Two Baby Boys....God's Perfect Plan

A mother of seven children living in North Carolina....

        Lead by God decides to adopt an eighth child....

                Adoption papers filed....

Birth mother in Nevada decides to give her baby up for adoption....

        Contact and arrangements are made between the two women....

              Adoption mother flies to Nevada in December for the birth....

Beautiful baby boy is born....love at first sight....for both mothers....

       Birth mother decides to keep her baby boy....

            Adoption mother, heartbroken, believes God has a plan....

Another baby boy born a few weeks earlier with feeding issues....

       Relinquished by birth mother for adoption....

          Placed into the arms of  his adoption mother from North Carolina....

God's plan is perfect....

      I'm blessed to know the adoption mother from North Carolina...

           Read her story at stringbean17....

Blues, Books and Blissdom

I thought after the new year I might have more motivation for my blog....so far, WRONG!   Apart from work, my days are filled with routine household activities leaving me with little inspiration to write.  I thrive on routine but not writing isn't good for my state of mind.  My thoughts become jumbled and unorganized and I can't concentrate on any task.  Maybe it is due to a decreased lack of a vital hormone or lack of Vitamin D due to sunlight deprivation.  I've been going to the tanning bed a few times per week to soak in artificial light but it doesn't seem to help my lethargy.   The cold temperature, snow covered ground and grey skies add to my unproductive state.  Life feels blue and bleak in the winter. 

I've been reading bits and pieces of non-fiction books.  I can't seem to read any fiction right now.  Two of my favorite fiction authors (Francine Rivers and Jan Karon) have new books out and I am not interested in reading either of them.  What's up with that?   Three books I am working my way through (The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin), (The Comfort Trap or, What If You're Riding a Dead Horse? by Judith Sills) and (Committed, A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert), are proving to be worth my time.  I go through stages of wanting to be aware of new ideas, not that I'll agree with them, I just want to learn.  I'm constantly looking for ways to challenge my thought pattern.   It's a complicated process that I can't explain simply because I don't fully understand it myself.   I do know that indulging in the same conversation on the same topic with the same people week after week becomes dull and annoying.  I yearn for new experiences and have found when I stifle that yearning, I begin to suffocate.  

Two weeks from today I'll be attending Blissdom '11 in Nashville, Tennessee.   Blissdom is a social-media mega conference.  I attended this conference last year by myself on a fluke not knowing anyone or what to expect.   As it turned out, I connected with some fantastic women with whom I've formed solid friendships over the last year.   This year, I'll be traveling to Nashville with Megan from Sweet Sadie Marie.  We will be meeting up with Jenny from Great Little Stories and Jessica from Notes From The Garden Spot and maybe a couple more (I've been promised less than 30 in our room) at the Opryland Hotel.  There we will join nearly 500 others to Facebook, Tweet, and Blog our way through a fabulous three days.    Scott Stratten @UnMarketing will be the opening keynote.  I'm quite excited about that as he was one of the first I began following on Twitter. He also has a great book out UnMarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging.   If you're a social media/blogger junkie and you've never attended a conference, I encourage you locate one and attend.   You'll find others who speak your "language" and totally get why you choose to share a part of your life to the world. 

Thanks for reading, Rosie.

Photo courtesy ttcolli photobucket.com

Fluff And Nonsense

Can I just say, I AM THRILLED THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER!   I don't think there is anything that causes me more anxiety than the holidays.   From Thanksgivings until the New Year is one perpetual party.  I don't like the pressuring commercials on television or the silly Christmas songs (I Want A Hippopotmaus for Christmas ???) that are played everywhere I go.   I find myself wanting to stay home, pull the shades and cover my head until it is all over!  

Don't misunderstand...I love the concept of Thanksgiving...Gratitude to the One who deserves our Thanks; I love Christmas and its significance to the Birth of Christ.  I even like the magic of Santa Claus.  It is just all the other junk that society has allowed to creep into the celebration and the political correctness that the media believes it should impose upon me that I have come to detest.

The older I get, the more I want to simplify the season.   I didn't send out Christmas cards this year or a family newsletter.   I didn't bake myself silly because my family does not need the sugar.  I did not buy a gift for everyone I come in contact with on a daily basis.  And I chose not to feel guilty.

On the other hand, the gifts I gave, I gave out of love, not obligation.  The food that I prepared for my family was hearty and comforting to share on the bitter cold days.  I tired to keep my spirit fresh and happy (to those who allowed me).   Yet, despite my best efforts, I didn't please everyone.  This shouldn't be surprising.  Everyone has their own expectations as to what the holidays should be.  I call this "visions of sugarplums".   When expectations aren't met, the let-down can be huge.  This has happened to me in the past and I think that is why I've changed my idea of what the holidays should look like for my immediate family.  Simplicity.  All the other is just fluff and nonsense.

Thanks for reading, Rosie.