Today our sweet Kelsey turned 18! It's so hard to believe that she is 18. It saddens me at how fast time has gone by, but it has been an amazing journey with her thus far.

My beautiful Kelsey ~ December 2010


Kelsey is an amazingly beautiful person, inside and out. I have learned so much from her.

I want to give a little of her story to help maybe bring hope to someone out there who is reading the blog. Her birth father signed over his legal rights to Kelsey after seeing her once when she was about 4 months old. However, our God is awesome and sent her the greatest gift of a "DADDY" that I have ever known, my sweet husband Danny. Danny and Kelsey are very close and for that I am grateful and maybe a little jealous sometimes   Danny has treated Kelsey as his very own and has spent countless hours pouring into Kelsey, having heart to heart talks, laughing and crying together. He has also been sensitive to Kelsey's hurts and pains when it comes to feeling abandoned by her birth father. He is also very caring when it comes to the thought of Kelsey wanting to some day meet her birth father. I am so thankful for Danny, there are not enough words to express how much I love him and how grateful I am for him.

I made a decision when Kelsey was a baby, that it was not my job to bash her birth father or try to tell her how to feel about him, after all, he will always be her father. I've told Kelsey over the years, that he was not ready for the responsibility of a child and no longer wanted to be with me. His terminating his rights to her had absolutely NOTHING to do with her. If he only knew Kelsey, the way that we know her, he would love her, without a doubt. While she has a "daddy" and is not looking for that type of relationship with her birth father, it's only natural to want to know where you come from.

Kelsey is a treasure, a priceless treasure. She is a gift of God into not only mine and Danny's lives, but to everyone around her. She is full of grace and has the most forgiving heart and spirit of anyone that I know. She has a true servant's heart and never ceases to amaze me with her acts of kindness. She loves her sisters so much and is just the most amazing example for them.I am forever blessed to have her in my life and someday when I grow up, I want to be just like her.

So, I just want to encourage you today, if you are "fatherless", don't give up hope! God has not forgotten you and He has an amazing, mighty plan for your life. If you don't believe it, just look at my Kelsey!

I wanted to share one more pic of my sweet Kelsey. Our sweet Jillian turned 18 months a couple of weeks ago. So, here we have our 18 year old and our 18 month old.


Kelsey (18 yrs) & Jillian (18 months) ~ 08/03/2011

Thanking God for my beautiful family and the marvelous way He "adopted" us all into HIS family.