New Adventure

We have spent the past 9 years of our almost 10 year marriage in Santa Cruz, Ca and in a couple of weeks we will be saying goodbye.  I haven't processed my feelings about this as it has all seemed to happen so quickly.

When we moved to Santa Cruz I was 22 and 8 weeks pregnant with our first child.  It was wild and such a leap of faith.  I remember crying as we drove away from our first apartment after all the hurdles we had leaped to move.  But as we started up the Uhaul the song "I will walk by faith" came on and we held hands and sang with all our heart.  "I will walk by faith even when I can not see."

We couldn't see that all 5 of our children would be born in the same hospital.  2 would grow in my belly and 3 would grow in our hearts.  We have made life long friends.  The LORD has stretched us and grown us in ways we would have never expected.  We have experienced life come into this world and life leave this world.  We have cried we have rejoiced.  We have stood up for what was right even when we were standing alone.  But most importantly we have grown together as we have continued to make Christ the center of our lives and our marriage.

This new journey will come with struggles, like packing up and moving 5 kids.  It will also be filled with blessings and new lessons.

 This verse seemed so fitting for the day that we announce our big move.

So farewell Santa Cruz and hello Santa Barbara!

Skeletons in the closet: A post Halloween post on the reality of human trafficking

Everyday the headlines are full of all sorts of atrocities.  But there is one headline you will rarely ever see.  One headline no one wants to read about.  "Slavery is alive and well in America"  In america there are approximately 300,000-400,000 children commercially sexually exploited.  That number brings me to my knees.

This is national adoption month, and you may be asking yourself why in the world I am talking about sex trafficking during a month dedicated to celebrating adoption.  Well here is your answer in the form of another statistic; 98% of children who are identified as survivors of sex trafficking had previous involvement with child welfare services.

Have you ever thought about what happens to the children who aren't adopted that are in our child welfare system?  Did you know that 5 is considered old when speaking of foster children?


As followers of Christ we are called to defend the cause of the orphan.  Not everyone is called to adopt but we are all called to do something.  And knowing that if 1 family in every 3 churches adopted we would have no more children waiting in America, I think its fair to say we aren't answering the call.

This video may be hard to watch but we have been ignoring this reality for far to long.

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17

Why new? :Providing for foster youth and why new is so important.

  Some people might think I am being a little extreme when I say we should really try to fulfill foster youths needs with new things.  Well I will do my best to explain why this could make all the difference for these young men and women.

   So to start I would like you to imagine a 6 year old little girl.  She has two younger siblings, they are 3 and 1.  She goes to school everyday and is in the first grade.  She loves playing with dolls and all things sparkly.  Her clothes are tattered and they smell of smoke and must.  When she gets home from school her "chores" await her.  She changes diapers, gets bottles, prepares dinner, and tries to clean up the house.  This is all while her parents are so loaded they have no idea what is going on and when they happen to be more aware they are usually fighting.

  One night things get out of control, the neighbors call law enforcement who arrive with a social worker in tow.  The social worker takes the children to the office and starts making phone calls to find a foster home.  They find a home for the 1 and 3 year old but they can't take the 6 year old too.  The children are separated.  You see in the world of foster care 6 is old.

  So fast forward a few years.  The biological parents are unable to reunify with their children, the 1 and 3 year old siblings have been adopted together, but the sweet 6 year old is now 8 and has lived in 4 different homes.  With every move she sinks deeper into herself.  She wonders why no one loves her.  Is she unlovable?  She starts to try to cause the rejection in new homes.  Almost like trying to rip the band aid off hoping it won't hurt so badly the next time someone gives up on her.

   So there you have it an 8 year old little girl who feels as though no one will ever love and that all she is worth is second best.  At this point she will likely continue to bounce from home to home.  Growing up in foster care never feeling like she has a place to call home.

  What would it mean to this sweet girl if someone came into her life and handed her something new.  A pair of pants she looked at but felt she wasn't worth.  Those beautiful boots.  Or that trendy jacket.  What if we treated her as we did our own children instead of cleaning out our closets of unwanted out of date clothing we got her something new.  Something she desired.

  That right there is why I believe it is so important to buy foster youth new things.  Things they desire no matter how silly we may think it seems.  Many of these children have never been given something new their whole life.  So when you hear a 16 year old girl in foster care is asking for Doc Martins don't brush it off and say she should be happy with whatever she gets.  Think about the sweet girl who has been rejected so many times that she feels unlovable.

If you think I am being extreme please ask me and I will share personal stories where I know that the simple act of something new made a difference for a child.

In remembrance of my sweet friend Lisa

Today we celebrated the life of our sweet friend Lisa Showalter.  So many sweet words and memories were shared about her.  She was and is greatly loved.  Below is what I shared at her service today.

First I want to say that I am honored to be standing here today sharing about Lisa.  Lisa’s parent asked me to share about our tradition of watching call the midwife.  I know you are all surprised she would love this show.  Our call the midwife nights consisted of chocolate, giggles, my twins, and birth talk.  Sometimes there were tears and hugs about hard things to. This had become our weekly get together, we always knew in the busyness of life we could count on call the midwife night to be together.  One of the sweet and funny stories that stood out from those nights was the night that Lisa tried to convince Rebecca, Melinda, and I that she had a big butt.  I’m not even sure how it came up, I just remember her strutting across the living room saying “see! Don’t you see how big it is.” 

As I reflect on my bond with Lisa on who she was and is in my life I have acknowledge that our relationship was so much more then these nights.  We have an eternal bond.  Lisa and I are sisters in Christ.  I didn’t say goodbye to her the night before she passed.  I said I love you I will see you later.

One of Lisa’s gifts is being a wonderful encourager.  On March 25^th of this year Lisa wrote me a note that said “You are a great mom Anastasia.  I hope you see that.  And a great friend.  I hope you see that too.”

Lisa truly held the gift of encouragement and she always made me smile.  As I think of what would Lisa want all of you to know…I think it would be something like this.  I am not dead!  My body is gone but my spirit live on.  I am with my LORD and Savior.  It is beautiful here.  He held me through all of this, he loved me through all of this.  I am healed and I am whole.  Please don’t miss you everyday blessings and his still small voice whispering I love you.

This is the last picture I have with Lisa and Ava.

Romans 8:38-39