My Life- it's as fun as puttin' lipstick on a squirrel

This is an old writing I did on  Feb 2, 2012. as I am neck deep in the adoption process I will share some of my first writings! :) I set off today in search of a homeless person. Long story short. Bryan got a GREAT jacket from the Beltline Railroad. He has too many jackets so this one was earmarked for PIN Ministries. I got a burr in my fur and decided that I would personally hand this to a homeless person. TODAY. At the beach. Off went Cora and I. with a carload of determination and donations. first stop: Birdneck and Va. Bch Blvd. GREAT spot. plenty of homeless. they used to live in the woods right there. easy job right? WRONG. Lot's of people. but were they homeless? no. just standing at the bustop. well . shoot. now , How do you walk up and ask. hi, i have a free jacket. are you homeless? are you cold? moving on second stop: Judeo Christian Outreach. many people milling around. but Cora had a great observation. Mom. they all have jackets. onward: look...

The Time has Come   This song shall start this blog. It's by Hillsong United it's perfect for this season of the Niles Family. It's time for a New Normal. Let me unpack the Old Normal for you.... Book Club Small Group Library on Thursdays with Cora Parks with Cora Nap times Art Classes for Cora Gym Classes for Cora Dinners with friends I just stole some of those from my planner (yes a paper calendar ) in the month of June. June rolled in lazy and slow. Cora and I planned to go to all 10 parks in our lovely city of Chesapeake. Free Movies on Wednesdays, Art on Tues, Gym on Saturdays...bucolic , lazy summer days. Fast Forward to July. I have told many of you we are in the adoption process. We started this journey last September 2011. It's been long, slow and there have been ups and downs. But we were approved and immediately hit the ground running to find a child perfect for our family! After reviewing many case files we were actually introduced to a very a...

Just the other day I had to say NO...again! I despise saying NO all the time, in this case it was a NO , we cannot go to McDonald's drive thru. My daughter, 5, was starving...I assure you that she was not! She just could not stand to go home and eat lunch at our own table in our very own kitchen. Poor her...a victim. Of Dave Ramsey. Let me back up. My husband and I have been married since 1995. Many of those years we have had double and triple incomes flowing into this house. We have had credit cards, personal loans, equity loans, car loans and loans from family members. We have indeed, tried to keep up with the Joneses...whoever in the heck they are. New cars, new motorcycles, two car garage with apt over it, new clothing, vacations, they all were things WE HAD TO HAVE! Haircuts, pedicures, manicures, tattoos, piercings, cellphones, computers, leather seats, heated seats....WE HAD TO HAVE THEM. they were necessary. Well after many years of living like this it t...

Cold Feet Two days from now we will meet a child that we have prayed about, talked about and dreamed about. In the summer of 2011, Bryan and I started talking about adoption again. We have always thought it would be a grand thing to adopt ever since the beginning of our marriage. We just never thought we could afford it or even pull it off. Fast forward 16 years and here we are. Home study approved, back ground checks approved, family fingerprinted, shots up to date, fire extinguisher and first aid kits in house :) ! You name it we are ready. But are we? After much thought we went and interviewed to be considered for a young lady who is 12. We get to meet her on Monday. O my gosh. This is for real. We have been told to show up at 10 am and bring a book that has info about our family , pictures of our house, local school and our church. We will be meeting a human being and she is probably just as scared as we are. However I find myself to be thinking.... will she like ...

Do you remember being a child and playing a game called Hot Lava...maybe all the carpet in your home was HOT Lava...and the only way to survive was to jump from couch to chair to end table without touching the BAD STUFF! My daughter is now 5 and her favorite thing to say is oh...that part of your Bed is HOT lava...as she flings herself thru the air and lands next to me! I love her imagination. However. Hot Lava exists...I avoid it every day. It's the snarky remarks about others, the eye rolls at a neighbors new car, the up and down looks at a "bit too tight" outfit, the "not so walking with Christ" moments that all Christians have. These are my HOT LAVA moments. I try not to fall in. I skip from Small Group, to Service, to serving others...but there are days when the gap is too large. I fall right in. I get BURNED! Let me break it down for ya...our family is going through the adoption process. We started back in September 2011. Fast forward to June ...