My 5 Babies

Blessed is the one word that truly captures how I feel about my children.  I don't know too many moms that do not feel the same. 

My biggest prayer is that I can prove to each one of them how much they are loved.  What you may not know if 4 of out 5 of my children have been adopted in some way.  Brian and I adopted Mario four years ago when he was just 9 years old.  Mario came from an disrupted adoption.  That means that we are the 2nd family to adopt him.  I'm not sure what the true circumstances were on his first adoption....what we do know if he was adopted by blood relatives into the U.S. from Mexico.  They only raised him for 6 months before deciding to give him up.  Whether it was because they weren't ready to be an adopted family or if it was to get him into the U.S. for a better life we may never know for sure.  What I DO know for sure is that Mario was meant to be EXACTLY where he is.

God had it planned the whole time for him to end up in our family.  What I am trying to understand and what I am trying to help Mario understand is that through all the pain and anguish of leaving what he thought was his forever family TWICE was to make him become the person that God intended him to be....fearless of change, strength in knowing his family wanted what was best for him, unconditional love with his NOW forever family, trust in God's endless protection.  I could go on and on.

My oldest daughters are from my first marriage so Brian adopted them after raising them as his own for many years.  They have to be 3 of the most beautiful girls in the world both inside and out.  They all 3 have HUGE hearts for children and each other along with their little siblings.  I know that when the thought of their birth father comes to mind that it is hard to understand at times.   What we try to help them understand is that he decided to let Brian and I raise them without his interference so they could go on without a once a year visit and confusion.  Again....it's hard for me to wrap my head around it to but I KNOW that God had this in his plan for their lives so to embrace the gifts (an amazing loving family with a great role model for a father) that came from it....not live with resentment and hatred. 

So as I fail as a parent... as we all do....my constant prayer is that each of my 5 babies know the LOVE that their HEAVENLY FATHER has for them is PERFECT and EVERLASTING and will NOT FALTER.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.