If I won the lottery

My mom and I like to talk about what we would do if we won the lottery.  It's a silly thing to talk about considering we don't play, but we have fun with it anyhow. 

This weekend the kids, Kyla (the teenager living with us for a bit), and I tagged along with David to a work conference he had in Vegas.  The only cost for the kids, Kyla, and I to go was what we ate in food, so hey, why not?!?!?  Anyhow, while we were there I got a really good look at how some people, who are blessed beyond comprehension with money, choose to spend it.  I have to say, I was very disappointed. 

Timothy Sykes, the guy putting on the conference, had a big blowout party one night for the guys attending his conference.  He hired a bunch of women to the party and mingle with the guys that were attending the conference.  He rented a huge studio, got tons of booze, and paid each of those women an insane amount of money to be there that night.  He spent $25,000 total.  That is more than half of the adoption fees we are trying to raise blown in one night!  

One day, David and I shared an elevator with a man that David called the $60 million dollar man.  I thought he was joking.  Nope, apparently the man had just sold his business for $60 million dollars!!  One of the nights he was in Vegas he went to a club and threw hundred dollar bills in the air so it would rain money on the people at the club.  He literally threw his money away!  I was teasing David and told him I should have asked the million dollar man for some adoption money. David says that our adoption will mean more because we will have to work for it. I'm pretty sure he's right ;). 

After seeing all this I started thinking about my mom and my conversations about what we would do if we won the lottery (though first we'd have to start playing ;)).  My story goes like this...

First I'd buy a big house (stop shaking your head, it's for a good reason, I swear ;)).  Next I'd adopt lots of kiddos to fill the house with.  I'd hire people to cook for me, people to clean for me, people to help me home school, and I'd spend my days playing on the floor with the kiddos, taking them places they have never been before, and loving on them.  David, of course, would be working his dream job, trading the stock market with his own money.  He'd be loving on the kids a lot too, though.  He's great at that.  Of course, we'd take some awesome vacations (with all the kids in tow) and I'd probably get a pedicure every now and then, but I like to think that we would use our money wisely and not just (literally) throw it away.

I know we will never win the lottery and we will never be millionaires, but I also know our life is amazing just the way it is and that we are blessed beyond measure.  We can't wait to bring home Ramya and include her in the next chapter of our story; one that will never include millions of dollars, but one that will always more amazing than any life money could buy!

Save the Date and Your Unwanted Stuff!

Live in Phoenix?

Have lots of unwanted stuff you want to get rid of?

Looking for an easy way to help us raise money for our adoption?

Well, I have the perfect event for you!

Mark your calendar for:

Saturday, December 2nd and 3rd

We will be having another fundraiser garage sale at our house.  I know it's late in the year, but better late than never!  We will probably have another in March as well.

How can you help?  Great question!

1)   We want your unwanted stuff! Clothes, electronics, exercise equipment, old movies, toys, household items, etc... We want it all!  Anything we can sell at our sale, on craigslist, or on e-bay that you don't want, send our way!  All the money will go towards our adoption.

2)  Volunteer a couple days here and there some time before the sale to help us price and organize, or to play with two cute children while I price and organize. 

3)  Help me run the sale the day of, so either December 2nd or 3rd, or both!

4)  Bring me coffee when I'm a walking zombie and come prepared with a smile and a joke to keep me motivated!

Thanks so much for all of your support!!!!

A Sweet Face of Spina Bifida

Join Team Madi!

Next Satuday is our local Walk-N-Roll for spina bifida!  Our goal is to have 10 people walking with us and to raise $500.  We are at 5 people walking and $285.00, so we are over half way there!  Please join us!

http://www.sbaazwalknroll.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=484149&u=484149-332052133&e=4765266894

Spina Bifida Stories: Michelle

I was born in 1971 - the early days of spina bifida. I was born with Myelomeningocele (L4/L5) and hydrocephalus. Not long before I was born, most babies with SB died due to either infection caused by their spinal cord not being surgically closed after birth or hydrocephalus. I was truly born at the right time! Another thing that worked in my favor was being born in Chicago and Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago was pretty much the birthplace for the treatment of babies born with SB. In fact, the Spina Bifida Association of America started off in Chicago with just a few parents. Amazing what a grassroots effort can turn into.

I had about 30 surgeries by the time I was 10 years old. Thankfully, the majority of those were done before age 6 so I don't remember much. Even though I had many surgeries and physical issues growing up, I feel I had a pretty typical childhood. I went to a regular school and attended regular (mainstreamed) classes, had lots of friends, went to summer camp, played with my sisters, fought with my sisters, loved playing with my dolls, and loved to swim. I also went on many trips with my family - California, Mexico, Florida, Ireland. My parents did their best to not let my having spina bifida keep me down - even with my leg braces and crutches.

As I grew up, I always knew I would be independent and live on my own. My parents told me so as I grew up, so I had no other frame of thought. I got my first job at 16 being an annoying telemarketer, learned how to drive at 18 and moved out when I was 25. I decided to move to Florida with a friend from high school and so I quit the job I had the time (working in a law firm) and packed up my car and drove down here in January 1997. I have been here ever since! There really is no comparison to the weather from Florida to Chicago. Florida wins hands down!! Moving down here was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It wasn't (and isn't) always easy, but so worth it. I wouldn't change my decision to move out for anything. I still go back home for Christmas and usually in the summer and my family comes visit me. It's a nice arrangement!

 

My most recent job I had was at a small family-owned company that made and installed counter tops. I was their production coordinator. Unfortunately, I developed a severe pressure wound 4 years ago that required many lengthy hospital stays, so I had to resign and go on Disability. My 20 year work history worked in my favor though, as I make much more than people who are on Disability and have never worked. My wound is finally healed and I'm hoping to be back working in 2012. I miss working and making my own money!

Life with spina bifida can be difficult at times, but every life is presented with challenges and hardships. Mine just happen to be physical. As strange as it may sound, I am grateful for that. There are many more wonderful things about my life than negative things. I try to remind myself of that fact everyday.

..

A Piece of Equipment We Love

I blogged a while ago about getting Madi a Rifton Dynamic Stander (mobile stander).  I haven't updated about it for a while and thought it was about time!  I really love Madi's stander.  I love that she can easily wear her HKFOs to use it and that it keeps her upright and weight-bearing.  Another thing I love about it is that it puts her at eye-level with the other kiddos her age.  She can maneuver it very easily and get where she wants to go.  Most importantly, Madi loves her stander as well!

I've talked in the past about trying to vary Madi's activities while she stands up.  Usually that is a mix of spending time using the walker, spending time in the learning tower, spending time holding my hands to walk, getting carried in her HKFOs, and spending some time in her Rifton mobile stander.  Madi is two, so she likes to keep busy.  Changing activities often keeps her happy and also keeps her upright, which is so very, very important for her.  It's important for her bone growth, muscles, bowels and bladder, circulation, and so much more!

The only thing that I wish I could change about the stander is I wish it had a removable handle. I'd prefer to take this out, instead of Madi's wheelchair, but it's hard to use in busy parking lots and places like that. Because of the design, I have to bend over to push Madi, and it is hard to safely maneuver Madi around without killing my back and while watching Conner. Madi is amazing at getting around in it without help, but I always push her in the parking lot to keep her safe (ask her how much she loves that ;). She always yells, "NO! I DO IT BY MYSELF!" and gets upset at me).  I have plans to try and get someone to rig a little handle for me, so I'm hoping I can work something out there.  Other than the lack of the handle, the stander is amazing!!!

We bought a little table that works great with Madi's mobile stander.  We got it at Costco and it was only $20 but it is adjustable to four heights.  It fits when she is standing in her HKFOs, when she is in her stander, and when she is in her wheelchair; it's great!  I love easy and simple solutions that are affordable! Here's a picture of Madi using it in her stander:

We eat at the table, do stamps, color, paint, make food, and so much more.  It gets a lot of love!  In fact, it has some paint and ink stains to prove it!

If you want to check out Rifton's stander, you can go to http://www.rifton.com/products/standing/.  They also have a blog you can read at http://www.rifton.com/adaptive-mobility-blog/. 

We found our stander on craigslist and were able to buy it because of the money we get through Madi's amazon associates account.  Anytime you purchase through Amazon and use Madi's link, we get money back that we use towards therapy equipment and other equipment that insurance won't cover.  THANK YOU to everyone who purchases through her link for us!!  You are such a blessing!  http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=missmadi-20 

I am stealing a post ;)

With permission, of course, I'm stealing a wonderful post I read yesterday.  But, before I share, I'll explain why I'm sharing.  In our adoption adventure, we've met three groups of people (probably more, but I'll simplify it to three for you). 

1) The you are crazy, but we wish you the best group
2) The you are crazy, period, just crazy, and you are making a mistake group
3) The you are crazy, and this may not be easy, but wow will this be amazing and we are here to help group. 

I like the third group the best :).  It's hard, though, not to second guess yourself when the number two group speaks up.  Thankfully, that group is small, but they are there, and they make themselves known.  I can say, though, that God has spoken much, much louder than that group.  (I should also say that I do appreciate that  second group, because when they speak up, it drives me in to a frenzy of book reading, chatting with other adoptive families, and prayer.  At the end of the day, I come out even more confident of our adoption plans because of this group.)  David and I know that we are walking the road God has called us to walk.  When I read the post below, it reaffirmed how I am feeling. 

As sure as David knew he'd defeat Goliath, I am sure that God is leading this journey.

(On a side note, Sarah, the author of this post, and her family are on a journey to adopt a beautiful little girl, Elisha, who is waiting for them.  Check out their blog and read their story, it is an amazing one!)

http://alongtheroadadoption.blogspot.com/2011/10/david-and-goliath.html

WHAT'S YOUR GOLIATH?


We all know the story. Even those that aren't faithful can tell the basics of the story of David and Goliath. David was a small shepherd boy, Goliath was the big bad Philistine giant, Goliath came to attack, no Israelite would fight him, and then little David stood up to him with just a few stones and a slingshot, konked him square in the noggin', and took out the Giant once and for all.

But before David even made it onto the battlefield, he had other goliaths to contend with.
First there was his family. Filled with good intentions, or perhaps not, I don't know, they basically shot him down when he suggested himself as the person to take care of the issue at hand.

In fact, his brother said to him:

“Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

Who do you think you are?

You have no right to do this.

You aren't a warrior in my eyes; just a shepherd.

You have no idea what you are doing.

A goliath.

But still, David was willing to fight.
Then David was sent to King Saul, and told him, (more or less), "Hey, King, don't worry, even though no one else is willing to go and fight, I'll do it."

And the king's response?

“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
You can't do it.

You've go the odds stacked against you.

He's big. You are little.

This isn't your problem to deal with.

A goliath.

But still, David was willing to fight.
David was willing...
because he knew God was on his side. He knew, with the greatest of confidence, that this battle was not just between a small Israelite boy and a giant Philistine warrior. We always picture a little shepherd boy up against giant, but what we often fail to recognize is that God was there all along, standing next to David, guiding the slingshot for a direct hit. David was confident, and, although he may not have known what exactly the end result would look like, he knew that whatever God had in store was worth standing up to fight.
We may not face Goliath, but we face our own goliath problems all the time.

We get questioned, beaten down, told we are wrong, how dare we, who do we think we are, this isn't our battle, let it go, let someone else do it instead.
So many times, even those with good intentions end up as the goliaths in our lives.

When I heard this message, I realized just how closely it parallels with our adoption journey. Not just ours, in fact, but many families. Can I get an amen? :)

The decision to adopt isn't to be taken lightly.

But then again, if you have confidence that God is on your side, do you really have to worry about heading into battle?
Shortly before we filled out our commitment paperwork stating our intent to adopt "Taylah", we were faced with a situation that made me question whether or not this was the path we were truly supposed to take.

I asked God for guidance; I specifically asked that He speak boldly, clearly than ever before,
to let me know if this was a battle we were truly supposed to fight.
I opened my Bible, and the answer was blazing before me.

Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze: and you shall beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their wealth unto the Lord of the whole earth.  -Micah 4:13
When asked, "Are you sure this is God's intended path for you?" I can without a doubt say,

As sure as David knew he'd defeat Goliath, I am sure that God is leading this journey.

 
 
 
 
 
Thank you, Sarah, for letting me share your words!!