Archives for April 2013

I had this problem. I didn’t go into baby stores, so I went to a nursery and I looked for a plant that would be a nice gift, thinking maybe a rose bush, something safe. But, what I found was something that changed my life; I found an apple tree. . . .it had three different apples on the branches.

That’s when the hair on my arms stood up and I sat up straight in my chair, because I’ve been there.

I remember escaping from a crowded room to hide the tears when another friend announced she was pregnant. I remember sitting at our kitchen table with my face in my hands, sobbing as my husband sat beside me after Bible Study when another couple made their announcement. I remember crying with my mom over lunch when even our waitress had the round belly I longed for. It was one of the hardest seasons of my life.

The way Colleen described how she found the “adoption tree” and the invitation she received years ago to write the story of that tree—just made me want to sit down with her in a quaint coffee shop somewhere on a corner in California where she’s from and talk life. 

The children’s story that Colleen originally wrote as an adoption gift for her friend grew to be the parable that changed her own heart and life forever. The embrace of love in adoption as she put into words in A Gift for Little Tree helped Colleen see for the first time that she too could truly love a child grafted into their family via adoption. Eleven months later, she and her husband adopted a baby girl and, 9 years later, their son through the loving arms of their children’s birthparents.

And, life has never been the same. She is now the Director of Outreach and Development for Bethany Christian Services for the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, 18 years after the first writing of her story, she’s desiring to see it used to touch families—birth families, children, and the grafted families with all different apples.

I can tell you right now, since I got a sneak peek at a draft of the book, my Princess of Everything Apples and I adore it. Right now, it’s simply a draft, begging to be printed and spread out on the bookshelves, night stands, and coffee tables of families everywhere. And, I so want to see that happen.

Head over here to the Kickstarter page where Colleen is raising the funds needed to get this sweet book printed. Consider giving $25 at least—that will get you a signed hardcopy of the book signed by Colleen. I’d so like to give $1,000 and hang out with Colleen and her family for the tree planting at their family ranch house. Can someone just give $1,000 and invite me to go with them?