"Untitled Post"..Can I do that?

I'm BACK! I've been a little busy for the past few months. To give you an idea of the chaos I thought I'd share a picture.

I had a pathway to my chair at least. If you know me well, you know that this kind of scene is enough to give me heart palpitations. Each day I went into the office I had to talk myself through it. As a reminder, I work for a non for profit crisis pregnancy clinic and our mission is to save the lives of the unborn, promote healthy relationships and lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. My job is so rewarding and I am very blessed. (Even when my office looks like that.)

On February 24th we had our annual fundraising gala at The Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta. This year I had the role of Silent Auction Chair. I'll be honest, I didn't want to do it. AT. ALL. They asked, I argued and then I kicked and screamed {in my head} until I finally excepted that I was the only one for the job. 

Have you ever felt like something was just too big for you to do alone? Of course you have-we ALL have! Which is why I love that the first nudge I got from God as I prayed and begged for Him to bring someone else to do the job from Philippians 4:13, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. 

It's so true. We really can do anything through Christ. He's the giver of strength, wisdom, talent and really, all that we need to face the challenges in life. He amazes me. 

And so I walked forward and He guided and provided the whole way. Here is a sneak peak into the finished product from the night!

The most risky and terrifying steps I took in my first attempt at this project, was to contract a company called BidPal for the bidding portion of the auction. Why didn't I come up with this idea?! It eliminates the need for paper bid sheets, crowding around the 'hot' items, time away from socializing and so much more by putting the auction in your hands. I uploaded a picture of every item with a detailed description into the devices (iTouch device) through a planning website for our event. You could literally go and sit down and bi while eating your dinner! So many pluses, but there was a cost of course so I prayed that the device would increase our bids dramatically to make it an even more profitable event! 

©2012 christina schorr photography 

Here we are...The calm before the craziness! You'll notice I'm wearing a pacifier necklace. Phil came up with the name iPaci for the fun little raffle we had wear you could buy a pacifier necklace (raffle ticket) for your chance to win an iPad!

©2012 christina schorr photography 

Abby Johnson was our keynote speaker for the evening. She was incredibly real and honest with light moments that captured your attention from beginning to end. What I realized after talking to so many of the guests after, was that many 'pro-lifers' are completely unaware of the reality of the abortion industry. Abby is a former Planned Parenthood Director (8 years) and she can tell you first hand knowledge of the leading abortion provider in the country. Click HERE to read more about her chilling story of how God lifted the veil from her eyes and lead her to the pro-life side. We were so thankful to have Abby this year!

{Buy her book 'Unplanned' to learn more about the inside workings of PP and her testimony}

©2012 christina schorr photography 

The most talked about silent auction item of the night was this little four-legged guy. We called him 'Beacon'.

©2012 christina schorr photography 

©2012 christina schorr photography 

I know what you're thinking. No, I didn't 'buy' him at the auction guys. I have way more self control than that.

Okay, but I did say that the winning bidder would take him on a foster to adopt basis knowing that he was fully refundable but the donation was not.

Meet the newest member of our farm family- Rusty! Unfortunately it didn't work out with the family that took him home so he was returned to us the following Wednesday. Charlee just loves him and Phil finally has his 'boy' truck dog. He's almost 4 months and is a shepherd mix. Just not sure what he's mixed with exactly. He's a cool dog and fits right in.

It's true, man's best friend. We just love the lil guy. 

So much more has happened in the past couple of months. Kids have come out to play, and the beautiful Bradford Pears have blossomed! 

Part 2 of this very long blog post because it has been far too long since I last posted, so if you are sick of reading about my life, then you can just stop here, or come back later. Either way. I can't stop here!

February 10th we headed off on an impromptu trip to Orlando, Florida to see Phil's Mom, 2 sister's and our niece. It was Mady's 5th birthday so they were taking her to Disney! We couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them even though I was extremely overwhelmed in the midst of Gala prep, but it was a much needed break!

Since Phil fell asleep while I was driving the first leg of the trip, I decided to go drive to an Orchard for a pit stop as the billboard's had done their job in enticing me. 

This was Charlee's first long road trip. She did great! We were able to drop her off at a longtime friends house so that we could stay with our fam at the Animal Kingdom's Kidani Village Hotel. 

The best part is that Phil's younger sis Julie and our niece Madyson had no idea we would be there! Natalie apparently found out when Mom accidentally mentioned that she needed to remember to bring something to give to Phil. Oops!

Mom, Jules and Phil!

Mady was very surprised!

We hadn't seen Madyson for 4 years-you do the math. The child knew who we were from a couple Skype sessions and the story told to her about how she came to visit us in California. It had been a couple years since we had seen Julie and about a year since we saw his older sister Natalie and Mom. 'Time flies' and 'time is money'. Those two sayings are exactly the reason for so many years in between family visits. We were grateful for these too few days to spend with them. 

Princess Mady showing off her balloon (which we later found out was not allowed at this resort) to the wildlife!

Y'all, you know I don't waste time when it comes for makin' memories! I busted out the SLR within minutes of getting to our hotel room. Mady had no problem warming up to the camera! Is she not the cutest thing?!

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Kidani Villas so you are surrounded by animals from Africa-super cool!

Phil's family is so beautiful-grateful each one is in my life! We made our way to Downtown Disney the first night.

The view from our room!

Natalie, finding the her inner child! (And setting off alarms as she couldn't see the  'Do not Touch' sign on the ground)

Philly and Mady setting off more alarms!

Birthday girl getting all glammed up Minnie Mouse style!

The little Princess getting ready for her tea with the legendary Princesses!

Phil and I had to hang back at the hotel while the fam went to Disney. I had work to do and Disney is insanely expensive as everyone knows. We hated to miss Mady's face as she experienced her first visit to Disney, but we practiced a little self control by staying back. 

We also had a great day getting to know some of the folks at the hotel. One staff member in particular shared his story about how he was there for 1 year to share his African culture with the hotel guests. It was very insightful to hear how he compared the two cultures. We must have talked to him for over an hour. He gave me great advice on how to write to our sponsored children in Africa. 

We explored the hotel, worked out at the gym Marine-style (thanks to Phil I couldn't sit for days-and no, we haven't heard anything about the Marines!) and ordered room service!

Okay seriously, I love my husband! We hung out around a hotel all day and had such a good time together. But I missed our fam so back to them...

Mady rockin' her new post Disney accessories!!

Mom n Son

The Girls!

We had to have a birthday party with cake!

YES! The last day it got warm enough for the giraffe's to come out and play!

And as always I cried like a baby when we had to say goodbye after such a short visit. I know that this is where we are supposed to be right now, but it doesn't make the time apart from family any easier. These trips are so treasured and I am so grateful for all of the pictures to remind me of our time together! 

Thanks for stickin' around to the end of this personal, but important post. I told ya, this blog is about my life. A journal with pictures and stories to keep forever and share with those who live so far away. I'm not going to stick with one particular topic or try to draw an audience from a certain people group, but rather share my life as it is. So although it's fun to have 'followers' and people that like to read your posts, it's not what really matters to me. 

~V

A Wedding Story (Not the TLC Version)

Last week we celebrated 8 years since we walked down the aisle in a lavish wedding ceremony very tacky 5 minute ceremony at the 'Vegas Garden of Love'.

We got the $99 package which at the time, included a single rose, (who needs a bouquet?) a limo ride to and from the hotel, a witness who doubled as our limo driver and 1 8x10. 

Nope, not showing you the picture. 

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I spent the entire day looking through the yellow pages (what are those?) for the tackiest place to tie the knot. You see, Phil and I knew we would get married after weeks of dating at only 17 years old. We just fit. And although we wanted to get married at 21, we didn't have the money to have the wedding I had wanted. Plus, moving away from our entire family in Ontario, Canada at 21, didn't make our families too happy so we didn't think we would have many guests anyway. But after moving to California, we quickly realized that he was an illegal immigrant and wouldn't be able to work because he was a Canadian! We're not ones to think ahead. Hey, we were 21. 

So we planned a very impromptu getaway to Vegas where the tackiest of wedding venues could be found. I didn't want the wedding to be memorable as it wasn't the wedding I had envisioned through many sketches and dreams over the years. Looking back I wish we had gone to a courthouse in Santa Barbara or someplace less, well, sinful sounding. 

We walk in and pay our $99, I get my single rose and then he asks us, "So do you prefer Christian, Jewish, Catholic or...?". Then he asks what kind of music for when I walk done the aisle, while referring to the boombox from 1982 on the floor. "None please. I'll skip the walk, thanks."

The scene above is from The Proposal. This is pretty much how our interview with the USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services) was a month after we got married. We were even given a written test that had questions like, 'What side of the bed do you sleep on?' or 'Do you have a gas or electric stove?'  We passed the written. Then the guy interviewing us asked why we moved to California. When we mentioned that I wanted to pursue acting and singing, he asked Phil what his favorite song was that I sang. Thankfully Phil knew one and told him 'Wind Beneath My Wings'. And then I was asked to sing it. Right there. In the office that looks just like the scene above. And I did. And we passed. Green Card was in the mail!

That's our wedding/immigration story! Oh, and I'm on a blogging hiatus (but I cheated) because as most of you know, I work for a crisis pregnancy center called A Beacon of Hope and this Friday is our annual fundraising Gala. Please pray that it is a very successful night and that many hearts would be moved to join us in being the voice for the voiceless. 

It's All About Numbers

It's all about 'who' you know. And it's all about numbers. I never really thought much about the latter, but since I started blogging I've become slightly obsessed. It's more of an OCD issue because I look at the 'stats' of my blog and it's crazy-awesome how many people read my blog and from so many different countries (how does that happen-how do you find me?) and then I have such few followers. Sadly, I think I may be one of them. (Hey, I got desperate.)

But today I hit the big 2-5! I'd like to thank the one that made me hit this important milestone in my blogging career, Miss B over at Simply B, the crazy and creative blogger I found when searching for Christian Marine wives. She's a Christian Marine girlfriend, but that'll do. Her writing style makes me feel like I know her and her stories about her boyfriend's deployment had me in tears. There are 5 blogs that I follow in every way I know how, yet I can only see them listed in Google Reader and they only periodically pop up in my Dashboard. But hers is worth the annoyance of switching between the two ways of reading blogs. Check her out! (And if you can figure out how to fix my Dashboard issue, let me know!)

And would you please scroll your mouse on over to the right and click 'Join this site'? I want to know who you are!


**Transitioning...


Remember my Compassion kiddos? Read our Compassion sponsor story if you haven't already. Well I submitted my blog to the folks at Compassion to be considered for their blogroll. Guess who made the cut? This girl. Right HERE. Wow, the list was much shorter the last time I looked. It looks like they added quite a few more plus they divided them into categories. I'm still waiting for my paperwork to be processed to become a Compassion Advocate. With my work at a crisis pregnancy center, my struggle with infertility, and my heart for adoption, I have grown very passionate about sponsorship. It's an incredible way to change a life-one you may never meet here on earth. Not only has it changed the life of two children, but it has changed our life too.

This guy. Going on 12 years (8 married on the 8th!) together and seeing his smile still makes me melt. I still can't believe God gave me such an amazing person to do life with. There isn't too much to update you on with his journey of becoming a Marine. "Hurry up and wait" seems to be the theme. It's okay, patience is a good lesson to learn over and over again.

Phil went to a function (I'll spare you the military terms that I barely know how to use properly in a sentence.) 3 weeks ago. He worked out with the poolee's and had the chance to speak with the Major who is over all of the recruiting stations in the area. He did great in the workout and had a great conversation with the Major. He even told Phil that he doesn't have a problem with his age. Remember, we are waiting for the waivers to be approved for his age and tattoo.

So he will go again this Saturday to update his physical fitness test for the paperwork needed for the waivers. Go Phil! Oh I just want to know. My dear friend and Marine said that all good things are worth waiting for...or something along those lines. So we wait. Trusting God and His perfect timing.

Did I tell you we completed one of the "Sokic Money Makeover" steps? Yep, we sold the truck! And we had just enough leftover to buy another one. (No picture as of yet.) Living within our means. Well, trying anyways. Again, sponsoring those two sweet kiddos from Africa has made us reevaluate a lot of things in our life. It's been a humbling experience and we have begun to feel the freedom that comes with having one less car payment! Yeehaw!