I am a happily married wife and mother to two boys. I work outside the home (from my home office) in the senior housing and health care sales and marketing field and as a freelance writer. Our journey to a family of our own took us first to China and then to Russia. I truly believe we have the children we are meant to have. I love being a mother and I want my boys to be as happy, healthy, and well adjusted as possible. That being said, it is not an easy job, ever. Does it ever get easier? Who knows. I hope so. In our world we deal with behaviors associated with early life trauma, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It would be easy to get caught up in an alphabet world of diagnosis, but that is no good for anyone.
Our family is a mix of American, Russian and Chinese, and our food, activities, and culture reflect this mix. We can be found attending Chinese New year with my oldest son, visiting a Russian festival to celebrate my youngest son, or eating hot dogs at a very American baseball game!
Home is where our story begins, and it is where our family gathers around the table. Meal time is more than the food we eat. It is the love shown through planning and preparing a healthy meal. It is the insights shared around the table as we chat about our days. In this fast paced world we are raising our children in, the family dinner table is even more important than ever. My youngest son, especially, loves to help me in my busy kitchen and I am always looking for ways he can pitch in and learn even more. I am learning that home made doesn't mean the occasional dinner of cereal and fruit isn't just fine too.
My overall goal for my family is to be healthy and happy, and I feel it is my job to create an atmosphere in which we will all thrive. As a busy working mother and wife the only way I know how to accomplish everything I want to without having a total breakdown is organization. I am a totally organized mommy and I love the time it gives me to spend with my boys. You will find lots of organization tips on this blog; from apps for my iPhone to clearing away the clutter!
I am also all about simplifying our lives and spending time doing only what truly matters. Time with our families, time with our church, time with each other- there is so much that has to be done each day that I want to be sure we don't get bogged down in the action of life- I want us to truly be living each and every day! I try, and struggle with, starting each day with prayer and devotions and I work hard to help my husband lead our little family down God's path for us. Raising my boys to be thankful and compassionate is a full time job!
This blog is about my life, my boys and adoption, with the occasional product, service, or website review, some of which I am compensated for, thrown in.
Our journey has been an amazing one so far - join us for discussions on learning to be a healthy mom, cooking for my family, international adoption, family fun - you never know where life will take us!
