About Me

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I've been married to my husband, Michael, for almost 25 years. I'm a mom to a biological son and an adopted son from Colombia, and I'm also a spiritual mom to my adopted son's older brother, who I claim as a son in my heart. I'm bilingual and love to work with and relate to Spanish-speaking children and families. I've been a teacher to students from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures for the last 20+ years. I'm also an author and a certified Biblical counselor. I'm in a new empty nest season in a new location far from where I raised my boys, so I'm definitely in a stage of rediscovering myself, my interests, and my purpose.

Surviving the Valley Series

Surviving the Valley Series
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Wednesday, November 15, 2023

The day your life began

Another day to celebrate, another day to thank God for. The day God brought my precious David into the world and made me a mom. I have cherished every day with him since that day (or night, to be exact). And today I reminisce a lot of the unique, priceless memories we have made together. 

We truly have no idea how much God actually protects us from, but I'll never forget the surgeon's immediate apology upon delivering David because of the scratch he made on his shoulder. Nor will I ever forget his words when he said they could have easily lost both of us if I had kept on trying to push him out naturally. That night could have looked so different had God not intervened. 

A unique start. And many unique experiences followed. Born a Hoosier, raised a Texan. A bilingual mom determined to make him a bilingual child. A salvation decision in Mexico. A Spanish-immersion preschool. A failed adoption. A trip to Colombia to visit an orphanage and a young adult "brother". A month in Colombia doing mission work and fighting to prove ourselves worthy. A serious sickness in a remote clinic in the middle of nowhere in Colombia. Adopting an older brother, losing his birth position. 

Lots of mission trips either together or on his own with his youth group. California, Mexico, Colombia, Waco, Texas, Colorado, Los Angeles, etc. 

Soccer. More soccer. And then even more soccer. So many great memories made spending weekends on the soccer fields. 

Lots of bike rides. As a baby in the carrier on Mom's bike. As a kid riding beside Mom on the trails. As a teenager riding all over town and through neighborhoods. During his senior year when COVID shut down school and we had to get out of the house. 

Building trucks with Dad. Driving a rock-crawler to high school. Transforming a simple pick-up into a customized off-road vehicle. 

Watching his parents sell his childhood home and move away before he even finished college, right before his neediest moments in life since his infancy. So many one-of-a-kind experiences and memories. A one-of-a-kind child. Love him to pieces. 

My Beautiful Boy

So unique and so rare
Describe the memories I hold
Of the moments we shared
Since you were only minutes old.

A scratch on your shoulder
That accompanied your birth
Revealed God’s protection
And your incredible worth.

“You could have bled to death,
Both you and your baby boy.”
The surgeon’s words filled me
With so much gratitude and joy.

Had I kept on pushing
My uterus could have burst.
They could have lost us both
Had the surgeon not come first.

And so our life began
My precious baby boy and me
I cherished each moment
As I watched you smile with glee.

We spent our days outside
With a wagon or a bike,
Rocking in a hammock
Or reading all the books we liked

Then you tried a soccer ball
And we spent many days on end
Watching you play a sport
On soccer fields with soccer friends

Mexico, Colombia
And many other mission trips
You've travelled all over
Building unique relationships

A global pandemic
Interrupted your senior year
So we used all that time
Again riding bikes far and near.

From firstborn to youngest
You are my first, also my last
I barely even blinked
And eighteen years already passed!

College didn't take you
Too far from your family
Then God sent us away
To a more distant property

A fun ride with a friend
Led to your unexpected spill
Though so painful for you
I dearly treasure that time still

God's adventures for you
Turned you into a great young man
Today I celebrate
The blessed day your life began



Happy birthday, David Michael!



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