About me!

 

http://vimeo.com/45456710

(A video that Lifesong For Orphans made about God's story in the life of our family)

God is teaching me so incredibly much every single day, things which I think He wants me to shout from the mountain top!  So here’s my attempt to do just that.


Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you a hope and a future.”


My life looks nothing like I had planned.  For years, my plan included a very controlled life of TWO CHILDREN, one biological and one adopted.  I honestly thought anyone who had “lots of children,” i.e. more than two children were literally crazy.  This kind of life style did not make sense to me and for the 4 years when Sam and I dated and for the first 5 years when Sam and I were married.  I continuously wowed that “we were going to have two children.”  And quite honestly, I had lots of self-righteous judgement about people who were choosing a different life than the one I thought was ideal.


The old me (the 28 year old me before I had kids) would not have believed the current me (mom of 9 jewels) had we been allowed to have a conversation ;)  It’s hard for me to imagine exactly what I would have done had I known the plans God had for me.  I was cruising life at the age of 28, enjoying the control and the comforts I had built up.  I had a list of expectations of myself, my husbands, and quite honestly God.  He was my God in the genie so to speak, as I was controlling almost everything I did, versus letting Him take the reigns.





Well, God has taken my plans and quite literally chucked them,as these days I feel very little control over my life.  When it comes to comfort, my world view has expanded quite substantially so much so that I really believe that I have a very comfortable life (yep even in the midst of raising 9 jewels, one of who has cancer, 5 of who have special needs).  My first trip to Northern Ghana wiped away any preconceived notions I had about the “ideal comfortable life.”  When you see families living in literal mud huts, their very survival depending on the earth so to speak, I can’t help but be changed.  Every time I take my son to have chemotherapy, and am surrounded by precious little ones who have spent months at the hospital, and will spend months more, I can’t help but be changed.  When my new little jewel came home to us at the age of 2, having already fought cancer two times, yet despite this having a joyous vibrant spirit, I can’t help but be changed.  When I now 10 years later am still walking out the trauma depending on trauma parenting with our most trauma impacted daughter as a result of severe institutionalized neglect, I can’t help but be changed.  When I work with students at my work whose stories leave my hearts in a million pieces on the floor, I can’t help but be changed.  When God gives me a front row seat to the things He has done in my life, I can’t help but be changed. When the doctors tell me that my son’s, “tumours have doubled and mutated,” I can’t help but be changed as I desperate cling to my Heavenly Father for my very breath to sustain my soul.
I’ve also been trained by TCU by Dr. Purvys and her team of The Connected Child, their researched trust based parenting approach being a life line to our adopted trauma jewels, this being something else which I’m very passionate about.


I have to say that I’m married to the most amazing man, who I believe God gave to me as a sacred gift twenty years ago.  He is my equal partner in everything, and truly not just my partner but also my best friend.  We play together, pray together, raise kids together, cook together, clean the house together, and fall flat on our faces together. He also is an adult adoptee, and so insight into the world of adoption is priceless and an integral part of how we raise our jewels and how we live out our life.
So, we will see where this blogging journey takes me.  For today, I want to say thank for joining me on the journey.