My kids

 My kids are great little human beings. I like being with them. Adopting our children has been the hardest and most rewarding thing we've done as a married couple. It's hard because parenting is just hard. There's no easy version of parenting. Lack of sleep alone makes parenting hard, especially in the early days when they don't sleep.

Before McKay was born, I desperately wanted children. I wanted to be a mom. When we started the adoption process, I was so full of fear and excitement. It was definitely mixed feelings, but it felt right, and that brought excitement that overcame whatever fears I had. While we were waiting, we felt that we would adopt a boy. It felt clear to me that our first child was a son. I was excited for it. When he came, I was beyond grateful to be a mom to our adopted son.

McKay is a really good kid. He wants to do what is right, and he is very compassionate. He and I have a lot of similarities. We often butt heads because of these similarities but we also get each other. We can connect over the things we have in common. I love how he lives his life. He is friendly and has several close friends. He is observant, and he knows immediately when any of us is feeling off. He is always asking how I'm doing. It's thoughtful, and I love him for that.

He has perfect pitch. It amazes me all the time. He loves music. Matt and McKay share a lot in common with music. I love that he has this love for it. He plays the bass guitar and drums. If you've seen him perform, you've seen him rocking his braids to the music.

He loves having long hair. It's his style, and he looks good with it. I've had to learn how to braid it, and it takes hours to do, but the kid looks good. We keep going for it even after every time I swear I'll never do it again.  

I love him. He has so many thoughts and has lots to talk about. He loves sprinklers and fixes ours regularly. It's nice to know we don't have to worry about them. He has also fixed our washing machine, which is a bonus. He is planning his future already, and I love hearing about all the things he wants to do with his life.

After we adopted McKay, I knew I wanted to adopt at least one more child. I wanted McKay to have a sibling who was also adopted. I worried about him growing up in a world where you don't come across adoption as often. At least that was my worry. We come across adopted kids all the time. I really wanted someone whom he could connect with and feel understood by. I wanted these two kids to have someone in their corner who would just get what it is like to be adopted.

Then we adopted Brynlee. Brynlee has been a joy to our family. I love my Brynlee. She was the person we didn't know we needed. From the start, she has been a nurturer. If she got hurt as a young child, she would want her blanket. If we got hurt, she brought us a blanket to feel better with. She has spent a lot of time brushing my hair when I have a headache because that feels better, massaging my back when it hurts, and bringing us things if we need them. She has always been this way. It is a natural part of her.

She sings a lot. When she was younger, she was making up songs about whatever she was doing. Now she sings along with her MP3 player. She loves to sing, and I love hearing her. We recently did a band with the four of us, and she rocked the singing.

She is very friendly and makes friends everywhere we go. At a park, she will go and find someone near her age to play with. She is social and outgoing. She is also very creative. She loves anything crafty, and we're always coming across little projects she has made. She loves art and paints with me anytime I pull my paints out. She loves playing the Nintendo Switch with Matt and me. She is getting really good at it. It's fun to play with her. She likes to do spas. She is always setting one up for me. She'll fix my hair, massage my feet, and paint my toes. She does a pretty good job at it.

I love watching both of these kids develop and grow. They impress me over and over with who they are becoming. I'm so grateful that I am blessed to have them in my life. They are awesome people who I feel honored to be a part of their lives.