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two awesome kids....
Happy Wednesday!

Celebrating 6 Years...

Six years ago today, I gave birth to a beautiful, premature boy.

We decided to name this little strong soul, Garyn Matthew.

He has been proving his determination and strength from the moment he entered this world.

Garyn, EVERYDAY you brighten my world...

You are so very special.

To me, you are:

A Son,

Tough,

Strong,

Sensitive,

Loving,

Curly Haired,

Determined,

A Fighter,

Beautiful,

Friendly,

Shy,

Smart,

Thoughtful,

A Brother,

Catholic,

Blue Eyes,

A Yellow Belt with Green Stripe,

Understanding,

A Grandson,

Passionate,

Philanthropist,

Open-Minded,

A Great-Grandson,

A Wrestler,

Believer,

Dreamer,

Successful,

Hard-worker,

Listener,

Defender,

...

In six short years, you have accomplished so many goals.

In six short years, you have overcome many hardships on your body.

Every single night of those six short years, I have thanked the Lord for blessing me with you and keeping you safe.

Thank you for being my Son.

I will love you forever.

love- Mommy

wanna see a few pictures of a beautiful country?

http://www.godwilladd.com/

Check out God Will Add's most recent blog entry and a look at a beautiful country....

Things that make me smile...

Things that make me smile today...

Checking in on my babes to see them peacefully sleeping
(Garyn's feet at the head of the bed, Gigi with no covers, mouth wide open)

 Ryan is home safe from traveling this week

It's Friday

Garyn and Gigi have another fantastic fun weekend ahead of them

I woke up today and will get to see another day on this earth

We have nothing to do tonight except hang out together at home

and this http://www.charitywater.org/blog/ethiopia-11-2011/

Happy Friday to All who read this!!!!

LOVE to READ

This Girl....Junie B. Jones makes us ALL laugh out loud!

The past few months we have been on a Junie B. Jones kick...

We read them every night and the kids LOVE them.

Thursday is a new favorite day, it's library day and that means a NEW Junie B. for the week.

I can not wait to see what we read this week!!

Thanks Junie B. for being the crazy YOU that you are and making us laugh every night before bed!

Sincerely,

The Sanford Family

To you Baby 'Opia...

It is very hard to sometimes put into words my feelings about our adoption.

I think about Baby 'Opia EVERY day...

imagining what it is going to be like when we receive the phone call...

imagining a boy or a girl...

imagining our first touch...

the first time the kids get to hug each other...

I am constantly working on being patient;

hopeful the day I imagine so often will happen soon.

I pray everyday that God keeps our child(ren) safe while we are apart and waiting,

I pray for our child(ren's) family and their continue strength and health,

and I pray for the continued strength and patience during this waiting time...

But,

I have my moments...

moments of sadness, frustration, fear, loneliness, longing...

sometimes they 'hit' me when I am silent before I go to bed,

or when I am driving,

or when I look at my two children peacefully sleeping at night.

I remind myself that it WILL happen at the PERFECT moment,

I place my trust in God and then those 'bad' feelings seem to fade...

Today, I have carried them with me ALL day.

Simply put, I AM SAD today.

We are having to update most of our homestudy documents because it has been a year since their initial completion. So, that means, I have been talking more about the adoption...reminding me all over again how LONG we have been patient...

Baby 'Opia,

If I had 4 minutes with you today, this is EVERYTHING I would say to you...

This song is for you-

If you want to know what I would say... 

listen to the words of this song

All my LOVE,

Mommy

prayer request...

my neighbor,
a mother of little ones,
suffering,
---
she is dying...
leaving behind many who love her,
---
do we rejoice, or weep?
i am struggling with questions like:
why
unfair
so much left on earth
---
she was given her life sentence 2 1/2 years ago,
at the time, her youngest son was 6 months old,
she was told she had 6 months to live...
----
Through her strength and God's Will she fought a good fight,
but now it's time...
Everyone must say good-bye.
----
i am sorry i didn't know her better,
i am heartbroken for her children and husband,
----
you see...you never know someone's life,
you may see a big, beautiful house,
and think...
WOW, if only i could have that life,
only to know the emptiness inside it,
ALL CAUSE BY CANCER.
---
her brain must rest now,
once again, i am reminded that it takes a village to raise a family,
so her's will be okay...
---

thankful that she had a few extra years...
no, it's not enough and not fair,
but she is on her way to a beautiful place!
---

and just maybe one day,
her son,
my son or my daughter will find a cure
and think of her
---

I am praying for you Elise.