The Beginning of a family...

It occurs to me that many people do not know our family story - even those who know us well, and even some family members! Sure, they may know the general details. They may know Kevin and I are married for 25 years, that we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, that we have adopted five children....general things like that....
But what of our motivation? Our drive to adopt? Our eternal perspective? Those are things I am not always so good at sharing. My heart has always wanted to shout from the rooftops the wondrous desire I have inside me to be a good wife, a good mother, a good Christian. But outwardly, I often feel intimidated by the misunderstanding and judgments of the world around me. I know I shouldn't! But there you have it....
Since I do find it easier to write about my emotions and easier to share them with writing and poetry I am going to try and make our family blog more personal. Not just about daily happenings, but how we feel about those happenings, and how we feel about our beautiful little family. Perhaps in doing so, I can leave a legacy, a journal, for my precious children and the rest of our family in generations to come.

With that in mind, shall I start at the beginning? The real beginning?

That would be with my precious, loving mother, Evelyn Lee Duff, who gave birth to me at the age of 19. She was married to my father, Larry Duff, who was serving our country in the Air Force at the time. She was young and beautiful, and I was little and skinny! LOL Here is a picture to prove it!
I love this picture. It shows a young mother, tired but with a contentment that speaks of her love for her little baby. That is what I see when I look at it. I won't bore you with my entire childhood, I promise! But suffice it to say that I was loved and I knew I was loved. My mother dedicated her life to her children. She loved us unconditionally and with a great heart. She was my hero and my example to follow. It is because of her that I have such a desire to be a good mother and to raise my children well. If I can only be half as good a mom as she was, then my life will be full and blessed. Sadly, I lost my mother when she was only 57 years old, and it was the first GREAT loss in my life. I miss her every day... mom!!