Where Myrtles Grow

My name is Cindy and I am a wife, mom, and a Christ-follower. I am a very blessed wife of almost 10 years to my sweet husband and we have the cutest, most precious, amazing 2-year-old son! We adopted our son from birth and the joy of raising him and watching him grow each day began from the moment he was first placed in our arms.

I hope through this blog to share my journey into motherhood as an adoptive mom in our beautiful transracial family as I seek each day to follow the Lord. These are my random thoughts . . . . my random feelings . . . . . my random questions about being a wife, mother, woman, and Christ-follower. I hope you too will share with me your thoughts, feelings, and questions! Maybe we can learn together, encourage one another in this truly amazing and most difficult job of being a wife and mom!

The Splendiferous Life

Our blog is about our adoption journey to Uganda, my ministry, family life and a little of art and food mixed in all together to bring a balance.

Smore Stories…life and contemplation in a racially mixed family.

I write from the perspective of a Christian woman who is an adoptee and mom to 5 children, 3 of which are adopted from Ethiopia. I seek to educate others in the areas of parenting adopted children, stir the heart of Christ followers in their journey of faith and encourage all who read that God truly loves us where we are at.

As You Grow in My Heart

It is my desire to post on this blog Scripture-based meditations inspired by our experience as an adoptive family. I pray to bring honor and glory to our Heavenly Father by contemplating on His Word and focusing on the reality of Christ in my every day life as an adoptive Mother. It is also my humble wish to be able to provide a space for other Mothers to ponder in their hearts their own meditations and devotionals, following the promptings of the Holy Spirit as they read my posts.

Beauty from the Ashes

I’m a missionary in Kiev Ukraine with Orphan’s Promise and a lot of what I do surrounds orphan care and adoption! My blog is called “Beauty from the Ashes” because it reminds me of who Jesus is – how he is actively restoring beauty to the dark places in all of our lives and redeeming our hurts. I have seen that hurt and darkness amplified in these children as I have heard their stories, and the evil things their eyes have already seen- and the utter abandonment that they often feel. My prayer is that Jesus not only provides families, but brings healing to their lives. So follow along and join me on this adventure of letting Jesus restore beauty!

Mother of Seven

I started my blog in an effort to write down our families journey through adoption for our children. I wanted them to know the great lengths God went to in order to bring them to us. In the Old Testament parents were instructed to tell their children the stories of what God had done for them, the Israelites, so that they would not forget and would remain faithful to Him. I don’t want our children to forget His story of their lives.

My blog has expanded over time to include thoughts from my devotional times, tips for large family living, recipes, and other musings about life.

Becoming a Family of Five

We are a christian family from Columbia, SC with two bio children ages 2 and 3. God called us to adopt from Ethiopia in the fall of 2010. We are on the waiting list for a child 0-24 months old, either gender. We are also expecting our third bio child in December. We have been on a crazy ride but we love the Lord and trust His ways are higher and better than ours.

Our 3 Sons Plus 1…Super Cute Girly Girl…&…

Hello! This is a family-friendly blog, and my topics range from parenting to adoption to marriage and everything in between. I love Jesus with all my heart and often write about my growing relationship with Him. We have just begun our second adoption journey, so I will be writing lots about that, too!

Life in the …

We met as teenagers. We married as young adults. We yearned for a family. After five years of infertility, we now find ourselves preparing to celebrate thirteen years of marriage. We live in Turkey and are blessed by four miracles. One has black spots. One grew in another mother’s womb. Another was the surprise of our lives. And another likes to kick my bladder. Stick around to see where this crazy adventure takes us next.

Welcome Home

I blog to raise awareness of human rights violations, and chronicle my journey of taking action while empowering others to take action on behalf of the vulnerable and marginalized. My journey as a Human Rights activist cannot exist without recognizing the very real challenges of also trying to be a stellar wife, mom of 3 toddlers, pastor’s wife, daughter, sister, friend, nonprofit director, and Child of God.