Where Are You?

So I took a quick shower before the baby woke up, and as I was getting ready I flipped on The View. 

I don't know why.

I guess I love to torture myself. It always gets me so fired up.

I was so fired up this morning that I wanted to holler at the TV!

I had just turned off my hair dryer so I cannot be sure that the topic began with THIS news piece, but I am thinking it is possible. That is a conversation for another day.

I heard two co-hosts saying that the fight to end abortion ends at the picket line. They said once a girl/woman chooses life there is no one there to help her with that baby, and there is no one saying "Here, I'll take your baby."

And you know what? They are right. But they are also so so so very wrong.

In the past two years, this has been my slow-growing plea to Christ followers... 

Don't just stand in judgment and say abortion is wrong and should be illegal. Don't just fight for the rights of an unborn child. If we say to pregnant girls and women that the life growing inside them has value and deserves a chance to live, and then we do nothing as a community to love on them and equip them (whether they raise their babies or place them for adoption), then what have we done? What we have done reminds me of James 2:14-17: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." We have said you should not kill your baby and then hurray you chose life, but then we have totally dropped the ball.

Wake up, Christian! Where are you? What are you doing to love on and minister to these women? Can you go beyond the picket line?

Okay, so that is how those co-hosts were right. Now, what was wrong about what they said?

The words NO ONE. No one is helping, no one is saying "Here, I'll raise your baby".

And that is simply NOT TRUE. That is a fallacy.

How do I know?

There are couples on the waiting list of adoption agencies all over the United States, couples who have waited months, some years, with their arms open wide saying "Here, I will raise your baby." 

There are crisis pregnancy centers, such as Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest, that are removing obstacles for these girls and women. They are counseling, teaching, supporting, and yes when a woman chooses to abort they are still there for her to love on her and counsel her. They have a program that helps a mom during her child's first year of life. They make women aware of the adoption option. They are partnering with the Christian community to equip it to do some of the same things.

Removing obstacles...let's look at it this way:

Some of you say you would adopt, if it were not for the finances. You would rescue a child and raise it as your own, if only money were not holding you back. And if that financial obstacle was removed, you would absolutely do it.

Hmmmm...

A woman in a crisis pregnancy is asked "If money were not an issue, would you have this child rather than abort it?" What do you think most say? Many would YES. YES, people. YES. What is the difference between your obstacle and hers? What makes yours right and hers wrong?

So yes, community of believers in Christ, we need to be willing to do more than hold a sign, sign a petition, go to the polls, and be smug. We need to be willing to step up and be a part of the solution, we need to be willing to help remove obstacles.

Honey and I have a burden for women "in our own neighborhood" who are facing a big decision and are surrounded, overwhelmed, by obstacles. That is one reason we pursued a domestic infant adoption. And it is why we are supporting Pregnancy Support Services with our resources whether it by money or time. 

It is my desire that our churches will have those same burdens and stand tall in the community among those who are making an impact on life.

And that is what I would have hollered at the TV this morning.

Family Day!

Today Honey took the day off work and we had the whole day with our little (big?) family to celebrate Little Bit's birthday. Our style.

Now wouldn't it just be silly if one of our girls woke up and decided she did not want a donut breakfast for her birthday?! Little Bit's donut of choice is Dunkin' Donuts so that is where we started our day.

This made a sweet girl very happy.

I may or may not have fed Peanut some of my chocolate donut. She may or may not have really liked it and demanded to be fed a whole lot more. 

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Me, Little Bit, and Honey

Oh no! A shark jaw swallowed Little Bit!

As you can see, we had next headed off to the science museum.

Peanut was super excited to be there. She sacrificed a day of naps for the sake of her sissy's birthday happiness!

Peanut was waving her little hand towards herself while she watched the fish. The little hand wave is her new thing, it doesn't seem to mean one single thing yet. Too cute.

Sometimes we give the birthday girl a little change to flatten a penny with. :)

Little Bit chose a seahorse for hers today.

This is the real reason we went to the science museum today. The girls (okay and me too!) like to watch Storm Chasers. If you watch it as well, you are familiar with Sean Casey and his TIV (tornado intercept vehicle). He has chased tornadoes for 8 years trying to capture on film a tornado going clear "through" his vehicle. And he finally got it! 

My cool cats in their 3D glasses

Little Bit's lunch of choice was at Village Deli. All she gets is a hot dog and Doritos, but she swears it is her favorite place to eat lunch! Must just be the "ambiance".

Can you tell Peanut is about to cut more teeth?

Little Bit chose to spend the rest of her day playing with her gifts, getting some frozen yogurt, browsing the Christian bookstore, and having a homemade-by-Daddy breakfast-for-dinner.

Whew! These days can wear a mama out. But what a blessing it is to celebrate our children together as a family in our own special way!

Happy Birthday Little Bit!

Today is Little Bit's 8th birthday. That feels so weird to type. How in the world did my babiest of babies grow up so fast?

She is enjoying 3 days of celebration...

a birthday party last night

time out with me this afternoon

our big day out tomorrow

Since we are in church all morning and again in the evening on her birthday, Honey has taken tomorrow off so we can celebrate her birthday like we usually do. 

As for yesterday, Little Bit had a "half sleepover" with a few sweet friends. I love this kind of party. The kids show up in their pj's and bring their pillows and blankets/sleeping bags. They eat pizza, they do a craft, gifts are opened, they watch a movie, and then they go home to their own beds!

This year we encouraged Little Bit to only invite girls closer to her own age. Because we tend to play with kids the older girls' ages, that is who she always invites. And that is completely fine. But we really want to encourage her friendships with the little girls she spends time with in Sunday school, Awana, etc.

So Little Bit chose a snowman theme for this year's party and it was a really fun one to plan! And easy and simple--bonus!

It just made sense to me to make snowflake soaps for the girls to take home! They were scented with watermelon fragrance oil and made with "Valentine colors" per Little Bit's request. The light pink layer did not show up as well, but they are still pretty!

Soaps all packaged

Another goodie I sent the girls home with was "Snowman Soup". Found the idea, where else?, on Pinterest.

The baggie contains all these yum yums.

The girls each got to make two of these to take home. Again, thank you Pinterest!

These are all the ingredients we needed!

Crazy Cornfetti and Cinnamon Toast to eat while watching "Frosty the Snowman" 

And we already had these snowman bags :)

This sweet little guy was Little Bit's cake of choice (thank you Target). You are probably saying to yourself right now She bought that? She totally could have made it. To which I say yeah whatever. :)

Ah, this birthday girl has a sweet smile!

Little Bit had four precious little guests and they had such a great time.

This afternoon after lunch, Big Girl and Monkey in the Middle went home with a friend until we had to be back at church for Awana. We decided this was fine since we are going to have our big family day tomorrow. So Little Bit and I went to the mall for a special date. I let her pick out a book from the book store, and then we shared a treat at Cinnabon!

My girl is 8 today! Happy birthday to my spunky little drama queen!

The 12 Things in Life When Having a Baby

That is the title of a list I just found that one of my girls wrote.

1. changing the poopies

2. chase them all day

3. buy all the stuff

4. listen to them scream

5. feed them their meals

6. clean up all the toys

7. giving them their baths

8. put them down for naps

9. clean up all the spit-up

I don't know what happened to #'s 10, 11, and 12. Maybe she was too tired to think of more. I know I am!

She Needs Your Stories!

If you have been a reader of this blog for awhile, you know about my dear friend Catherine. We went to high school and college together, were in each other's weddings, and now we are all grown up as wackadoo homeschool mamas! :o)

Catherine and her husband Scott adopted their son Abraham from Ethiopia in 2010. She is looking for stories from adoptive parents about how God has provided (or is providing, if you are still in the process) financially for adoptions. She is putting together a book, and you can read all about it HERE, and I can only imagine how much of an encouragement it will be to folks who desire to adopt but think it is financially impossible.

If you want to be a part of this project, read HERE for contact info and a little more on forms Catherine can send to you.

When we decided to adopt, I had no idea how we were going to pull all the money together. I did not doubt that we WOULD, because I knew God was leading us down this path. But it was certainly overwhelming to think about! I read every resource I could, read every blog about adoption and fundraisers, there was a lot of info out there. But not a lot of GOOD info in ONE place.

If you were in the same boat (or if you are there now), think about what an encouragement it would be to others to have your fabulous fundraising ideas at their fingertips.

OR...you just might be one of those families that God graciously and miraculously provided for against all odds. Tell your story!! Mamas and daddies in the adoption NEED you to do that!

Even if you are still in the waiting process, you can still contribute your story of how you have been brought this far!

Would you pass this onto your friends and family whom I may not know but who have a story to share? Thanks!

I am definitely participating in this! What a joy to share our story of God's provisions with others!