About me

I'm Karol, wife to my wonderful husband, Jim. Together we have 7 children, 4 of them grew under my heart, 3 grew into my heart.  Jamee, Grant, Jade and Brock are ours biologically.  Moise, Jalayne and Kruz are ours by way of adoption.  We are blessed beyond measure.

Jim and I own and operate a residential contracting business, which is to say we build custom, quality homes.  I am also a medical laboratory technician, working part time in a busy physician's office lab. But most importantly, I am a child of the most high God.  My identity is in Jesus Christ, who gave up his life for me.

In my earlier years I always imagined myself as a missionary.  I had visions of serving in a hospital in some third world country.  Admittedly, I had a bit of an unrealistic "save the world" mentality.  Then life happened.  I never became a missionary in a far off land.  God had better plans for me.  

I learned quickly that I wouldn't be saving the world or even making a slight difference in the world nor in a country or even a small village.  But I could make a difference for the individual whom God placed in front of me, the one whose name was penned upon my heart. 

Adoption was not on our radar.  But in May of 2001, God placed a critically ill child into our arms and said "Love him."  We did.  It changed our lives, our minds, our hearts, our souls forever.  It not only escorted us into the beautiful world of adoption, but into the world of special needs and disabilities as well.   In spite of the fact that we never sought out these children for adoption, God brought two more special children into our home and our hearts.  

I cannot say that life with special needs is easy.  It's not.  It challenges us and stretches us in ways I would never have thought possible.  But what I have found is that our three special children do more for our family than we will ever hope to do for them. The sacrifices and sometimes the sorrows are great but not nearly as great as the joys.  

On Labor Day, September 7, 2009 our world crumbled around us when our beautiful 2.5 year old, Jalayne "Laynee" Grace,  was escorted into heaven after a horrible drowning accident.  We were thrust, instantly, into a place we did not want to be, a place called grief.

In the months and years following Laynee's accident I have found that our Lord can and will use the most desperate circumstances to mold and shape us into who he wants us to be. The enemy of souls is relentless in his attack against us when we are weakened by life's most difficult circumstances.   But the lover of souls draws near to the brokenhearted and meets us right where we are, wherever we are.

Somewhere along the way I have learned this one very important truth:  JOY and SORROW can live together within our hearts When we allow this simultaneous existence, we see Jesus through an entirely different lens.

God is good, all the time.