Our Family

You know a bit about me from my profile, so let me introduce you to my family.



Ryan.

Ryan and I have been married for 16 years. I've learned a lot about love from Ryan. Ryan is a great dad. He loves to "play" with the kids and makes life fun. He is spontaneous. He is a hard worker. I love to beat him is a game of chess ... okay, so he wins most the time, but I have fun anyway. Ryan spends time in the winter at our local ski hill with the kids. In the summer he spends many hours playing in the lake with the kids and pulling Zachary behind our boat on his wakeboard. He likes to spend time with the youth at our church and does a good job interacting with them. He is the love of my life.



Zachary.

Zachary is the oldest child and only boy (maybe that will change soon). He amazes me in the winter as he snowboards down the slopes and in the summer as I watch him do all kinds of tricks on his wakeboard. Zach also likes to skateboard and is a great soccer player. Zachary has his drivers permit and has been cruising us around. He is doing a great job and I'm proud of him. He watches over his sisters. I love to watch him interact with our youngest as she sits on his lap and wants to be held by him. It is sweet and so is he.




Amanda.

Amanda loves to hang out with her friends and is quite the social butterfly. She likes to talk, just like her dad. She has all kinds of energy and is spunky and fun to be around. Amanda is finishing up her 7th grade year. She likes to read. She played tennis this last fall and now is giving golf a try. Amanda likes to paint her nails and do 'girly' things. She is a big help with her little sisters. I love it when she does their nails and hair for me! They look up to her and think she is pretty awesome. So do I.



Hannah.

Hannah is in 5th grade and is a great student. She loves school. Hannah is learning to play the Violin. It is so fun to listen to the progress she has made since she started less than a year ago. Hannah is very responsible and likes to have things in order and is timely. She is usually done with her projects for school long before they are due. Hannah is a good friend. She doesn't like to see people left out and is very sensitive to other peoples feelings. I think she is amazing.



Grace.

Grace is in 3rd grade and really likes school. She is a sensitive little girl full of compassion and mercy. Grace is our pet lover. She takes good care of her bird, Joy and our dogs, Paige and Maggie. Grace likes to help out. She is great at helping me make dinner or doing odd jobs for her daddy. Grace likes to write and draw. She is very creative in her writing. Grace and Greta play together a lot. Grace and her daddy like to joke around - they have the same sense of humor. I think she is a pretty neat little girl.



Greta.

Greta is quiet and shy when around others, but sure does love to talk up a storm when it is just our family. She likes to go to Sunday School and Awana. She has loved to learn to read better this year. She has a great imagination and a sweet spirit. Greta really looks up to her big brother and sisters. She likes to color and I love to get more and more pictures that she has colored me. Greta is excited to go to camp this summer, like her older siblings. I think Greta is a delight.

The Beginning

Blogging ... this is something new to me. Where do I start? The beginning. Ryan and I have been married for 16 years. We have 5 awesome kids. Zachary - 15; Amanda - 12; Hannah - 11; Grace - 8 and Greta 7. I love each of them so much and I'll introduce you to them more later.

Our family is on a journey. It is a super exciting journey. It is a journey to find the child that God has handpicked for us - The child that is in my heart today and one day will be in my arms. We are just at the beginning of this journey. We have watched some friends of ours walk through the process of bringing their child home through adoption. They are an inspiration and blessing beyond measure to us. I have gathered with dear friends and we've gone through books and talked about hunger and poverty. We have done a few studies with some amazing couples that have taught us much about taking care of the widows and orphans. My heart has been whispering the word "adoption" for years. Together now, Ryan and I are going to take the next step of this journey.

I attended the Christian Alliance for Orphans a few weeks ago with two of my dear friends. It was an awesome few days and I'm still processing all that I learned there. While I was at the conference, Ryan was in Haiti playing with little children, helping put tarps on the homes of the Haitians and cleaning away rubble from the earthquake. Now Ryan and I are in the process of researching adoption agencies. I'm so excited. I'm a bit scared. I feel like there is so much to do it is overwhelming. I want things to happen quickly, but yet I know we need time to get done what needs to be done. I'm learning that strength is rising as I am waiting upon the Lord more today than I ever have in my life. In his timing everything will be done. I am learning to trust that as I adopt God's dreams He will give me the strength to do whatever He has for me - and bless me more than I could have ever dreamed up on my own.