Circumstance Does Not Define Happiness

I have learned so much since Cory and I have been researching adoption. Especially since we have placed our focus on Ethiopia. I have come across so many wonderful sites. I've actually listed a new website to my favorites list to the right. It's a blog for Children's Hope International. They have several favorites on their list that are amazing also. One of the posts was "I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me". What an amazing post! It makes you seen things differently. When most think of Africa, they think about starvation, aids, child soldiers, genocide, sex slaves and orphans. Thoughts naturally turn to "how can I help and make a difference". They have so little and we have so much. It's true, there are many tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. However, this post talks about how we shouldn't buy into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. The person who wrote the post talks about finding the truth. The truth is, in Africa she found hearts full of victory, indomitable spirits. In a place where despair should thrive, she found adults dancing and singing, children playing soccer with a ball crafted of tied up trash. Instead of payback, she found grace. Her new reality...she says, I now know that my joy should have no regard for my circumstance. What a powerful statement! 

She's not saying that Africa does not need our efforts. They absolutely need our partnership. But, she says she now understands that she needed Africa more the Africa needed her. Possessions in our hands will never be as valuable as peace in our hearts.

Adoption - Finally moving forward!

Hmmm...I guess it's been a while since I've posted something. It's been a little crazy lately. Anyway, GREAT NEWS, we are finally moving forward with our plans to adopt. We will be signing with Children's Hope International hopefully by next week. We've been waiting for this for so long. I was starting to think it would never happen. I've been patient but only because I had no other choice. Patience is painful! One thing is for sure though, I will never take this child for granted. We will be forever grateful to the birth parents who will selflessly give our child a better life. It will be a long process but I will try to keep you all appropriately updated during the next 12-16 months.  Please keep us in your prayers. This is going to be an incredible journey. 

Great EMHE pics!

Click on this link to see some updated pics of the Extreme Home. Interior pics are being taken today. The episode will air May 17th. I can't wait! The McFarland's experienced the big reveal yesterday. They said his reaction was priceless. You'll have to watch and see. 

http:/jamiesangarblog.com/

You may need to cut and paste this link into your browser. Enjoy! 

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

I am so excited for the McFarland family and my Estridge friends. What an amazing opportunity to be a part of Extreme Makeover Home Edition! I'm not sure when it will actually air but if my sources are correct I think it might be the last episode in May. You can find updates on www.estridge.com. This link is just to the right if you want to check it out now. They have some cool pics to check out and a profile of the family. I am so bummed that I wasn't able to help out. My untimely ankle injury prevented me from being able to volunteer. Oh well, they had plenty of volunteers anyway. I can't wait to see my friends on tv. Even more, I can't wait to see the reaction of this family. Very exciting! 

Sweet Miya

Updated pics of Miya w/ Grammy and Grandpa. She is so adorable! 

Florida Excitement

Well, I'm back from an exciting trip to Florida. Mike wanted to go down for bike week so I decided to tag along so I could see Miya and the rest of the family. I'll post some pics from bike week later. Mike has them on his laptop. We had the best time people watching on Saturday. There were some interesting sights. We tried to go Friday but I had a clumsy moment and had to make a trip to the ER instead. I'm fine but not very graceful. We thought it was broken but it's just a sprained ankle. While in the ER, it was quite entertaining. The woman across from us was no doubt on something. She confessed to 2 beers and 8 shots but didn't mention any drugs. They were testing her for it anyway and someone on the staff commented that they were already sure of the results. This was all before 4:00pm. She came in because her boyfriend beat her up. It was like watching an episode of Cops. She was crazy!!! I felt so bad for the doctor. She is evidently a regular. She was refusing treatment and stealing wheelchairs from other people saying she was going home. She must have been paralyzed from the thigh down because she was crawling around everywhere but had no control of the bottom half of her legs. She was smearing blood from her knees everywhere. It was so gross but we couldn't stop laughing. Carol, Melissa and Miya were with me. Two cops eventually escorted her out of the ER. We saw her again, along with the officers, as we were leaving though. She was far enough away from me and one of the officers so I started laughing again as I waited for the car to come around. She was so erratic. The officer noticed me trying not to laugh and he ended up laughing along with me. He said he never has a boring day. I didn't doubt it.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hopefully all of you are able to spend some quality time with your sweethearts today. It's a great time to remember all the things we appreciate about them. Below is a short list of things that make me smile when I think of my husband. 

• His smile...I love that it's just a little bit crooked. It's like a cute little smirk. Very sexy! I wish he'd show it in pictures more. 
• I love that he genuinely appreciates me. He always makes me feel beautiful, even when I know I could look better.
• I love how important family is to him. Family is everything! Nothing else matters without it.
• His generous heart...He enjoys helping people down on their luck but doesn't want praise for it. He would prefer they never knew it was him at all. 
• He's smart...I love listening to his perspective on things.
• His humor...He's always making up jokes and they're actually really funny. I'm not just saying that because he's my husband. We both enjoy sarcasm. lol
• He's passionate...He stands up for what he believes in, even when it's against the grain. I admire and respect him for that. 
• He's protective...He will do whatever he needs to do to protect his family. He'll be a wonderful dad someday.
• He's always happy to see me when he gets home. Especially lately! hehe
• And, even though I could go on and on, I love that he longs for a child as much as I do but is very level headed about the process. He keeps us both grounded.

I love him, always and forever!