Two Years Home - 50 Years Here

Alex and Anna have been home with us for two years as of today. I sometimes think about their birthmother and wonder if she thinks of them. I do wonder. I sure know my kids wonder.

I've been on this earth 50 years as of today. I received many well wishes from friends, cousins and second cousins. However, I didn't even receive a phone call from my father or either of my brothers. It stings. Still, all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). God used that sting to remind me of the loss my two youngest children live every day, even on days they are not fully aware of that loss.

The blessing I received -- the whisper from God we're all supposed to be listening for all the time -- showed up like this: a hug and a kiss from my beautiful gift of a daughter as she said, "Goodnight, Mommy. Happy birthday!"

New Ventures & Beginnings

Blogging hasn't been a priority for me in quite some time. Still, I am very thankful for the friends and followers of my blog, including my former blog about our family's adoption and adjustment to adding two new older children to our tribe. I wrote in an earlier post that life just becomes life after a while. Things are different, but there is a new normal we settle into and we're no longer so much an "adoptive" family as we are "just" a family.

Celebrate Family!

from Signature HomeStyles

All families have their own joys and challenges. Our challenges are quite different than some others, yet quite similar to some we've gotten to know these last four or five years. Alex struggles with anger and attachment. Anna struggles with impulsive behaviors. Both struggle from the effects of post trauma stress and are diagnosed FAE/FAS, PTSD and SED. We have a new alphabet and we know all the definitions. Still, for us, it is normal. It's hard to find something to write about on a consistent basis.

School will begin again in just a couple of weeks. Andrew, Alex and Anna start school again on August 13th. Each child will have the new beginning of a new grade, new teachers and even a mix of new classmates. Andrew have the change of being the only one of our older boys left in high school and will drive himself to school for the first time. Alex will have the on-going support of his 504 plan and his "safe person" at school (his ELL teacher). Yet, the change in grade and teachers is very upsetting to him. Anna will have the change of a possible IEP for gifted students and a new 504 plan. There will be familiar things for each kid, but for each kid there will be a new adventure and a new beginning.

Matt will have the very new experience of beginning college. (I still cannot believe he is old enough to have graduated high school and go to college!) Joe will begin a new adventure in his first apartment as he attends a new school in this, his junior year. Michael will finish the coming school year as a college graduate, preparing for marriage. All new.

New ventures and beginnings are simply a part of life - a part of growing. Thank God for them!

Sigature HomeStyles Fall/Winter 2009-2010 Catalog

I have begun a new venture myself. I am adding another "job" to my schedule as I begin my independent business as a representative with Signature HomeStyles. I'm excited about this new beginning, that is still somewhat familiar to me. (I was an upper-level manager in another home show company when the older four boys were little.) There is such excitement as I begin this business and I have so much to learn - and relearn! Even today, I had the priviledge of attending a company-sponsored "Success Seminar" close to home. Right from the start, I am excited with the support and training I have prayed for before making the decision to sign my representative's agreement. Right from the start, I am excited, also, to represent a product I can be proud to sell and a hostess program I believe cannot be matched.

If I sound like I'm selling, I suppose I am. This new beginning is something I want to share with everyone. So, there will be another new venture along with this: another blog!

"Wait a minute, Beth! You don't even write on this blog very much!"

Okay, I hear you on that one. But remember what I said above? Our family is "just" a family now. There are a few things here and there that are blog worthy, so I write as they come up. But, I just don't have the material to write every day here. My new blog will concentrate on ideas, promotions and support for my friends interested in Signature HomeStyles, whether it is as a supportive friend, customer, hostess, long-distance catalog hostess, or even as a fellow representative.

Pumpkin Vase & Wheat Berry Sprays (page 29)

Signature HomeStyles

The new blog is up and I'll add more to it over the next several days. In the mean time, take a look at my Signature HomeStyles web site. Our catalog is there, and there's even a big sale posted there. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to talk to me about anything on the site or in our catalog!

Birth Days

A new baby arrived into our extended family today. She was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches long. Her birth made my brother a grandfather and his wife a grandmother. It made my very young niece a mom. I am now a great aunt (or grandaunt, depending upon your local).

The circumstances surrounding this baby's birth are not story-book perfect. Her parents are very young and neither has a good education, nor a job that can support the family. The father tried to enter the military but was told he had to lose 30 pounds. On the 4th of July, his first plate of food contained enough calories for three men. Our extended family worries for this new family. They do not have their own home, the finances it takes to raise a family, a relationship with God, nor the life experience it takes to raise a child in today's world. This baby's entrance into the world is not unlike the birth days of so many babies in the world today. Still, this baby is as beautiful as anyone can imagine, and she is loved. That, thankfully, is very different than it is for some others.

I received an email from a young Christian friend earlier today. She'd read my post about "Pastor Michael." They are expecting a child soon and she blessed me by telling me the post was a good reminder to pray over her own child -- to be mindful of the words she speaks over that child because she desires for her baby to grow in grace and wisdom and knowledge of the Lord, just as I desire for my children.

I am not the optimist I wish I could be. Joy in the Lord does not come easily for me. I relate much better to Christ's pain, unfortunately. It is not my natural tendency to look past obstacles to see the greater goal. I tend to focus on the detail, even if the detail is often distracting. It is a great strength and a great weakness.

For this new great-niece of mine, however, I am trying very hard to look toward the greater purpose for her life -- to God's purpose for her life. I am thankful for her birth even as I wish her circumstances were different. I have a new hope for her parents and their Eternity because I know a child can change a heart. So, I pray over my niece and the baby's father for the HOPE that is in Christ. I pray they can come to know that and develop a solid foundation that will make their marriage of circumstance a marriage of lifelong commitment. My prayer over my great-niece is for her to come to know the Lord and to serve Him with her whole heart, despite all the obstacles that would appear to already be part of her very new life. I am confident in the love I know her mother has for her, as well as the care her grandparents are prepared to provide for her. Most importantly, I am confident in God's love for her, because He loved her before any of us ever knew about her and loves her far more than any of us ever can.

Thank you, Father.