Addy Boy is 19!

I have been very slow in posting on my blog and especially my kids annual birthday posts. This is something they look forward to and my Addy boy asked me several times, "When are you going to put up my birthday story?"

So in honor of Adam, who turned 19 on April 26th:

From the moment I met this energetic, bundle of fun at the age of 3, I knew how special he was. He had an incredible curiosity, and non stop energy that constantly kept him on the go and our family running after him. We'd find him in trees, on the top of baseball diamond over hangs, at the park down the street or making a new random friend after we'd try to explain the dangers of talking to strangers. This boy however does not know a stranger...everyone he meets is a potential friend. Someone he can chat with and find out what they may have in common.

I actually love his ability to talk to anyone and would often send him over to ask questions at a grocery store, restaurant, etc. All the things that I disliked doing he had no problem with. It was a perfect fit. All of our kids seemed to like this quality of our little Addy and they too sent him on little missions. He was our little "go to" man...no fear!

This same quality served him well in sports where he excelled in football, basketball and baseball...always giving his all no matter what he came up against!

  One of the most amazing qualities that Adam has is his incredible generosity. He is the most giving of our 6 kids. He will give you his last dollar if he knows you need it without hesitation. For birthdays & holidays, he can hardly contain his excitement. He will come with his wrapped presents a week in advance and continue to try to persuade you to open it NOW! He can hardly wait to see the joy his gift will bring.

When his older sister, Natascha moved into her new house, he immediately went out to buy her some items for her house. When he went to get food with his little brother he noticed Elijah's car was low on gas and had him go to the gas station where he filled up his tank for him. I could go on and on with all of the amazing things Adam does for his family. He has such a big heart to go along with his big personality.

Adam also is a very hard worker. He went out and found a job while in high school and after working at a clothing store for a while, realized that it was way too slow for his BIG personality. He then moved on to become a bus boy and quickly worked his way up to a waiter. This is the absolute perfect job for him! He gets to be on the go, which we all know he can't sit still for too long...along with being able to make new friends and visit with his customers. He makes great money and is also going to college.

We couldn't be prouder of our Addy Boy! He is such a blessing to our family and brings so much joy and life to each one of us.

 We love you Adam...HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy 21st Birthday Dilly!

On February 15th my stepson Dillon turned 21. I'm so proud of him and need to share something that I've always found so amazing about Dillon. He has so many special qualities. One of the main things that I admire and hope to one day conquer in my life..is his incredible fearlessness. Dillon never lets an obstacle stand in his way...if he wants to achieve something, he goes after it!

When Dillon was younger he played sports- football, baseball, basketball and he wrestled. He was relentless. He would do whatever it took to get better. What I didn't realize was that intensity was applied to every area, goal and dream in his life. We had never considered Dillon a musical kid. But he had plans that we weren't aware of and when Dillon puts his mind to something there is no stopping him until he achieves his goal. In a short period of time he taught himself to play the guitar and practiced singing. He took singing lessons at church and worked and worked until he was good enough to lead worship for the church youth group and eventually the main Saturday night service.

He has wanted to be a Pastor ever since he graduated high school and now after faithfully serving the youth groups at church, he was just officially given the position as assistant Jr. High Pastor/Pastor in training.

He is an incredible example of faithfulness and perseverance. Dillon never lets an obstacle get in the way of the calling he has on his life. I know that the Lord will continue to use and lead him into new and exciting chapters in his life. I am so proud of the man he's become and to be given the opportunity to be his step-mom.

I love you Dillon...Happy 21st Birthday!!

Stop The Drama

Lately I feel like I've been getting caught in a lot of drama. I'm not one of those people that enjoy sitting around gossiping & complaining about people. I think that's why I've always found it easier to just hang out with the guys, talk about sports and crack jokes.

Lately however, I've gotten thrown into the middle of a lot of crap. I try not to get upset and sucked into it...but it's hard. I even started breaking out! That's when I said, "Zit's is where I draw the line!"

So yesterday I decided to stop adding fuel to the fire by joining in. I made a decision to take the high road. I sent out an email to everyone explaining a few things that I knew they probably didn't want to hear. But the bottom line is, everyone can sit around complaining, talking about each other and getting mad, but at the end of the day nothing's changed except making a lot of people bitter and angry towards each other.

My email was very nice but made a point. I received a couple positive feedbacks thanking me for putting it out there in a nice way. Tonight we have a team dinner...we'll see if anythings changed. I definitely will stick to my plan. I might get excluded because of it, but I will feel less stressed and better about myself for not joining in not to mention...maybe my face will clear up before the weekend! Gosh...being a girl sucks sometimes...we are all SO DRAMA!!

Talk, Addiction, Recovery, Forgiveness

Can you imagine how hard it would be to get up in front of over 1,000 people and spill your guts? I was thinking about how many of us spend most of our lives trying to hide all of our guilt, shame, mistakes, addictions and hang ups. We put on the face that will make people like us. Only the people closest to us ever know the "REAL" us. I was trying to put myself in his place...wondering how it would feel to tell EVERYONE, friends, acquaintances, fellow employees, sports friends, kids, and strangers in your community...about all of your "STUFF." WOW...MY HUSBAND IS THE BRAVEST PERSON I KNOW! So here's what happened yesterday....

My husband survived his first ever public speaking event. He not only survived but he did AWESOME. He was really nervous about trying to memorize the whole thing so he decided to read a little and tell his "story's" without looking at his notes. I was SO proud of him! After the first service a 21 year old kid who has been sober for only 3 weeks came up to talk to him. He said he's been really struggling to stay sober and that he had never been to church in his life. He said for some reason he decided to go to church. He just kept feeling like he should go. Anthony told him, "I don't think it was an accident that you are here today."

Anthony gave him his phone number and told him to call him so they could maybe go to a Celebrate Recovery (click link if you need help or Google in your city) meeting together, or if he just wanted to talk. I think just knowing that his testimony helped one person made it completely worth it.

My oldest son Josh who has been struggling a lot lately even decided to go with us. He hasn't been to church in a long time. I can see him starting to head down the same path as his dad and Anthony and I thought the testimony might really touch him. I was so thankful to have ALL 6 of the kids there. Not to mention my son Jullien's girlfriends family. It was such a special day...they will be posting the service (AUDIO ONLY) online in a couple of days. I'll post the link as soon as its up for those of you who might be interested in my husbands CRAZY life.