Chen Chronicles

A very wise woman recently compared the brain to a computer hard drive. She said when it's full, it is very much like that of a person who worries and internalizes everything . I am that person. That realization is shocking.  I suppose you could say I have just experienced the ethereal "blue screen of death," we all hate.  Sometimes the awareness that this has happened is all we need to fix the problem. Sometimes, it isn't just as simple as black and white.  The simplicity in this idea cannot be understated, but sometimes I have to be slapped upside the head with something to conceptualize and apply the principle(s) to life.  Admittedly, I have lain awake many nights with so much on my mind that I could not sleep. A friend once told me that anxiety isn't a sign of  weakness   as a Christian, but a symbol of our own deep-rooted insecurities. Those are hard to change , but it doesn't mean I shouldn't strive to change them. Now, this isn't to sa...

An observation of a friend prompted today's blog post.  I usually do not go overboard when it comes to political correctness, or PC as my husband and I like to call it. This is a sensitive enough topic, alone, without having to throw in the PC issue.  This friend observed some signs at our church which advertised for our Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPs) group.  The fliers had a who, what, when, where, kind of format and under the who, they stated, "In utero through eighth grade."   As many of you know, I am an adoptive mother and this bothered me as well as a friend of mine who understands that not all mothers come in the form of biology. I normally would not take offense to something like this, except that the audience the group wishes to attract is ALL mothers-to-be.   I know many might argue that a "prospective adoptive parent," isn't an "expectant mother," but many of us travel this journey of miles of paperwork and red tape because we h...

So, I haven't been to sleep at all tonight and it's 3:40am here. I've tried my normal sleep medication so I thought writing and getting some of my feelings out there might be a great way to get some sleep. You know, that unburdening feeling...that might make me feel better. I read a quote today about adoption and wanted to share it: Pray, hope and don't worry. Anxiety doesn't help at all. Our Merciful Lord will listen to your prayer. --- Saint Padre Pio I sure do hope this saint is correct because we are ALL praying for our little Katie and trying our best NOT to worry about the outcome, or specifically, when we are going to get a referral. I think it is all-consuming these days.  Some days it is easier and others harder.  Though when I consider where Aaron and I both are in life at this moment, it almost seems better that we get our little one next year because he'll be closer to being done with graduate school (graduates in June) and he can come hom...