My new favorite song

Encouraged

Last October, I took a new approach to my writing. The rules for writer's group explain very clearly that we can only take a 5-page, double-spaced writing sample for critique. I had always taken excerpts from my books, but I wanted to focus more on simple short stories for awhile. I picked a theme and made it my goal to write a complete short story within that theme in those five pages. It helped me to condense my writing and make it more concise. I go home from writer's group more encouraged than ever now, plus I see that I really do have something meaningful to say other than my two books about our adoption journey.

I read through the comments written on my last story, and this one made me want to cry. I might just have to frame it.

Last game for high school soccer this year

I am so glad I made it to Juan's game on Wednesday because his last game after that got rained out. I don't normally get very good pics from the bleachers, but I finally found myself in just the right place at just the right time.  Now we move on to Recreational soccer for his GSA team. He's pretty pumped about his first game tomorrow night.

Coming along!

I spent some time communicating with ABH this week, and we have agreed on a final title for the revised version of my book. Things are finally coming together rather quickly now, so it shouldn't be long before it will be released.

They suggested that I use a blog to begin sparking interest and drawing new readers in, so I created a new one for just that purpose.  I hope you will check it out and stay tuned for updates up through the release, and then more updates for the second book that will follow a few months later.  We've had a few setbacks, but that is always to be expected.

Please feel free to share, especially if you've already read the first book. Every so often, I will be adding pics from long ago that take you straight into several moments in the story.

unexpectedtearsbook.blogspot.com

Mission Arlington

Here are all the pics I stole and copied from Instagram and one of the leader's facebook pages. :)

The first one is my absolute favorite.

Yep, that's David giving that "awesome teaching" that led two kids to accept Christ. :) I'm so proud of him!

Slurpees with Shane, the student ministries pastor (aka--youth pastor)

Dinner at Cici's

Working a 5 day Bible club, even in the pouring down rain. 

I will have to say, I'm so grateful to be part of a church that introduces our kids to missions and service at such a young age. This is his fourth mission trip away from his family, and he's only 13! Thank you, Lake Pointe Church. 

"Food is love."

Well, to someone with a history similar to my adopted son, it's true. Food really is love. However, when I answered him saying, "No, it's not," he changed his mind and said, "Okay. Food is happiness."

I hoped to plan a quick trip to take Juan David to see his brother, Julian, in Colombia over spring break, but . . . it was a bit complicated. First, I'm still recovering from all we spent at Christmas, so we didn't have the money to go this early in the year. Second, we don't have his passport yet, and February flew right by me. Third, we would have had to get a special letter written up and signed at the consulate in Houston in order for me to bring him back home from Colombia without Mike being present. (Colombian law for Colombian citizens). So, we hope to make it work out this summer, if possible.

Plan B for spring break--use those Six Flags season passes and spend a few days riding rollercoasters.  But, it rained. Pretty much all week.

Plan C. Find a few small adventures for the week. Mom and son bonding time. We went to the movies, went out to eat, swam at my brother's house on the only sunny day, and took a little international tour with our meals. We started off at Fiesta, the international grocery store, telling Juan to pick what he wanted to eat for the week. Thus began quite a fun week. It's amazing how much I felt I bonded with him when we put the focus on food. Yes, to him, food spoke love.

Here are a few pics of our cuisine.

 Flan

 Colombian pasta with chicken that Juan made himself

Colombian cheese bread from the Colombian bakery

 Milhojas (one of Juan David's preferred Colombian desserts)

 Argentine mate (compliments of a Guatemalan friend)

 (Oh, the memories from Argentina. Love that culture.)

Little Colombian bananas (that was my daily breakfast smoothie--cucumbers, strawberries, blueberries and a mandarin orange)

 A vegetarian plate at the Colombian restaurant--beans, rice, fried egg, salad, avocado and fried plantains

 Picada from the Colombian restaurant--a little bit of everything with a special pink sauce for dipping

 El Portal--a Colombian restaurant/ bakery

 Traditional American--Cheeseburgers and onion rings

 Mexican bean and corn dip--with onions, tomatoes and cilantro added

 Colombian staples--Colombiana soda and arequipe (a delicious caramel dip that every Colombian keeps in their fridge)

Chinese rice with shrimp and chicken and egg rolls

Two especially bonding moments this week included watching this segment that aired on the news precisely while we ate together at the Colombian restaurant (a segment about helping the "children of the state" who are under government care in Colombia--children who are growing up just like he did.)

http://www.noticiasrcn.com/especialesrcn/los-hijos-del-estado

Then later in the week, we watched videos of his orphanage that people have posted online over the years, while he identified so many of his friends and even his sister. It was a special time for both of us.

We had a great week together, despite all our foiled plans.  Getting to swim in a heated pool with his cousins on our only sunny day helped, too. :)

Powerful Journey

Yesterday my friend Fran spoke at a women's event called Powerful Journey and invited me to go. I went with my friend, Gretchen, and met up with another friend, Trisha. I enjoyed a day with my lady friends and left feeling inspired to find more opportunities to share my voice and the things I am the most passionate about in life.

 Fran did a beautiful job, and her message really stood out. Sometimes we get so caught up in finding our own way that we forget God may have another way planned for us. I really appreciated her authenticity in sharing her story of grief and loss.

They passed out a magazine to everyone, and I found this poem in it by an unknown author. One of my friends and I decided to claim the poem as a daily prayer. 

Through me, let there be kind words, a warm smile and a caring heart.

Through me, let there be a willingness to listen and a readiness to understand.

Through me, let there be dependability, steadfastness, trust and loyalty.

Through me, let there be compassion, forgiveness, mercy and love.

Through me, let there be every quality I find, O Lord, in Thee.