About

Sorry for the extended hiatus in sharing our DC trip! I covered our first two days in Part 1 (Annapolis, Arlington Cemetery, Mount Vernon, and the National Postal Museum).

Tuesday morning, we had tickets for our US Capitol tour at 10 am. We prepared for a rainy day, and weren’t wrong. The day started with big stress, as just getting on the metro bus wasn’t as easy as I imagined (I imagined a station where we could put money on our cards/buy cards- when in actuality, it was a bus outside our AirBnb fully expecting you to already have all that done). I planned all of the activities, tickets, days, etc but deferred to Ben for transportation. After our first morning of chaos, he had it totally figured out!

Our AirBnb was super close to the bus line, so we hopped on and headed for the US Capitol. We arrived early enough that we got to see the Capitol museum and play in the Democracy Lab- both of which were incredibly cool, and I highly recommend. I’m pretty sure I liked the democracy lab better than the actual tour, but that’s probably the closet lover of politics and elementary education in me!

The tour itself was slightly uneventful, but we each had headphones that connected to our guide so we could easily see and hear what he wanted us to, despite how many other tours that were going on simultaneously. The building itself is beyond gorgeous from the floor to the ceiling. Although it wasn’t mentioned at all, it felt a little surreal seeing the security and barriers and thinking what it would have felt like for a building of such significance to be under attack.

We had a quick lunch in the Capitol Cafe, which was mass chaos. There were an insane amount of people, but we found (read: fought for) enough seats, and the food was good. It was set up food court style, so there were a variety of choices.

Out of the 21 Smithsonian museums, we basically had just this afternoon set aside to see them. Considering the Air and Space Museum was under construction, and we were limited on time, we gifted our tickets to a family who posted online it was literally the one thing their son wanted to see, and they hadn’t secured reservations. I gave the kids the choice, and they almost unanimously decided they’d rather he have their tickets. My momma heart was proud.

We knew we wanted to see the Museum of Natural History and the American History Museum. They were beyond packed, both because it was spring break week, it was raining, and these are popular. I feel like we probably missed a ton of what we could have seen, but everyone definitely saw something they thought was super cool.

We spent from 1pm until 5pm in the museums, and experienced a complete torrential downpour as we ran from one museum to the other. “Next to each other” definitely does not mean just a few steps to go from one to the other. But, we knew that, and we knew to see both, and we had to put on our ponchos and RUN!

After touring the museums, we had already walked around 13,000 steps and I wouldn’t have been sad to get on our bus and head to dinner. But, I would have missed (and caused my family to miss) another 8,000 steps AND the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and Reflecting Pool on our way to dinner. My displeasure about these extra steps and lack of plan wasn’t my finest moment- sorry family. We did end up seeing tons of memorials, and found a delicious hole-in-the-wall pizzeria with board games, beer, and delicious pizza slices. Oddly, said pizza restaurant was attached to an international grocery store of sorts, so we were able to get snacks for dessert to take home. We walked home and even though crashing was #1 on my list, we packed as we’d be checking out of our Airbnb the next morning before starting our last day in DC.

Wednesday morning, we drove our rental car to the Pentagon Mall, and parked, with intent to use the metro throughout the day, and return for our van when we finished our day. Because, did we mention, parking is insanity? Like not expensive or bad traffic, like non-existent!

We started our morning at our 10am Pentagon tour. Photos aren’t allowed during this tour, but it was definitely a sobering experience to be standing in the exact spot the airplane entered the building on 9/11. Our tour guides, who are required to walk backwards throughout tour were knowledgeable and made it an experience worth doing.

We had lunch at Chick fil A, and then walked to our last DC experience, which was my favorite. FBI Headquarters hosts the FBI Experience and it was something we all enjoyed. I overheard multiple agents whispering about Liam, as he was a little impressive working through the various stations. Eli, too, but in an expected much quieter way. If recruiters had been stationed at the end of the experience, I’m fairly sure they would have had zero problem recruiting Sydney, Eli, or Liam as analysts or agents. (We were happy to learn that neurodivergence is not a disqualifying factor for the ABC agencies, as they can be for the military). (Disclaimer- I’m not saying all diagnoses, but I’m also protecting my own kids’ stories.)

On Thursday morning, we had to be ready for *another* 7 am flight. We spent the night in a hotel just outside Baltimore airport, and headed there around 4:30 am. Once on the plane, Ava Kate met the pilot. I expected he would give her ‘wings.’ He did. But he also let her wear his hat, sit in the cockpit, and gave her a special card. She was so proud, and her brothers were quite jealous!

It was a beyond exhausting trip that I have no desire to repeat, despite knowing there is so much we didn’t see. But, we saw a ton, and it was a good trip for all.

Link to our AirBnb, who were great hosts, and great location. Link to AirBnb

I was thinking about Rainbows from Raya’s first airplane grant recipient the other night, and realized I never told you all about the crazy drama that ensued around getting this precious family home with their amazingly sweet little guy.

Their flight had been booked and they planned to hang out in Ukraine for a night or two so that they could get a cheaper flight home.  Mom and little man were going to hang out in their apartment and rest before the long trek home.

We were doing our usual Friday afternoon- everyone home from school and work and being lazy.  Eating pizza in the living room watching tv.  Because, the weeks are hard, ya’ll.

As we’re devouring some pizza, I start to notice my phone lighting up with messages.  The first one I see says:

5:30 pm:  “My gallbladder is hurting…. Like I can’t sleep hurting…. And nauseated.”

She had already sent an email to Adoption Airfare to see if leaving sooner was even an option.

5:58 pm- message from Adoption Airfare “Tomorrow?  No, there is no humanitarian space available.  Sorry!”

By this point, I had already called Adoption Airfare to see if it would be possible to get Shannon and her little guy on the next flight out of Ukraine.  Matt was sure there were no humanitarian flights available, but walked back upstairs to see if there were any reasonable flights available.  “Two seats left.  They weren’t there a few minutes ago.  He is changing flights now” I message to Shannon.  We are all working SO fast because the ticketing office they use was only open for 15 more minutes.  By this point, it is 1 am in Ukraine and we are working to get Shannon on a 5 am flight.  

Meanwhile she messages me- 6:07 pm:  “Can I eat Tums if I took Phenergan?”

6:15 pm:  “He’s changing it.  Same flight except for Saturday (NOW!).  Start packing.”  “Ok, I have to call driver.”

Ukraine is 7 hours ahead of us, so although it was evening in Georgia, it was in the middle of the night/earrrrly morning  in Ukraine.  Around 1 am, we started the process of changing flight planes, having to pack up weeks worth of stuff, get a driver to come, check out of apartment and pay, and get to airport.  With a toddler.  Who was non-to-pleased about being woken from his deep sleep.  And get to airport and ready for a 5 am flight.

I was so worried about this momma and my friend, who was about to spend 12 total hours on two flights with a 5 hour layover in Germany, with a precious toddler strapped to her chest in an Ergo baby while she was having episodic contraction like gallbladder pain and crippling nausea.  I was quite convinced we needed to find someone to meet her in Germany to take care of the baby while she had surgery there.  Thankfully, because of good luck, lots of prayers, and she’s one of the most stubborn strongest people I’ve ever met, she made it home safe and sound.

It is always such a honor (and cool thing if we’re being honest) to pay for the ticket that brings a kiddo home to their forever family.  And after taking on a $35-40,000 endeavor in an international adoption, the idea of paying for an international one way plane ticket can be daunting to families.  It’s such a blessing to be able to help take that one last, but huge expense off their plates, and literally get to help bring that child home.

One of Rainbows from Raya’s main goals this year is to help provide 4 airplane grants to families adopting either internationally or domestically from another state.  We are working to raise $1000 before the end of January so we can fund our next grant.  Once we have met this goal, we will start reviewing applications from families so we can choose our next recipient.  We would LOVE to have you join us and help us make this possible for families.  There are several ways you can donate- including:  Paypal.me/rainbowsfromraya, http://www.dropbox.org/rainbows-from-raya or Venmo bandcbrooks (Venmo option is not tax-deductible, but the other options are.)

I am so beyond thankful that Shannon and Hayden arrived home safely, after all of that.  Changing flights less than four hours before take off was no small feat, and I’m so very thankful for Matt and his team @ Adoption Airfare, as they were the real MVPs that night.  And maybe the driver who got the 1 am phone call and still came quickly to pick up the waiting momma and kiddo.  I’m so thankful that she was able to tough it out until she could get home and get the medical attention she needed.  I’m so thankful for the little boy that from across the world has totally stolen my heart and makes me googly eyed because I love him so much (He thinks I’m pretty wonderful too- I’ll share that pic later).  I’m so thankful for all of you, my village, who rallied around Rainbows from Raya and helped make funding this family’s ticket home possible.  Here’s to hoping our first recipient of 2020 will be equally as precious but maybe a few notches less drama-filled.

 Donate

At this moment (0056) eleven years ago, I became a momma for the first time. It was a rocky road to here, a rocky pregnancy, and a rocky (and insanely fast) delivery. She was such an intense baby who would go from 0-10 in 3.7 seconds, and not much has changed there. Her delivery was similar. I was induced- admitted overnight, with an expectation of delivery around 7 am. The medicine used to ‘soften’ my cervix sent me into precipitous labor and I literally went from 3-10 in what felt like 3.7 seconds. Ha! I will never forget the feeling I had when the nurse (doctor? Hmm, I do forget this detail) said “Oh no- you aren’t getting something for nausea or an epidural. You’re a 10!). I had two second flashbacks of the Friends episode- “We”re sorry, your window for an epidural has closed.” “Break the window!!!!” After the initial moment of panic, I thought let’s do this! I’ve seen this exact response to life in you.

You are so brave, even though you can be a scaredy bear. You do such hard things and make them look easy. You have failed and tried again. You have sang solos in front of auditoriums full of people. You have done cartwheels on a beam 4 inches wide. You took on a new sport with girls twice your size and didn’t quit when it was hot or hard. You love twirly dresses and can probably count on one hand the days you’ve worn jeans in your life. You love animals and bugs and lizards and frogs. You love to read (and are SO fast at it). You love science and history. You know every single word to every single song of Hamilton (yes, even the bad ones). You’ve rode every ride at Six Flags and Disney World you are tall enough to ride, and are assertive enough to let us know that one time is enough for you. 😂 You’ve been to Disney 4 times, and celebrated your 10th birthday in the Magic Kingdom. You’ve flown in an airplane and we’re so excited and so brave- and had to be super independent because your sister was oh so loudly protesting her first flight. You jumped head and heart first with our family’s adoption journey, and were prepared to love whatever baby God planned for our family. You truly experienced and understood the whole adoption triad- and I will never forget you saying when we left the hospital after meeting Ava Kate for the first time “I’m going to pray for B’s (AK’s birthmomma) heart, because this must be so hard for her.”

At one point you wanted to be a artist/farmer/veterinarian (yes all at the same time- and you’d worked out the details) because you were terrified of fire alarms and this would allow you to do what you love in a space without fire drills 🤦🏻‍♀️. This hasn’t changed a ton, as you told your daddy the other day you wanted to be an artist. I have no doubt whatever path you choose, you will not be put in a box and you will create beautiful things that point to a beautiful God who created you. I pray that as we officially enter the tween years that you remember we are on your team and will fight for you every step of the way. I don’t expect them to be easy, because you are a lot of wonderful things- but easy has never, ever been one of them. I pray God uses your intensity, independence, compassion and creativity to change the world and make it a better place. You are loved beyond measure by so many! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sydney! ❤️

I have seen a child with his head shaved and staples in his scalp lying in a bed in the PICU in the very same hospital my son spent a night this week for a head injury. His blood pressure terrified me at 60/30. 12 years later, I can see his face as vividly as I could that day.

As I lie awake in a beautiful room in a beautiful hospital that formerly housed children on the hematology and oncology unit, I stared at ceiling tiles wondering how many mommas had laid awake, staring at those ceiling tiles and praying for a miracle for a kiddo they knew would never be healed on this side of Heaven? How many had been left alone in that very room while their little one was whisked away for hours in surgery? How many precious kiddos had taken their last breath in the very room I was in that night?

Liam had been SO brave and I was so proud of him. How many kiddos had to face terrifying and painful things as a part of their regular existence?

Why do we get to be the lucky ones? Why did we spend one terrifying night at our children’s hospital and now we are home and mostly back to “normal?”

I have no answer to these questions. But, even a tiny experience like ours will change you. Sydney has spent the day gathering stuffed animals to donate to kids at the hospital. She wants to host a lemonade stand this summer to raise money for them as well.

I am so thankful for Liam’s recovery and that we were able to bring our forever baby HOME to be the loud and into everything 6 year old he is. I know that every parent isn’t that lucky. I am so thankful that we live minutes from one of the very best hospitals in the entire country. Every time we leave there, I want to figure out how to be a part of that organization because although they walk some very tough roads daily, they do it oh so well. I am so thankful for our amazing village of friends, family, and everything in between who prayed so hard for us and rallied around our family during such a terrifying experience.

We are so, so lucky. I know we don’t deserve it but I am so very thankful to be one of the lucky ones who got to bring their kiddo home. I do not take that for granted, ever. Please pray for the mommas and daddies who aren’t that lucky. Pray for their hearts as they try to put one foot in front of the other each day.

Just three nights ago, I was lying on a pull out coach of a hospital room, watching vitals on a bedside monitor. I’ve done this a zillion times, and calmly respond to the numbers on the screen. Except, this time it was different. This time those numbers represented my BABY, and it was terrifying.

A few hours prior, we had made the short-ish trek to our children’s hospital to have Liam evaluated for what we suspected was a concussion. Although ‘normal’ when awake, if he wasn’t talking to you, he was falling asleep. He vomited multiple times, starting a few hours after he hit his head. Lights and sounds bothered him so much – “WHY is it sooooooo bright?!?” Even bumps along the road made him cry out with nausea. His head hurt so bad, and not where he hit it. It hurt across his forehead. 😦 When shown the faces scale, he told the nurse his pain was an 8.

(Later he told the nurse if I had a kidney stone, mine would be a ten. 😬)

Once at the hospital, he looked at me with terror in his eyes and said “Where are we and what are we going to do?!” I explained that we needed better medicine for his headache (because what we had given was not helping) and that we needed a picture, kind of like an X-ray, to show us his brain was ok. We looked at pictures of CT machines on my phone and then pictures of brains that are obtained from a CT scan. Once the doctor came in and saw him and told us we were going for the CT, Liam asked “What does it show us?” I told him it would show us that his brain was ok. “What if it doesn’t?” “If it doesn’t, they might want us to hang out here so they can keep an eye on you.” Even with a brain injury, this kid is so smart and so analytical. By this point, his headache had improved with an additional dose of Tylenol and he didn’t seem so sensitive to light and sound. I was questioning if the trip to the ED was being over paranoid. The CT tech arrived and Liam was whisked away for his scan. I got to go in with him and talked to him the entire time. He was SO brave. If you knew Liam as a toddler, you know there are no words I could have said to him to do this unsedated. I was so proud of him. And so was he!

Not long before we left for the CT scan, the tech had brought in a laceration repair kit and set up an area for sutures/staples. Of course, we had already assessed this ourselves and were hoping he wouldn’t need this. About 10 or so minutes after we were back in the room, the nurse comes in and starts putting electrodes on Liam to monitor his pulse, respirations and oxygen saturation. “Do y’all do Versed (sedative) to do that (pointing at suture kit)?” She quickly told me he just needed to be monitored and scurried out. It was odd, but at the moment, I didn’t connect the dots.

About five minutes later, the ED doctor we met earlier came in and said “He has a small bleed on his brain. He will have to stay to be observed and a neurosurgeon will come see him. He will probably be ok.” Whew. A bleed. A concussion I expected- a bleed truly wasn’t on my radar. A neurosurgeon- wow. “He will probably be ok”- dude, really??

Thankfully at this point, Liam was pretty close to his normal self. He didn’t seem nauseated any more and his headache was down to a 4. (and yes, he had carefully analyzed his choices.). Someone had asked me if he could walk and I said “Honestly I don’t know- we have been carrying him everywhere.” Out of the blue, Liam says “I haven’t walked yet, but I know I could if I tried!” He hopped up and walked across the room. (Fall risk much? Ah!!!)

Our next mountain? The nurse comes in and puts a heel warmer on both of his hands. An IV! Although the kid has a bleed on his brain, so I fully agree with the need for IV access, I completely panicked on the inside. The CT I prepared him for. An IV was going to be like 4 year old shots- there’s just not preparing him for that. Thankfully his nurse was amazing, he was sleepy, and he had amazing veins. He was terrified but between his awesome nurse and his child-life momma, he had an IV in seconds and no tears (from him- I cried for him when they put the warmers on!). “What is this for?” To keep you safe (as my mind races through all of the options of why he would need it. Probably why I am awake at 3 am).

Around 10pm we were admitted and taken to our room on the first floor- the dedicated space for neuro patients. Our nurse, Bri, was truly amazing and wonderful to both Liam and his super tired momma. At this point, it was hard to tell if Liam was lethargic or falling asleep because it was so so late. We got him all hooked up to the monitors and snuggled him in bed for sleep.

At about one am, his heart rate started shooting up around the same time he would cry out. We got him more Tylenol and tucked back in. He cried out again a few minutes later and I got in bed with him and he said “I’m scared!” I stayed in his bed with him after that and no more crying out. 😍

At 4 am his nurse came in to check on him and he was WIDE awake and so hungry. He drank Powerade and ate crackers and went back to sleep. We slept really well from 4am until 6am until I was woken abruptly to go for his follow up CT scan. Woken from super hard sleep, I was trying to throw on clothes and shoes and prepare him for what we were doing, all the while having an internal panic attack about how important this scan was. Thankfully, having just done it a few hours prior, Liam wasn’t nervous or scared at all. He was excited about getting new stickers. When it was finished, he told the tech it smelled so bad. I admit, low key panic attack because I have never heard anyone say that before and was it being something was wrong?? (My head is an exhausting place to live- haha)

We went right back to sleep until the neurosurgery resident came to tell us his scan showed “the same or a tiny bit better” and that they would likely watch him through the day but this was good news.

We ordered a huge breakfast for us both- Liam’s included and me more than happy to pay $6 for breakfast and not need to leave him. He had a waffle shaped like a teddy bear and he was so so excited about it. He ate every bite and drank juice, and immediately threw up every single bit of it. (Liam informed me it is ‘throw up’ and not ‘vomit or vomiting ‘ and he wished I wouldn’t say ‘vomiting’ anymore. Yes, sir!) I thought for sure this would buy us another 24 hours here, but his nurse reassured us that it might not. Liam’s headache was back, his pain a 4 and we gave him Tylenol and then Zofran in his IV. (He was terrified by this because he didn’t know the IV was already in place and to use it would not involve needles or pain.).

I had been fighting a horrible sinus infection prior to all of this and desperately needed a decongestant. We clock watched until 9 am when the gift shop opened. We bought lots of sinus meds, a change of clothes for me (when you can buy panties/boxers, shirts and pants- I am not the first to get unexpectedly stuck here!), a toiletry pack for me, super cool giraffe slippers for Liam and a bear that Liam picked out for Sydney. $100 later, I had the meds I needed and clean clothes. Thankfully, the shirt is CHOA ❤️ Georgia Bulldogs, so I kind of love it! So did Liam. After we brushed our teeth and changed clothes, Liam wanted to explore the hospital again — we saw a library, a school room, a garden and a piano, and he wanted to check them out. After some exploring, when we got back to the room, he was suddenly super grumpy and looked really sleepy. Against his better plans, he laid on my chest and fell asleep. We slept like a rock for 2 solid hours. I heard a few staff come in, see we were sleeping and go back out. (I am so very thankful for this because we needed that sleep so badly!). We awoke to a group of neurosurgery doctors/residents around his bed. The neurosurgeon explained what the CT showed and what the follow up one meant. The expectation is that the bleed has stopped and the blood will slowly reabsorb. The concussion may cause headaches and vomiting in the weeks to come and that would be fairly normal. He would be on the return to learn/return to play type protocol for his concussion. We are supposed to follow up with him in 3-4 weeks, unless he is completely back to normal without symptoms. I was that super annoying mom who asked about baseball for a six year old. Yes, I know my kid had a bleed on his brain and I’m asking about baseball. But, I knew it was going to be important to this cute kiddo and I needed to know.

We were discharged home after seeing the trauma nurse who checked Liam from head to toe to make sure we didn’t miss any broken bones or other important things in the hustle and bustle of a brain bleed. Liam has big bruises and road rash on his hip, hands, and shoulders. His busted lip was pre-existing from recess the day of the accident (oh my word, you rough and tough kid!!)

Friday afternoon, we made it home. So so tired. Heading in, he said “Thank you, Mommy, for staying with me.” He really is the sweetest.

This weekend has been an adventure of trying to keep this wild and crazy boy somewhat calm and still. I’m not sure we have succeeded but he hasn’t played Xbox and his headaches haven’t been above a 2. And no vomiting. I’ll take it as a win for sure.

The prayers and offers for help and messages of concern were overwhelming and amazing. Thank you, thank you!! Liam’s baseball buddies, my friends closeby and across the country, our church, and our family were praying so hard for him. His principal called us first thing Friday morning to check on him and you could hear the fear and concern in her voice. His amazing teacher let all of his friends make him cards and they made a video message for him as well. I’m so insanely thankful for each and every one of you. Thank you for the prayers, the meals, and the offers to step up and help Ben while I was away with Liam. We love you all so big!!

Adoption is a journey filled with so many layers and so many opinions and so much emotion and so many trigger buttons.

How dare someone adopt from another country when there are so many babies and kids HERE who need families?

How dare someone fundraise for an adoption? If they can’t afford the adoption, they shouldn’t bring home a kid.

How dare someone take a newborn from the hospital? I bet they coerced that young mom when she really just needed help.

How in the world can an adoption possibly cost 20/30/40 thousand dollars??? It should be free.

An open adoption? Are you crazy? What if her/his family come back for them!?

I was extra naive and didn’t know about all of these hot button topics before I found myself knee deep in most of them. As many of you know, my heart was initially in international adoption. I got one of the nastiest messages EVER, and the only anonymous message I’ve ever received, about how wrong it was for our family to be Race for the Orphans recipients as potential domestic newborn adopters.

I have heard the how dare you fundraise- if you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t do it, from members of our own family. And at the same time, I watch families do similar fundraising for travel sports, Boy Scouts, and mission trips and wonder how participation in those is more acceptable than adoption of a child without a family. If you get nothing else from this post, post please never, ever say this again.

Joining families as they walk this already difficult journey, often ignored by family and friends because of insert bad excuse here, has become a passion and a purpose of mine. Those of you who have rallied around these families with me– I can’t tell you how much it means to me, or them.

A few weeks ago, we made a goal to raise $5000 in 5 days, in order to meet a $5000 matching grant. Meeting that goal was shocking and amazing. This is a family who has truly stepped forward, without having the funds in hand, fully trusting that God will make a way. And time and time again, He is making a way. (That doesn’t mean we aren’t working our behinds off- but the dollars are continuing to add up). Our motto during this process has been “Miracles Move Mountains.” After this massive miracle, I knew I wanted a shirt to celebrate it. I asked my friends at Fund The Nations to design it, with these criteria 1) not orange and 2) Miracles Move Mountains. I could not be more ecstatic how they turned out.

They are available for order through this week. Order now and pay now or later. $20 or $23/shipped and available in sizes XS-2XL. They are a soft style shirt and if you are in between sizes they recommend you size up. They are the same as our Love Makes A Family shirts. You can order by using the link below:

https://forms.gle/5tqEqT6d8JcsssLM9

We’d also love for you to share!!! Thank you so so much!!

I couldn’t even share this yesterday because I was so emotional about and shocked by it. When Shannon and I set the goal for $5k on 5 days, we knew the only way we would meet this is with a miracle. It was a scary, unrealistic, God-sized goal and to watch it happen yesterday was such an amazing thing to witness. This $5k will be doubled (matched) by an amazing organization called RODS (Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome) who raises money for waiting kiddos and adoptive families. I am honored and humbled to be a small part of this beautiful story filled with love, loss, and redemption. Thank you to all of you for helping make this happen! 💜 Love you all, Chasidy💜

https://zenzappers.com/2019/03/25/miracles-move-mountains/

My opinion all summed up in one pic.