Welcome to My World

How We Roll

2012-01-26T11:11:00.002-07:00

Isaiah's hair is still intact today. I am thankful. Let's see how long we can keep this going.

I joined Pinterest. I am afraid.

I get lots of questions about how we manage our household. So, I thought I would share a few systems we have come up with to make sure we are living out our values.

~We really value sitting down together as a family to eat. That is getting harder and harder as kids get older. Currently, we have Abby taking piano lessons, Sam playing basketball, Cody having youth group activities and starting wrestling next week. Sam will move to baseball and Lauren will start soccer in the spring. On any given day, we have kids going every different direction. So, we plan to eat 3 meals together a week. One of those is Sat. morning big breakfast. If sports interfere, we do it on Sun. morning since we go to the second service at church. Right now, we sit down together during the week on Mondays and Thursdays. I know that I need to plan to cook a nicer meal on those days. We like to use those times to talk and catch up on our week. We do a thing we call "favorite and not-so-favorite." We share our favorite thing from the day and the not-so-favorite thing that happened.

We usually have leftovers the other days or I will fix something easy like mac n' cheese, sandwiches, pizza, etc. I also keep some regular items for them to choose from on nights when we have "miscellaneous." Here is a sampling of those choices: pbj, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, meatballs, quesadillas, corn dogs, apples and peanut butter, Ramen noodles, taquitos, etc. On "miscellaneous nights," I often let Lauren and Abby cook for all the kids. They really like being able to prepare food. Sometimes they will play restaurant, but most times, they just make the food for themselves, Sam, Isaiah, and Laila, and Cody will fix his own food.

~We try to have a family prayer time each night. It doesn't happen every night. Since the kids have different bedtimes based on their ages, we all meet at 7:00(right before Isaiah's and Laila's bedtimes on Rick's and my bed. We have all the Christmas cards we received in a basket. The kids take turns picking a card. We pray for that family and any other requests we can think of. We have already seen God use this to really put the families on our hearts that specifically need prayer. God is using it to show our kids the power of prayer. In the past, we have chosen a country each night that is highlighted in "Voice of the Martyrs" to pray for. We read about the country and the persecution that exists there and pray for them. I have a book called "Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation" that we are going to start using at our prayer time this year.

Something else we have done is listen to the "Bible Experience" on our ipod together and talk about it. I would like to pick that back up. We do not do family devotions like some families do. I find that many of our traditions offer good devotional times for us. I did recently purchase "Family Night Activities" to institute some more intentional times of teaching with the kids. I hope to implement it soon during one of our nights where we have a family meal together.

~I know I have mentioned our new chore system. We are 4 weeks into it which means at the end of this week, everyone will have done every job. We have also made these weeks a grace period of learning. Let me just say, next week, grace is leaving this place, and I don't think it is going to be pretty. I will share the whole plan once we have a couple of weeks going full force with rewards and consequences fully in place. I don't want to recommend any system that I don't have full confidence in. This is a plan Rick and I came up with on our own using lots of different things we have seen and learned over the years.

~Right now, kids' bedtimes are as follows: Isaiah and Laila - 7:30, Sam and Abby - 8:00, Lauren - 8:30, and Cody - 9:00. These times are based on their ages. Cody pretty much regulates himself. I feel like he is ready to determine his own bedtime. We relax on all of these over the weekends and when school is out.

Rick and I both tuck each kid in at night. Some nights I don't want to go back upstairs AGAIN, but I have to remind myself that some day they won't want it. Do it while I can!!

So, there you have it. These are a few examples of "how we roll."

The Hair Saga Continues

2012-01-25T11:24:00.003-07:00

Do you remember Sam's "used car salesman hair" yesterday? Well, there is more to the story. Sam got in the truck after school yesterday looking like this:
Evidently, his "lounge singer hair" didn't last. I came up with about 10 different names for that kids hair! Anyway, when he got out of the truck, the wind was crazy. It took his slicked back hair and blew it straight up. Now, Sam wears his hair spiked all the time, but this was not. the. same. It was very puffy and all over his head like what you would see on an exotic bird. He didn't realize what it looked like and didn't know that the comments from his classmates were not in reference to the "creepy old guy hair" that he left the house with. Boy was he shocked when he walked into the bathroom later in the day and saw this:
Needless, to say, he is such a good sport about these kinds of things. Actually, he thrives on being humorous. We got a really good laugh in the truck all the way home from school.

Now, for more hair drama, I am trying so hard to make Isaiah's hair work. I cannot even tell you how much time I have spent over the last 2 weeks retwisting it. I am weary and not sure if I can make it happen. I talked to him about it at bedtime last night. He was heartbroken, crying his wee little eyes out. So, we tried again today. I read that one way to help the twists stay in long enough to lock is to lightly rubber band them.

We spent 2 hours this morning redoing his whole head. He was so happy. I just hope it stays!

The Ladies Man

Who knows? I can't figure out why it is not staying, so send me any suggestions you may have. Now that I have written about this so much, it may need to become a weekly update: Isaiah's Dreads!! If I am successful, I promise to share my knowledge and experience with others. If I am not, you will see pictures of him with a very sad face and a very bald head.

Clapp Haps

2012-01-24T13:02:00.004-07:00

A lot has been happening around here.

~Cody is finishing up on his science fair project. We will all be glad when that is done. I have a whole post I will dedicate to it.

~Isaiah's new "hairstyle" as he calls it may just send me over the edge. His twists keep coming out instead of locking. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I am doing all the things I have read and been told. If anyone has any advice that will help me help them lock, I would love you to death!!

Sam's bball season started on Sat.

His team is called the "Dragon Crusaders."

I guess the vote was split so they went with both names.

Rick did not intend to coach, but it looks like he will be assisting.

I love this pic of the 2 of them. Sam is really concentrating on the game plan.

Sam is #6 on the far left. They are doing the Y "pledge."

Sam scored 2 baskets!! Yay, Sam!

I KNOW I took a pic of him shooting one of them, but it is not on my camera.

So, this will have to do, red-faced after the game.

They lost by 4 points, boo, but it was close and exciting!

Final Score 28-24

I love my Camelbak water bottle. It was pricey. I resisted spending the money.

I am so glad I did. I drink way more water from this than I normally would.

I am so hard on water bottles and go through several a year. I think I will actually save money in the long run buying a great one instead of several cheap ones!

Lauren had Renaissance Day last Friday.

Doesn't she look lovely?

You can see her hair braids and her feather in this pic.

Let me just tell you, this is the extent of my hair styling abilities.

Maybe that is why Isaiah's isn't doing so well.

Speaking of hair, Sam decided to fix his hair this morning in a new way.

I think he looks like a used car salesman, but he LOVES it.

So, I sent him off to school like this.

He was very excited and couldn't wait for his friends to see it. I said, "Your teacher may say, 'Where did this creepy little man come from?' and call security on you." He thought that would be great.

God is really showing off lately in our lives. The last 2 weeks have blown me away. I am excited. I am hopeful. I am waiting to see what is next. I really can't believe it has only been 2 weeks. After going for over a year feeling like we are "waiting on God" as He has told us to, it feels like He has now pushed the "fast forward" button on many things we have been praying about. I can't wait to share more when the time is right. For now, we would so appreciate your prayers for wisdom, direction, submission, and obedience on our parts.

Should Be

2012-01-19T13:28:00.002-07:00

I am sitting in my kitchen pondering all the things I SHOULD BE doing right now.

I just got Laila down for her nap. I have had to go in 2 times because she was playing.

Rick is home sick with a stomach bug and after 24 hours is still running a fever.

Everything in me is begging God to not allow this to spread in our house.

Isaiah has been so sweet and caring with his Daddy. He HAS to be touching him. I guess that is because his love language is touch. At one point, he said to me, "Mom, can you just put your hand on him right here?" In case you haven't figured out, touch is NOT one of my love languages.

The counter is piled high with dishes that I SHOULD BE washing and loading in the dishwasher.

I SHOULD BE getting the food ready to prepare our dinner tonight.

I SHOULD BE baking the cookies that Cody needs for a party at school tomorrow.

I SHOULD BE sorting through the pile of girls' clothes that are too small for Lauren and Abby.

I SHOULD BE cleaning something. There are at least 100 things in our house screaming out to be cleaned right now.

Guess what? I can't do any of those things right now. Nothing in me can muster up the energy to complete ANY of those tasks.

The last week and a half has been one of those WOW times that you know you are not going to forget, but it has drained me emotionally and physically beyond explanation.

God has called me to do some hard things.

-Parenting has been hard. I have had to be the tough guy, not the friend.

-Relationships have been hard. I am going to have to humble myself in a way that is uncomfortable.

-Running our household has been hard. This new chores' plan that I have implemented with the kids is making things better, but there are new challenges to work through.

-Having Rick down for the count is hard. Every day, I wait for him to come home for some help, relief, and support. Because of our schedules over the last week and his sickness, we have not really seen much of each other since last Friday night. That is weighing on me.

The thing that God keeps drawing my attention to is my character in this thing called, "my life." Even today, I read that my life is not about my comfort, but my character. So, I recenter myself and ask God to give me the strength to make the choices that honor and glorify Him and that develop my character as His child.

I know all the things I SHOULD BE doing right now.

I think instead, I will choose to rest for the brief hour that I have before the real chaos begins.

Maybe that is exactly what my character needs right now, a break, to reboot and be ready to reengage my kids and their crazy schedules that will begin at 3:00 and will involve the next 6 hours of my day.

Overnight Getaway

2012-01-18T08:10:00.003-07:00

As always my time away proved to be hugely beneficial to me in so many ways. It provided rest, "alone, quiet time"(which is very hard to come by in my everyday life), time to journal in my kids' journals and mine, time to pray, time to sleep, listen to sermons, time to read my Bible and some other books that I am currently enjoying. I am sharing this experience on my blog so that I will have this record for myself and my kids someday, but also for anyone that might want to try this themselves and have questions about what I do or how they might go about it. I don't presume that this is the only way to do a getaway, but I have found this works really well for me. I have had questions of "now, what exactly do you do when you go away?" Well, let me just tell you.

It is interesting to me to see how God speaks to Rick and me differently. We both came away with some different things that the Lord was speaking to us about. After the events of my week, I could see how God had been preparing my heart to receive His message to me of forgiveness, grace and reconciliation and how I need to actively give those in certain areas of my life. He also really put Isaiah on my heart. God impressed upon me that he needs to feel secure in our family. I feel like this year is going to be critical for him in his ongoing process of bonding and connecting with our family as he wrestles with the tension of the life circumstances he has faced up to this point.

If you are going away for the purpose of seeking God, I would recommend asking some of the prayer warriors in your life to be praying and seeking God for you as well. We have a few of those people who heard from God on our behalf through this weekend and those words are invaluable to us.

Here is a glimpse of my time away:

This bag makes me smile. It is the exact opposite of who I am. Rick got me a PINK outfit for Christmas(black sweats and pullover), and this came free with the purchase. He and I laughed so hard when I opened it up on Christmas morning. I decided it actually was the perfect size for my getaway bag. I would not use it if I thought people were going to see me carrying it. I am not a pink, sequins, VS kind of girl!!

First stop on my way to the hotel, Sweet Tea

I always call the place that I am staying and ask for an early check-in. I want to grab hold of every minute I can to make the most of my time.

My first order of business, a nap!

My 24 hour oasis

The view from the deck

Rick came over after work on Friday to have dinner with me. It was a great time to process all that God has been revealing and also launch ourselves into the weekend. I am not always a fan of hotel restaurant food, but this place was good.

The books I took with me

Top to Bottom:

1. Holy Bible - self explanatory

2. The Help - Wow, this book is really opening my eyes. I am not naive to the place our country was 50 years ago, but I had no idea the full extent of the racism and hate that existed. It grieves me, and I feel the need to be educated for Isaiah's and Laila's sakes.

3. Journal - given to me by a friend for Christmas. I am thinking it will be my "thankfulness journal."

4. One Thousand Gifts - another gift from a friend. It is challenging me big-time. It is taking me a long time to read. I don't fully connect with the style of writing, but I totally need the message. It is not an "easy read" for me. I have to read slowly, think, process, reread, and then pray as I go along through the book. It is the perfect book for this season in my life.

5. Journal - this book has many tear-stained pages in it and this weekend was no exception. It is hard work to keep a journal, but I am so glad I have the journey in writing, the good and bad all intertwined together just as it is in life.

6. The Purpose Driven Life - this book is revolutionizing my life. I resisted reading it when everyone was on the "purpose driven" bandwagon in the Christian community. I have to say that my pride has caused me to miss out. But, then I see how God had this book for me at this time and am so thankful He brought it to my attention after the last year of my life.

Music was also a big part of my time away. God really ministers to me, challenges me and speaks to me through music. I set my ipod to shuffle in the worship playlist and was amazed by what He did. The first song, "Everlasting God" spoke exactly to this last year, "strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord." Waiting on God was a huge theme for us last year. The next song, "Bloom Again." Wow, I feel like that is where I am, ready to bloom again! Next song, "Whatever You're Doing(Something Heavenly)", my theme song for last year. Then when, "Your Grace is Sufficient" came on next, I was reminded of God's grace in my life and challenged to offer it to others.

What trip would be complete without a little chocolate?

Chocolate from Swaziland to be exact!!

Another tip, I would share is to make sure the hotel has a microwave and fridge in the room. I pick up my food before I go there and keep it in the fridge. Then, I do not have to leave the whole time I am there. That keeps me from wasting time going out to get food.

My traditional lunch, Panera!

I came back on Saturday afternoon to be with the kids while Rick had his time away. I had all these grand plans of coming home and continuing my time through the evening. Yeah, that didn't happen. Even after only one night, reentry is hard for me. Going from such extremes really tests my patience.

I got up on Sunday morning and really asked God to speak to me through my time at church. He did just that. As we were driving to church, my theme song for last year, "Whatever You're Doing(Something Heavenly)" by Sanctus Real came on the radio. I realized that I didn't have a song for 2012 yet(yes, I must have a theme song for each year). The first song at church that morning was "Never Once", and I knew immediately that should be my song for 2012. If you haven't heard it, you really should. It is on Matt Redman's album, "10,000 Reasons." The next song, "Grace" reminded me that even though I couldn't see it, the last year of my life has been God showing His grace to me and it is now time for me to give that grace to others. I had tears on Sunday morning at church. That is not unusual for me. The last year has involved a lot of tears, especially at church, but these tears were different. I felt like God had taken my tears of mourning, sadness, and loss and turned them into tears of joy, gratefulness, and hope. It was powerful.

Even though the weekend is over, I feel like God's work is only beginning. Thank you for everyone who prayed for me. I would ask you to continue. I don't want to miss ANYTHING God has for me or my family in 2012. I think it is going to be a big year!!

A Truly Wonderful Life

2012-01-17T18:36:00.003-07:00

Lauren wrote the following sonnet for school. If you have ever written a sonnet, you know they are not easy, 14 lines, 10 syllables per line, every other line must rhyme with the exception of lines 13 and 14 which also must rhyme. She did very well at meeting most of these guidelines, and she did it all by herself!! Even more than her "writing capabilities," I am proud of the content and seeing how her mind is working these days. Without further ado:

A Truly Wonderful Life

by Lauren Clapp

Beautiful blue skies, glorious grasses,

Houses and family with lots of kids

Food to eat and water to drink in glasses,

Pantries to store food, containers with lids,

Grandparents and grandkids and love to share,

Money and jobs, we need to be thankful

We should always be super, super fair

We have so much, so we should be joyful

Vehicles to drive in and stuff to buy

We get to go to school, while others mourn

We have lots of things, so we should never sigh

Our parents were so very happy we were born,

But when we leave the earth we've had our time,

And have had a life that is very fine

Martin Luther King, Jr.

2012-01-16T17:40:00.004-07:00

As I have reflected on today and what it stands for, I am reminded that only 50 years ago, this would not be possible:
I have seen this quote several times today, and I just had to share it:

"I have a dream . . . that one day little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sister and brothers."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have been reading "The Help," and it grieves my heart to see where our country once was. It saddens me deeply to know that I am going to have to explain that to Isaiah and Laila as they get older. I know there is still work to be done. I experience the prejudice personally at times for the decisions we have made, but I don't claim by any means to understand the hurt and pain that many African Americans have experienced.

All I can say, is that I don't understand how a person's skin color can change their value. I don't know how anyone can look in these sweet brown eyes and feel hate:

or see this sweet smile and feel disgust:

I know that is not what God has called his people to. As Christians, we should be living examples of love, acceptance, and grace. So, today, I grieve, I pray, and I thank God for these 2 amazing blessings that He has placed in our lives. I ask Him to work in the hearts of others who are blind to the truth.

Kiddos

2012-01-16T14:03:00.003-07:00

These two love each other so much!

I will often catch them doing this.

After cutting off some jeans with holes, Lauren and Abby created these new fashion trends

Abby had Viking Day on Friday at school

Can you tell that she is an actress?

Up next: my weekend away!!

Seeking

2012-01-13T10:27:00.002-07:00

Rick and I have set aside this weekend to seek the Lord.

We found a great deal on Groupon for a 2-night stay plus a dinner voucher at a nearby hotel.

I will take the first night away, and he will take the second night.

We will meet in the middle for the dinner.

God has shown himself in a BIG WAY this week.

I am not just talking, "thanks, God, you are so cool."

I am talking, "Oh my goodness, I know God does these kinds of things, but I never imagined He would do them for me. "

I am talking extravagant love straight from Him.

We are both still processing it.

God is also leading in other ways as well.

We began this week with pain and struggle and are seeing God open opportunities and His path in so many possible ways.

I don't think it is a coincidence that God had us plan this weekend when we did.

I feel expectant and hopeful for the first time in over a year.

I deeply desire to seek Him, to know Him, to serve Him.

I pray this weekend will be a HUGE step for both of us in that direction.

We would love your prayers as we seek God for our family and for His direction in our lives!!

It's Just Me, Isaiah

2012-01-12T11:52:00.004-07:00

Isaiah has been wanting "spikey hair." After investigating what that means to him, I have determined that he likes dreadlocks. I saw a friend's son with awesome dreads at church and thought, "I am going to call her for help." Sure enough, she knows what to do and even offered to do it for me. I jumped on that offer!! Isaiah has not had a haircut in months in preparation for this big day.

I learned that we start with twists, that will become dreads. Even kind of knowing how the process should go, I wasn't very confident in my ability to space everything properly and do a good job. I was so grateful that she was willing to lead me through the process. Thanks, Toni!

Separate and twist with locking cream.

It took less than 2 hours for the whole process

Dry

A very happy boy

Back View

Isaiah did great!! It was a bit painful around the edges, but he sat very well watching TV and playing games on my phone. We also had some gum to chew on when it hurt.

Laila had a lot of compassion for him because she has sat for many hours having her hair done. She kept wanting to feel it. When it was all over, she said, "I don't want braids anymore." Oh, well, chick, we are not taking them out right now. They still have about 5 weeks left in them.

Now, we just have to maintain them and continue to twist them with locking cream as he has new growth. They will fill out more and be really cute!! He is hoping no one will recognize him when he comes to school today so he can say, "It's just me, Isaiah."

Using What We Have

2012-01-11T14:01:00.002-07:00

I am trying to approach my spending differently this year.

I guess it could be considered a sort of resolution.

I didn't make official resolutions this year, because I didn't have the energy to and felt like so many things were so out of my control, why bother?

We live pretty modestly compared to American standards.

We have actually revamped our budget to streamline and be the best stewards we can of what God has given us.

The thing I have noticed over the last week when I look around my house, is that we don't use all that we have.

I want to change that this year.

If nothing else, it will help me to think before I buy.

Why do I need to buy the newest scent of hand soap when I already have 3 bottles of hand soap under my sink?

Why do I need to buy more shampoo for the kids when I have a box full of hotel-sized shampoos, conditioners, lotion, etc.? They would like having their very own anyway.

I just want to see how much clutter I can get rid of as a result and how much money I can save.

This is the first time we have lived in the same house for so long, 8 years. I haven't had the "moving decluttering" opportunity for a while.

I hope to look back over this year and see how I have become more disciplined to use what I have. I think it will be a good lesson for my kids, too!

I am writing out my grocery list differently. I am leaving things off that I would normally put on it.

I am digging through my drawers and cabinets. If I can't use it, I am throwing it away or giving it away. If I can use it, I am not buying.

I am curious to see what I learn through this process!

Life

2012-01-08T12:00:00.004-07:00

~This last week was painful for all of us getting back into our schedule.

~Cody is working on his Science Fair Project(I only have to do this 5 more times. I think I can! I think I can!) Even though I don't do our kids' schoolwork for them, it is still stressful for me.

~We are back to homework, bedtimes, chores, early mornings, etc.

~Speaking of chores, I would say our first week on the new chore system went smoothly. We are calling this first few weeks our learning/grace weeks. We are learning as we go and giving grace in the mistakes and forgetfulness.

~I spent 6 hours one day this week shopping. We literally left the house at 7:30 to take the kids to school, shopped for 3 hours, came home to drop off groceries and eat lunch, take Isaiah to school, shop for 3 more hours, drop the food off at home, and then pick everyone up from school. It was exhausting. Oh, and I woke up at 4:00 that morning unable to go back to sleep. I had not done any major grocery shopping since before Christmas. I also had Christmas gifts to return. Then, there were the science fair project supplies to pick up.

~I am in a "not sleeping well" cycle. I go through these pretty regularly. Thus the 4:00 in the morning waking up. I will say, I am getting a lot of Bible reading done. I am going through "The Purpose Driven Life" and finding it to be very encouraging, challenging, and purposeful(yeah, I said it.). Seriously, it really is speaking to me in so many ways that I need it to right now. I resisted it when it first came out because so many people were talking about it. I am glad I was challenged by a friend to do it.

~I made 3 dozen chocolate chip muffins for breakfast one morning. They only lasted for 2 mornings. Rick and I only ate 3 of them. I remember when I could feed them for a whole week on that many muffins. These kids are getting bigger and eating more!!

~Rick and I took Sam out for his bday date for the month. He chose the new McDonalds. Please remind me to just get the smoothie next time. I have decided I only like McDonalds for the drinks, sweet tea, smoothies, peppermint hot chocolate, Frappes. He had fun. That is what matters.

Isn't he just precious?!?!

Thrilled with his toy!

Hiding out in the lame playground.

A picture Isaiah drew of me.

Wow, I look rough. That must have been the morning I got up at 4:00.

~The TV in our basement was dying. It was 13 years old. Rick found this TV on Craigslist for $50. The kids are in heaven playing video games and watching movies on it. They actually want to spend time in the basement now. Now that is what I call a deal!!

Life. Welcome to My World.

New Year's Day

2012-01-07T13:17:00.004-07:00

Well, it is Jan. 7th. I am a bit behind. This should pretty much catch me up on our holiday festivities.

We FINALLY put away our Christmas decorations today. It feels so good to be done. Once Christmas is over, I am pretty much ready the next day. Rick prefers to wait a bit. Since he helps and actually leads the process, I wait.

We slept in on New Year's Day. Sleeping in and naps are glorious, really. That has been the hardest thing about this last week. Waking up early every morning. I truly despise it.

Here are the activities of our day:

We had big breakfast

This was one of Sam's favorite Christmas gifts. It was also the least expensive.

He literally plays for hours doing battles.

My girls, cuddling

Lego building. He was so excited to take a picture of his creation.

It is right side up, he is upside down.

The Cowboys played that night.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be our last night of concessions for this season

because "our boys" lost.

Don't you just love our "turf" tablecloth?

Rick's favorite cookies

This is a new addition to our concession stand from Julie.

A Cowboys sandwich/waffle maker

How fabulous is that?

There was a lot of sadness around here since the Cowboys lost. It was fun starting this new tradition of watching games and having concessions this year. I am sure we will continue it.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-06T08:46:00.009-07:00

As a family, up to this point, we have decided to stay home together for New Year's Eve. It doesn't feel like a fun night to be out with young kids or even to leave the kids with a babysitter. So, for now, we have some fun traditions that we enjoy each year.

Let me just start by saying, Rick and I were so tired on this night. We stay up most nights until at least 11:00, but we were fading at 9:00 and wondering if we were going to make it to ring in the Mountain Time New Year.

We started the night with our Annual Dance Competition. You just wouldn't believe how much fun this is. It is fun to see the little kids get into it and the bigger kids are starting to really practice and prepare for it.

Lauren and Abby began the night with a choreographed dance to "Keep Your Head Up"

They had been practicing all week in the basement.

Don't you just love their matching outfits?

Next up, Sam, with his signature move, the splits to the song, "Fire Burning"

Break it down, Boy!

Laila danced to "Eenie Meenie"

I have no idea where her shirt is.

I guess since she is 3, this is okay.

This is how Isaiah started his song, "Rocketeer"

On a side note, when I went to pick him up from preschool yesterday, I peeked into the classroom and saw the whole class in a circle clapping with him in the middle break dancing. What the heck?

When I asked Isaiah about it, he said, "I wanted to show them my dance skills."

My song, "Price Tag". I love this pic because Sam's facial expression of disgust cracks me up. I am sure there will be many more of those over the years.

Ba Blang, Ba Blang!

Rick wasn't fully prepared this year.

After his Amazing Kite Flying routine last year, it will be hard to ever top that.

So, what did he do?

Get cute kids to join him to distract from his lack of preparation.

Cody didn't participate this year.

It makes me sad, but I get it.

Instead, he was the DJ for us getting all the music ready.

Laila won the competition and her reward was to open the game for this year: Dicecapades

This is a great game for our big kids. We just waited to play after we put Isaiah and Laila to bed.

After our competition, we had our traditional donuts and sparking juice(we were really lame about pics this year). I also printed out a sheet online that we each had filled out. We talked about it as we ate our donuts. It included things like, best memory from 2011, something new I want to learn to do in 2012, etc. It was eyeopening to hear some of their responses. Then, we let the kids watch Spy Kids 4 in the basement. At that point it was about 10:00. We watched the ball drop on TV with the East Coast and put Isaiah and Laila down for bed.

We spent the next 2 hours playing Dicecapades. We played girls against boys with each team winning once. We will have to break that tie in the near future.

We surprisingly stayed awake until midnight. The kids ran outside to watch the fireworks on Pikes Peak and then we sent everyone to bed. Goodbye, 2011.

Back in the Swing

2012-01-04T21:38:00.002-07:00

The 4 big kids went back to school today.

I was dragging.

These early mornings do not work well for me.

I am a bit behind on my blogging, but there has been a lot going on around here.

After about 5 months of discussing, developing, and tweaking, we have introduced a new plan of action for chores around here.

I am excited, scared, hesitant, and optimistic all at the same time.

I am not going to share about it until we have had a few weeks to try it out and work out some of the kinks that I am sure we will encounter.

If it works, it will make my life a lot easier and will help develop our children into more responsible citizens.

If it doesn't, I will cry and maybe even throw something.

I spent today doing laundry, working on my mom's yearly calendar(yes, Mama, it is complete and on the way to you), making pinto beans, pouring my heart out to a friend, taking Cody to an orthodontist visit, grilling burgers and dogs(that may not seem profound, but Rick is the grill master in this house), getting kids to bed, and now heading that way myself.

I have to shop tomorrow. I have not done any real grocery shopping since before Christmas.

I have put it off as long as I can, and I am dreading it, but we have to eat.

Hopefully, I can get those last items returned from Christmas and maybe even get some really cheap wrapping paper for next year if any is left.

I am going to start off this new year by seeing how little I can spend on groceries, gas, and other necessities this month. If the weather will cooperate, we might be able to get a lower utilities bill, too!

While I am on here, if you think about it, say a prayer for my mama. She had pretty major back surgery last week. According to the doctor, it went well. Unfortunately, recovery is a beast. I wish I could be there to help her or at least keep her company.

2012, Here I Come!

2012-01-01T15:23:00.002-07:00

2011 is over. I can't say I am too sad about that. It has been a challenging year.

As Rick and I were talking about last year I asked him for a phrase he would use to describe it.

His answer: FRAGMENTED.

My answer: PAINFUL TRANSITION

I have seen God's Hand. I have experienced His Provision. I have questioned His plan. I have fought against receiving and giving His grace and forgiveness.

I have cried, grieved, hurt, healed, laughed and grown. I feel a bit beaten and bruised from the experience.

I still have a lot of unanswered questions about our future. Things are not nearly as settled as I would like for them to be. In fact, 2012 feels very uncertain to me. To be honest, in many ways I am fearful for what 2012 holds.

I am turning 40 this year. I hear the 40s are great. A new start is appealing. How did I get to be 40 so fast?

In 2012, I want to grow more, release more, submit more, forgive more, believe more, live in gratitude more, surround myself with people that are for me more, serve more, give more, prioritize more, celebrate more, love more.

In 2012, I want to get angry less, sweat the small stuff less, spend less, yell less, eat less, complain less, say no to my kids less.

As the clock ticked into 2012 last night I decided I wanted to start this year being purposeful with my first words of the year. What words did I choose: SIMPLICITY, PEACE.

Then, I ran over and planted a big one on Ricky while the kids gagged and moaned.

I have my God. I have my family. I have my life.

Come on, 2012. Let's see what you hold!!

Christmas Day '11

2011-12-31T13:26:00.006-07:00

Christmas Day was the usual relaxing, wear your jammies all day kind of day. Who knows what time the kids actually woke up. Heck, I hardly slept any. I can never sleep well the night before a big event. The festivities officially began in our room at 7:30 AM. Everyone came in to get their Christmas jammies to put on (remember, I don't let them sleep in them because of potential bodily fluid accidents during the night). After we were all dressed in our Christmas Day attire, we gathered on our bed for the Christmas story. Hopefully a little focus at the beginning of the day brings perspective to what Christmas is all about.

The required Matching Jammie Christmas pics

Love my family!!

The calm before the storm

Stockings are one of my favorites.

I love all the fun things that we get in them!

Handing out the gifts

PS3 Spiderman Game

Soccer Ball

Remote Control Jeep

PINK pants

Cowboys Hoodie

Posing in her robe

Cowboys jersey

Guitar

We like to go around and open our gifts one a at a time so we can enjoy what each person gets. That makes the gift opening last so much longer. By the time it was finished we were hungry for our traditional brunch: Country Ham, Biscuits, Garlic Cheese Grits, Eggs, Mandarin Orange Salad, Chocolate Milk, and Orange Juice. Thank you, Papa, for sending us a ham!!!
Everyone knows that Mom and Dad need a nap on Christmas Day. Once everything had settled down and everyone was busy playing with their gifts, we did just that. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than a Christmas Day nap.

In the evening, Julie came over to have our "Fajitas Fa Jesus" Christmas Night meal. We gave her a stocking of goodies for her and Bailey(her chocolate lab). She gave us a Dallas Cowboys sandwich press and a recipe book of all kinds of sandwiches to make. This will be a great addition to our Cowboys games concessions stand!!

Silliness on the Stairs

I love celebrating Christmas in our home. I love being in our jammies all day. We feel very blessed by all that God has provided for us.

Christmas Eve '11

2011-12-31T12:35:00.004-07:00

Christmas Eve was fabulous(as Laila would say it!). We started our day with our Annual Christmas Eve Brunch at the Goad's house. Somehow, we spent the whole time and did not get one picture. I will just have to remember our time by the good food and great friends that we were able to hang out with. Truly, it is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. The food was absolutely scrumptious!!

Afterwards, we came home for the afternoon. The Cowboys game was on. There was food prep for the evening to be completed, and the Christmas Eve service at church.

Our Annual Family pic in front of the trees at church

I had to share these next 3 photos to give you another sampling of Isaiah's personality. This kid is ALWAYS "on."

He is truly a performer at heart.

He has his own style.

He does not fit into a box.

That whole little photo shoot gathered an audience. I think he was the highlight of the night!

Back to the house to finish the Cowboys game and cook the food for our Appetizer Feast!

Look at all that yummy food!

On Christmas Eve, the kids get to open their ornament gift. Each year the ornament represents something about their year.

Lauren's represented her first trip to Africa in June

Cody's represented his first cell phone for his 13th bday.

(This is actually a print out of the ornament. It did not arrive in the mail in time.

I have no idea why he is making that face.)

Abby is loving piano lessons and wants to learn the guitar.

She is our musician with her jingle bell musical note ornament.

Sam loves tools, building, taking things apart, and fixing things

His ornament is a tape measure that says, "Merry Fix-mas"

Isaiah's is a composition book with a place for his picture

representing his first year of school!!

Laila loves Rapunzel!!

Cookies and milk were set out for Santa.

The big kids think it is hilarious to put the biggest cookies

we have out so that Santa will have to eat a lot!

For the next 5 hours, Rick and I did this:

We made it to bed around 2:00 AM. The kids have strict orders from Dad to not come in our room before 7:30 AM where the Christmas Day activities will begin!

Annual Christmas Cookie Decorating Contest

2011-12-30T13:14:00.005-07:00

On Christmas Eve Eve, we had our annual Christmas Cookie Decorating Extravaganza!!! This is a heated competition every year. We take it very seriously and are always trying to do something bigger and better than the year before. Here is the event in pictures:

We have to start by cutting out and baking the sugar cookies

Lauren is not using cookie cutters. She is making her own designs.

The many icings, toppings, etc. we use to decorate

Let the competition begin! Time to start decorating!

This little tool that Rick is using was a new addition to our competition this year.

Also, the Africa-shaped cookie cutter was a big hit.

I bought it earlier in the year to support a family's adoption from Ethiopia.

It was the perfect addition to our competition.

You can almost cut the tension with a knife!

A sampling of the cookies not entered for judging

Here are the entries to be judged:

Laura - Africa cookie with the South African Flag Design

Rick - Africa cookie with the countries marked and colored

Cody - Polar Bear

Sam - Gingerbread man

Lauren - Penguin listening to an Ipod

Laila - she was a bit more artsy with her abstract gingerbread man

Abby - Papa Smurf

Isaiah - Alien

We each cast 2 votes for our favorites. And the winner is:

Me!!!

This was the first time I have won. I must say, I thought Lauren should have won. She did get second place. Rick, Cody, and Sam tied for 3rd place. The winner gets to be the first to open gifts, stockings, etc. throughout the Christmas activities.

We handled the competitive aspect with much better sportsmanship this year. We did have a talk ahead of time about how we are doing this to have fun. Isaiah did go into the family room after the announcement of the winner, threw himself on the ground and said, "Well, I just quit then!!" I wonder where he has seen that?

It was a great time! We chose to do it on Friday because Rick was off. Doing it on Friday allowed us to do it without having to rush like we normally do on Christmas Eve.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2011-12-29T15:41:00.006-07:00

"No person was ever honored for what he received.

Honor has been the reward for what he gave."

~ Calvin Coolidge

Rick and I entered this Christmas season with a desire to bless others and to teach our children how to bless others. We took one idea from my blogging friend, Courtney, and adapted it to fit our family. We called it our "Birthday Party for Jesus." After all, He is the reason that we celebrate Christmas each year.

One of my favorite decorations, our Swazi Nativity

We hope this will become a tradition that we live out each year. We are basing it off the Scripture in Matthew 25: 31-46, focusing on verses 35-45 that say,

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

By blessing those in need, we would be giving Birthday gifts to Jesus. In November, we received a catalog from Samaritan's Purse, an organization that is doing work around the world to help those in poverty. In this catalog are items that range in cost from $5 to thousands of dollars that you can "purchase" for a family in need. We gave the kids an amount of $15 each to "shop" for their Birthday gift to Jesus. Each one chose their gift and told only me about it. They were then challenged to find something to represent that gift to wrap for the night of our Birthday Party. I ordered the items online ahead of time and we received cards to use along with our gifts.

Our party started with a yummy meal together with our

"Happy Birthday, Jesus" plates and napkins

Rick and I took some time to talk to the kids about all the ways during the month of December that our family has chosen to give to others. Those things range from putting change into the Salvation Army's red buckets outside of stores, baking bread for our neighbors, buying stoves for families in Haiti, etc. We were actually surprised when we talked about everything, how much our kids have done on their own as well. It was neat to talk and encourage them to continue even when it is not Christmas. We really want to be a family that is known for giving to others.

After dinner, we were ready to open the gifts. We drew names from a hat to decide who would open each gift for Jesus. Throughout the process, we discovered what each person has chosen to give and took the opportunity to read in the catalog about each gift and how it would impact people around the world.

Laila chose to give blankets which fits her so well.

She loves her blankie!!

Sam, Lauren, Abby, and Isaiah all chose to give milk to feed a baby for a week.

Cody opened Lauren's gift which also included food for a baby for a week.

Cody chose to help a child learn to read and write.

Along with a book, his package included this paper:

It says, "The Needy Child that Couldn't Write."

Rick gave soccer equipment to children and

I chose to give prenatal and postnatal care to Mothers and babies.

We sang "Happy Birthday"

and ate some yummy cupcakes.

We ended the night by watching the show, "A Home for the Holidays." It focuses on stories of foster care and adoption and has many celebrities that have been impacted by adoption in some way. It really was the perfect addition to our evening.

It was so much fun to start this new tradition. I hope that next year, we can expand on the idea of blessing others very intentionally during the Christmas season.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

2011-12-29T15:10:00.002-07:00

Today was the first day I have ventured out since Christmas Eve.

Let's just say, "it was a mistake."

The day started with a visit to the dentist office with 6 kids.

Honestly, it went fairly well. Isaiah charmed some random lady into letting him play games on her phone.

We brought a DS for Laila to play. The appt. was for teeth cleanings for the 4 older kids. It lasted for about 1 1/2 hours, but I can't complain.

We left with return visits scheduled for 3 of them set up for a couple of weeks away, small cavities for 2 of them and sealants for another.

Then, we should have just gone home. I should have known better. I should have followed my gut.

Instead, I decided to take the 5 younger kids(Cody had plans) to the mall to return something for Lauren and let her pick something in its place.

Okay, I guess I just thought that by 4 days after Christmas, things would have settled down. I guess I thought that the promise of letting the kids use some of their Christmas money to eat at the food court would be enough motivation for patience and obedience on their part. Boy, was I wrong.

The mall was insanely busy. The 2 stores that we visited were loud with music blasting and crowded with people. Poor Lauren, I felt sorry for her having to shop in that environment. It was sensory overload for a couple of us.

Waiting in line at 3 different restaurants in the food court was cRaZy. Listening to a guy treat someone horribly at Chick-fil-a just about sent me over the edge. I HATE it when people in service positions are treated unkindly!! The girl was so patient and just responded with her usual, "my pleasure."

By the time we made it back to the truck, we were all a mess. Poor Abby was having a migraine. Isaiah and Laila definitely needed a nap. Sam was disappointed that he couldn't buy the stuffed rhino to add to his collection of like 100 other stuffed animals. Lauren felt bad(even though it wasn't her fault) for taking so long. I was exhausted.

We are now home, and I think I may wait several more days before I even attempt to go out again. Anything that needs to be returned can wait another week until the stores settle down. I can shop much easier with the 2 younger kids once the older ones go back to school. We can figure out a way to eat the food we have regardless of the weird meal combinations we may have to come up with to survive.

How does the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" become so "not wonderful" so fast?

So Much To Share

2011-12-27T10:38:00.007-07:00

We have had quite the week around here. The kids were out of school last week, and we were scurrying around doing our last-minute Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, present wrapping, and snow playing. Before I can even share about our weekend Christmas festivities, I have to catch up on all the events of last week.

Our holiday baking was in full swing.

Lauren and I made Peppermint Snowball Cookies

Sam and I made Chocolate Chip Cookies

Laila and Isaiah helped me to make the sugar cookie dough

for our annual decorating contest.

Cody and I made chocolate truffles

Abby and I made fudge

It works so much better for me to bake with them individually. It is less chaotic, less messy, and I get some one-on-one time with each child. The bonus is that we have all of our baking done with lots of treats to enjoy throughout the rest of Christmas break.

We had 2 pretty good snows last week. The result: Lots of time outside playing in the snow!!

Abby was a snowball making machine!

Laila catching snowflakes on her tongue!

Lauren and Abby made a snow fort with a tiny snowman

The next pics are random funny things from our week. We like to laugh around here.

Isaiah as James Brown, "I feel good!"

A reminder of Africa in my tortilla

Isaiah spent a lot of time in the time-out chair.

This is a new "ornament" on our tree this year. It is actually a ball that Cody put a hook in. I laugh every time I walk past it.

It says, "Evergreen Rehabilitation"

Cody added, "Mom's Special Time, 2010"

I am pretty sure this place is for physical therapy, but it is funnier to imagine that it is a different kind of "rehab." There are some days I feel I might need to go to rehab for "special time."

Earlier in the month, we had some Christmas concerts to attend. Abby had a piano recital/open house. It started with some yummy food to enjoy!

Abby introducing her two songs, "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells"

She played perfectly and is really enjoying learning to play piano

Cody had a 7th grade choir concert

He got all "decked" out for the night

This month has been a whirlwind. Maybe that is why I have pretty much crashed the last couple of days recovering, reading, relaxing, and resting. Rick went back to work today. Boo! We are spending today hanging out at home enjoying our time off and the fact that we don't have to be anywhere. I absolutely love lazy mornings!!

A Day's Adventures with Isaiah

2011-12-22T13:21:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, Isaiah and I spent about 5 hours out together. It was a rare opportunity for some one-on-one time with my 5 year old boy. I thought I would share our day with you to give you a glimpse into the energy of this little man.

Before we could even get out the door, we had 2 incidents to deal with. The first, he poured out all the body wash from his Lightning McQueen car into the bathtub. Thankfully, it was in the bathtub. It got quiet in the house. I should have known he was up to something. Then, he decided to remove the baskets of DVDs and unplug all the TV equipment. We couldn't figure out why the TV wasn't working. I don't even know what made him think to do that. If it is quiet for even one minute, I have to frantically search the house for him.

Our time began with a visit to the doctor's office for his 5-year checkup. The roads in our neighborhood were still very slick and in my mega-mama truck I came very close to having an accident. I was going down the hill out of our neighborhood and there was no stopping that thing. We had to turn right into traffic. Isaiah was talking in his usual mega loud voice the whole time as I am trying to maneuver in such a way to miss the oncoming car. It was quite the adrenaline rush. When it was all over and he was just continuing to chat away, I had to say, "Hey, buddy, can you just be quiet for a minute while Mommy recovers from that near death accident?" He had no idea what had just happened. He did tell random strangers several times throughout the rest of the day in his loud, booming voice, "Our truck doesn't stop on the snow very well!"

Once we got to the doctor's office, there were a series of questions I had to answer regarding his development to see if he was on track. I have never really thought much about these questions with my 4 bio kids, but with Isaiah and Laila, I am particularly interested in knowing if they are on track developmentally. There was one question in particular that I was supposed to ask him:

Me: Isaiah, What city do you live in?

Isaiah: Colorado?

Me: No, that is the state we live in. Do you know the name of the city?

Isaiah: (thinking intently and scrambling for an answer) Jesus?

Me: No, that is usually a good answer to try, but it is not the right answer in this case.

That just cracked me up that he tried the "Jesus" answer for this question.

We found out what I suspected. He is small for his age. It wasn't shocking since Laila, who is 18 months younger than him, is the same size as him. He is in the 15 percentile for height and 50 percentile for weight. Who knows for sure, but I have to wonder if that is due to poor nutrition for the first 2 1/2 years of his life.

After the doctor's visit, we headed to Sams to do some of our Christmas food shopping. He is always entertaining(mostly to others, not so much to me) in stores. He feels the need to talk to everyone. He sings and shouts and comments on random people's actions, clothing, or food choices. In line, he decided it would be fun to wink at random women. He is such a charmer. We affectionately call him "Ladies Man." O how I wish I could find a shirt that says that for him to wear. We made it out of there fairly easily with smiley faces on our receipts(a must every time).

Next up: A bday date with Mom and Dad at Red Robin

Sorry about the light in these pics:

He literally wanted to spend EVERY minute

playing games on this little computer at our table.

He watched the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie at least 5 times.

We got a free appetizer! Yay for free stuff!

He ordered his usual ketchup with some chicken tenders and french fries on the side.

On our way out, he asked for a purple balloon. That balloon lasted for almost 24 hours before he popped it with the star from our Swazi Nativity Set. I think that is probably a record.

Next stop, Dollar Tree, so he could do his Christmas shopping. This boy is funny when he shops. He was determined to find just the right gifts for his brothers and sisters. At one point, he said, "I can't find just any gift, it has to be the best gift!" He knew what he wanted to get for Cody. I tried to deter him, but that wasn't happening. We had to leave the line to go back and get the thing he wanted to get. The store is pretty small and his voice could be heard throughout the store. When we were standing in line, this conversation occurred:

Lady in line: Wow, he has quite the vocabulary(that is nice way to say, "that kid never shuts up, does he?")

Me: Yeah, you wouldn't know that English is his second language would you?

Lady: What was his first language?

Me: Siswati.

Lady: Oh, I want to hear him speak in Siswati. (To Isaiah)Can you say something in Siswati? Can you say, "Good Morning."

Isaiah: Good Morning.

Lady: No, say it in Siswati.

Isaiah:(with an annoyed look on his face)"GOOOOOD MOOORRRRNNNNIIIINNNGG!!!"

Me: Yeah, he doesn't really remember Siswati.

Our next stop was Walmart. I didn't want to go at this point, but knew that I would be glad to get the shopping done with only one child in tow. We did it!! We survived it. He talked loudly the whole time. You know, the usual.

On the way home, we listened to Christmas music. His favorite song, "Fleas Navidad"(Yes, I know I wrote it wrong. That is how he says it.) came on the radio.

To most people, he is just funny and energetic, but he runs at this level all day EVERY DAY!! I love him, but he exhausts me and the work of training him and teaching him patience and boundaries takes just about all I have in me. Oh, and did I mention that I have 5 other children. Yeah, so you get the picture!

5 Year old IN THE HOUSE!!

2011-12-20T12:02:00.006-07:00

Sunday was Isaiah's 5th bday. It was his year to have a family party so he chose for us to go to Chuck E. Cheese's together.

Ready to go in!!

Lauren hit the jackpot!

Feeding the tickets!!

He got over 400 with the help of several of us!!

"Slap Happy Sammy"

Vicious!

Bball star!

Tickets galore!

Hanging out with Chuck!

I was so shocked when she hugged him!

Cruisin'!

Lunch time!

Caged animal

Cody created an invention to reach under machines and get lost tickets and coins.

He calls it "American Ingenuity"

Papa and Grammy got this cool toy for Isaiah!

They are dirty and when you wash them with warm water, they get clean.

They also have body wash in them.

They also got him a big boy water bottle.

No more sippy cups when you turn 5 in our family!

I just loved this reaction to his new scooter.

Grandma gave him a gift card to Walmart

He got lots of gifts from his brothers and sisters, too!! He was one happy little guy.

We gathered together for the dinner of his choice:

Rudolph sandwiches, Doritos, and Caprisuns with Cars 2 plates and napkins

Blow those candles out, baby boy!!

We had brownie cookie bars and ice cream for dessert

To end the night, we loaded up the truck in our jammies to go to a local church's drive-thru Christmas lights display. They have over half a million lights that range from Santa and Mrs. Claus to a living Nativity. Isaiah was as entertaining as the lights display. He talked to everyone in the display through the whole ride saying, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." As we approached Santa and Mrs. Claus, he had this discussion with them

Isaiah: Are you the real ones?

Clauses: Of course.

Isaiah: Well, then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Isaiah: (As our truck began to move forward through the display, he desperately yelled out) Oh, and I want a new fire truck for Christmas!!

He was hilarious. He was true to who he is. This kid is an extrovert to the maximum extreme.

Isaiah,

I know without a doubt that God has big plans for you, son. He has had his Hand on your life from the beginning. I love you deeply. I pray for you desperately as you grow and process the life that you have been given. You are loved! You are chosen! You are not alone!! You make me laugh. You challenge me. You amaze me. You steal my heart away!

Love you,

Mom

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2011-12-17T19:38:00.010-07:00

...in our fam-i-ly!

Lauren made this with salt dough

Wearing Christmas jammies from Christmas past

and relaxing!

Red Starbucks cups filled with Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Rudolph sandwiches, a favorite December treat in our house!

Lots of shopping with my little helpers carrying things in

Lots of bread baking for teacher and friend gifts(36 loaves so far)

A fabulous life group Christmas party hosted by Garrett and Elaina. Mandy did a great job sharing about it. Go here to read more.

Here is the framed song phrase that Rick and I received from the song,

"Never Once" sung by Matt Redman.

I really can't think of a better phrase to represent this last year for us. This group of people have been a living example of God's grace in our lives. They are walking with us through the healing of our hearts, have challenged us spiritually, and are just really fun people to be around. I have to say, the thing I have needed the most this year has been to laugh. I literally laugh until I cry when I am around these people, like almost peeing my pants kind of laughing. I love them, I love their hearts, and I love the direction we are headed as a group in the new year!!

I have to pause for a minute to throw in a plug for an amazing organization. Just in case you didn't read it in Mandy's post, we purchased 12 stoves as a group to help families in Haiti. I think that is pretty awesome!! You might want to do that, too. Go here to read more about this amazing opportunity to bless others. I believe in the mission of The Adventure Project. I personally know one of the founders and know that she is the real deal. I think that $20 will accomplish a lot more through this project than pretty much anything I could spend it on for me or my family. I feel honored to participate in it. If you are looking for a way to look beyond yourself for Christmas, this would be a great way to do that!!

Back to the Christmas activities of our family:

Delivering bread to the neighbors

(Sam chose to stay warm in the house)

There were several class parties going on this week. Isaiah's was the first!

His gifts from the book exchange

It was so funny. He helped me pick out a book at the store to take to his class for the book exchange. He knew they were having a book exchange, but when he opened that Mickey Mouse Christmas book, he screamed, "Oh. my. goodness. IT IS A BOOK!" He was so excited! I am pretty sure that most of his little friends in Swaziland would have been that excited, too! I am so glad that he is still experiencing Christmas with such passion and gratefulness.

Laila got to join him in eating party treats!

Sam's class had Pioneer Day on the last day of school and experienced a Pioneer Christmas

There was Pioneer Story Time

Square Dancing

(Sam is in the red plaid shirt and brown cowboy hat)

"Quilt Making"

(In case you can't tell, this was not his favorite activity)

We both agreed he might not have a future in quilting

Popcorn and cranberry stringing

He really enjoyed this

I am thinking this would be a great way to occupy my kids during Christmas break. The class was so busy focusing on their work that they were so calm and quiet!

The Pony Express

They delivered letters they had written to other classrooms

After some snacks, they decorated snowballs

Then came the snowball fight!!

It was really a great day for him. I loved how fun and interactive they made it. I was reminded how much fun Sam is and how much I love spending time with him. They learned a lot and had fun doing it!!

Lauren's class had a Christmas party, too.

They did bingo, a s'mores craft and had quite the feast!

Abby's Christmas party included a craft, game, and snacks

Christmas is just around the corner. Everyone is out of school. This week will involve lots of baking, gift wrapping, some dr. appts., last-minute shopping, looking at Christmas lights, hair braiding, relaxing(I hope!), and sleeping in.

Build-A-Bear

2011-12-15T10:35:00.005-07:00

Isaiah was invited to a classmate's bday party at Build-A-Bear Workshop. He had never been before, so it was a real treat to be able to go and choose his own bear to create.

Meet "Teddy" the Koala Bear

Picking a Heart

I love how they got the heart ready by putting it on their

eyes, ears, nose, etc. so that their bear could see, hear, smell, etc.

Kiss the heart and put it in your bear!

Stuffing the bear by pushing the pedal

Time for an "air bath"

Brushing and bathing

He chose a Lightning McQueen shirt for his Teddy

He even got a little home to carry him around in!

Isaiah was into every moment of this process. He can't stop talking about it. He was the loudest, most excited kid in the store, but that is usually the case everywhere we go!!

Speaking of Birthdays, this little man will be 5 on Sunday. Yesterday he celebrated with his preschool class by taking a big cookie to school!

As a matter of fact, I did make that all by myself. To most that would mean nothing, but if you know me, you know that I DO NOT decorate cakes or anything of the sort. How could I not attempt it for my little man? Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

I am pretty much ready for his bday to be NOW!! I am really exhausted by having to discuss every 5 minutes how much longer it will be. "3 more night sleeps, Isaiah, 3 more!" I think I have already said that at least 25 times today and it isn't even lunch time yet.

Christmas Craziness

2011-12-13T13:35:00.002-07:00

Every year, I try to make things special for the month of December.

Every year, I end up running around like a crazy woman trying to get it all done.

It doesn't help that Isaiah has a bday on Sunday, exactly one week before Christmas.

To top it all off, this month has become "appliance/major necessities of life breakdown month."

That is really special during Christmas time. I hope that does not become a tradition!!

We have replaced 2 tires, had our furnace worked on, had 3 major dental events, the garage door opener needs to be replaced, and lots of random things keep breaking around the house.

Each kid needs various things for their class parties this week: food, 3 books for book exchanges, teacher gifts(20 loaves of bread: loaves 16-20 are in the oven right now!!), costume for Pioneer Day for Sam, etc.

I have more loaves of bread to bake for some special people in our lives.

Christmas cards are in process.

Christmas baking will begin this weekend.

Christmas shopping needs to be finished. I have done very little at this point. There is not even one gift wrapped yet!!

We are doing a couple of new traditions this year that I am VERY excited about.

The kids get out for Christmas break after their half day of school on Friday.

Next week includes: Laila's hair braiding, 4 kids getting dental cleanings, and Isaiah has his 5 year old checkup, oh, and it is Christmas.

Crazy, Crazy Christmas!!

Flashback

2011-12-09T07:41:00.005-07:00

After Sam was born, I started giving away the girls' clothes as Abby outgrew them. I was so overwhelmed taking care of 4 kids, I gave up on my dream of having 6 children for a while. God had a special plan for us to have 6 kids and those days of being overwhelmed and realizing my body couldn't handle another pregnancy were all part of His plan to lead us to Isaiah and Laila.

Over the last few months, Laila has been able to wear some of Lauren's and Abby's hand-me-downs. There is just something special about that for me. I love seeing them in the clothes their siblings have worn. It reminds me how fast the time really goes.

I have this picture of Abby with an attitude wearing one of her favorite outfits

when she was 4 years old.

She seemed so big to me back then. Fast Forward 5 years. Now, it fits Laila. She is a year younger than when Abby was wearing the same outfit. Sister has an attitude in this picture, but it is not quite the same as Abby displayed!! She wasn't thrilled about this pic, but I couldn't resist.

My, how fast they grow up!!

Oh, how I wish I could capture her personality in pictures more.

She is so resistant to sharing it with the world.

Want to see how sweet, funny, and adorable Laila really is? Come to our house where she feels comfortable and put on some music. Sister will light up the dance floor and talk your ear off!!

Randomness

2011-12-06T13:56:00.004-07:00

We came home last night to a house that was 49 degrees. With negative temps in the forecast for the night, we knew that waiting to get our furnace fixed was not an option. My handy dandy husband was able to figure out what the problem was, but because he is not a contractor, he couldn't get access to the part. Thankfully, we know someone who works in heating and cooling. He as able to come over and get it fixed so that we could sleep nice and warm last night. Another "ouch" to the wallet, but we are so thankful that things turned out well.

Here are some pics from the last week:

My friend, Holly, who has been on EVERY Swazi trip with us did a wonderful thing. She made Swazi blankets for Isaiah and Laila with some fabric we found on our trip this summer. They were both very excited to get these special blankets.

One more way to make Swaziland a part of their lives!

We also received a package this week with some Christmas surprises from Papa and Grammy. Each year, my mom calls and reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids. They were pretty excited to receive this book that has her voice recorded reading the story to them. It was so funny watching the little ones listen to it. Isaiah kept saying, "Thank you, Grammy," each time a page ended. At one point, Laila leaned down to it and said, "Where are you, Grammy?" They were very confused. Abby was cuddled up under a blanket on the other side of the room. She was too cozy to join the pic.

I got a sweet deal on a bedside table for Cody at Goodwill.

After looking at very basic tables for over $50 at various stores, I found this real wood table for only $14.99. That was a huge score that I was very excited about!!

I have seen some funny things lately that have just made me laugh. I thought I would share these products with you. I am thinking they are pretty essential to life:

Since when did the Berenstain Bears become Bible teachers?

This is what I have been looking for my whole life!?!

Who thought to put this together?

Notice the age on this little tool set, 14+???

I am thinking Cody would not be seen carrying this thing around!

I know you are each going to want to add these to your Christmas shopping list this year!!

I Fought the Curb and the Curb Won!!

2011-12-04T14:11:00.003-07:00

We have a tradition around here that I am not very fond of. It is not one we started, it just started on its own. When Rick is out of town, bad things happen. Last week was no exception. He was gone to New York from Mon.-Thurs. On Wed. afternoon, disaster(that may be an exaggeration, but it is the only word I can think of) struck. At 3:10, I was headed to do my daily 3 school afternoon pickup extravaganza when I cut the corner a little too close on the curb and ended up with a flat tire on a very busy road.

I looked at the clock. I had 10 minutes before I was supposed to be at Isaiah's school to pick him up. I immediately called his classroom to inform them of my situation and let them know I was trying to find someone else to come get him. He gets out at 3:20. They responded, "Well, we will stay until 3:30." At that point, I am thinking, "So are you going to just leave him there by himself?" I didn't say that. They then said they would see if there is a teacher that will be staying later. I immediately got off the phone and began scrambling to make phone calls. I first called my friend, Laura. I had just left her house and thought, "she is the closest person around." If Rick had been in town, I would have just called him. His office was very close by. Instead, not only was he out of town, but he was in meetings and unreachable.

Laura, so graciously offered to come by, stay with my truck and call AAA while I took her vehicle to pick up my kids from school. Another friend, Tosha, drove by and called to see what was going on. She was able to go get Isaiah for me right away so that we weren't holding up his teachers. That was a huge help.

The thing I love is that Laura thought to take pictures for me. She knew I would want to blog about this and remember it. See those "snazzy" rims on my truck? Well, they can complicate things. A special "key" is often needed to remove them. Thankfully, mine did not need that because I couldn't get in touch with Rick to find out where it would be, but it was a job I couldn't have done alone. Even though I "know" how to change a tire, I could not have done this task on my truck. It was a job for a professional.

The spare tire made my truck lopsided

My tire, my wagon, and my Swazi Sales stuff

After the tire was changed and I had all of my kids, I headed to the tire store to get things fixed.

We had a snowstorm coming in the next day and I did not want to risk driving on that spare too long. We were like the "Clapp Clown Car" unloading to go into the store. One of the mechanics asked how many people I had stuffed in there. All 7 of us sat and waited for the verdict. I think our presence was a bit overwhelming to the men.

At one point, Isaiah was licking tires.

Lauren loved the "tire smell" and decided they should make a candle with that scent.

She worked on her homework while we waited.

There were some kid meltdowns in the process.

Abby had a migraine, Isaiah was in timeout multiple times and 2 children ended up with being grounded from some major privileges as a result of their attitudes.

I love this picture!

I kind of wish I had a pic of me, too.

I am pretty sure it would have had a very grumpy look on my face!!

When it was all said and done, I had to buy 2 new tires. Ouch, that was painful. Seriously, it is 2012, people. Can't someone figure out how to create a tire where the sidewall can be repaired. It stinks to buy 2 new tires to replace 2 perfectly good ones!!

At this point, it was 6:15. I decided that with all of the drama, we needed something quick and easy for dinner. For all of our sanity's sake, we picked up dinner at Chick-fil-a to take home. Seriously, what is $25 more when you have just spent $437? Merry Christmas to me! Boo!! We finally arrived home around 6:45. The 3 1/2 ordeal was very exhausting.

Even saying all of that, I am thankful. I am thankful that God provided people to help me. It could have been so much worse. The weather could have been worse. I could have been all alone with no help. God sent just the right people at just the right time to help me. I was able to get it all taken care of on that day.

Needless, to say, I am driving around curbs very carefully now!!

Challenged

2011-11-29T21:20:00.003-07:00

Today I have felt very challenged in my spirit...

...challenged in my calling as a mom.

...challenged in my relationships with others.

...challenged in my grace and forgiveness of others.

...challenged in the pain from the last year of my life.

...challenged by the examples of others who are following God in extraordinary ways.

...challenged by God's Word.

...challenged to rejoice in the healing of others.

...challenged to seek healing in some wounds that keep opening back up.

...challenged to CHOOSE love over anger.

It has been quite the day!!

Thanksgiving Week

2011-11-28T18:19:00.002-07:00

What a relaxing week we had as a family over Thanksgiving break!! The kids had the week off from school, Rick had the week off of work, and we stayed home. No packing, no traveling, no recovery afterwards. We spent more time in pajamas than we did regular clothes. We slept in. We stayed up late. We played Wii "Just Dance" and "Mario Kart" A LOT. We watched movies. We only left the house a couple of times.

When I saw this, I knew this kid was not feeling well.

So glad we decided not to travel. I am pretty sure this little guy would have ended up in the hospital like he did last year. That was not how I wanted to spend Thanksgiving.

We did lots of this...

...and this

Sam chipped Lauren's tooth once again(she chipped it 3 weeks ago in a soccer game), so we had to make a visit to the dentist.(One of the 2 times I left the house for the week!)

Abby was so anxious to decorate for Christmas that she started making her own decorations early in the week. She is my little Martha Stewart!

We began preparing for our holiday baking

I realized last year that our baking time is much more fun if I bake individually with the kids rather than everybody helping with everything. I cannot handle the chaos of everyone helping. I am a much better mom doing it this way.

We also had a play performed for us,

"The Neverland Pirates"(there was no one willing to play Jake)

Laila was "Izzy," Lauren was "Mr. Smee," and Abby was "Captain Hook"

Sam is making progress on his six-pack.

He wanted to share a picture of his "two-pack". Only 4 more to go!

I enlisted the girls to help me prep the food.

Those onions are really strong!!

The beloved Cornbread dressing in the making

"Reginald" the Turkey

He was a stubborn little booger taking much longer to cook than expected.

It was worth the wait!!

We decided to wear our Cowboys' gear for the day

This one is much more real

The food was delicious. Between shopping and food prep, the meal took me about 15 hours to create. It took about 30 minutes to consume. Thankfully we had LOTS of leftovers to give me a break over the next few days. Rick printed out a "Thankful" paper ahead of time and handed them out the day before. Everyone's assignment was to complete it and bring it to dinner the next day. It was so sweet to hear their answers. To top off this pretty perfect day, the Cowboys won!! It doesn't get much better!!

On Friday we kicked off the Christmas season. We gave the kids the VeggieTales DVD "St. Nicholas" for a family movie night. During the day we decorated for Christmas. I LOVE the end result, but I really HATE the decorating part. Thankfully, I have a husband who is passionate about it and leads us in the effort.

I told you I wore jammies all week.

I didn't fix my hair either. Can you tell?

The kids' tree in the family room filled with their ornaments

Rick's and my tree in the Living Room with our ornaments

We did not participate in Black Friday. Sometimes, Rick will go out, but there was nothing this year that we saw that was worth our effort. I will say, Cody and Lauren were begging us to go out. They wanted to see the craziness!! Maybe next year.

The girls and I ventured out on Sat. to do a bit of shopping. Those crowds were much more my speed. The weekend ended with going to church on Sunday and getting everyone to bed on time to prepare for school on Monday.

Isaiah brought this home from school today:

Yes, my 4 year old is thankful for Lightning McQueen, Soda, and Coffee.

That should get me some kind of "Mother of the Year" award!

Bedroom Makeovers!!

2011-11-27T14:53:00.004-07:00

We began rearranging kids, painting rooms and choosing new bedding about 2 months ago. We have felt for a long time like we needed to make some changes. As a 13 year old, Cody was ready for his own room. Isaiah and Laila have been with us for 2 1/2 years. I felt like they were both incorporated enough into our family that they would be okay if we separated them. Since we didn't see any opportunity to sell our house anytime soon or finish our basement, we decided to just change our upstairs to better accommodate our family. We still have some things to buy to decorate the walls, but they are all painted, the carpets are cleaned, and the bedding is complete. Over Christmas Break, I hope to get some pictures of our family up in their rooms and a few more decorating items. Here are the "Before" and "After" pics:

Before: Cody and Sam's room

(messy and plain)

After: Sam and Isaiah's Room

(blue walls, Sports bedding for Sam and Cars Bedding for Isaiah)

The other side

(I need to get some pics/decorations for this wall)

Before: Lauren and Abby's room

(individual twin beds, old bedding and very messy walls)

We bought bunk beds for Lauren and Abby

Laila moved into their room with the toddler bed

After: Laila's side of the room with her "Tangled" bed

Abby took the top bunk, Lauren took the bottom

After: Lauren and Abby's side of the room

(freshly painted walls, polka dot bedding for Lauren and monkey bedding for Abby)

Before: Isaiah and Laila's bedroom

Painting the walls

Cody's new bedroom

He loves having his own space!

Go Cowboys!!

It feels so good to have it done. They are all settled in. Laila and Isaiah adjusted beautifully to their new beds. Laila moved from a crib to toddler bed and Isaiah moved from a toddler bed to twin bed. We have figured out how they can each compromise to learn to live with "new" roommates. They are learning some great life lessons.

Cody's room has become a good place for him to be alone when he is overwhelmed or needs to get homework done. With his sensory issues, it is a great refuge in times of stress.

One of my favorite stories of this process has been with Laila. The first night, Lauren said, "Laila, if you need anything during the night, you just let Lolly know." in the middle of the night, Laila woke Lauren up. Lauren said, "What do you need?" Laila responded, "Lolly, I need a hug." So sweet.

I am looking forward to adding some more personal touches over the next few weeks!!

Promise, Pain, Provision, Praise

2011-11-23T10:05:00.004-07:00

I have been writing this post in my mind for the past 2 1/2 months. It seems appropriate to share it on Thanksgiving Week. I share this with you for many reasons. One, I want to honor and praise God for His provision in our lives. Secondly, I want to encourage each of you to follow the calling God has given you. Don't allow money or opposition to stop you from following God's calling. More specifically, if God is calling you to adopt, I want you to know that it is the most blessed experience you will ever be privileged to participate in. God has revealed Himself to me in this process more than any other in my life.

PROMISE

2 1/2 months ago, God fulfilled a promise that He gave to me 3 years ago. It was not vague like, "I will provide for you," or "I will be with you." It was a very specific, tangible and concrete promise. To all earthly standards, it would take a miracle to fulfill.

When we began our ministry in Swaziland, we had no intentions of adopting. We were called to come alongside the people, partner in any way that God led us and help meet the needs that He revealed. We wanted to be advocates for the children and women with whom God crossed our paths. We desired to create opportunities for the people of Swaziland to not only survive, but thrive, thus the name "Beyond Survival."

In July '08, God expanded that calling to Swaziland to include adoption. When He placed that calling on my heart, He promised me that He would provide the $40,000 it would most likely cost. Yes, you read that right. Unfortunately, international adoption is extremely expensive. That fact alone deters a lot of people from moving forward in this calling. Our family did not have that kind of money to spend.

PAIN

This calling was overwhelming and painful in so many ways. The process alone is enough to weed out the weak. The amount of paperwork, documents needed, classes to complete, and homestudy will send anyone over the edge. To add to that, we had only 3 months to complete a process that most families complete in a year or more. It was the stressful adoption process on steroids.

In addition to the actual paperwork process that we had to complete, came the emotional process. We did not have the support of everyone in our community of friends and family. In actuality we faced some strong opposition about this decision. It was extremely painful. It is so easy to doubt in the midst of opposition. It is so easy to give in to all the arguments of why this is a bad decision for your family. Believe me, there are many, and we heard every one of them.

The spiritual warfare part of adoption will mess with your mind in ways you could never imagine. I believe Satan wants to do everything he can to oppose adoption. He uses other people to oppose it. He hinders the process to oppose it. He creates so much doubt and fear in your mind that you feel you almost cannot stand up against it. I cannot tell you how many sleepless nights I had in this process. Every time I was up during the night battling with Satan over this calling, something MAJOR would happen the next day. It was during all the doubt and fear that I experienced that God continually reminded me of His work in this process. God gave us so many evidences of His Hand and His direction. That is the ONLY thing that got me through.

PROVISION

When God promised to provide for our adoption, I had a picture in my mind of how I thought that would look. I thought we would have every penny provided by the time we traveled in March '09 to pick up the kids. What a great story that would be to tell. Look how much God would be glorified by that. I never imagined that it would be 2 1/2 years later before we would pay off that last amount of debt from the adoption. God didn't give me a timeframe. I created one in my mind.

I can say that during that 2 1/2 years we saw His Provision in more ways than just actual money to go towards the cost of adoption. People gave us clothing, furniture, meals, baby items(I had gotten rid of everything), etc. We never went without a need in our family. We had to max out 6 different credit cards to make all of the adoption payments. We had 3 weeks in a row where we had thousands of dollars due each week. We had 2 payments that God provided by people just in time, and those people did not know the amounts we owed. Many people sacrificed and gave to our family to participate in this calling with us. It truly was a "family" effort by those in our circles of friendship. We experienced community in a way that we never had before. Without this sacrifice, we would not have experienced the blessing of seeing God work the way He did.

PRAISE

I could not go through this journey He has taken us on over the last 3 years and not be changed. I am not the person I was 3 years ago. I am so thankful for that. God's plan of provision for this calling was exactly what we needed to grow and develop us into the parents, spouses, friends, and followers that He has called us to at this point in our lives. Every time Laila kisses me(she does this about 100 times a day) and tells me that she loves me, I feel blessed to have been called to this process. Every time Isaiah gives me that look that he gives and puckers up those lips of his to kiss me, I am grateful to be on this journey. It hasn't been easy, but that is a different post. Today I choose to praise God for his fulfillment of that promise He gave me over 3 years ago. I praise Him for the promise. I praise Him for the pain. I praise Him for His provision.

I encourage you to follow WHATEVER it is that God might be calling you to. You will not regret your obedience. You will feel purpose even in the pain of it.

My prayer is that He will give ALL of us the strength to take that step of faith. I don't feel like He is finished with me yet. There is so much more for me to learn. There are so many areas where I am weak and fail.

Today, I am thankful, and I praise Him for His Hand in my life!!! I look at this picture and I think, "WOW, I never could have dreamed up this plan for my life."

I wonder what the next 3 years hold????

This Week

2011-11-22T14:18:00.003-07:00

~wearing jammies all day long

~movie nights

~staying up late

~sleeping in

~reading good books

~ordering pizza

~Wii dance competitions

~hot chocolate and popcorn

~painting Sam and Isaiah's room

~traditions lived out

~wrestling with Daddy

~board games

~naps

~Date Night

~decorating for Christmas

~donuts and cinnamon rolls

~lunch date with friends

~no time schedule

~Cowboys football

~Macy's Day Parade

~yummylicious Thanksgiving Meal

~spending lots of time together as a family

That is what this week is all about, and we are LOVING every minute of it!!

Native American Day

2011-11-20T12:24:00.003-07:00

Abby had Native American Day in her class on Friday.

She got all dressed up for the day, face paint and all.

Her class had a feast, made sand art, made a game that Native American kids

would play, and watched a movie.

Unbelievable

2011-11-19T11:30:00.002-07:00

"It is a bit outrageous to learn that Americans spend more for garbage bags each year than 90 of the world's 210 countries spend for everything."

~Linda Kuhlman, "Our Consuming Interest"

I don't even know what to say about this.

You Never Know What Your Day Might Hold!

2011-11-18T07:33:00.002-07:00

I am constantly thinking through Isaiah's comments like the one I shared yesterday. This whole parenting through adoption thing has thrown me for a loop at times. It doesn't matter that I have already parented 4 children before Isaiah and Laila became ours. What matters is that they feel secure as our children. What matters is that they know that we love them the same as our bio kids. That means in my parenting of that I have to keep that in mind ALL THE TIME!!

One issue that has come up quite a bit with Isaiah has been that we weren't there when he was born. We didn't know him as a baby. The first picture we have of him is at 2 years old. We were really blessed to get Laila at such a young age(9 months), but even at that age, we missed so much. I LOVE the baby stage, and I feel cheated that I didn't get to enjoy that with them.

In thinking through all of that, I had a realization this morning. I had no idea on the day of each of their births that my life had changed forever on those days. I became a mom to two more kids without any knowledge of it. God had planted Swaziland in my heart earlier that year that Isaiah was born. In fact, I can look back now and realize that the time period that God put Africa on my heart was, in fact, the time in which Isaiah was conceived. That is profound to me and just one more piece of the puzzle that will show him God's Hand on his little life.

I have thought through and analyzed every detail of both of those days.

Isaiah was born on December 18, 2006. I woke up that morning early to head to Ft. Collins to visit my friend, Andrea, who had moved there earlier in the year. I had such a great drive up alone in my car, praying and listening to music and sermons on my ipod. Swaziland is 8 hours ahead of us so at that point, he may have already been born. Sanele, my little baby boy, born to his Swazi Mama. What was his birth like? How much did he weigh? What did he look like? So many questions swirl through my head. All along, I am just going about my day with no clue of God's bigger plan that was forming on the other side of the world. For me it seemed like just another day in my life. In reality it was monumental.

Laila was born on June 24, 2008. I was actually in Swaziland on that day and have discovered that we took our team to visit the hospital where Laila was born ON THE DAY she was born. I remember very vividly seeing a group of laboring women in a grassy area in the hospital courtyard. How amazing would it be if I actually saw her Swazi mama???!!! Her mother was sick. I may have walked by my baby girl in the children's ward without even knowing it!! Demalangeni was her name. This little girl in just a short week would lose her Swazi mama and spend the next 9 months without a mom. That was a profound day for me because any day in Swaziland is profound, but I had no idea of the depth of God's timing in where He had me on that particular day. Once again, a piece of the puzzle to say to Laila, "I was close to you the day you were born. I didn't know it, but we were there together."

I woke up this morning pondering these thoughts. I realized that even though my day is planned with certain activities, I have no idea what kind of work God is doing behind the scenes. I may look back on this day later and try to remember each detail because of the significance that it played out in my life. God's plan is bigger than the cheesy potatoes I need to make for a lunch I am going to and the picking up of kids from school and the party at church that I am going to with Lauren tonight. Even in our everyday lives, He is orchestrating His bigger plan.

Today, that gives me HOPE. Hope I have needed to feel for a while. Hope that I will grab hold of with all my might and not let go. I pray, despite the circumstances you are facing, that it gives you hope, too.

I feel like our work in Swaziland is on hold right now. We are following through with God's leadership to make Beyond Survival a non-profit. That is the only direction God has given us at this point. While we WAIT for the process to be complete, I feel restless. I know that the needs are great and day-by-day become greater. I see the work that others are doing and feel ashamed that I am not doing more. I want to jump on the bandwagon and make things happen. I want to raise money for this "need"(insert- school fees, carepoint Christmas party, medical issues, etc.) I see or make people aware of this "issue"(insert- weather destroyed this Gogo's house, this missionary needs support, this child will not go to school without a uniform, etc.) that has come to my attention. All the while, God continues to say to me, "Wait. Complete this process. Don't try to control this."

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUR DAY MIGHT HOLD!!

You may not know for years the significance of this very day in your life. All I know is that 2 days over the last 5 years that were just normal days from the beginning to end resulted in these amazing blessings in my life:
As I watch "Little Einsteins" with them and feed them their breakfast this morning, and even send Isaiah to time out, I feel HOPE in my spirit. That God can do this thing way better than I ever could.

Today, I release it. I give it over. I trust. How about you?

Chosen

2011-11-17T11:39:00.002-07:00

I had a particularly challenging obedience issue with Isaiah last night.

After the process of discipline and restoration, it was time for bed.

As I was tucking him in the bed and reminding him that he belongs to our family forever, he asked me a question,

"Mom, if I become a baby again, will you still choose me?"

Once again, he needs to be constantly reminded of his security in our family.

It makes my heart sad to see that pain in his heart.

My bio kids would not even think to ask that question.

As an adopted child, Isaiah has to struggle with the pain and loss in his heart on a daily basis.

I reminded him that just like God chose me as His child, that he is chosen by us. We love him. We treasure him. Our life would not be the same without him. God decided he was my son before he was ever born!

Weekend Getaway

2011-11-16T09:25:00.005-07:00

Lauren and I had a really great weekend away. One-on-one time is always so nice with the kids. This chick definitely feels loved when she gets quality time.

Before we left town, we stopped to eat at Smashburger. This was our first time there, and I will say, we give it a "thumbs up"!!

We drove up to Denver and checked in at Embassy Suites.

This is one of our favorite places to stay because of the yummy breakfast

and all the rooms are suites.

We then did some shopping!!

First stop, American Girl Store.

Our room was great!!

We decided after walking around the mall so much that we wanted to have a nice relaxing evening at the hotel. We thought about going for a swim, but the pool was FULL of children. We grabbed some Subway to take back to the hotel with us.
Throughout the weekend we did a thing called "The Question Cup." This is an idea that my friend, Mandy introduced me to, and my other friend, Laura, gave me some question ideas. I added my own in and we spent a lot of time talking about her relationships with God, with friends, and with our family. We talked about love, self-esteem, and peer pressure. We had some really good conversations, and I got a deeper glimpse into her heart and what is going on in her life right now. This made the weekend worth every bit of effort it took. I feel like we were able to pack in months of deep conversations in this one weekend.
We rented a movie, "Marley and Me: The Puppy Years" to watch in bed and had popcorn. We both thought it was really lame and ended up turning it off to go to sleep.

We had a little treat, too!!

One thing Lauren and I have in common is that we both adore yummy food!!

We like to cook it! We like to eat it!

We did some manicures and pedicures with glow in the dark polish

"Charging" her nails to glow.

When we turned off the lights to go to sleep, our nails were glowing!!

We woke up Sunday morning to our yummy breakfast.

We took a little trip to Ikea

We also had some frozen yogurt.

We looked everywhere for a frozen yogurt place on Friday,

and it turns out, there was one right by our hotel.

We ended the day by shopping at the outlet mall in Castle Rock. Lauren needed new tennis shoes. I had no idea that hers were 1 1/2 sizes too small!! I asked her why she didn't tell me, and she said,"If I just curl up my toes, they are fine." That was guilty-mom moment. My child's feet are going to be deformed because she didn't have the proper shoes!

I learned some things about Lauren over this weekend. She really has a hard time saying what she wants. I let her choose EVERYTHING for the weekend. She so wanted to please me and make sure I was happy. I talked a lot about that with her. I appreciate her consideration, but also want her to be able to speak up for herself. She and I have a lot in common. We are both people pleasers to a fault. I am hoping to work on this in her and help her find some balance in this area. She also has a really healthy self-esteem which encouraged me greatly. I so want my girls, especially, to love themselves and their bodies.

When I asked her what her favorite thing was from the weekend, she said,"Spending so much time alone with you!"

That was my favorite part, too, sweet girl. I love you and I love seeing the young lady you are becoming.

Tooth Tales

2011-11-14T14:52:00.003-07:00

Last week, we had two big "tooth" events in our house. On Thursday, Abby had oral surgery to remove a tooth that was fused to the bone. She was put to sleep and 1/2 an hour later, they were done.

This was her right before they put her out.

When she came to, she was VERY groggy. To watch her, you would have thought her head weighed 50lbs. It was really funny. She was ready to leave the office about a 1/2 hour later.

Wheeling her to the car.

We immediately left the office to get her a milkshake and some French Toast Sticks. She was starving. She has done great since the surgery. She only needed ibuprofen for the pain and is back to school today!!

Last Tuesday, Cody got braces!! He is officially a teenager for sure now!

He chose Cowboy colors for his bands, navy and gray.

Other than a couple of days of soreness and a learning curve in brushing, flossing and eating, he is doing great as well. We have already seen his teeth move. That is amazing!

Stuff

2011-11-11T10:22:00.007-07:00

As I sit at my computer, I can hear the roar of the the machine that is being used upstairs in my house to clean my carpets. Coming from the basement, I can hear Abby coaching Sam, Isaiah, and Laila in cleaning the basement. The last week has been hard, but I feel like I can take a sigh of relief. Once these carpets are cleaned, the weekend should be a time to rest(fingers crossed).

I have some catching up to do. So, here we go!

We had our first snow day last week(Was that really last week? It feels like ages ago!)

We started the day with our big breakfast

Then the kids went outside to play

Laila's shoe came off and her sweet brother was helping her

In our house, after playing in the snow, you get a warm blanket from the dryer

Abby is hiding

We also celebrated our house Birthday on Oct. 30th. It is our tradition to go to Old Chicago each year for a celebration meal!!

I can't believe their all mine!!

At the last Cowboys game, it was Isaiah's and Laila's turn to run the concession stand.

Lauren and Abby helped them.

I just love their Swazi aprons

Lauren had Explorers' Day at School.

She has been working on a project for weeks.

She was David Livingstone

Sam was cold at Lauren's last soccer game.

He was like this most of the game(yes, there is a kid in there!)

I was walking around my house one day and saw this posted on the wall

After further investigation, I discovered that this bubble holder was so valuable because it had Sam's tooth that he had pulled in it. It just made me laugh to see this posted on the wall.

I did some cuddling with my babies yesterday.

Laila now has an ear infection!!

Crazy week!! I still have 3 more events to share with you. Those are up next!!

Stats

2011-11-10T19:54:00.002-07:00

~2 kids with ear infections

~2 kids with strep throat

~1 kid on 2 different types of breathing treatments

~1 kid recovering from surgery

~4 kids on antibiotics

~1 kid on pain meds

~1 kid with new braces

~1 house getting carpets cleaned

~1 kid with a "swallowing incident"

~4 poops to dig through

~2 kids still running fevers

~1 little boy(I'll give you one guess which one) who has decided to disobey at every opportunity this week.

~3 kids to work through missed school work with

All of that added together = one very tired mom anxious for the weekend to start so I can rest!!!

Beauty in the Chaos

2011-11-10T07:13:00.006-07:00

Thank you so much for all the sweet responses to my post yesterday. It really does help to be known in the midst of all that is going on this week. I even had a special friend show up at my door with ingredients, come into my kitchen, and make soup for my family. It is the perfect meal for the issues we have going on, sore throats, oral surgery today, and sore mouth from braces. Thank you, Andrea. You always bless me so much!!

I took this picture yesterday in my kitchen. Do you see what I see? My island is a disaster, but in the midst of that chaos are some beautiful flowers. It felt very symbolic to me. That is pretty much how my life is and the lives of most moms. It is messy, it is cluttered and overwhelming, but if you can look past all of that, there is a beauty that is beyond explanation in this calling. I am choosing to embrace that beauty and thanking God for that reminder today. That doesn't mean that I will never have a venting post again. They are good, they are necessary, and they are healing. My prayer is that even in the ranting and raving over my frustrations that God will always bring me back to the beauty.
I read this quote yesterday and it totally resonated with what I was feeling. It is from the book "Bittersweet" by Shauna Niequist. In reference to celebrating being a mom, she says,

...it's about looking through our lives and recognizing the act of mothering everywhere we see it, and more than that, recognizing that when any of us mother - when we listen, nurture, nourish, protect, - we're doing sacred work.

On another positive note, the "little metal marble that could" made its reappearance yesterday. I only had to do 4 excavations to get it. It wasn't quite as shiny as it used to be. Who knows what kind of adventures that little guy experienced. Sam is just relieved that he doesn't have to take his "hat" to school an dig through his poop on his own in the kids' bathroom. I am glad I don't have to write that note to explain it all to his teacher.

There is always something to be thankful for!!

Hoping you each see the beauty in your day!

Wowee Badowee!!

2011-11-09T08:55:00.003-07:00

That is the only way I know how to describe this week, Wowzers!!

It has been a tough one. I feel like I have lived 3 weeks in the last 3 days.

You see, I am familiar with chaos. We live at a certain level of chaos in this house that I am comfortable with.

Some people might come into this environment and be immediately overwhelmed by the "normal" chaos that we live in. The chaos that I have experienced this week has just about sent me over the edge!!

It has been HARD!! Being sick as a mom is always difficult, but having sick or injured kids while you are sick is painful!

Rick and Cody were sick a couple of weeks ago. Rick is better and Cody is finishing up an antibiotic for an ear infection that developed.

Isaiah has been on breathing treatments for the last 2 weeks in order to prevent another hospital stay like he had this time last year!

Sam and Laila also got sick while I was gone.

I was sick before my weekend away with Lauren.

By the time we returned, Lauren was sick, too!

Abby is the only one still standing and she is supposed to have oral surgery tomorrow, so she will be joining us shortly.

Monday brought the usual things: dropping off and picking up kids from 3 different schools, feeding and clothing kids, laundry, etc. On top of all of those things, 5 of the 6 were in some stage of their sickness with medicines, vomiting, coughing, fevers, (you get the picture).

Yesterday was my breaking point. I decided Lauren and Sam needed to see the dr., but Cody was also getting braces so fitting everyone's appts. in the right time slots along with school pick ups and drop offs was a challenge beyond explanation. Truly, the stars had to align for me to get everyone where they needed to be at the right times.

Just about an hour into my day, Sam informs me that he has swallowed a metal Magnetix ball. REALLY??????? So, now I have a potential life threatening crisis on my hands. Swallowing magnets is not a good idea. Thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, it was only metal and not magnetic.

That meant some good times ahead for me. I now had the task of digging through his poop each time he "dropped the kids off at the pool." Good Times! I know you are all jealous of my glamorous life.

Cody got his braces. He handled it really well, but I knew rough times were ahead. Sure enough, by the time I picked him up from school, he was in some serious pain.

I got Lauren and Sam to the doctor to get the diagnosis: Strep Throat! Let me just role play the scenario for you:

Me: Um, excuse me, doctor, but this is the reason Lauren got her tonsils removed. Why are we dealing with this again?

Doctor: Well you see, sometimes, even without tonsils, we can get strep.

Me: Fabulous, just fabulous.

After the dr., it is time to pick up the 3 kids at 3 separate schools, come home to my disaster of a house, and prepare food for everyone.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I am trying this eating plan for 11 days and yesterday was my "all fruit" day so I was hungry, and stressed, and did I say, hungry, because I was really hungry and could only eat fruit one more time that night.(I know that was a run-on sentence. I did it for effect).

The night continued with Laila throwing up, me digging through Sam's poop 2 times with no success, Cody in agony over his braces, and Lauren and Sam having to share an antibiotic because the pharmacy didn't get both of their prescriptions from the dr. office.

Today, Cody is reluctantly at school. Lauren and Sam are home for one more day of recovery. Laila's sickness is getting worse, Isaiah has had a breathing treatment, and I am now losing my voice(it is pretty hard to parent without a voice).

Random thing that sent me to an angry place: I am putting laundry away and discover that all the socks and underwear in Isaiah's drawer are wet. How in the world did that happen? No one has ANY idea. Those are the kinds of weird things that happen around here.

I am preparing for Abby's surgery tomorrow and our carpet cleaning on Friday.

I can't have any treats that I would normally enjoy during stressful times. I guess I am going to have to rely on the Lord. Wow, that is a concept.

If you are still reading this, I am guessing you love me or you can relate and want to see that other people's lives are hard, too!!

Either way, thanks for letting me vent. For some reason, I feel better.

I think it has to do with being known and understood and not alone.

If you are having a bad day or week or month or even year, you are not alone either. Let's band together!! Lift each other up! Carry each others' burdens! Share our frustrations.

It all seems so much smaller and easier when we have someone to share it with. It reminds me of this passage in Ecclesiastes 4.

9 Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their labor:

10 If either of them falls down,

one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

and has no one to help them up.

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

A Mess

2011-11-07T09:29:00.002-07:00

I took Lauren to Denver for a girls' overnight getaway this weekend.

It was great, and I can't wait to share more about it, but for now...

...I am a mess. I have been sick since Thursday and really feeling the yuckiness.

...my kids are a mess. Sam and Lauren both have fevers, Laila and Isaiah both have coughs, and Cody is finishing up an antibiotic.

...my house is a mess. Really, I almost have to just close my eyes or I will go totally insane.

...Abby gets oral surgery on Thurs. I am trying to keep her healthy so we can get this over with.

...my carpets are supposed to be cleaned on Friday, and I have no idea how I will have this house ready.

Welcome to My World, Monday, November 7, 2011!!

Halloween Festivities

2011-11-02T12:35:00.010-06:00

The kids love all of our Halloween Festivities. I don't love them, but I do love seeing them enjoy each tradition so much. Every year we carve pumpkins. Rick is in charge of this activity while I bake the seeds. We also had "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" playing in the background.(That show has quite a bit of potty language that we don't use in it. I was disappointed.)

Laila was grossed out by the insides of the pumpkins.

She kept gagging and saying how stinky it was.

Frightening!

Also, frightening seeing Sam with a knife!

The first step of Mummy Munch

The final product. Can't wait to eat it!!

Cody's Creation - A Haunted Tree

Abby's "Africa" design

Lauren's "Owl"Design

Isaiah had his first class party. He had a hard time when I dropped him off. I am guessing it was just seeing everyone in costumes and knowing that the day's schedule was going to be different. I had to peel him off of me and attach him to his teacher. When I asked him later why he acted that way, he said,"I just knew I was going to miss you so much!" I went back for his party.

Party Treats

They listened to the song "Monster Mash."

He likes it so much,he has been singing it nonstop since he learned it.

His teacher apologized for that!

Isaiah and his teachers

Monday night, we went trick or treating with friends. Here is my crew of creatures and personalities:

A Smooth Criminal

(he even carried his Ipod with the song playing)

A Nerd

Buzz Lightyear

Care Bear

Smurfette

Spiderman

My six pack

Ready to Trick or Treat with the Fowlers

Eli was a hippy and Micah was Bullseye

Trick or Treating is not the most fun to me, but as Cody is outgrowing it, I realize that those days are limited, too. I just love how Laila was so surprised every time someone gave her candy. At one point, she got so brave, she didn't even want me to walk up to the door with her. She and Isaiah both were excited to share their candy with the adults. Sam even donated some of his candy to the candy bowl at the Fowlers. He was afraid they were going to run out.

The kids favorite house was the one that gave out sodas instead of candy!!

Another Halloween is over and according to Isaiah, tomorrow is Christmas!

More "Prom" Photos

2011-11-02T09:22:00.003-06:00

My friend Mandy did a great job sharing about the Halloween party we attended.

I wanted to share a link with you to her blog so you could see more pics of the evening.

Go here to see all about it.

Also, I forgot to share two funny things from that night.

While we were getting ready, Laila was very intrigued. At one point, she said, "Mommy, you look so "bootiful"(that is how she says beautiful). That cracked me up.

She also was not fully understanding what we were doing. She kept saying, "You still my mommy." She was proclaiming it because I am not sure if she was fully believing it inside.

Then, when we posed for this pic:

Isaiah said, "Daddy, you look just like Justin Bieber."

Now that made us ALL laugh!!

More Halloween pics to come!!

Like, Totally 80s

2011-10-31T16:49:00.003-06:00

We went to a Halloween Party on Saturday night. The theme was "80s Prom Gone Wrong." There were all different interpretations of that in the costumes, everything from prom clothes, to smurfs, to rocker dudes, to Top Gun. It was fun to see what everyone chose.

Our Interpretation:

The whole crew

Words don't really do it justice. Let's just say Garret and Elaina know how to throw a party. They know how to decorate with all the little details, which I totally love (they even had an Atari for us to play!) They know how to bless their friends.

Sam's Turn

2011-10-29T12:00:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday, Sam ran the concessions for our Family Cowboys Game Time. He really did a great job. Since he was my baby for so long, I tend to think he can't do what the big kids do, but he showed me that I was wrong.

He added two new elements of his own to the concession stand. Look carefully on his sign of items for sale:
Number 6 says, "foot moshosj." That translates to "Foot Massage." Number 7 says, "back moshosj." That translates to back massage. Now that is how you watch a Cowboys game!!

His s'mores creation

Another element he added was having everyone take a number when they ordered. It was so cute to hear him call out the numbers as the food was ready.

This weekend we will celebrate our House Bday Party with an evening Cowboys' game. It is Isaiah's turn to do concessions. That should be interesting!!

Reluctantly Raising the White Flag

2011-10-27T13:38:00.002-06:00

~We put the air conditioners away last weekend.

~I put our winter bedding on our bed(flannel sheets and amazingly soft plush blanket).

~I have pulled out the winter jammies and comfy, cozy socks.

~We had our second snow this week.

~We turned the heat on yesterday.

~The kids wore winter coats, hats, and gloves to school.

~I bought my winter lotion(Vanilla Bean Noel) today. I am putting away Hawaiian Coconut and using the new one on Nov. 1.

~I made hot chocolate for the kids yesterday.

~The sunscreen has been put away.

~Winter has officially arrived in Colorado.

~ I am mourning, but I really have no choice.

~I surrender.

Fun Days Ahead

2011-10-24T18:44:00.003-06:00

This weekend is big with lots of stuff going on for the fam and kids.

Thursday night will be our annual pumpkin carving event.

On Friday, Cody will be going on his first church retreat for the weekend.

We have 5 different parties/events for various family members where costumes are needed from Friday - Monday.

On Saturday, Lauren has 2 soccer games.

Sam has a sleepover at a friend's house on Saturday night.

We are hoping(fingers crossed) to get the room redos completed.

Sunday is our 8th House Birthday that we MUST celebrate.

The Cowboys play on Sunday night!

And, of course, Monday is Halloween!!

We are also being told that we could get a big snowstorm during the night on Tuesday.

We might just have a snow day on Wed.!

Pikes Peak Cog Railway

2011-10-21T08:38:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday, I went on a field trip with Lauren to ride the Pikes Peak Cog Railway leading up to Pikes Peak. I have shared before that I am not a big fan of field trips. This one proved to be particularly challenging for me to endure for many reasons. I have to remind myself that I do these to build into my kids. It is worth some discomfort on my part in order to invest in them. The funny part is that when it was all over, Lauren commented that she wouldn't want to do it again, either.

This was my first clue that I wasn't going to enjoy this field trip.

It actually ended up being colder when we got up there, -7 windchill to be exact!!

Before the journey

I now affectionately call this thing "Torture Tube Part 2."

(our old Suburban was the first torture tube according to Cody)

Let me just paint a picture for you. Imagine a 1 1/2 hour ride each way, really horrible exhaust fumes, single digit temperatures with negative windchills, over 50 5th graders in one cabin, only 5 adults in that same cabin, windows that open and close, and for me, sitting with 5 boys, one of which had no boundaries all while trying to listen to the conductor share history facts over a microphone that was not very loud. At one point, Lauren looked at me and said, "mom, do you want to switch seats?" She is so sweet, and of course, I said, "no," although it was tempting.

This is the view that inspired the song, "America the Beautiful"

Lauren's class at the Peak

Hot chocolate and donuts were served.

View from the top

My sweet girl

When it was all over, I had a horrible headache. I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 6:00 that night and slept for 12 hours.

My girl was worth it, though. I did it for her. I am glad she didn't have to experience that one alone. We have a memory that we share with lots of things to laugh about!

Happy Apple Farm

2011-10-21T07:40:00.005-06:00

During Fall Break, we made a trip with the Schwarzs to Happy Apple Farm. I have to say, it wasn't truly an apple farm this year because the crop froze and there were no apples to pick, but there were raspberries and pumpkins!!

We started with our berry picking

Proud berry pickers!

We ate all the raspberries for lunch!

There is just something about eating a berry you picked.

Then, it was off to the pumpkin patch!!

Yes, those are all my children. No, I do not run a daycare!

Sassy!

Proud pumpkin picker

The whole crew on the hay ride

It was a good day. The weather was beautiful. We continued a fall tradition. We were able to spend time with friends. Now we have a display of pumpkins on our front porch. We will carve them and have a little friendly competition between the girls and boys the night before Halloween!!

Fall Break

2011-10-19T08:17:00.004-06:00

As I said in my previous post, Fall Break was busy. Here are a few of the things we did:

Sam's spiritual bday. At his request, we had Little Caesars Pizza, Crazy Bread, and,

as always, ice cream sundaes(Blue Bell coffee ice cream).

Sam loves animals! So, we gave him a book that would teach him about

animals in the Bible. He loves it!!

Sam and Abby actually share the same spiritual bday. We celebrated them on 2 separate days. Abby chose breaded mozzarella sticks and spaghetti for her meal,

followed by ice cream sundaes(Blue Bell Cookie Dough ice cream).

We gave Abby a devotional book for girls her age.

On Sat. night, Abby and I snuck out for a date night.

We saw the Smurfs movie and had dinner at Chipotle.

Sunday was the Cowboys game!!

Our little cheerleader!

Cody ran the concession stand this week.

The menu

We even had signs.

Too bad our enthusiasm didn't win the game for them!!

Up next: Happy Apple Farm and Pikes Peak Cog Railway Field Trip

Coming Soon: Bedroom Makeovers, we are hoping to paint the last room this weekend. Then I will share the big reveals!!

What a Week!!

2011-10-15T22:41:00.004-06:00

~We have had a very full Fall Break.

~2 kids and one dad have had sicknesses during this week.

~We are still in the process of completing the kids' bedroom overhaul. We have worked for countless hours this week and our upstairs still looks like a tornado hit it!!

~Rick and Cody have been painting his room today.

~We(and I mostly mean Rick) have taken down and put together a total of 7 beds.

~I took out Laila's hair and had it rebraided this week.(Thanks to Abby, taking them out only took 3 hours, add to that another 2 hours to clean, detangle, moisturize, and blow dry. 3 more hours of braiding and the whole process took 8 hours. That is better than the 11 hours it took last time!)

~I have washed every piece of bedding, from all of our beds all in this one week. That was 10 separate sets of bedding(Some old that is being put away, some new that needed to be washed before it was used. Because some of them were too big to fit in one load, I think it totaled at least 15 loads of laundry. That does not include our regular clothing laundry.)

~We visited a pumpkin patch one day.

~Cody and Sam got haircuts.

~Isaiah had preschool 3 days this week, and Rick and I had a parent/teacher conference with his teacher.

~I had a MOPs leadership meeting.

~We had $1 waffle cones at TCBY.

~We celebrated 2 spiritual Birthdays in our house.

~Abby and I went on a movie/dinner date.

~We got doughnuts one morning.

~Lauren had 2 soccer practices and one game.

~Abby had a group piano lesson.

~Cody had Boy Scouts and Life Group.

~Rick and I had a great double date with friends that was refreshing and encouraging.

~Tomorrow is church, Cowboys game, and some work on Beyond Survival.

There are so many stories to tell.

So many pictures to share.

I plan to post those in the next few days.

For now, I plan to collapse!

Fall Break and Overhaul

2011-10-11T09:38:00.004-06:00

The snow on Saturday propelled us into a project that we have been wanting to start for a while.

All of the kids' activities were cancelled so we began the process of moving all the kids rooms around.

Until now, Cody and Sam have shared a room, Lauren and Abby have shared a room, and Laila and Isaiah have shared a room.

We had hopes earlier this year that we could finish our basement and open up the opportunity for both Lauren and Cody to have their own rooms.

This little event has detoured that plan.

So, we decided to move forward with what we have. The kids are ready for a change, and it is time to get our 3-year old out of her crib.

Commence Project "Bedroom Overhaul."

This is how it will go: Cody will have his own room, Lauren, Abby, and Laila will share a room, and Sam and Isaiah will share a room.

Rick painted the girls' room on Sunday. That began the room shuffle.

Last night everyone slept in their new rooms for the first time. It went surprisingly well.

The upstairs is a total disaster. It is going to take most of the week to get everyone's items to their respective rooms. When it is all done, it will feel so good.

I have really wanted to clean out their rooms for a while, but have been waiting for this.

We are decluttering, weeding out clothes we don't wear, getting rid of toys that we no longer use. It feels amazing. You would not believe the number of trash bags we have filled. It is sad really.

So, that is why I am a bit quiet on here this week. I can't wait to share pics when it is all done.

In the midst of all of that, we are also celebrating Sam's and Abby's spiritual bdays this week. What a treat it is to celebrate the birth of our kids into God's family.

Big stuff going on!!

Cowboys' Sunday

2011-10-08T11:43:00.004-06:00

Last Sunday, we had our first official Family Cowboys Game Time. It was fun. We ordered pizza and had sodas(a big treat in this house).

We all put on our Cowboys Gear

We even had a concessions stand

Just ignore the messy kitchen in the background!!

Sam and Daddy with their Tony Dorsett jerseys.

(The one that Sam is wearing was Rick's when he was a kid!)

Even though the Cowboys lost, we were excited to start a new tradition and find a way to come together as a family. (Cody was there, he just was not in the mood to have his picture made.)

The one consolation that we had was that the Broncos lost, too!! That eased the pain a bit!

So, So Tired

2011-10-06T21:25:00.002-06:00

I haven't had a good night's sleep since last Friday night.(I go through phases of sleeplessness and restlessness in my sleep. Woohoo, this week has been one of those phases.)

Rick has been out of town this week.

This has meant I had to get everyone dressed and out the door this morning by 6:45 AM.

Laila was uncharacteristically whiny ALL DAY.

Isaiah was pushing every boundary that he could push.

I am feeling a kind of tired that I can feel in every organ of my body.

Fall Break for my kids began at 12:15 today.

On one hand, I am thrilled to have the next 10 days where I don't have to get everyone out the door by 7:30, drop off 3 kids, 4 hours later drop off another kid, 3 hours later, pick up one kid, proceed to the next location, pick up 3 kids, proceed to the next destination pick up the last kid.

On the other hand, the thought of having all 6 kids home all day every day for the next 10 days brings visions of fighting and a whole different kind of exhaustion to my mind.

It is only 9:30, and I am heading to bed. Yes, this night person has hit a wall.

Tomorrow, I have 3 parent/teacher conferences back-to-back(orchestrating that is a blessing), a consultation for Abby with the Oral Surgeon, Rick returns, and an opportunity to view Africa through the eyes of a friend.

On Saturday, 3 of my kids have events going on that all start at the same time at opposite ends of town. Not sure how I am going to make that work.

These are the days that I know deep down that I will miss. I am trying desperately to remember that as I wish them away and count down the minutes until their bedtimes.

Tonight, I surrender to the exhaustion and overlook all the things around this house that are left undone.

Sweet Dreams(fingers crossed!)

Standing In The Middle Of Nowhere

2011-10-05T22:33:00.003-06:00

I saw this quote on a friend's blog. I could relate on so many levels.

“The feeling of being between adventures is a destination itself. It may seem like a braver traveler wouldn’t have to wait in the stillness of the empty crossroads, but it takes a different kind of boldness to skip the comfort of an arbitrary destination and enter the quiet land of uncertainty, as if you wanted to send yourself a postcard from there. It’s a daunting passage along the heroes’ journey that some people never dare enter. But if you can hang at that empty crossroads and bear the boredom, that’s when magic roads appear out of nowhere. But to get on those roads, you have to be willing to stand in the middle of nowhere for a while.”

(David Wilcox)

I don't know what God is doing or what He wants to do in so many areas of our life.

I do know He has given us instructions for now to "wait, listen, rest and make our family the priority."

That is where I am, "the quiet land of uncertainty."

A Glimpse into His Heart

2011-10-04T17:43:00.005-06:00

Look at that sweet face.

Who would guess that an outgoing little boy like him would struggle in his heart with feeling all alone? A four year old should not have to worry about that. When you have lived with at least 4 different caregivers, your heart is hesitant to believe that this one will last.
We are constantly having to remind him that we are his Forever Family. Nothing will change that, not his behavior, not our moods. I actually have him say when he is struggling. "I belong to this family forever." I want him to speak truth about his life, not the lie that works its way into his heart that says, "this one won't last either."

At this point, he has been with us longer than he has been with anyone else. Each time we pick him up at school, each time we leave for a short trip and return, and each time we make a memory together as a family, it is another deposit we are making into his love and belonging account.

His class at school is talking about families. They each made a scrapbook page about themselves and their families. Yesterday, they talked about Moms, Dads, and Families. Here were Isaiah's comments:

-Daddy lets me play video games and helps me set them up.

-Mommy takes care of me.

And my favorite of all: Families stay together and you don't have to be alone.

That little sentence that came out of his mouth gives me a small glimpse into his heart and where he is. He is getting it. Slowly, but surely, he is getting it.

We All Scream...

2011-10-02T16:08:00.004-06:00

...For Ice Cream!!

Lauren's Soccer Game + Hot Day + Groupon = Dipped Cones

And Last, but not least, Laila living life to the fullest

That was some good stuff!

Now That's What I Call Accountability!!

2011-10-01T19:41:00.002-06:00

Isaiah is struggling with lying.

It is not uncommon for a kid his age.

It is not uncommon for an adopted child.

Who knows what is going through his mind that leads him to continue in this habit.

Today, as I was dealing with a particular lying incident, I wanted him to understand that we all have sins that we struggle with.

After explaining to him again what sin is, Here was our discussion:

Me: Isaiah, Mommy sins, too.

Isaiah(His eyes got wide): Really? How?

Me: Mommy gets angry and sometimes in my anger I sin.

Isaiah: How do you sin when you are angry?

Me: Well, I yell or I don't treat people very nicely.

It was a bonding moment. We connected. I forgot about it.

Fast Forward 10 hours. I am in the kitchen heading over to the sink to wash some strawberries for Isaiah's and Laila's dinner. The 3 older kids had fixed their own dinners, and I discovered for the first time the messes they left.

I took a deep breath and said out loud, "I need to leave this kitchen now to calm myself down before I lose it."

I left the room. When I came back in, this was the conversation that ensued:

Isaiah: Mom, are you going to do it?

Me: Do what, Isaiah?

Isaiah: Are you going to disobey?

Me: Isaiah, I have no idea what you are talking about.

Isaiah: You look angry. Are you going to hurt God and yell?

Wow!! That led to another great conversation. Talk about a quick way to check my attitude and quench that anger that was about to explode out of me.

They are always watching.

They are always evaluating.

They are always comparing what we preach to the actions we take.

Who needs an accountability partner when you have a smart 4 year old?

I am reminded every day of my humanity and my sinfulness as I try to parent these 6 children.

I pray that I am always teachable to changing my own heart as much as I expect my children to change theirs.

Big D

2011-10-01T12:14:00.005-06:00

One week ago today, we arrived in Dallas. It has been 11 years since we lived there, and the minute I stepped off the plane, I felt like I was at home. I loved the diversity of people, many colors and cultures all in one place!! The weather alone is enough to woo me back. It was mid-90s the whole time we were there, and I soaked in every bit of it. I wondered after all of this time, if I would still like it. The big city does have its drawbacks, but I can honestly say that I still LOVE that place.

Before I go on, I want to say to all of my Dallas friends how much we missed seeing all of you while we were there. The friendships are definitely one of the things that we love so much about Dallas. With our trip being so fast and celebrating our anniversary, we decided to spend the majority of the time just the two of us. So, we waved to all of you while we were there, and promised ourselves we would have to make another trip to spend time with all of you in the future!!

A new addition to Dallas!!

This place just keeps getting better all the time!

Enjoying the yumminess!

We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel in Downtown Dallas. It was quite luxurious. We spent about 6 hours at the pool one day talking, reading, napping, and looking at the Dallas skyline. We strolled around the Downtown area one night. We also drove around to a lot of the areas we used to frequent: Dallas Seminary, our favorite places to eat, and downtown. We slept in really late EVERY morning!!

Watching the sunset at the pool!

We did have lunch with one of my favorite people, KK and her husband, Jarod.

I have known this girl since she was 14 years old. She was in the youth group that Rick and I led. The only way I know how to describe my relationship with her is to say she is the sister I never had. I had to meet her husband. They have almost been married for a year!! We had lunch at our favorite Mexican Restaurant, Uncle Julios. I loved seeing her home and catching up as if we had never been apart. She and Rick and so funny together. They love to pick on each other. She had a new nickname for him, Papaw. He is 40 now. That made me laugh so much.

The big event for this trip was Monday Night Football at Cowboys Stadium. Now, let me just say, I am not really a football fan. I do claim the Cowboys as my team and faithfully stand by them through wins and losses, but I don't REALLY follow football. I went into this event as an act of love for my husband.

This experience went way above and beyond my expectations. I am so glad we got to do this, and I think it may have converted me into "kind of" a football fan. I have now agreed to watch Cowboys football with my hubby and make a big deal of it at our house with yummy foods when the games are on TV here. Tomorrow is our first official "Family Football Game Time."

The thing that was the coolest was the community that you felt on game day. Even when we were leaving our hotel and going out for lunch that day in our Cowboys gear, everyone was coming up to us saying, "Go Cowboys". We arrived at the stadium 4 1/2 hours before the game to get a good parking spot. Even that early, people were already out tailgating and partying.

Here we are outside the stadium:

Speaking of outside the stadium, we had 2 hours before they even opened the gates. That time made for some great people watching and trash talking amongst the fans. This was better than being at the airport watching people. There were so many different people that I wanted to take pictures of and post on here. It is so funny to see the uniqueness of different people and the way they express themselves.

At 5:30 PM, they opened up the gates to let us in:
There were all kinds of things to do while we waited for the game to begin. They had a show going on outside in the courtyard area. There was a drum line and break dancers. The electricity and excitement could be felt.

This picture does not even do justice to the size of this stadium and that screen!

It was great to go to a game that our team won!! Afterwards, as we were leaving, people were cheering and screaming as they walked out. Words can't even really describe it. I hope that each of our kids can do this at some point.

Happy Cowboys Fans!!

We had such a great trip!! I can't wait to go back to that place again!! It felt like a full circle moment to celebrate 17 years of marriage in the place where we started our family!!

We're Home

2011-09-28T08:51:00.003-06:00

The weekend was amazing.

So much to share about all the fun we had.

Lots of walking down memory lane.

Reentry is always very painful for me.

Today, I am desperately trying to reenter life well.

Breathing deeply, minute by minute.

Final Countdown!!!

2011-09-23T14:14:00.002-06:00

~4 days and 3 nights away to one of my favorite places on earth.

~6 people to take care of my kids this weekend.

~7 pages of notes with instructions, schedules, menus, and guidelines.

~Our plans: Lots of relaxing, lots of laying by the pool, lots of Tex-Mex food.

~17 hours until we leave!!

~LONGEST 17 hours of my life!!

Activities of our Family

2011-09-23T07:38:00.004-06:00

I have some catching up to do on the activities that have been going on around here over the last week. As you know, we celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary as a family last Sat. We grilled a steak dinner for all of us to enjoy together. Lauren and Abby decided to make us a cake for our anniversary.

They did a great job!

They also spent all day on the computer making an "anniversary video slide show" for us. It was so cute. We all laughed a lot as we watched it at dinner that night.

Speaking of getting married, this whole talk of our anniversary has brought up many questions from Isaiah and Laila. Laila will now regularly ask me, "Mommy, you got married?" My answer is always, "Yes, Laila, Mommy married Daddy 17 years ago."

Isaiah has felt an urgency to begin to figure out who he is going to marry. I keep telling him, "Buddy, you have a long time before you have to worry about that. Mommy is already praying that God will lead you to the wife He has for you." So, in the truck the other day, after many questions of concern, I said, "Isaiah, would you like to pray and ask God right now to lead you to the wife he has for you in his timing?" He then prayed the sweetest prayer. I love that boy's passion when it is directed in the right way.

Lauren had a ortho appt. last week.

Afterwards, we ran an errand and "Daddy"(I put it in quotes because he wasn't there and didn't realize he was treating us in that way!)bought us Starbucks.

We sent him this pic on my phone with the message, "Thanks, Daddy, for the Starbucks!"

Isaiah and Laila chillin' in the shopping cart.

They spend lots of time in shopping carts!

Today is Constitution Day for Sam. He will recite the Preamble to the Constitution for a grade and do some fun activities in his class to represent that time period.

You can see my mad costume skills.

It looks way better in the picture than in person!

Isaiah and Laila came down the stairs this morning in robes.

Laila is practicing her Karate

She was saying, "Come and get it" in this pic

At one point, her robe was coming untied. She frantically said to me, "Mommy, it's coming off. Tie it again, seriously!!"

In less than 24 hours, Rick and I will be headed out of town for our anniversary trip. I feel like what is left to do is manageable. I will share more about getting ready for this trip later today!! Now, I am off to get it all done!

Since 4:30 I have...

2011-09-21T19:24:00.003-06:00

...checked 3 kids' math homework.

...fed 5 kids dinner.

...made a Colonial hat and created a Colonial costume for Sam for Constitution Day on Friday.(Believe me, this costume probably doesn't even qualify as a "real" costume, but he is happy with it. I will share pics later.)

...made a scrapbook page for Isaiah's "All About Me" unit at school.

...helped Lauren start memorizing "The Gettsyburg Address."

...helped Sam memorize "The Preamble To The Constitution."

...dropped Cody off at Life Group.

...picked Lauren up from soccer practice.

...switched out loads of laundry.

...helped Lauren print out info on her element project.

...brainstormed with Cody about ideas for his Science Fair Project. (Oh, and he doesn't like any of my ideas.)

...put together little gifts for Isaiah's teachers.

...put Isaiah and Laila to bed.

It is now 7:30 and all I want to do is collapse.

Weekend Getaway, will you ever get here?????

----------------

2011-09-19T12:41:00.003-06:00

I left the title on this post blank, because I cannot think of a phrase that encapsulates how I feel today.

I want to run really far away where no one can find me.

I am weary and worn.

It is how it works with a family of 8.

I get it.

I expect it.

Hey, I signed up for it.

But, today, it is too much.

~Maybe it is because a break is in sight, and I am just holding on to my last bit of sanity to make it through. (I cannot wait to get away this weekend!)

~Maybe it is because I am trying to stock a pantry and fridge for 6+ people for 4 days while I am gone, and I know that even if I work on it today, half of the food I stock will be gone again by the time I leave.

~Maybe it is because things keep turning up broken, empty, and out of place around here and NO ONE knows ANYTHING about what happened.

~Maybe it is because I am doing the summer/fall clothing swap out around here. That task alone is enough to send me down an ugly path emotionally.

~Maybe it is because I found almost a whole container of Kleenex pulled out and in the trash. (one of my biggest pet peeves, wasting things!!)

~Maybe it is because I am frantically trying to arrange all of the logistics while we are gone. (It is going to take 6 people to do what I do while I am gone.

~Maybe it is because I feel the need to have my house somewhat presentable when those people who are helping me out come over this weekend.

~Maybe it is because I HAVE to make jam and zucchini bread today because I HAD to buy the ingredients while they were on sale because things keep ending up broken and empty around here and kleenexes and toilet paper keep getting wasted!! I have to save up somewhere so we can throw it away somewhere else.

~Maybe it is because I have one child who feels the need to scream at the top of her lungs and be as stubborn as all get out every day for the last 2 weeks over various issues.

~Maybe it is because I have had to discipline another one of my children at least 6 times before noon for messing with things that don't belong to him.

I am guessing some of you reading this are having a similar day.

Take comfort. You are not alone.

I know we are not supposed to rejoice in another's pain, but I am giving you permission. Go ahead, say it, "I am so glad I am not the only one who feels like this sometimes. "

Minute by minute, day by day, It's not always pretty, but it's real.

17 on the 17th

2011-09-17T10:07:00.003-06:00

17 years ago today, Rick and I said, "I do." It really was the perfect day. It was everything I hoped and dreamed. Every day since then has not been perfect, but there has not been even one day where I regretted saying those words to this man.

I love this pic because it represents one of my favorite things about our relationship. We. Love. To. Laugh. Together. We love to be around others that make us laugh. There are days where we just have to laugh in order to keep our sanity, otherwise we would cry.
A lot has happened in 17 years. We have lived in 4 different states, 8 different homes, gotten 2 Masters' Degrees(1 each), birthed 4 children, adopted 2 children, been to Africa a total of 8 times, had 8 different vehicles, worked in 3 different churches, and now we are starting a non-profit organization. There is a lot of life represented in all of those stats!!

Despite all of the living and daily struggles that go along with life, I can honestly say that I love you, Rick, more than ever. The depth and intimacy of our relationship continues to grow and strengthen. This picture symbolizes that for me. We have a lot going on around us. The last year, in particular, has been quite the challenge, but you are my anchor through it all. You settle me, soften me, and lead me back to Christ every time. I know that my personality often wears you out, but you hang in there with me and center me. You talk to me even when you have used all of your words. You lead me in love and have taught me what forgiveness really looks like. You challenge me to maintain my character even when things don't seem fair and I don't "feel" like it. We approach life so differently. Ultimately, we are better for it. We sharpen each other.

(we do have 6 children, a couple of kids are behind us in this pic)

Here we are, 17 years later, with the 6 children we dreamed would be ours. Our family doesn't look like we expected, but I wouldn't have it ANY OTHER WAY!! You are the father that our kids need and the husband that God picked just for me.

Tonight we will celebrate as a family with a steak dinner and time to reflect. Next weekend, Rick and I get away for some time together. 17 years is something I am proud of and want to celebrate!! I looking forward to the next 17 years with you!! Just imagine what I will be able to say in that blog post!

Embracing What is Good

2011-09-16T11:18:00.003-06:00

I used to like Fall.

Fall used to be a beautiful time of transition between summer and winter.

It was good for me because I was always soooo sad to see summer end.

It's not like that here in CO.

We don't get all the beautiful changing leaf colors. We have yellow and brown.

It feels like we literally go from 80 degrees one day to 40 degrees the next.

In an effort to honor my mantra of this month and all that it stands for. I am going to focus on the positive things about this time of year here. So, here we go, 10 things I like about Fall in CO:

1. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate at Starbucks

2. Making soups. I made an amazing potato soup yesterday.

3. Baking. I love to bake and this time of year brings that joy back to me. It just isn't as much fun in summer. I have zucchini bread baking in my oven right now.

4. Hoodies. I love them. I love it when Rick wears them. It is so much more fun to cuddle in hoodies. I love when my kids wear them.

5. Cold blankets. I love to read a book under a cold blanket.

6. My anniversary. Tomorrow is our anniversary. Next weekend we have a getaway planned and I CANNOT WAIT!!

7. Apple orchards and pumpkin patches. I like to try to go to one of these every year. We'll see if it happens this year.

8. Hot, mulled apple cider

9. Lower utility bills. We aren't using the air conditioning and we stop watering the lawn. For a brief time, our utilities bill is lower.

10. All the TV shows I love start back. We have watched Survivor and Parenthood this week!!

Okay, so there you go. I am focusing on what I am thankful for, not dwelling on what irritates or frustrates me. Baby steps. Minute by minute, day by day.

A few random items:

1. When Laila thinks I am sad or upset, she will say to me, "It's okay, Mommy, God is always with you." Presh! I am loving some one-on-one time with her while Isaiah is at school.

2. Isaiah shares "words" from God with us. This is what he said to me yesterday, "Mom, do not cheat. Do not every give up. You will accomplish something, and you will get a prize and be with God forever." He is doing great in school. He needs it. I need it. I cannot meet all of his extrovert needs by myself. School is the perfect opportunity for him. Every day when I pick him up, he says, "Thank you so much for letting me go to school. I love school."

3. Lauren has started soccer. Her first game is tomorrow. She is VERY excited.

4. Abby is LOVING piano lessons and doing really well. She also wants to learn how to play guitar.

5. Cody is getting braces soon. He likes being a part of youth group, scouts, and the engineering club at school. He got a cell phone this week. BIG STUFF. He also loves riding his bike a lot.

6. Sam wants to begin doing some form of martial arts. I think he was inspired from watching Kung Fu Panda 2.

Speaking of Kung Fu Panda 2, we went to see it at the dollar theater on Labor Day. It was really good. It was about adoption, which I loved, and so funny. There was a quote in the movie that impacted me. So much so, that I wrote it down and wanted to share it. Po was struggling with learning about his adoption and trying to figure out who he was. This was said to him,

"You gotta let go of the past, because it doesn't matter.

The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now."

Wow! Good words. Words that I am embracing right now. I choose to embrace what is good!

A year ago...

2011-09-14T07:46:00.004-06:00

A year ago yesterday, I was sitting in the ER with Rick waiting to find out if he had just had a heart attack.

As I reflect on this last year, I could never have imagined what it would be like.

I could not have predicted all of the changes and emotions I would go through.

The Lord knows better than to reveal that kind of stuff to me.

I can't handle knowing ahead of time.

I did have a sense at the beginning of the year that some big changes were coming, but had no idea what that meant.

Thankfully, Rick was okay. It was not a heart attack, but a warning sign that something needed to change.

He was not handling the stress in his life well, and it had begun to affect his body.

We are thankful that God gave us that warning and opportunity to course correct.

Just 4 days later, we we celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary.

We sat on this bench and prayed for direction from the Lord

It felt significant at the time. Not just any old prayer, but a prayer that was about to change the course of our lives.

It was. God answered quickly. It was scary, but at the same time so peaceful.

Here I sit, a year later feeling thankful.

Thankful for God's provision for us.

Thankful for God's protection of us.

Thankful for the family that I have and the messiness and chaos that is my life.

This is a sneak peek of our family pics. They turned out AMAZING!! If you are on Facebook with me, you can see some more.

I will share more soon. I just might have a blog makeover in the works. I just might love them so much that I can't stop looking at them!!

Back to the point of this post:

God has been so faithful in our lives. I feel so unworthy.

This whole minute by minute, day by day challenge that I have given myself is bringing me to my knees.

It is helping me refocus and redirect myself.

A lot can happen in a year.

I am thankful that I can look back on this year and see God's hand and continue to trust His plan for us!!

Rockstars

2011-09-12T19:40:00.006-06:00

I wanted to share Laila's and Isaiah's talents with you. They both love to sing and took some time to sing for me on video tonight.

You are going to have to turn this one up. She sings softly at first, but then gets more confident.

It is so precious to hear her sing worship songs!

This boy needs to be in movies or commercials.

Speaking of rockstars, I am feeling a bit like one tonight myself. I was craving pinto beans and cornbread today and decided to make some for dinner tonight. On the way home from school, you should have heard the moans and groans in our truck when I announced what we were having for dinner. Then, I had a bright idea. I would take some of the pinto beans and make refried beans. Then I put beans, rice, and cheese into a tortilla to make burritos. They were a huge hit. Rick said I went from zero to hero. He was right. I got the meal I was craving and everyone else got to eat something they like, too! I love those moments. They don't happen very often.

Adoption Reality

2011-09-08T11:49:00.003-06:00

I have seen this blog post linked on several blogs.

I am sharing it with you because I know many of you may not see it otherwise.

This describes adoption so well. It is the reality of what most families face when they adopt.

We have experienced much of this and still do.

God has called us all to care for orphans.

For some that means adopting, for others supporting adoption and for others serving orphans around the world. Our family has been called to all 3!

The family pictures you see and the coming home videos make everyone feel warm and fuzzy, but the reality is that adopti0n launches you into the spiritual battle of a lifetime.

That battle doesn't end once you get them home and they join your family.

That is when it truly begins.

2 1/2 years into it, and I see that battle changing and know that it will continue throughout our lives.

In spite of all the struggles, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Isaiah and Laila have been the most amazing blessing that I could have NEVER dreamed up on my own.

Click here. Read this link.

How can you support someone who has adopted? I dare you!!