“However motherhood comes to you, it’s a miracle.” – Valerie Harper

My atypical motherhood journey has come with challenges many families don't face: trauma, history, past experiences, learned behavior, & emotional baggage that come with the territory of adoption- NO MATTER the age. As my memories from 6 years ago pop up when my boys first visited the U.S. for Christmas hosting (and we had JUST gotten Mae's referral...), I had no idea then what a journey I was about to be on.

While I always want to protect the stories & histories of my children (for THEM to share if/when they are ready), I do consider it a huge part of my story what they've taught me through the journey of adoption.

The last 6 years have been HARD. They have been years of so much growth, pressing, molding, breaking, shaping. I wonder every day how I am going to mess up my kids by my reactions, career decisions, and emotional responses. I beg God every day for His grace to cover all those places where my own sinfulness gets in the way. But amidst every doubt & failure, I see these faces as a fulfillment of God's goodness in the brokenness. His miracles in the mundane. His power to make beauty from ashes.

I praise God for these miracles that drive me to my whits end. These miracles who exhaust my brain. Who bring me laughter. Who love me at my worst. Who tell me I'm "the best cooker" even when I just made boxed mac & cheese. It is such a gift and such a journey to be Mama- especially an adoptive one who doesn't carry the same bond of the womb & infancy.

My {maybe unpopular} story is that the Lord impressed it upon our hearts to adopt rather than have children biologically. Being faced so deeply with the orphan crisis, God placed adoption at the forefront of beginning a family. He continues to write this story, even on the really hard days, when I have to make difficult parenting choices that keep me up at 2am. But I am especially grateful for the reminder of the hand-picked miracles He has placed under my roof, the ones that made me a mom, and the miraculous journey of {atypical} motherhood