Except that it also included an email from a new friend, who just happens to run the New Advent website. And it turns out that this new friend linked to my blog(!), and so I got a whole bunch of people reading my silly little post about Sunday's Rite of Election.
I want to welcome those of you who are new readers here. I'm humbled and honored that you found your way to my happy little corner of the blogosphere.
By way of introduction:
I'm a Catholic, a wife, and I have me some kids. Seven, in fact--and no that's not a typo. :)
Four of my children are adopted from Ethiopia.
Two of my children just came home in September, and were born with Down syndrome.
I spend my days homeschooling and managing chaos.
And my blog is a mishmash of life, reflections, and other assorted randomness.
Just Showing Up ultimately began as a no-bells-or-whistles documentation of our first adoption journey back in 2005 (I know, sounds fascinating), but somewhere along the way I (re)discovered my love of writing...and concluded that I want to tell my story. No, my daily life isn't particularly interesting. It's definitely not glamorous. And I'm not doing anything other mamas aren't doing ten times better. But, it's the story God's given me, and I want to steward it well.
Plus, at the end of the day, I just plain like blogging. There are things I'm passionate about (medical needs adoption, motherhood, faith, dignity of human life) and I love exploring them in this context. I enjoy connecting with all of you and maybe, just maybe, I'll say something at some point that someone out there finds helpful. (Or will at least make someone laugh. I like to make people laugh.)
Afterall, I've been married for nearly ten years, I'm raising a slew of kids (all ages 8 and under), two of them have Down syndrome, and two of them have been through heart surgery. In October my husband and I (previously lifelong Protestants) joined the Catholic Church. We homeschool. If that doesn't all somehow qualify me as a candidate for being certifiably insane, I don't know what does. And while I'm not an expert on anything (except for procrastination), I can share my heart and tell you what I have seen and learned and experienced. And you can tell me, because you have a story too. We may not be able to sit down for a cup of coffee, but we can connect here, in this space.
Because for me, whether it was adoption or Catholicism or mothering-many-small-children, I found great inspiration in the writings of others in the trenches. In fact, I still love reading my favorite blogs. It's good to know we're not alone in our joys and sorrows and general craziness, and sometimes discovering that someone else knows how we feel is just what we need.
So thanks for coming by. I do hope you'll stick around, if for no other reason than the fact that there is great potential for my blog to be a bit like a traffic accident--where it's painful to look yet you can't look away. :) In any case, I'm glad you're here!
