| | The other highlight of our trip to Chicago was getting to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Valparaiso, IN. They are people who I admire very much. They have four birth children and have adopted 6. Or technically, the last 4 will be adopted in the next few weeks I think, but they have been living with them as foster children for years. There are 9 boys and 1 girl all together and their ages range from 25 to 1. (The adopted children are 9 years and younger while the birth children are all at least 18). Anyway, it was so much fun to be able to meet the adopted children (I had not met any of them) and to see the rest of the family since it has been a long time. Here are some pics of everyone.
Since working at the Pregnancy Resource Center, I have such a great appreciation for parents who choose to adopt and also a respect and admiration for mothers who make an adoption plan for their children. There is a tremendous amount of sacrifice on both ends. It was really neat to hear from Sharon and Peter about how the Lord led them to begin foster care and eventually adoption. They definitely had some difficult times along the way, but you can tell how rewarding it has been for them. It was also fun to see how much my mom and her sister are alike. Mannerisms, figures of speech, facial expressions, you name it. And of course, they are both short. They are also both good hostesses. Uncle Peter is a man of many talents and has recently built an addition onto their house which is like a parents' suite. It is very nice and something I'm sure they really need for time alone and to relax. One of the things that impressed me the most about Aunt Sharon and her parenting was how organized she is. I mean I guess you would have to be with 10 children, but she makes sure to schedule time for herself once a week to eat out with a friend, and she has an entire system for the children helping around the house and for their schooling (did I mention they are homeschooled?)
It was a really nice visit, and I only wish we lived closer to each other so we could get to know the children better as well as Sharon and Peter. What a great example they are of our call to reach out to children, especially those without a good home or parents capable of parenting. God Bless them!
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| | Posted 11/8/2007 2:00 PM - 12 Views - 4 eProps - 3 comments
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