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Snow Days in Georgia (or lack thereof) have always been peculiar.  As a kid, I remember school being cancelled at the sheer mention of snow.  We had several snow days without any actual snow.  As an adult, working in healthcare, it’s been even a little more complicated.  Because, rain or shine, the mail will come, is not true, but you better believe that if you find yourself with severe abdominal pain, chest pain, or ready to deliver a baby, you’re going to have a healthcare crew ready to make sure you’re not having appendicitis or a heart attack, and ready to deliver your baby if it’s time!  We pack our bags and prepare to spend the night (or the week) piled up on stretchers by night and taking care of you by day.  Thankfully, working in the outpatient world, I don’t have to move in.  We take days off.  But not many.  We got 4-6 inches of beautiful, soft, white snow, and the very next day our office was open.  During a state of emergency in Georgia.  Wait, what?  Yes, we had to drive into work in the ice and snow and all that.  Thankfully, I am married to a mechanically inclined man, who also is skilled in driving in all weather conditions, including snow.  Nope, he’s not from the north.  I arrived safely at work, but I made sure to tell them that without said hubby, I would have called them from  2 inches from my driveway to tell them there was no way I would make it in!  🙂

The kids and I all experienced riding a sled for the first time.  My mom bought them for us last year, during the expected blizzard that gave us not even a flurry.  (Insert, the moment my children started to distrust the weather man— “Mom, they said there was a 100% chance!”)  Liam ran around saying, “Mmm!  Yellow snow!  My favorite!”  Gross, kid, gross!  As you all know, I am the worst housewife.  Maybe ever.  Delivering babies was the only domestic skill I think I ever had.  So, during snow day, I had a wonderful system of catching kids at the door, getting their wet things off of them, and getting them dry before the next trip outside.  They were well dressed, well layered, and almost always dry.  I was so super proud of myself!  🙂  Let’s note that we did not lose power, because that would have thrown a kink into my perfect plan! The kids and I also made snow cream for the first time.  It was fun, and it was yummy, but we weren’t THAT impressed.  Sometimes there’s no need to mess up a good thing.  🙂

Snow, in a place that rarely gets any, is magical.  I think this year’s snow will be a week that my children all remember.

So, during a pregnancy, there’s a ton of things that take place. Starting with a little bundle of cells,develops fingers and toes, and lungs and a beating heart, and a lot more really complex development. And although you can’t actually see THAT development, you can see the mom’s changing body and know that big things are happening inside her tummy. She can feel a lot of changes happening as well. For me, this looked like being constantly nauseous, vomiting the first 20 weeks, and a bazillion kidney stones with Liam. But, nonetheless, I did feel like I was preparing to bring a life into this world.

Adoption is often referred to as a paper pregnancy. Because, y’all, there really is so.much.paperwork. And at our next homestudy meeting, Kelly, our social worker, is going to tell us that we actually need 4 copies of said paperwork. Holy smokes- I read ahead, so I won’t be shocked by that, but it is really a ton of paperwork.

But all of that to say that preparing for this new member of our family feels so different than when they are physically growing inside of you. I don’t feel nauseous. My body isn’t changing to prepare for him/her. But our hearts are. We wonder what he or she will look like. Whether they are already tucked snuggly inside their first mom’s tummy or not even conceived yet. Will his/her momma think adoption is better for them because she doesn’t have the money to take care of (another) baby? Because she’s so very young? Because she’s in jail? Because she has no one cheering her on, to tell her they’ll be there to help her, no matter what? If I allow myself to stay here very long, it’s pretty inevitable I will get weepy. I am a momma and I know how very much I love every one of my babies. I can’t imagine being in a situation where doing the very thing I was made for would not be best for them. I can’t imagine going through the misery of pregnancy knowing I would not have the rewards of newborn snuggles. Be slow to judge someone who spends nine months of nausea, pain, weight gain, and a childbirth to then hand that baby over into someone else’s hands. That takes courage. Determination. Love. Because I assure you other options are available and cheap. The baby placed in my arms will always know that his/her first momma made a selfless choice that gave him/her a chance at life and that choice should and will be celebrated.

Sorry for going way off tangent. This post was supposed to tell you about all of the headway we have made on our homestudy. We’ve gotten all of our reference letters. (Our homestudy required five, one from a family member). They were so very sweet and I actually cried after reading each of them. I don’t think the birthmom will get to see these. I think they are just for the social worker completing our homestudy to have. But, they were amazing. We have some really amazing friends who said some really sweet and encouraging things about Ben and me as parents. Also, getting five busy people to write a letter and get them to us was quite an accomplishment. We had our septic test done. This was easy, but pricey. $125 later and we have our letter. I asked for it for free and then a discount, because apparently some counties will do this. Coweta County will not. I asked, y’all. A few times, actually. We have our pediatrician letter and vaccine record in hand for each of our kiddos. It even said our children receive “excellent care” at home. Liam disagrees. Apparently, he thinks I yell too much, which, is, most days, entirely untrue. In true Brooks kid, ages 4+, fashion, he thinks Ben is doing an excellent job and is the exemplary parent. That’s ok, when they fall off their bikes, they want me, because I have mad skills (and ice packs!). And I do not yell. Much. We got both of our employment verification letters, mortgage statements, first 2 pages of last year’s taxes, copies of our drivers licenses and health insurance cards. I may have forgotten to pay the electric bill last month, but our paperwork, I am on it! :).

We don’t have much left as far as papers go. Ben still needs a complete physical, we both have to have drug/TB/HIV testing, our cat needs a rabies shot and we have to go for fingerprinting. We have our 2nd meeting with our social worker this week, this time in Atlanta. One more meeting after that, and our homestudy is complete.

At that point, if we are ready, our “profile” can begin being shown to birthmoms. This is why we are fundraising now, as we could easily go from “just getting started” to having a lot of fees. Which is scary. But, just this weekend, I have watched over $6500 pour in from friends to two fellow adoptive families, and it’s been the coolest thing to literally be a part of that miracle. (I will tell you about that later!)

I promised to keep you informed about “why it costs so very much,” and where we are in our own process, so this is me trying to do that.

We have several avenues set up for supporting us financially. The easiest is straight through our PayPal account, and actually, all roads eventually send it there. Our directlink is PayPal . A way to make a tax-deductible donation is through Adopt Together. Your employer charitable contributions matching can also be used here. The link for that is AdoptTogether. Lastly, both our page for keeping up with our story and our fundraising is here. Again, they all end up in the same place, so don’t stress about which to use.

We were given a $500 donation from a mutual friend over the weekend. I have given several donations like that to adoptive families over the last year and really don’t give it a second thought. But when someone thought enough of Ben and me to donate FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS to us and our future baby, I was blown away. Like tears, and nausea, and shock, and more tears. Snead family, we are so very grateful for your support and your friendship! Thank you!!! ❤

Thanks for reading through all of my rambling. Hopefully the next time I post, it will say that we have completed our homestudy. At that point, we will really sit down together and pray about the direction we are ready to take. Our process can take a really long time, or a really short time, from there. I feel complete peace that this timeline is on God’s timeline and am hopeful I stay that way! :). Good night! ♥️♥️

So, I have been very transparent throughout my adult life that I am a pretty bad housewife. Most of this revolves buying the food and cooking the food. I blame my extreme nauseous state mixed with a lot of newborns in between for the better part of our first decade of marriage. For the second part, I blame ADHD. Can you remember your list, keys, wallet, and what am I here for, when your kids are literally doing flips.out of cart or on the rail that separates check out aisles? I think not. I even mentioned to Ben that I bet if I posted a help needed ad on Craigslist, someone would do my grocery shopping for me. And then there were those Craigslist murders, IN Georgia, and I decided bad plan.

So paired with Blue Ribbon Foods plus Ben’s mad grocery shopping skills, we’ve been ok. But y’all. Grocery delivery, just like the kind I was dreaming of six years ago is a real thing now. And I can’t be more excited to try it!

Not only will they deliver groceries to our house, but to my office, my mom’s house or to us while we are on vacation. Which is a super bonus, because I seem to forget all the things (except the important people) when we go on vacation. So we usually spend hours 2 and 3 of our vacation getting acquainted with the local people of Wal-Mart. And since my kids have very limited experience with retail stores, we probably resemble the people of Wal-Mart.

So, I get it. You can use your fancy list and go pick up your groceries. But y’all, that still takes planning. You have to let them know before that day, and show up at that time, and wait on them to come out, and that’s a lot of steps. (ADHD, it’s real y’all. ). With Shipt, I can get next hour delivery and they bring it to my house. Easy peasy. Did I mention the importance of same day? When we are out of toilet paper, we cannot plan our pick up for two days from now. Amazon has been filling in this gap for me with our Prime 2 hour delivery. But it’s limited stock/brands and they’re slowly creeping their price up month by month (I see you, Amazon. You aren’t fooling us.).

Another feature that I am excited about, which I think most of these type services have, is a favorite’s list. So, every week we need Gogurt, lunch meat, milk, and Goldfish, right? Instead of having to search for those things, they will be in a pre-saved list. (Yes, we eat like toddlers. Don’t judge us.).

There are also section to view the sales’ items. So, just because you’re domestically challenged like me, you don’t have to give up your BOGO deals and such. And they’re even nicely arranged in one section, kind of like you’re in the store! (In case you would miss that…)

Will my extra frugal husband be mad at me for paying a yearly membership for this? Maybe. But, he just gained an hour or more a week back to his life, and we have had to learn that even though we hate paying for things that our time is valuable. I’m already thinking of all the amazing things he, I mean we, can get done in that extra hour a week! :):)

Like most things these days, Shipt has a referral program. If you use my link, listed below, you get $10 off your order. And so do I! I can’t tell you firsthand, yet, how great this service is, but I can tell you how super excited I am about it. And that I’ve done a lot of research on it, via Facebook surveys of my friends, the Better Business Bureau site, as well as other random online reviews, and I think I’m going to like it. I think you will too.

Another area I’ve been struggling for the last 11.5 years of my marriage, menu planning. And I don’t love the automated services for that. So, if you have some super yummy, super toddler friendly (haha) meals, leave them in the comments!

Thanks friends! ❤ Chasidy

I ordered my groceries from Shipt! Use my link and get $10 back when you sign up! via @Shipt https://www.shipt.com/groceries/?r=CE7758

In light of my sweet nephew busting his noggin at daycare yesterday, and ending up with 6 stitches, I thought I would share an old post of ours documenting stitches for our kiddos. Thankfully, Liam hasn’t needed any, but he did knock out two teeth, so there’s that….

You can read all about it here . Thankfully, they’ve all been one and done and so far, no broken bones. (Knock on wood and do a lot of other superstitious things!).

Happy Snow Day, friends. Hope you’ve had no need for stitches or broken bones!

Adoptions don’t happen without a homestudy. Most people imagine this as a visit where a social worker comes to your home and checks every inch of it for dust and clutter to make sure you’ll be a good parent. Candles, homemade cookies, and a perfectly clean house are a must. A homestudy is actually a process that takes a few months, and includes a home visit, as well as FBI finger prints, Georgia sex registry/parole registry/inmate registry searches, recommendation letters from friends and family, and a deeper look into your finances than any of your friends know about. I might be the very first prospective future adoptive momma who did not bake cookies for their social worker. I absolutely don’t have time to pretend to be a better mom than I am. It was only fitting that our scheduled visit happened on my first day back to work from the holidays, the kiddos first day back to school, and on a day that my van stopped being reliable transportation. We don’t have time to pretend to be an amazing family. We are parents who 100% love our kids with every ounce of our being and provide them a safe, loving home every day of their lives. Homemade cookies are icing on the cake, and definitely don’t happen every day! 🙂 We have a lot of chaos and a lot of clutter in our family and our house, but I believe that our family has plenty of love and snuggles to give and a safe, warm home ready to welcome a sweet new baby to the chaos that is our family.

Our kids were so excited to tell Mrs. Kelly (the social worker) about our family, our plans to adopt a baby, and to show her our house. Liam was literally bouncing off the walls excited.

We are in no rush for this process. We plan to work with an attorney in another state, instead of an agency. We’ve been warned that many birthmoms will not choose us, because we already have kids (several kids!). Our plan is to have our homestudy in place so that when the time comes, or the right situation arises, we are ready and not held back by logistical stuff. When our baby is born, we will be ready. We do not *need* a baby. We need to be a family for a baby that does *need* a mom, a dad, and some super cute siblings.

Tonight, we check off the home visit portion of our homestudy off our list. We have two meetings that will take place in Marietta, at the corporate office of Options 4 Adoption, to complete our homestudy. (In addition to completing the paperwork- including medical exam, drug test, FBI fingerprints, 911 record search, etc.).

I’m falling asleep as I type this, so I think it’s a good time to sign off.

My heart is so excited to dream about Baby Brooks #4. Tonight, I am praying for him/her and it’s sweet momma that could have easily made the choice to end an unwanted pregnancy, but instead chose to give her baby life. We are excited to take that baton and help guide her sweet baby and guide him/her through life, always knowing the love of a family! #laterpost #homestudy #homevisit #adoption

To follow our journey, share our story or make a donation, visit our you caring page @ https://www.youcaring.com/brooksfamily-1022176 ❤❤❤

We have amazing friends, who are crazy like us, and like to take family trips often.  With babies.  And lots of kiddos.  Insert gasp here.  We have been told all of the reasons this is a bad idea.  And why most of our friends and family would never do it, AND thought we were crazy for considering it.   And like most things in life, we listened and decided to do it anyway!  Some of my absolute favorite memories of my not so little family center around trips we have taken.

Our above mentioned friends love all things Disney and are the reason we were brave (or crazy, you pick) enough to take our very first familiy Disney trip when Sydney and Eli were one and two years old (insert perk: they were both under 3 and FREE!)  They recently posted a blog titled “Top 5 Tips for Having a Magical Vacation with Kids and Infants,” (link to their post Elrod’s Top 5 Post )and I thought, “Hmm.. what are MY top five tips for having amazing family vacations with littles?  What advice would I give?”  I decided to make my list before reading theirs, but kind of expect it to be totally different, which is kind of funny.  Also, although our MOST Magical vacations have been at Disney, we have had some pretty amazing times doing other fun trips to multiple beaches, on a cruise to the Bahamas, Chattanooga, and Gatlinburg.  No where that has required an airplane.  Because both the thought of being on an airplane with my kiddos OR taking them through an airport gives me hives.  (“Hi doctor, I need some Xanax for my flight.” “Oh, you have anxiety about flying?”  “No, I have anxiety about the process of flying WITH my children.” HA!)

So, if I was able to convince you to take an amazing trip with your littles in tow (babies, toddlers, early elementary school kiddos), what would my top 5 tips be?

1. Don’t hyper schedule.  When we have traveled with small kids, we have an idea of when certain things are happening and pre-discussed things we really want to do.  But, we also know that things happen with littles (like an explosive diaper, a need for an unplanned snack, the need to ride the teacups three times in a row because they love them and there isn’t a line!).  I have friends who have their entire days mapped out by the minute, and this works well for them, but a huge part for our family’s less-stress on vacations, is to go with the flow a bit with our schedule.  If we don’t HAVE a schedule, we can’t be stressed that we got OFF schedule.  (Maybe this is just because my honey is a little OCD and he would be upset, angry, or stressed if we missed something on the itinerary.)
   

   Did someone say

   

   TEACUPS?!
2. Plan ahead before you go.  I know this seems to contradict my don’t hyper schedule a bit.  But I more mean to take the time to research where you’re going, and what tot hot spots are available.  There’s a ton of soft play areas, playgrounds, children’s museums, etc. that we would have completely missed had we not done a little research ahead of time.  For beach and city trips, this looked like making sure we knew what the city had to offer for our age-range kiddos.  For Disney, this was doing research about what was fun for a one year old, two year old, three year old, and now 7-8 year olds at specific parks BEFORE we were actually IN said park.  Unless Epcot.  Because the time we went there, we were literally reading your recommendations on the Disney bus on my phone on the way to the park, because last minute change.  And we go with the flow on vacation!  (Another thing that I always planned ahead for before we went was nursing spots.  Since I spent 3 of the last 8 years with a nursing baby, this was important!  I had no problem propping up covered up on a bench, but it was also nice to know where some air conditioned designated spots were located along our route.)
   

   

   

   
3. Bring lots of snacks.   And when you think you have enough, pack some more!  Hungry kiddos are grumpy kiddos.  We have friends who taught us about the “hungry monster” years ago, and they were so very right.  While at home, we rarely use backpacks except to go to school.  When we travel, we maximize the backpacks and come prepared with oh so many snacks.  Same for the ride.  Plenty of pre-measured snacks in ziplock bags are available to keep the hungry monster away.  But, don’t ask for drink, because you better not make us stop before it’s time to feed the baby or stop for a planned meal/potty break!  🙂  (Some things you just gotta schedule!)  🙂
   

   

   
4.  Allow breathing room in your schedule.  Because even though I told you not to hyper schedule, we still know what we plan to do on what days, etc.   For instance, for Disney, we have already looked to see which days are busiest for which parks and plan our days accordingly, so although we won’t plan which order we will ride the rides and have lunch and go back to our room, etc., we do know which day we will spend where.  Same for a cruise.  We know which day we will be spending at a port, on an excursion, etc.  I am a firm believer in spreading things out a bit.  For example, we may be crazy enough to take our equally crazy children into Magic Kingdom from open to close (gasp- we don’t even go back to the room for a nap), but we generally have a hotel day the next day.  This allows our kiddos to sleep until they wake up and we can get moving slowly vs. staying up way past their bedtimes and having them up and running again the next day.  This also allows us to do fun things like hang out at the pool, play putt-putt later in the day, or whatever else we decide to do.  Often times, we will do a brunch that next day so that we can all get up slowly and then head to eat later in the day, on a day that we aren’t wasting precious time by having a big breakfast.  
5. Make sure Momma and Daddy have a little fun too.  We all agree, watching our littles have an amazing time they will never remember is the most fun.  It’s amazing to experience life through their excited little eyes.  But, sometimes it’s exhausting, too.  So, it is important to make sure you take a minute or two during your trip to make sure you got to do something you were excited about too.  For Ben, this has been scoring a FastPass or a short line for a super cool rollercoaster or thrill ride.  When Sydney and Eli were really little, I used this time to push them around in the double stroller and they rested or napped.  Now, it looks a lot more like going back to their favorite attraction, or getting an extra snack while Daddy plays.  (Heck, Eli went WITH him on our last Disney trip!).  For me, this was a one hour massage on our cruise.  Because that room got really small, and momma really did need a moment (because Liam was really my sweet, precious shadow on that trip!)

Thanks Malorie and Tim for making me think about some of my favorite memories tonight.  Thanks for showing us that traveling with little kiddos is not only doable, but some of my favorite memories as a momma!  What are your tips for traveling with littles?  Leave your favorites in the comments!  🙂 🙂

I haven’t done a lot of writing lately, because I like to have positive things to say. And lately, my heart has been sad and discontent, and I didn’t want to share that message. Many of you, heck- most of you, know my heart aches for a baby. Not one that I conceive, but one that needs a momma. Ben and I were not on the same page, and that was tough. So I was quiet-ish.

But, in my waiting, a really cool thing happened. Ben encouraged me to advocate for these orphans that were wrecking my sleep and consuming my thoughts. It didn’t ease my desire to make one my own son or daughter like he hoped. But, I do feel like I have experienced being the hands and feet of God in a really cool way. Had Ben said yes, let’s do this, we would have fundraised for ourselves, and maybe met a few families along the way. Instead, I have gotten to know multiple adopting momma’s and have been able to walk beside them through a really vulnerable journey.

Asking for money for yourself is not fun. Ever. But, neither is coming up with $30-40 grand, which is the average cost for an international adoption. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m not afraid to sell things. I figure if you don’t want it, you will ignore me, block me, or keep scrolling. But some of you won’t block me. You will send $10 or $100 to me for a child and a family that you nor I have met. And those $10s add up into then $700s and that, my friends, makes me weepy. Hundreds of dollars being sent to a momma in California to adopt a baby girl in Bulgaria from a momma and her friends in Georgia. That is being the hands and feet of the Church, and I’m so excited to help coordinate it. The “You’re amazing,” messages don’t mean nearly as much as the thought that my village has helped an ordinary family make an orphan a daughter! Sweet Maggie’s family are heading to pick her up the end of this month, and my heart is bursting with excitement for a three year old who has never known the love of a momma. For a momma and daddy about to travel across the country to bring their daughter HOME. For a Jesus who I know is smiling at what has transpired before my very eyes!

What a very cool journey I have stumbled upon. Helping families meet the huge financial need for their adoptions. Minnie Me Boutique will be our launchpad for this fundraising. We will continue to sell cute shirts and women’s and kiddos clothes. All proceeds will benefit adoptive families. Currently, we are supporting a family bringing home a beautiful 7 year old from Colombia, as well as our good friends who hope to adopt from Jamaica.

Please keep our brand new ministry in your prayers and remember us when you are looking to buy gifts this holiday season!! I love you all, my village!!! Minnie Me Boutiqueo

For the last several years I have felt a strong sense of urgency to be a voice to help put out some of the racial fires that seem to have gone rampant over the last few years. Racial adversity is not a problem that goes away in waves but generally when a big event occurs, it gets a lot more screen time, both on the news and in social media newsfeeds.

Last week was intense with friends and family strongly on both sides of the stand Vs kneel controversy. As I was thinking how in the world did we get here and how do we have conversations with family, friends and colleagues on the other side without having all out fighting, I thought of these few things.

1) Always assume the best of people. Some people are genuinely jerks and say mean things to be just that, mean. But some people are really trying and don’t know the things they have said are hurtful. In order to move forward as communities and a nation, we need to assume that most people genuinely do mean well. Which leads me to the second step:.

2) Be open. If someone says something that you felt was not appropriate or was hurtful, take a deep breath and let them know in a very calm manner. (This can be done through a letter of you aren’t comfortable doing it in person.). Example- “I feel like you are singling me/my child/my friend out based on our color when you say that. It would be better if you said xyz.”. This way, you have given the person the opportunity to realize what they said is hurtful AND a better way to handle it next time.

3) Choose to listen and not defend. When we are told someone was offended by something we said, our first instinct is to defend our position/statement. Just stop. You don’t get to decide how someone feels. It is your job here to listen to the person. You don’t have their life filter– their background, their education, their past experiences, all the things that influence how we react to certain things. If we want to change the direction our world is headed, we have to be willing to first listen and not become defensive.

4) Do be willing to listen. Don’t get mad at me for repeating myself. I think this is so important. Don’t be unwilling to change. Don’t be scared or unwilling to speak up. If someone makes an inappropriate comment, even if in a “joking” manner, let them know it is inappropriate. If we are going to change this culture, we are going to have to be bold!

Please know how uncomfortable saying these things makes me, because I am completely unqualified. However, I believe we owe it to the whole black community to listen to them. They are a part of our children’s schools, our work (for me, both as colleagues, mentors, and patients), our churches, and they deserve to both be there and feel valued there.

I originally posted this in 2015, but it says all I want to say!  🙂

Since Father’s Day happens during the summer, Trinity chose Friday (September) to have a day to honor Daddy’s.   Eli made Ben some cute crafts and they had donuts together (Donuts for Dad, of course!)

The magnitude of my kiddos having a Godly, loving, and available dad is not lost on me.  I won the lottery in this department twice.  The first time, with my Daddy, who has no blood relation to me, but chose to love me every single day of my life and be the most amazing dad that I could have ever dreamed of or asked for.  There was not a moment that I was not his “real” child, and I have often thought of how terrifyingly different my life would have been without him!  (Note- no discredit to my amazing mom either, but every daughter needs a great dad!)  The second time is when I married the man I have loved almost my whole life!  I joke that I “trained” him, because we spent our high school years babysitting together, but the truth is that he was made to be a dad!  I am so thankful that he takes the time to help tuck the kids into bed, coach their teams, come to their parent/teacher conferences, and invite them to Georgia football games!  I am so thankful that I get to have him as a teammate as we tread these sometimes rough waters of parenting together!