On A Personal Note

adopted, family, Izze, On A Personal Note

“Judge Not”

In December, after being “paralyzed” for four months (and not working) I knew something had to give. Legal fees were mounting (we hit $45K in December) and I was feeling completely overwhelmed. David and I had been debt-free (except for our home) for many years and the amount of debt we had accumulated over the […]
adopted, family, Izze, On A Personal Note

Doubt Not, Fear Not

Loving on my girl one more time Don’t love this one, but it shows me on the saddest day of my life – still can’t look at this and not cry all over again! Sarah’s mom and I saying good-bye in the parking lot Sarah’s mom and brother Alex and I as the reality of […]
adopted, baby, family, Izze, On A Personal Note

Happy B-day Sweet Izze

Our sweet grand daughter Izze turns 1 today!!!! Sure do love that cute girl! And she is loving the b-day present from grandma and papa. Soooo happy to have her as a permanent member of our family!
adopted, baby, diet, exercise, family, healthy eating, Izze, On A Personal Note

Refinement – Physical – Post #1

This is the first installment in a series that will follow over the next many months about our experience of assisting our son Jonathon and his wife Sarah adopt Izze. Hardest experience of my life, but also life-changing. I hope reading about our experience will touch you in some way and that you might gain […]

adopted “Judge Not” In December, after being “paralyzed” for four months (and not working) I knew something had to give. Legal fees were mounting (we hit $45K in December) and I was feeling completely overwhelmed. David and I had been debt-free (except for our home) for many years and the amount of debt we had accumulated over the […]

adopted Doubt Not, Fear Not Loving on my girl one more time Don’t love this one, but it shows me on the saddest day of my life – still can’t look at this and not cry all over again! Sarah’s mom and I saying good-bye in the parking lot Sarah’s mom and brother Alex and I as the reality of […]

adopted Happy B-day Sweet Izze Our sweet grand daughter Izze turns 1 today!!!! Sure do love that cute girl! And she is loving the b-day present from grandma and papa. Soooo happy to have her as a permanent member of our family!

adopted Refinement – Physical – Post #1 This is the first installment in a series that will follow over the next many months about our experience of assisting our son Jonathon and his wife Sarah adopt Izze. Hardest experience of my life, but also life-changing. I hope reading about our experience will touch you in some way and that you might gain […]

adopted Our “Happily Ever After” Begins Today is our long awaited day! The finalization of the adoption of Izze that has been nearly a year in the making. It feels so surreal…. I am overwhelmed with a deep sense of gratitude and feel so indebted to the many family members and friends who have supported us over the last year. It […]

exterior My Own Little Piece of Paradise It’s spring and that means I am back to dirt under the fingernails! I LOVE weeding my flower beds, pruning, and planting. It is my “therapy” – getting out in my own little piece of paradise and enjoying the sound of water from my water features and the birds that flock to my feeders, and […]

family Happy Mother’s Day! My mother came to our “Celebration” party for Izze on Friday night and stayed for the entire party – cleaning up as the night wore on. It has made me reflect on her and her life. She is such a wonderful example of the “good mother” to me. Always, tirelessly, sacrificing for others. She is […]

adopted Side Tracked For those of you who, along with us, have anxiously been awaiting my promised update/announcement promised for the 11th – we have been side-tracked (seriously derailed) and hope to be able to make said announcement on the 29th. I believe the Lord is trying to teach me patience and faith in His timing. I have […]

adopted Huge Update/Announcement Coming May 11th For those of you who have been waiting for an update – please check back on May 11th for an exciting update/announcement. Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf and for the love and support you have extended. We love you!

family My Fam! Merry Christmas all! As promised in my Christmas letter, here are the pics of the family. We are growing and growing! Life is wonderful and we love them all! son Brian, wife Ashley, Crew, and Briley David and I (boy are we getting old!) son Jonathon, wife Sarah and Izze (more current photos are not […]

adopted Izze-Our Miracle Many of you have been following our rather emotional roller coaster ride as my youngest son and his wife have been trying to adopt baby Izze – I want to share our very own little miracle that happened yesterday….In the middle of fighting to adopt baby Izze, Jonathon and Sarah have also been providing care […]

adopted Bandaids Writing feels therapeutic right now, so here are my thoughts today……I keep thinking back to when my children were young and they got an “owie”. I could scoop them up on my lap, wash their cut, put on just the right sized bandaid, and hug their hurt away. I would give anything to go back […]

adopted Baby Izze Update 5 I am not a writer and I don’t know if it is possible to put down on paper my feelings, but I must try…My heart has fractured into a million pieces. Baby Izze was placed in the birth mother’s custody today following a court hearing. Last Thursday, that same judge ruled that to place the […]

diet Week Two Results of 12-Week Challenge For those of you following my Live the Life 12-week challenge – here is the 2 week result:I had a great week last week and am down 4 more pounds! This makes a total loss of 6 pounds after two weeks. I have lost 1 inch off my hips and 1 inch from my waist, […]

baby Baby Izze Update First of all, thanks so much for all the love and support! I have amazing friends and family! We were hoping to bring Izze home today, but the doctor says she is still suffering from the effects of the methadone that her birth mom was on and they are starting her on morphine today to […]

diet Challenge Week One Update For anyone who might be interested in my week one results of my Live the Life Challenge – here it is!I am down 2 pounds (a bit disappointing not to see a bit more progress, but I am moving in the right direction!), lost an inch off my hips and have lost inches in my […]

adopted Our Little Izze! My son Jonathon and his wife Sarah have been married for two years and thus far, have been unable to conceive. This is a brief version of a very long story and how life can be wonderful and miraculous….Sunday morning, June 12, 2011, about 8:30 Izzebel entered the world in one heck of a hurry! […]

diet Getting VERY Personal! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!I have decided to be VERY brave and post something very personal about myself. Not real sure if this is a good idea, but I think there are lots of people that will relate and perhaps be encouraged to kEEP tRYINg!!!! I have struggled with my weight since I was about 14-years-old and […]

gardening Hello Spring!!! So excited for Spring! We have spent a couple of weekends now working in the yard – trimming, weeding, planting, and getting water features up and running again! There is nothing that gets me going quite like the hope of warmer weather, dirt under the fingernails and watching things grow! Many of you know that […]

On A Personal Note On A Personal Note The earthquake and tsunami in Japan have hit a bit close to home for me. I graduated from high school there and have watched with great interest to how things have unfolded since the quake/tsunami. I have always been impressed with how honest the Japanese people are – no looting there! I have read accounts […]

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