Lemonade anyone?

I have seen many awards floating around blogland, but, of all of those awards, I feel most privileged to have been nominated for the "Lemonade Award" by my amazing friend, Jill.


It makes me smile to know that at some point, I have helped someone to make lemonade from the lemons in their life. Of course, much of the lemonade in my life is freshly squeezed from the love, encouragement and support of the many blessed friends that surround me, both physically and through the world wide web. So, it is my privilege to nominate ten of those amazing people to receive this award as well. In no particular order, the nominees are:

1. Melanie at "Melz Midnight Brew". I "met" Melanie about six years ago in an online forum. Melanie is an adoptive mom who also happens to have biological triplets, two of whom have special needs. She and her family are currently in the process of adopting a precious little girl from Ethiopia. She homeschools, knits, gardens, makes delectable meals and inspires everyone who has the privilege of knowing her. It is such a blessing to "know" Melanie!

2. Elaine at "Looking for George". Elaine is the mother of five incredible kids, two of whom are adopted from Korea and Vietnam. She was my international adoption mentor and kept me afloat during the tedious and often painful, paperchase and the wait to bring my boys home. She continues to keep me afloat with her wit and wisdom and she never fails to bring a smile to my face.

3. Kristy at "Purely Monkeying Around." I met Kristy shortly after moving to Ohio. I was on bedrest during my pregnancy with the triplets and Kristy came to visit me at least once each month (for those of you who are LDS, she was my visiting teacher). She has always been a ray of sunshine in my life and is one of my greatest friends. Kristy and her beautiful family moved to Wyoming several years ago and I miss them dearly, but, even from far away, she brightens my days with messages of hope and encouragement and continues to put a smile of my face and in my heart.

4. Charissa at "Country Living the Urban Way." Although we have never met in person, I feel like I have known Charissa my entire life! Charissa is the mother to five incredible children, one of whom was adopted from the same orphanage in Ukraine as our Evan. We rode the roller coaster of adoption together and she continues to inspire me every single day with her heart of gold and her zest for life and love of the Savior.

5. Jenny at "The Ramsey Clan." I met Jenny when I transferred to Southern Virginia University in my Junior year of college and she has been one of my best friends ever since. Jenny is a pillar of strength and has been my rock and support through some of the most difficult times of my life. She is always there with an encouraging word and reminds me to put my trust in my Heavenly Father, whose plan for my life far exceeds my own! Jenny has faced many difficult times in her life and she does it with such grace. You could say that she is an expert at making lemonade with the lemons she is handed!

6. Richard at "Eastern Impact." Yes, I am nominating my husband for this award! In the 7 years that we have been together, we have weathered many storms and we have always come out on top. Much of that is due to his amazing ability to always see the rainbows at the storms' end. He is a faithful friend, an amazing husband and an incredible father. He is compassionate, giving and inspires all who are privileged enough to know him.

7. Sara at "The Magnificent Seven." Sara has been an inspiration to me since the day that I met her four years ago. Sara is the mother of seven magnificent children, including a set of quintuplets. She is an amazing wife, mother and friend and, on my toughests days, her patience and strength gives me the courage to press on.

8. Stacey at "The Kirchner Way of Life." Stacey is my life preserver. She keeps me afloat when I feel like I can barely hold my head above water (yes, even I have days like that). AND, she is courageous and generous enough to take on my brood whenever I need her to (and that takes a very special person)! There would not be as much lemonade in my life if Stacey was not around to help me squeeze my lemons :-)

9. Megan at "The Happy Hippies." I went to school and coached cheerleading with Megan at Southern Virginia University. She is the mother of two gorgeous children, one of whom has autism. Megan is a beautiful person inside and out. She is passionate about her family and her life and her passion is contagious. She inspires me to be the best person, the best wife and the best mother that I can be, each and every day.

10. Jennifer at "Our Uzbekistan Adoption Journey." If anyone knows how to make lemonade out of lemons it is Jennifer. Jennifer and her family started their jouney to adopt from Uzbekistan at the same time that we did. They were scheduled to travel to bring their beautiful daughter home just a few weeks after I traveled to Uzbekistan for Joshua, but problems with paperwork and officials in Uzbekistan kept them from meeting their daughter for almost 16 months after their original travel date was issued. With patience, faith and an eye single to the glory of God, they hung in there and finally arrived home with their daughter on Sunday. Jennifer and her family are an amazing example of faith and perserverance and beautifully illustrate the phrase, "Good things come to those who wait."

These amazing people are only a few of those who lift and inspire me on a daily basis and I am deeply grateful for their presence in my life.

To nominate others for this awards:

1. Copy the above logo and put it on blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show attitude and/or gratitude (Those who add sweetness to life and/or inspire you by making lemonade.)

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on a post.

5. Nominate your favorites and link to this blog.

Memory Lane Monday- Sisters

I know, I know. I've been a slacker. And I am sure that you thought another Monday would pass us by without a Memory Lane Monday post, BUT, I didn't want to become too predictable!

I am the oldest of six children. As the first child, I spent two, wonderful years being the lone object of my parents affections, so, naturally, when my younger sister, Claire, joined the family, I wasn't thrilled. This tiny little person absorbed so much of my parent's time and attention with her crying, constant need of feeding and her smelly diapers. To spite me, she liked to wake my parents over and over throughout the night leaving them too exhausted to play with me. At least, that's the way I saw it. And so the plotting began to get rid of this undesirable addition to the family.

It took a few years for my master plan to materialize, but finally the day came. I was 4 and Claire was 2. While our mother was busy in another room I grabbed a child-sized suitcase and stuffed it full of clothes and other odds and ends necessary for survival. You know, crayons, coloring books, a stuffed animal and a blanket with "silkies" (an addiction that both Claire and I have always shared). Once the packing was complete, I checked to make sure the coast was clear, then I grabbed my sister's hand and we quietly tiptoed out the back door. With the suitcase in one hand and my sister's hand in the other, we walked quickly down the sidewalk towards our destination.

After what seemed like an eternity (two year old's don't walk very fast, you know), we finally arrived. The Super America Convenient Store seemed like the perfect place to leave my "unwanted goods." Upon arrival I promptly helped my unsuspecting sister up onto the bench outside of the store, placed the suitcase beside her and turned to head back home. Luckily our father, who was on his way home from work, happended to drive by right at that very moment. He continued on to our house, thinking that my mother must have been at the store with us, but he arrived to find her in a panic. She couldn't find us anywhere.

They piled into the car and drove down the street to the convenient store where my sister still sat upon the bench, completely oblivious. I had not made it very far when they pulled up to collect my sister and within moments found myself in the car as well, face to face with what I would eventually come to call my mother's "death stare."

Although the details are a bit fuzzy, I can imagine that I spent a good amount of time alone in my room that afternoon and chances are, my mother didn't let us out of her sight for quite some time after that (now that she knew that I was serious about getting rid of my little sister, she wasn't taking any chances). Fortunately for Claire, this was my first and last attempt at dismissing her from the family.



Although we didn't always see eye to eye growing up, we eventually learned to love and appreciate each other and now that we are older, we are the best of friends. To say that I am grateful that my plans were foiled that day would be an understatement. To not have had the privilege of knowing Claire would have been a great tragedy as she is one of the most amazing people I have ever known!