Lori Florida

It's his birthday, a day when we should be together.  But instead I'm missing him while I'm off on an adventure.  I love him so much.....that he's the kind of guy to send me off to Ethiopia on his birthday is just one of the millions of reasons. Happy Birthday Scott!!  I love you!! Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

I can't really remember what our plan was, but I'm quite sure that it wasn't 2 babies in 16 months.....Trevor Dean Florida was our first experience with " God's plan for our family's children is soooo much better than our own!"   We were given the gift of a second man child, sturdy and strong with a tender heart and a will of iron on May 19, 1996.  This past weekend has been a sweet celebration of the baby grown up. Since Trevor himself isn't too keen on hearing the details surrounding his birth (he wouldn't even let me play his birth video while his friends were here....sheesh, boys!!)  I've decided to chronicle the story here for the day his future wife or daughters want to hear his story......and maybe because it was such a precious time for his Momma! There was a part of me that was hoping Trevor would be a girl, mainly just because I already had a boy and conventional wisdom said variety is the spice of life.  There was a bigger part o...

There are days that are a glaring fork in the road because they contain the moment upon which everything hinges.  Days that have the potential to be either looked back on with the fondness  of great opportunities that were birthed or with the regret of unfulfilled wishes and dreams.  Today is one of those days.   The first time April 23rd stood out on the calendar for me was because it carried the weight of a deadline... a deadline that prompted my introduction to my daughter, Asnaku (who went by "Ashley" on the waiting child list.)   Connected to the picture of a big-eyed girl with a serious face were these words, " Ashley, age 15 years -Ashley will turn 16 in April 2013; an adoptive family must file an I-600 (which occurs at the end of the adoption process) before she turns 16 years old, or she will not be able to be adopted . If you know of anyone interested in Ashley’s adoption, please contact us." Today could have been the day that she knew her fate ...

Have you met Ginger??  If you have, you probably just smiled when you read that!  She leaves an impression, that girl! The mustache picture is very appropriate to this story....as you will soon see! Our spicy Ginger...baby Florida #6 was very much planned.  It's been 4 years since she arrived and her story hasn't been recorded anywhere but our hearts.  Her birthday seems like a good time to share! Her story has to begin with that fact that her Daddy really loves babies....I mean reeeeaaallly loves babies....as in, we would have 64 by now if money, time an logistics didn't have to be a factor in family planning!  So a common comment heard in the Florida house since the first Florida baby came along has been, "How 'bout another baby??  Why wouldn't we want to do that again!"  Now Ginger's Momma loves babies too....really loves babies.  But Ginger's Momma also gets tired, especially after 5 babies in 8 years, so Ginger's Momma just...

It's almost 8 am tomorrow morning in Ethiopia right now.  In her time zone her birthday is over and a new day is beginning.  She's a year older and I wonder who noticed.  The sweet orphanage workers put on a birthday bash for the kids every year...birthdays are celebrated, all at once in a group.  But was there anyone who singled her out...on the day she was born....to celebrate that it happened?   She's a Florida now....at least almost.....and I hope the letters we sent got there in time for her to know that 8 people on the other side of the world are oh-so-glad that she was born 15 years ago today.  I wonder how many of her birthdays have gone by like this....how many years since her first Momma was alive to recount the details of the day she was born and dream with her about the next?  How many years since her first Daddy treated her like she was the birthday gift? I know her Heavenly Father has continued to celebrate and sing over her day af...