Andy and I met in 2001. He worked full-time at the YMCA as a teen director. I was still in college and worked part-time at the YMCA as an after school counselor. Our paths didn’t cross that often at the YMCA, but I later found out that he had been talking to my boss about me. We ended up working together one day and hit it off right away. At the end of the day, I was expecting him to either ask me out or at least ask for my phone number––he didn’t do either. I didn’t think about it too much more until I received a message from him on my answering machine. I was uncharacteristically giddy about his call and asked many of my friends to come listen to it to determine if he was calling about something work related or if he was calling just for me. Turns out that he was calling just to talk. We had a great conversation, and he asked me out. I already had plans with a group of friends but invited him to come along. This gave us another chance to get to know each other a little better without the pressure of a “first date.” Our first “official” date after that was perfect, and I think that we both knew that it was the start of something special right away. At the end of the night, though, he confused me by telling me that I was a “sweet girl” as he dropped me off. I took that to mean something along the lines of “let’s be friends” and was a little confused when he asked me out on another date. Little did I know that he was just trying to complement me! We became engaged on our six month anniversary and were married about nine months later on Dec. 28, 2002.A little bit about our marriage:
I would definitely classify our marriage as a strong, healthy marriage that is filled with love for each other. From the beginning, I was very impressed with Andy’s outgoing personality, his sense of humor, his love for kids, and his sincerity and genuineness. We are similar in many ways and our differences seem to complement each other. His love of being “in the spotlight” is helped by my enjoyment of doing stuff “behind the scenes.” His tendency to become stressed out at times is tempered by my laid-back personality. His attention to detail counters my lack of organization. Our ability to compromise is seen even in small areas. For example, he loves watching NASCAR (which I definitely do not love), so he spends those hours every Sunday folding and putting away the laundry while he watches the race, which receives NO complaints from me! In addition, another important key in our marriage is that in spite of our busy schedules and the hindrances that come with having two young children, Andy and I realize the importance of having quality time with just the two of us. We know that we can’t have a strong family without a strong marriage. Above all, our common ground in our love for Christ gives us the ability to work out any differences that might come up in our marriage. It makes it easy to keep sight of what is truly important.A little bit about how I feel about adopting:
Our family already consists of two children: Emma Lee, who is five years old, and Kerri, who is four. Andy and I both see them (and all children in general) as gifts from God. Nothing gives me more joy than being a mom. I see it as a fulfillment of my life’s desires and embrace all that comes with it with excitement and anticipation. Although we have our own biological children, Andy and I have known since before we were married that we wanted to adopt. I know that God placed this desire in my heart way before I even knew it! Looking back, I can remember how affected I was as a child reading books about orphans. In college, one of my best friends and her brother grew up in an orphanage in Albania, and we had many late night talks her experiences. After we were married, Andy and I hosted two girls from an orphanage in India while their group was visiting our area. These and other things laid the foundation and enhanced my desire to adopt.
I don’t have any concerns over loving this child as my own. Even now, without knowing who it is going to be, I already have a love growing inside of me, much like a pregnant mother before she meets her yet unborn child. I also do not believe that our daughters will have too hard of an adjustment. They have been talking about getting a baby brother for years, and not once have they ever shown the slightest hint of jealousy. Children their age make friends so quickly, that I’m expecting their bonding process to be without too many hindrances. They are both entering a more self-sufficient and independent stage, wanting to be “big girls” and do things on their own. I think that in the face of me being occupied with another child, they will find pride in being able to be a “big helper” instead of resentful of having to share my time and attention with another sibling. I am not delusional that everything will be perfect from the moment we step off the plane. The concerns that I have stem from the perspective of the child we will adopt. I worry about what he has had to deal with already in his short life and how that will continue to effect him throughout his life. I worry about the confusion he will face coming to a new country, a new environment, and a new family. I worry about the pain my heart will experience if he is hesitant to accept our love at the beginning. At the end of the day, I remember that we are following the desire that God has placed in our hearts and that we can trust in Him to reward our efforts.
The girls party was a success! I finished the cakes in time, in spite of also having to take cupcakes and visit Emma Lee's preschool class. I really think, well - I know, that there's no way I could have finished everything if my Mom hadn't come early and spent the day finishing up for me at the preschool and taking the girls out to lunch (and a little extra b'day shopping trip), so "Thanks, Mom!!" :) I also managed to keep our surprise! Yay! :) I caught myself right before it slipped out SO many times!! We showed the girls their DVD that explained their birthday surprise. I didn't get the hysterically excited response I was expecting (they do have the nickname "the screaming girls" after all), but I suppose that was partially due to the all the party craziness that was going on. Instead, we got an is this for real kind of reaction. Looking back on the video (sorry, I can't post it - it hasn't made it to dvd format yet), it is really cute because you can see their eyes getting bigger and their mouths slowly falling open while they didn't dare take their eyes off the tv to turn and ask us anything. We finished up the party and went to bed for an early departure time (which ended up not being until 10:00 am but was early enough).
Saturday, we finally arrived, did a little shopping while we waited for our check-in time, got settled in, attended a Sat night church service since we would not be going to church on Sunday, and hit a McDonald's on the way back for some quick dinner.
Sunday! Finally after promising the girls since Thursday night that we were going to Disney, we arrived at the Magic Kingdom! (The girls got buttons that said Happy Birthday with their name on it. ALL day long they got individual birthday greetings from park attendants, characters, and just random strangers.) We entered just in time to see a parade coming down Main Street. What a welcome! They had an appointment scheduled for the Bibbidi Bobbiti Boutique, so that was our first stop. They got all dolled up with jewels, make-up, fingernail polish, and more glitter and hair spray than you can even imagine! We had time to get on a few rides like Dumbo, the Carosel, and Snow White's Scary Adventure (which they HATED!) before our lunch reservation at Cinderella's castle. So, Cinderella was the first character that the girls got to actually go up and talk to, and Kerri decided that (for the first time in her life!) she was shy. She did not want to go up to her but kept peeking out from behind me and smiling at her. I think that she was just so overwhelmed with the thought that Wow! I'm actually here with Cinderella! that she didn't know what to do. She did let us take a picture with her, as long as I held her. She quickly got over her initial shyness as all the princesses came and greeted them at our table throughout our lunch. After we were finished, she just HAD to go back down and hug and say hi to Cinderella. :) Throughout the rest of the day, we rode as many rides, caught as many "shows," talked with as many characters, and saw as many parades as we could squeeze in. We ended up staying at the park for 12 hours and still only covered about half of the park!! (All without a stroller! We had planned to rent one half-way through the day but the girls never asked for one or asked to be carried - a miracle for Kerri!!) Almost as soon as their heads hit the car seat, they were out! :)
A whole lotta this:
