Over a year ago I decided that I wanted to learn how to be a ventriloquist. Super random, I know. I found a puppet, paid for an on-line course and I practiced. A few months later I was invited to speak to a group of scouts on the topic of fun. This was going to be my ventriloquy debut. As I sat in front of the group of scouts, leaders and parents I choked. I froze. I couldn’t get my puppet to open her mouth. I was totally embarrassed. Though as embarrassed as I was this was also the moment that I became better because I decided that this was never going to happen again and I was going to practice and I was going to become a ventriloquist.
In life when we push ourselves to do hard things we will go through difficult times. I have learned this lesson multiple times but especially as my husband and I have gone through the adoption process and have had many heartbreaks.
Though five years ago I found myself in a small room with low ceilings and worn out couches in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA. I was holding my new ten month old daughter, my seventh child, the one that would make our family complete. She had sores all over her body and face and an emptiness in her eyes. She kept her head tipped back as far as she could, looking at everyone else but me. I told her of all the great things waiting for her at her new home. She had six brothers and sisters that were praying for her and already loved her. She would have a big yard to play in and a swimming pool and even a commercial cotton candy machine. She still kept her head tipped back as far as she could.
I didn’t even think to tell her about all the opportunities she would have to learn and grow. I forgot to mention about the great education she’d be able to get and that she would be able to worship however she pleased. I didn’t tell her that where she was going she could dream and become anything she wanted to be and that she wouldn’t be judged by the color of her skin but by the content of her character. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) All of this was in her future because I was taking Lola home to her family in America.
America, this is one of your mothers speaking and I want to say THANK YOU! Thank you for providing an environment we we all can learn and grow and push ourselves and become anything that we want to be…even if it’s a ventriloquist.
I, personally, have always wanted to be a mom. I have also wanted to be a professional photographer. My children have watched me push my self and go out of my comfort zone as I have grown a high end photography business that focuses primarily on capturing family connection and family relationships. How lucky am I that I get to bring in one of my core beliefs into my business that the family is ordained of God that the family is central to His plan. How lucky are we that we get to be moms in America and raise our children where anything is possible and where the sky’s the limit. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Amy is a mother to seven kiddos, a sibling to five, a wife to one of the greats, and a friend to anyone who will make eye contact with her. She grew up in Arizona and loves to play in the sunshine any chance she gets, even if it’s through a frozen window in January. She loves to dance with her daughters and play practical jokes on her sons and husband. Constantly finding new ways to bring fun and energy to any situation she is always learning a new skill. She has learned balloon-twisting, sucker-making, magic tricks, spontaneous games and recently is even working on ventriloquy – just to name a few. Always wanting to learn and develop Amy has grown a high-end photography business and is sought after due to her abilities to turn a family photo shoot into amazing art for the home. Read more about Amy here…
