It's a Golden Life

Halynd,  We had your 5 year well check yesterday. You are a healthy, happy, smart little gal.  You weigh 34.10 lbs (10th%) and are 41 inches tall (25th%). You know all your shapes and colors, count past 30, have all your gross and fine motor skills down, and can do all the things a 5 year old should be doing! We are working on learning to tie your shoes :). We always get slip ons or Velcro, so it's difficult to teach!  (Here you are at Dr. F's office. You think he is hilarious. Especially when he said he could hear your birthday cake milkshake talking in your stomach)  While sassy, you are so sweet! You are always looking for ways to be helpful-be it in the kitchen, helping mommy with daycare kiddos, or helping with your siblings. You have a servant heart. We often have disagreements on what you will wear for the day. It is a norm for you to gallop down the stairs-proud to be wearing-the frilliest dress you own. Completely with a style of your own, you match bright r...

Our adoption journey has reached its 18th month. It has been difficult not to compare our adoption story to anyone else's. While there have been others who have walked this path, it feels lonely in the sense that it takes (so) long. It's difficult not to think that a child could be born 2 times over in the amount of time we have been in this. In the grand scheme of life, I imagine this will feel like a small chunk of time when we look back. We may even look back and laugh at our antsy and impatient hearts. The desire we have to bring our little girl into our family to be loved and accepted is overwhelming. Sometimes it is that desire that makes us feel sad with longing, as if this process has no end! I feel as though the adoption process takes so long because it is preparing you in ways being pregnant for nine months with a biological child cannot. There are hours of training, gathering paperwork, attending doctor appointments, gathering paperwork, raising funds, tracking down ...

Paxton, you are officially 2 1/2 years old! I haven't done an update on you since you were18 months old!  You are: • 29.8 lbs • 35 inches tall •size 2T top, 3T bottoms (you've got some junk in your trunk) •size 7ish-8 shoe •an eating machine. Not picky-would still eat babyfood if I let you!  •a great sleeper! (Yay!)  You love: •playing outside •anything dirty  •all animals (but you're scared of spiders and scary bugs) •climbing, running, jumping  •exploring (especially places you aren't supposed to be) Favorite foods: •cheeseburgers (berker) •mcdonalds nuggets •veggie straws •any fruit (especially fruit pouches) You are lactose intolerant! We buy you special yogurt and milk. Since we figured this out-your belly doesn't hurt like it used to! You talk a mile a minute. It must be that you're the third child. No more diapers for you! You asked to wear unerwear (underwear) one day in March and haven't looked back since. You drive the power wheel and steer like a ...

In the history of my blogging adventure of trying to keep tabs on our journey through life, I have not gone 10ish months without taking the time to jot down the eb and flow of the Golden clan.  It seems as though when I thought our life couldn't get busier-it did! And I lost track of a lot. I can't count how many times I have lost track of the last day I took a shower was. Or ate breakfast. Or got dressed for the day (that wasn't for church). Or hung out with a friend solo. Through the chaos of the various events and activities that have been our companions this year, I have lost track of a lot.  I caught myself saying "I feel like I am just making it through the day" way too often. Being a wife, a mom, a student, a referee, a friend, a care taker...so here we are. We are entering a new season of life. We still have three small children, but they are getting older and more independent by the day. We still have a lot of responsibilities to juggle. We are still tryi...

I'm not sure how its possible, but our littlest man is 18 months old (as of yesterday May 21).  •weighs: 24 lbs, height: 30.5 in. (Short and round) •size 5 shoe, 12-18 month clothes, some 18-24 shirts •loves cars, trucks, dirt, books, food, the bath •sleeps 12-13 hours at night, still takes 2 naps during the day. (Trying to move to just one, but the kid loves to sleep!)  •finally has in all four molars! Those were terrible.  •says: this, that, peese (please), cheese, uh oh, mama, dada, chi chi, a version of Haly that I cannot pronounce, hiii, awwwkward (thanks to his sister and brother),  signs for more, I'm sure there are others that I cannot think of right now.  •we are working on: manners. Big time. He is quite passionate about the things he wants to do or when he wants to eat. Patience. I am constantly reminding him to wait patiently. Hitting. He discovered hitting. Just for fun. He gets a time out and a stern talkin to. If we say "nice mama" (or who ever he...

Why?? There are many who have asked, Why adopt when you have three children of your own ? Or- Why adopt when you are able to have more children ? The manner of which we are adding another child to our family chose us . While D and I had our ideas about our family, God's plan (as always) is much greater than ours. We had talked about adoption before we were married, and decided it was something we would want to do. That concept was still far off until February, when we were both brought to the conclusion that now is the time.  What began as our own apprehensive pursuit caught fire as Jesus impressed on us His heart for adoption . Jesus was adopted by his earthly father, Joseph! (Luke 2:41) God adopted us. As Christians, we are all adopted into the family of God through the death of Jesus on the cross.  He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will in Ephesians 1:5. God is a father to the fatherless. God loves and de...

D preached this past weekend on the Gospel of adoption. While I was away for the weekend and missed it live, I listened to the podcast. I think it was probably a good thing that I wasn't in the audience Sunday. I would have been weeping the entire sermon. I may have been quite the distraction. As we are moving forward in this process, I am learning new depths of emotion. It has only been a month since we embraced the calling to adopt. God has broken me in places I didn't know I needed to be broken. I have searched out stories and documentaries on adoption. The facts I am learning are heart breaking. My eyes are opened to a whole world I ignored. I had known orphanages existed, that is true, but did not know the details. I was fine until I started learning the details. Adoption has drastically decreased in the past 5 years due to new laws and implementing new systems. While the aim of this process is to protect the children, it is harming them in the fact that they are stuck...