Adult Acne. Why Me?

Here is a little something about me.  I do not take medicine, nor do I give it to my kids.  I know, I'm a weirdo, but I just feel like when you are healthy it is your bodies job to naturally take care of any sickness that might come along.  I would deal with strep throat for 2 weeks before I got an antibiotic for it, and would sneeze until my eyes fell out before I'd take a claritin.  All that being said, when it comes to my face and my sudden onset of adult acne, that's a whole other story.  I would take straight up accutane and fry my liver if it got rid of the 3 pimples on my chin right now.  I would burn my face off with a prescription strength chemical peel and wait for the new skin to rejuvenate if it meant that I'd never see a blackhead again.

I never broke out in high school, but with each child, the post baby acne set in and I have been through 4 dermatologists in 4 years and hated all of them.  So today I go to see a new one because this cystic acne on my chin is about to take over my entire face and then I won't be able to go out in public.  Know what homegirl suggested?  A diuretic.  Apparently when you have hormonal break outs there is a diuretic that blocks the male hormone that your body produces too much of after pregnancy.  This in turn prevents breakouts, hair loss and facial hair.  (thank goodness for that last one because every time I look in my magnifying mirror, I want to shave my whole face)  I'm telling you right now, if this actually does all of those things, I'm pretty sure I will be taking it until I'm dead.  I'll let you know.  Cheers to flawless skin, hopefully.

Fall Denim

Can I just tell you how pumped I was when I received my People Style Watch in the mail and found page after page of high waist, long and flared jeans?  Seriously, all my favorite things in one.  The high waist because of the obvious baby junk I have going on in my mid section after 3 babies in 5 years.  Second, length is a must for me because I was blessed with long legs.  Then the flare, oh how I love the flare.  How cute would a floral, ruffled blouse tucked into these jeans, with a skinny belt, mustard cardigan and cork wedges peeping out from under that wide leg be?  Well, now you know what I will be wearing for the next 3 months.  Can someone please buy me these (they are only $160), and just go ahead and throw in homegirl's perfect tummy while you're at it?  Thank you.

Past 10 Years

This past weekend was my 10 year high school reunion.  No, I did not go.  Just wasn't in the mood for that.  Sometimes it feels like I was in high school last week and sometimes I can't even remember things that happened then it has been so long.  Regardless, I have not wasted any time over years.  Here's a little time line to catch anyone up who's interested.


May 2001 - Graduated from Forney High School
June 2001 - Started cosmetology school
May 2002 - Graduated cosmetology school and moved to Plano for a job
July 2002 - Met the hubby on my lunch break
December 2002 - Met the hubby for the second time at a Christmas party
December 2002 - We were engaged
June-2003 - The hubby and I got hitched
July 2003-We became members of Lake Pointe Church
September 2004 - We moved to Kansas City for a split second and I got pregnant
October 2004 - We moved back home because I was freaking out that I was pregnant
June 2005 - We welcomed our first baby girl in to the world
August 2005 - We broke ground on our first home
October 2005 - I came to work at the salon that I still am still with (Mirror Mirror Hair Studio)
January 2006 - We moved in to our first home
February 2007-Found out we were expecting number 2
June 2007-Started noticing a few little gray hairs
October 2007-Welcomed baby girl into the world
November 2007-The hubby went to work for our church and started actively pursuing his career as a graphic designer
June 2008-Celebrated 5 years of marriage
June 2009-Took our first trip to Vegas and fell in love with it
October 2009-Took our second trip to Vegas and had a surprise positive pregnancy test when we got home
June 2010-Were shocked when baby boy came out a BOY
August 2011-Decided to add another precious baby to our family through adoption
September 2011-Now can't keep the gray hairs covered

Wow, that makes me tired just writing all that down.  It is amazing to see how much God has blessed our family over the years.  It has not always been easy, but it has been rewarding.  Cheers to 10 more!

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

Ever had one of those days where every stinkin' thing goes wrong?  I had one of those yesterday.  It started with me running late.  I. Hate. Being. Late.  It's like my thing.  I'm always on time, if not early.  That probably stems back from having a mother that was late everywhere we went growing up.  Not only were we always late, but my mom drove this ginormous red van (aka Big Red) that was pretty much the most embarrassing vehicle ever.   Talk about a teenager's worst nightmare.  Not only were we the last ones pulling up everywhere, but we were the ones in the obnoxious red bus.  I made a vow at an early age that when I had control of my own life, I would always be on time.

That worked out great from about 16 to about 27, but then I had kid number 3 and all hell broke loose.  It's like in a split second my life went from organized and controlled, to complete and total chaos.  No matter how hard I try to manage my time, we are always late and we always forget something.  At least I don't drive an obnoxious red bus, so hopefully my kids won't completely hate me.

Anyway, we were running late as usual. First I forgot to pick up an important adoption paper from our doctor's office, and then #2 had a nervous breakdown in the car when I picked her up.  #3 was starving because half of his lunch was missing.  I had to drive like a maniac to get #1 out of school early and take her to the dentist.  Then we were late to her appointment because of stupid road construction EVERYWHERE in our hole in the wall town.  We finally arrive at the pediatric dentist and the place is a zoo.  People sitting in every seat in the waiting room.  While we waited, #2 decides that it is a good idea to push every one of my last buttons in order to cause a scene in the crammed packed waiting area.  I start giving her the what for, as I gently hold her head like I am whispering sweet words of affirmation into her ear so that I don't show everyone that  could be "that" mom on the news who's head spins right before she goes bananas.  In the mean time, #3 falls and blood starts squirting.  Oh my bloodyness.  It was everywhere.  He's screaming, parents are covering their childrens eyes from the horror, someone is in the bathroom so I can't get to any paper towels, he's crying, #2's crying, I'm about to start crying.  Can I get a little help around here?

Finally, the sweet lady behind the desk ushered me back and gave me a hand full of wet wipes, called the doctor over to take a look and helped us get out the door with a small bit of dignity left.  Thankfully, it was a minor injury.  Mouths just bleed like the dickens when split open.  Who knew?  Can't wait to add another little one to this crazy mix ; )

Things Even I Didn't Think About

Along with our home study yesterday came some interesting things to think about from our social worker.  It is her job to make sure that we are prepared to take on another little one.  The process is a little stressful, but I'm so thankful they require a home study and background checks before they will even consider you for adoption.  Maybe every person should go through a home study before bringing a child into the world.  There would be a lot less orphans, huh?  I should run for president.  The Momma saves America.  Sounds like a great campaign to me?  How do I always get so sidetracked?

So our social worker pointed out some things that I hadn't thought of once we have our little man in our arms.

1.  He will have probably never had a bath.  Are you kidding me?  Something as simple as a bath.  Something we do everyday.  Something American babies get within 24 hours of birth.  A bath.  The caregivers in the orphanages give them what we would call a "spit bath", but he will have never sat in a tub of water.  This is something that we will have to introduce slowly in order not to traumatize the poor kid.

2.  He will probably be scared of men.  Chances are, our child will have never been around a man.  The caregivers are always women, so the hubby will probably make our little guy nervous.  Fine with me.  I want him all to myself anyway.  The baby, not the hubby.  Well, the hubby too.

3.  Not one person outside of the hubby and myself should meet ANY of the babies needs for the first month.  Everything from feedings to diaper changes and eventually baths should only be done by one of us.  This helps secure attachment.  He will be used to many different people taking care of him and in order for him to realize that we are his permanent caregivers, we have to get him to attach to us and only us for awhile.  Sorry Honey and Poppy.

Whew, so much to think about.  Regardless of all the hurdles we will have to jump through between now and getting our little one to attach, it will be more than worth it.


And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. Matthew 18:5

Home Study is DONE

Well, today was our home study and leading up to it was a bit nerve wracking.  For some stupid reason, it takes a major event at our house to make the hubby and I get on top of large house projects that we've put off for months.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but our sweet little boy has been sleeping in a pink cowgirl room since he was born.  Now let me defend myself by saying that we did not know that #3 was a boy until he came out with a wee wee.  Up until the last minute of pregnancy I was still convinced that I was having Ruby Soul Green.  Isn't that a great name?  She would have been famous some day.  Where was I?  Oh, pink room.  Anywho, he came out a he and we have had good intentions of making him a boy cave, but the craziness of life got in the way and it never happened.  When we scheduled our home study we figured that showing her our "boy" room, that is still pink, would probably send off red flags?  Therefore home project # 257 was underway.  A few things on my to do list were 23 loads of laundry, deep clean the house, make little man a boy room and child proof everything (yes, 3 kids and it's still not "child-proofed".  Don't judge). 

It was so very convenient that the day before the home study the hubby came down with a stomach virus.  Remember me, the person who never gets sick?  Meet the hubby who always comes down with something at the most inconvenient times.  I do feel sorry for the guy, but throw me a freaking bone here.  Poor guy would paint, lay down, puke, lay down, paint, lay down.  We literally worked up until 5 minutes of her arrival on last minute touches, and thankfully it all got done. 

The social worker was so very nice and made us feel completely comfortable with the hundreds of questions she seemed to ask.  She even interviewed the girls and they didn't completely throw us under the bus, so that was a plus.  When it was all said and done she just needed one more document and then we are on to the next step!  Movin' right along.

Off to Preschool...

The Jokester started back at Mother's Day Out today.  This morning was a whippin.  Here is a little something about kid #2, she is a bit indecisive.  The child changes clothes about 45 times a day, takes 10 minutes to decide what she wants for breakfast every morning, gathers all sorts of random things around the house and puts them in her purse and then changes her mind and starts all over.  OMG.  Can I get a little hustle around here?  Knowing that this morning would be hectic, we got everything ready the night before.  We picked out an adorable outfit, that matches, and hung it on her doorknob ready for school.  We packed her backpack, and made sure that everything under the sun was in it.  We set out her favorite cereal out on the counter, and hoped for the best.


 7:00-The jokester wakes up in a funk.

7:15-Says she's not getting ready until she can watch 1 cartoon.
7:16-I turn on a cartoon to try and keep the peace.

7:45-I tell her to get ready and put on her cute outfit that we picked out.

7:50-She still hasn't moved off the couch.

7:55-I start making threats.

8:00-She comes in my bathroom wearing a ridiculous mismatched outfit and says she wants 2 pony tails with 2 loops and 2 bows.

8:05-We have accomplished her hair miracle.

8:10-Hair is already down and ridiculous outfit #2 is on.

8:11-I pray for patience.

8:15-We should be out the door, but I'm wrangling child #3 into his cute 1st day outfit.

8:20-#3's outfit has food all over it.

8:25-#2's hair is redone, #3 is changed into a new outfit and we are all in the car.

8:26-We're back in the house because I haven't fed my children breakfast.

8:30-We are on the road, hallelujah!

8:35-#2 has a nervous breakdown about going to school.

8:45-We are jammin' out to some Pink and everyone is happy.

9:00-School is starting, we are pulling in the parking lot.

9:02-I throw #3 in his room with barely a goodbye kiss.

9:03-The hubby wants to take pictures outside.  Are you kidding me?

9:05-#2 is way to cool to even give us a hug as she prances in to her new room.

Despite our crazy morning, I did manage a few cute pics of my little hooligan...

and tomorrow is a new day.

Let's Get Physical, Physical

The hubby and I had our physicals on Friday.  One little thing checked off our massive list.  Here's a little something about me.  I am kind of a hypochondriac.  There, it's out there, feels good to get that off my chest.  Actually, I've been a self professed hypochondriac since right after the jokester was born.  What is it about pregnancy that makes you act like a complete crazy person?  It seemed like the day after she was born if I had a headache, it was a brain tumor.  If I had cramps, ovarian cancer.  If I had a sore throat, definitely throat cancer.  My right side ached, definitely liver disease.  It consumed me.  Every little normal ache and pain was something huge in my head.

What is so weird about this is that I NEVER get sick.  I'm really a freak of nature.  The occasional allergies, maybe a sinus infection once a year, that random stomach bug that comes through our house, but never anything even worth taking medicine for.  (now that I said that out loud, I'm sure to come down with the flu next week)  I never forget my vitamins, drink water all day and go to the chiropractor once a week.  There's my remedy for staying healthy.  So why do I worry so much?  "Can anyone by worrying add a single hour to their life?"  Matthew 6:27

Since the birth of the bruiser I really have been much better.  Now I have 3 small kids, a job, housework, adoption paperwork, church activities, playdates etc.  I really don't have time to worry and am learning to just trust in the one who made me.  "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." Psalm 9:10

What do you worry about?

We Get More Than We Give

Hey everyone, this is Keith. You probably won't see me posting very much but this is something I wanted to share.

As Holly has mentioned, I really was never on board with the whole adoption thing when we talked about it years ago. Over time my feelings never changed and I was fine with that. It all started to change when we sponsored our first child through Compassion International. His name is Daniel and you could say he was really my first son.

I remember looking through pictures and profiles (hundreds of them) before a Phil Wickham concert and still my heart was hard towards these sweet, innocent children. The doors opened, I went to the concert and loved every second of the show. Phil is amazing live and just a really cool guy who I respect and admire. During a little break in the set he talked about his family and the kids they sponsor each month through Compassion. Now, sorry to say I have no idea what he said that sparked my interest but I wanted to learn more. So after the show I hooked up with a volunteer and we started to chat.

I saw a little boy that was around Sophia's age and picked up his profile. All around me, everyone was snatching up these little girls from all over the world to sponsor them and I kept seeing these boys just sitting there. I knew without any doubt Holly would have sponsored them all if we could so I decided to take the plunge. When I came home and told her we were sponsoring a child she was in shock because I honestly never cared at all before. So every single night since then we have prayed for Daniel and it started to make me think. Who is he? What is he doing right now? Is he sick? Is he hungry? Does he have clothes? What does he want to be when he grows up? Are his parents both alive and healthy? Does he enjoy the things we are blessed with every day that we NEVER give a second thought? Is my money really being put to use in helping him? I had no clue but we kept praying every night.

Then shortly after our first letter came in the mail. It had pictures he had drawn and a letter that had been translated as best as it could be to tell us that "I am thankful for you and I pray for you every day." Man, talk about a gut punch. This dirty, skinny, smelly little boy prays for ME everyday. Me, the guy who could have cared less about him or the rest of the kids over there. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. In fact, I am.

Fast forward a year later. We get letters and drawings here and there but then we received an updated picture of Daniel. I saw it and just started crying. Our little boy was clean, well-clothed, had gained weight and looked healthy, was in school and was doing great. This time he "thanked God for us everyday." Amazing. Our little contribution every month was really impacting his life in an extraordinary way.

Now this entire time we were praying every night with the girls for Daniel and so many questions popped up? Where is he? What does his house look like? One after another over time the kids were asking about him. It gave us such a great opportunity to share how God has really blessed us and how we are called to share those blessing with others. We have had countless conversations with our kids about missions and how other kids across the world don't have all the things we do. What a great opportunity Daniel has blessed us with to share these things with our children. I wish I could really explain to you how much this little boy has blessed our family. It is incredible.

I am not really sure where this is going but I just wanted to share with you a great opportunity to really help some kids that desperately need it. There are children everywhere that need a sponsor to help them have their most basic needs met. Food, clothes, medicine and education.

I have made a link just above my picture on the right that will take you directly to a page to sponsor a child in Ethiopia. I can tell you that the money DOES go to the kids and that everything is done through the local church. Not only are you giving them the basic needs in life, you are introducing them to eternal life.

Daniel - Age 6

God bless you, Daniel, you have made a much bigger impact on my family than we ever could on yours. I hope to see you one day and have the chance to hug you and tell you that you changed my life forever.

Welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to drop by our blog!  We recently started the adoption process to bring home a baby boy from Ethiopia and thought this would be the best way to keep everyone updated as we go through this process.  Since we have been telling people about our decision to adopt we have gotten a lot of feedback.  Mostly good, some bad.  We understand that adoption is definitely not for everyone, but it is for us, and we could not be any more excited about it!

I am learning quickly that patience is a virtue.  See, when you have already had 3 biological children, you know the process.  You can see physical changes in your body, you get to hear the heartbeat at every check up, you get a few sonogram pictures, you know when the baby is active, you know when they are sleeping, you know what is alarming and you know what is normal.  When you are going through the adoption process, you don't have much to hold onto.  There is no definite 'due date' and there are no monthly updates  You are at the mercy of your agency, social worker and government documents.  You feel like you have little control and just want to rush through all the details, jump on a plane and go pick up that precious baby.

One night the hubby and I were looking at a map of Africa.  He pointed out that our baby is on the other side of the world, somewhere on that map.  Maybe he hasn't even been conceived, maybe his mother is pregnant with him or maybe he just got dropped off at an orphanage.  We don't know one thing about him, but God does.

 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  Jeremiah 1:5

God has a plan for that baby on the other side of the world, he has given him hope and a future.  We are so blessed to be apart of that!