Hola...

Our house has officially become a kid zone lol... we have toys insode and out and it looks funny to have a swing set in our yard... but we're all doing fine and well and getting adjusted to the whole routine of things... I have to say I didn't believe anyone when they told us that once you got a routine established it got easier but by golly it really does! People do know what they are talking about after all!! lol Please continue to keep the girls in your prayers. They have started to visit with various family members and I just can't imagine how confusing it has to be for these little ones that they can't go live with the people they came from... We still do not know any long term plans so we're just taking it day by day and we'll just enjoy the blessings while they are with us.

We have decided that when they leave we're going on another crusie and drinking fruity drinks til we don't remember our names!! lol

But seriously... we're doing ok... I think the fact that this is only a temporary situation is what gets both of us through some of the hard times... so we may be looking less at adoption and more at just being foster parents. Who knows what is to come for us... it's definately an adventure! And it's amazing how me and Jimmie's strengths and weaknesses have complimented each other in this whole experience! This is definately bringing us together in our marriage on a whole nother level... did that remind anyone else of a skit from Mad Tv? lol a whole nother level....

anyways... That's my quick update on all that... I wanted to also post the following email someone recently sent to me...


Are you Coffee?

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen.

She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

It's easier to build a child than repair an adult. This is so true. May we all be COFFEE?