Adoption Auction: Signed Copy of Gluten Free Girl’s Book

Okay….. I’m back at the book bartering.
But just in case you think it’s because I’ve lost my mind… let me just say this: I have.
Completely, too.

You see 5 weeks ago we received our referral for our daughter. In the mail arrived three single solitary pieces of paper and two photos of a little girl we have already fallen in love with.

We dream of her little toes and the tickles and caresses we will give them.

We dream of her little hands and fingers curling around our fingers just as she is doing her with her foster mother’s hand. (And OH, how we LOVE her foster mother for loving and caring for her!)

We dream of her sweet lips tasting popsicles on hot summer days, dipping to red bean drinks with coconut milk and “jellies” with the family and kissing her until the end of time.

And oh, how we dream.

The nursery is painted. The crib is ready. And our arms have been open and waiting for far longer than I have ever wanted to wait. But we will continue to wait until she comes home.

Our little girl’s paperwork is currently in the land of “immigration” and “visa” funnels. Of which we know the steps, but we have no idea which step our paperwork is in. No knowledge is hard. It just makes up stare harder at her sweet pictures… which are now in frames by our computers at home… on our desks at work…emailed and printed for family/friends and even on our desktop wallpapers.

Yes, we have completely lost our minds… to love.

This means that I have one more auction that we hope to sell. This time it is for Shauna’s book, “Gluten Free Girl or How I found the food that loves me back and how you can too”.

Last Fall I met Shauna while she was here in my town for a cooking class. There she sat – pregnant and happy with her Love working diligently in the kitchen prepping for their cooking class. We spoke about blogging, gluten free life, the joy of good food but mostly about our love of life and hopes/dreams for our futures. To mothers-to-be on different paths, but both paths filled with love. I told Shauna then that I wanted to get a copy of her book to auction off for our adoption and she giggled with delight.

It was a done deal. Shauna grabbed a pen and signed the book with a flourish, a smile and a deep profound wish for our successful adoption and I for her baby’s birth. She’s truly a lovely girl, that gluten-free chica.

I learned that we had more in common than I originally thought. I am a teacher and she was teacher. Our journeys to that profession were rather similar – both pursuits of passion that brought us to that calling. Her passion has pushed to her write… mine pushes me to blog like a random internet spammer but with great zeal and joy.

We both met the Loves of our lives and knew it when it happened. It was a done deal with them too.

And now we venture in to parenthood via blogging together.

And our journeys to Celiac? Well, all journeys are distinct and personal. While Shauna and I are of the same age group, our parents had amazingly distinct food preferences when we were children. 🙂

Shauna’s book does a great job of giving a voice to the gluten free journey. It is uniquely her journey that she takes us through – and for that, I thank her. As through her stories, she introduces people to gluten free foods that only 8 years ago, when I was diagnosed were unheard of/not as common. And this was just FIVE years before Shauna’s diagnosis.

At the time of my diagnosis, I was lead to believe that my life would no longer include croissants, pizzas, breads, wrap sandwiches, cupcakes, etc. I was told to just not “eat anything white – like bread, pasta, etc.” Not super helpful – but thankfully we’ve come a long way, baby.

Shauna’s book will not only lead you through her life, however, but she introduces her passions for finding new foods and includes several recipes for you to try as well. Above all, I am thankful for her voice to our “cause”, if you will.

Are we a “cause” really? Us gluten free eaters? Not really, in my opinion. But I can say that she has helped empower countless bloggers, readers, recipe testers, chefs, etc to begin to push forward into the land of not just “suitable” or “edible” items for the gluten free diet, but rather DELECTABLE, DELICIOUS and WONDERFUL foods too.

In fact, let’s just say my lavash wraps, cupcakes, yellow cake and pizza crusts are now the preferred items for my gluten and gluten-free eating buddies and family! This is FAR cry from the duffel load of “muffins” (or bricks) that my Love and I hauled to Rome for our honeymoon so that I could have some “bread”. Please note I am using the term “bread” here very liberally. In fact, after attempting to eat just ONE of the $60.00+ worth of “bread”, we promptly deposited all of the pre-wrapped, nuclear-fallout-ready “bread” into the trash. I’ve felt guilty for years that we didn’t leave a note to warn the hotel maid of the heft of the trash can that morning. I sure hope she didn’t sprain a back muscle while attempting to lift up those bad boys to dump them out.

But with gluten-free bloggers and books, sparks of change are everywhere. Now at the bookstore, you can find a dozen or more cookbooks – but just as many authors! (Versus before, two authors, two books!)

And Shauna’s book? The personal journey to help and food joy? It’s here too. And now it’s up on auction. (Click here to bid, if you can! PLEASE!) FYI: The auction ends on December 9 at 11:28PM PST.

If you can help us raise funds by bidding on this auction, please know that we SINCERELY appreciate your help in bringing our little one home.

Many happy dreams to all…. and may they include your own little images of comfort and love. For now, my dreams are filled with toes, wrinkled noses, sweet lips and curled fingers……
-Kate