Swaziland or Bust!!

On June 9, Rick, Cody, Lauren, and I along with a team of 14 other people will be going to Swaziland, Africa. We are so excited about this trip and wanted to share with you how you can be involved!!

From Rick:

Friends, As many of you know, our family has been pouring into the tiny nation of Swaziland for about 5 years now through a ministry we have called Beyond Survival (www.beyondsurvival.org). This year will mark our 5-year anniversary trip! Laura and I have decided to take both Cody and Lauren on this trip. We had them write out why they wanted to go with us and have included it below. It's moving for us to watch a passion grow in our children to help this nation where their brother and sister are from. We know this will be a life-changing trip. If you would like to support our family in prayer please email us at clappfam@comcast.net to be put on the prayer list and receive updates from our trip.

If you would like to invest in Cody and Lauren with your financial support please send checks made to Vanguard Church with "Swazi-Clapp" in the memo to: Vanguard Church, 3950 N. Academy Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80917. All gifts are tax deductible. We can't wait to share with you all that God has done in us through this monumental trip!

From Lauren:

My family has been doing work in Africa for 5 years. I am really excited to be able to go to Swaziland. I am excited to see what God is going to do in my life. I will have the opportunity to help people. I am looking forward to visiting the Halfway House where Isaiah and Laila lived. I will also get to play with the kids at our carepoint, and we will do a Vacation Bible school with them.

Some of the things I am doing to raise money are selling bread and jam, cleaning houses, babysitting, and doing other jobs at home.

From Cody:

Why I want to go to Africa

Hello, if you don’t know me I am Cody Clapp. I go to TCA, The Classical Academy. I am twelve years old, and I love donuts. I feel like God said that I have some unfinished work the day pastor Walter was staying with us and spoke to us at church. I had to come to the first Swaziland meeting because I did not have a class. At first it was just a normal meeting but then God spoke to me and said I should go to Africa and to tell my parents. So I did and they talked and prayed about taking me to Swaziland, and so did I. Then, God finally gave them the answer that I knew from the beginning. The answer was “yes.” That was one of the happiest moments in my life.

Some things that I am looking forward to are going to the Halfway House and carepoint, also hopefully staying at Emafini (a motel kind of place where we lived for a couple of weeks on my first trip). I am looking forward to getting to know everybody on the team.

Some of the reasons I think that God is calling me back are because I felt like I had to focus so much on the adoption, not that it was a bad thing, but it was just time consuming. Another thing is I felt that I was not that helpful, and I want to give more. Finally, I just have a lot of hope for this trip, and I feel I was meant for this trip. I hope you truly feel changed by this and enjoyed this story.

From Laura:

It has been so amazing to look back over the last 5 years and see the work that God has done in our family through our calling to Swaziland, Africa. God has literally changed our family in every way possible. Laila and Isaiah are continual reminders of this calling that God has given us. As we prepare for our next trip, it has been such a blessing to see Lauren and Cody desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our friends in Swaziland.

They have seen pictures, watched videos, heard our stories, and even had the privilege to meet some of the people that we minister alongside when they have visited us in our home. I know that this trip will change their lives and we desire to encourage and support them in this endeavor. We would covet your prayers as we take this step of faith as a family. There is much to do as we prepare to leave. We also would appreciate your prayers for Abby, Sam, Isaiah, and Laila as they spend time with grandparents while we travel. We have felt so much support over the years in this ministry and want to thank each of you for your continued support of this calling God has placed on our family.

Easter Fun '11

Last weekend was full of Easter activities. This is probably my favorite holiday for our family to celebrate together. This holiday out of all of the ones we celebrate is pivotal in our Christian faith. Having the opportunity to highlight that with our kids is always so much fun and brings so much more meaning to the holiday.

Our festivities began on Good Friday. We started by making "tombs," Grands biscuits rolled out with a marshmallow inside. The biscuit represents the tomb and the marshmallow represents Jesus. When baked in the oven, the marshmallow melts into the biscuit leaving an empty tomb to represent Jesus' Resurrection. It is so much fun, especially for the little ones who are so shocked to see that Jesus is no longer in the tomb.

Rolling out the dough

Putting in the marshmallow

Sealing up the tomb

While the "tombs" were baking, we dyed Easter Eggs.

Once the tombs are complete, we take communion with the bread and

"special juice"(sparkling grape juice).

This is always a special time as a family as Rick leads us.

It brings our focus to the sacrifice that Jesus made.

Isaiah was very much into the Easter story this year. He was very attracted to the power that Jesus displayed by conquering death. Yesterday, we found out that our neighbor's dog died. Isaiah responded, "We should pray for God to use His power to bring their dog back! He is powerful and can do that!!" I love that he is grasping the power of God at the age of 4. We went on to explain that God could absolutely do that, but He might not choose to do that.

Before bed, the big kids and I made the Easter Story Cookies. This is a recipe that you make that has Scripture verses with each step. Then, the cookies go in the oven overnight. Next morning, they are ready!!

Usually when the kids wake up on Easter morning, their baskets have Easter goodies in them. This year, I decided to surprise them with an Easter morning scavenger hunt. When they woke up and went downstairs, their baskets were empty. It was funny to know that they were perplexed by the empty baskets.

The Scavenger Hunt took them to 8 places throughout our house. At each stop there was a treat and another clue. The big kids took turns reading the clues.

Here is the first clue:

"Grab your basket and get ready for pics.

We are celebrating Jesus' Resurrection, not just bunnies and chicks.

Take pictures with a grin and the scavenger hunt can begin.

Take your baskets along to collect your loot,

but whatever you do, please don't toot!"

After pictures, the next clue led them to the Easter Story Cookies awaiting them in the oven.

The cool part about these cookies is that they are hollow like the empty tomb.

The hunt continued taking them to various places throughout the house. Here are a few of the stops:

The kids' bathroom where Pop Rocks were awaiting them.

The grill outside where they each received $5 from Papa and Grammy

The Jeep where there were Peeps!

The hunt ended in the basement with "Just Dance" for the Wii.

We have had a blast having family competitions with this game all week!!

Next up, a breakfast of my yummy homemade cinnamon rolls

Then, it was time to get ready for church.

Abby

Sam

Cody

Isaiah insisted that he must tuck his shirt in to be handsome,

despite our insistence that he would match his brothers and

look just as handsome with it left out.

Laila

Lauren

The whole fam coordinated and smiling

After church, we came home to relax and enjoy the rest of our day together. At about 4:00, we had a family feast that took me two days to make and about 15 minutes to devour. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly they can go through food. Our table looked like a band of locusts had come for a visit. We had ham, cheesy potatoes, deviled eggs, green beans, pistachio salad, booty breads(ask me about those sometime), and strawberry pretzel dessert. It was yummylicious!!

The grand finale event was the Annual Easter Egg Hunt in our back yard. Now, I must stop here and express my deep frustration with Colorado weather. Seriously, Rick and I were hiding eggs and it was snowing. The kids were hunting eggs in their winter clothes!! I think we hid at least 200 eggs!! We were running out of places to hide them!

Yes, we even hid them in trees.

We had 2 prize eggs this year, a silver one for the little kids and a gold one for the big kids.

Laila found the silver one and got VeggieTale gummies.

Lauren found the Gold one and got a Chocolate Bunny!

Don't their eyes look alike?

We really had a good Easter this year. This was the first Easter as a family that Rick didn't have to work. We spent the WHOLE day together. That was a beautiful thing!!

Conversations With Preschoolers

I love to have random conversations with Isaiah and Laila. That is one of the things I will miss the most when they are no longer preschoolers. I will so miss the honesty with which they speak. Their words are unfiltered and not politically correct. They don't follow the social rules of what to say and what not to say. Sometimes their words are hurtful and other times, very flattering. I am thankful that even at 2 and 4 they are able to express their emotions very clearly.Some times when they talk, I laugh so hard, I just can't stand it. I want to freeze time in that moment of humor and innocence.

Just last week, Rick and I were having a "discussion" in the truck. We weren't truly fighting, but Isaiah didn't see it that way at all. He proceeded to lecture us for about 15 minutes on the fact that "we are a family and we don't fight. We love each other and care for each other. That's what families do. We share and take turns and don't argue with each other." Then, he looked at Laila and said, "Right, Laila." She responded, "Right, Bubby." It was so adorable.

I wanted to share some of the conversations we had this morning in the truck.

Out of the blue, he said, "Mama, I wish we could wake up all the neighbors and feed them gumbo!" Now, let me just say, I have never made gumbo in my life. Isaiah may have had gumbo once at the Fowler's house. I have no idea where this thought came from in his head. It was random and stated with passion.

Laila and I had a relational crisis over the music selections this morning. I had our "Current Hits" playlist playing and Justin Bieber's "Somebody to Love" came on. I don't care for that song, so I skipped over it. Laila went ballistic on me. "Mommy, I yike(like) that song. I want to hear my song." I had no idea of her attachment to that song. I finished the song I was listening to and she said, "Mommy, I sad. You break my heart." I asked her why and she responded, "You changed my song." Well, excuse me. We then listened to her song. Isaiah then lectured us about how we have to take turns choosing songs. I love being parented by my child.

The final conversation started when Isaiah said, "Mommy, I love you so much. I want to marry you. I want to marry you all day. Let's get married tomorrow, okay?" I said, "That makes me feel really special, Isaiah. Did you know that I am married to Daddy? I can only be married to one person. What are we going to do about that?" He responded, "You should marry me instead."

These little conversations are memories I want to keep in my heart and mind forever!!

My Day in Numbers

~8 hours of uninterrupted sleep(1st time in 5 nights!)

~1 husband out of town

~3 kids given their medicines

~6 kids dressed, fed, and delivered to school

~16 bags of Goldfish purchased on sale

~33 gallons of gas in my truck

~10 bags of clothes to give away

~2 little people fed lunch and put down for a nap

~12 loaves of bread baked

~15 scoops of ice cream for $5 at Baskin Robbins 31 cent scoop night

~6 good night hugs and kisses

~5 loads of laundry

~12 jars of strawberry jam made

~1 really exhausted mama

Good night!

Ergo Baby Carrier For Sale

I am in decluttering/fundraising mode around here. I need to get rid of some of the "stuff"of my life. I cannot function in chaos. I am also trying to find ways to raise money for our Swazi trip this summer. So, introducing, The Ergo:

This baby carrier is amazing! It was a lifesaver while we were in Africa getting the kids. Honestly, after we got home, it just wasn't as practical for me to use it so it is in really good shape. It looks like it just came out of the box.

It has great back support and you can carry the baby/child(it holds up to 40 lbs) 3 different ways, front, side, and back.
It is the original style, black with camel lining. I have the box it came i. I am asking $80. It sells for $115 retail. You can go here, to see it for sale on the Ergo site. I thought I would start here before I put it on Craigslist. If you are interested, make a comment on my blog or email me at clappfam@comcast.net.

Happy Easter!!

Here is a sneak peek from our day:
It was the first Easter that Rick was with us all day!! I will share more later. Right now, I am all "Eastered" out! Early bedtime for children, TV with my man, and some yummy strawberry pretzel dessert to eat!!

Abby's Fort

Abby made a fort in the backyard that she Isaiah and Laila had so much fun in. When I saw them playing, I sent the camera out to her for her to take some pictures. Here is what she took:

So precious!

Front View of the fort

Side view of the fort

Nap time in the fort

She even held out the camera and took a picture with her in it.

I was impressed with her photography skills.

Abby is so good with Isaiah and Laila. She plays really well with them and loves helping me take care of them. They had such a good time and I had a couple of hours where 3 kids were happily occupied!