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So Stacy has asked me to be a guest blogger while she is gone on vacation. What an honor, thank you Stacy. Have you ever read the book "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren? I've only read bits and pieces of it years ago, but it is never far from my thoughts. It wasn't until I gave birth to my second child that I started to understand my purpose in life. It was to raise my children in the eyes of the Lord. With each child I had I wanted another. My husband was stuck on having two children and after we gave birth to our third, he decided we were done and got a vasectomy. However, my desire to have more children was getting stronger and I knew that adoption was the best way to go about that. Selfishly, I wanted children, yet I knew the Lord would only give me what he saw fit. So along came Faith. She became a part of our forever family at 11 months old, weighing in at a whooping 13 lbs. She didn't eat food, drank only from a bottle and couldn't even hold her head up. She was gaunt and malnourished. As I tried to celebrate her adoption I was so grief stricken by her condition. From that very moment my purpose in life was growing, changing, developing into something bigger. God had confirmed my purpose. The transition to Faith has not been easy. I grieved the child I didn't get and questioned the one I did. I wanted a "normal" child. I questioned all the connections I made through the adoption process. My child had very Special Needs and yours didn't. I thought connections with all the friends I had made during the process where going to be lost, but I was wrong, very wrong. Thank you Stacy for helping me see that. Faith is not like you or me. She is stronger, courageous, inspirational, she is an angel. The Lord has opened my eyes to a whole new world, a world of amazing challenges, love, support and amazing friendships. The Lord has made my purpose in life very clear, and I am so grateful for it.
What is your purpose? Have you found it yet? I'd love for everyone to share their purpose in life.

(I've turned off comments, so please hop on over and leave some love for Suzanne on her blog... Where Chaos Lives!)

Big Kahuna and I have known each other since we were kids and have been married for almost 15 years. We are passionate about our family, travel and serving God. We love helping people and bringing them hope. We laugh ourselves to tears watching classic episodes of Saturday Night Live and The Office. Summer is our favorite season, and we live for warm evenings playing with the kids on the beach.
Big Surf is 14 years old. He's a voracious reader, focused, and spends hours building things. He is our resident techie and is also learning to play the violin. He loves to spend his free time playing baseball, flag football, or out on the trails by the house building his clubhouse.
Goofy Foot is ten years old. He devours his free reading books like there is no tomorrow. He is also the family comedian. If you see him, ask him to tell you a joke! He is tender-hearted, social and compliant. When he is not outside riding his bike, you'll find him drawing or writing a funny book.
Beach Bunny is three years old. She is our sunshine! She joined our family through the unbelievable gift of adoption. Beach Bunny loves to snuggle with us and carefully takes care of her baby dolls. She is super silly and must say hi to everyone! One word that describes her is "joy".