Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Favorite Foto Friday #19
This week's FFF is of my daughter Morgan. She is 15 years old and I am still astounded at how grown up and beautiful she has become! Where did my baby go? The saying is true... they grow up in a flash, so don't blink!!!
She is the greatest big sister ever and Sophie just adores her.
If you would like me to link your FFF, please leave a comment. This has become so much fun!
Becca & Ella
Holly, Gia & Nino (private blog)
Stephanie & Maya
Rachel's Birthday Angels
Sabra & Sofia
Christina & Aiden
Heather, Kyle, Brandon, Devin, Jacob & Allie
Lisa & Sophia
Becky, Juliana & Amaya
Tracy & Brenda
Kelley & Aidan
Nancy & Victoria
Kerri & Ruby
Kelly, Kollin & Karly
Robyn & Gabriella
Krystal & Elviz
Julia and Her Christmas Blessings
Kelly & Skylar
She is the greatest big sister ever and Sophie just adores her.
If you would like me to link your FFF, please leave a comment. This has become so much fun!
Becca & Ella
Holly, Gia & Nino (private blog)
Stephanie & Maya
Rachel's Birthday Angels
Sabra & Sofia
Christina & Aiden
Heather, Kyle, Brandon, Devin, Jacob & Allie
Lisa & Sophia
Becky, Juliana & Amaya
Tracy & Brenda
Kelley & Aidan
Nancy & Victoria
Kerri & Ruby
Kelly, Kollin & Karly
Robyn & Gabriella
Krystal & Elviz
Julia and Her Christmas Blessings
Kelly & Skylar
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Dayli receives her Christmas Tamale Basket!
I know... three posts in the same week! I am just so excited that I found a picture of my little sponsored child, Dayli and her little sister Fristy (on right) with their mother receiving their Christmas Tamale Basket from Mayan Families!
After meeting this sweet family, I feel such a strong connection to them and cannot wait to go back to visit with them in 2008!
I also notice in this picture that her mother is still pregnant with her baby. She told me when I was there that the baby was due December 10th. So, they should be expecting their little Christmas miracle any day now. Sharon tells me that most of the births in San Jorge are home births assisted by a midwife. Very rarely do they go to a hospital, only if complications arise and by then it is usually too late. Please pray for a safe delivery and a healthy baby for Dayli's mother, Regina. Sharon has promised to check in on them for me and will let me know when the baby arrives.
After meeting this sweet family, I feel such a strong connection to them and cannot wait to go back to visit with them in 2008!
I also notice in this picture that her mother is still pregnant with her baby. She told me when I was there that the baby was due December 10th. So, they should be expecting their little Christmas miracle any day now. Sharon tells me that most of the births in San Jorge are home births assisted by a midwife. Very rarely do they go to a hospital, only if complications arise and by then it is usually too late. Please pray for a safe delivery and a healthy baby for Dayli's mother, Regina. Sharon has promised to check in on them for me and will let me know when the baby arrives.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Jellybean for Christmas!!
Oh my goodness! Remember my prayer request from two FFF's ago? My good friend, Dawnz, who is adopting a sweet little boy from Haiti, "Jellybean", had asked for prayer's for their lost USCIS paperwork in order to bring their son home. Well, earlier this week, the paperwork finally appeared and they leave TOMORROW to go pick up their cute little guy from Haiti!! This has been a long road and their first son is finally coming home to his mommy, daddy and four sisters forever!
Huge SHOUT OUT to Dawnz and her little Jellybean! Jellybean will be home in oh~so~cold Iowa for Christmas!!!
Huge SHOUT OUT to Dawnz and her little Jellybean! Jellybean will be home in oh~so~cold Iowa for Christmas!!!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
New Blog Header & ?
I have been working on a new blog header and want to know what you think. I took this picture of Bug tonight and played around with it in my new free Adobe Photoshop Elements Trial version.
What kind of Photo editing software do you use and do you like it?
What kind of Photo editing software do you use and do you like it?
Friday, December 14, 2007
F.R.O.G. & FFF #18
If you haven't guessed, I have this thing for frogs. It all started 12 years ago when Morgan started preschool as a 3 year old and the class mascot was a frog. Everything had frogs on it... the walls, the lightswitch, the nametags, the teacher's earrings, etc... and I even painted a frog on her book bag. Between she and Grant, they were in the Frog Class for four consecutive years and I was the room mom all four years. I had this unusual infatuation with frogs and slowly they began entering our home through various odd collections.
It was during this time that I was battling secondary infertility and all the ups and downs every month of finding out that you could not conceive a child among the fertility drug induced hormonal surges. I prayed and cried to God to please allow me to have another child as I knew in my heart that my dream of a third child was undeniably there. Imagine my frustration when I thought I heard the word "No"... I was not listening. My ex and I discussed adoption, but the discussion did not go far.
A short time later, I found myself divorced with two small children, ages 4 and 6. I knew why God had told me no. What was he telling me? I tried dating and found that I was finding many "frogs" and no Prince Charming and it quickly became my mantra with my friends... I eventually stumbled upon a stuffed frog that when you wound it up, it played "Someday My Prince Will Come". It had a prominent place among the decorative pillows on my bed and I would smile every time I saw it.
Fast forward a few years later, and an amazing friend of mine had a son diagnosed with cancer and started a Caringbridge page that allows families to keep friends and family updated on the course of treatment and progress on the health of their family members. If you are familiar with Caringbridge, it is easy to find yourself reaching out to many other families that post on Caringbridge. I am not sure how I stumbled upon Amazing Jacob's Caringbridge page in 2004, but I instantly found a connection to this family. Their symbol of hope and faith through their journey of battling Jacob's cancer was F.R.O.G. meaning "Fully Rely On God". There is so much more to this connection to the Duckworth family, but immediately, I knew that my frogs were a symbol of my own hope...
In December of 2004, I was on vacation in Cancun with my mother and my two kids. We had the most relaxing, wonderful time. I was beginning to allow myself to listen to Him... I felt this STRONG urge to discuss adoption with my mother while we were there. As a single mom, I did not anticipate to receive much encouragement or support to pursue my dream (which is a whole other story in itself that I will tell another time, that began when I was 16). Imagine my surprise when I was met with resounding support and excitement. My mother always knew that my dream was to adopt and that I wanted a third child. Unbeknownst to her, I had been researching adoption for many months.
The culmination of my dream happened in 2005... I knew then that God had not told me "No" all those years before, but rather "Not yet". How awesome that I learned to listen to Him... "Fully Rely On God" and my frogs were a symbol to me of His love and his promise to me. He blessed me by directing me to my daughter, Sophia, born thousands of miles away from another woman's womb but fully in my heart at the same time. He knew long before me that we were to become a forever family.
When I started this blog earlier this year, I thought about what I should call it. The frog was the easy part... it came to me that through all the years of doubting whether God heard my prayers, that I had kissed ALOT of frogs... meaning that I had endured many disappointments, many devastating losses, many opportunities not taken. However, He blessed me with fulfilling my dreams in ways that I could never have comprehended. I am not a strongly religious person, but the past three years have brought me closer to God in ways that I could never have imagined. HE was kissing all those frogs for me... helping me every step of the way.
Tonight, I went into my living room to look at the Christmas tree. On it, are some amazing frogs that I wanted to share with you...
This frog was bought when Morgan was in preschool. It was bought as her Show And Tell Frog and it decorated the class Christmas tree for her two years of preschool and then Grant's two years of preschool. I love this frog...
This is my Frog Prince... I admit I HAVE kissed him... but he has not turned into a handsome prince to sweep me off my feet!
Another little frog in my tree (I promise you I did not take pictures of them all, if I did, you would be here a long time).
This frog joined us last year... he is just blown glass and is so funny, something that makes me smile.
Finally, this little frog is so tiny and hides among the branches. My best friend, Susan, gave him to me a few years ago. I love it that she prays for me to find a prince among all the frogs in the big pond of life!
And, of course, His promise is on Sophia's stocking. She is His precious miracle that He shared with me.
These frog symbols started with Morgan and Grant and ultimately led me to Sophie. How awesome is that?? I am so incredibly blessed with my three miracles! Here is my Favorite Foto Friday for the week!
F.R.O.G. with all your heart.... He may surprise you with what He has planned for you. I can guarantee you one thing... His plan is perfect.
Love and FROG!!!!
Sarah
PS... Don't forget to leave a comment if you would like me to link your FFF post this week!
Sabra & Caleb the Diaper Dancer
Rachel with Sabrina
Steve, Amy, Ethan & Mia
Kerri & Ruby
Katie & Brayden with is Papa
Dawnz's Christmas Miracle - Jellybean!
Julia & Her FFF shout out!
Krystal's shout out to Lucas's Christmas Miracle
Laurie's Christmas Miracle - Joe is OUT of PGN!!
Holly, Gia & Nino (private blog)
Heather, Kyle, Brandon, Devin, Jacob & Allie
Lisa & Sophia
Robyn & Gabriella
Becky & Juliana
Tracy & Brenda
Christina & Aiden
Becca & Myles
Alleen & Gabriella
Shannon & Analise - HOME FOREVER!!
Gerson, Lucas and David Shout Out!
Corey, Gabe, Lily and Sophie
Stephanie & Maya
Ellie, Angelena & Angelo
It was during this time that I was battling secondary infertility and all the ups and downs every month of finding out that you could not conceive a child among the fertility drug induced hormonal surges. I prayed and cried to God to please allow me to have another child as I knew in my heart that my dream of a third child was undeniably there. Imagine my frustration when I thought I heard the word "No"... I was not listening. My ex and I discussed adoption, but the discussion did not go far.
A short time later, I found myself divorced with two small children, ages 4 and 6. I knew why God had told me no. What was he telling me? I tried dating and found that I was finding many "frogs" and no Prince Charming and it quickly became my mantra with my friends... I eventually stumbled upon a stuffed frog that when you wound it up, it played "Someday My Prince Will Come". It had a prominent place among the decorative pillows on my bed and I would smile every time I saw it.
Fast forward a few years later, and an amazing friend of mine had a son diagnosed with cancer and started a Caringbridge page that allows families to keep friends and family updated on the course of treatment and progress on the health of their family members. If you are familiar with Caringbridge, it is easy to find yourself reaching out to many other families that post on Caringbridge. I am not sure how I stumbled upon Amazing Jacob's Caringbridge page in 2004, but I instantly found a connection to this family. Their symbol of hope and faith through their journey of battling Jacob's cancer was F.R.O.G. meaning "Fully Rely On God". There is so much more to this connection to the Duckworth family, but immediately, I knew that my frogs were a symbol of my own hope...
In December of 2004, I was on vacation in Cancun with my mother and my two kids. We had the most relaxing, wonderful time. I was beginning to allow myself to listen to Him... I felt this STRONG urge to discuss adoption with my mother while we were there. As a single mom, I did not anticipate to receive much encouragement or support to pursue my dream (which is a whole other story in itself that I will tell another time, that began when I was 16). Imagine my surprise when I was met with resounding support and excitement. My mother always knew that my dream was to adopt and that I wanted a third child. Unbeknownst to her, I had been researching adoption for many months.
The culmination of my dream happened in 2005... I knew then that God had not told me "No" all those years before, but rather "Not yet". How awesome that I learned to listen to Him... "Fully Rely On God" and my frogs were a symbol to me of His love and his promise to me. He blessed me by directing me to my daughter, Sophia, born thousands of miles away from another woman's womb but fully in my heart at the same time. He knew long before me that we were to become a forever family.
When I started this blog earlier this year, I thought about what I should call it. The frog was the easy part... it came to me that through all the years of doubting whether God heard my prayers, that I had kissed ALOT of frogs... meaning that I had endured many disappointments, many devastating losses, many opportunities not taken. However, He blessed me with fulfilling my dreams in ways that I could never have comprehended. I am not a strongly religious person, but the past three years have brought me closer to God in ways that I could never have imagined. HE was kissing all those frogs for me... helping me every step of the way.
Tonight, I went into my living room to look at the Christmas tree. On it, are some amazing frogs that I wanted to share with you...
This frog was bought when Morgan was in preschool. It was bought as her Show And Tell Frog and it decorated the class Christmas tree for her two years of preschool and then Grant's two years of preschool. I love this frog...
This is my Frog Prince... I admit I HAVE kissed him... but he has not turned into a handsome prince to sweep me off my feet!
Another little frog in my tree (I promise you I did not take pictures of them all, if I did, you would be here a long time).
This frog joined us last year... he is just blown glass and is so funny, something that makes me smile.
Finally, this little frog is so tiny and hides among the branches. My best friend, Susan, gave him to me a few years ago. I love it that she prays for me to find a prince among all the frogs in the big pond of life!
And, of course, His promise is on Sophia's stocking. She is His precious miracle that He shared with me.
These frog symbols started with Morgan and Grant and ultimately led me to Sophie. How awesome is that?? I am so incredibly blessed with my three miracles! Here is my Favorite Foto Friday for the week!
F.R.O.G. with all your heart.... He may surprise you with what He has planned for you. I can guarantee you one thing... His plan is perfect.
Love and FROG!!!!
Sarah
PS... Don't forget to leave a comment if you would like me to link your FFF post this week!
Sabra & Caleb the Diaper Dancer
Rachel with Sabrina
Steve, Amy, Ethan & Mia
Kerri & Ruby
Katie & Brayden with is Papa
Dawnz's Christmas Miracle - Jellybean!
Julia & Her FFF shout out!
Krystal's shout out to Lucas's Christmas Miracle
Laurie's Christmas Miracle - Joe is OUT of PGN!!
Holly, Gia & Nino (private blog)
Heather, Kyle, Brandon, Devin, Jacob & Allie
Lisa & Sophia
Robyn & Gabriella
Becky & Juliana
Tracy & Brenda
Christina & Aiden
Becca & Myles
Alleen & Gabriella
Shannon & Analise - HOME FOREVER!!
Gerson, Lucas and David Shout Out!
Corey, Gabe, Lily and Sophie
Stephanie & Maya
Ellie, Angelena & Angelo
Friday, December 7, 2007
Favorite Foto Friday #17
It is already Friday again! Wow! Where did the week go? Please see the updates on last week's post to all the prayer requests and shout outs!
For this week's FFF, I am posting pictures of Sophie and Olivia. Some of you know the incredibly story of these two little girls... born one week apart in Guatemala and living the first months of their lives as sisters in the same foster home. Both babies came home to families living less than 30 minutes apart in KY! Olivia's mom and I marvel all the time how wonderful God was to match these little girls up with the perfect families!
Olivia is spunky, happy and very outgoing and has curly hair just like her mommy. Her family is loud and fun and rambunctious with three big brothers that just love to throw her around and hear her squeals of delight. Sophie is tranquil, sweet and shy and loves being treated like the princess of her castle. One of her favorite things is to crawl up into your lap and read a quiet book or play with a toy and sits back to take everything in.
We love getting the girls together and love that God gave them this special connection. I know it was all in His plan all along, we are blessed to have been recipients of these miracles. Here are a couple pictures of the girls from this week when we got together for a little playdate and to exchange Christmas presents.
Be sure to leave a comment if you would like me to link your FFF post this week!
Steve, Amy & Ethan
Rachel with Sabrina
Stephanie & Maya
Farrah & Madisyn (private blog)
Julia, John-Bryan & Abby Grace (in her debut FFF!)
Lisa & Sophia
Christina & Aiden
Kerri & Ruby
Corey, David & Luke
Krystal & Brayden
Holly, Gia & Nino (private blog)
Heather & Allie
Becky, Juliana & Amaya
Kelli & Kaleb
Ellie & Angelena
Tracy & Brenda
Mandy & Jadon
Nancy & Victoria
Becca & Ella
Alleen & Gabriella
Robyn & Gabriella
For this week's FFF, I am posting pictures of Sophie and Olivia. Some of you know the incredibly story of these two little girls... born one week apart in Guatemala and living the first months of their lives as sisters in the same foster home. Both babies came home to families living less than 30 minutes apart in KY! Olivia's mom and I marvel all the time how wonderful God was to match these little girls up with the perfect families!
Olivia is spunky, happy and very outgoing and has curly hair just like her mommy. Her family is loud and fun and rambunctious with three big brothers that just love to throw her around and hear her squeals of delight. Sophie is tranquil, sweet and shy and loves being treated like the princess of her castle. One of her favorite things is to crawl up into your lap and read a quiet book or play with a toy and sits back to take everything in.
We love getting the girls together and love that God gave them this special connection. I know it was all in His plan all along, we are blessed to have been recipients of these miracles. Here are a couple pictures of the girls from this week when we got together for a little playdate and to exchange Christmas presents.
Be sure to leave a comment if you would like me to link your FFF post this week!
Steve, Amy & Ethan
Rachel with Sabrina
Stephanie & Maya
Farrah & Madisyn (private blog)
Julia, John-Bryan & Abby Grace (in her debut FFF!)
Lisa & Sophia
Christina & Aiden
Kerri & Ruby
Corey, David & Luke
Krystal & Brayden
Holly, Gia & Nino (private blog)
Heather & Allie
Becky, Juliana & Amaya
Kelli & Kaleb
Ellie & Angelena
Tracy & Brenda
Mandy & Jadon
Nancy & Victoria
Becca & Ella
Alleen & Gabriella
Robyn & Gabriella
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