Spring Break 2011

We went to Winter Park, Colorado, this year for spring break with 24 teenagers, college students and adults from church. It was an AMAZING trip!! We had a wonderful time together skiing. Driving through Kansas was rough! So flat and a bit depressing...we saw lots of tumbleweeds! Mountains in the distance...

Taking a break on the first day. Scottie was so good and patient with me on the first day! I hadn't been skiing since high school and was a little rusty. He helped me so much!! Henry was in snowboard school all day that first day.

Scottie and I really enjoyed skiing together!! We've been together for over 17 years, but had never been skiing with each other!

We stayed at The Vintage Hotel which was a gondola ride from Winter Park Village. It was very nice and I would highly recommend it!

Henry had a fold out couch bed and loved it!! Our room had a fireplace and a kitchenette...perfect!! They also provided a locker for us to store our ski stuff at night.

Hittin' the slopes with my boys!! This was the last day we skied. It was snowy all day and windy. Made for rough conditions, but we still had a great time together.

Snowboard champ!! Henry really did great. He picked up snowboarding pretty quick and said he loved it and can't wait to go back! We are so proud of him!!

Gondola ride from our hotel to the village.

Tunnel on Village Way

What a great trip we had!! I can't wait to go skiing again - I forgot how much I enjoyed it!!

Our Adoption Journey

Our adoption journey officially began on Monday, January 17th, and an informational meeting. It unofficially began much earlier than that. Mid-way through the meeting I looked at Scottie and said, "We are exactly where we are supposed to be." I just felt in my spirit that it was right. And I still feel that way.

We have been praying for several years for God's direction for our family. After cancer, a miscarriage and not knowing if a successful pregnancy is even possible, we began seeking God's will believing He desired for us to have more children. In November, we sensed Him leading us to adoption. Shortly after, the C.A.L.L. started in our area. While we have considered foreign adoption, we feel there is such a huge local need and decided to work with DCFS through the C.A.L.L. We have completed our PRIDE training and have our paperwork nearly done. We have our home study scheduled for next Friday and will complete CPR training on April 9th. The only thing left after that is a final DCFS walk through and our home will be open.
When we began our journey we planned to go "adopt only." We have the option to foster, foster to adopt or adopt only. As we went through training, we began to reconsider foster to adopt. Our trainers said it is typically the fastest way to go, but as foster parents, the goal is reunification of the child with their birth parents. So that means we could have a child or children in our home and have to give them back. At first we worried about Henry getting too attached and not understanding having to return a child to their parents. We ultimately decided we should foster to adopt and have a real peace about that decision. We have talked to Henry and explained that we may not get to adopt the first child we have in our home. We may only have them to love for a little while and have to give them back. He seems ok with this. Scottie asked him today if he wants a brother or a sister. He replied, "I would like one of each!" We feel we could take one child or a sibling group of 2.

So, the journey continues. Every day we are a little closer to the child God has for us. I pray every day for my children. For the family of the child. For God's direction. We have such a peace as we travel this road. We know there will be bumps ahead and this is not an easy journey, but are so excited to see what God has planned for our family.