A Part of Who We Are

As we are nearing Ella's 2nd birthday,

I have been reflecting a lot on Ella's {and Joe's} birth country and birth mom.

It is easy to forget about their heritage

and the huge, most unselfish decision their birth mother made to give them up.

Not because we don't appreciate it

and not because we aren't grateful for it,

but because they are a part of us...

and we don't see them any different than Sarah, John, James, or Anna Grace.

Joe and Ella are just as much my kids as my four biological children are...

the only difference is-

the four older ones were born from my belly,

the two younger ones were born from my heart.

They "weren't born under my heart, but in it."

We love Guatemala.

Everything about it.

From the gorgeous hills and scenery to the beautiful people,

Guatemala is fascinating country.

Someday, when Joe and Ella are old enough,

we will travel back to Guatemala as a family

and share their heritage with them.

Someday, they will appreciate the choice their birth mom made.

Someday, they will notice that they look different than me.

Someday, they will start asking questions.

But, today, they see no difference.

They don't see any difference... and I like it that way.

There is a difference, though.

We don't forget it, but we embrace it.

Because of adoption, we are:

closer

stronger

more faithful

and richer in heart.

We are an adoptive family... we are a transracial adoptive family.

Some people may not understand why we chose to add to our family by international adoption.

but it is a part of our family.

It is what sets us apart.

It is who we are.

And, just as we are adopted into God's family, it is our job as Christians to advocate and care for the remaining 147 million orphans who continue to wait for a mommy and daddy to bring them home to their own family. We need to stand together and fight to make orphans history.

Is it a big task? Yes.

Does it seem overwhelming? Yes.

Is it impossible? NO.

Anything is possible with God. God is bigger than our biggest problems; including the orphan crisis... ESPECIALLY the orphan crisis. God is bigger than the orphan crisis.

I am just an individual who is stepping out to do my part to defend the cause of the fatherless.

I get so encouraged when I look around the blog world at all the other individuals who are also taking a stand. I look around and read about all the people who are doing unthinkable things to care for the orphans.

As I look around at everything that is being done to save the orphans, the unattainable number of 147 million, seems a little more attainable. I witness God's mighty power are I watch the selfless work being done by others.

He sees each and every one of the 147 million.

He knows them by name.

He knows their hurt and hears their cries.

He cares about each and every orphan around the world.

I'm Back

I am positive no one reads my blog anymore... and I have deserved it. I am a terrible blogger! I can just not bring myself to sit down at the computer and write out a post. Bad, I know. I was going to participate in the November Blog Posting Month: 30 Posts in 30 Days, but, as you can see, it's not working out for me. It was a far stretch for me, so I have decided to make a more attainable goal-- One post a week. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I am hoping it will bring me to post more.

My computer broke, so that hasn't helped either. With the computer went all my pictures! I am in the process of uploading all my pictures onto my laptop... so hopefully I can update with new pics soon!!!

***Lots has been going on around here! We've been crazy busy but lovin' life!

That's all for now!

-Shari

The Many Faces of Ella Marie

Staying with my promise to myself, I am working hard to post every day. Today's post is all about spunky little Ella. She is 11 1/2 months old, weighs about 20 pounds, and has curly, jet black hair. Not to mention her personality gets bigger everyday!!! As of October 18, she has been home for ONE year! Can you believe it? I sure can't! It seems like she has been here a lot longer than just one year, yet it feels like we just brought her home yesterday! (confusing???)

Ella has grown so much in the past year! She has done a great job trying to catch up with her older brother, Joe. She is now working on talking. She says quite a few words, but with 5 older siblings, she has to keep up!

Well that's all for today! Have a blessed week!!

-Shari

30 Posts in 30 Days

I admit it, I have been a terrible blogger. The truth is, I kind of just gave up on blogging and decided to just move on, but that was hard. I have continued to read blogs and follow the journeys of fellow adoptive families, and, while I was reading a blog, I came across a perfect chance to get back into blogging. So apparently November is National Blog Posting Month (correct me if I'm wrong) and to celebrate it, you are supposed to write a post each day of the month. I am not going to promise, but I will do my best to post each night about our latest happenings in the Stroup household. It also helps that I just got a new, professional camera that makes me want to take pictures of my kids every minute of the day. :)

So without further ado, here are some pictures to catch you up on the Stroup Happenings:

Big Bro's

AG and her friends!

As I have mentioned before, Ella and Joe are partners in crime. They (mostly) enjoy playing together and following each other around. I snapped this picture at Sarah's school during "Halloween in the Halls."

Our junior high cheerleader

Summer vacation to Destin, FL.

Catch Up

While I was uploading photos from our recent trip to FL, I found some adorable pictures that I never posted. They are just too cute not to share!

Joe & Ella: Partners in Crime

Action shot

After we met the Outmans at the airport, we stopped at the mall to do some shopping and ate lunch at our all-time favorite restaurant.... Chick Fil A. They had a little kiddie table in the food court. It was the perfect size for AG and Ella.

This is the crew that met Phelix, Phisher and the rest of the Outman Family at the airport. It was such a blessed day to see those two precious babies come home to their family that has faithfully waited for them for the past year.

Inspiring Video

I have been following the Johnson's journey to Lucy Lane for a while now. If you haven't visited their blog yet, you have to! They are such an inspiring family- bound to make a difference for orphans. They just brought little Lucy home from Ethiopia the middle of June. She is the cutest baby! Seriously- PRECIOUS! 

Anyways, the point of this post is to share this inspiring video of the Johnson family's adoption journey to bring home little Lucy Lane. It brought me to tears. This video is truly inspiring... makes me want a little girl from Ethiopia! ( in my dreams :)

Well here you go:

WARNING:: very touching, be prepared to cry... LOTS

Happy 4th of July!

We are thankful for so much this 4th of July. I remember last year's 4th as we were disappointed to have to celebrate 4th of July without Ella. This year we were so excited to celebrate the 4th as a complete family! This is Ella's first 4th as an American citizen!!!

We had a great day, filled with love, thankfulness, and fun! Here's how we spent our 4th of July 09:

We started off our day taking a little trip to St. Louis to welcome the Outman Family home from Ethiopia with their twin boys! It was great to see Phelix and Phisher for the first time! They are absolutely precious!

While the girls went to St. Louis, the boys stayed home and went to the fireworks store (the highlight of the summer!) to purchase some more fireworks.

After we met the Outmans, we stopped at the mall for some quick shopping and lunch, and then we headed home!

Then we were off to a family friend's house to swim, play, eat dinner, enjoy homemade ice cream, and shoot off fireworks! There were 3 families and 13 kids (ages 1-16). All the kids played together great and had a ball shooting off and watching the fireworks!

We had a great day, FULL of fun! Happy 4th everyone!