4 years

My old friend... has it really been 4 years already? I feel like you were just here with us yesterday.



Rockie was a "challenging" dog. From the very beginning she had a lot of faults. She was terribly headstrong. She was going to do what she wanted to do, right or wrong. She was extremely smart... the obdience trainer called her "crafty." And yet, she was, at one time, the greatest love of my life. I still get a little pang of heartache when I think about her, but I know we'll meet again... someday.

Rockie

March 17, 1992 - July 26, 2006

"Bad dog, good friend"

My Adopted Child

Once there were two women, neither knew the other

One you do not remember, the other you call mother.

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name

One gave you the seed of talent, the other gave you an aim.

Two very different lives shaped yours into one

One became your guiding star, the other was your sun.

One gave you emotions, and one calmed your fears

One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.

The first gave you life, the second taught you to live it.

The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it.

One gave you up—it was all that she could do,

The other prayed for a child—God led her straight to you.

And now you ask me through your tears,

The age-old question of all the years,

Heredity or Environment, which are you a product of?

Neither darling, neither ... just two different kinds of Love.

A poignant post on a blog written by a 17 year old girl. I was touched... I hope you are too.

And now there are nine.

I love family reunions

I love a family reunion. We had ours at the Outer Banks this year and EVERYONE was able to attend. My family is not particularly large, so it was amazing to see everyone!

Single-parenthood

Single-parenthood, even the temporary kind I am experiencing right now, is rough. It's so nice to have someone to help out, even with the very simple things early in the morning. It's only day 2 of the new routine, and I feel completely overwhelmed. To make matters worse, I was up past midnight, trying to get the kitchen ready for the contractors, who arrived at 8AM to start demolition on my kitchen. I failed that too. The contractors will have ended up packing up some boxes this morning. I just could not get it all done, not by myself.

I hope things go better tomorrow. Tonight I am dropping Camille off at her school for the summer reading program. I need to go to the store and purchase the appliances for our new kitchen. Wish me luck!

Matching Day

Today is matching day at the Seeing Eye. Mike will meet his new guide dog today. He seemed in a very good humor when I spoke to him on the phone this morning. The excitement and anticipation must be killing him! (I know it's killing me!) He'll meet his dog a little after 1:00 this afternoon. What an exciting day!

UPDATE:

So we think Mike's new dog might look something like this...

Happy 5th "Forever" Day, Sweet baby girl!

These are the days you were not supposed to have...

When we brought this fragile little home, 5 years ago, she weighed 13 pounds at 11 months of age. She had rickets and MRSA infection that could have killed her...

2005

2010Today she is a happy, healthy kid. She'll be 6 years old next month. She is the light of our lives... we could not be more grateful to God for this gift. Amen.

You've got to be kidding me!

The annual school uniform sale is next week? Yep! It's no joke. School uniforms, gym uniforms and polos will be sold next week! Yikes! School doesn't even start up again until September 8th! I think I'm just going to wait it out...

Down to the wire

Well, Mike leaves for the Seeing Eye in 10 days and I now I must admit that I am beginning to feel a bit anxious and nervous about it. I want him to go. I've been excited for him as I know this will be a terrific opportunity and adventure for him. But now that the time is just about here, it's really getting real. I guess before it was some sort of romantic fantasy... now it's actually going to happen. He's going to have a life changing experience and I'm going to be thrust into single parenthood for a month! Yuck! But we'll both do what we've got to do because I know the ultimate outcome will be well worth it. In the mean time, we've got a vacation just prior. We're leaving for the beach on Sunday. Mike's time at the beach will be cut a bit short due to the fact that he must report to the guide dog school.

Happy 4th of July

Thinking of Jon Paul

We're thinking of you today Jon Paul. Missing you, sadly...

1 Samuel 1:27
"For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him."

The Price of Children

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is, 'don't have children if you want to be 'rich'. Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* Naming rights . First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins, but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:

* First step,
* First word,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, and communications that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren...

It's the best investment you'll ever make!
· Psalms 127:3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.

Kindergarten Graduation

Camille and Mommy

Camille & Father Joe

Camille & her teacher, Mrs. Love

Camille receives her diploma from Fr. Joe.

Camille & Ian give their speaking parts durinf the ceremony.

The graduation march... so proud!

Camille's friend Hannah also graduated from Kindergarten (at another school) this year. We took these photos for fun... we thought they would be fun to have when the girls graduate from High School in 2022! :)

This is our new son, Jon Paul. He is blind and resides in foster care in China. We are currently working to bring him home. Here's how you can help!

Here's how YOU can help bring home Jon Paul!

Click on this link for Kingdom Kids

At the top of the page click on Donations then select Family Grant Donations

Fill out the information and in the box that says designation, fill in our names, Mike & Faye Corman. That way you'll be sure you're donation will go to help fund Jon Paul's adoption.

If you would rather send a check, please mail it to:

Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministry
8625 N Whitehouse Drive
Spokane, WA 99208
USA

Please include a note with the check that the donation is for Jon Paul Corman's adoption fund, but DO NOT include our name on the check!

Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS regulations.

Thank you for your support! Any questions, please feel free to contact Kingdom Kids!

A shout out for dads

Happy Father's Day... to my father, David, of course. Without him, I would just be a soul... He's a fantastic man... he taught me, and continues to teach me, so much.

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Dad and Husband, Michael. As these photos can attest, his little girl has him wrapped around her finger!

And Happy Father's Day to Jon Paul's foster Dad, Mike. We really appreciate all that you do and how much love you are showing our son! Thank you, Mike... you're a special man...

Conclusion

Tomorrow is the last day of a year-long celebration in the Catholic church. The Year of the Priest. Beyond today and beyond tomorrow, please pray for our priests.

One Month Mark!

We've reached the one month mark. Mike leaves for the Seeing Eye in just one month! His class begins July 17th...

Kindergarten Grad!

I met a woman in the park shortly after we adopted Camille. We talked for a bit. She had older boys and a little girl from China. She was a great encouragement, sharing honestly of the struggles of adoption... many of which we were also going through. As we said goodbye she told me the kids would grow up all too fast. She looked at Camille, still so young, and then glanced over to her own boys...moving too fast toward adulthood; and said to me, "they'll grow up too fast... don't blink or you'll miss it" I thought for a while, watching them walk away... and as we waved goodbye she yelled again... "Don't Blink"

And here's what happened, in the blink of an eye...

Congratulations Camille! We love you and we're SO PROUD of all you accomplished this year!

Michael received his commitment letter yesterday. He signed it and we faxed back. Mike goes to the Seeing Eye in just 5 weeks! He is very excited. We're all pretty excited about it, actually. We know this will affect our whole family, hopefully in a very positive way.

More photos of Jon Paul

Nancy never ceases to amaze me! These photos were in my email this morning... I absolutely adore them! New photos of Jon Paul playing with his foster father, Mike! What a special guy Mike is... we love you, Mike!