Our 12th Gotch Day!

Today is our 12th Gotcha Day as a family. Gotcha Day in the adoption world is the day you get your kids, and we first met the kids in Colombia and took them to the adoption hotel on April 12, 2011. They were ages 6, 8, and 10 at the time of adoption. In the past, we have always made a big deal about Gotcha Day and tried to make it special because we wanted them to know how much it meant for them to join our family. I would decorate, have a cake, special foods, and plan a special family outing. 

Even with all of the challenges, they still gave us the opportunity and gift of being mom and dad that we otherwise would not have. With all of the kids now out of the house and Angie living in another state, this was our first Gotcha Day alone. We still gave Ingrid and Juan a gift and mailed Angie hers. I had my first colonoscopy today so my afternoon was spent resting. During our trip to Colombia, another adoptive family suggested we buy gifts while we were in country to give the kids on future Gotcha Days from their country. We loved that idea so that is what we did. We have one gift left we will give them when they are all a little older and more settled in their adult lives.

Empty Nester Phase

 Although Juan still has a month until online high school graduation and West Mec graduation, we are officially "empty nesters"! Juan had planned to move out after graduation but received an opportunity to move into an apartment with a friend from the football team. He still has some belongings to come pick up but is settled in his new home. He is busy still working at his assistive living job at La Loma as a cook and recently purchased his own used car. We are proud of him for his hard work at La Loma and truly want all of our adult children to just be happy and live their best adult lives. 

Our adoption and parenting journey was not what we pictured it would be and there was so much we were unprepared for. In the end, it truly was a journey of blessings and challenges. We want to continue supporting, guiding, loving, and communicating with each of our kids but ultimately it is their life now to live. We went into adoption saying we wanted to provide a forever family to a sibling group and to give them a better life than they currently had. We hope as everyone matures, our relationship with each one will continue and grow.

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary!

It is hard to believe we are celebrating 25 years of marriage! We have journeyed through so many challenges together. I am incredibly thankful for the relationship we share, the good times we have together, and our ability to weather the storms hand in hand. This journey has definitely been filled with blessings and challenges but look forward to many more years together. We spent our time away at the beach in California, Disneyland, the Pima air Museum, and a Toby Mac concert in Tucson

Christian Literary Awards

 I had the amazing opportunity to share my book on a radio show with Joy and Co. on Fishbowl Radio Network when I was in Dallas in July for my speaker conference. Part of the radio show include a book contest. My book was nominated this spring in 4 categories and I decided to travel to Dallas with my dad for the award's ceremony. I am so thankful I did, and it was an amazing opportunity. I was so honored my book was nominated and felt like it went along with my message of persevering through your challenges and finding success in your "new normal" Although I have had the opportunity to share my story on podcasts, I feel sometimes people don't get the full picture behind the screen. My book won in 2 categories and I had the opportunity to share my message twice and was so grateful for the opportunity. It won the 2023 Reader's Choice Award in the Christian Living Day by Day category and Testimonial category. I met some amazing people and so thankful for the opportunity!

Lori's Writing and Speaking Journey

 It is hard to believe my book has now reached its one year mark and celebrating its book birthday! I have learned so much on this journey in such a short amount of time both from my own experience and those God has connected me with. I am so grateful for all of the opportunities I have had to share my story on different podcasts this year (you can view on my website under the Speaking tab), book signing events, stroke survivor groups I have had the opportunity to speak to, 2 virtual conferences, and so many amazing opportunities at the Cancer Treatment Center of America. I am very excited about the journey I am on to use my experience to help others and look forward to seeing what comes next.

I put together a you tube video for my book birthday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX4TQiwK4so&t=5s

Christmas 2022

We really had no idea how this Christmas would play out and in the end, it was much better than expected because I had very little expectations. I told the kids the times of the different events, church services, dinner, present opening, and then left it up to them. Ingrid chose to join us for the afternoon church service at Desert Springs, go to our annual Chinese dinner, go back to our house for desert and traditional pj opening, and spent most of Christmas Day with us. Juan chose to boycott Christmas all together. He went to church alone and opened his presents on Christmas night alone. He worked on Christmas Day. His excuse was it is too painful to be a part of things the way they are now. It is his choice. He has a loving, supportive family that he chooses to not engage with. We did get to zoom with Angie, Dougie, and Mariana. Mariana will be two in March and is growing up so fast!

Christmas cookies

We invited Ingrid and her boyfriend Jayden over for dinner and to decorate Christmas cookies. We thought this would be a good opportunity to get to know Jayden and spend some time with Ingrid. Ingrid now lives with Jayden and his family and is working at Amazon as a picker. She has also recently gotten a second job at a local restaurant called Cheddars in their To Go area. We continue to encourage her to take her hairstyling certification tests and utilize that degree she earned. We went through a rough patch with Ingrid from spring until recently. She is starting to take responsibility, and we hope as she continues to mature she will make good decisions. 

Special Christmastime with friends

I have made some special friendships and connections with people at the Cancer Centers of America and so grateful for the experiences and all of the opportunities I have had there this year. I attended a special Christmas celebration and the Cancer Center in downtown Phoenix. It was a beautiful night. We then hosted a small gathering at our house and enjoyed a chili dinner, white elephant gift exchange, desert, cookie decorating, and gingerbread house decorating. I am so grateful for these special relationships!

Thanksgiving 2022

This Thanksgiving, we invited a few friends from CTCA, my Uncle John who just moved here from CA, Sandra, Ingrid, Mom, and Dad. It was my Dad's birthday so we enjoyed celebrating his special day. Juan was off of work and decided to participate since Sandra was coming. We made all of our traditional favorites and had a nice time. This was the start of some reconciliation with Ingrid since she moved out and Juan and Sandra even helped us decorate the tree after everyone left for the evening.

Stroke Camp at Northern Arizona University

Kay Wing, the founder of my rehab center (SWAN Rehab), is also very active with the physical and occupational education doctorate program at NAU. Many years ago, Kay and several professors at the college started a stroke camp to help both stroke survivors and PHD students. It is a great opportunity for students to get real life practice and survivors to get inexpensive therapy. I had the opportunity to attend this 3 day camp back in 2008 before we adopted the kids. I decided to try and raise money for scholarships for the camp during May and October Stroke Awareness months and was successful in raising $1675. The camp was a great experience and I enjoyed meeting both students and new stroke survivors. I had the opportunity to share my book and story on the last day and encourage the students in their future careers. My therapists have helped me so much and I would never be where I am today in my recovery or independence without Kay and my other therapists. I wanted these future therapists to know how important there job is and that some of there patients will depend on them for physical help, mental help, and use them as their social outlet. I know at times, SWAN Rehab served as all three for me during my recovery.

Halloween 2022

 As we are entering our empty nesting phase of life, Halloween is a different occasion without kids to carve pumpkins with, buy expensive costumes for, go trick-or-treating with, or even argue with! We did purchase a pumpkin and Dainis graciously posed for me. We set up in our driveway with our popcorn machine on Halloween night and passed out fresh popcorn and candy. It was the first time we have done this since Covid, and it was good to see the neighbors. The dogs, although not terribly excited, did participate in the costumes.

Book Signing Events

I am so thankful for all the opportunities I have had since my book published in March to share our story. I have found great success in using book signing events as a marketing tool to meet new people and connect with others. At every event, I have a raffle drawing for a free gift card for those who sign up for my website and monthly newsletter. This way, I am making connections and gathering emails, even if they don't purchase my book. I had the opportunity to do some events in May for Stroke Awareness Month but then also did additional book signings at the end of October for World Stroke Day (October 29th). I also pass out postcards that tell my story and information on signs of a stroke. I want people to be aware because I was not when I had mine at age 29.  I am always looking for new opportunities to share my story and look forward to future events.

Women's Retreat

I was so blessed with the opportunity to be able to attend our women's retreat again this year and see our guest speaker in person once again, Carol Kent. Carol is an amazing woman, author, speaker, and founder of the "Speak Up" writers and speakers conference. I have been able to attend Speak Up twice now virtually and Carol graciously endorsed my first book. I met her in person for the first time at my speaker conference in TX in July and was so excited to see her again. I had the opportunity to ride to camp with two dear friends, Nancy from church and Onjalai from CTCA. We had a great weekend together, and I even tried archery with Nancy's help! 

Pinetop

We have really enjoyed our trips to Pinetop and love having our own little place we can go with the dogs. Every time we go, the landscape is a little different and the renovations at our favorite lake (Woodland Lake) are complete. They redid all the asphalt on the paths so they are wider now and the lake is now full. They continue to add new playground equipment, and it is a great environment for everyone. Dainis loves to go to the different antique stores and check out the best deals, and we have our favorite restaurants. We usually do take out and enjoy eating at home with the dogs. We are set up outside on our little porch with a table and chairs and small propane firepit so when it is nice, we can eat outside. We even purchased a used gas grill so we can cook out!