the future for our family

Almost 8 years ago, upon our return from our honeymoon we announced with joy that we were going to start the foster care process in hopes of adopting a child. Newly married (less than a month to be exact), young, Peter still working on his undergraduate degree... living in a 2 bedroom condo... I'm sure what 'we did', what 'we choose' was thought to be strange, a little crazy maybe. Even more so, when less than 6 months later we had twins, and were proceeding ahead with their adoption. I often wonder what would have happened if we had stopped and listened to what the world 'thought' about our plans, and hopes and dreams, instead of the clear path that we know that God had sent us on. If we had listened to popular opinion, we would have missed out on two of the most amazing people we could have ever brought into our family.

Which brings us to where we're heading...

When house shopping about 9 months ago, in the back of our minds was that if we only had enough room, we could provide a home for a child(ren) in foster care-- open to adoption, and open to working on a reunification plan with a birth family and agency. We prayed about this frequently while choosing the next place our family would call home. I could tell you of the many miracles that led us to our new house-- and how perfect for our family it is, but that's a story for another day.

There are some 400,000+ KIDS in the United States in foster care. Our 'much bigger home' is full of love, and has plenty of space, plenty of care, plenty of resources to care for one or two of those kids. We do not know if this is a 'forever' plan for our family, but what we are certain of is that this IS the plan for our family for now.

We ask a few things. We know that we are not perfect (not perfect parents, people, etc. etc) but we would so appreciate your support (or, at the very least, the absence of your criticism). We ARE stepping out in faith, in absolute belief that this is the path we are to take. We know our hearts may break into a thousand pieces, because if we love the child(ren) living with us well, then that is how it can happen-- but we know that they will be restored. Knowing that, we will still fully support reunification if that is the plan for the child-- birth families deserve the right to parent, and we hope and pray that the issues that bring their child to us are resolvable.

Anyway, we are awaiting the completion of our homestudy, an instillation of our new basement window, and then, for a very important phone call. We are looking forward to this journey, and hope you'll come along side us as we begin this next step.

Love, the Webber Family

BabyCrunchy does Cyber Monday

Check out our store! www.BabyCrunchy.com

Cyber Monday MADNESS!!!

Due to customer request, Cyber Monday is starting early.

All bumGenius 4.0′s are 6 for the price of 5 diapers. Use code BUY5GET1.

Everything else is 15% off with code MONDAY.

FuzziBunz are still on sale, and can be combined with the coupon–

Perfect Size FuzziBunz are just $11 *– we have a decent section of Smalls left, and some options in Mediums.

One Size FuzziBunz are just $16.96*.

*after the coupon discount. Price for instock items only!

Buy 5 bumGenius 4.0′s and Get 1 FREE! Use code BUY5GET1 (cannot be stacked or combined with other coupons).

Always free shipping over $30 within the US.

We have flip’s w/ aplix in stock. We have them listed under covers– if you would like to make a package with them (1 cover, 1 insert OR Day Pack etc- shoot me a quick e-mail (info@babycrunchy.com) and it should be no problem to switch provided we still have the stock). We will be checking our e-mail frequently this weekend to provide excellent customer service.

and more pics...

latest from Aunt Jenn...

(Kayla wasn't in need of pics this time...)

Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Or, four of the cutest kids ever, with a teeny tiny Isaac sized pumpkin :)

And yes, I do consider 3 out of 4 looking and smiling a HUGE success!

The invisible woman

My mother-in-law first shared this in video form at a baby shower she hosted-- I loved it then, and have shared it with a few mom's in my life-- a blogger I read just shared the 'script' of the video so now, I'm sharing it with you.

This is why I'm okay with being invisible :)

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction, but it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my child to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Written by: Mary Lynn Plaisance

Brotherhood of the Traveling Baptism/Dedication outfit

(Pictures by popular demand). (And, pictures by the fabulous Aunt Jenn !!)







So, my dad was baptized as a baby (I think only a few weeks old) some 40+ years ago, and my grandma Lorraine put him in a beautiful (boyish!) baptism outfit and it fit. **Just In** My dad's cousins Kevin and Paul also wore it. Some 25 years later Mark wore it, at a few months old-- and surpisingly enough, it fit. Then Danny was a little older and wore it, and again, it fit. Then Isaac wore it at almost 5 months old, and again, it fit. So we've declared this outfit-- worn by multiple babies at different ages, the 'brotherhood' of the traveling Baptism/Dedication outfit.

Kayla's Big Board

Kayla's currently on a few billboards throughout Michigan-- she calls it her "big board"-- way too cute to correct. The other day, my mom and I headed out to see one of the ones closer to our home in person... it was raining so the boys opted to stay in the car while I jumped out and video recorded and took pics of Kayla (and Julie) in front of the 'big board'. Excuse the poor quality photo's... we plan to return on a nicer day with a better camera.

BTW, Kayla actually still rides in a 5-point higher weight harnessed carseat (probably for another year or so), but we were pretty happy she was chosen to participate in a campaign that our family feels strongly about.