Adoption is a beautiful thing

Look at this beautiful family.

Without adoption, this family would not exist.

Adoption is usually not an easy road, for many, many reasons. Adoption is usually not the first thought of people who want a family. Adoption is misunderstood by too many. Adoption is often expensive, and heart-wrenching, and challenging.

But adoption is rewarding. It is so amazingly rewarding, and worth it, and wonderful!

It’s worth the heartache and the struggles, and I don’t mean for the children who find a forever family. Well, I don’t mean JUST for the children. I believe most adoptive parents will tell you that THEY are the ones who are blessed. THEY are the lucky ones.

Before Kenny and I even got married, we talked about building our family. I have always wanted to adopt, and I told him so early on. He was on board, as long as we could afford it. We didn’t know we’d be adopting our first child. We thought we’d have babies the way the majority of young couples have babies. But God had a different plan for us. He had a completely different plan for us!

Twice, He took us through the highs of finding out we were pregnant, only to walk us through the valley when we lost those babies before having the chance to meet them.  I asked God why. I cried, and I begged for an answer. I couldn’t understand the point. My heart was broken, and nothing made the loss OK.

But then, Kenny and I started talking about adoption. I have a friend who was working at an adoption agency, so I contacted her. We started the process, and 9 months later, we were holding our daughter.

9 months. Just like a pregnancy. The timing was perfect. God had a plan. The miscarriages were part of that plan. I will hold my babies in heaven, but God knew I was going to hold THIS baby on Earth.

I always thought I would love my adopted children just as I loved my biological children. I didn’t think there would be any difference. But there is a difference.

I do not love one more than the other. I love them equally, and with the same intensity.

But my love for Kennison grew differently than my love for Colton. It is very different to love someone whom you carry and protect from the beginning of their tiny form than it is to love someone before you’ve met them, felt them, and had them near to you. My love for Kennison includes the love I have for her birth mother, a woman who made an unfathomably difficult choice to give her daughter a different kind of life.

My love for Kennison is different than my love for Colton. Not more, and not less, but different. And that’s OK.

Adoption is a beautiful thing. It brings people together to love and protect each other. It strengthens and softens us at the same time. It stretches us to love in new ways, and to imagine a different life.

Without adoption, this family would not be possible.

Neither would this family.

***The above family is our friends Josh and Stephanie who just returned from California where they met and adopted their beautiful Ava Claire. More pictures of Ava are below, because who can resist pictures of precious babies?***

I don’t like peppers.

What is this, I wonder?

I bet I’d LOVE this! I must simply give it a try!

Which end do I start with?

Tastes a little woodsy to me. Maybe I should try the other end.

And to think Mom and Dad thought I couldn’t handle this. What do they know?

This is great! I could eat these all… WAIT!!! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??? WHAT IS THAT TASTE?

How could Mom and Dad let that happen? I can’t believe they allowed me to put that thing in my mouth!

***Mom does not have pictures of the aftermath, because she and Dad were too busy trying to get me to drink my milk, eat a fruit snack, etc, so I’d stop screaming. They were hoping to keep the restaurant staff from calling DCFS on them!***

Happy Mother’s Day to me!

I have been asking Kenny to build me a swing for several months now. I guess he decided Mother’s Day would be the perfect opportunity to make it – he’d get it done, and it could count as a present to boot! It’s done, and it’s beautiful – I can’t wait to enjoy it all summer long. I plan to sit outside sipping margaritas while watching the kids play in the yard. Come on over – I have plenty to share, and this bench is built for many! You can bring the chips and salsa.

Paradise Park

Tori and I took the kids to Paradise Park, a really cool play zone for younger kids. I highly recommend it if you’re in the KC area and want a way to entertain wee ones while providing them with learning opportunities at the same time!

Kennison had the chance to dig for dinosaur bones!

The water table was a big splash!

Colton enjoyed it, too.

Didn’t you know plastic lizards make good water toys?

Look! My kids are getting along, and I got a picture of it to prove it!

I love the droplets of water that can be seen flying through the air. Jack was all about the splashing.

Kennison eventually migrated upstream to the tallest water table where the boys had a lot more trouble reaching. She enjoyed her tall-kid time without having to share with her brother and cousin.

They had a counter where kids could paint their own faces.

This station was made for Kennison.

Paint her face she did!

You can tell she’s really been paying attention to how Auntie Ang applies HER makeup. Those lessons are really helping.

Colton decided he needed to get in on the makeup table.

He had fun, too.

My camera battery died shortly after. To see more pictures of our fun, visit Tori’s blog.

I have an addiction.

I have an addiction.

It’s quite the affliction.

Whether he’s  sunny and smiling…

…or cute and beguiling…

Throwing a tantrum and mad…

…or crying and sad…

I love taking pictures of this face.

No matter the time or the place.

Another MonkeyStitch giveaway!

Do you know what this is?

I’ll tell you in case you don’t know – it’s a totally ADORABLE bow holder!

How do I know that it’s a bow holder? Why, because I made it to hold bows – of course!

It will hold any kind of bow, but why would you have any kind except MonkeyStitch bows?

This bow holder has 5 ribbons on it to hold your daughter’s (heck, your son’s – I’m not here to judge) hair bows and clips. In fact, you can see one little pink bow on here already as an example. Imagine this filled with MonkeyStitch items. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful sight? (For the record, it only boasts one MonkeyStitch bow because I was at Tori’s house when I crafted this, and I whipped up a bow just to put on the holder for show. Tori doesn’t have MonkeyStitch bows laying around her house because she has a boy. I told her new baby should be a girl so we’ll have another hair bow modeler in-house, but oh well. We’ll welcome Charlie anyway. Maybe we’ll give HIM bows. I can say that without fear of retribution from Mike as I’m 97% certain he does not read our blog.)

Anyway.

This bow holder (or one in your color scheme!) could be yours! All you have to do is head on over to MonkeyStitch and leave a comment about the charm exuding from this exquisitely hand-crafted, unique item. Or, you could just leave your name. Either way, you should enter for your chance to win it! Tell a friend (then tell us you told a friend) and earn bonus entries!

Good luck!

(Winner will also win a bow like the one pictured, but probably not this exact bow - as Kennison absconded with it earlier today, telling me it was hers, and then placing it in her unruly birds nest of hair - post nap. But I’d be happy to make you another one in your color of choice!)

How cute are these?

Tori made these. She is so good.

The best part? She’s giving away a CUSTOM pair.

Are you salivating yet?

All you have to do is visit her blog and watch the video of Jack saying his baby brother’s name.  Then, take a guess as to what they’ll be naming their newest blessing. She has given the clue that the name starts with “C”. I can verify that’s correct, because I already know the name. I would love to guess, but she told me I couldn’t.

I think those shoes would look really good on me, don’t you?

Ahem.

If you have little feet at your home that could benefit from these cute tootsie covers, head on over to Life as a Friedrich and make your guess. Tori says the contest will end when Mikey finally decides on a middle name.

My guess is you have plenty of time, but you never know.

If you’d rather skip the contest and just want to order a pair, just visit Monkey Stitch to view the details. At $7, these are an item worth having on foot! (You know, as opposed to on hand…)

And how did YOU find our blog?

I feel like I have a pretty good idea of who reads my blog. I think that it’s mostly made up of people that I’ve met, either in person or through the blogging world. I believe our blog is read by friends and family, and by friends of friends who happened to click our link on someone else’s blog. Some people find us because of adoption. Some people find us because of our last name. Some people find us because they use the search term “kraft macaroni cheese pregnant.”

Huh? Yeah, I wondered about that one, too. WordPress.com provides search terms for me that people have used and that eventually lead them to this blog. Some make total sense, like:

• Allison Friedrich
• Kennison ThanAn
• Jack Friedrich’s blog
• Cowboy cupcakes

I completely understand why those search terms would lead a person here. However, there are some I just can’t wrap my mind around:

• old school kids wagon — We have a wagon, and it’s for our children, but I wouldn’t call it “old school”.
• chuck e. cheese tokens — We went to Chuck E. Cheese. Once. I didn’t realize it meant our whole blog could be a resource for those wanting to learn more about Chuck E. Cheese tokens. I mean, really, how much info does a person need about tokens?
• cut out tv cabinet to fit bigger tv — Ooooh! I know! THIS IS A BAD IDEA. Just buy a bigger TV cabinet. Don’t just put it the cabinet sideways. You’ll never get over how crooked the whole thing looks in your living room, and it will throw off the balance of the entire space.
• monkeys to give away – Who is out there looking for monkeys that are being given away? Seriously.
• kenny/’s sister – I thought this was an interesting search. How far did someone think they’d actually get with this mis-punctuationed, generic search term?
• kindergarten aunt tata – Well, Kennison and Colton do know Tori as Aunt Tata, but she doesn’t teach kindergarten. I’m not sure I’ve ever used the word kindergarten on my blog before today.
• how to make dog cupcakes – Ummm, you’ll have look that up elsewhere. I have never made dog cupcakes, and don’t have any plans to try.

Cousin photos Spring 2009

Tori mentioned on her blog that I would soon be posting these pictures. Since she put me in the hot seat, here they are!

We decided that since we had the kids’ pictures taken last spring at this time, we should go ahead and have some taken this year as well. Why not? I’m always up for having more pictures of my kids! Enjoy!

I love this picture.

Aren’t my kids precious? I can say that because… well, because they are!

My little lady is growing up WAY too fast.

Can you see his curls? I put mousse in his hair. I wanted the curls to be visible. Kenny tried to pretend he thought the mousse was ridiculous, but I could tell he liked Colton’s hair this way.

The photographer was telling Kennison to say, “Princess”! She loved it. My mom got Kennison this dress, and I couldn’t think of an opportunity she’d have to wear it, so I thought we should get her picture taken in it.

My children are beautiful. I will not apologize for saying so, either.

Look at how her ankles are crossed!

More smiling. Kennison did SO WELL on this photo shoot. I was so proud of her!

Colton was done. This is the ONLY picture we got of him in this outfit. Well…

except for this one. I asked Kennison to hug Colton, thinking that might end the screaming Colton was doing. No such luck. This was the last photo taken of any of the kids.

Jack has such a sweet smile! He’s clapping too, but I kind of cropped out his hands. He does have hands, though.

I love Jack’s expression in this photo.

Why am I always behind?

I feel like I’m always playing catch-up these days. It probably has something to do with the extra morning I’ve been teaching, my new part-time job, the two programs at school (that will be over after this week) and my two small children. I mean, I’m glad to be busy – but I just feel overly busy right now! Soon my part time work will be able to be done at home, which is a day I’m greatly anticipating. Until then, while I know you’ll be disappointed, my posts will probably be less about words and more about pictures. Go ahead and cry your big tears now. I’ll wait.

Are you done?

Ok, on with the pictures…

Auntie Ang and Kennison on Easter morning

Auntie Ang and Coco

Kennison in her Easter dress

Colton dressed to celebrate Easter

This was the best picture we got of Kennison and Colton together on Easter.

Kennison tried to hug Colton while he tried to escape…

…and then Colton tried to hug Kennison.

My sister called this our family Easter photo. Yeah, pretty much!

Colton had had enough of the picture taking. He was going upstairs.

Colton and Granddad love to bump heads.

Who gave that 3-year-old a can of orange pop?

Colton would stay in this car all day if we’d let him.

Playing with a stick in the yard. Why do we buy outdoor toys?

More stick-in-the-mud time.

Colton and Kennison playing in the Cozy Coupe. Kennison wanted to share the car, but that seat is not big enough to share. The door was open and she was leaning back.