Surviving and Thriving in Bethabara Farms

We had a fun weekend full of birthday parties, jumpy houses, swimming and soccer. In the middle of a birthday party today, midbite of birthday cake, my little J said to me, "Mama, I don't know if my balloon got to Mama A." ** He asked if our friend, J's balloon had gotten to his birth mom, T. I told him that I didn't know either, but that I was sure that our wishes for her had found her. He liked that idea a lot. I was surprised at his timing but not surprised that he was thinking about it. When we tried to construct a time to honor our kids' birth moms on Mother's Day, my friend and I questioned ourselves quite a bit. Our kids are little. Would they really "get" what we were doing? My little J clearly "got" it at three years old. He knows he doesn't live with Mama A and he knows that he has a permanent place in my arms. He's not confused about his place in the world but that doesn't mean he doesn't think about his first...

Wow, what a wonderful day. I woke up to two sweet little voices asking if they could finally give me the presents they'd made at school. They were so proud of each item, it took my breath away. At church, the message was so good. It was focused on how to be the woman God created you to be. Awesome! Later, I found this in my email inbox... "When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need-words that will help others become stronger." Ephesians 4:29 (NCV) Just for today: Couldn't all words out of my mouth only be strengthening words? Words that nourish their bones and muscle their hearts? What if I tried to change nothing in my children but I focused on only this: Let the tongue speak only the words that make souls stronger. Like Oxygen, couldn't just speaking strengthening-words change the whole atmosphere? The two items tied together so well into exactly the kind of woman I want to be. I want to be remembered by my children as someone who ...