Thursday, March 10, 2011

My kids

Today I wanted to take a little break from the chronological order of my story I have been sharing and post my absolute favorite picture of all time.  This picture is of all of my kids.


From the left:  Sarah, my birthdaughter - who I have referred to as Rachel so far; Sabrina, Tabitha, Avery and Ashley.

A little information for you, just to tide you over until I can write more about each one.

Sarah is the name her parents gave her.  I called her Rachel, but only until I found out her name.  Her parents always sent me letters and pictures, and as soon as Sarah was old enough I received cards, pictures and colored pictures from her.  When Sarah was about eighteen we finally saw each other.  It was one of the best weekends of my life.  I will write much more on that later.  This picture was taken about a year later, when she came to visit in Minnesota.  It was amazing having all my children together.

Sabrina is my princess.  She became a part of our family at three months old.  She is actually Ashley's half sister biologically.  I received a call one day asking if we would be interested in adopting a baby by Ashley's birthmother, a week later she moved in.  She is the happiest little girl I have ever known.  She brightens up the room when she walks in with her infectious smile and personality!

Tabitha is eighteen now and such and amazing young woman.  I am so proud of her every day.  Tabitha's birthparents lost their parental rights due to neglect when Tabitha was six.  Tabitha became a part of our family when she was eight years old and is not only my daughter, but my friend.  She has grown into a great Godly person and aspires to make a difference in others lives, whether that be opening an orphanage or touching someone through missions.

Averyboy is twenty two and is all boy.  He doesn't live with me, which is hard, but I see him quite a bit.  Every time I see him I want to just hug him and feed him!  He is a born leader and is very passionate. We got Avery when he was nine years old.  I had no idea what I was doing and we learned together how to be mother and son. Avery has been through a lot in his life, as have all my kids.  He has four birth siblings and being apart from them has been the hardest part of his adoption.  They were all separated into different homes.  They now have contact with each other and it warms my heart to see how much Avery loves each of them.

Ashley is my eighteen year old special needs daughter.  She now resides in a group home about 45 minutes from us.  She is very happy where she is and I love that she is a part of our family.  She makes us laugh and loves to play the Wii and have everyone watch her.  She enjoys getting emails from me and is hoping to be in the Special Olympics Bowling again this coming year.

Well, these are all my kids, the absolute loves of my life.  God has been so faithful in everything.  There were times when I didn't see it, just like all of us feel from time to time.  But HE had a plan and I can see it so clearly now.  I am so grateful for each one of these kids, just thinking about them makes me smile. :)

3 comments:

  1. And your kids are soooooo blessed to have YOU!

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  2. I love the picture and I love the descriptions of each one of your loves! What a truly blessed family you have!! :)
    Dorene :)

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  3. What a great family you have!!! And Tab and Sab are amazing women as I'm certain the rest of your family is - I just happen to know these two amazing women and feel blessed to know them and YOU! Love you and miss you girl!

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