Ice Cream. It seriously brings me joy. I could eat it every night, literally, and NEVER get sick of it.

I come from a line of ice cream lovers. My grandpa loves it. My dad can eat a half a gallon in one sitting... and he does (but he only like Vanilla - just plain with nothing on it...but MAN does he like it). I think my ice cream obsession was just in me from the start. The one advantage we all have going for us is that we are tall and noodle-like. Otherwise we would all weigh a good 30 pounds more than we do. As long as I can remember my family has been having ice cream for dessert, and as long as I live there will be ice cream in my freezer ready and waiting at a moments notice. My husband thinks it's my grand scheme to make him fat so that no other woman will want him. I play along with this and get a HUGE bowl for the both of us some evenings and make jokes about him getting fat as he shovels some into his mouth...but we both really know that the ice cream is for me.

I mean what's not to love?! There are so many different choices! Cookies and chocolate chunks, mint and fruits, candy and nuts, creamy and tart, yogurt-y and gelato-y.... the possibilities really are endless. Now would I call it a vice?? Not by the word's true definition.... but its definitely a habit of sorts. Some say that I could live off of ice cream alone.... I am tempted to test this theory. In my fridge right now? Breyers Rocky Road (my favorite of all store bought ice cream brands). My favorite ice cream? I could never have just one.

I know it's only 9 am but... maybe I will have a bowl now?

Cousin Kim New Born Baby Boy

Adoption is a crazy thing. A different world all together where families are put together in amazing ways. A world of very high highs and very low lows. A world that is bittersweet. A world that is very close to Gods heart because he has adopted all of us into His family.

The past 3 days I have witnessed my brother in-law and his wife (my sister as I call her) get the phone call that their future son was being born. Then it went something like this: pack the bags, head to the hospital, hold him in their arms, fall in love with him, find out that the birth mom is having second thoughts, have their world fall apart, cry for 3 or 4 hours straight thinking that the baby boy they just met would no longer be theirs, cry out to family and friends to start praying HARD, a few hours later find out that the situation changed AGAIN and that they may indeed be taking him home, fall in love all over again, change him, feed him, cuddle with him...and finally cry tears of joy.
What a whirlwind of emotions.

Throughout all of the fuss and crazy emotional highs and lows one thing held true: They had so many people standing with them in prayer. They had family and friends, and their friends' family and friends...people they have never even met...they were all praying that God's will be done in the life of that precious baby boy. Praying that the situation would turn around and that they would come home with their son. Praying that the birth mom would have peace in her decision. Praying for strength for my brother and sister. I learned that the hand of God is a working and powerful thing. I felt like this was something that I always knew.... but it was just something I believed. These past few days I learned it to be true. There is no doubt in my mind that God was in that hospital the past few days. Working in people's hearts, minds, and souls. The turn around when they found out they would bring home their little bundle of joy was no coincidence. It was a direct connection to the power of prayer. Today I stand in awe knowing that there is no circumstance that HE can't change when we have faith even the size of a mustard seed. HE is the reason that we can all have hope in any situation. The only reason.

This has been one crazy learning experience. It has been a life changing experience for everyone involved. God had something for each of us to learn from this. And what an amazing lesson... a lesson in love, life, strength, faith and hope. And while I pray more than anything to be able to have my own children someday, I know that adoption is a route that I would love to venture on as well. What an amazing gift from God to be able to love a child who needs you more than anything. What an amazing gift and sacrifice from one mom to another. What a huge blessing to everyone involved. My sister in-law words it perfectly "We know it doesn’t matter how God would place a child in our family, we will love and cherish the children He blesses us with no matter what. The Lord weaves families together in more amazing ways than we ever could."