Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Boy Mom Blog Hop!



Hi there!  Welcome to my little piece of the web!  If you are visiting from the MOB Society’s Boy Mom Blog Hop, I’m so glad you stopped by!   First, introductions…

This is my first boy and the love of my life…
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I know you can’t really see him in the picture well, but it pretty much sums him up.  Outdoorsy, fun loving, adventurous.    That’s him.

We were married in 2005 and honestly, we have had a rollercoaster of an almost 7 years.  But God buckled us in and we are enjoying the ride despite the curves, loopty-loops and scary flips.

Our first child, Ethan, is 5 years old.  I don’t even have words to express what a blessing he is in our lives (and the lives of others!).  We are definitely blessed.

 

We also have two children, Shyla Joy and Jakin Isaac, that were born into the arms of Jesus (Shyla in 2009 and Jakin in 2010).  You can read more about our whole family on the “Our Story” tab at the top of the page or by clicking on the photos of their little hands in the right side bar. 

There is one more little boy who came into our lives through adoption.  We were his parents for 6 days and he still has a very big place in our hearts.  As does his birth mom and siblings.  (You can read more about our sweet Samuel by clicking on his photo).

We are also currently waiting for a referral to adopt from South Korea.

This blog is used to chronicle our adoption journey, homeschooling Ethan (we will start Kindergarten in just a couple of weeks!), family happenings and the occasional recipe or craft.  I also blog here about our grief journey.  I began blogging there almost three years ago after the loss of our daughter and found such love and support from people I had never met that I just continued blogging!

I am an adoption advocate and adoption social worker that works writing home studies and post placement reports.  I love seeing forever families united.  I also work as Client Services Director for our local Pregnancy Resource Center two days a week. 

I hope you grab a cuppa joe and take some time to get to know our family a bit.  Basically, we love Jesus, we are stronger for what we have gone through together, we enjoying learning together and we like to have a little fun! 

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I’m so looking forward to “meeting” all the boy moms in the blog hop!

11 comments:

joye said...

Thanks for stopping by, Mattie! Your Ethan is such a cutie :) I love the picture of the cars - I may have to borrow that idea! I look forward to reading more about your lovely family.

Sherry Reese said...

Oh, Mattie, your story has already won a place in my heart! I love your Ethan (my son Evan is also 5 years old and Ethan was a name we also thought of using) already! My heart just breaks for what your family has gone through, but I am a believer in God using our sorrows for good. It seems He has already made your relationship with your husband and son stronger through all these sad circumstances. I cannot imagine the grief that you have had to bear losing not one but three precious little ones. I am also a big advocate for adoption (I was adopted as an 8 year old along with my teenage brother...that in itself was pretty amazing that we found forever parents who wanted both of us!). But to hold a little one in your arms and to love it with all your heart and have it taken from you is a hurt and pain I can never imagine! I am so glad you know a God who is strong enough to bring you through it and have kept faith in Him through your struggles. I will be a new follower watching and waiting for the news of your sweet new bundle of joy that God will bless you with!

Carissa Wix said...

I love the photo of you and Ethan in the pool! So much joy in both your faces. :-)

Jess said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Good luck on your adoption and I look forward to following your journey!

ginny said...

hi, mattie! thanks for stopping in at my blog. may God bless you abundantly as you wait for your new family member! i lost two little ones early on in pregnancy, and although i never got to hold them, they have a special place in my heart. they just have heaven before we do, right?

Alan and Charity said...

Hi Mattie! I just read your comment on my post over at SixNPajamas. I am so excited to have found your blog and look forward to reading more about you and your family. We have not set out on the adoption route yet, but we often house troubled youth for short periods of time. We take in homeless teens and love on them as best we can while helping them find permanent housing. This is not an organization but simply through building relationships. It is a tough journey but definitely worth it. My daughter (9) is the one who is really into The Apparent Project in Haiti. She started a Facebook page called Boxes For Bracelets. I am excited to read about your family as you begin your journey in homeschooling (we have been homeschooling "officially" for 4 years). I am also excited to read more about your adoption. My sister in law is adopting a beautiful boy from Haiti, and we have been patiently waiting and praying for two years now. Thank you for sharing a little bit of your story!

Homeschooling6 said...

Hi, Mattie, thank you for stopping by my blog. I have enjoyed visiting and getting to know you and your family. I didn't realize Ethan was so popular as well. At the time when we named him I didn't know another Ethan, fast forward and I've met quite a few (all about my Ethan's age).
I was touched by Samuel's story, thank you for sharing it and Shyla and Jankin's as well.
Blessings,
Linda<><

Hannah said...

Hopping over on the blog hop. So excited to follow along on your journey! I'm a mom of 4 boys, we love Jesus, and homeschool. I am a huge adoption advocate as well, and hoping to adopt in the next couple of years! Very nice to meet you!
mycornersoftheworld.blogspot.com

Buffi Neal said...

beautiful photos!
New follower from the Blog Hop
-Buffi
My Wonderfully Dysfunctional Blog

Erin said...

It is so nice to meet you! I am very much looking forward to reading more about you. I love to know peoples stories and see how God is working in and through them (which he is so obviously doing in you). My husband and I deeply desire to grow our family through adoption one day, Lord willing sooner rather than later. We are also praying about possibly fostering in the near future as well(no specific child in mind,just feel the Lord growing our hearts that way).

Rosilind Jukic said...

I am stopping by from the MOB blog hop (I'm still working through the list). What a beautiful story! I have two babies on Jesus' lap, too. Thank you for sharing your beautiful story with us. Blessings from Croatia: A Little R & R: www.littlerandr.org