Category Archives: Mommy Moments I grew up in a home where we made the most of everything we had–and you didn’t throw anything away. If it was broken–instead of buying a new one, you carefully glued it back together…seemed up the stitch…and made the broken pieces relive their purpose. When Rich and I got married–he thought I was crazy […]  One thing I really try to make an effort to do every year are family portraits. I feel like they are such a tangible investment that I can look at to remember all that God has done and is doing in our little family’s progress. While these last few months have been a bit challenging […] Andrea, He’s a complete doll. It sounds like an amazing night all around. I treasure one on one time with my boys too. xo “Can you try on your wedding dress….and I will chew some bubble gum.” Oh my heavens, he is adorable!  Being a mom of 3 boys and 1 girl–I really appreciate every little thing this princess does…because walking down the hallway it’s not unusual to feel the prick of a Nerf bullet on the back of your leg from one of the boys. I’m definitely not the mom–either by the way–that condones such behavior…instead I […] Awww! She is such a BEAUTIFUL ballerina! Love the pics! We had our girls’ ballet recitals this weekend too! And I just posted the pics on our blog…I have a picture of Jody kissing Caty on the cheek just like that! So sweet!!! 🙂 LOVE HER HEART!!!! So sweet and tender and it shows on her face!!! BEAUTIFUL! 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.  In the blog world–the person behind the computer can share only what they want you to see;). For example…check out this picture—(AKA: I’m such a good mom!) My sweet boy. Drinking his calcium enriched juice. Because what our children eat–is so very important. BUT…what you didn’t get to see—was what was the rest of the […] You are always keeping it real. All that talk about doughnuts is making me want some hot nows!!! Praying that you get some rest after your busy weekend. Hi Andrea – I’m a blog lurker! And de-lurking to say – feeling tired today may just be the natural physical (and emotional?) letdown anyone would experience after the big weekend you had. You’ve been working toward that retreat for months! Yesterday, you were probably still fueled my adrenaline and the need to be all ‘Mommy’s back! and everything is fine’ for the kiddos. So today, was the big letdown and the onslaught of fatigue. And while I, a complete stranger, am giving you my two cents… I started following the Paleo (hate that name) eating plan in January. I keep seeing things about how it is supposed to help with symptoms of autoimmune diseases and each time I think of you and what you are dealing with right now. If you are interested, google Whole 9 or Robb Wolfe or Mark Sisson. And you might be interested in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc. I’m not a Mom but I’m still glad you are willing to be so REAL on your blog. And I bet your kids will always remember the day you let them have KK for lunch! God bless you in all you do! What? You fed your kids donuts for LUNCH? because that weekend you were hosting over 400 mamas at a retreat that was going to completely renew their sprits? Lame excuse Andrea 😉 Thank you, thank you for this post! Ok…that was hilarious! I think God gave us “joy” as a fruit of the spirit so that we can give ourselves permission to enjoy his gifts, guilt-free doughnuts included. Every momma has had those moments & life is so much better if we laugh about them! Praying for healing so that stricts diet will be a thing of the past! Thank you for being real! It is so true that on blogs, we can make ourselves and our lives look so “pretty” and the reader never has to know any different. But, there’s not much ministry in that. Because really none of us are perfect and that’s ok! I easily fall into the trap of feeling inadequate as a wife, mom, Christian, etc but I’m so thankful for the grace of God. I began reading your blog about a year ago and one of the reasons I do is because I have thought and prayed about adoption and I want to see how life is as an adopted family. I want the real stuff, not just a gorgeous picture. So, thanks again for being real and making this blog worth coming to! And MAYBE someday we’ll meet at a Created for Care retreat. 🙂 You’ve just put a smile on my face as I’ve had my share of “donut” days when I was raising my babies. Thanks for sharing. haha!! love LOVE this post. and love LOVE you!! haha I love it and I love you! We TOTALLY have days like that! And this helps me remember to LET IT GO and not feel that stupid mommy-guilt about silly things. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for this post, God bless you. THANKFUL for His FAITHFULNESS …. esp on “donut necessary days”. 😉 Blessings! Thanks for keeping it real,Andrea! I have been so exhausted since coming home from the retreat that I couldn’t help but think of how tired you must be after all the work you did for us! Bless you, sweet friend!!! And I pray that this Lyme’s disease will soon be a thing of the past, my husband went through it and is now doing much better! Love you and love that you aren’t afraid to share your “donut days” with all of us mommas who have them all the time! (: |
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by admin
Andrea- I LOVE THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!
I am not a mender, I stink at it. If you see me with a needle and thread you should be scared!
BUT the heart in this post is seriously what I need to hear and repeat daily!! Sometimes we get so caught up we forget the lessons we need to share and learn. THANK YOU!!!!
I know that you have no idea who I am–just a stay-at-home mama in Ohio who used to be a Bama girl–but I read your blog often and it brings me to tears every time. You have such a heart to honor Christ in how you live your life and how you raise your children. My 6 month old little girl is very precious to me, and each time I read one of your posts regarding YOUR little ones, I am reminded as to why God gave her to me in the first place. It’s all for Him. For His glory, for His purpose. And, I am ever so thankful that He chose ME to be her mama… to show her God’s love and to one day teach her to fear the Lord. Thank you for your heart and that you blog it. It really is a ministry to me. I’ve been meaning to inform you of your encouragement to me as a mama, but just haven’t done it yet. So, I wanted to let you know now…with this post… that I am thankful for you and your blog, and your heart for Christ. My dear sister in Christ, I hope my words have served as an encouragement to you too. God bless!
I love the heart you express in your posts, Andrea. ‘how just because something looks like it’s not perfect, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a perfect purpose…’ This.
And yeah, no one reads your posts. Consider this I am a 50 something, single, without children, not adopting ‘career woman’. We have nothing in common 🙂 And I read your blog because I love the heart you express in your posts.
God is using you in ways you have not even begun to imagine.
-Bebe
This is GOOD! I had to choke back my tears while reading this. This really spoke to me. THANK YOU!
Again, God uses you my friend, to speak to me! I SO needed this today…. just this morning as I left for work, I told the sitter that I had not even began packing for the kids…she asked if I would like her to have them pack their own bags, I immediately said “No” as I do so many times in a day when they ask to do things on their own… I am way too consumed with trying to make things perfect… their beds, the house, the way the clothes are folded, etc. etc… and boy is it EXHAUSTING! I will continue to think of Laney’s mended sheet when my kids ask me to teach them to do things on their own! (:
I love the post- thank you for sharing your world with us. I rarely “comment” but you bless me so much and so often! Praying for your healing, too! 🙂