My name is Amy, and I am a Blog Addict

There. I confess. I love blogs, and I love blogging. I love to unload and vent. I love to write about my beautiful children. I love to attempt to get my thoughts down, even when I fail miserably and later can't figure out what I was trying to say in the first place. I love sharing pictures and videos and information so that I don't have to call all of my relatives to share because they can just read about it on the blog. And yes, I know that I am wordy. I like that too.

But perhaps I love reading blogs even more than writing them. I love the ones that update me on friends that live hundreds of miles away or across town. I love the ones that help me look at life from a different angle. But most of all I love adoptive family blogs. (No offense meant to those of you who aren't in this category. I love you too.) Every chance I get I am making my rounds on the blogs of people I have never even met to check in on their children and see how their lives have changed since they got home. I love to read about the little girl who had heart surgery days after her arrival in the U.S. And I love to read about Fin the Kindergartner. This little girl is adorable, and her mom is so funny. She always makes me laugh. Then there is Jeff. When he was in China to pick up his daughter he made me think about some really tough adoption issues. And I can't wait to see new pictures of Tara's son (he is soooo cute) and hear about her perspective. (OK, so I know Tara personally, but this makes it even better!) And ok, yes, I love to hear about their craziness because it somehow makes me feel a little more normal.

Another thing I love about adoption blogs is how God is using them to create community. These people provide me with encouragement and support. They make me cry and laugh. There is one lady who is in Uganda right now to bring home her 8th and 9th children. From her, I am learning to pray more for my kids and for orphans around the world. And then there is Sharla. Somehow, Sharla always says what I wish I could say, only she says it about 10x better. For example, I've been thinking about James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." It had been floating around in my head for a couple of days, and then she writes a post about it. And then in my post yesterday, I had been trying to put into words some of the preparation that goes into adoption. I had been trying to express how you shouldn't expect all sunshine and roses all of the time because sometimes adoption is tough. I was thinking all academically, but she points out that the most important thing is to ask God to prepare your heart for adoption, because there are certain things that only He can do. Wow - exactly!

The point is, God has blessed me with all of these folks who are a lot like a support group of sorts for me. I love how they challenge me to think outside the box and to go deeper in my relationship with God. So thank you to all of my cyber-friends out there. There are more of you than I could possibly count (like I said, I have an addiction), and I appreciate your openness and honesty. And I appreciate you making me feel less crazy too.