Author Archives: admin I thought I’d treat my 2 oldest to night lights a couple of weeks ago. And I just love seeing how they use them…how different these two are. My little girl…goes to sleep almost every night with a book in hand…I have to remember to turn her night light off for her. It’s already time […]  It should be noted that our “Dinner with the Dentons” has changed from Tuesday to Thursday nights so Jack and Parker can participate in their baseball practices without rushed dinner plans to follow:). We are going strong on our weekly dinner commitment with our dear friends who really have become family through this commitment. (Never […] You’re so blessed to have friends like that and so are the kids. We only have one 6 yr old daughter (due to apparent infertility)and I hate that she doesn’t have any friends/family like this. We have friends of course, just none that we see frequently and have children around her age. I’m praying that this changes soon!  Just a couple of weeks ago–this was totally NOT on our radar. We had typical summer plans in the works–Richard will go to Zambia to do ministry work with Wiphan. The kids will go to Vacation Bible School and a sports camp here and there. And maybe we’d take a few little day trips on […] What a wonderful program! Good luck as you bring Tetyana to the U.S. My sister-in-law is Ukrainian and I just passed your blog on to her. She lives in Wisconsin (like me) but speaks fluent Ukrainian (?) and would be an excellent person to offer support or encouragement to Tetyana if you ever need someone for her to talk to. I send her a link to your blog, so hopefully you will hear from her. I am praying for this journey!! So many others i know are joining me in prayer and beleiving for this amazing young woman!! blessings to you! Praying for a miracle. I’m so glad you’re doing this! Yesterday, I had a mommy moment. I tried to explain it to Rico Suave. I think he got it…but I really think it was a mommy moment…and I’m not sure anyone else would understand unless you are or have been right where we are. Our youngest has been going through what I call a little […] LOVE this. I so get it. May we ALL trust the Father to help us walk this journey. He is such a faithful teacher. I am so thankful. This is so true! I can still remember where I was and what I was doing when my oldest attachment resistant child gave me a real hug. Not a “I need to control the situation” hug…but a real genuine “I’m glad you are my mommy” kind of hug. That 3 seconds of real has carried me through 3 years of difficult. I keep it in my back pocket and meditate on it on a heavy day. Glad you are “treasuring these things in your heart.” Oh my– what a significant breakthrough! That was one GOOD mommy moment for sure Andrea. The fruit of your constant love being poured out, even when you felt like your weren’t being authentic. But you were being consistent in what was True, and that is something pretty valuable! I can’t tell you how many times we have seen breakthrough after we asked for forgiveness of our children– such a powerful thing. Loved this post! When I tell Eliza “I love you”- she often says, “okay”- Thank you so much for sharing this Andrea! I totally understand the “yucky places” of the heart! It can be so hard to connect when we don’t feel the bond is as strong as we imagined it would be. As adoptive moms, we also feel pressure to be thankful and feel totally blessed by the child we brought home, even when their behavior doesn’t feel like a blessing. Thanks for your honesty. I was at the C4C retreat last month, and my friends and I had a fabulous time. The one thing we wish we could have had, was a session to discuss attachment from the parents’ side. I was thrilled to talk with and hear many women express their challenges with bonding and adjustment at the retreat. By far, this was the most valuable part of the retreat for me. It is so nice to hear that I am not alone in this area! Thanks again for all of your hard work to put on such an awesome conference! I came to your blog today via SixtyFeet’s Cupcake Kids blog, and I am so happy to have found it! Our family is starting the process to adopt an older child from Uganda and I’ve already had a relative react to the news in the most hurtful way imaginable. The level of vitriol was totally unexpected and completely broke my heart. But after a weekend of processing, I, too, realized the same thing you said here–my job is to follow God’s direction for MY household and love the children He’s led me to love. And that’s it. 🙂 Thank you SO much for the Empowered to Connect link–I had no idea that existed. Blessings to you and your family! WOW!!! What a precious, God-given moment! Brought me to tears. Jesus is so real, so alive, and so actively helping His children even in the hardest of times. May the Lord continue to give you wisdom for each moment. He is faithful!!! I so hear what you are saying! Thank you for putting words to it — words that I have found difficult to put together and explain. Thank you so much for sharing this. So thankful for your example of faithfulness! How do you speak to a friend who hasn’t adopted, about parenting your adopted child differently? As I sit here with tears streaming down my face I want to thank you once again for your words in this post. To just know someone out there is going through the exact same thing as me and my little 21 month old son is huge. I needed to read this and be reminded of all of these truths. My little guy from day one has wanted his way. It’s only getting worse the older he gets. We adopted him at 9 months. The screaming, the hitting, the tantrums are all too much some days…most days. The food issues…I had no idea this was an issue for others with adoptive toddlers. I’m not a part of a huge adoption community like you are. He wants to eat all the time but only things like crackers. He says “more cracker” probaby a thousand times a day at the top of his lungs. How do I find the balance? I can’t give him crackers all day long. I needed to be refueled today. This post gives me the encourgement I need to carry on throughout this day. Thank you. What a great reminder! What a sweet reminder of just how much God loves us. The words “I love you” are huge! Thanks for sharing….I totally get it! Thank you for sharing that! I really needed to hear it. We recently adopted two girls from Russia and like you I am struggling with a mysterious health issue that wipes me out. My four children really get the short end of the stick some days. Adding the bazar behaviors that the trauma the girls have experienced….well, somedays I just wonder what God was thinking when he picked me. It is never fun to see the deep, dark pockets of our hearts. Mine have been a real surprise to me. I keep reminding myself that I am being refined by the fire. Sometimes the fire really, really hurts! Thanks for being so transparent. It is such an encouragement to others.  We’re having a FUN-raiser THIS weekend–and we’d LOVE for you to share this with all of your friends! As some of your know, Rico Suave and I signed up to host a 15 year old (she’ll turn 16 while she is with us this summer!) from Ukraine. She lives in an orphanage in Ukraine and […] Andrea: I’ve read your blog for a couple of years and, while I don’t always agree with some of your viewpoints, I can wholeheartedly attest to the dreadful life that awaits most Russian orphans. My son worked in Russia for a number of years, and he always said his least favorite part of life there was going through the Moscow airport because there would be women standing outside with babies begging the “rich Americans” to take their children. He said he’d always end up crying as he walked past them, but as a young, struggling single man,he was not in a position to do much to help except to give them money. He still gives quite liberally to a Russian orphanage that he lived near while in Moscow. Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to buy some of my favorite products while helping you and your family host this orphan. I do hope the Tetyana can find a better path through life. Thank you for helping her! Excited to support your fundraiser for hosting Tetyana with a purchase from 31 Gifts! Loved reading more about Tetyana, too! Hope it’s a very productive weekend! Thanks Andrea! Got your message and went ahead and purchased a gift certificate for my friend’s giveaway. Not only is it helping bring HER child home, but it is helping bring T home too. So excited how God works! I sent a message to Tammy asking her about how to proceed with redeeming the gift certificate, so I’m guessing we’re all good. Thanks for the opportunity to come alongside in this great race we’re running. Love and blessing to you this weekend!:) Can you give me information on how to host a child like this for a summer, please? I blogged and posted on FB…….but more importantly, I am PRAYING!!!!! 😀 Hello! I have never read your blog before, I just came across it by chance while looking into ways to raise money for our second adoption. Our son is almost 2 years old, he was adopted from Russia. We are hoping, God willing, to adopt a little girl with special needs from China. I was wondering how your 31 party went? I just called the corporate office for more information, and will be looking for a consultant. I was hoping that you might share what worked and/or didn’t work with your fundraiser. Thank you in advance, Sarah |
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by admin