A few photos from March for Life 2009

Peter and John await the march while checking out the horses...

We were on the outskirts of the rally while listening to several speakers and feeding the kids lots of snacks...

Capitol in the background.
We marched up past the Capitol and around the back side to the Supreme Court.

Another view from where we stood during the rally. People were everywhere.
The news did not do it justice.


Different new sources have reported different numbers as to how many people actually attended the march. I think the most accurate would be the Philadelphia Bulletin when they stated "hundreds of thousands." Every other news source stated thousands or tens of thousands. People were stretched further than we could see. While we marched, we could not see the beginning nor the end of the our peaceful demonstration.

Adoption poll is soon to end...

I have had my adoption poll on my sidebar for almost a year. It is amazing how quickly the time went. If you haven't voted, please do so. My purpose in asking those specific questions was to understand who I may be reaching through my blog that I may encourage you, answer questions and just be here should you decide to adopt. So, my poll is ending and I am kicking off my adoption posts. I want to point you in the direction that you may need to go in order to pursue what God has placed on your heart. If He has not shown you that His plan for you is to adopt, please don't leave! Read along with us and see where our discussion may take you. I welcome questions, so feel free to post them in the comments section of the latest post and I will answer. You may even give me motivation for an in depth posting.

Although this is the official "kick off" to talking in depth. I kind of started on Friday when I posted about our sweet Daniel and his retelling of his adoption story. If you haven't read it, please read below or if you are joining us late, click the link above.

I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts and encouragement to you. Stay tuned!

What a Week!

Hello All,
I can't believe I haven't written since my disappointment with ClustrMap. Thanks to 60 Toes and PetersonClan for the SiteMeter advice. I will try to update my site with that today.
Do things always happen at your home when your husband leaves!? My husband was no more than 20 minutes out the door for a trip when our septic alarm started whining. I knew exactly what to do as it had sounded about six months ago. At that time the nice gentlemen from the county had to remove the pump from the front yard, while they complained about the huge grass that the previous owners planted right next to it, only to discover that someone in our house had been flushing baby wipes! We had six months of strict "do-not-flush-baby-wipes" or "anything else of a non-septic nature" rules and then the dreaded alarm sounded once again. I must say that the men from the county were here within 30 minutes of my call. In the meantime I am going through the house constantly reminding all those who are here to not flush the toilet. After hearing three separate flushes..."No, you may not use the bathroom as I had already told you to not flush and you did, so now, this time you have to hold it, as I do not want poop all over the inside of my house. To keep your mind off of it do some push ups." I know I sound like a rough Mom! Well, who wants poop all over the house? I also know that if it were me having to go that badly, push-ups wouldn't do anything to help keep my mind off of it. For some reason it bought me 10 more minutes not having the kids in the bathroom. After three hours we found out that the pump had a broken pipe due to the basket getting clogged from something resembling the inevitable baby-wipes. After much thought I concluded that it was not baby wipes, rather those wonderful, "save you from time consuming scrubbing," flushable toilet cleaners. I think I am at fault. Those things weren't on the "do not flush" list. So, am I really at fault? I think not. I think I will just add them to the "anything else of a non-septic nature" rules and go back to on-my-knees scrubbing. You know, the kind that really gets the toilet clean!
So all of that wonderful adventure was plopped right into the middle of everything else we did this week: helped to open Papa and Granmommy's pool, had our water tested for our updated foster care home study (we have to do this every year and every year it's an adventure in itself for some reason), Church and final membership class, homeschooling ("and this is how you pull a septic pump children"), Ladies Retreat worship practice (I leave in 7 days and get to help with worship) and all the normal daily life kind of stuff.
I am excited about my upcoming retreat. I will relay a funny story from last year. During our session times I keep my phone off and check messages in between should Peter need me.
I was excited to get messages from Peter until I heard them!

Message one:
"Hey Babe, just wondering where you keep the cleaners. All I can find is the Windex and I'm not sure if that will do it."

Message two:
"Hey, no worries. I got all the poop cleaned up."

So, if you are me you are wondering:
1) Where was the poop? otherwise read: Oh no, on a carpet, where?
2)Did you find the right cleaners? otherwise read: Did you use Windex on the carpet?
3)What in the world happen? otherwise read: A little more info please.

I know there was a lot of poop talk in this post. I hope I didn't scare you off! When you have four children it tends to be a topic of conversation in the home. Also, my present week as well as my upcoming week have me a little focused on the next adventure that may be right around the corner!

On a nicer note:
Last year, upon my return from the Ladies Retreat, I was surprised to find that my wonderful husband and children had planted four beautiful hydrangea bushes across the front of our house in honor of me for Mother's Day. They are great! I love you five. XO

To Fill Your Curiosity!

Well, this is what we did!









Hubby's plane has made it into the Smithsonian, yep, his real plane from his Navy days, name and all! We went to see it, take a walk down memory lane and get lots of pictures. It was a nice time with his parents. He shared stories. The docents (and everyone else that worked there!) wanted to meet him, shake his hand, tell him thanks for his service and hear a little about the jet. Even the Lt Gov of Florida made a point to seek him out to say hello and thanks. It was a great day. I was a little emotional as we walked away. It is hard to believe those days are gone. They are a part of our history, a time of growth together, yet separated through deployments and work ups. Life on the outside is different. As a military wife you are serving your country as well. You are making sacrifices that other women cannot imagine and who often remark about how they couldn't do it. You bond immediately with other military wives as you move from place to place, planting quick roots and then leaving a small part of your heart as you pack up to move again. On the outside, friendships are harder to make. Roots grow, but a little more slowly as you wonder if this is really where you will settle. For me it is all about where God has me and what my purpose is at that moment in time. I am here to serve Him. Each move in the military was for a purpose. God held each decision and knew the plans for us before we did. We have watched friends come to a deeper understanding of Christ and choose to walk in His will. We have left friends who we considered in some respects our peers but at the same time, our elders. It has been an exciting road. Only our eldest will remember a faint glimmer of those days. She will remember watching her Daddy do touch and go's on base. She will remember our last move, when she turned nine and her birthday present was that Daddy had to go on deployment. She will remember him coming home from his final deployment. I will remember watching my children's faces as they saw their Daddy again for the first time, in a long time. I will remember it all...

So, thank you to all of you, as you serve. I know how it feels to be separated from your husband. I am praying for you.

Enjoy the pictures...