Everyone has a life story that needs to be told. Tucked away in that story are the gems that lie hidden, waiting to be revealed. Recently, I have heard stories told by people of their family's fascinating life experiences""stories that I could not relate to but found intriguing and remarkable. However, many of these jewels will continue to lie hidden, dormant, and eventually losing their luster and brilliance. Until the day, they return to dust and are forever forgotten. if YOU ask me . . . is written from a brief time in my life when one of those gems was discovered and how it turned into a golden ambition, challenging me with the desire to take a stand, to make a difference. This is a story about my life, kids, and adoption adventure. How I on this journey was confronted with a purpose that only God could have laid out for me. How I caught a brief reflection of the orphan child in His eyes. In that glimpse, I saw a task of colossal magnitude. Little did I know how much that effort would challenge my abilities. This is a story about how my perspective has been challenged but has not weakened. Instead, it has intensified knowing that when God shows you a burden, there could be mystery, sadness, excitement, travel, and new adventure waiting for you. Sounds like it should be an ad for a travel destination. Instead, it is a pearl in the dust under my feet waiting to be discovered.