Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today, we will be having an Italian lunch at Leif and Lori's house. Grandma, Mama, Lona Sue, Hunter, Adam and Mel will also be there. Lori will be cooking large pots of spaghetti and sauce. Stan and I baked large loaves of homemade French bread. Just before we eat, we will dope them up with lots of garlic butter and cheese. Mama is bringing a DELICIOUS 7-layer vegetable salad. I don't know what everyone else is bringing. We will all leave Leif and Lori's house totally stuffed to the gills!

In the past, we always spent Mother's Day with my grandparents, Don and Vera (Stinchcomb) Pepper, and our Uncle LaVere and Aunt Yvonne Pepper. We always had such amazing times with each other. I thank our Good Lord for allowing us to enjoy those Mother's Days through 1998 when He called Nonny (Grandmother) Home with Him. Since then, most days celebrating mothers have been shared in Leoti.

In 1983, Stan and I were devastated when we lost a baby through miscarriage. That pain was to linger for many years to come. We had come to believe that God would never bless us with children of our own. We didn't know just how wrong we were...

In 1989, a social worker from Kansas' Social and Rehabilitation Service came to our home to visit with us about the prospect of becoming foster parents. When she asked, Stan said "yes" while at the very same time, I said "no". You're probably wondering why I did not jump at that chance, aren't you? I said no because I didn't think that Stan and I would survive foster kids coming in and going. At that time, the social worker told us that she had 2 young boys in mind for us that she thought would be going up for adoption soon. That changed everything for me. I prompty said "YES!!!"

A couple of weeks later, Adam and his older brother moved in to our home. For the first 3 months, we never heard Adam's voice. He communicated with us through his brother. We understood and were very patient. Adam was 10 at the time. That decade in his life had been just terrible. It reduced him to little or no trust. During that 3 months, Adam began to find trust and love for us. In 1991, we made our family legal when we adopted Adam. What a day that was for us!!! We celebrated by going to Colorado Springs immediately after the judge had signed our paperwork. We spent 3 days there in celebration. Today, Adam has taken after his ol' mom. Neither one of us know when to quit talking! LOL!!! To this day, people cannot believe the many changes that Adam has gone through to become the man he is today... In 2007, Adam presented us with the greatest and most beautiful daughter-in-law, Mel! They make the perfect couple. Hopefully, they will give us our first grandchild someday soon.

Many more children came and went through out doors. The last 2 children also went up for adoption. Oh, they were cute! We had been asked to adopt them also. We had planned on doing that. Then Daddy became very sick in 1994. At that time, he became more dependant upon us. My bi-polar disorder became worse than ever. We asked SRS to pick up the little kids and find a new adoptive home for them. At the time, it was looking very bleak that I would ever return to good health. The deepest depression of my entire life lasted for about 2 years. We made the right decision in giving up this boy and girl. They had already been through so much. They didn't need to put up with me at that time...

In 1997, I had been sick. I made an appointment at the clinic. Doctor Kathy asked me for my symptoms. I told her. The next thing that I knew, Kathy was telling me that I was carrying a tiny little angel who would soon be named Leighlyn Nevae Blau. Leighlyn was born on November 13th. Today she is a bright and sweet 13-year-old in 7th grade.

In 2002, God blessed us with another miracle, Abigayle Joy Patrice Blau. Today, she is a beautiful, funny 9-years-old and in the second grade. Wow!!! Where does that time go??? It seems like they should still be little! Both Leighlyn and Abigayle love writing. (They may have inherited that from their Mommy...)

To this day, Stan and I believe that God gave our daughters to us to thank us for providing a loving home for the foster children.

Our 3 children have made us sooooooooo very happy and proud!!! All three of them are great people who are good to everyone they meet. They are fun and funny to be around. They are very sensitive and go out of their ways to help others find happiness. I just want to thank God for blessing Stan and I with these beautiful people who are just as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside!

I hope that all of you are going to be enjoying this great day with all of the mothers in your life.

Happy Mother's Day to one and all!!!

VLE-B