Cue the balloons & goodies!

There’s been a lot of celebrating around here this week. Rachel turned two yesterday and my book is officially on Amazon.

(Cue the balloons and doughnuts!)

Sharing a short excerpt from “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” seemed appropriate for today. I’d love for you to take some time to read the whole book. Yes, it’s the story of Team Taylor, but it’s also a story of God’s faithfulness.

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We ended up spending about 90 minutes with Stacy after Rachel’s birth. We took turns holding her and chatted about our other kids – my two who were eager to meet their baby sister and her two who weren’t yet two and three years old.

These moments were open adoption at its finest.

{Tweet that.}

Greg, Rachel and I visited with Stacy later that evening as she recovered in another room and then again the next day when we met with our attorney and social worker before we went our separate ways with all our mixed emotions.

Even in her grief, Stacy knew adoption was the right plan for her – and Rachel. She elaborated on that about eighteen months after the delivery:

“I feel like I did a good thing. Not only did you guys help me out, but I also helped you in this blessing. I’m grateful to have given birth to another beautiful and perfect baby. Adoption is not selfish. It’s one of the most unselfish things you can do. If you truly know the baby would be better off with a different family, then you are thinking of others, not yourself. It’s also a beautiful way to create everlasting bonds and I’m so grateful that this was God’s plan. It’s a blessing to have Rachel in such a good home. I couldn’t have asked for a better family.”

I stayed at the hospital with Rachel that first night and then, thankfully, she was discharged at twenty-five hours old. Although the kids had met her at the hospital, coming home and having my family of five under the same roof was exactly where I wanted to be – dorky matching shirts included.

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If you haven’t read the story about us showing up at the hospital for the birth of our daughter in matching shirts, you may want to check that out because it’s a good story! Thanks for being here and celebrating with me, friends.

And what’s a party without goodies? I have a giveaway! Between now and Monday, Sept. 25, you can enter to win a fun prize package just for being a friend. I’ll choose a winner for the prize package that includes a paperback copy of my book, a choose joy T-shirt from Farmhouse 31 Designs, a Trades of Hope necklace, a scripture study from Kayse Pratt at Intentional Moms, a change purse from Adopting Nations, a bookmark and magnet from The Adopt Shoppe, and a Peace in the Process playlist.

Enter the giveaway here!

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