2024

Another year older and another year full of growth, change, obstacles, challenges, and successes!  After her first diagnosis of epilepsy we finally got on the right medication to keep her seizures at bay.  She has been seizure free for over 6 months now which feels like a huge miracle!

Molly has thrived in High School, making good grades and learning how to handle obstacles High School can bring.  She is liked among her teachers and classmates and regularly gets awards and recognition showcasing her good character. 

She is in the Beta Club, Theater, and L'Amitie. We are thinking about the future.. she is very creative and passionate about some things. She loves sketching, drawing, animation, and making videos, shorts, or "edits" as the kids call them these days. She also is an avid reader and a very skilled writer. For now, she thinks she may want to be a writier...or a dog trainer 😊.

For me, motherhood has changed from the hectic busy days of toddlerhood and childhood to a different pace of adolescence. The pace is slower sometimes, but the trials, challenges, or conversations are deeper and more consequential.  Molly is so good about coming to me and talking things out, asking questions, and really processing things.  She's content to be in her room a lot working on what she enjoys, but also wants to come and hang with me sometimes.  She would love to have friends her age that live close by, but we've never had that. 

I'm 28 years into my teaching career and it brings me both joy and frustration on a daily basis.  Sometimes I walk away thinking I can't make it a day past year 30, other times I think I can keep on going. 

In the past we've been ready to travel and do fun things whenever we get the chance, but her diagnosis with epilepsy halted everything for a moment. Now I'm trying to pay off debt and save money for the very expensive things she's looking forward to in the next 2 years...driving and college. So our adventures are close to home and more infrequent.

Molly is looking forward to starting her first part time job soon also.  I'm hoping things work out so she can also help to budget and save her money for things she needs. Being a single mom on a single income is hard!

I think back to the beginning days of this blog often and remember the days of waiting...I'm thankful for that time and those days of preparation.  I knew motherhood would be worth it, but I could never imagine a daughter as lovely and wonderful as Molly. 

 

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2024

2023 Update

 

Remember the days when we checked blogs everyday to see if they were updated?

Yeah, me too! Now, everything is on social media but I keep my blog around (even though it is rarely updarted) because of all the recorded details of my adoption journey...now nearly 20 years of history!

2023 has been a difficult year for our family.  Molly was diagnosed with epilepsy in August of 2023 after a sudden onset of tonic clonic (gran mal) seizures, just our of no where with no history of ever having any health issues.  

We had been on a long road trip to Orlando and when we arrived at the hotel, she just fell over and started seizing.  It scared me to death.  But thankfully the paramedics were there quickly and our Disney vacation was replaced with a night in the ER, a day driving around trying to fill the right prescription in case she seizes again, me on edge every single minute of the day, and the worst of all- no time in the parks!

But we made it home safely and a few days later she had a seizure with my mom while they were at my brothers house one night.  Thankfully I had videoed just a few seconds of her seizure in Orlando so I could show the doctors.  I also had shown my mom, even though she didn't want to see it.  So when it happened just a few days later she knew what was happening, although it was just as scary for her.  We spend another night in the ER here at home and were assigned a neurologist to work with.  After this second seizure she was officially diagnosed with epilepsy. 

Since August, she has started medication and has had several break through seizures.  Thankfully, none have lasted as long or been quite as severe as these first 2.  She is learning to deal with the side effects of medication, the side effects of epilepsy, and it's been really difficult to navigate it all while she's also starting her Freshman year of High School!

But, Molly is a complete rock star!  I know I am biased, but she really does work so hard to do things well.  She started High School taking 3 Honors classes and has maintained A averages in all classes.  She has had to adjust her studying and homework habits, because she notices quite a difference in her ability to concentrate and remember things.  I'm just so proud of her I could burst.

Her favorite hobby is video creating and video editing.  She loves to put music behind certain video/movie clips and make a new video.  She is interested in making trailers of movies, shorts, or even complete animation one day.  She's talented in art, specifically drawing animals.  She studies movies (animation/Disney) and can tell you the history of it, the year it was created, if it was a hit or flop in theaters, if there was a spin off, if there was a tv show, etc. She loves it! I really hope she finds a career path that allows her to use all of these talents in the future!

We're really hoping 2024 brings us good health, peace, and protection!  Happy New Year!

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2023 Update

2022 Update

 Blogging seems to be a thing of yesteryear, but I occasionally step back into my blog to make sure it's still here! These are some some recent pictures of us from Fall of 2022.  

Molly is 14 years old and is in the 8th grade.  She's a natural beauty, but doesn't care anything about "beauty"! She's currently into all things technology like playing games on the computer, listening to her music with her earbuds, and scrolling YouTube videos on her iPad.  She still loves dogs and is interested in training dogs.  She has a long term plan and schedule of when she wants to get her first dog, what breed it will be, and what name she will give it.  She's my true blessing in life each day and I'm so thankful she's mine!

I keep myself busy between work, home, church, and everything in between.  It seems I'm always cooking, preparing to cook, or shopping to cook/entertain! I've been teaching in public school for 26+ years and it has changed so much.  I still enjoy it, but am thankful I'm at this stage of my career and not starting out! 

This year I've tried to intentionally make some big changes in my life.  I've use The Bible Recap (app) and You Version to read through the whole Bible!  Something I've never been able to do in my life.  It has been amazing to see how the promise of Jesus, Hope, and Joy is found from Genesis through Revelation.  I've also focused on my health and have lost 60 pounds.  I have a goal to loose 60 more this year, I'm preparing for that now!

Life keeps us very busy, but we try to make time for the things that count.  

 

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2022 Update

Love What Matters

 I was honored to share our adoption story on Love What Matters this week.  The story never gets old and every time I share, I pray that it inspires someone to move towards fostering or adopting! Read my story here!

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Love What Matters

Summer 2020

2020 has been a strange year!  We were sent home from school in March in order to quarantine because of Coronavirus-COVID 19 and things are still very different.  It's been hard four our country and the world to contain the virus and we are still unsure about how the next school year will proceed.

Molly and I took a break from our stay at home orders and took some beautiful pictures at a lavender farm close to home.  I always want to capture as much of her at each age/stage as possible!  She's still holding onto 11...along with her blanket (getting thinner by the day), bad eating habits, love of drawing, and addiction to the screen (movies, youtube, and sometimes games).  She's growing and changing fast, but still loves home and wants her daily "momma time" which I adore!

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Summer 2020

2020!

The days go by quickly these days and I never take the time to update this blog.  I am so thankful I took the time in the early years to record all of the events of each day, so I could go back and remember.  Your mind plays tricks on you as you age and you forget...but I will never forget the complete JOY I felt when I first received the referral to adopt Molly and the first time I was able to hold her in my arms!

She is now 11 years old and is entering the "tween" years!  She LOVES her home and usually never wants to leave.  She does well in school and has a sweet friend group she loves to "zoom" with.  We stay busy, but also try to take the time to relax and have fun too.

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2020!

2019!

It's been a long while since I've been a regular blogger.  Molly is now 10 years old and growing so fast!  She is has a few strong interests:
1.  Horses
2. Dinos
3. Soccer

But mostly loves being at home with her family!  We try to travel each year and my goal is to hit all 50 states by the time she's 18 years old.  She is a great traveler and really takes in the museums, historic houses, or other interesting places I drag her to.  She loves school and is a good student. She is self motivated to do good and I think learning comes somewhat easy for her.  I hope this continues as school work gets increasingly difficult. 

I can honestly say that being a mom is the greatest joy of my life.  I love being with Molly.  She's so fun and quirky.  After 5 years of waiting through the international adoption arena, being on this side of things is such a wonderful feeling.  I always try to encourage people who are in the waiting stage of parenting.  There is so much waiting involved in adoption, fostering, infertility, and relationships and it can be so isolating.  However, once you are through that you can see how God was working all the details in your favor. 

I'm going to try and hop on here more regularly this year.  We'll see how it goes! 

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2019!