"That Is a REALLY BIG BOX!!!" ~WOW Along The Journey!

What a shocking~ amazing end to our weekend!!!!! We were totally shocked this afternoon when we received THIS: 

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!
    So the other day I saw where Bro. Clark, the President of the College I attended was going to be preaching at a church a few towns over, and we decided to go!!! Memories!!!

   Grace Point Church is in the scenic town of Woodland CA and Pastored by a sweet family~ whom we are blessed to call our friends! You walk in and you are enveloped by a loving church family! 

    It was an amazing service!!! It was a wonderful message, and God really blessed us with His sweet presence. I know know many lives were touched, and restored. Two little souls really enjoyed alter call, and talking to 'their' Jesus. 

    My Widdle-Middle enjoyed the active worship~ even paid attention while hubs 'daddy-terped.'  We had some sweet interpreters come over, but she was a little overwhelmed so we just took care of her, but next time... ;) Yes!

 So, yes, it was an amazing service!!! 

At the end of the service, before the BBQ they raffled off this HUGE box of fireworks!!! 

 Well, we didn't fill out the raffle ticket because it was for new visitors.... We just felt that it would be better going to someone else... Well, the Lord and the good people of Grace Point had other other ideas! 

  So they called off the number and the first man went up and said that he would would like to donate it back to the church for another family. 

     Then they called off another number....that man went up and took the mic, thanked the pastor and said "can the man with the beard and 3 beautiful daughters come up here and take this? Such a nice family"  I was in SHOCK!!! I just stood there with my mouth gaping as James went up to the platform...of course three excited little girls followed..

    We then went on to the BBQ and fellowshiped with some sweet people. The girls loved running around and chatting with their new little friends. We drove home with this huge box between all of the van seats...listening to giggling all of the way!

   Now, the only question is...   Where are we going to put it? 

   We just keep smiling at each other and saying "that's a really big box!!!" 

We can't wait till the Fourth of July!!!!!! 

My Baby Girl On Your Birthday...

Baby Girl,
    I love you so much! Today is your birthday!!!! You are now 4 years old!!!

      You are such a sweet and loving little girl with a sheepish little grin and always make me smile! You love everyone; you love your sisters, family, kitty cats, and Jesus the most! You love going to church, and you love talking to Jesus. You have such sweet, simple faith....I love that about you.

You are my funny face! You LOVE to PLAY!!!!!! You have quite the imagination!!! You like to play dress-up and you love your baby dolls!!!! You love the play mommy, and I catch you mimicking me in the mirror...You are just so cute!

     I know you will have many dreams and experiences as you grow up, and I am so thankful I get to see it!!! I am so blessed to be your mommy!!!! I know your plans will change, but right now as a 4 year old, you want to be a Doctor, a Mommy, and 'Dark' Vader!

I love you so much!!!!

Love,
Mommy

My Beauty, On Your Birthday

My Beautiful Girl, 
     Today you are EIGHT years old! You are my sweet girl, my helper...I am watching you as you grow, how you play with your sisters, and talk with your friends. You are so kind (most of the time. ;)  ) You are so giving, and you are always thinking of someone else. I am so proud of you. 

      You are so talented! You are becoming quite the little writer, artist, and you are learning to sew & weave. You love the piano, and you loving picking it out of songs on the radio, you amaze me! You are also learning to cook, you love cooking! 
You are so expressive with all of your talents! 

     You love going to do things! You love experiencing life! You are so energetic!!! I am watching that energy develop into a true zest for life!!! The world needs more people like you..you can be a whirlwind of change, and a true light in the darkness! 

    Just so you always remember, you are also experiencing your first crush! ~Oh Lord, please help your poor, old mother when the boys come calling! For now, you just giggle! It's kind of sweet, but I have the feeling you are going to be a bit boy crazy...no ma'am! ;) 

   You have such a sweet heart! You love animals, especially horses, cats, and dogs! Right now, as an 8 yr old, you want to be a mommy, teacher, and veterinarian. You have changed your life goals many times, and I am sure they will change many more~ you have a bright future! 

   I love you so much! You are one of the greatest gifts of my life! You know, it's funny to me that some people will praise your dad and I for adopting you and your sisters. I smile and try to be gracious, but in our hearts we know the truth~ you are the gift! You are the blessing! 

I love you so much!!! I will always love you... 

Love, 
Mommy

Embracing Deaf Culture~ One Hug At A Time

First of all, HEY!!!! Hubs got me me through my login issues...so I'm back! Again..

Secondly, I am writing this with nothing but love, honesty, and respect for Deaf community!!!!! I can never repay the debt of love and acceptance we have received....we love you guys!

I am, Eva, I am a reformed touch-me-not.

I was not a hugger...I mean I would never want to offend someone so I would do it, but inside...no. I have always been uncomfortable hugging people. Okay, honestly, I don't even like to shake hands.

Then we brought our Deaf daughter home and started going to Deaf events...with that came the hugs!

Let me first say, when we started going to events, I was terrified that one of these amazing people would learn my secret...I was hearing. No, I mean really hearing...I was rusty in my ASL, I had a lot of fatigue using my second language (ASL) all of the time, I all of a suddenly forgotten all of the Deaf Culture I learned in college, and worst of all I thought in English~ like really English-y.

I was terrified that someone was going to approach me and tell me that I should never have adopted my daughter...that I wasn't good enough.
~It never happened.

I was loved, accepted. I was greeted every playdate with a with a hug. I was offered support, friendship, acceptance, and hugs every time I entered the community.

Funny thing, I didn't mind the hugs so much...they were expressive...they seemed to say so much that I was hoping to one day feel. .
The hugs expressed a simple message of~ suppport, acceptance, and happiness to see me...no matter how little I knew and how inadequate I felt. I felt relief....

When we went to the family weekend at the Deaf school I looked forward to seeing my friends, and there I was the first time~ I was the one with open arms!

I was not only embracing my friends, but also other moms that maybe felt a little out of place as I once did not so long ago.
I was embracing my daughter's culture and community.
I was embracing my daughter....she and her sister are my very heart beat!
I was embracing life, and my new place in it.
Most of all, I was embracing, yes, hugging...me. I was the one embracing.

Dreams Along The Journey

So there I was stretched out on the beach...cold drink sitting beside my long-chair as the sound of the waves crashed against the silence. The bright sun barely starting to warm my feet as the cool, tropical breeze envelops me.
 I gently adjust the cashmere cover around my shoulders as I am chilled under the shade of a small palm tree. I am alone, relaxed in sheer tropical bliss as the aroma of coconut and honeysuckle drift through the air...I could sit here forever just listening to waves.

Then I hear a sound in the distance...to some a sharp, angry sound! I recognize this sound, embracing, it is the sound of a Deaf child trying to wake her hearing mother~ with that paradise begins to shatter. 

Darkness.
I blink...peek out of one eye as she smiles with that huge grin I am gifted every morning. I lay there as she starts signing everything that has happened in the few short minutes that she has been awake as well as all of her requests for the day. Our conversation filled with laughter, and silliness...
It is in those sweet moments that I am reminded that some dreams really do come true~ 
and this one wants her breakfast!

To My Bubbly Girl On Your Birthday,

My sweet girl,
     
      Another year has passed so quickly! I am watching change a little more everyday into this amazing, strong, leader! You have an amazing heart, and outlook on the world. The way you reach out to others, children and adults alike astounds me...you make me want to do more~ to be a better person. 

  

   I love to watch you play! You are so expressive that even hearing friends and family that have limited ASL can join in the fun! You are such an awesome kid! 

 I remember the day we brought you and your sisters home, you were this tiny, little fireball!!!! Now you are this strong, happy little girl that makes me proud everyday! I hope you never lose that sparkle; I know God placed it there, and He has a special plan for your life. 
    
      You are FIVE this year!!!! You know what that mean?!?!  As part of our family tradition~ You get to go to your  first mani/pedi with mommy!!!! You were so cute!!!!! You loved it!!!! The ladies in the shop LOVED you too! 

We had your party at the Deaf Playdate this year.... Your community has embraced our family so much, you may never know how thankful I am for that! You have made so many friends this year! 
You are blessed with so many friends, Deaf and hearing alike! 

I love you, my sparkly, sunshining, bubbly girl!!! You are so amazing just the way you are!!!! 
I am so thankful that God blessed me with you....and sometimes I think~ just to keep me on my toes. You have taught me so much, and I love you more that you could ever know! 

Happy Birthday!

Love, 
Mommy  

Exercise~ from Punishment to Pleasure

So this is going to a very honest and open post....  I don't write it as a pity party or as an excuse, but in the sheer hopes that it might helps someone. ~You never know, right?!?

So I have always hated exercising...always! I hate it for so many reasons other than it makes me tired and sweaty....
I have always viewed it as punishment in the back of my mind... because many times in my young life, it was.

I remember being a kid and having to run laps for forgetting my gym clothes... I had "forgotten" them in hopes of having one day that I wasn't made fun of  for my size; well, that wasn't my best idea! I remember one particular day I had done something wrong(can't remember what) and I to do squats for like 20 minutes and the PE teacher had a high school student watch me do them as he sat on the bleachers...that young man taunted and ridiculed me the entire time. There I was being called every horrible name imaginable.. head bowed in shame as he talked about every disgusting part of my body while my legs slowly turned to jello with one squat after another... Even as a child I understood that I deserved to be punished.

Exercise as I got older, turned into a punishment to myself... Just as a child hearing "earthquake" every time I would jump-rope. I mentally gathered all of the taunting and turn it on myself... I would quote silent mantras of self hatred as I walked.. I was spiraling.. No one knew... I was the girl with the biggest smile, and just as I had learned to do as a child~ I did my crying in secret...

As an adult it was much of the same... I was ashamed to workout in public~ I mean, come on I'm not going to be one of those people on Youtube!?! Ummm, no!
The few times I did workout it was much of the same..."You are bad! You are disgusting! You did this(get really fat) to yourself and now you must take your punishment! You deserve this...don't whine, you did this to yourself." On it would go...
Watching movies on the couch seemed to silence it. So that's what I did... for years.

Then there came the day about a year and a half a go.... I felt so toxic. I had, had multiple miscarriages for which I blamed myself. In all honesty, my heath play a huge factor in the loss of those precious souls. My health was suffering.. I had become a mother through the beauty of adoption and I was so scared that my daughters would follow my path.
 I decided to change.. Even if I failed.. I would start again.. This time, I would change from within...

I started with water... lot's of water. I then moved to diet... little changes. I started respecting myself.
 Then, when I was ready to start working out... I only did workouts I liked! This was FOR me not TO me..  I played music loud enough that I couldn't hear the voices in my head. I thought of my health..not the scale or even my looks, I mean those are nice, but health is better!

Slowly, very slowly... I started losing weight.

I started enjoying exercise as "my time!"

My girls saw the change and started enjoying exercise.. They loved working out with mama! They loved walking to the park~ sometimes even choosing to walk with me instead of playing... They would tell daddy "we worked out!" as their little faces beamed with pride~ they were my cheerleaders!

I'm not sure when it happened, but exercise has changed. It had slowly turned from punishment to pleasure...

Yeah, I still have bad days. I have times when I don't really want to workout, but when I do, I truly enjoy it! I have a really long way to go... I have a lot more weight to loose..but I will.

Heading out for a walk at the park..  

Walking to the park......      Red Faced! Puffy! Sweating! Loving it!!! 

Photo Credit~ My awesome 7 year old photographer! 

 ~One day, one step, one meal, one minute at a time I will find pleasure and learn joy along the journey.