2020

Randy and I have entered the Home Study phase of the adoption! The first step in the Home Study process is a study of our hearts. We were asked to write a personal statement about our motivation for adoption. This was a powerful exercise, challenging us to look deep into our hearts and our histories, to uncover a story that God has been weaving all along. This is our story. OUR ADOPTION STORY My (Katie) mother was a kindergarten teacher for 25 years. During that time she often shared her concern for the children that she taught, and how her heart made her want to bring many of them home to experience the love and care that every child deserved. This planted a seed in my heart at an early age for the many children in the world whose biological parents can’t take care of them. When I became an adult myself, a few months shy of graduating from college (March 2002), I became pregnant. I always assumed I would have children of my own, and was thrilled at the prospect of becomin...

July was a month of goodbyes for me. Some goodbyes were harder than others. Some were expected and others came out of the blue. Some I handled well and others not so much.  Goodbyes are never easy. They often come with regret, with longing for the past, with wondering if you've made the right decision.  One goodbye that Randy and I have been discussing for a while now is letting go of the motorhome we inherited when his mother died in November of 2017. While it is sad to let that piece of her legacy go, that sense of adventure and exploration and discovery, it was a necessary next step.  The money we got from selling the motorhome will help us continue progressing in the adoption process, and show that we are committed to providing a stable environment for the boys. (The adoption lady wasn't impressed that we have had 6 different addresses in the 5 years we have been together, and many more months with no address at all. And while it was an incredibly fun and...

Hello faithful readers! It's been a minute... but I couldn't pass up sharing on #GivingTuesday. Giving is something I feel fiercely passionate about! After we've spent 18 billion dollars on Cyber Monday and Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, it's time to give to those who can't. This year, for Lent, God called me to donate $40 to 40 different ministries for the 40 days of Lent. It was an act of faith. Randy and I were missionaries in Baja California at the time, relying on donations for our own livelihoods, so giving $1,600 was more than a widow's mite. I made 39 donations (and I have the thanks-for-giving-here's-your-free-address-labels to prove it!). After moving to Ohio this summer and settling into a new neighborhood, God brought #40 into my life. Number 40 is included in this list, and it is one that I have not only given my money but also my time to, each and every week for the past two months. Today on #GivingTuesday, I challenge you t...

If you’ve ever looked at a U.S. map, you know that we had to drive through Nevada to get to California from Utah , but we were on a mission for the first time in weeks: to get to our oldest granddaughter’s graduation. (You know Trinitie already. She was on Leg 1 of this journey with us, giving a thumbs-up while Randy changed our flat tire.) So we blazed through Nevada in one day, only stopping for a good night’s rest (perhaps the best of the entire trip so far!) alongside the beautiful Walker Lake, (which appears to be free to campers all along its perimeter... yay!). It was such an honor to see Trinitie walk with her class, receive her handshake and diploma, and toss her mortar-board into the air. It brought back a flood of memories of my own high school graduation day, 20 years ago (20 years!). I remember my dad handing me my diploma (not too many people get to experience that huge honor!), my valedictorian speech (it had something to do with snowflakes--I got the ide...

Arizona wasn't the only state on this trip that contained wonderful memories for me. So did Utah. Randy and I have both spent time in Utah before. We have both fallen in love with Zion and Bryce National Parks before. And so this part of the trip was a fun time of remembering for both of us. Randy remembered driving his young daughter through Zion as the sun came up. And eating the best fried chicken on the planet outside of Bryce. I remembered taking the Riverwalk in Zion and watching a family disappear into the Narrows. Then traipsing through the sandy trails of Bryce, preparing my heart for a move from California to Arkansas to live with my grandmother to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. Zion National Park is incredibly close to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, so getting there was our first plan of action. Upon arrival we discovered that all of the nearby campgrounds were full. We talked to one of the owners who directed us to a neighboring town with BLM (Bur...