will eat just about anything we put in front of you. You love pasta salad, goldfish, bread, blackeyed peas, cheese toast, green beans, crackers, pancakes, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, and chicken and dumplings. We also will feed you jarred baby food, but you really love to feed yourself.

You love to go the Ms. Steph's and grin and give her love. We are blessed to have someone who loves you and does such a great job taking care of you. You also adore your brother and sister. They can do a great job of entertaining you when Mommy needs them too.

At your 9 month appointment, you weighed 16 1/2 lbs. and were 27 1/2 inches long. Dr. Greenlee said you were perfectly healthy.

You nurse about 5 times a day and we almost had you sleeping through the night when your ears started acting up again. Mommy is just going to get you a shirt that says, "Sleep is for Wimps."

I can't believe all you did last month. You are still the sweetest baby around and love your Momma. You are easy going and are quick to smile and laugh. We adore you, Alison Hope!!

Christmas with the Thomas'

We had a wonderful Christmas- complete with several adventures we didn't count on.



We spent Christmas Eve with Patty and John. Our children are so lucky to have Aunt Patty and Uncle John. They love them and spoil them rotten! The kids loved opening their presents and Uncle John taught Philip a new trick or two. It was a wonderful way to start our Christmas celebrations although I know that Patty missed Candace terribly. Maybe next Christmas we'll have our girl home.



We went home and got the three little cubs settled. They were reminded that Santa WOULD NOT come until everyone in the house was asleep. Randy and I started working on peeling the potatoes we were taking to Mom's on Christmas Day when Grace appeared on the stairs and asked when we planned on going to sleep. We told her soon. I think that we finished in record time because we were excited about Santa coming.



Christmas morning came and surprise of all surprises, Grace was the first one up! She had tried to sneak downstairs to see what Santa brought, but couldn't thanks to the baby gate we had put at the top of the stairs. The children loved seeing what Santa brought and then they opened the gifts we had given them. The living rooms was packed with gifts and wrapping paper.



We got dressed and loaded in the van to head to Jan's house. Randy turned the key in the ignition and ...... nothing. The battery was just about dead. So we had to push the van out of the garage so we could jump it off with Randy's truck. Simple enough except it was pouring down rain. 5 minutes later, we are on our way to Jan's house with two soaking wet adults.



We had a wonderful breakfast and enjoyed spending time with Randy's mom and sister. The kids enjoyed playing with Hunter. We left Jan's and had to go to the hospital so Hope could have her 3rd Rocephin shot. I took her in while Randy stayed in the car with the older two.


The staff at the hospital were wonderful. It just took such a long time to get her registered, get the medication from the pharmacy, get the shot, and then wait 15 minutes to see if she had a reaction. One of the nurses said that she was sorry that we had to be there on Christmas. I told her that is was fine. I was able to leave with my baby while there were plenty of families that couldn't leave the hospital. We are so blessed to have three healthy children that a two hour stop at the hospital on Christmas wasn't that big of a deal.

Then it was off the Yadkinville. When we got there, we ate and then enjoyed exchanging presents with my family. The kids had fun being with their cousins and unwrapping presents. We enjoyed our visit there and headed home after dark.

We were just about home with two of the three children fast asleep, when we came upon some cows that had gotten out of their fence. The farm is a family operation so we stopped at the house to let them know the cows were out. I went to the door while Randy went across the road to shoo the cows out of the road and back toward the barn. Unfortunately no one was at home so I took the car and went to the next house up the road while Randy stayed with our bovine friends.

I got out of the van and was greeted by a beautiful weimaraner that wasn't too sure he wanted me to visit. I stopped walking and just talked to him and in a few seconds he relaxed and let me pet him and walk past. Luckily the folks at this house were a part of the family and were able to come and put the cows up.

What a way to end a Christmas Day! Our best gift on this day is the baby who was born to set us all free. Even on our worse day, there is a God who loves and cares for us and promises us a place with Him. Randy and I feel blessed to know this Lord and are thankful for all the gifts we have been given; our three beautiful children, each other, and our family and friends.

Merry Christmas.