Thanks!

A special thanks goes out to our friends for their support this week!

The Curtin Family
Abington Senior High Team A
Abington Senior High Special Education Dept.
The Flynn Family (best of luck with the new addition!)
The Simmons Family

Photo albums!!

Shawn and I had a wonderful time making the kids' photo albums this weekend. We decorated the girls' albums with ribbons and flowers and T's with sports stickers. We were also able to get little fairy dolls for the girls and an Eagles football and a stuffed tiger for T. We also got them each a guardian angel pin with their birth stones and a little rosary.

We are going to mail them this week so they can go to Ethiopia with our dossier! Our next step is the re-decorating the rooms!! Braeden will get a toddler bed and the kiddos will get bunk beds!

Here are a few pictures of how they turned out:

This is how the girls' albums looked.

This is how I decorated their albums.

This is T's album.

Off to authentication!!

Our dossier is off to be authenticated today!! It should take about a week and then it will go to Ethiopia so our case can begin!! We are so very excited and happy!!

This weekend we will make photo albums for our angels!!!!

Amesegënallô

A special thank you for all of your support this week!!

The Curtin Family !!

The Schmitt Family!!

We are going to have some beautifully dressed kids!!

Crystal Sheppard!!

Nancy Swain!!

A good friend in Blue Bell!!

Kind Words...

Megan and I would like to thank Dr. Robert Burt, principal of Abington Senior High, for his kind words in his recent Principal’s Newsletter dated 1/18.

A Heartwarming Story
There is nothing better, in this age of uncertainty and conflict, than a good story that speaks directly to an act of great humanity. As teachers and administrators, we are frequently given the opportunity to serve as audience to some incredible kindness or of some overwhelming challenge that has been overcome. Occasionally the story will be so completely captivating in its scope that it is impossible not to feel diminished in the presence of such great people.

A story of this magnitude unfolded today before school in the English Department office as several of us were trying to revive ourselves on mega doses of caffeine contained in Mr. Kelly’s freshly brewed coffee. Mr. Shawn Simmons, English teacher, turned to the group and announced that the formal application that he and his wife filed for adoption of a child had been approved. The group instantly cheered and applauded this magnificent announcement. But that was only the edge of the story. As Mr. Simmons spoke, we learned that he and his wife are going to adopt an Ethopian family consisting of two twin girls and one boy. This will bring his family to a total of four children.

A silence—which believe me is not characteristic of the English Department office—fell over the room as we attempted to absorb the enormity of this decision. But the silence did not last long as the questions began to be fired in rapid order. We learned that Mr. and Mrs. Simmons will be traveling to Ethiopia this summer to meet their children and to bring them home to meet their new brother Braeden.

I have spent the entire day today in awe that our world contains people who are willing to give so much to humanity. The fact that our little Abington world is privileged to be the site of this event makes it all the more special.

I wish to congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Simmons on the occasion of the growth of their family. My hope is that our Abington family will be a central part in supporting this extraordinary decision. The support that we will provide for the Simmons family will be a small way of sharing in the joy of this moment.

Paperwork check!

We completed all of the paperwork we needed for the OFFICIAL referral acceptance!! Yippee!!! We are on our way!

And so it begins...

When I think of family, I remember a day back when I wasn’t much older than 5. It snowed in Philly, schools closed and the energy in the household electric with vigorous play. My brother set up those flimsy blue matchbox racetracks and we each selected from his assortment of hot rods. We released the cars down the tracks draped on the sofa. We watched each racer careen down the track thumping into parked cars; giggling at the splash of metal. Mom made us hot chocolate while Dad officiated our contest. Family.

A connection between a series of individuals linking them as similar, as together, as one. Family holds core values together. It shares, grows and accepts. It loves.

Megan and I began our family with a couple of rings and a Boston Terrier back in 2005. Raised in Northeast Philadelphia, we both believed in the value of commitment and the value of unconditional family love. Aspen (the terrier) gave us the ability to begin our family. A love that accepts newness and evolves into a new being, stronger and with more love to give.

When little Braeden Pablo’s spiky disheveled head popped up on our computer screen, our family evolved through the marvel of adoption. A little Guatemalan bundle of blessings found his way from Chiquimula into our world in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Every roadblock that came through that adoption process could not deter the magnetic value of family. Braeden was our spiky haired son from the first moment his little 4x6 picture popped up on the screen. Braeden came home later that year and was showered with love from Grandmoms and Granpops. Aunts and Uncles, cousins, friends and mommy and daddy all showered the new family member with the unconditional love of family. We evolved.

Over the last year or so since Braeden has been home, we have had our triumphs and moments of weakness like any family. We are all part of the human family and to be human is to struggle at some point. We have had more ups than downs. We have had more joys than pains and in the end, love always gets you through the hard times. Family.

The time has come for us to grow. We choose Ethiopia. The children choose us. When we set out to find a little girl, fate set out to bring us a pair of twin girls and a little boy. When we saw the 4 x 6 pictures of these three pairs of wide eyed, silly smiles we knew that family was about evolving. Fate doesn’t often give you choices, just feelings. Trust me when I tell you that this feels right. On January 3, 2008, Megan and I agreed to let fate bring her beautiful bounty into our home. We accepted the referral for these three angels.

We hope you will follow our journey to becoming a family of SIX!!