We Survived Warrior Dash 2013

We did it!  Our team of five warriors crossed the finish line together Saturday in victory. 

We were joined by Jason & Krista Taekema and Roelof Peereboom.

How was it?  It was GREAT!  What a feeling of accomplishment while being covered in mud and tired from running up and down and all around for 5 km interspersed with interesting and challenging obstacles.

First of all, an important note.  The Dash was held north of Barrie, ON at Horseshoe Valley.  For those of you who don't know the area, this is a ski resort.  So yes, we were running UP hills that were only meant to be traveled DOWN.   In fact, this is how we started off -- running up a long rather steep hill where most people had slowed down to a walk by the midpoint ... yes, even me.  There was even one hill to climb up that had ropes that you could use to keep your footing.  But there were also long stretches of trails through the woods that were absolutely gorgeous that made the running enjoyable. 

The final descent.  Notice the cargo net behind!  

   

I slipped and was literally dragged across the finish line!    

Now, the obstacles and the mud.  Fun!  There were walls to hop/drag yourself over, walls that had to be scaled up and rappelled down, cargo nets to be used to climb up up up and then down down down, pits of water criss-crossed by barbed wire so you had to crawl underneath,  and of course a few water pits followed by lots of mud to navigate through.  It has been a long time since I have purposely run through ankle/calf deep water and mud - I forgot how much fun it is!!  Near the end there was the final descent (thankfully) in full view of the cheering onlookers, there were two lines of fire to jump over and a water, well mud pit, to pull yourself through and then the finish line. 

We were very glad to be done but we were all smiles as we posed for muddy pictures and then headed towards rows of hoses to spray off.  The weather was perfect as we lounged on the grassy area to dry off, rehash the race and relax for a few minutes before heading home. 

We are already planning for next year ...wanna join us?!

Thank you to all of you who sponsored us to complete the race.  We feel blessed by your confidence in us and your excitement for our adoption journey. 

The things we do for our kids!!

April

Still in love!

Successful Warriors!

Creating a Profile

Imagine you had to create a snapshot of who you are with only a few words and a few pictures.  This snapshot of your life will impact another person's life so much so that their very life may depend on it.  It is that important.   What kinds of information do you include?  What pictures best show who you are, what you do and what you stand for?   A major point for consideration while you create this snapshot, is that you don't know whose life you will be impacting. 

These are some of the questions that have run through my mind as I have been working on creating our family profile.  A profile is simply a booklet/document that our social worker and adoption agency will provide to birth moms and/or dads when they are making an adoption plan for their child.  Sounds straight forward, easy and kind of fun right? 

Yes and no.

Birth parents will generally receive a number of family profiles that they can peruse before they choose a family to adopt their child.   I am not sure how many families are on the waiting list at our agency but I do know that there are more families than just us.  So, creating a profile becomes a big deal.  This profile is a birth parents' snapshot of our life.   This is the only information they will have access to in order to give us an incredible gift, a child.  Their child.  Whew -- tall order. 

What would I be looking for if I was making a plan for my child? 

The profile needs to be honest and straightforward - no glamorizing or stretching the truth as someday this birth parent will be part of our lives and will see us in our 'natural habitat'.  The profile also needs to show her why our family is the family she wants and needs for her child.   We want her to see how much fun we have and how much we love each other.

The big question basically is why should a birth parent choose us?   

So, I've been writing, importing pictures and digitally scrapbooking our life into twelve pages.  In doing so, I've realized that God has given me so much.   He has given me a husband who not only is a great hubby but an amazing father.  He has given me two great kids.  They keep me hopping but goodness, they make me laugh!  He has given me extended family and friends that bend over backwards to love, support, pray and help whenever we need it.  And He has given me a home and community to call my own.  God is so good and I am so excited to share all this good stuff with not only another child but with his/her birth parents as well.  

Again, God has shown me His love, guidance and faithfulness through this step of the process.  

Thankful. 

April 

Josh & Jude enjoying the beach. 

April & Kailyn at the zoo.

I'm So Glad I Have Two of My Own (so far!)

After reading a friend's blog (check it out here: www.addingaburden.com), I am inspired to share my reflections on a question that has been asked of me on occasion over the past two years -- since our announcement and arrival of our son: J-man, Jude-bug, Jude.  I have thought a lot about it.    

Here's the question: "Aren't you so glad that you now have one of your own?"

What am I to make of this question?  My reaction, so as not to cause discomfort or tension, is to give the answer the questioner is expecting -- namely, YES.  Of course I am so glad to have one of my own. 

But wait a minute ... this is a loaded question.  My inner thoughts, the ones less spoken, immediately think about Kailyn.  The series of questions runs something like this ... 

* Did she hear this question and more importantly, my answer? 
* Does she think she is not "one of my own"? 
* Is she less my own child than Jude is simply because I carried him in my womb and not her?  

Then those thoughts go bigger ... 

* Does God consider me "his own" child even though I am adopted by the blood of His son?
* Do I miss out on the benefits of being part of the family of God because I am adopted by my heavenly Father?

A relative of Josh asked me to answer the following question honestly: "The first time you held each of your children, did it feel different?"  My answer was simply, "No."  I thank God for this.  The first time I held Kailyn I felt immediate love, adoration, intense joy and giddiness -- here was my daughter.  The first time I held Jude, I felt immediate love, adoration, intense joy and giddiness (with a touch of relief that labour was finally over!) -- here was my son.  I understand that this is not the case for all mothers, both biological and adoptive, but I can truly and honestly say that God gave me this gift of unconditional love for my children that poured out of me the first second I laid my eyes on each of my kiddos.  

They are mine. They are gifts straight from the hand of God.  They are MY OWN.   

And I truly believe that when God looks down on me, He sees me as HIS OWN too.  

Blessings, 
April

How's the adoption stuff going?

This is a question that many of you have asked so I thought I'd answer it en masse.  

We are feeling really good about our progress thus far.  We are almost done our homestudy and hope to formalize our registration with our agency this summer.  Ideally we will be on the active waiting list at our agency sometime in the fall.  This means that birthparents will be able to view our profile as part of their adoption planning.  Hopefully one of these birthparents will choose us as the family to raise their child and so the ball will continue to roll. 

Many of you have asked how long the process takes.  There is no answer to this question.  We could be chosen by a birthparent right away or it might be a year or two.  We know that this part of the process is tough.  It was tough while waiting for Kailyn and we know that it will most likely be tough this time too.  But we also know that God has a child for us.  We don't know anything about this child or his/her birthparent but we know that God is going to use them to bless us and their child.  

In the meantime, we continue to go with the flow.  Summer vacation has arrived and I have decided not to return to work in the fall which means I am officially a stay-at-home-mom again.  I am so thankful that this is possible for us.  We have lots of plans for the summer ... splash pad trips, backyard fun, camping, trailer visits (aka "funny house" according to Kailyn), a trip to Alberta to visit Josh's family and my sister, Kerissa, is coming home from Australia for a few weeks.  Summer will be packed but it is going to be great.  We are incredibly blessed. 

We are getting excited for the Warrior Dash and can't wait to post pictures of the event.  Please consider sponsoring us to complete the dash.  Josh thinks that his theme song is going to be about waiting for me (Mumford and Sons).  

I doubt it :)

See my previous post for more information on the Dash. 

Blessings, 

April

Sponsor Us for the Warrior Dash!!

Yes, Josh and I are running in the Warrior Dash.  For those of you who know what it is, I know you think we are crazy.  For those of you who are wondering what it is, in a nutshell, a 
5 km mud obstacle course.  check it out here: www.warriordash.com.  Then, tell us we're crazy!! 

We heard about this race last summer and we both thought it might be fun to do something like that ... someday.  When we heard it advertised again for this summer we decided to go for it.  We are running with a small group of six of us (all equally crazy!) and we are very excited.  We will be running on July 20 up near Barrie.

We have decided that this would be a fun opportunity for a fundraiser for our adoption.  Who doesn't want to see Josh covered in mud and thoroughly exhausted from trying to catch up to me during the race?  Just joking, Josh -- kind of.  We have bets going as to who will win even though we plan to cross the finish line as a team.  

                 So, how can YOU join the fun?  

1. Check out the link to see what kinds of obstacles and challenges we will be completing.

2. If you want to sponsor us to complete the race, send me an email with your name, address and donation amount.  We will verify your donation and get you on our list. 

3. On race day, we have a friend, Kristin, who will be doing her best to photograph us before/during/after  the race.  She was actually supposed to be running with us IN the race but to quote her husband, "Some people will do anything to get out of running the Warrior Dash" (she is pregnant!).   Check out her blog here: www.kristinpeereboomphotography.blogspot.ca. 

4. Complete your sponsorship and send us your donation via cheque, cash or using the Paypal button at the right side of this page.

If you have any questions or concerns about our mental health, get a hold of one of us.  We'll assure you that we'll be fine and that we're actually very excited about the event.  

The things we do for our kids! 

April

ADOPT Event Reflections

Yesterday Josh and I had the opportunity to attend an ADOPT event in London.  It was similar to the A.R.E. that is held in Toronto twice yearly.  A.R.E. stands for Adoption Resource Exchange.  These events are for families who are looking to adopt a child and for the various Children's Aid Societies in Ontario to present the children they have available.  The children range in age from infants to teenagers some with disabilities and all without forever families. 

The ADOPT event that we attended yesterday was a regional A.R.E.  When we arrived, we registered and went to a room where they had short videos of most of the children.  The videos provided basic information about the child -- name, age, interests and what kind of family they would like to be in.  They often provided information about their academic success thus far and their personality.  There were about thirty children being profiled so it took a while to watch all the videos.  Upstairs they had social workers from the different agencies ready to answer questions and provide more information if necessary.  It was a well organized event. 

My feelings about attending are all over the place.  We've really been praying that God would keep our eyes and hearts open to whatever child he has planned for us.  We don't know who that child is or what his/her needs are at this point but we don't want to miss the boat.  I was excited to go yesterday and part of me wondered if I would feel some sort of instant connection with a child in a video or on one of the handouts.  I wondered if perhaps we would go home, contact our practitioner and get the show on the road.  I wondered if I would meet my child (or at least see a picture of him/her).  

None of these things happened for me.  So, now I am left wondering again ... am I praying the right prayer? Am I desiring the right thing (a baby as opposed to an older child)?  Am I being selfish or over-protective of my family as it is right now?  These are questions that I never thought I'd ask of myself or of God.

I hope that every child that was presented yesterday is able to belong to a forever family soon, really soon.  My heart aches for all the things they have had to experience in their short lives and their innate beauty and desire to belong.  My heart weeps for these children.   Maybe your heart does too ... maybe you are in a position to do something for one of these precious little ones. 

I wanted that family to be mine but the answer, at least for right now, is no.  Just wait.  Wait.
 
Waiting, 

April

A Glimpse into Kailyn's Adoption

Thanks so much for all your support thus far.  I am realizing that many of our new friends, those that didn't travel the adoption road with us the first time, don't really know how this whole adoption process works.  In response, I thought I'd share a few things about Kailyn's adoption to give you an glimpse. 

Let me say first though that the Jacob Chen video I posted in a previous post is very close to how it happened for us.  So -- if you haven't watched it yet, check it out.  It will make your heart happy. 

So, Kailyn's adoption.   I must give you a heads up -- this is partly mine and Josh's story and experience but it is also Kailyn's story.  There are many details that we don't share about her adoption because we feel that when she is old enough and starts asking her own questions, that she should be the first to know the answers.  She then can share her story with whoever she wants.  We want to respect her story and her history.  With that said, you can always ask but we may choose not to answer -- our choosing not to answer is not meant to be offensive, simply respecting our daughter. 

For our first adoption, we chose to register and complete a domestic private adoption with Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids, MI.  They are a large agency with a number of different services.  In March 2008 we began exploring adoption.  We soon were matched with a social worker or adoption practitioner to begin the homestudy process.  It was much the same as we are experiencing here.  Lots of questions, interviews, reference checks, finance checks, and home visits.  We were approved for adoption in the summer of 2008 (the summer we spent in Wallaceburg!).  This was a big deal for us -- it was exciting to finally be able to share that we were "pregnant on paper".  Of course, we knew it might be a long road until we held our own child but it was a step in the process.  During that summer, I painstakingly created a family profile.  This was the document that potential birthparents would be perusing as they decided on a family to raise their child.  A daunting task on both ends. 

When we returned to Michigan that September we often received emails from our social worker with mini profiles of birth moms who were interested in looking at our profile.  We prayed about each one and almost always said yes (there were lots of criteria on both ends to consider).  This meant that the birth mom had the option of choosing us.  This happened numerous times from September until May.  This was a long and difficult road as we waited and waited and waited.  Another Christmas passed childless as did my birthday, baby showers for other women, births of other people's babies, baptisms for other families and Mother's Day.  We wondered why God was making us wait so long.  But then the day came ... (pause, tears as I remember with joy the phone message!)

A message from our social worker that, in a nutshell, said, "Clear your schedule for tomorrow because you are bringing home your daughter."  WHAT?!  A daughter.  I am a mom. Thank you God!  

That night was a blur ... phone calls to our parents to tell them they were grandparents to a beautiful baby girl (we knew she would be gorgeous -- she was our child after all!), shopping (we really had only a playpen, no clothes, no diapers, no wipes, nothing! it was a good shopping trip) and sleeplessness!!  Tomorrow we would meet our daughter ... and her birth mom.  What joy and trepidation as we tried to prepare.  How do you prepare mentally, spiritually and emotionally to meet a a woman who is giving you a priceless gift and to meet the baby you've been praying and preparing for?  I don't know that answer. 

Finally we were given the go ahead to head to the hospital to meet our daughter and the rest is history!!  There were many more steps to complete the process but they all seemed so minor after holding Kailyn that first time.  

Four years later I still tear up at the memory of meeting her the first time.  She was, and still is, beautiful.  She is my daughter.
  

Our first family picture.