Millions of Miles

How I See It

2013-05-20T09:15:00.000-04:00

I have to confess, I'm not really sure how to operate in this space anymore. If you read back over the last almost four years of writings that take up room here on this page, we've been an open book. I've shared the deepest parts of my heart and my family. It's been one of the greatest joys of my life to connect with people in this way. There has been such healing and...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

And a partridge in a pear tree

2013-05-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

Wow. I've never neglected this blog quite this badly before. Thanks for hanging with me. Adding a fourth child has added a whole other level of chaos to our already cuh-razy lives. I think that each mom has a threshold for how many kids she can thrive with. I have friends whose numbers are up in the teens. Some have a threshold of one. Mine is evidently...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Moms Need Grace Too

2013-04-26T10:25:00.001-04:00

I’m not gonna lie- there are times in my life where I feel the need to be perfect weighing on me like a million ton weight. The first 6 days that our new foster blessing were here, was one of those periods of time. When I gave birth to my two children and then adopted the third, I knew that when I got them in my arms that they were going to be with me (God willing) until they were adults. And...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

A tiny break

2013-04-19T15:41:00.000-04:00

So sorry for the long silence. Earlier this week, a precious, 8 year old foster blessing knocked on our door. Foster care is something you never wish for for a child, but we are honored to be a part of helping this adorable kiddo through a tough time. This girl is amazing and so deserving of our time and attention as we get to know her and transition her into our...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Cry Freedom

2013-04-11T10:13:00.001-04:00

I try really hard to be a positive person. I don't like to be a whiner- unless I'm talking to my mom (sorry Mom) or my friend ,Ellen (sorry, Ellen)- then the whining just runs out of me. I'm also not a whiner because about 96% of the time, I recognize that I am so blessed and complaining seems selfish. But mostly, I don't like to whine and complain because I find it kind of...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

And The Winner Is...

2013-04-08T08:05:00.000-04:00

Wow! Wow! Wow! Do you see that meter up there at the top? Do you see that is says TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS? Holy moly! I just can't thank you enough for how you all always rally around these causes year after year. Every year, as an ulcer and the anxiety set in, I tell my family that I am NEVER going to do this again, and every year we do it any way- because in...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

A quick update and a tiny little challenge

2013-04-07T10:45:00.000-04:00

Friday night, our giant vacation giveaway for Congo/Haiti came to a close at midnight- I have SO much to say about that, but I'll keep it brief today. We finished at $10,920!!!!!! (I could use at least 10 billion exclamation points!) On Friday at dinner time, we still had a long way to go. I began wondering if we'd make that goal! Y'all are 11th hour donors (and I almost...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

LAST CALL!

2013-04-05T13:18:00.000-04:00

This is so important to our family! We know how much every dollar matters to these organizations and the people they serve and we really want to be able to hand over $10,000 to them! The vacation raffle (for a week at a luxury home with it's own pool in ORLANDO, FLORIDA from Global Resorts- only 1.5 miles from the gates of Disney World!) ends tonight at midnight! PLEASE,...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Hunger

2013-04-02T10:58:00.001-04:00

The little girls were all carrying around babies. Only they weren't dolls. I couldn't help but think about how those 7-11 year old seemed so much older than my own young daughter. These girls were babies raising other babies. The difference between my daughter, home in the US, in frilly dresses with her own room, attending a top notch school could not have been more...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Firm Foundations- Bible Verses for the Home

2013-03-30T17:01:00.000-04:00

Our house construction is well under way! We are hoping to move in June. Several years ago, my friend Rachel posted a picture of their family writing Bible verses in the studs of their home while it was being built. I filed that away in my mind and decided that if I ever got to build a house from scratch that I absolutely wanted to do that! This week we decided on the...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

A Personal Brand Of Happy

2013-03-28T11:24:00.000-04:00

If only... ...I could bottle... ...this child's pure joy. And give it to everyone we knew... ...the world would be that much more amazing.

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

A few minutes with Rita Soronen- Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption CEO

2013-03-26T12:25:00.000-04:00

The foster care system is complicated. I think that is something that we can all agree on. It is political, understaffed and difficult and at the center, there are beautiful, precious children who fall through the cracks. For the last couple of years, we have rallied behind the Dave Thomas Foundation For Adoption. Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's and later, the...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

And then I was almost eaten by a pack of wild wolves...

2013-03-25T16:08:00.002-04:00

I have an obsession with Little House on the Prairie. My mom read us the entire set of books through three times when I was a kid. It was the only show my Granny would let us watch at her house and all of my cousins and I would gather around the TV after lunch to watch Carrie fall in a well or see Nelly Olsen be a punk. (At my Mamaw's we had "As The World Turns". ...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

A Tale of Two Births

2013-03-23T14:06:00.000-04:00

My heart is all tied up in Congo. It's under my skin and in my dreams. The women I met there are so gloriously beautiful and resilient. The land in the capital city is the most bizarre mixture of the garden of Eden and a garbage dump. The children are just like children anywhere- they want to play and grin and show their dimples and sit on their mom's lap. ...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

For My Babies- Lessons From Steubenville

2013-03-20T09:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Sadie, Noah and Miles I think that every generation says, "You couldn't pay me to go back and be a teenager again in an age where there is xyz". Here I am, turning old and saying, "You couldn't pay me to be a teenager again with all the social media!" Here's the thing. I love social media. This here blog? Wouldn't exist without social media. Even though...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

3rd Annual Vacation Giveaway for Congo/Haiti

2013-03-18T07:23:00.000-04:00

Updated 4/8/13 This contest is now closed. We raised $12,000 for JabuAfrica and Heartline Haiti- thank you so much for your support! It's time for the 3rd annual Millions of Miles Vacation Giveaway benefiting JabuAfrica and Heartline Haiti! Both of these organizations are doing life changing work with the women and vulnerable children they serve. They are strengthening...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Looking Back

2013-03-15T21:05:00.000-04:00

Today, I had the amazing opportunity to go and talk to a super cool group of third graders about life in Sub-Saharan Africa. Helping kids understand why we should care about Africa is one of my biggest passions in life. We used statistics and fractions to figure out what percentage of the class would be able to afford to go to school in Africa. We talked about access to...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

I'm Lovin' It Part 642

2013-03-11T12:44:00.000-04:00

I get on a "jag" a lot. Here are all the things I'm currently obsessed with... FAVORITE RECENT PURCHASE: My new spring uniform. If you've been here for any amount of time, you know that I love me some sweatpants. Sometimes, though, a girl needs to wear real clothes. About twice a year, I buy a new outfit or two and that becomes my new uniform. I wear...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Our Sensory Journey and 10 Fun Sensory Activities for Kids

2013-03-07T16:27:00.000-05:00

My son, Noah, was almost two years old before I could hold him regularly without him crying. He started crying when he was two weeks old and didn't stop for almost two years. He was our second child (the first one had been an angel baby) so I knew that all babies didn't just cry all the time for no reason. My "mommy gut" told me something was wrong. I have thought...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Catching Up

2013-03-05T09:52:00.000-05:00

Things in our lives seem to be marching on in really uneventful days. I LOVE it. Except that when there is nothing going on, there is nothing to blog about. We got moved almost 6 weeks ago into our rental home. We are still hoping that the house that we are building will be finished in late May or early June. We feel really settled in this rental. It is...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Beep Beep

2013-03-01T12:36:00.002-05:00

"Mom! You gotta come wisten! This baby's heawt is BEEPING wiwwy, wiwwy fast!"

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

What It's REALLY Like To Take Care of Sick Kids (in crappy pictures)

2013-02-25T11:55:00.001-05:00

Facebook would have you think that taking care of a sick kid looks like this... Status Update: Sick little ones today! You know what that means! Extra cuddles!!!! #lovemykids #poorbabies #snugglesonthecouchallday! That status comes with a picture that looks something like this... Sick kids DO look like that... for FIVE MINUTES. And not a minute...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Truths

2013-02-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

Our kids need affirmation. While it's tempting to affirm that, yes, they make messes, and yes, they are needy, and yes, they always seem to want to eat 5 minutes after I've gotten dinner cleaned up- it's equally as important to affirm the good stuff! My daughter needs truth spoken into her about how beautiful and worthy she is. She needs to hear those truths often because...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

Babysitters, Anyone?

2013-02-15T12:18:00.001-05:00

Winter boredom has set in and they've officially lost it. I'm now hiring them out as babysitters. I promise they won't bite your baby's ear off or put her upside down in the sling. Takers? Anyone?

Read more of this post by clicking on the title

The Soundtrack Of My Life

2013-02-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

Last week, my aunt and I went to a Matchbox 20 concert. It was pure heaven. Every single song took me back to my high school and early college years. I love how a great song can do that! (Not to mention that Rob Thomas isn't bad to look at for 2 hours!) It got me thinking about what songs take me back to different times in my life... As a kid, my parents only...

Read more of this post by clicking on the title