Midwestern Memorial Day Weekend

We just spent a week on the road, part in Illinois for Wade's work and part visiting my family in Indiana. Liliana and I had a ball staying in a hotel and seeing the local sights. She really dug playing in the pool and getting ready for summer fun at Chadwick.

Our time with family was relaxing and filled with hometown fun. Liliana played with her cousins, Luke and Clayton, the entire weekend. It was a delight to see the way they shared and communicated with one another.

Wade and I had lots of time to catch up with my mom and brother during the long weekend. I'm sure it's safe to say that Wade's highlights involved golf and my bro's new hawg. For me, relaxing with family was key.

Although I battled back & neck pain during the entire trip, I wouldn't change a thing. And next time, we'll bring Liliana's helmet so she can ride the Harley properly. Look how tiny she is on that huge Harley!

Lovin' the Great Outdoors

We're so thankful for spring weather in St. Louis! Our family is all about the outdoors, so the warm weekend was such a welcomed treat. Liliana relishes the opportunity to "help" in the yard--digging, planting flowers and watering plants. We wear matching gardening gloves, and she feels so grown up when we ask her to complete tasks. Here's Liliana in the tree in our front yard, just after we watered the garden.

Another favorite activity is bike-riding. Her little legs pedal so fast that the bike can't keep up! Lately she's been doing tricks, like riding with no hands, putting her feet on the handlebars, kicking her legs straight out, and standing up on the seat...all while the bike is in motion. What a daredevil!

On another note, Liliana has been blowing our minds with her incredible vocabulary. And she remembers almost everything she hears. Yesterday I asked her (for the 2nd time) if she washed her hands after playing outside. With a kind, but firm tone, she replied: "Mommy, I already told you that I washed them. Please don't ask me again. My yes is yes, and my no is no." Talk about hearing your own words come out of someone else's mouth! I heart motherhood!

Waiting on God

God makes a promise, faith believes it, hope anticipates it, patience quietly awaits it.
~Unknown

Considering Concurrent Adoptions

Despite perceived setbacks with our adoption desires, God has protected our hearts and minds from discouragement. Yes, I experienced momentary frustration regarding the state guidelines, but my eyes remain steadily focused on God's call for our future.

Right now we find ourselves trying to discern the specifics of God's will. We are certain that we have been called to adopt a child (multiple, in fact) into our family. And there are things we must do in order to make that happen. We've completed our part with the agency (except the patient waiting), and now the rest is in God's hands.

With such a long and unpredictable road--and to avoid being on a wait list later--many families are pursuing concurrent adoptions. As we wait and deliberate, Wade and I both feel led to consider this option for our family. (It's pretty amazing that we share the same zest, because we were in very different places a year ago.) In these situations, the agencies work together to ensure that the adoptions occur at least 6 months apart. However, with the current lull, it's likely that they'd be much further apart.

This is tricky gray area. While we want to recognize our desires and take a proactive approach, we don't want to be overzealous and step outside of God's will for our lives. If you are led, please pray for wisdom, guidance and discernment in this area.

...Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done!

State Adoption Sidelined

Just days after submitting our application for a state adoption, we heard from Jennifer, the foster and adoption coordinator at the Missouri Department of Social Services. I was so thrilled to get her voicemail that my mind started spinning out all kinds of potential scenarios. Jennifer and I played phone tag for several days, so I had a substantial period of time to let my mind go crazy. Unfortunately, my excitement came to a screeching halt quickly after Jennifer and I connected.

According to Missouri's rules, families cannot be considered while they are actively working with another agency. Sad, but understandable. Furthermore, infants are rarely eligible for adoption until they reach the age of 15 months. Regardless of the abuse or neglect a parent has shown to previous children, expectant parents have 15 months to show that they have been reformed. So each baby born to an offending mother lives in limbo for over a year of it's life to see if mom or dad can get it together. Sad, and inexcusable.

Having worked with severe cases of child abuse and neglect in the past, I find this policy to be quite disturbing. In my experience, about 1% of unfit parents regain the ability to be healthy caregivers. Even Jennifer agreed that the system is hard to stomach. According to her, the rule exists only to prevent legal appeals, not to protect the best interests of children. So sad.

I am disappointed that we will be unable to adopt through this avenue, but I'm more disgusted with the system. It's so frustrating that the rights of offending parents trump the rights of innocent babies..and, as usual, the people who desire to be parents are sidelined. It's just not right.

There's my soapbox for the day. This is a setback, but I'm not going to let it get me down. I am extremely grateful for where we are, and I'm even more hopeful for the future.

Chicago Weekend

We celebrated Mothers' Day weekend in Chicago. Wade had a conference for work, so we made it into a long family weekend. Liliana and I checked out Bloomingdale and the Indian Lakes Resort during Wade's sessions, and we spent time together in the evening.

The remainder of our mini-vacation was spent in downtown Chicago, where we hoofed it around town.

We took a trolley to Navy Pier, but didn't hail a cab the entire weekend.

Left: Wade and Liliana in front of the giant ampitheater.

Liliana especially loved the area surrounding the Art Institute. With its gardens, fountains, statues and millions of pebbles--she was in heaven. She especially enjoyed pretending the pebbles were birdseed.

Although the weather was on the chilly side, the sun made an appearance from time to time...and we soaked it up!

Believe it or not, this traveling puppet show was one of Wade's favorite attractions. Of course, Liliana got a kick out of it...but Wade talked about it for hours.

The highlight of my trip was a crazy good restaurant (and my new favorite) called The Grand Lux Cafe. The food and atmosphere were so incredible that we went back for Mother's Day breakfast. If you go to Chicago, you owe it to yourself to dine at the Grand Lux on Michigan Avenue!


Liliana loved Navy Pier. With so much to see and do, we spent half a day there. Our hotel was right in the heart of the Magnificent Mile, so we were close to all of the action.

Left: Liliana playing near the dancing fountains at Navy Pier.

No trip is complete without a visit to Rainforest Cafe! We were all enamored with the tropical ambience, and Liliana was thrilled to be surrounded by her favorite animals.

Minus the challenging 3-year-old behaviors, our Chicago adventure was delightful! The only thing that could have made our trip more spectacular would have been spending time with our Chicago-dwelling pals (who were all unavailable). We missed you guys!

Here's to Chicago & a memorable Mother's Day!

Happy Mothers' Day Weekend!

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The Lion and the Lamb

The following story moved me to tears this morning. For instant heart-warming, be sure to watch the brief video by clicking the enclosed link. Amazing!

Six years ago, a Columbian woman found an injured and malnurished lion on the verge of death. She took him home and nursed him back to health. After the lion made a full recovery, the woman released him to the custody of the local zoo. When she visited him to see how he was doing in his new environment, this was the reaction she received. Love conquers all, indeed!

Diggin' the Yardwork

We're in the midst of a serious yard overhaul. It's been exhausting for Wade and absolutely thrilling for Liliana. She is excited by every new opportunity, even the tasks we deplore (e.g., shoveling & moving dirt). Here she is with her little shovel, just loving the big boys (neighbor kids) who are helping with the project.

Below, Liliana finds a "wiggly, squiggly, squirmy wormy" and examines it. That's my girl!

Four Baby Swallows

The eggs have hatched, and we now have four baby swallows living in the wreath on our front door. All five eggs hatched, and one baby fell out of the nest. The poor baby didn't make it, so Wade gave it an (im)proper burial. The next photo is a close-up that shows a couple babes sleeping piggy-back. And yes, that is bird poop all around the edge of the nest. Yuck! It's a small price to pay for watching this little miracle unfold each day. Now if we could only get a baby human on our doorstep!

Big Decisions

After prayerful deliberation, Wade and I have decided to pursue a second adoption. Our hearts are bursting to love and care for a house full of children, and we are realizing that each adoption probably will take years! Believe it or not, we have already been waiting five months with no sign of a potential match. At this rate, we'll be using baby strollers as our walkers!

Having researched the various options, it seems that the most natural choice is to apply with the Missouri Department of Social Services. Rather than going with another agency, this will diversify our options and allow us to access a different group of children in need. We are sending our Home Assessment Application today. This is uncharted territory, so we don't know what happens next. Stay tuned!