Dear Family and Friends,
In December 2012 we started a journey to adopt a child who needs a forever home. It is a rollercoaster to be on this journey and honestly some days are hard and some days we are able to distract ourselves from the frustration of waiting. You see God has blessed us with 2 beautiful biological children and we truly thought our family was complete. Then we were at an Easter service at our church and there was this Ugandan kids choir that worshipped with our church and they were so joyful and thankful to be simply praising Jesus! My heart felt a strong tug and the seed of adoption was planted. I never thought adoption was for me and I honestly was kind of in the category of indifferent. I felt bad for orphans like any human being with a heart does, but I didn’t really think I had any role to play in adoption.
Let me stop right here and say that we do all have a role to play in the care for orphans, for some of us it means we should include them in our prayers (pray they find their forever home, pray they are well cared for, pray for their salvation, etc.), for some of us it means we give financially in some form to help care for orphans, for some it means using your talents to help in some way (maybe you have free time and can go visit orphans and read to them or serve a meal at a children’s home), or maybe you are like our family and you feel you are called to adopt.
Why are we adopting? Yes we feel called to it for sure, but more importantly than that we feel able. Christ first loved and adopted us and called us His own and therefore, we are able to love and adopt a child who needs a forever home, to call them our own. We have love to give and I guess we have figured the rest we would make it work some how with God’s help!
I also want to clarify something that really matters to us, our adoptive child will be just as much a member of our family as our biological children are, genes will not be greater than love and we will love all of our children equally. Also, we don’t care what race or background our adoptive child comes from so our family will most likely be mixed and we think its beautiful! We love the idea of being able to share our story with others and show other’s an example of Christ’s love through adopting.
I really thought this would not be such a hard process, and when I say process I am not even referring to the crazy amount of paperwork we have had to fill out. I am talking about the waiting. I thought because I am already a mom, that waiting would be easier for me. Turns out I was way wrong! It is hard to know you have a child somewhere that you already count as your own, that you pray for as a family and excitedly anticipate joining your family, but you don’t even know their name. We don’t know how old our child is, what gender he/she is, if they’ve even been born yet, if they are okay, if they are scared, if they are hungry, or worse…. It is like your family has a missing member and you have to just sit and wait. What gets us through the hard parts is our faith, that Christ is looking out for our child and that His ways and His timing are perfect and He knows best for us.
We recently became debt free in the early spring of this year and our intent is to remain debt free so we read a book called Adopt without Debt by Julie Gumm. She has some great ideas on different ways to fund your adoption without going in debt. One of the ways is to get a part time job. I stay home with our biological children Tanner and Kennadi and I home school them as well. In order for me to continue doing so, I have started working in direct sales with lia sophia jewelry. I get to work 1 or 2 evenings a week and help our family generate funds for our adoption that way. We have had 2 garage sales and we have had some amazing people donate goods for us to sell in those. We have had some sweet people (even people we didn’t know) donate money to our adoption fund. Talk about humbling, for someone to give you money so you can give a child a home forever, it was so amazing.
So now we are asking for help from you or someone you know maybe. We are going to make a blanket for our child (once we know who he or she is) and on the back of the blanket are going to be squares (hopefully a lot of them). We are basically asking for donations to have your name or personal message or both go on the back of the blanket on a piece of neutral fabric that we will provide. If you have ever wondered how you could help with orphans but didn’t want to commit to adopting or even sponsoring monthly, then this is a way you can help bring a precious child to their forever home.
We are sending out this letter to whoever we know and have an address for and along with the letter will be a fabric square, if you feel led to donate please put the money or check in the provided return envelop (already addressed and stamped) along with the square. Please write your name and a personal message if you’d like on the square and send them back to us.
Once we have all the squares collected and we know the gender of our child, we will put them together into a blanket. When our child comes home they will have a snuggly warm blanket made with love and it will always be a reminder of all the wonderful people who gave so that our child’s dream of having a forever home could come true!
Thank you in advance for supporting us and praying with us through the rest of our adoption journey. The road seems long at times and hard and at times we feel like we are getting no where, but in the end it will all be worth it because our child will know that they are loved by so many people, even people our child has never met.
Sincerely,
The Pierce family,
Nick, Amber, Tanner, Kennadi, and our dog Hank too J
P.s. we would love to share a picture with you once our child comes home so if you will give us your email address we would love to send you a picture.
You can contact us at:
Nick usmcpierce@gmail.com
Amber bigace3@hotmail.com
Nick 541-829-0635
Amber 541-829-0629
P.P.S. I have not been good about keeping up with my blog, but whenever there is something big to share I will for sure put it on my blog at www.piercefamily4blessings.blogspot.com
Please also pray for Breath of Life ministries and Loving alternatives Christian Adoption agency, there agencies are ministries to these birth parents who are truly heroes! Also pray for the birth parents, I can’t imagine the strength it must require to place your baby in someone else’s arms, but I do know that these birth parents love their baby and that is why they chose more for them than they could offer themselves. We don’t know our birth parents yet, but we pray for the daily, we pray for their salvation, we pray for peace in this difficult decision and for assurance that they are doing the right thing and that when they see our profile book they will be certain we are the family meant to raise their child. Please pray with us for all of these things and thank you so much!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
on time
414. sitting next to our son
415. pools
416. having 2 vehicles
417. towels--especially in a van with leather seats in texas with shorts on! ouch!
418. "hi mom" in the morning
419. freckles
420. facebook
421. Kenni discovered pockets and thinks they are so great, its so cute!
I have been meaning to blog for a couple weeks now, but never made time to do it so I brought the computer out to the living room and thought I'd do it now while the kids eat their breakfast.
First off I would like to comment on the post I read this morning on facebook. I was raised that the reason you are on time or preferably early is because whoever you are going to see for whatever the reason, that person's time is valuable. As I just read in the post, it is true people's time is valuable, including our children's time of course, but all people. I don't think I will ever stop believing that being on time is important because if I'm being honest it bothers me when people are late for me, it says to me that you didn't care enough to value my time, who cares that I have been there waiting because I was not only on time, but 10 minutes early. You can't show up late to the doctor or you miss your appointment, so people some how are able to adjust for that and make sure to start earlier, so why do people differ from a doctor appointment? Now let me just clarify here that I don't think you should speed or be crazy in order to be on time and I'm not saying that things don't come up that deserve grace.
Back to the post though, sorry for the tangent. In regards to myself, 10 times out of 10 we have been late for whatever the event because I planned poorly. I don't have smell the grass kids, I am a mom who poorly delegated tasks. I don't want to have to keep telling my kids to hurry up hurry up and in order to change that I need to allow more time. I need to tell them to put on their shoes, close their doors, etc. earlier. I have let go in some ways, we don't go early to park day anymore because frankly no one else really even goes on time, but I still feel like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get out the door for park day. Again, this is completely my fault! I don't want to tell my kiddos to hurry anymore and I need to plan better for that to happen. I plan well for doctor appointments and other appointments because we leave really really early and it all works out and no one is rushing around like a mad woman.
Now I don't have smell the roses kids, but I do have amazing helpers! This is where the rubber meets the road for me with this blog post-not so much with getting places. Where you anticipating me confessing my conviction, well here it is.... My kids want to help me, for some crazy reason they want to spend time with this high-stress, control freak, rushed, yelling mom! I know I don't get it sometimes, but I thank God that they do still want to be with me, flaws and ugliness (inside I am referring to) and all! It melts me sometimes how much they want to be with me, when honestly there are times I don't even want to be with myself. So back to the helpers bit, in the kitchen I am particularly crazy and controlling. It is literally painful for me to have help from slow kids that make unnecessary messes and spill the ingredients. I am aware this is not good, yes thanks for reminding me. So what do I do in light of this lovely conviction? well Tanner just asked for pancakes for dinner so that is what we are having and he is going to make it. I know that the world won't stop if he makes a mess and it will take longer and we won't starve and it will all be okay. I don't want to discourage my kids from helping and from making mistakes and messes and learning from them so I need to let go in this regard. My schedule of getting the million and one things done that I never even scratch the surface of at home. The truth is they are only going to want to be with me for so long and then they will want to do things without me. I'm a rockstar to them right now and I don't even play any instruments and I want to take full advantage of it!
So my goal is to let them help me even thought it will take twice as long, which means if there is something that HAS to get done, then I need to plan accordingly, get up earlier, start things sooner, etc. because this is the part of life I don't want to miss out on, my littles that are becoming bigs too quickly! My version of smelling the flowers is to stop doing stuff and watch my kids experience life, sit with them while they show me whatever it is that matters to them. So I will always believe it is important to be on time, but I don't want to yell at my kids to hurry anymore. I know I will fail, but I will just keep trying again.
Its sad that I feel like I have to explain and justify my desire to be on time, but most people I know are not people who are on time and its weird to me, but I will always try my best to value peoples time and be there when I say I will be there and I don't think its a bad thing. Where my fault lies is when I have to yell at my kids to hurry up because I have not done what I needed to do on time.
wow this got long, I have more to blog about but feel it should be reserved for another post so maybe I'll do another one today or another day we shall see....
I'm off to go enjoy the beautiful gifts God gave me in our children and to not hurry them or get frustrated for not doing things on my time schedule today since I have the gift of nothing scheduled today and no van to go anywhere to do anything :)
415. pools
416. having 2 vehicles
417. towels--especially in a van with leather seats in texas with shorts on! ouch!
418. "hi mom" in the morning
419. freckles
420. facebook
421. Kenni discovered pockets and thinks they are so great, its so cute!
I have been meaning to blog for a couple weeks now, but never made time to do it so I brought the computer out to the living room and thought I'd do it now while the kids eat their breakfast.
First off I would like to comment on the post I read this morning on facebook. I was raised that the reason you are on time or preferably early is because whoever you are going to see for whatever the reason, that person's time is valuable. As I just read in the post, it is true people's time is valuable, including our children's time of course, but all people. I don't think I will ever stop believing that being on time is important because if I'm being honest it bothers me when people are late for me, it says to me that you didn't care enough to value my time, who cares that I have been there waiting because I was not only on time, but 10 minutes early. You can't show up late to the doctor or you miss your appointment, so people some how are able to adjust for that and make sure to start earlier, so why do people differ from a doctor appointment? Now let me just clarify here that I don't think you should speed or be crazy in order to be on time and I'm not saying that things don't come up that deserve grace.
Back to the post though, sorry for the tangent. In regards to myself, 10 times out of 10 we have been late for whatever the event because I planned poorly. I don't have smell the grass kids, I am a mom who poorly delegated tasks. I don't want to have to keep telling my kids to hurry up hurry up and in order to change that I need to allow more time. I need to tell them to put on their shoes, close their doors, etc. earlier. I have let go in some ways, we don't go early to park day anymore because frankly no one else really even goes on time, but I still feel like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get out the door for park day. Again, this is completely my fault! I don't want to tell my kiddos to hurry anymore and I need to plan better for that to happen. I plan well for doctor appointments and other appointments because we leave really really early and it all works out and no one is rushing around like a mad woman.
Now I don't have smell the roses kids, but I do have amazing helpers! This is where the rubber meets the road for me with this blog post-not so much with getting places. Where you anticipating me confessing my conviction, well here it is.... My kids want to help me, for some crazy reason they want to spend time with this high-stress, control freak, rushed, yelling mom! I know I don't get it sometimes, but I thank God that they do still want to be with me, flaws and ugliness (inside I am referring to) and all! It melts me sometimes how much they want to be with me, when honestly there are times I don't even want to be with myself. So back to the helpers bit, in the kitchen I am particularly crazy and controlling. It is literally painful for me to have help from slow kids that make unnecessary messes and spill the ingredients. I am aware this is not good, yes thanks for reminding me. So what do I do in light of this lovely conviction? well Tanner just asked for pancakes for dinner so that is what we are having and he is going to make it. I know that the world won't stop if he makes a mess and it will take longer and we won't starve and it will all be okay. I don't want to discourage my kids from helping and from making mistakes and messes and learning from them so I need to let go in this regard. My schedule of getting the million and one things done that I never even scratch the surface of at home. The truth is they are only going to want to be with me for so long and then they will want to do things without me. I'm a rockstar to them right now and I don't even play any instruments and I want to take full advantage of it!
So my goal is to let them help me even thought it will take twice as long, which means if there is something that HAS to get done, then I need to plan accordingly, get up earlier, start things sooner, etc. because this is the part of life I don't want to miss out on, my littles that are becoming bigs too quickly! My version of smelling the flowers is to stop doing stuff and watch my kids experience life, sit with them while they show me whatever it is that matters to them. So I will always believe it is important to be on time, but I don't want to yell at my kids to hurry anymore. I know I will fail, but I will just keep trying again.
Its sad that I feel like I have to explain and justify my desire to be on time, but most people I know are not people who are on time and its weird to me, but I will always try my best to value peoples time and be there when I say I will be there and I don't think its a bad thing. Where my fault lies is when I have to yell at my kids to hurry up because I have not done what I needed to do on time.
wow this got long, I have more to blog about but feel it should be reserved for another post so maybe I'll do another one today or another day we shall see....
I'm off to go enjoy the beautiful gifts God gave me in our children and to not hurry them or get frustrated for not doing things on my time schedule today since I have the gift of nothing scheduled today and no van to go anywhere to do anything :)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
whats the hap e hap
409. reflecting
410. an amazing husband who really helps me out and stands by no matter what crazy hair-brained idea I come up with
411. a free swimming pool we can walk to after dinner--we have spent a lot of time in the pool each night
412. being able to walk to a sweet park as a family!
413. seeing our son swim across the entire deep end of the pool, it was pretty awesome to see him do it!
Wow its been since march 27th since I wrote anything and it was on waiting, I wish I could say something new, but there really isn't much to tell....
We know that a woman was given our profile and she didn't pick us because she wanted her child to go to a home that had no children already in it.
Our home study was submitted (we confirmed it yesterday) and have paid for that as well as sent yet another questionnaire in (yes we made copies thankfully of the last one) with a $15 fee.
I have had a couple people ask how we are doing as far as saving for the adoption goes and so I added it all up tonight and between our saving each month and the profit from my lia Sophia jewelry business we have a total of $3,544.28 saved!
We know God will provide the funds and we just need to be good stewards of what He gives us! We are going to do another garage sale at the end of August and pray that goes well!
I honestly feel that the reason we don't have our 3rd child home with us yet is because we don't have the funds and the payment is due in full at the time the child is placed, so clearly we need to get busy saving!
Now that the home study is confirmed to be submitted we can start applying for grants so please pray that we get approved for enough to adopt and that we can bring our child to their forever home quickly!
So that is about where we are at this time and don't worry I will update when there is more to tell, meanwhile keep praying for us in this process and for the health and safety of our child.....
thanks and God bless!
410. an amazing husband who really helps me out and stands by no matter what crazy hair-brained idea I come up with
411. a free swimming pool we can walk to after dinner--we have spent a lot of time in the pool each night
412. being able to walk to a sweet park as a family!
413. seeing our son swim across the entire deep end of the pool, it was pretty awesome to see him do it!
Wow its been since march 27th since I wrote anything and it was on waiting, I wish I could say something new, but there really isn't much to tell....
We know that a woman was given our profile and she didn't pick us because she wanted her child to go to a home that had no children already in it.
Our home study was submitted (we confirmed it yesterday) and have paid for that as well as sent yet another questionnaire in (yes we made copies thankfully of the last one) with a $15 fee.
I have had a couple people ask how we are doing as far as saving for the adoption goes and so I added it all up tonight and between our saving each month and the profit from my lia Sophia jewelry business we have a total of $3,544.28 saved!
We know God will provide the funds and we just need to be good stewards of what He gives us! We are going to do another garage sale at the end of August and pray that goes well!
I honestly feel that the reason we don't have our 3rd child home with us yet is because we don't have the funds and the payment is due in full at the time the child is placed, so clearly we need to get busy saving!
Now that the home study is confirmed to be submitted we can start applying for grants so please pray that we get approved for enough to adopt and that we can bring our child to their forever home quickly!
So that is about where we are at this time and don't worry I will update when there is more to tell, meanwhile keep praying for us in this process and for the health and safety of our child.....
thanks and God bless!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
still waiting
406. when frustration had really set in, encouragement birthed and restored my ability to keep waiting
407. quiet mornings with God, coffee, my dear friend's blog and emails with encouraging words, thank you G!
408. good peopel, they are still out there!
So lets get to it, I never expected to be so frustrated with waiting on a child to adopt. I thought to myself, I have 2 biological children, I am not yearning for a child to love, I have been blessed with 2 to love. Waiting won't be that bad....think again! It is hard to know you are a mom to a child that you don't yet know and that you don't know how they are doing! I trust God is taking care of them while we are unable to, but it doesn't mean its not hard to wait to show that child your love! I do want things to move faster. I want our homestudy to actaully be submitted, it still has not happened and we have been told several times "it will be done this friday" I'm thinking I don't know if I can honestly trust that phrase anymore in any sense. I have an automatic response of okay I will believe it when i see it in terms of those words now. Anyway you get the point, we are frustrated!
This Saturday I was at a vendor show with my good friend Lora and we had our jewelry table all set up and I had my painting up for people to put their thumb prints on and we were chatting with the photographer lady vendor next to us. A lady who loves lia sophia jewelry came up and said her jewelry lady no longer did it and she would love to have a party with us! Woo success we were excited. She learned of how my family is adoping and she was very excited to help us. I was happy we had a party and met a lovely person who seemed to have a lovely heart!
Later Lora was away from our booth and I was chatting again with the photographer lady (me talking to people, crazy right :) when this woman who booked a party with us came up to me and told me: "I wish I could do more to help, but I really do want to help with your adoption so here take this" as she handed me a wad of cash. I struggled not to cry and I stammered out words of thanks and I don't know what to say and you are just so sweet! I hugged her and sat down astounded. I later counted she had given me $70 and I really felt Jesus in that moment. Not only was the photographer lady watching and I don't know that she was a believer, and she seemed to be touched, but I was shown that even though we are waiting and frustrated, God is with us and for us. Even though the caseworkers are not moving right now and getting things done for us, God is always working and He is moving and making things happen. He provided funds for our adoption by the act of a simple servants loving heart! I am honestly so thankful and blessed to have met this woman and for the Lord using her as a tool to touch my heart and restore it a bit in my frustration!
As if that wasn't enough this lady emailed us to set up a date for the party and in her email she said that she really felt like God was calling her to help Amber and her family with their adotion so she wanted to do whatever she could to help out! wow!
As if that wasn't enough, Sunday we went to church and we ran into someone we have not really hung out with, but we always say hello and exchange pleasantries and Nick has rode bikes once with her husband. They are sweet people we enjoy talking to basically. She told me she needed to talk to me. Oky great I thought she was trying to set up a time for us to get together and let our kids play as we have mentioned doing that before, awesome! She told me that she wanted to help us with our adoption, but she doesn't wear jewelry because it doesn' stay on her with 3 little boys at home. I had sent out invites for our adoption fundraiser on April 6th so she was referring to that. She said that if it would help us more to buy jewelry she could do that or if it would help more she could just give us money for our adoption. They do what we have done the last couple years in that you take a percentage of your tax return and use it to bless others, to show others Christ, to go towards the kingdom in some manner. She said her and her husband had discussed what they would do with their percentage and that our names had come up and as much as they would love to adopt themselves, it was not something they could do right now. She said that they want to do their part to care for the orphan as we are all called to do in some way and so she wanted to give us a check for our adoption. I was floored! How lovely are their hearts that they would desire to honor God with what they were given and to care for the orphan and that they would bless our family in their willingness to serve the Lord!
I spent most of worship with my eyes and mouth closed and tears just streaming down my cheeks pouring onto my shirt. I was so incredibly touched by God in this moment because not only did He show us that He was working in our waiting one time, but He did it again the very next day--as if He knew I would be quick to get frustrated again and He really wantd to pour on His blessing! So though we don't have any news yet of our child, we are still waiting.....we are encouraged by others hearts for the orphan and by Christ's love for us to reveal what He is doing right now to us, and He doesn't have to do that, He could have kept silent and had money come at the exact moment it was needed, but because He loves us, He wanted to bless us and encourage us right when we needed it most! We serve an amazing Lord and I am so greatful right now for His heart to care for the orphan and for His love for His children and for the people He used to show me Him!
If you are currently in the place I was, take hear and know that even if man does not appear to be working for you, Jesus is always working for you and He is moving!
407. quiet mornings with God, coffee, my dear friend's blog and emails with encouraging words, thank you G!
408. good peopel, they are still out there!
So lets get to it, I never expected to be so frustrated with waiting on a child to adopt. I thought to myself, I have 2 biological children, I am not yearning for a child to love, I have been blessed with 2 to love. Waiting won't be that bad....think again! It is hard to know you are a mom to a child that you don't yet know and that you don't know how they are doing! I trust God is taking care of them while we are unable to, but it doesn't mean its not hard to wait to show that child your love! I do want things to move faster. I want our homestudy to actaully be submitted, it still has not happened and we have been told several times "it will be done this friday" I'm thinking I don't know if I can honestly trust that phrase anymore in any sense. I have an automatic response of okay I will believe it when i see it in terms of those words now. Anyway you get the point, we are frustrated!
This Saturday I was at a vendor show with my good friend Lora and we had our jewelry table all set up and I had my painting up for people to put their thumb prints on and we were chatting with the photographer lady vendor next to us. A lady who loves lia sophia jewelry came up and said her jewelry lady no longer did it and she would love to have a party with us! Woo success we were excited. She learned of how my family is adoping and she was very excited to help us. I was happy we had a party and met a lovely person who seemed to have a lovely heart!
Later Lora was away from our booth and I was chatting again with the photographer lady (me talking to people, crazy right :) when this woman who booked a party with us came up to me and told me: "I wish I could do more to help, but I really do want to help with your adoption so here take this" as she handed me a wad of cash. I struggled not to cry and I stammered out words of thanks and I don't know what to say and you are just so sweet! I hugged her and sat down astounded. I later counted she had given me $70 and I really felt Jesus in that moment. Not only was the photographer lady watching and I don't know that she was a believer, and she seemed to be touched, but I was shown that even though we are waiting and frustrated, God is with us and for us. Even though the caseworkers are not moving right now and getting things done for us, God is always working and He is moving and making things happen. He provided funds for our adoption by the act of a simple servants loving heart! I am honestly so thankful and blessed to have met this woman and for the Lord using her as a tool to touch my heart and restore it a bit in my frustration!
As if that wasn't enough this lady emailed us to set up a date for the party and in her email she said that she really felt like God was calling her to help Amber and her family with their adotion so she wanted to do whatever she could to help out! wow!
As if that wasn't enough, Sunday we went to church and we ran into someone we have not really hung out with, but we always say hello and exchange pleasantries and Nick has rode bikes once with her husband. They are sweet people we enjoy talking to basically. She told me she needed to talk to me. Oky great I thought she was trying to set up a time for us to get together and let our kids play as we have mentioned doing that before, awesome! She told me that she wanted to help us with our adoption, but she doesn't wear jewelry because it doesn' stay on her with 3 little boys at home. I had sent out invites for our adoption fundraiser on April 6th so she was referring to that. She said that if it would help us more to buy jewelry she could do that or if it would help more she could just give us money for our adoption. They do what we have done the last couple years in that you take a percentage of your tax return and use it to bless others, to show others Christ, to go towards the kingdom in some manner. She said her and her husband had discussed what they would do with their percentage and that our names had come up and as much as they would love to adopt themselves, it was not something they could do right now. She said that they want to do their part to care for the orphan as we are all called to do in some way and so she wanted to give us a check for our adoption. I was floored! How lovely are their hearts that they would desire to honor God with what they were given and to care for the orphan and that they would bless our family in their willingness to serve the Lord!
I spent most of worship with my eyes and mouth closed and tears just streaming down my cheeks pouring onto my shirt. I was so incredibly touched by God in this moment because not only did He show us that He was working in our waiting one time, but He did it again the very next day--as if He knew I would be quick to get frustrated again and He really wantd to pour on His blessing! So though we don't have any news yet of our child, we are still waiting.....we are encouraged by others hearts for the orphan and by Christ's love for us to reveal what He is doing right now to us, and He doesn't have to do that, He could have kept silent and had money come at the exact moment it was needed, but because He loves us, He wanted to bless us and encourage us right when we needed it most! We serve an amazing Lord and I am so greatful right now for His heart to care for the orphan and for His love for His children and for the people He used to show me Him!
If you are currently in the place I was, take hear and know that even if man does not appear to be working for you, Jesus is always working for you and He is moving!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
weird
I'm used to being called weird, crazy, silly, etc. well I'm about to drop a bomb on the weird category to some, others may think its awesome (as I do).
First let me back up by saying that our adoptive child is just as much our child as our biological children are. Just as we are just as much God's children as Jesus is God's son! In light of that I want what is best for all of our children!
So what others may think of as weird I think of as doing what is best for our children. Some people think its weird to homeschool, we think it is what is best for our children so there you go.
Ready, I know you are anxious to know what weird thing I am talking about. Well now I feel like I've built it up too much and the more I think about it, it is not weird to me, it is precious and important in giving the best to our children.
If we do adopt a baby, as my husband desires to do, I won't feel right about giving them formula, if I am able to give them breast milk. If we adopt a 3 month old baby lets say, maybe they already have had formula, so what, I have an awesome pump and I would be happy to try and power pump and take fenugreek to increase my milk and do what I can to give our child the best!
How much would it freak people out if say we adopt a hispanic or black baby and I nursed him/her? Here is the thing, I don't care what the world thinks! Jesus knows my heart and my desire is to simply give the best to all of our children. The best may be formula, but if I am able I would rather it be breast milk, even if it is only for one meal (if that is all I am able to pump).
I don't know what will happen, if we will end up adopting a baby or not, but it is one of the first few things I thought of when Nick mentioned a baby that I would want to somehow give the baby breastmilk so we will see what happens and will keep you posted as we have information. Our homestudy has not been written up yet and we are now going to submit our application with the agency that did our homestudy as well (they deal with babies primarily).....til we know more
this is the hubs with kenni, feeding her my breastmilk, we could see a dejavue....can you tell this man loves babies!
so does big boy (as kenni lovingly calls Tanner). We asked what he prefered and he said a boy at first, when a baby became an option he said he would rather adopt a baby. I said but you can't really play with a baby. Tanner responded with a laugh in his tone "you can play with babies mom, just different playing" -so wise our boy is. I asked kenni the same question though and she said "no baby, big kid" so the house is divided for sure!
First let me back up by saying that our adoptive child is just as much our child as our biological children are. Just as we are just as much God's children as Jesus is God's son! In light of that I want what is best for all of our children!
So what others may think of as weird I think of as doing what is best for our children. Some people think its weird to homeschool, we think it is what is best for our children so there you go.
Ready, I know you are anxious to know what weird thing I am talking about. Well now I feel like I've built it up too much and the more I think about it, it is not weird to me, it is precious and important in giving the best to our children.
If we do adopt a baby, as my husband desires to do, I won't feel right about giving them formula, if I am able to give them breast milk. If we adopt a 3 month old baby lets say, maybe they already have had formula, so what, I have an awesome pump and I would be happy to try and power pump and take fenugreek to increase my milk and do what I can to give our child the best!
How much would it freak people out if say we adopt a hispanic or black baby and I nursed him/her? Here is the thing, I don't care what the world thinks! Jesus knows my heart and my desire is to simply give the best to all of our children. The best may be formula, but if I am able I would rather it be breast milk, even if it is only for one meal (if that is all I am able to pump).
I don't know what will happen, if we will end up adopting a baby or not, but it is one of the first few things I thought of when Nick mentioned a baby that I would want to somehow give the baby breastmilk so we will see what happens and will keep you posted as we have information. Our homestudy has not been written up yet and we are now going to submit our application with the agency that did our homestudy as well (they deal with babies primarily).....til we know more
waiting.......and some news
404. waiting, adoptive families have said there are great things that happen in the waiting. For me the waiting is so different from a mom who is unable to have biological children. Bottom line, waiting is not easy, but it is a gift.
How can it be a gift? well what do we do in the time spent waiting? We pray! We pray each night for our family (not yet complete) and we pray for our adoptive child(ren) that they would be safe and start healing and that God's hedge of protection would surround them, that they would feel peace and comfort from Him while we are unable to do so. We pray for Kenni and Tan man's hearts to be prepared to be a big brother and sister to this child(ren). That they would be good examples of Christ's love and that they would be ready to share in our family.
My husband prays for our child(ren) and it makes me smile, he never forgets to pray over them even though we don't even know who they are yet.
405. My man who prays diligently and thoughtfully for our family!
Waiting gives us an opportunity to show others our faithfulness in God to provide for our child while we can't. It shows people that we are not worried because that is not of God. It encourages others to be able to wait too.
In other news my hubs is a funny man. I love him so much for his heart! We were at the mall at the end of January and we took the kids to the little play area as we usually do when we visit the mall (not often). We were sitting right beside the changing table in the play area watching Tanner our command man show other children a new game and take charge while his sister took command of herself. She was climbing the wall and saying "see, me" as in (I got up here bymyself).
There was a woman changing her baby probably a 4 month old and when she was done she sat the baby up on the table and the baby bobbled her head while she reached for her toes. I caught my hubby out of the corner of my eye while cheering Kenni on as he was staring at this baby girl. This was our conversation:
Me: "wow you are staring at that baby, what are you thinking?"
Hubs: "What's wrong with having a baby?"
Me: "Are you crazy, who are you talking to?"
Hubs: "Well I do a lot of it anyway, I get up with them and help out a lot!"
Me: "yes you do, but what about when you are at work for the majority of the day?"
Later, I caught him staring again as the daddy to this baby girl was holding her up in the air and bringing her down to blow raspberries on her tummy.... Then my hubby decided that's it we should adopt a baby! He gave me all kinds of reasons and basicaly it boils down to this: my man loves babies! I told him that I would be open to it just like he is being open to adopting siblings.
Holy cow, I really thought we were done with babies, I was done with all that babies entail, we gave away a lot of baby stuff (not that God wouldn't provide whatever we needed to care for a baby). I am just like okay well whatever God wills for us is what I want so I guess we will see what that entails!
handy helper boy working on momm's cabinet
How can it be a gift? well what do we do in the time spent waiting? We pray! We pray each night for our family (not yet complete) and we pray for our adoptive child(ren) that they would be safe and start healing and that God's hedge of protection would surround them, that they would feel peace and comfort from Him while we are unable to do so. We pray for Kenni and Tan man's hearts to be prepared to be a big brother and sister to this child(ren). That they would be good examples of Christ's love and that they would be ready to share in our family.
My husband prays for our child(ren) and it makes me smile, he never forgets to pray over them even though we don't even know who they are yet.
405. My man who prays diligently and thoughtfully for our family!
Waiting gives us an opportunity to show others our faithfulness in God to provide for our child while we can't. It shows people that we are not worried because that is not of God. It encourages others to be able to wait too.
In other news my hubs is a funny man. I love him so much for his heart! We were at the mall at the end of January and we took the kids to the little play area as we usually do when we visit the mall (not often). We were sitting right beside the changing table in the play area watching Tanner our command man show other children a new game and take charge while his sister took command of herself. She was climbing the wall and saying "see, me" as in (I got up here bymyself).
There was a woman changing her baby probably a 4 month old and when she was done she sat the baby up on the table and the baby bobbled her head while she reached for her toes. I caught my hubby out of the corner of my eye while cheering Kenni on as he was staring at this baby girl. This was our conversation:
Me: "wow you are staring at that baby, what are you thinking?"
Hubs: "What's wrong with having a baby?"
Me: "Are you crazy, who are you talking to?"
Hubs: "Well I do a lot of it anyway, I get up with them and help out a lot!"
Me: "yes you do, but what about when you are at work for the majority of the day?"
Later, I caught him staring again as the daddy to this baby girl was holding her up in the air and bringing her down to blow raspberries on her tummy.... Then my hubby decided that's it we should adopt a baby! He gave me all kinds of reasons and basicaly it boils down to this: my man loves babies! I told him that I would be open to it just like he is being open to adopting siblings.
Holy cow, I really thought we were done with babies, I was done with all that babies entail, we gave away a lot of baby stuff (not that God wouldn't provide whatever we needed to care for a baby). I am just like okay well whatever God wills for us is what I want so I guess we will see what that entails!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Homestudy or questions questions and more questions
399. Jeannine Floores our case study worker doing our homestudy! She is aweosme, funny and upbeat and real, very real! I highly recommend her to anyone who needs a homestudy! Her heart is in it to win it and I very much enjoyed our time with her last night during our first interview!
400. Praying friends-thanks to those of you who pray for us and thank you to Jenn and Marylee for texting yesterday to remind me that you were praying for us!
401. space heaters, we always use them anyway instead of turning on the heat, but our heat is not currently working in our house so i would definitely call space heaters gifts at this point!
402. my hubby brought my newspapers in this morning for me so I didn't have to go out in the rain, he is too sweet!
403. Tanner's brain, the way he thinks is truly a special gift to us!
Last night we had our first interview and it went very well! She is a hoot and we enjoyed talking with her (even if we spent most of the time answering questions, some easy, some harder. She made them all easier by helping us and sharing her own personal story of adoption. She was late so we only had a short while with our kids up and her there, but we had warned Tanner that she might talk to him and so she went ahead and did his interview last night while we played with Kenni in her room.
She is going to send me some of the funny comments he made (we obviously can't have a copy of the homestudy, but she will send the key funny quotes). I can't wait to hear them and I will of course post them on here as well as make them part of the adoption scrapbook. From what I remember that she told us I will say he is one smart cookie and we are so blessed God gave him to us! He will be an amazing leader and man someday!
We had to discuss the worst part, which is, what are you willing to adopt and what are you not willing to adopt? It was hard to say no to certain things, but we have to do what is best for our whole family including our biological kids and I pray that kids with those backgrounds are adopted by someone who is called to do so!
She asked us if we read and pray together as a couple and it was very sad for us to say no, not since we were newly weds. I read on my own as does my husband, but we have been missing out on reading together, or praying as a couple. We pray with our kids each night we put them to bed, but not with just each other. So last night we decided that trying to read through the entire Bible in one year is just not realistic for us, but in two years we are confidant we can do it, so we started over and read Genesis 1 and 2 last night. It was nice and I'm looking forward to spending this time with him each day!
We meet again next Tuesday, she had to reschedule due to her college son leaving on Thursday to go back to school and we totally understand so now I have to get a list of both of our addresses from the last 10 years together for her as well as us discuss a few things we were't sure of last night...
sorry I tried to post a picture, but it wouldn't let me browse my pics so I am unable to....
400. Praying friends-thanks to those of you who pray for us and thank you to Jenn and Marylee for texting yesterday to remind me that you were praying for us!
401. space heaters, we always use them anyway instead of turning on the heat, but our heat is not currently working in our house so i would definitely call space heaters gifts at this point!
402. my hubby brought my newspapers in this morning for me so I didn't have to go out in the rain, he is too sweet!
403. Tanner's brain, the way he thinks is truly a special gift to us!
Last night we had our first interview and it went very well! She is a hoot and we enjoyed talking with her (even if we spent most of the time answering questions, some easy, some harder. She made them all easier by helping us and sharing her own personal story of adoption. She was late so we only had a short while with our kids up and her there, but we had warned Tanner that she might talk to him and so she went ahead and did his interview last night while we played with Kenni in her room.
She is going to send me some of the funny comments he made (we obviously can't have a copy of the homestudy, but she will send the key funny quotes). I can't wait to hear them and I will of course post them on here as well as make them part of the adoption scrapbook. From what I remember that she told us I will say he is one smart cookie and we are so blessed God gave him to us! He will be an amazing leader and man someday!
We had to discuss the worst part, which is, what are you willing to adopt and what are you not willing to adopt? It was hard to say no to certain things, but we have to do what is best for our whole family including our biological kids and I pray that kids with those backgrounds are adopted by someone who is called to do so!
She asked us if we read and pray together as a couple and it was very sad for us to say no, not since we were newly weds. I read on my own as does my husband, but we have been missing out on reading together, or praying as a couple. We pray with our kids each night we put them to bed, but not with just each other. So last night we decided that trying to read through the entire Bible in one year is just not realistic for us, but in two years we are confidant we can do it, so we started over and read Genesis 1 and 2 last night. It was nice and I'm looking forward to spending this time with him each day!
We meet again next Tuesday, she had to reschedule due to her college son leaving on Thursday to go back to school and we totally understand so now I have to get a list of both of our addresses from the last 10 years together for her as well as us discuss a few things we were't sure of last night...
sorry I tried to post a picture, but it wouldn't let me browse my pics so I am unable to....
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
two posts in one day you say
our little little enjoys her jewelry :)
As this is the first day of 2013 I wanted to add another little note. I am very thankful for 2012 and all that God did for and with our family last year! I'm very much looking forward to this year and what God has in store for us!
Stick with me if you can: I brought home my catalog as I always do to show my hubby before deciding on what to buy with my spending money. I showed the hubs the items I liked and asked his opinion, he ended up taking the catalog and looking all through it and picking out pieces for me that he liked. Then he read the back of the catalog which said you can start your own business for only $149 (you can also start selling from your own hosting show and apply free product amount towards your start up cost amount). He said you would be good at this you talk to everyone and are comfortable with strangers and you could just wear the jewelry while you coupon and when people compiment it offer your business card and to host a show for them to earn free jewelry. I thought he was a little crazy, I always say not interested whenever I go to these parties as far as becoming a consultant goes. I don't like sales I hve done it before and I was not good at it (seas lawn and garden and fitness equipment). I said well I will ask Lora about what all it entails and we will pray about it.
Got some info, started praying...one night I was laying in bed with the hubs and he said you really should do Lia Sophia, I really think you should. I was still not sure and asked if he had really prayed about it, he said he had. That was the 1st real glimmer of me thinking I might do it. I was not getting any info from God as to go ahead or not, but my husband was so who knows....then i read the book "adopt wihtout debt" great book lots of great info on fundraising. I read a section on getting a part time job temporarily to help with the costs of adoption and suddenly I realized this was what God was planning for our family to help provide for the cost, I would go back to work. There are a lot of things I won't sacrifice for the sake of money-even if it is to pay off debt, or help fund an adoption. I am a stay at home mom, I homeschool our kids and I really feel this is what God intends for us so I will not budge on that! With selling Lia Sophia I don't have to give any of my mom duties up! I still get to be home with our kids and teach them. Also I don't want to work every evening or even 4 or 5 nights a week and have our family miss out on vaulable family time. With Lia Sophia I don't have to answer to someone else's idea of my schedule, I get to create my schedule with my husband in a way that works for our family. I don't have to be a salesperson, I get to wear beautiful, affordable jewelry and offer others to get it free when they approach me (the product thus selling itself) by hosting a fun party with their friends. The product is guranteed for life which is important to me, it will last and is quality jewelry!
The part that most excites me about selling this jewelry is that I get to share my story with as many women as God allows at their parties. Why did I decide to start selling jewelry? I'm glad you asked I wanted to help fund our adoption while not sacrificing precious time with my family. Then when people ask my why we are adopting of have adopted I get to share the most precious part of my life and that is my Lord and savior Jesus. Because God adopted us and first loved us, we are able to love and adopt our 3rd child. Short sweet and too the point. All glory to God and what a fun way to share Him with others! I feel like God has been preparing us in so many ways for this year and I am very excited to see what He does and how He uses our family to do His will....
If anyone would like to host a show please let me know. Another awesome benefit of buying from Lia Sophia is that you get to buy 2 items at full price then get up to 4 items at 50% off and the best part of that is that the 2 full priced items are your cheapest items. Where else can you get that deal? I have never seen anywhere offer a deal this awesome! email me at bigace3@hotmail.com
Thank you in advance for your support and prayers as we walk through this process and trust God with 2013!
finally a litlte concrete
392. setting a date for our home study to start (Jan. 8th and 10th)
393. skyping with family on Christmas morning
394. cold weather in Texas finally
395. emails from Gretchen
396. celebrating holidays with friends when you can't be with family
397. Nick finally having time off and getting to have him pretty much all to ourselves!!!
Those are the current gifts I am thinking on, but here is the adoption update for those who don't know:
We had a lot of back and forth and misunderstanding over the price as well as who would do our homestudy and finally after the uncertainty of it being $700 or $1000 we have been given our answer that the homestudy will cost $700. We are blessed that I am a saver when it comes to our monthy allowance and birthday money because I have that amount currently (God has provided and we are so very thankful--see this is why it pays to save--literally) I will pay for the study and then when we get our tax return I will get my spending money back and will be buying a .38 special revolver called the "body guard" which I am also very excited about :)
So we have our homestudy scheduled and the money is already in place to pay for it I feel like it is the 2nd big thing to check off the list in this whole thing. (1st one being the paperwork being turned in). Yes I am a list maker!
Emotions: as soon as the date was set for the study I freaked out. It was my first real freak out in adopting. I admittedly started to get think "can we really do this? Am I really capable of teaching and training another child-especially one that is likely going to have other issues aside from the normal kid issues of energy and craziness?" Then i remember that God called us to it, it won't be easy, but with Him it will be possible! I am going to fail our 3rd child just as much as I will fail our 1st 2 children and I am covered by God's grace in this and He will walk with me through it. Jesus has provided exactly the grace, people, money, patience, calm, words, etc. that I need to walk in faith through this adoption process and once we are finally able to bring our child home, He will be with us through that too. I am excited and thankful for the amzing God I serve and amazing husband He gave me to walk through this with! My friend G said "may you be a blessing to someone in 2013" I liked the way she put it and I liked that I can say we are going to be a tool God will use to bless someone in 2013, our 3rd child that will get a forever home and parents that love them. We are not perfect parents, some days I don't even feel like a good parent, but God is the perfect Father and He knows exactly what He is doing and so we will be the exact parents this child needs and this child will be the exact child we need as parents!
Tanner really wants a boy, Nick really wants a girl, I honestly don't care so long as we pray and discern the child that God intends for us (or children). It's weird to have no burning desire for more children, but to have a burning desire to bring home our 3rd child because they are ours and belong with us! I hate to think of not being able to protect them or provide for them while we are apart, but then that is where faith comes in and I have to trust that as we pray for our child's safety and wellbeing and health and healing that God is indeed providing all that our child needs. I'm praying for a super natural and tangible presence in our child's life that is felt and evident to our child and the people caring currently for our child. That God's hedge of protection would be surrounding our child and that their precious little hearts would begin to heal and prepare them for becomming part of our family. There is much faith in adopting, trusting God to care for your child while you can't, trusting God to provide the funds, trusting God to reveal the child He intends for you to you clearly, trusting the sleeping situation and car seat situation, the babysitting situation when required, not having family nearby as support so trusting God to provide the friends to help out like family would, and then just waiting for His time which is perfect.
These are the siblings to our 3rd child, can't wait to be able to put up our next child's picture!
can't wait til our child knows that we are thier forever parents!
393. skyping with family on Christmas morning
394. cold weather in Texas finally
395. emails from Gretchen
396. celebrating holidays with friends when you can't be with family
397. Nick finally having time off and getting to have him pretty much all to ourselves!!!
Those are the current gifts I am thinking on, but here is the adoption update for those who don't know:
We had a lot of back and forth and misunderstanding over the price as well as who would do our homestudy and finally after the uncertainty of it being $700 or $1000 we have been given our answer that the homestudy will cost $700. We are blessed that I am a saver when it comes to our monthy allowance and birthday money because I have that amount currently (God has provided and we are so very thankful--see this is why it pays to save--literally) I will pay for the study and then when we get our tax return I will get my spending money back and will be buying a .38 special revolver called the "body guard" which I am also very excited about :)
So we have our homestudy scheduled and the money is already in place to pay for it I feel like it is the 2nd big thing to check off the list in this whole thing. (1st one being the paperwork being turned in). Yes I am a list maker!
Emotions: as soon as the date was set for the study I freaked out. It was my first real freak out in adopting. I admittedly started to get think "can we really do this? Am I really capable of teaching and training another child-especially one that is likely going to have other issues aside from the normal kid issues of energy and craziness?" Then i remember that God called us to it, it won't be easy, but with Him it will be possible! I am going to fail our 3rd child just as much as I will fail our 1st 2 children and I am covered by God's grace in this and He will walk with me through it. Jesus has provided exactly the grace, people, money, patience, calm, words, etc. that I need to walk in faith through this adoption process and once we are finally able to bring our child home, He will be with us through that too. I am excited and thankful for the amzing God I serve and amazing husband He gave me to walk through this with! My friend G said "may you be a blessing to someone in 2013" I liked the way she put it and I liked that I can say we are going to be a tool God will use to bless someone in 2013, our 3rd child that will get a forever home and parents that love them. We are not perfect parents, some days I don't even feel like a good parent, but God is the perfect Father and He knows exactly what He is doing and so we will be the exact parents this child needs and this child will be the exact child we need as parents!
Tanner really wants a boy, Nick really wants a girl, I honestly don't care so long as we pray and discern the child that God intends for us (or children). It's weird to have no burning desire for more children, but to have a burning desire to bring home our 3rd child because they are ours and belong with us! I hate to think of not being able to protect them or provide for them while we are apart, but then that is where faith comes in and I have to trust that as we pray for our child's safety and wellbeing and health and healing that God is indeed providing all that our child needs. I'm praying for a super natural and tangible presence in our child's life that is felt and evident to our child and the people caring currently for our child. That God's hedge of protection would be surrounding our child and that their precious little hearts would begin to heal and prepare them for becomming part of our family. There is much faith in adopting, trusting God to care for your child while you can't, trusting God to provide the funds, trusting God to reveal the child He intends for you to you clearly, trusting the sleeping situation and car seat situation, the babysitting situation when required, not having family nearby as support so trusting God to provide the friends to help out like family would, and then just waiting for His time which is perfect.
Monday, November 19, 2012
answering a call
389. my adoption into Christ's family! I'm so very thankful for the immense blessing of being adopted as daughter to Christ, that I get to share in His family and be heirs of His kingdom! What a truly special gift!
390. adoption-the act of making someone who was born of another family a part of your family. I'm thankful that it is possible to adopt children who have no family and make them your own.
391. classes, seminars, books, and all other education to help with adoption!
.....so this call I am referring to is the one from God on all believers to care for widows and orphans. In James 1:27 we are told that the most pure and undefiled worship is caring for the widows and orphans and actually meeting them in their affliction. We are all called to play a role in the care of orphans and it looks different for many people, but for us it was distinct that the call was to adopt.
It started on Easter in 2011. Church was at the Frank Erwin Center (for my Oregon peeps reading this, it is like the Rose Garden). Worship was starting and out walked a choir from Uganda of little kids that came to worship with us. Our adoption story does not begin with a sad story, we didn't hear a tragic story or abuse or neglect and feel bad. Our story starts with seeing joyful children sing and worship Jesus genuinely in such a way that I was moved. Not because of myself, but because God used this precious group of children to change my heart, to open my heart to something I never ever wanted to do.
Everything so far that I have said I would never do, God has laughed and said "we'll see about that." I never wanted to marry a military man, move away from Albany, Oregon or adopt, or have 3 kids. I wanted to stay in my hometown and have 2 kids and a dog and never leave.....well here I am, married to an amazing man who happens to be a Marine, we live in Pflugerville Texas, and are about to have a 3rd child through the process of adoption. God is funny, but He sure does know best! He is a God of providence and we trust and know we are here exactly where we are because it is where we are meant to be!
Saturday we went to the adoption seminar and too many things were said to ignore God's calling us to adopt and NOW. We as people tend to mistake peace from God as the kind of zen peace where you sit and feel calm. Jonah was going to "not Ninevah" or against God's will for him to go to Ninevah and there was turmoil in his ship and it was the craziest storm the men had seen and Jonah was sound and peacefully asleep completely disoebying God. Clearly he was not doing what he should have been, and yet he felt pretty peaceful. In Luke chapter 22 we see Jesus so distressed he is literally sweating blood and yet He is obeying God in the hardest thing ever imaginable, He was headed to be crucified and die on a cross for our sin. He probably didn't feel very peaceful, and yet He was obeying and He didn't let the hardship and stress and all the other horrible feelings He was having turn Him from obeying God the Father.
I think we were waiting for a zen peace, we were waiting for the right time, to buy a house and settle down and then we would start the process, that is what the world would say to do, it makes sense to the world, but God doesn't ask us to obey when it makes sense to the world and He doesn't ask more of us than what He is willing to help us through. I can't even fully explain all the details that revealed to my husband and I that the time was now, but finally it was like we couldn't go on saying not yet, when we felt like God was saying "how many more signs can I show you before you obey Me now?"
We know full well that what we are about to do doesn't make sense to everyone, that is will be immeasurably hard, that we we struggle, we will fail, we will do and say the wrong things, we will hurt, but we know that we won't suffer alone, we have God in this and He will draw near to us while we draw near to Him.
WHY ADOPT?
We didn't decide oh we need another kid, we want 3, (welll my hubby apparently did want 3 kids once I was preggo with Kenni) but I was very content with just 2. We don't have a burning desire to have more kids. We are called to adopt, to care for the orphan in this way. God loved us first and adopted us into His family and He sent His son to suffer and die on a cross for us, to save us, to make us His own, that is the beautiful picture of the gospel. Adoption is a beautiful mirror of adoption, we are going to bring a child into our home and love him/her like Christ first loved us and we are going to teach them that we are not perfect, but we serve a perfect God and that Jesus loves him/her and will never fail our child like we probably will. We are going to make this child our own and we are going to struggle with our child and rejoice with our child for every step of healing that they take. We are not ourselves cappable of healing our child's hurt, but God is and we will be praying for our child.
We could have had a 3rd child biologically for free since we are military, we could have just decided to expand our family and paid for a birth certificate and that would have been great too, but we instead listened to what God wanted for us and we are growing our family this way, by loving one of His children who were not able to stay with their biologic parents.
Help us:
Please pray with us for our child, for their safety and nourishment, for the process to go smoothly, for discernment for us as we are referred to a child-that we would say yes to the child God has in His plan for us. Pray for the financial needs to be met as they come. We emailed the lady today at Breath of Life and are waiting for the next step to adopt domestically here in Texas a child that is at least 3 years old. We are going to be a mixed family and we appreciate your support and prayers!
390. adoption-the act of making someone who was born of another family a part of your family. I'm thankful that it is possible to adopt children who have no family and make them your own.
391. classes, seminars, books, and all other education to help with adoption!
.....so this call I am referring to is the one from God on all believers to care for widows and orphans. In James 1:27 we are told that the most pure and undefiled worship is caring for the widows and orphans and actually meeting them in their affliction. We are all called to play a role in the care of orphans and it looks different for many people, but for us it was distinct that the call was to adopt.
It started on Easter in 2011. Church was at the Frank Erwin Center (for my Oregon peeps reading this, it is like the Rose Garden). Worship was starting and out walked a choir from Uganda of little kids that came to worship with us. Our adoption story does not begin with a sad story, we didn't hear a tragic story or abuse or neglect and feel bad. Our story starts with seeing joyful children sing and worship Jesus genuinely in such a way that I was moved. Not because of myself, but because God used this precious group of children to change my heart, to open my heart to something I never ever wanted to do.
Everything so far that I have said I would never do, God has laughed and said "we'll see about that." I never wanted to marry a military man, move away from Albany, Oregon or adopt, or have 3 kids. I wanted to stay in my hometown and have 2 kids and a dog and never leave.....well here I am, married to an amazing man who happens to be a Marine, we live in Pflugerville Texas, and are about to have a 3rd child through the process of adoption. God is funny, but He sure does know best! He is a God of providence and we trust and know we are here exactly where we are because it is where we are meant to be!
Saturday we went to the adoption seminar and too many things were said to ignore God's calling us to adopt and NOW. We as people tend to mistake peace from God as the kind of zen peace where you sit and feel calm. Jonah was going to "not Ninevah" or against God's will for him to go to Ninevah and there was turmoil in his ship and it was the craziest storm the men had seen and Jonah was sound and peacefully asleep completely disoebying God. Clearly he was not doing what he should have been, and yet he felt pretty peaceful. In Luke chapter 22 we see Jesus so distressed he is literally sweating blood and yet He is obeying God in the hardest thing ever imaginable, He was headed to be crucified and die on a cross for our sin. He probably didn't feel very peaceful, and yet He was obeying and He didn't let the hardship and stress and all the other horrible feelings He was having turn Him from obeying God the Father.
I think we were waiting for a zen peace, we were waiting for the right time, to buy a house and settle down and then we would start the process, that is what the world would say to do, it makes sense to the world, but God doesn't ask us to obey when it makes sense to the world and He doesn't ask more of us than what He is willing to help us through. I can't even fully explain all the details that revealed to my husband and I that the time was now, but finally it was like we couldn't go on saying not yet, when we felt like God was saying "how many more signs can I show you before you obey Me now?"
We know full well that what we are about to do doesn't make sense to everyone, that is will be immeasurably hard, that we we struggle, we will fail, we will do and say the wrong things, we will hurt, but we know that we won't suffer alone, we have God in this and He will draw near to us while we draw near to Him.
WHY ADOPT?
We didn't decide oh we need another kid, we want 3, (welll my hubby apparently did want 3 kids once I was preggo with Kenni) but I was very content with just 2. We don't have a burning desire to have more kids. We are called to adopt, to care for the orphan in this way. God loved us first and adopted us into His family and He sent His son to suffer and die on a cross for us, to save us, to make us His own, that is the beautiful picture of the gospel. Adoption is a beautiful mirror of adoption, we are going to bring a child into our home and love him/her like Christ first loved us and we are going to teach them that we are not perfect, but we serve a perfect God and that Jesus loves him/her and will never fail our child like we probably will. We are going to make this child our own and we are going to struggle with our child and rejoice with our child for every step of healing that they take. We are not ourselves cappable of healing our child's hurt, but God is and we will be praying for our child.
We could have had a 3rd child biologically for free since we are military, we could have just decided to expand our family and paid for a birth certificate and that would have been great too, but we instead listened to what God wanted for us and we are growing our family this way, by loving one of His children who were not able to stay with their biologic parents.
Help us:
Please pray with us for our child, for their safety and nourishment, for the process to go smoothly, for discernment for us as we are referred to a child-that we would say yes to the child God has in His plan for us. Pray for the financial needs to be met as they come. We emailed the lady today at Breath of Life and are waiting for the next step to adopt domestically here in Texas a child that is at least 3 years old. We are going to be a mixed family and we appreciate your support and prayers!
Monday, October 1, 2012
thoughts for the day.....
386. reading friends blog whom i miss so much! and of course being encouraged! thanks so much my dear G!
387. Being in a missional community group, knowing that if I am really stuck in a hard place all I have to do is ask and I have some great people who will be there for me! the key part for me is asking, its hard for me to ask for help, though I love to help others!
388. me-not sure if I have said this one yet as this blog has been dragging on for quite a while, but I am thankful for the gift of me, God made me who I am and it's not always easy to be this crazy, bold, say what she thinks person, but I am thankful for my gifts and for God's constant presence in guiding me how to use them and here we go again....
sometimes I feel like I just can't get things right, can't do enough, can't be enough. I know I have blogged in some form about this so sorry for any repetetion (repetition can be so annoying I know). I've got a list of to do's that don't even fit fully on a single page of notebook paper, it's spilling over onto my dry erase board. Apparently I'm not great with priorities either, what order to do the impossible list in. I have my daily to do's like dishes, dinner, feeding kids, cleaning up from cleaning kids, diapers, feeding self, etc. But if I let myself go there and really think of all I need to do and won't get done, then I will too easily become depressed about what I would like to be able to do, but will never even touch, so instead I made a plan. :) yes I do love a plan!
388. plans (especially when you follow through and they go smoothly)
I made a new to do list for each week (monday-friday) and each day I do certain things-they are my only requirements for the day and then I can do something I would like to do as well as other things I should do, here is my weekly plan:
Everyday:
wash dishes, pick up living room (kids do most of it), clean and organize kitchen table, set up coffee, make the hub's lunch, teach my kiddos (homeschool)
mon:
vacuum all carpets
sweep/mop kitchen
laundry
tues:
vacuum living room
wash all bedding
cut coupons (if not done on monday)
wed:
vacuum living room
shop at Sprouts (bascially produce and its the double ad day =best deals)
park day with homeschool group
thur:
vacuum living room
sweep/mop (if needed)
laundry
fri:
vacuum all carpets
clean bathrooms
I feel so much better only having a few set things to do each day, of course I miss things and I'm not perfect, but instead of feeling like I have to tackle the world each day/week now I feel like I'm just taking on a piece each day and it's much more bearable.
I'm very very blessed and thankful for hands and feet that work and that I am able to JOYFULLY take care of our home and kids while my amazing hubby goes off to work and provides for us! I am also very blessed that I am able to spend time with our amazing Lord each morning through prayer and reading His word, His precious truth that enables me to learn and grow closer to Him each day!
I'm not going to ever be the mom I want to be, most people probably would say that I stress too easily with our kids and that I should relax, but by golly I am doing my best and I am thankful that God gives me the grace I need each day to do it all, His grace is perfectly sufficient for each and every moment so I can rest in that and find peace! My hubby is concerned about adopting (not becuase of money, or how small our home is, or what kind of baggage the children could have), but because he worries that our biological kids can be hard at times and drive me crazy so how would I handle adding 1 or 2 more to the mix. The answer is that I can't handle it, but I'M not suppossed to handle it, I just have to trust and have faith that God's grace will remain sufficient in each and every moment and hopefully the end result will be a family that strives to follow Christ and share His good news with others. We will have food in our bellies (mostly healthy), a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and love in our hearts. God will provide whatever it is we need and hopefully and prayerfully we will be able to answer the call to adoption in a way that glorifies God and brings Him glory. It will undoubtidly be messy and I will make tons of mistakes, but in the end all that matters is that we loved and we said yes when God asked if we had faith enough to trust Him....
387. Being in a missional community group, knowing that if I am really stuck in a hard place all I have to do is ask and I have some great people who will be there for me! the key part for me is asking, its hard for me to ask for help, though I love to help others!
388. me-not sure if I have said this one yet as this blog has been dragging on for quite a while, but I am thankful for the gift of me, God made me who I am and it's not always easy to be this crazy, bold, say what she thinks person, but I am thankful for my gifts and for God's constant presence in guiding me how to use them and here we go again....
sometimes I feel like I just can't get things right, can't do enough, can't be enough. I know I have blogged in some form about this so sorry for any repetetion (repetition can be so annoying I know). I've got a list of to do's that don't even fit fully on a single page of notebook paper, it's spilling over onto my dry erase board. Apparently I'm not great with priorities either, what order to do the impossible list in. I have my daily to do's like dishes, dinner, feeding kids, cleaning up from cleaning kids, diapers, feeding self, etc. But if I let myself go there and really think of all I need to do and won't get done, then I will too easily become depressed about what I would like to be able to do, but will never even touch, so instead I made a plan. :) yes I do love a plan!
388. plans (especially when you follow through and they go smoothly)
I made a new to do list for each week (monday-friday) and each day I do certain things-they are my only requirements for the day and then I can do something I would like to do as well as other things I should do, here is my weekly plan:
Everyday:
wash dishes, pick up living room (kids do most of it), clean and organize kitchen table, set up coffee, make the hub's lunch, teach my kiddos (homeschool)
mon:
vacuum all carpets
sweep/mop kitchen
laundry
tues:
vacuum living room
wash all bedding
cut coupons (if not done on monday)
wed:
vacuum living room
shop at Sprouts (bascially produce and its the double ad day =best deals)
park day with homeschool group
thur:
vacuum living room
sweep/mop (if needed)
laundry
fri:
vacuum all carpets
clean bathrooms
I feel so much better only having a few set things to do each day, of course I miss things and I'm not perfect, but instead of feeling like I have to tackle the world each day/week now I feel like I'm just taking on a piece each day and it's much more bearable.
I'm very very blessed and thankful for hands and feet that work and that I am able to JOYFULLY take care of our home and kids while my amazing hubby goes off to work and provides for us! I am also very blessed that I am able to spend time with our amazing Lord each morning through prayer and reading His word, His precious truth that enables me to learn and grow closer to Him each day!
I'm not going to ever be the mom I want to be, most people probably would say that I stress too easily with our kids and that I should relax, but by golly I am doing my best and I am thankful that God gives me the grace I need each day to do it all, His grace is perfectly sufficient for each and every moment so I can rest in that and find peace! My hubby is concerned about adopting (not becuase of money, or how small our home is, or what kind of baggage the children could have), but because he worries that our biological kids can be hard at times and drive me crazy so how would I handle adding 1 or 2 more to the mix. The answer is that I can't handle it, but I'M not suppossed to handle it, I just have to trust and have faith that God's grace will remain sufficient in each and every moment and hopefully the end result will be a family that strives to follow Christ and share His good news with others. We will have food in our bellies (mostly healthy), a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and love in our hearts. God will provide whatever it is we need and hopefully and prayerfully we will be able to answer the call to adoption in a way that glorifies God and brings Him glory. It will undoubtidly be messy and I will make tons of mistakes, but in the end all that matters is that we loved and we said yes when God asked if we had faith enough to trust Him....
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
oh for blogness sake...
380. time-sometimes good and sometimes less good, but still I'm thankful for time that goes by
381. home-it's good being home
382. a church that teaches classes as well as being an amazing church to be a part of in general!
Its been a long time again-go figure I can't seem to stay up to date on anything...
Plans are funny, I apparently thrive off plans and God thinks it funny to mess with me :) that would make sense as to why I married a Marine :) I heard on the radio that being too much of a planner is like saying you don't have faith, well I consider myself someone who lives by faith for sure, but also am a big time planner. It doesn't mean I can't take it when plans don't work out, I just feel better if there is a plan in place so I kind of know what to expect...
Lots of things are currently unplanned and I am honestly okay with it, but it will be nice to know once the time comes. We are sure we are getting out of the military, but unsure of where we will go or if we will stay afterwards. We want to adopt a couple of kids, but don't even know for sure when to start the whole process. We are taking a class offered at our church on preparing to adopt and it so far is awesome and really has so far confirmed my desire to obey God in adopting or "visiting the orphan in their affliction, which is true faith" (from James 1:27). God adopted us before the world was even created into Christ and we are part of His big family, and I want to adopt children in need of an earthly home to love and show God's grace and mercy to. It was somehow encouraging and scary at the same time when the teacher discussed what it meant to visit the orphan in their affliction. It will be hard, it will be jumping into a trial intentionally face first, but God will be with us each step of the way and He provides enough grace for each moment each day. Whatever hard time we are facing we have exactly the amount of grace we need for that moment and He will help us get through it.
I'm excited to continue learning about the process and hopefully get closer to that face first dive in moment! Another great point he made during class was how we as Christians tend to ask God for advice or wisdom and then we wait for "peace" but really a lot of us more likely wait for it to seem comfortable. We wait til the answer we have is a comfortable answer and call it peace. Peace is not always comfortable and it is not always easy, but when it is the right answer you will know it because it is pretty easy to quickly discern a wrong answer. When my hubby told me we were going to Texas I didn't find it to be a comfortable answer, yet I had peace because I really knew it was where God wanted us to be. It took time to get connected here, it was lonely in the beginning and frustrating to find a church, but God was with us the whole time and though there was discomfort at times, there was true peace that we were in His will.
383. days when daddy is home with us
384. new projects--pics to come later when I finish
385. doing the insanity workouts with my hubby by my side
381. home-it's good being home
382. a church that teaches classes as well as being an amazing church to be a part of in general!
Its been a long time again-go figure I can't seem to stay up to date on anything...
Plans are funny, I apparently thrive off plans and God thinks it funny to mess with me :) that would make sense as to why I married a Marine :) I heard on the radio that being too much of a planner is like saying you don't have faith, well I consider myself someone who lives by faith for sure, but also am a big time planner. It doesn't mean I can't take it when plans don't work out, I just feel better if there is a plan in place so I kind of know what to expect...
Lots of things are currently unplanned and I am honestly okay with it, but it will be nice to know once the time comes. We are sure we are getting out of the military, but unsure of where we will go or if we will stay afterwards. We want to adopt a couple of kids, but don't even know for sure when to start the whole process. We are taking a class offered at our church on preparing to adopt and it so far is awesome and really has so far confirmed my desire to obey God in adopting or "visiting the orphan in their affliction, which is true faith" (from James 1:27). God adopted us before the world was even created into Christ and we are part of His big family, and I want to adopt children in need of an earthly home to love and show God's grace and mercy to. It was somehow encouraging and scary at the same time when the teacher discussed what it meant to visit the orphan in their affliction. It will be hard, it will be jumping into a trial intentionally face first, but God will be with us each step of the way and He provides enough grace for each moment each day. Whatever hard time we are facing we have exactly the amount of grace we need for that moment and He will help us get through it.
I'm excited to continue learning about the process and hopefully get closer to that face first dive in moment! Another great point he made during class was how we as Christians tend to ask God for advice or wisdom and then we wait for "peace" but really a lot of us more likely wait for it to seem comfortable. We wait til the answer we have is a comfortable answer and call it peace. Peace is not always comfortable and it is not always easy, but when it is the right answer you will know it because it is pretty easy to quickly discern a wrong answer. When my hubby told me we were going to Texas I didn't find it to be a comfortable answer, yet I had peace because I really knew it was where God wanted us to be. It took time to get connected here, it was lonely in the beginning and frustrating to find a church, but God was with us the whole time and though there was discomfort at times, there was true peace that we were in His will.
383. days when daddy is home with us
384. new projects--pics to come later when I finish
385. doing the insanity workouts with my hubby by my side
Thursday, August 9, 2012
it's time to clean this old house.....
378. peace--not much of it lately and I do miss it!
379. my amazing husbands strong loving arms wrapped around me while i sleep-missing that too
I've learned that the mess doesn't bother me as much any more-truly. When I get back home, I am going to try to stop worrying about messes (aside from the kitchen of course-its too small for a mess and I can't start cooking in it til there is counter space so I digress). I've decided that I will be thankful and count it all joy that there are people in my house to make a mess and be loud! I'm happy that my house is comfortable and people don't feel like they can't sit on my furniture. I want people to make themselves at home, put their feet up and relax!
I've accepted the fact that my stuff will never look like a showroom, it will never be pristine-God willing I will have grandchildren that will visit my house often once my kids are grown and they will make themselves comfortable too! I anticipate scratches and dings and though I do believe we should take care of what we are given and be good stewards over our blessings, but not at the cost of putting other people out. Now when I see my kids carving into my kitchen table wth a fork, I'm not okay with that, but if they get some crumbs on the furniture-its something that I can clean.
I've long since given up my ritual deep cleaning friday's, I no longer mop my floors every week for the sake of doing it, no one eats off my floors and I find that as long as I clean them once my feet start sticking to the floor it's all good! I try to vacuum frequently because we have a dog, but I don't lose sleep if it doesn't happen.
It's all how you look at it really. I just saw a quote on facebook saying that "trying to clean the house with kids in it is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos"--too true and there are 2 choices we have-either be irritated and present yourself as having no joy in the task God has given you-which rubs other people wrong. Or be joyful over the task set before you and accept that it may take longer-you will get interupted, and by the time you are done, it won't look like a showroom. It will be sanitary and if you are able to find joy in the simple fact that you have hands and feet that allow you to clean yourself without extra effort it will show in your smile and patience and the people around you will notice and see you and have joy as well.
Some day your house will be empty and you will be able to clean it quickly without any interuptions (yes you can ignore the phone) and then you will finish and it will look like you really put your hard work and effor into it, but then you will sit down in a quiet house alone-then what?
I want my children to see that I am so very happy to serve Jesus and my husband and them, that requires a smile and positive attitutde while I work on the tasks God sets before me and then as they grown they will find joy in doing the tasks God calls them to do and it can be a very positive cycle. I used to be angry while I cleaned, I found no joy in doing the work and when it was done and someone came right behind me and made another mess I would be even more irritated, well that ends. That is a thing i grew up learning and it ends here. I pray that God would change that in our family and that my kids would never be angry over doing the tasks required of them.
So the choice is yours do you want to be angry over the mess and noise or be thankful that there are people there you can love on to make those messes and noise?
379. my amazing husbands strong loving arms wrapped around me while i sleep-missing that too
I've learned that the mess doesn't bother me as much any more-truly. When I get back home, I am going to try to stop worrying about messes (aside from the kitchen of course-its too small for a mess and I can't start cooking in it til there is counter space so I digress). I've decided that I will be thankful and count it all joy that there are people in my house to make a mess and be loud! I'm happy that my house is comfortable and people don't feel like they can't sit on my furniture. I want people to make themselves at home, put their feet up and relax!
I've accepted the fact that my stuff will never look like a showroom, it will never be pristine-God willing I will have grandchildren that will visit my house often once my kids are grown and they will make themselves comfortable too! I anticipate scratches and dings and though I do believe we should take care of what we are given and be good stewards over our blessings, but not at the cost of putting other people out. Now when I see my kids carving into my kitchen table wth a fork, I'm not okay with that, but if they get some crumbs on the furniture-its something that I can clean.
I've long since given up my ritual deep cleaning friday's, I no longer mop my floors every week for the sake of doing it, no one eats off my floors and I find that as long as I clean them once my feet start sticking to the floor it's all good! I try to vacuum frequently because we have a dog, but I don't lose sleep if it doesn't happen.
It's all how you look at it really. I just saw a quote on facebook saying that "trying to clean the house with kids in it is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos"--too true and there are 2 choices we have-either be irritated and present yourself as having no joy in the task God has given you-which rubs other people wrong. Or be joyful over the task set before you and accept that it may take longer-you will get interupted, and by the time you are done, it won't look like a showroom. It will be sanitary and if you are able to find joy in the simple fact that you have hands and feet that allow you to clean yourself without extra effort it will show in your smile and patience and the people around you will notice and see you and have joy as well.
Some day your house will be empty and you will be able to clean it quickly without any interuptions (yes you can ignore the phone) and then you will finish and it will look like you really put your hard work and effor into it, but then you will sit down in a quiet house alone-then what?
I want my children to see that I am so very happy to serve Jesus and my husband and them, that requires a smile and positive attitutde while I work on the tasks God sets before me and then as they grown they will find joy in doing the tasks God calls them to do and it can be a very positive cycle. I used to be angry while I cleaned, I found no joy in doing the work and when it was done and someone came right behind me and made another mess I would be even more irritated, well that ends. That is a thing i grew up learning and it ends here. I pray that God would change that in our family and that my kids would never be angry over doing the tasks required of them.
So the choice is yours do you want to be angry over the mess and noise or be thankful that there are people there you can love on to make those messes and noise?
Monday, June 4, 2012
helping
374. "under the overpass" a great read!
375. encouragement from the Kropp family!
376. cici's pizza cinnamin rolls-best cinnamin rolls ever
too much time can be so easily wasted on the computer, and yet here I sit determined to write a post as it has been far too long and I'm feeling bloggy :)
I jIust finished the book "under the overpass" and it was amazing! it changed my perspective on homeless people and the way the church responds. Let me first just say that I too have done many things that the church does and know that it was wrong. For instance I looked the other way when I passed a homeless person, pretended not to see them, just plain ignored them. What does it feel like to the person sitting there below the sign, covered in dirt and stink, just hoping to eat that day, losing hope, turning to the wrong things to ease their pain and suffering? When we don't look at them we say they aren't people who exist, we say that they are of no value, we tell them that we just don't care and they are below us. How much can a smile affect someones day? I enjoy people who smile at me that don't know me, so how much more than does it mean to someone who is ignored by the marjority of the people who pass by? A smile is free and it brings joy to both the give and the reciever. See waht happens when you smile and look into the eyes of the person sitting there down on their luck. Sometimes I feel silly just smiling at them, but I pray that it lifts their spirit even just a little.
tips for helping a homeless person according to the author, mike, for one thing tortillas are better than bread as they take up less space and don't get squished and taste just as great with peanut butter. flip flops are very handy to have in case theirs are broken so they dont have to walk barefoot and risk stepping on an infected needle. Get a couple of friends to bring an extra shirt or sweatshirt and go together to talk and clothe/feed your local homeless. Spend time just having a conversation and even share a meal. Don't treat them like somethign you have to try and fix or like a project you need to work on, just show them Christ's love and be genuwine.
Of course this extends beyond homeless if we only treated everyone with Christ's love what a different place we would live in right? We teach our kid to share and to love others and yet how great are we doing it? How well are we treating others we come into contact with? Do you thank people who you appreciate? do you tell people how you feel about them? or do we assume they know? how good does it feel when someone does these things to you? Yesterday my newer friend Kim told me that she really enjoyed and appreciated my friendship and it was so nice to hear! it was reaffirming and a blessing because lets face it I'm crazy and I get in my head and sometimes see little worth in myself as a friend to others-I'm human....last night we went to Ci ci's for dinner and there was a waitress there that I have seen every time we have gone and she is always very kind, helpful and gracious. I ran into her at the dessert bar while I waited for some fresh cinnamon rolls and she apologized for me having to wait (all of about a minute) and I told her it was okay and then I couldn't help myself I told her that she was good, that I have seen her working before a few times and that she was a hard worker and I appreciate her and she said a simple "thank you ma'am"
377. being called ma'am-gotta love texas manners
my man playing with the kids and our neighbors kids after work, love him so!
we can't help everyone, but everone can help someone in even the simplest ways, who is right in front of you needing help? serve them with Christs love...as for me right now that means going and playing with my kids so until next time enjoy!
375. encouragement from the Kropp family!
376. cici's pizza cinnamin rolls-best cinnamin rolls ever
too much time can be so easily wasted on the computer, and yet here I sit determined to write a post as it has been far too long and I'm feeling bloggy :)
I jIust finished the book "under the overpass" and it was amazing! it changed my perspective on homeless people and the way the church responds. Let me first just say that I too have done many things that the church does and know that it was wrong. For instance I looked the other way when I passed a homeless person, pretended not to see them, just plain ignored them. What does it feel like to the person sitting there below the sign, covered in dirt and stink, just hoping to eat that day, losing hope, turning to the wrong things to ease their pain and suffering? When we don't look at them we say they aren't people who exist, we say that they are of no value, we tell them that we just don't care and they are below us. How much can a smile affect someones day? I enjoy people who smile at me that don't know me, so how much more than does it mean to someone who is ignored by the marjority of the people who pass by? A smile is free and it brings joy to both the give and the reciever. See waht happens when you smile and look into the eyes of the person sitting there down on their luck. Sometimes I feel silly just smiling at them, but I pray that it lifts their spirit even just a little.
tips for helping a homeless person according to the author, mike, for one thing tortillas are better than bread as they take up less space and don't get squished and taste just as great with peanut butter. flip flops are very handy to have in case theirs are broken so they dont have to walk barefoot and risk stepping on an infected needle. Get a couple of friends to bring an extra shirt or sweatshirt and go together to talk and clothe/feed your local homeless. Spend time just having a conversation and even share a meal. Don't treat them like somethign you have to try and fix or like a project you need to work on, just show them Christ's love and be genuwine.
Of course this extends beyond homeless if we only treated everyone with Christ's love what a different place we would live in right? We teach our kid to share and to love others and yet how great are we doing it? How well are we treating others we come into contact with? Do you thank people who you appreciate? do you tell people how you feel about them? or do we assume they know? how good does it feel when someone does these things to you? Yesterday my newer friend Kim told me that she really enjoyed and appreciated my friendship and it was so nice to hear! it was reaffirming and a blessing because lets face it I'm crazy and I get in my head and sometimes see little worth in myself as a friend to others-I'm human....last night we went to Ci ci's for dinner and there was a waitress there that I have seen every time we have gone and she is always very kind, helpful and gracious. I ran into her at the dessert bar while I waited for some fresh cinnamon rolls and she apologized for me having to wait (all of about a minute) and I told her it was okay and then I couldn't help myself I told her that she was good, that I have seen her working before a few times and that she was a hard worker and I appreciate her and she said a simple "thank you ma'am"
377. being called ma'am-gotta love texas manners
we can't help everyone, but everone can help someone in even the simplest ways, who is right in front of you needing help? serve them with Christs love...as for me right now that means going and playing with my kids so until next time enjoy!
Monday, May 14, 2012
healthy healthy health health (for my sis that was to the tune of turkey turkey trust trust :)
368. coffee with 1 tsp. of honey and 2 Tbls of creamer = healthier and now it actually tastes good since I have acquired a taste for it!
369. taking friends on their 1st couponing trip
370. making choices that honor God instead of indulge my wicked sinful self...
371. being able to encourage others with their health.
372. simple ways God uses to move big and make an impact in His kingdom! such as a Ruth class that turned into a meetup for the people in the class as well as added others......can't wait to see what God does with this wednesday night gathering!
373. completing projects as gifts for others :)--you will soon see mom!
my good friend Marylee and I are on a journey to be healthier and it is awesome because we are doing it together. we are on myfitnesspal.com and it has turned into some other people being on there as well--my sis and her boyfriend were already on it and I am very thankful Marylee taught me about it. If you know how biofeedback works, this is how I see the fitness pal. You see how you are doing during the day, its in front of your face how much fat, cal, sodium, cholesterol, sugar, etc. and so you choose your foods more carefully and you workout and get exctied to have that posted! we don't know how much time we have on this earth and its true you could eat like crap and live forever or you could take great care of your body and be hit by a bus at a young age, God will take us when He wants to take us. The only control we have in any of it is the choices we have to work out and what to eat and it directly affects the quality of life we can have. I want a quality life and I want it now, I don't want to wait til I'm 60 to decide I need to change and take care of myself so I can run around with grandkids, I want to be my best me now.
Yesterday was Moms day, Happy mom's day friends! I had a nice day! my man took us to mexican lunch--yummy! and then to Old Navy --awesome score on workout pants for me $4.91 yay! and then I went couponing with my friend Kim and then we had a great dinner of cheese and crackers and wine--yumm yummm yummmy! The best part about it was that I chose to indulge that day and knew I would be going over in all catergories (calories, fat, carbs, etc.), but I was okay with it and I didn't feel like I needed to punish myself for it, I just enjoyed it and today I am back on track with healthier choices-what freedom there is in this! I can have cheat days and not fall into a guilt spiral and I can keep pressing on with being my healthiest me most of the time! Thank you M for your encouragement and for my new pal :)
In other news: my dear friend Gretchen and her family are about to head to the Phillippines and start their mission there. Right now they are taking care of her mom who is dying of cancer (she is on a different mission while waiting for the next mission) I am sad becuase I miss them and wish I could greedily keep them in Texas a little longer, but I am so excited for them at the same time to get to the Island and start "washing feet" please join me in praying for them to have a safe journey there and for them to be able to be okay with leaving. Pray for peace that surpasses understanding and comfort and a gentle passing for her mom when that time comes. I am very thankful to have spent the time that I did with their amazing family and even more greatful for the impact they made on my life! they are very loved and missed by this family :)
some random spring pics:
krazy Kenni
silly tanner
sweet daddy/daughter love!
369. taking friends on their 1st couponing trip
370. making choices that honor God instead of indulge my wicked sinful self...
371. being able to encourage others with their health.
372. simple ways God uses to move big and make an impact in His kingdom! such as a Ruth class that turned into a meetup for the people in the class as well as added others......can't wait to see what God does with this wednesday night gathering!
373. completing projects as gifts for others :)--you will soon see mom!
my good friend Marylee and I are on a journey to be healthier and it is awesome because we are doing it together. we are on myfitnesspal.com and it has turned into some other people being on there as well--my sis and her boyfriend were already on it and I am very thankful Marylee taught me about it. If you know how biofeedback works, this is how I see the fitness pal. You see how you are doing during the day, its in front of your face how much fat, cal, sodium, cholesterol, sugar, etc. and so you choose your foods more carefully and you workout and get exctied to have that posted! we don't know how much time we have on this earth and its true you could eat like crap and live forever or you could take great care of your body and be hit by a bus at a young age, God will take us when He wants to take us. The only control we have in any of it is the choices we have to work out and what to eat and it directly affects the quality of life we can have. I want a quality life and I want it now, I don't want to wait til I'm 60 to decide I need to change and take care of myself so I can run around with grandkids, I want to be my best me now.
Yesterday was Moms day, Happy mom's day friends! I had a nice day! my man took us to mexican lunch--yummy! and then to Old Navy --awesome score on workout pants for me $4.91 yay! and then I went couponing with my friend Kim and then we had a great dinner of cheese and crackers and wine--yumm yummm yummmy! The best part about it was that I chose to indulge that day and knew I would be going over in all catergories (calories, fat, carbs, etc.), but I was okay with it and I didn't feel like I needed to punish myself for it, I just enjoyed it and today I am back on track with healthier choices-what freedom there is in this! I can have cheat days and not fall into a guilt spiral and I can keep pressing on with being my healthiest me most of the time! Thank you M for your encouragement and for my new pal :)
In other news: my dear friend Gretchen and her family are about to head to the Phillippines and start their mission there. Right now they are taking care of her mom who is dying of cancer (she is on a different mission while waiting for the next mission) I am sad becuase I miss them and wish I could greedily keep them in Texas a little longer, but I am so excited for them at the same time to get to the Island and start "washing feet" please join me in praying for them to have a safe journey there and for them to be able to be okay with leaving. Pray for peace that surpasses understanding and comfort and a gentle passing for her mom when that time comes. I am very thankful to have spent the time that I did with their amazing family and even more greatful for the impact they made on my life! they are very loved and missed by this family :)
some random spring pics:
sweet daddy/daughter love!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
confessions...
wow I do not like the new blogger posting part, just like the new facebook timeline, but anyway
Lately I have been struggling with judgement. yikes I know. I have been a busybody and I am in some ways ashamed to admit it, but i cant deny its truth and i am convicted so here i am repenting. I have been worrying about what other people are doing or not doing instead of just making sure I am doing what i should be doing. If I were making sure I was doing what I was doing I would never have been judging. For example there is a woman who coupons at my walgreens and she is a hoarder. I need to focus on me doing what is right and taking fair amounts and donating a lot of what I get and not worry about what she is doing. I teach this to our kids, worry about yourself make sure you are doign what you should be doing and yet I have failed to listen to my own lesson.
The good news though: my sin was nailed to the cross and I don't have to feel bad over the past sins I made because Jesus already bled for those sins and forgave me for them! I am so very thankful for my precious saviour and I am being proactive in getting out of my own way so that He can lead me and help me walk in His spirit so I don't continue to make the same mistake. The way I do this: read my Bible, focus on things above and not on the things of this world. I make a better effort to love thy neighbor and put others before myself. I can't do this on my own, but Jesus can help me to do this if I let Him. I know I will struggle with sin my whole life, but I don't have to struggle alone and I thank God for that!
I was very encouraged when i read Colossians 3 this mornign and I encourage you to all read it as well. here is a bit of scripture from it, verses 12-17:
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. but above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body and be thankful.. let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
I was also encouraged by the last 2 sermons at church (hence my last blog) and would encourage you to listen to it, even just play it in the background while you check your email or facebook or fold clothes, it will be worth your while. here is a link and it is the one titled gospel obedience part 2 (though again both are great and i recommend both)
http://austinstone.org/resources/sermons
Lately I have been struggling with judgement. yikes I know. I have been a busybody and I am in some ways ashamed to admit it, but i cant deny its truth and i am convicted so here i am repenting. I have been worrying about what other people are doing or not doing instead of just making sure I am doing what i should be doing. If I were making sure I was doing what I was doing I would never have been judging. For example there is a woman who coupons at my walgreens and she is a hoarder. I need to focus on me doing what is right and taking fair amounts and donating a lot of what I get and not worry about what she is doing. I teach this to our kids, worry about yourself make sure you are doign what you should be doing and yet I have failed to listen to my own lesson.
The good news though: my sin was nailed to the cross and I don't have to feel bad over the past sins I made because Jesus already bled for those sins and forgave me for them! I am so very thankful for my precious saviour and I am being proactive in getting out of my own way so that He can lead me and help me walk in His spirit so I don't continue to make the same mistake. The way I do this: read my Bible, focus on things above and not on the things of this world. I make a better effort to love thy neighbor and put others before myself. I can't do this on my own, but Jesus can help me to do this if I let Him. I know I will struggle with sin my whole life, but I don't have to struggle alone and I thank God for that!
I was very encouraged when i read Colossians 3 this mornign and I encourage you to all read it as well. here is a bit of scripture from it, verses 12-17:
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. but above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body and be thankful.. let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
I was also encouraged by the last 2 sermons at church (hence my last blog) and would encourage you to listen to it, even just play it in the background while you check your email or facebook or fold clothes, it will be worth your while. here is a link and it is the one titled gospel obedience part 2 (though again both are great and i recommend both)
http://austinstone.org/resources/sermons
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
paychecks
362. waking up early to spend time with God, today that looks different-instead of reading God's word I am speaking on God's word....
On Sunay at church pastor Tyler (pretty cool dude by the way) taught on Gospel obedience. We discussed the point pastor matt made on Easter about how religion says I obey therefore am accepted, but Gospel says I am accepted therefore I obey! I love that! He also discussed paychecks in a way that made complete sense to me and I want to share so others may understand as well...
we get frustrated sometimes because we don't think we get what we deserve, we work hard, we do right, we get nothing, no glory, no recognition (I'm sure mom's and wives can relate), sometimes in fact people who don't work as hard or do as much as us get the reward we feel we have earned. I will admit I never thought of myself this way, but pastor tyler hit the nail on the head in some ways with this. It also explains some of my lack of joy. I am looking at life as though I work hard and earn what I get. When we get paid our normal weekly or bi-weekly paycheck do we get excited and find joy in it? no usually I mean maybe a little-but its not real joy-its more like oh good now i can get_________ and pick up some groceries as well..... in fact sometimes we probably get frustrated with how little we preceive we are getting with our paycheck.
Ready to have your mind blown? We have worked hard and definitely earned something---death and hell-----yep hell that is what we have earned and deserve, but God send His son Jesus to use His paycheck to pay the debt we couldn't pay so that we don't get what we earned. Jesus died for our sins and atoned for them and because of Him we can choose to accept a free gift-the gift of salvation-eternity in heaven with our good and kind heavenly Father. Most Christians get excited about this right? Now picture this-Jesus paid our debt so we owe nothing and we don't get what we deserve (this is grace to the maximum) so whatabout those paychecks we don't find joy in? what about the lack of recognition for the hard work we do? what about all that stuff we feel robbed of? what about that person who gets more than we do even though they work half as hard?....
If you remember and beleive the gospel fully than you realize that we have earne nothing but hell and yet Jesus gave us a gift and all else other than HELL and DEATH are GIFTS--all else are GIFTS! Not just the stuff we think we find joy in or in fact do find joy in, but all of it--yes that includes trials, suffering, the tough stuff-what is worse than hell? nothing! I'm getting real with ya'll right now because I want to celebrate together in heaven as well as right here right now. Our paycheck shouldhave been hell, but instead it's life, its a love that we can't fully comprehend, its a savior who cares so much He would suffer in our stead to save His children. He was fully God but because fully man as well and walke this earth livinga completely perfect life and suffered greatly for just being HIm, then He was brutally beaten and tortured, hung on a Cross and died. He expereienced death fully and 3 days later He rose victoriously from the grave-that is good news for all who accept and believe that there is a love that great that sets us free and if we believe it, He will dwell in our hearts and help us to remember the gospel. We will see that what we get is a gift because we have no debt to pay. God is blessing us with gifts all the time and we can choose to see them that way and worship Him for it and find joy, or we can forgot the Cross and think we don't get enough of what we deserve. I don't want religion, I don't want a set of rules I try to follow and fail continually. I want my life and joy to reflect my rememberance of the gospel and count all things as joy since I do not get what I have earned (to go to hell) because my amazing Jesus, my savior died for me! Thank you Jesus for reminding me of what You did for me and how much I am blessed in spite of my sinful heart! Thank you for being good when there is nothing good in me, for being joy, for paying my debt and giving me so many many gifts-the greatest gift I have ever received is You, thank you!
363. the Cross
364. sermons that remind me of what I have been saved from
365. being reminded that when I don't get the credit I feel I have deserved that it doesn't matter-my credit come from Jesus and any credit I do get is mercy, a gift from God!
366. my aunt lora and her family! for inspiring me and edifying me
367. my computer, table, chair, internet, home, AC, lovely morning breeze, my body, my health, my family, friends, fingers....everything, every single thing about my life and the lives of those I love is a gift I don't deserve.........
On Sunay at church pastor Tyler (pretty cool dude by the way) taught on Gospel obedience. We discussed the point pastor matt made on Easter about how religion says I obey therefore am accepted, but Gospel says I am accepted therefore I obey! I love that! He also discussed paychecks in a way that made complete sense to me and I want to share so others may understand as well...
we get frustrated sometimes because we don't think we get what we deserve, we work hard, we do right, we get nothing, no glory, no recognition (I'm sure mom's and wives can relate), sometimes in fact people who don't work as hard or do as much as us get the reward we feel we have earned. I will admit I never thought of myself this way, but pastor tyler hit the nail on the head in some ways with this. It also explains some of my lack of joy. I am looking at life as though I work hard and earn what I get. When we get paid our normal weekly or bi-weekly paycheck do we get excited and find joy in it? no usually I mean maybe a little-but its not real joy-its more like oh good now i can get_________ and pick up some groceries as well..... in fact sometimes we probably get frustrated with how little we preceive we are getting with our paycheck.
Ready to have your mind blown? We have worked hard and definitely earned something---death and hell-----yep hell that is what we have earned and deserve, but God send His son Jesus to use His paycheck to pay the debt we couldn't pay so that we don't get what we earned. Jesus died for our sins and atoned for them and because of Him we can choose to accept a free gift-the gift of salvation-eternity in heaven with our good and kind heavenly Father. Most Christians get excited about this right? Now picture this-Jesus paid our debt so we owe nothing and we don't get what we deserve (this is grace to the maximum) so whatabout those paychecks we don't find joy in? what about the lack of recognition for the hard work we do? what about all that stuff we feel robbed of? what about that person who gets more than we do even though they work half as hard?....
If you remember and beleive the gospel fully than you realize that we have earne nothing but hell and yet Jesus gave us a gift and all else other than HELL and DEATH are GIFTS--all else are GIFTS! Not just the stuff we think we find joy in or in fact do find joy in, but all of it--yes that includes trials, suffering, the tough stuff-what is worse than hell? nothing! I'm getting real with ya'll right now because I want to celebrate together in heaven as well as right here right now. Our paycheck shouldhave been hell, but instead it's life, its a love that we can't fully comprehend, its a savior who cares so much He would suffer in our stead to save His children. He was fully God but because fully man as well and walke this earth livinga completely perfect life and suffered greatly for just being HIm, then He was brutally beaten and tortured, hung on a Cross and died. He expereienced death fully and 3 days later He rose victoriously from the grave-that is good news for all who accept and believe that there is a love that great that sets us free and if we believe it, He will dwell in our hearts and help us to remember the gospel. We will see that what we get is a gift because we have no debt to pay. God is blessing us with gifts all the time and we can choose to see them that way and worship Him for it and find joy, or we can forgot the Cross and think we don't get enough of what we deserve. I don't want religion, I don't want a set of rules I try to follow and fail continually. I want my life and joy to reflect my rememberance of the gospel and count all things as joy since I do not get what I have earned (to go to hell) because my amazing Jesus, my savior died for me! Thank you Jesus for reminding me of what You did for me and how much I am blessed in spite of my sinful heart! Thank you for being good when there is nothing good in me, for being joy, for paying my debt and giving me so many many gifts-the greatest gift I have ever received is You, thank you!
363. the Cross
364. sermons that remind me of what I have been saved from
365. being reminded that when I don't get the credit I feel I have deserved that it doesn't matter-my credit come from Jesus and any credit I do get is mercy, a gift from God!
366. my aunt lora and her family! for inspiring me and edifying me
367. my computer, table, chair, internet, home, AC, lovely morning breeze, my body, my health, my family, friends, fingers....everything, every single thing about my life and the lives of those I love is a gift I don't deserve.........
Monday, April 2, 2012
gifty gifts and missing you
354. time can be a gift, it can be slow and painful, but I'm looking at it today as a gift (easier to do when I know my man will be home tonight with a more normal routine)
Today I feel a litte uneasy for some reason. I am not quite sure what it is, except that I feel like there is so much to do and normally I just say okay lets start doing stuff and I dig in, but today is not like other days. I have definitely dug in and started, but the unease is still lingering. I went in T's room and played with him and K (pretend kitchen play) which of course turned into us searching through the 3 toy buckets in various rooms for all the kitchen stuff (a.k.a. cleaning up involved here)...played a bit then decided to put away some laundry and finally check my email. I have already worked out today and spent my wonderful time with my savior this morning, so what is it???? I thought it was that my focus was on too much of my to do's and not enough of my kids, but that didn't change it. T worked on school today, dishes done, k's high chair deep cleaned, table cleaned, deal lists printed, bed made, laundry going....
I read my email from my dear friend G, then read through her blog posts and in many ways I was encouraged and I was also brought to tears with her kind words for me, thank you my dear beautiful friend! I love and miss you so very much! Maybe that is just it, I am not a huge cryer (though that is changing as I age) and I really miss my friend as well as my family back home in Oregon. I looked at pictures from Christmas when we visited home for 8 days (not long enough for sure)....and I remembered that those are special people who make me smile and laugh and they make Oregon feel like home. I miss people I guess is what is going on. I miss my family--just being all together in the same place sipping coffee and watching tv and laughing and eating big meals together. I miss my amazing friend G, who would bring a smile to my face and heart every wednesday when i would get to see her and talk with her and be real with her. She always challenged me and edified me (loving this word lately) and her kids made me smile too!....G I miss you very much, you are a spiritual mother to me (even though you are not like a mother more of a sister) and I thank you for all that you taught and inspired me! I apprecaite the fact that you have a blog to help grow me, but it will never measure to spending time with you in person! You are a very special gift to me!
355. G's blog and friendship!
356. stepping out of my comfort zone-thanks M for inviting me to sing with you on Easter!
357. back at church this sunday and it was amazing as always!
358. milk and crackers (this time its generic club) thanks dad for sharing this snack with me and now I get to share it with my kiddos -they love it too, next its smoked oysters on saltines
359. health
360. family walks
361. looking at pictures of family!
*these are oregon pictures from 2010, but I'm feeling nostalgic and wanted to post my family and home anyway.....p.s. my hubby is an amazing rock skipper
Today I feel a litte uneasy for some reason. I am not quite sure what it is, except that I feel like there is so much to do and normally I just say okay lets start doing stuff and I dig in, but today is not like other days. I have definitely dug in and started, but the unease is still lingering. I went in T's room and played with him and K (pretend kitchen play) which of course turned into us searching through the 3 toy buckets in various rooms for all the kitchen stuff (a.k.a. cleaning up involved here)...played a bit then decided to put away some laundry and finally check my email. I have already worked out today and spent my wonderful time with my savior this morning, so what is it???? I thought it was that my focus was on too much of my to do's and not enough of my kids, but that didn't change it. T worked on school today, dishes done, k's high chair deep cleaned, table cleaned, deal lists printed, bed made, laundry going....
I read my email from my dear friend G, then read through her blog posts and in many ways I was encouraged and I was also brought to tears with her kind words for me, thank you my dear beautiful friend! I love and miss you so very much! Maybe that is just it, I am not a huge cryer (though that is changing as I age) and I really miss my friend as well as my family back home in Oregon. I looked at pictures from Christmas when we visited home for 8 days (not long enough for sure)....and I remembered that those are special people who make me smile and laugh and they make Oregon feel like home. I miss people I guess is what is going on. I miss my family--just being all together in the same place sipping coffee and watching tv and laughing and eating big meals together. I miss my amazing friend G, who would bring a smile to my face and heart every wednesday when i would get to see her and talk with her and be real with her. She always challenged me and edified me (loving this word lately) and her kids made me smile too!....G I miss you very much, you are a spiritual mother to me (even though you are not like a mother more of a sister) and I thank you for all that you taught and inspired me! I apprecaite the fact that you have a blog to help grow me, but it will never measure to spending time with you in person! You are a very special gift to me!
355. G's blog and friendship!
356. stepping out of my comfort zone-thanks M for inviting me to sing with you on Easter!
357. back at church this sunday and it was amazing as always!
358. milk and crackers (this time its generic club) thanks dad for sharing this snack with me and now I get to share it with my kiddos -they love it too, next its smoked oysters on saltines
359. health
360. family walks
361. looking at pictures of family!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
It's so hard to say goodbye.....
349. precious kids that have a special place in my heart that say they will miss our family as one of the things they will miss most about the states! It makes me feel so good to know that we will be missed almost as much as they will be missed :)
We took our dear friends G and her 5 amazing kiddos to the train station this morning, it was very hard to say good bye to such amazing people who have influenced my life in ways I can't even put into words! They are goers, they have sold everything (gave away much of it) and are moving their family to the Phillipines to be part of the Great Commission to love others like Jesus loves and tell them about the Prince of Peace! It is bittersweet to say goodbye because I am so encouraged by what they are doing and yet I want to selfishly hold them here near me so I can soak up more of them and more of what they have to teach me.....
I am a new woman thanks to you, Gretchen! You have done amazing things for me and for my family and have led by such an amazing example, you and Brian and the kids: Tom, Yosef, Seth, Ethan, and Bis! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for simply being you! Thank you for loving us and teaching us and inspiring us and loving Jesus so much! I wish I would have spent even more time with you all!
The hardest thing about saying goodbye to someone who means so very much to me is not knowing when I will see them again! It is hard to say goodbye to my family, but I generally know when I will see them again and its hard to not have a clue when our time will be to see each other again. But, I am saying this with confidance that I will see you again! We will make it happen whether its in the Phillipines or somewhere else!
350. My hubby not working today, all for the cost of homemade cookies! thats all I have to do to get to have him here today is make cookies for a couple of generous guys from his work. It was nice to be able to cry on his shoulder! Thank you Lord, for working that out for me and us!
351. Great neighbors including an amazing friend (Jenn that is you), whom G prayed for me to have to help me pick up the torch and continue on serving Jesus and others.
352. Realizing God has us exactly where we belong and seeing the possiblities for more to come to serve Him right here in our neighborhood.
353. Other people seeing growth in my man, its not always to recognize it when you are with him daily, but there is a great change and I am so proud of my man for getting out of his own way and letting God work in him!
Kropp family~ my dear friends you are like family to us and you are literally our brothers and sister in Christ, but more than that you are like family to us and I thank you for all you are and all you have don't for us! for the amazing example you have set and for touching our lives in ways we couldn't have even asked for! Thanks for being "weird" and helping us to get "weird" (of course that is a term of endearment that I use the word "weird') We are set apart and we should look different in the way we live our lives so thank you for showing us what it means in a tangilbe way! You are going to be missed so much and we will continue to pray for you and will remember you every day and we love you all! Thanks for everything!
*pretty ms. Gretchen helping me with Kenni
For more pictures of this amazing family please visit countingkropps@blogspot.com and follow them while they serve Jesus in the Phillipines.
--Darn why didn't I take pictures while you guys were here, of the dancing game and the crop of Kropps on our living room floor....well at least I have the memories of it, thanks for staying with us, it meant a lot to have you here for the epic sleepovers before you left :)
We took our dear friends G and her 5 amazing kiddos to the train station this morning, it was very hard to say good bye to such amazing people who have influenced my life in ways I can't even put into words! They are goers, they have sold everything (gave away much of it) and are moving their family to the Phillipines to be part of the Great Commission to love others like Jesus loves and tell them about the Prince of Peace! It is bittersweet to say goodbye because I am so encouraged by what they are doing and yet I want to selfishly hold them here near me so I can soak up more of them and more of what they have to teach me.....
I am a new woman thanks to you, Gretchen! You have done amazing things for me and for my family and have led by such an amazing example, you and Brian and the kids: Tom, Yosef, Seth, Ethan, and Bis! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for simply being you! Thank you for loving us and teaching us and inspiring us and loving Jesus so much! I wish I would have spent even more time with you all!
The hardest thing about saying goodbye to someone who means so very much to me is not knowing when I will see them again! It is hard to say goodbye to my family, but I generally know when I will see them again and its hard to not have a clue when our time will be to see each other again. But, I am saying this with confidance that I will see you again! We will make it happen whether its in the Phillipines or somewhere else!
350. My hubby not working today, all for the cost of homemade cookies! thats all I have to do to get to have him here today is make cookies for a couple of generous guys from his work. It was nice to be able to cry on his shoulder! Thank you Lord, for working that out for me and us!
351. Great neighbors including an amazing friend (Jenn that is you), whom G prayed for me to have to help me pick up the torch and continue on serving Jesus and others.
352. Realizing God has us exactly where we belong and seeing the possiblities for more to come to serve Him right here in our neighborhood.
353. Other people seeing growth in my man, its not always to recognize it when you are with him daily, but there is a great change and I am so proud of my man for getting out of his own way and letting God work in him!
Kropp family~ my dear friends you are like family to us and you are literally our brothers and sister in Christ, but more than that you are like family to us and I thank you for all you are and all you have don't for us! for the amazing example you have set and for touching our lives in ways we couldn't have even asked for! Thanks for being "weird" and helping us to get "weird" (of course that is a term of endearment that I use the word "weird') We are set apart and we should look different in the way we live our lives so thank you for showing us what it means in a tangilbe way! You are going to be missed so much and we will continue to pray for you and will remember you every day and we love you all! Thanks for everything!
*pretty ms. Gretchen helping me with Kenni
*Sweet Ethan with his buddy Kenni
For more pictures of this amazing family please visit countingkropps@blogspot.com and follow them while they serve Jesus in the Phillipines.
--Darn why didn't I take pictures while you guys were here, of the dancing game and the crop of Kropps on our living room floor....well at least I have the memories of it, thanks for staying with us, it meant a lot to have you here for the epic sleepovers before you left :)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
full house
344. a full house--full of loud, sweet, energetic, fun boys
We went to the park with our boys today and their dad, it was fun! I got up like a kid and was on the bars doing can openers and impressing them with what I could do at my old age of 27! ha they couldn't believe I could remember how to do things from so long ago when I was in elementary school....so funny how kids see thigngs!
Then they came over, are over now, and are playing the wii and we have a wonderfully small single wide mobile home and there are 6 boys, 2 men, me, a toddler, and a dog and I have to say I love it! It could have something to do with the fact that all the boys here are awesome kids! I just enjoy people though too, and I can imagine having a huge group of kiddos a gaggle of kids, if you will, via adoption.
345. man talk, the 2 men and one boy were just discussing and looking at guns...
346. christian concerts
347. dad's that actively are involved with their kids, doing what their kids enjoy doing
348. youtube = listening to Christian music
We went to the park with our boys today and their dad, it was fun! I got up like a kid and was on the bars doing can openers and impressing them with what I could do at my old age of 27! ha they couldn't believe I could remember how to do things from so long ago when I was in elementary school....so funny how kids see thigngs!
Then they came over, are over now, and are playing the wii and we have a wonderfully small single wide mobile home and there are 6 boys, 2 men, me, a toddler, and a dog and I have to say I love it! It could have something to do with the fact that all the boys here are awesome kids! I just enjoy people though too, and I can imagine having a huge group of kiddos a gaggle of kids, if you will, via adoption.
345. man talk, the 2 men and one boy were just discussing and looking at guns...
346. christian concerts
347. dad's that actively are involved with their kids, doing what their kids enjoy doing
348. youtube = listening to Christian music
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