Blessed Family Life

Show Hope | Empowered to Connect Conference

2012-01-31T14:43:00.001-06:00

GREAT adoption resource coming soon to Iriving, Texas Feb. 17-18. This conference will be super beneficial and will feature Dr. Purvis, author of The Connected Child. I've heard her speak twice and read her book twice. She's fantastic. Make plans to attend---AND see the amazing ministry that Show Hope does for orphans all over the world.

Show Hope Empowered to Connect Conference

Heavy Prayers

2012-01-28T22:57:00.000-06:00

I just submitted my homework project for the week...with 1 hour to spare until the deadline! I've been wanting to send this post out so since I finished early(wink wink..pushing it down to the wire), I'll post now.
There are so many burdens right now. I'm feeling such a burden to pray. Several of my friends and family members are struggling with big stuff: flooded house, job not going well, marital strife, need for Jesus in their lives, infertility, babies and families separated and waiting for government offices to get off their butts and grant travel clearance, need for a word from the Lord telling them what step to take next, need for healing. Such big stuff! I can't fix any of it. I can only pray. Ironically, the Gateway Devo app(on iTunes store for free download this month) is a month long daily devotional about prayer. Perfect timing, cause I need to learn more about prayer. Here is my favorite memory verse.

Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer--it does not rise from deceitful lips. Psalm 17:1

And of course, one of my all time favorite passages in Habakkuk. I love the last part of this passage because it describes how the Lord will help us climb that rocky mountain by making our feet firm! It doesn't promise an easy and unencumbered climb. Some climbs are flat out HARD! But, He makes our feet like deer....swift..agile...sure footed...and able to climb those big rocks.
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. Habakkuk 3:17-19

it works for little ones too

2012-01-25T13:01:00.000-06:00

Back to the Love and Logic. Yesterday morning I had to do something and I'd told Hudson to play in his room. He cannot be alone for 2 seconds and must be near me Always!! I heard his door slam and I went to investigate. He was sitting on his floor surrounded by Dillon's DS games and he was holding Dillon's wallet. BUSTED! I reigned in my usual response, which is anger, and went for shock and awe folks. Just as I learned in Love and Logic, I mustered up the saddest and full of empathy voice I could. I said "Oh Hudson, I am sooooo sad that you chose to disobey mommy by getting down Dillon's DS games. And what are you doing with his wallet. As soon as the word sad left my lips, his eyes squinched up, his mouth opened and he wailed!!!! He wailed and wailed and wailed--heartbroken sadness. I didn't even have to do anything. So, I held him calmly while he was a basketcase(once he begins down the slope of tears it lasts a long time--this is a common issue for children who've experienced trauma and disruption of attachements in their lives). Just as Love and Logic states, I got to be the good guy and we were so sad about his choice of disobedience. Amazing. I'm hopeful that I can stop reverting to my flash of anger and use sadness instead. Try it.

How Mike and I had a lunch date...at home

2012-01-22T14:07:00.000-06:00

So, Mike and I have been listening to Jim Fay's Love and Logic cds. We listened to it many years ago and thought it sounded like good stuff. However, it wasn't relevant back then. The kids were young and, sadly, Mike and I thought we had this parenting gig licked.
Now, what has changed? Oh, yeah, we have a teen and a tween! Those cd's and the stories in them are cracking us up. We are living those cds.
Perfect example today:
We get in from church, late and hungry. Mike and I begin scrambling to make a decent spagetti lunch. Funny, the kids are scattered. Nowhere to be found. Lunch was on the table, all the work done by Mike and I, and no children. So, we implemented Love and Logic. We planned what we, the adults, were going to do to with our lives. We sat down and ate a nice lunch, alone! We had great conversation, uninterrupted. No sight of the kids. You see, it is our fault. We've trained them to be L..A..Z...Y. They fully expect lunch to be made and then us call them to the table. No more. They are plenty old enough and capable to assemble lunch. As of this writing, 2:04pm, Carter hasn't come out of his room. I guess he's sucked into the vortex of some engaging electronic. Too bad, he's gonna be awfully hungry this evening. I'm so sad for his hunger!! HAHA, no more hand holding here. I highly recommend you guys check into this parenting system.
Click HERE for the Love and Logic website.

too many changes coming

2012-01-19T14:06:00.003-06:00

When Mike and I were newlyweds, he served as a full-time youth and music pastor in west Texas. There was a certain teen boy who had some special needs. God was preparing us for our future way back then. One of the "Davidisms" that Mike and I quoted for years and years was "Too many changes." You see, David was becoming a man and not a kid in the youth group anymore. Mike and I were moving on to a new adventure and poor David felt lost in this new world without his beloved Mike(Mike taught him to shave and wear deoderant). Now, I'm using the phrase "Too many changes." I dont....like....this!!
Carter turns 16 in 2 weeks and we are preparing to get his driver's license. He is going to look for a job. The day he drives away from this house, without Mike or I, I'll hit my knees in prayer! We are planning our summer family vacay to the beach and I realize that he may not get to come with us.

Abigail JooMee is talking about how in 7 months, she'll be 12 and gets a cell phone(6th grade seemed like a long way away when we made that agreement!).

Dillon, well, God knew I needed Dillon. When I wake him up in the morning for school he asks me "How was your sleep momma?" He is growing and changing and becoming more mature too, but there is still that sweet child.

Hudson, the 4 year old going on 20! He corrects me, spells things, sings constantly, and begs to go to school. I filled out his preK enrollment papers last week. Next year he will go to TCA 5 mornings a week.

I'm being left in the dust. All I've ever wanted was to be a mommy and have people need me. My youngest sister started kindergarten when I moved off to college. I couldn't wait to move back home after the first semester. I'd pick her up from school and we'd hold hands and sing Sandy Patti's Friendship Company. When Mike and I got married, I couldn't wait to have a baby and would stare at people with babies.
Now, nearing age 40, it is over. Closing a door on a 20 something year fixation. Too many changes...
And, just to clear something up...no...I don't want another one :)

No fat trimmed yet

2012-01-16T22:02:00.000-06:00

Not exactly doing fabulously with trimming the fat. 17 days into the new year and we've burned up the roads, which means a lot of gas money. We've also stuffed our faces twice, which means the eating out envelope is bust already. Not making my goals proud. I have, however, been much better about menu planning and cooking(except for the couple of restaurant stops). Hopefully we can improve slowly and see a real dent. You see it isn't because we don't have good jobs or are bad with our finances. We just really want to be good stewards. Of what good is it if followers of Jesus consume every dime they make on themselves and their desires? In Radical, Platt talks about how much is enough? When do we decide to stop increasing our spending and intead, increase our giving? Tough questions, my friends, tough.

yep, that's my son!

2012-01-12T21:06:00.002-06:00

4yr old Hudson just said "someday me go on a mission trip"
He's been in our family 2yrs and 4 months and already talking about going on mission! How stinkin exciting is that? His favorite song is Josh Wilson's I Refuse. He belts out "I don't want to live like I don't care, I don't want to waste another empty prayer!" My mom and I were talking about how maybe God will use Hudson to reach the millions of hurting and lost in North Korea. Wowser, that is a big dream!

Which reminds me, I'm taking a poll:
I've been asked to lead a breakout session at a women's conference in the city this March. It will likely be 2 one-hour sessions in between the keynote speaker. People choose what workshops they want to attend. The topic is my choice. Of course, my passion is adoption and reaching out to others(mission and such). But, that doesn't really pack in the crowd. So, I'm asking for your help. What to talk about? I wish I was funny and whimsy and creative--those are the kind of sessions people like to attend.

ideas:
raising children to be other-focused(show pics of Mike and Carter on their Outward Focused Life Roadtrip)
big age spreads in kids--teaching 1 to pee in the potty and 1 to drive at the same time
am I spread too thin? work, kids, school, church...
my trip to Haiti
living a life of purpose
tithing and trusting
when you realize your child is "special"
when the Lord tells you to do something, is your default Yes or Whoa--wait a minute
Fear
why you should care about orphans

Leave me your thoughts please(comment, email, Facebook).

P.S. April 24th is PINK Impact at Gateway Church and Beth Moore is speaking and Kari Jobe is leading worship again!!!!!!! I'm so excited, I've had my tickets since late November :) I just might break out into one of my late 80's cheers, complete with blue mascara, pink lipgloss, and doodoo roll bangs.

We've already got a teen, now a tween??

2012-01-09T21:27:00.001-06:00

The above pic is the first time we met Abigail Joo Mee. Her foster mother had her all dolled up. We met in the office at Eastern Social Welfare Society in Seoul. Sweet and compliant little girl, with a stubborn streak, just to keep things fun. She's 11 now. The tween has hit. Just yesterday she came holding a pair of brand spanking new flats that are too tight. I had tried to talk her into black ones. She wouldn't listen and insisted she liked the beige patton ones. Guess what, never wore them, not once--Oh wait, unless you count the time she wore them to walk the dog around the block because she wanted something to "slip on." Great choice dear. I got on to her about wasting the nicer clothes and shoes that I buy and how she wears the same old ratty things all the time. I asked her if there was a better solution to wasting brand new nice shoes. She had a solution alright. She said "I'll just wear tennis shoes everyday." Gonna pull my hair out one at a time somedays. Carter is almost 16 and has gotten much more likable the last month or so. And now, my sweet princess, the only girl in the house, she's entering the twilight zone of tweendom!! PS, her bedtime is 9:10--yes, I said 9:10 because I'm a cool mom like that. Not a pansy 9pm bedtime like children, a very cool 9:10 bedtime.

developing stories

2012-01-08T08:28:00.001-06:00

The gorgeous baby girl Brad and Melody were hoping to adopt from the foster system....the judge(for some crazy reason) granted a 6 months extension to the birthmother. Thus, the child who has lived the first 11 months of her life in foster will continue in foster care--not a forever adoptive family. The heavenly Father has a plan, to my finite mind it seems like a frustrating and painful one, but He does have a plan! Addendum this afternoon: Daniel Doss wrote a song called Stained Glass Windows about he and his wife struggling through infertility and several failed adoptions. He gave the testimony at church today and then sang the song--boohoo and yet Hooray Jesus for the glorious testimony! Look up the song on you tube--it is great!

Carter's mission trip to South Africa is going to a be glorious story of God working! A sweet friend gave him a check yesterday towards the costs. Out of the blue. She loves missions and is so excited for him. My mother-in-law said something the other day about how glad she will be when he gets back on US soil. I told her that I was certainly going to cry when I see him walk out of the terminal at DFW. The relief and joy that he is back home(heck, he is only going for 8 days, you'd think he's going to be gone a month they way I'm talking!). I'm excited for him and I wish I was going, but really, this is something he needs to do and excell at...and see how God uses him as a young man, without his mom and dad.

Trimming the fat in 2012

2012-01-05T07:55:00.001-06:00

Several days ago I was jogging in the early morning. I just happened to be listening to David Platt teach on "The Gospel and Materialism" (sermon from mid October) on my ipod. This post-Christmas trash heap was outside a neighbor's home. Creeper--yes, I am, I ran home and got my camera. I just couldn't help it. I wanted to be reminded of all the trash that materialism generates. Platt was interviewing Katy Davis of Amazima Minstries(click the button on the upper right side of my blog to read about her work in Uganda). Simply amazing, humble, radical, and counter-culture living.

What does that have to do with us, with me? I so desire to not forget, to remain cognizant that about 25,000 children will die today from starvation, untreated diarrhea, and contaminated water. I want to trim the fat from our comfy middle-class life and be able to help. A trip around our house revealed some startling info about having more than we need.

Dillon has 40 short sleeved shirts(includes play Tshirts, school Tshirts, and nice collered shirts). We didn't buy all of them, many were given to him. And, I just love thrift stores, so many are second-hand. However, what 9yr id needs 40 shirts?? No one, I tell ya. Hopefully in 2012 our family can trim some fat and share. These kids at the feeding program Mike visited in South Africa sure don't have 40 shirts.

We are going to try to eat at home more. I really want to plan my menu and grocery shopping better. The couponing went out the window after 8 weeks. I just don't have the dedication. Better planning and control of my impulse decisions will help.

We also want to not waste so much gasoline. Folks, Texas is HUGE. We drive thousands and thousands of miles each year. Yesterday alone, I made 2 trips into the city and Mike made 1. Do you know how much gas and money-not to mention time that is?

So, a few more snip-snips here and there will trim some fat so we can honor Jesus and give to the poor. More than anything, I want our children to grow up understand they are blessed and that they must share.

What's in store for 2012?

2012-01-01T05:58:00.001-06:00

A new year! I love a new year: making To Do lists, making new prayer lists to tape up to my bathroom mirror, making resolutions that I'll keep for 2 months, all the new possibilities!

Here's a few 2012 plans for me(well, I guess I should say us).

1. Accomplish some more of our house projects we've needed to do for years. I did finish painting our front door and it looks smashing! Tip learned the hardd way: don't paint your front door with oil-based paint when it is 40 degrees outside. Nuff said!

2. Stick to a cash flow plan and pay off Mike's truck balance early so we can save like the dickens--college is 2.5 years away!!

3. Prayers for our family to honor Jesus in our words and deeds(I seem to especially struggle with the words part) and I want to use my words for blessing not harshness

4. Continue asking God for a miracle so Dillon can speak clearly

5. Carter is going to South Africa over Spring Break--without Mike or I!! I really want him to learn a big lesson--that God will provide for his needs if he will work hard and pray.

6. For me to finish my BSN strong and not peter out. And, then, to enter grad school IF the Lord so desires

7. Mike assumes the role of Chief Administrator of his school tomorrow! I'm praying for wisdom, peace, vision, and unity in the staff and that the students would be a light and desire excellence.

Start the New Year back on budget pt 1

2011-12-29T05:56:00.000-06:00

The new year, a perfect time to get back on track with our finanical stewardship plan. We totally stunk up our Dave Ramsey's plan the past 6 months. Sad, we worked so diligently for several months, got completely debt-free(except our house), and then backslid. Our emergency savings is nearly obliterated and we crept back into a little bit of debt. UGH! You know why don't you?? We abandoned our budget and flew by the seat of our pants. Bad bad idea. Where there is no plan, there is a plan to fail. So, I've filled in a beautiful and detailed cash flow plan(sounds nicer than budget). My youngest sister, Katy and her hubby Kyle, are a jillion times smarter than Mike and I were at their ages. They made a gorgeous Excel spreadsheet complete with sums formulas for their cash plan. I borrowed it, added many new rows to reflect our family, and man am I super proud of this baby! Nerd--why yes. I've also made all our new envelopes to return to the cash system. Forking over the hard earned greenbacks is so much more painful than a swipe of a debit card. Once again, Katy outdid me. She's a creative designer type--I'm your plain vanilla, whole house is tan type.

And here are hers.

My envelopes are plain white with black letters. I have one for:

groceries and household items

Minivan gas and maintainence

Mike's gas

Eat out as family

Mike's on the job eat out

Clothing

Christmas fund

Haircuts

Daycare

Offerings and gifts above tithe

Tithe

The ideas is that you calculate your monthly cash needs, withdraw that amount when you get paid, and take the cash out to pay for the items. Only pay cash! We use automatic bank draft for a lot of our bills so that they are deducted from our checking account.

Let this soak in a few days, go check out Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and then we'll chat more. Off to work!

Christmas 2011 wrap up

2011-12-26T16:47:00.001-06:00

I know many of you will proceed to roll your eyes when I say this, but....

It is over!!
Christmas was great, but I'm glad it is over for another year. My house is a wreck, there are items that need a place in the kids' rooms and the kids' rooms are already too full(I get a nervous twitch in response to clutter and mess--I'm an organized neat freak, yes I am!). But, back to the fun part. Christmas Eve was my mother's extended family annual get together. They ate snacks and sang carols. I'd asked Carter to take his guitar for the sing-a-long as I knew it would thrill my 95 year old grandparents to have Carter accompany the traditional singing. However, the crowd didn't exaclty follow along with the music. Carter texted me at one point saying "This family doesn't know how to sing!" That is one of my yearly favorite traditions. My uncle belts out "5 Goooold Reeeeings" and we all sing parts of the 12 Days of Christmas. I missed it due to working. That night, we put the kids to bed at 9:30. The little ones all wanted to sleep in together in Abby's room. At 11:07pm I went to make sure Carter's XBOX was off and his light was off. In the hall I heard frantic whispering. A peek in Abby's room revealed Hudson lying next to her in bed, telling her all about how "tomorrow will be Christmas and Santa is coming." Funny thing is, she was fast asleep! I was a bit tired and exasparated and told him to hurry up and go to sleep or Santa wouldn't come :)
No worries, Santa came.

He brought Carter a punching bag and boxing gloves. I am soooo sore from punching the bag a few times. It seems I don't use those muscle groups often.

Precious Dillon and I(when the HECK did I get so many wrinkles, especially on my neck???) on the couch while Abby's reads us the story of baby Jesus: so simple and humbl, so unexpected, so completely unmerited! Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice, love, and life.

Shocker, Hudson is thrilled with more Thomas paraphnalia. Side note here: you can see the Operation Christmas Child shoebox behind him. No, he wasn't a shoebox recipient and no, we didn't hijack a shoebox from the truck we helped load to go to the processing center back in November and then regift it to our kids. I happened to have 4 extra empty boxes and they fit some of our gifts beautifully.

Abby was thrilled to death with her iPod Touch. No, it isn't new. I'm a huge fan of the 3 Rs: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. We bought it from a good friend whose daughter isn't using hers anymore. Abby knows it was Faith's and is pleased as punch :)

We then loaded up and went to Mike's folks. Nice and sweet little Christmas gathering with tons of delish homemade food. The cousins played all day. My mother-in-law spoiled me greatly! Carter was sick with wheezing, fever, and coughing. Thank you Jesus for our nebulizer that we don't leave home without. We spent the night and drove home today--minus the 3 younger ones--they stayed to play at Nana's another 2 days. Carter just got 2 shots and should be better by tomorrow. I'm painting our cheap and plain metal front door today...Hunter Green. Can't wait to see the wow factor from the street!

Last time (I hope)

2011-12-23T17:32:00.001-06:00

I hope this is my last holiday season to work at the bedside in acute care. After 15.5years, I'm pretty well done. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, I love being a critical care/cardiac nurse, I love the sick patients, the monitors and labs and the iv's, the rapport I have built up with the docs, the other staff members, the adorable old people, the scared young people and everyone else in between. But, alas, it is enough. I'm ready for a steady, predictable job(yes, boring) where I work 3 8hour shifts or 2 12hr shifts and no weekends or holidays, no calls at 4:30 asking if I can come in extra due to short-staffing, no staying over until 8pm after leaving my house at 5:50am because a patient coded at 6pm and we are running around the unit trying to catch up, no more days of coming home late and kissing my little ones goodnight without seeing them at all that day. I'm not in a hurry or desperate, so I'm waiting and praying for the right position to come along. Hopefully, this is my last Christmas Eve to work.

Fun Christmas weekend

2011-12-20T10:40:00.000-06:00

These pics are all out of order and it requires too much time and effort to rearrange them. So, we shall reminisce in random order

Above you have my side of the fam. We all gathered at my parents for a lovely Christmas dinner and present opening. Fun and wild, that is the standard for us :)

And above is a awesome picture I snapped of Hudson loving every minute of a train exhibit that my mom and 2 of my sisters went to see last week. He, as you all know, is obsessed with Thomas the Tank.

Above are the grandkids on Mike's side of the fam. We spent Saturday at Mike's grandmother's home. We had lots of fun playing Dillon's Michael Jackson Wii game. You try to dance along with Micheal and his sidekicks and it is hilarious(not to mention hard and a good aerobic workout).

The angel pictured above(not allowed to show her full face) is my sister and brother-in-law's hopefully foverever daughter!! OH MY WORD, this beautiful child is to die for. She has been in foster care since birth. In about 2 weeks, a judge will decide her future. Brad and Melody, along with the rest of us, are praying for the judge to place "baby sister" with them and their 3 yr old Aspen.

Here we have Dillon opening his birthday gift at my parent's. He wanted a popcorn maker and, as you can tell by his face, he was thrilled! It is the air popper kind and we all watched and screamed with joy when the kernels burst forth. He says he's going to sell popcorn in front of our house! If you drive by, please by some of Dillon's popcorn :))

Trying....

2011-12-17T08:08:00.001-06:00

For those of you who've been visiting my blog a while, you know my Christmas cheer is seriously lacking. I seem to have the hardest time reconciling the simple truth of the real Christ story with modern day American Christmas. Grinchy--yes I am.

This year I'm trying to not be grumpy, grinchy, Scroogey, cheap, irritable, judgemental...fill in the blanks. This morning as I ran in a very crisp 36 degrees I prayed for God to help me chill and enjoy!

It is hard. This is what I see in my mind....

fyi: I don't know who to credit this amazing picture for. It is not my original and kudos to the person who designed it.

I'm now the dumbest mother around

2011-12-14T19:48:00.000-06:00

Breaking news: My kids know everything! I'm old and stupid and they are much cooler and smarter than I. Likely, I'm not the only one in this boat.
My 15 yr old told me that his lack of attention to his studies are his problem and not mine. My 11 yr old gave me an exasperated "What?" when I called her to come pick some toys up. My 4yr old already says "nuh-uhhh" when arguing with me. Really, the only dedicated 100% "moms the greatest" child left is Dillon--who turns 9 today--sweet little blessing.

North Korean Refugee Adoption Act

2011-12-10T07:23:00.001-06:00

First, scroll way down the far right and pause my Music Player so you can hear. Now then, PLEASE take 1 minute to watch this clip. There are hundreds of thousandsf N. Korean orphans living as refugees, castaways. What if we could do something and provide a loving forever family?? I think if these children become adoptable, that is the one thing that would cause Mike and I to revisit if our family is really complete. In 2009 Mike, Abby, and I stood at the DMZ, looking through binoculars into that closed, crazed country, where the people are starving.

If you are ignorant about what is going on in N. Korea, please educate yourself. Pray for these children and sign the petition.
James 2:15-17 says If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what [does it] profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

morphed into a new type of family

2011-12-07T16:51:00.000-06:00

We've entered a new phase of family life..

We are a No-Leftovers kind of family! Booohooo. We eat up every last bit of my meals now. This is bad people, bad I tell ya. Do you realize how much I've relied on leftovers through the years? I only plan a menu and shopping list for 4 dinners a week. The left overs, occastional trip to Rosa's, and fill-in meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwhiches finish out the blanks. My kids are eating so much! Carter is nearly a grown man, Abby is near my size and we are starting to share a few clothing items, and don't forget little man who has a quite the belly!
So, for all you No-Leftover Families like ours, do share your smart-shopping, menu and budget stretching ideas. email me at beepa27@gmail.com

Christmas season starts with a bang

2011-12-03T06:51:00.002-06:00

And we're off!
We pulled decorations out last Sunday afternoon to put up the tree. Carter wanted everyone in their pj's to decorate. So, after lugging the loot from the attic, and changing into pj's, we began. I soon found myself alone. Everyone conveniently scattered. I did what any psychologically stable and uplifting mother would do, I yelled. In fact, I yelled this..."Guys, I don't even like Christmas. If you want the tree up, YOU get in here and help!". Oh yes, I did. Of course, the tree is beautiful--complete with all the decorations in the front middle, cause that is where little kids place them(and I wouldn't dare rearrange). Nothing like a cold evening, wearing flannel, and a lit up Christmas tree!
On the shopping note, I'm soooo proud of myself. I've barely stepped into a store this season. You can get anything you need from Amazon, and I nearly always get free shipping. Shop in my jammies, it comes to my door 3 days later. On the crafting note, remember my plan to make a Menorah? Didn't happen. So, I decided on an advent wreath/candle display for the dining table(I got the easy directions and family devo idea from the last book in the Yada Yada Prayer Group Series. What??? You haven't read it? MUST read!). Unfortunately, one cannot locate pink or purple candles anywhere in December. So, I am stuck with the Christ candle, the tall white one, sitting alone in the greenery. It is pretty, but lacking the meaning of the full advent.

Thursday was the 4th and 5th grade musical at our school. I realize I'm biased, but our school has exceptional music/theater talent and the kids put on wonderful shows. Abby was the lead angel! She looked stunning and Mike and I projected what it would be like to see her wearing an all white gown on her wedding day(tears!).

Today Abby and I have a mom/daughter Christmas brunch. Driving home from work last night I realized "OMGoodness! We are supposed to bring a gift each for the exchange". So, I woke up early to 1. update this blog 2. run 2 miles 3. wrap the gifts for the angel tree child we shopped for 4. dash out to find something cute to exchange with people who need nothing and have better taste than I do 5. finish my last government chapter and take a test. This afternoon Carter and the highschool show choir performs at Christmas on the Square. Whew, in the words of Dori the fish, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

Hudson is 4!

2011-11-29T10:07:00.003-06:00

Little man turned 4 on Sunday. We had a small family celebration at Mike's grandmother's home last week. Today we are meeting my mom, sister, and niece at "Flick Fil A" for play time and lunch.
Bless his hilarious and smart heart, he was expecting turning 4 to be something of the magical sorts. I guess it stems from me telling him that when he turned 4, he'd be really big! He thought that once the ripe age of 4, he'd have "scratchy hair on my face like daddy's" and that he'd get to drive "like Carter" and that he'd begin school! Suffice it to say, the morning of his birthday, none of those expectations came to fruition. He's so stinkin' smart, it is scary. He loves Thomas the Tank more than life itself, drinks his drinks in one gusto without a breath, is a short squatty-body, has a huge grin, sings Jingle Bells constantly, must touch e..v..e..r..y..t..h..i..n..g!!! I'm sad his birthmom can't see what a great kid to whom she gave life. I'm also so happy to give Jesus all the glory because not one of his risk factors on his background and medical papers have surfaced.

On another note, a few pics from Thanksgiving. Here are 2 of my crazy sisters making a run through line as my niece walks to the food at my parent's home. Never a dull moment, and I mean Never!

Here is the whole crew outside at my folks. We were missing 2 families who usually come so the crowd was "small."! Of course, we have a few extra people who are always welcome. At our place, the motto is always the more the merrier!

Here are the kids at Grandma's home. We served ice cream sundaes with "spinkles" on top! Carter wasn't feeling well and slept most the day in the recliner.

Lovely warm day out in the beautiful country at Grandma's. We played baseball for a long time. Below is my niece Taylor playing with Dillon.

post turkey coma

2011-11-25T21:26:00.000-06:00

can't ....keep...my...eyes...open
Lovely Thanksgiving. Large exuberant gathering at my folks. Restful and quiet time at my mother-in-laws. Boycotted Black Friday(Amazon and I are fast becoming best friends!). My mom and sisters went, like our usual tradition. I missed it. Apparently they had quite the hilarious adventure and I can't wait to hear the details. I, however, slept past 7am, ran 2 miles on a country road, and chilled.

Thankful: not just one day of reflecting, but an attitude of gratitude. I'm overflowing with gratefulness.

personal relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have hope, meaning, and a reason to get up in the morning
husband who supports me and loves me and puts up with my flighty new ideas and preachy rants
healthy children
sweet extended family
warm home
jobs, health insurance
our awesome church
electricity and clean water
great friends
my chance to get more education for almost free
memories of a great 2011
oreos dipped in milk

Working to get into the real spirit of Christmas

2011-11-21T21:31:00.000-06:00

We had fun this morning. As stated earlier, our church is a relay center in our city for Operation Christmas Child. This was truck loading day. The shoeboxes are packed in cartons and loaded into a semi's trailer. They are then driven to one of the national processing centers. Guesstimates indicate that almost 10,000 shoeboxes would be loaded today(I'd posted 5000, but the director told me yesterday it was closer to 10K)! Carter worked like a muscle man. Really, everyone got into it.

Here is Hudson "helping" our youth pastor tape a carton.

Abby was a great helping packing the cartons. You must place a minimum of 14 shoeboxes in each carton. Speaking from experience, pllleeease, do not buy great big or irregular boxes, they are impossible to pack! And just in case anyone was having a tiny coronary event looking at the shopping basket at church and wondering if we swiped it, no worries, someone dumped it a while back and the workers were returning it to the store later. Sure came in handy ;)

And here is Dillon, making sure the carton has a number in the designated corner, indicating how many shoeboxes were in it. We found out that the processing center where this truckload of boxes are heading to will be sending the treats to several countries, including South Africa!! What a great and exciting idea to think that we just might be loading up a child's gift to go the the slum in South Africa were Mike visited last March AND where we are praying and talking through Carter going this Spring Break.

Shop with a purpose for Christmas

2011-11-17T21:50:00.001-06:00

It's here, the most wonderful time of the year....well, unless your a bah-humbug Scrooge like myself ;) Yes, Christmas shopping is in full swing! If you've been to Blessed Family Life blog much in the past 2 years, you know I rather dislike shopping, especially for more junk that commercials convince my kids that they need, in order to make companies like Wal-Mart richer! To get myself in the Christmas mood, I want to post about shopping that will help others. What if we all bought one less coffee mug and spent more on helping those who truly can't help themselves? I give you some of my top picks for shopping with a purpose.

Love Without Boundaries ministers to Chinese orphans living in institutions. You can help buy formula, pay for heart and cleft surgeries, and sponsor kids getting out of orphanages and into warm foster families. Click HERE

Operation Christmas Child
Certainly a favorite Christmas organization. Samartian's Purse totally rocks the house in the way of doing good around the world and sharing the love of Christ. Our church has been a relay center in our city for years. We help pack up about 5000 shoeboxes and ship them to Charlotte for distribution around the world. My sister-in-law's church is participating and the girl's class that Shana teaches sent 100 boxes last week! They learned that children carry water in many 3rd world countries so they packed the gifts in rubbermaid boxes with lids, to be used over and over again. Click Operation Christmas Child for more info

And of course, you can't forget the mainstays of well-run relief agencies like Compassion International and World Vision. We sponsor a 10 year old girl in Ghana through Compassion. Rebecca will receive a new dress this year for her Christmas present. I wish I could see her in person!

Ten Thousand Villages in a great organization! They ensure human trafficking is not used in any of their products and pay the laborers a fair wage. We bought Mike's grandma a beautiful crystal beaded necklace through them last year. Click HERE to see their work.

I know there are tons of great ways to give a gift that truly keeps on giving. Share them with me!

Trust and tithe test

2011-11-14T14:23:00.001-06:00

You know how things snowball and get tight sometimes? Always around the holidays! That has happened to us. Few bills here, a needed new roof there, our school's auction this week, a minivan door that needs work, a shower door that won't close, a Capitol Campaign kick off at church that we want to be heavily involved in, and of course, Christmas right around the corner. When my check was direct-deposited in the wee hours of Friday morning, I fought with myself! It was tempting, just a tad, to use the 10% off the top, pre-taxes, and use for other things. Oh yeah, I had the little debate in my head! But, we can't turn our backs on years of watching God provide in crazy ways. We trust, we believe, we have seen, and we know, without a doubt, that God blesses when we give to Him first. Period. End of story. Not out of a dread or duty, but out of love and thankfulness. In fact, many many years ago, we didn't have money to pay our electric bill. We got paid and made a choice, do we tithe or pay our electric bill that was due? It didn't make sense on paper. But, we obeyed and tithed. A surprise envelope came in the mail the next day, a surprise "gift" that was the exact amount we needed to pay our electric bill. So, yesterday, we tithed with grateful and expectant hearts. No, I don't look for a check in the mail to magically cover all expenses. Heck, sometimes, God wants us to re-evaluate how we are living and blowing our money-make better choices and be better stewards. It will be fun and exciting to see what happens!

"tithing is what brings the blessing on the balance of our finances. Tithing is what causes God to rebuke the devourer and open the windows of heaven. It is the foundation on which our giving is built." Robert Morris

Hudson sings for a bribe

2011-11-12T06:48:00.000-06:00

What does a nurse do?

2011-11-09T20:03:00.001-06:00

I stole an excerpt from my friend's Facebook status. I don't know who wrote this, but if I did, I'd clap my hands and glady give he/she credit. This a snippet of life as an acute care nurse
I make holding your hand seem like the most important thing in the world when you're scared. I can make your child breathe when they stop. I can help your father survive a heart attack. I make myself get out of bed at 5am to make sure your mother has the medicine she needs to live. I work all... ...day to save the lives of strangers. I make my family wait for dinner until I know your family member is taken care of. I make myself skip lunch so that I can make sure that everything I did for your husband today is charted. I make myself work weekends and holidays because people dont just get sick monday thru friday.

Today, I might save your life.

I LOVE this! Of course, don't get the wrong idea, it's not all glamorous. There is plenty of pee, poop, vomit, sputum and grumpiness to deal with too :)

Pictures finally posting!

2011-11-05T06:33:00.002-06:00

Abby, the volleyball queen(I know, we are already hoping to hone her skills for a scholarship to TCU-ridiculous!)

The garter I made for Carter--that rhymes, as he pointed out ;)

Carter leading worship at the dedication of our new secondary building

My dad with Dillon on his shoulders.

Cutest, and craziest, man-child on earth!

Oh, guys, I'm picking out paint color for my very plain, tan, metal front door. My friend sent me the coolest blog post about front door colors. If I find it, I'll share. I'm also planning on making a Menorah for the holidays(dowels and candles). Anybody made one before? I'm a Christian, but the Jewish symbolism in the Menorah is fantastic!!

PS. Sunny, email me, I want to chat about our latest attention struggles

This Sunday is National Orphan Sunday

2011-11-01T04:34:00.000-06:00

"On Orphan Sunday, Christians stand for the orphan. We are a people called to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress."
For more info, click HERE to go to the official website
Is your church body doing anything to highlight the plight of the world's 147 to 163 million children in the world without families? Id love to hear about it!

"that girl with crazy hair"

2011-10-26T19:14:00.001-06:00

Cute story:
Yesterday Dillon said "I want to play with that girl, you know, that little bitty girl with crazy hair"! He stretched his arms out about 1 foot. I thought for a minute and couldn't come up with anyone we know. Then he said, "you know, like Emily." Well, one of my sister's name is Emily and she has a 2 yr old. So, I said "Kylie?" No, that wasn't it. He went on to ramble about a few different attributes, none of which made any sense to me. We picked up Abby at school and went about our business. About 10 minutes later, out of the blue, he says "Sissy!"
Aha, got it. My 3yr old niece, Sissy, is little bitty and has crazy hair :)

And, in other great news, her parents are officially back on the list for another foster/adoptive placement! I'm asking Jesus to send them a nice dark brown boy--we've got the market cornered on gorgeous fair-skinned, red-headed girls and boy, gorgeous Asians, and a gorgeous Hispanic(above).
There is just something so sweet and precious when they bring in a new foster baby at Christmas time. Little miracles. Speaking of little miracles, I never announced that their sweet baby C. was indeed placed within the biological family. Yes, we all loved her and prayed for her to become Brad and Melody's forever daughter. I didn't want to post about it because my attitude stunk and I was a bit mad at the system. Alas, Brad and Melody have a much more positive and mature outlook than I do! So, we await their new little pumpkin pie. Below is a glimpse of the baby C. that they loved wholeheartedly for 3 months.

Go team

2011-10-21T14:26:00.000-06:00

Here is Dillon taking his soccer career very seriously! No, he hasn't made a goal. However, that doesn't matter to him. He keeps everyone in the Upward Soccer spirit. Our church has Upward Soccer every year and it is such a sweet blessing. Speaking of our church, Chris Clayton will be leading worship the next 2 weeks and then....Jeff Johnson on November 13!! Whootwhooot. The only problem is I'm working that day. Drat, there are days I LOATHE being in healthcare. Uhum, maybe my throat is starting to hurt and I might be sick by then? Just kidding....sort of.

Speaking of sick, I just paid 120.00 today to get a new hard-drive in my 8 months old laptop. It seems, and they conveniently don't tell you this when you purchase a laptop, that they devices are super sensitive and if you move them while they are running, or if you are a bit rough setting them down, the hard-drive breaks! Yeah, I found out the hard way.

Oh, can't end a post this weekend with out saying GO RANGERS!!!!!! Anyone notice last night that our family hero, "number 5 Cleanser" was the MVP of the game?? My bro-in-law won tickets to Sunday's game in Arlington--soooooo excited for him.

Weekends and Homecoming

2011-10-18T05:30:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was a fun one. It was Homecoming and Carter took a girl to the game, his first boy/girl event like that. Miss. M is a beautiful, gracious, selfless teen who loves to sing. I don't feel comfy putting their pic up because I don't have her mom's permission and you know--internet weirdos are lurking! They had a great time and looked awesome. Carter didn't seem to mind that his mom and little brother drove them around all night :) I felt completely honored to have been a part of his life. How many mom's can say they have a memory like that?
Poor Dillon, we got in after midnight(hey, you must eat pancakes at IHOP after a Homecoming football game). He was soooo tired, but such a trooper. Abby and Hudson spent the night with Nana.

In other news, I became a bit crafty--surprisingly enough! I made mum hair bows for Abby and her friends. I also made Carter's garter. And, not only that, I copied my sisters' crafts and spray painted a pumpkin with a Texas Ranger T, along with other things.
Saturday mornings we are up early for Dillon's Upward Soccer game at our church. So cute watching him jump up and down and cheer on his team. Abby is playing city league volleyball again(also on Saturdays--in a town 40 minutes away from Dillon's soccer games! Yeah, complicated). She is becoming a really good player with a mean serve. Cracks me up how aggressive she is on the court, but not an aggressive bone in her body otherwise.
Sorry, but my computer is jacked up and won't load pics. I'm taking it to the shop today. Pics to come later? Hopefully!

And he's only 3 yrs old!

2011-10-12T19:52:00.000-06:00

Hudson is crazy smart, verbal, and a smart alec. Yesterday he got a hold of the garage door clicker. I said "Hudson, don't click buttons." I was watching him and he basically was defying me, aiming his chubby fingers to push. I said, a bit louder I might add, "Hudson, don't push buttons." He continued going for it. At this point, I was mad and I said, in a loud mad-as-fire-don't-mess-with-momma voice "Hudson DONT push buttons!"

Calmly, he looked at me and informed me "It just has one button"

That kid understood the difference in single and plural.

Its a good thing he's so dang adorable!

Heart Gallery debuts tomorrow

2011-10-08T21:05:00.000-06:00

I'm so stinkin' excited! Last Februray, my friend and I launched Project PAPA(p-protect, a-advocate, p-provide, a-adopt), our church's ministry to orphans and at-risk children. Friday, we set up the Heart Gallery for this area. Basically, in Texas there are approximately 1500 kids whose parental rights have been terminated and they are legally cleared for adoption--the only trouble is--they have no forever family ready to adopt them and they wait in foster homes. So, the Heart Gallery is 30 portraits, a small representation of those kids. I'm praying for our church to be smacked upside the head, have their hearts broken and their spirits stirred to care for children like these! I get to introduce the display from the pulpit, so, while I'm getting stage and mic time, I'm wearing my 147 Million Orphans--Feed One tshirt
Click Here to get yours
I'm so grateful that our pastor and staff are supportive and excited about this.

The yearly ARD meeting

2011-10-05T21:33:00.002-06:00

If you have a child with special needs, you speak another language. For instance, ARDs, IEPs, Content Mastery, Resource minutes, and such. It stinks to know this language. Sitting in the ARD meeting with the principal, the diagnostician, the speech-language pathologist, the special ed teacher, the general ed teacher can be overwhelming. We are so super blessed. The sweet little public elementary that Dillon attends is top-notch. We are certain that the staff truly want what is best for him and they really like him! Mr. B. told about the huge difference he has seen over the last 3 years. The SLP has been with him for almost 5 years. His Resource/Content Mastery teachers act like he is their child and send home pictures they take of him at school events, even gifts for him! If you are a special ed teacher, hats off to you!!

Today we talked in depth about his apraxia. He has made great progress, just has a long way to go still. They mentioned evaluating him for an assistive language board. The problem with giving him the board is that we are afraid he will quite trying to communicate. As Mr.B pointed out, you can see the wheels turning, Dillon tries so hard to form the sentences and communicate his thoughts. Yes, he gets frustrated when the words don't come out; but when he quits getting frustrated and decides to not try anymore, that will be the real tragedy! So, if he gets the assistive board and begins to see that it is easier to use the board than talk, our fear is that he will quit trying. The SLP feels that there is nothing more powerful than him being able to communicate effectively with the world.
Here's the hard part...school is getting harder and harder. The other students are reading books alone and learning about solids, liquids, and gases. WHY is everything much harder for my son??? I'm not lamenting for us, I'm lamenting for him! It breaks my heart to watch him, 3months shy of 9, try to tie his shoe. He shoots baskets over and over and over, never giving up, but almost never making a basket.
For now, he loves school, LOVES food and music, actively participates in his classroom, takes up the offering every Sunday at church, loves the Texas Rangers(especially number 5 Ian Kinsler--or as he says "Cleanser"). Dillon loves to worship, lifts his hands and sings loudly. He is a great checkers and Connect 4 player. He has 10 sight words memorized, is doing well in math, and has a blast on his Upward Soccer team at our church. He's a pure delight, a rare jewel of a boy who loves his family with all his being. We are so thankful.

Affording Adoption

2011-10-02T05:31:00.001-06:00

My mother told me about a conversation she had with a young woman at church last week. The lady is about to get married and she and her fiance are really burdened for orphaned children in the world. She was telling my mom about how she felt called to adopt. Funny thing is, she didn't know that my mother has 4 grandchildren through adoption. Of course, mom was all gung-ho and told about ours and my sister, Melody's stories. The young woman couldn't believe we'd adopted from Korea 3 times and said "but it is so expensive, how did they do that? Oh, I know, God provided" (don't you just love the woman's simple faith that where God guides, God provides!?). This is the good part--my mother said "No"! Then she said "Well, yes, God did provide, but they made it a priority, a lifestyle, and sacrificed other things to be able to adopt." Preach it Mom!!!

It absolutely burns me up when people act interested in adoption and then when they ask me how much the fees are, they suddenly believe they aren't called to give a home/family to a parentless child. What I'd really like to tell them...."So, your bank account, college savings, house and decor, new cars, vacations, and basically meaningless JUNK are worth it, but the 163 million orphaned children in the world aren't?" And, not to mention the fact that fostering costs nothing and adopting through the state has very nominal fees, and many are waived! There are 500,000 children in the US foster system. Texas has about 3500 children with parental rights terminated, waiting for a forever family to call their own.
In Luke 12:33-34 Jesus says "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

I love the last line. Where your treasure is...your heart follows! Where is your treasure? Your heart will be there also.

Entertainment value

2011-09-29T13:13:00.001-06:00

I can't resist sharing some hilarious old pics to make you all grin! Last night Mike was spending quality daddy time with the little ones. His favorite activity is to lay on the bed with old photo albums and show them pics. I dug out some that will crack you up. Or, maybe they won't, maybe my brain's a bit fried. I just mopped with Ammonia. What is ammonia anyways? I remember my mother mopping with it when I was a kid. So, in my mind, if you don't get a slightly singed nasal hair after cleaning, then it isn't really clean?

First off, here is Dillon at age 3. He looks like a Compassion Int. chid that needs sponsoring. This picture was taken at his 2 day a week childcare center. I did not send him to school in light blue knickers! I guess he'd gotten dirty and they dug out clothes from a leftover pile. Of course, it would be picture day! When he came home, I peeled the tight knickers off him and they were size 12months wind pants. Classic family pic!

Next, we have Mike's artwork. This is his rendition of sitting in between 2 older Korean gentlemen on the subway in Seoul. I giggled the whole way because he looked like a giant!

There is one more that I keep loading and loading, but alas, after 5 attempts, I'm sick of it. The picture was of Hudson at about age 9months. He is in a walker, in his foster mother's home, and I kid you not, has a pink flowered head band on! Umm, excuse me?

Church Sunday night

2011-09-27T05:31:00.000-06:00

A dear teacher at Mike's school was being ordained Sunday night as a minister of the gospel. He leads worship at a tiny church in the poor, minority section of the city. The pastor of the church also teaches at our school, and they've been serving at this church for 5 years. We were invited to Max's ordination. First, about Max. Max was raised in Panama. He is trilingual, teaches Spanish at the school, plays guitar and sings. He leads mission trips to the jungles in Panama(think travel 3 hours by canoe to get to the villages) each summer--Yeah baby, you know I want to go! We love Max. So we loaded up Sunday evening and went. The church is behind a liquor store in the hood in the part of the city where people have big fences around their front yards and strangers to the neighborhood probably lock their doors when driving by. Really, I'm not exaggerating at all. It shares a building with a Head Start daycare for educationally at-risk children. I LOVED being there. Talk about an authentic church. Everything was old. No fancy PowerPoint presentation, no hands-free mics, children sitting with their parents instead of being wisked away to nursery, hymnals from 1975, different ethnicities together. It was similar to when I was at a church service in Nicarauga(except for the air conditioner). The people there weren't waiting to be entertained. A breath of fresh air.

Preview

2011-09-26T04:55:00.000-06:00

No time for a real post. I'm running out the door to work and I started a new class last night. Here is a preview of what I want to "chat" about.
Dillon's soccer team--PRESH. Out of 6 little boys, 5 are Korean. Too cute!
Last night we had the sweetest experience. We went to church in the hood! It was humbling and beautiful.

Real Texans Now(we got a pickup)

2011-09-22T08:09:00.000-06:00

We had so much fun Tuesday. As you long time visitors to psalm139verse14 blog know, we have driven the same old(yet perfectly reliable and wonderful) vehicles a long time. We try to follow Dave Ramsey's financial plan(but don't do that great!). So, Mike's driven a great Accord sedan for 11 years. It has over 200,000 miles on it and works perfectly. He's been saving and wishing for an extended cab truck. Saturday he was with the boys at Target. Driving in the parking lot he spotted "it". The heavens parted and shone on this used, but in pristine condition beauty! The driver was a mechanic and I think we could eat off the engine,it is so clean. So, we prayed and talked budget. Tuesday he bought a new to him truck and it is gorgeous! The kids went wild when he drove it home. It's been 8 years since we purchased a car. Mike's face was pure joy :) The next morning, Carter opened the front door and stopped. He said "Wow, I can't believe something so nice is in our driveway." We are really having fun!

Oh yes He did!

2011-09-19T20:22:00.001-06:00

God gave us some big gifts the past several days. I actually wrote this post Thursday morning and then, after talking with Mike, realized I'd misunderstood him and almost blew a huge secret to smithereens! So, I quickly deleted it and now that it is safe, I'm reposting.

First off, you all know how I preach about keeping a prayer journal. This is one I'll be loving to reread someday.
Since last early spring, one of those crazy, how in the heck is this gonna happen, prayer request was a 1 million dollar donation for our school. We just built a new secondary building and had zero dollars left. They gym was a shell and wouldn't be built until there was money. So, a bunch of us have been praying for a miracle--a million dollar miracle to be exact. Last week, a couple who have no affiliation with the school, came for a visit. It seems they came into a very very large amount of money and felt God told them to donate to our school. They want to be completely anonymous. They man handed the chief admininstrator a hand-written check for 1MILLION dollars!!!!!!! Not only that, he wrote a separate 100,000 dollar check to cover all the scholarships the school has had to give to families in hard financial times. Over and above, that is God's way. What a sweet time of saying "Thank You" and remembering that He really does answer prayer.

A couple more: my dad's shop sold. In this economy, in a small town, that is darn miraculous.
Mike's sister and her husband, along with their 2 girls, had a really neat answer to their prayers over the weekend.
My sweet friend, Jessica, had a miracle baby by birth. She was born 8 weeks early. Yesterday I got to help bath her and feed her. She is 4 weeks now, at home, weighs 5 pounds and is perfect. They will travel to Ethiopia in about 5 months to bring home the 4 siblings they've been waiting on for a year!

Attention challenges

2011-09-16T13:41:00.000-06:00

One of our kids has attention and organization challenges. I'm not talking about the usual kid type stuff, it's more severe than that. Anyways, I thought some of you out there may be struggling with the same thing. Here is what we've learned.
Grades schmades: really, in the grand scheme of things, who the heck cares what you made in history? We aren't aiming for Harvard. We are aiming for whatever it is that God has called this person to do in life, to serve Him
Use color: use colored-notebooks and highlighters for homework and notes. Lots of color stimulates these kids minds and grabs their attention
Get physical: these kids need to run it off
Let them listen to music: Really, listening to music(not blaring drums) during homework can help
Be creative and try new strategies
Don't blow up and blame the kid all the time: Soooo hard to not do! Confession time, I threw a computer mouse across the room a few nights ago. Trying to help your kid write a paper can push you over the edge. My outburst was shocking to the child and now, you all know, I'm a looney mother just like everyone else :)
Last but not least: choose your battles. Does having the closet clean with clothes hung up really deserve to be a hill worth dying on? NO.

I'm reading "Learning Outside the Lines." It was written by 2 guys who were labeled ADHD and Learning Disabled as children and basically labeled as stupid and problem kids. They finally came into their own and graduated from Ivey League colleges. It has awful language and is more for college students, but I'm learning good tips.

Stole my mom's post--A New Name

2011-09-14T05:31:00.000-06:00

Here's the deal. I have a 20 page paper on in-depth health assessment due by 0800 tomorrow. I don't have time to think of much clever or wise posts. My mother is the women's pastor at her church and wrote a really good post on her women's ministry blog. I copied it(and no, I haven't told her yet). It is really good and I think you'll be blessed.

Last night at our Kick-off, we talked about names; how we got our names, what we like and don’t like about our names, what name we have wanted to be called, and what our names mean.

I like my name, Jeannette. I think it is a pretty name. It means gracious, or gift from God, and I like that. BUT, somehow, it does not seem right for me. It is too long and sounds too formal. Often, when I hear it, I feel like I am in trouble, because it sounds harsh.

Our names are important, but they are given to us by our parents before they know what kind of person we will be. The name may not reflect the person at all. According to the Bible, God has a remedy for that.

Isa 62:2…and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.

Rev 2:17 To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'

God often changed the name of people in the Bible. He gave them new names that reflected their new character or their new calling. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel, Simon became Peter, Saul became Paul. I think that God has a new name for each one of us. I imagine that at the time of the coming of the New Heaven and New Earth, that He will tell each of us our new name. It will be a special name that only He knows, a name that will perfectly reflect each of us, a name that will connect with your heart. Each of us will have a unique name. In heaven, if I say Nancy or Emily, I won’t have to say which Nancy or Emily. There will be only one. God has infinite wisdom and infinite creativity, so there is no end of names, so He won’t have to repeat. Each individual person, with unique gifts and abilities, unique ways of thinking and processing things, each one will have a unique name that God made up just for you!

P.S. It is time to register for Kairos. If you want to join me Oct 21 at Gateway for a conference on freedom, emotional healing, breaking free of besetting sins and generational strongholds, sign up! My sister is on staff in the freedom ministry dept there and it is a top-notch conference.

Never Forget

2011-09-11T20:12:00.002-06:00

Along with everyone else, I'll never forget 9-11-2011. I was at home, Abby was at the sitter because I was going in to the hospital late that day, Carter was at school, Mike was working at school. Someone called me to say "Turn on the TV", I don't remember who, maybe Mike. I stared in disbelief. As the buildings crumbled, it was like my whole world as I had known it crumbled too. Should I drive straight to pick up Carter? Should I drive straight to the hospital for possible other attacks and casualities? Should I hide in my closet with my Bible and pillow? All sounded equally sane. What were you doing that day?

Chinese Eyes

2011-09-07T16:06:00.001-06:00

Funny conversation overhead yesterday:

I was sitting in the courtyard at our school waiting for Carter to come out. Abby, Hudson, and Dillon were with me. There were 2 kindergarten students sitting near us. I overheard them talking and it was too good to not share(you transracial adoptive families will totally relate).
Little girl- "She has Chinese eyes, he has Chinese eyes, he has Chinese eyes, but she doesn't have Chinese eyes."
Little boy- "Ohhhhh, I get it, adopted, adopted, adopted, not adopted."
Little girl- "Maybe she has Chinese eyes too, but we can't see them because of her sunglasses!"

These innocent and curious child conversation crack me up. I don't mind the natural curiosity of children. What drives me batty are the stupid adult comments like "Where did you get her?" Uh, she's a person, not a handbag!

FYI, there is an old adoption book called Chinese Eyes that tells the story of an Asian girl and her Caucasion family. It is a bit wordy and the adoption lingo is a little out of date, but the story is pretty powerful.

We who labor on Labor Day

2011-09-04T15:38:00.001-06:00

Here's to all the people who don't get a 3 day weekend(like me, apparently sick people need help on holidays too!). Mike just left with the kids to head to the country. He and Carter will hunt dove at Grandma's place, while Abby, Hudson, and Dillon will be spoiled rotten by their grandparents and play for hours with their cousins. I don't get to go. I work at the hospital tomorrow. I'm a tad sad because I miss several fun events a year due to work. But, can I get a Boo-Yah for time and a half tomorrow??? Oh yeah, my sadness turned to joy pretty soon when I figured how much more my check will be :) Hey, don't judge, Christmas is right around the corner and I have ZERO stashed for our Christmas budget. You want to know the other reason I'm over my sadness? I'm all alone!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray for alone time. I've got grand plans for the rest of today: balance checkbook, do dishes, study for my Assessment quiz, grocery shop(I plan on indulging in lots of Pita chips with sea salt--addicting!), get the oil changed in Mike's car. Sounds like a rockin' grand time eh? Well, if you have 4 kids and a tight budget, you totally understand my jubilation at having some alone time that doesn't cost babysitter money.

To perk me up, here are some pics:

Dillon's first day of second grade

Abby's first day of 5th grade

Carter starting 10th grade(where does the time go????)

Hudson trying to blend in to Abby's class(he wants to go to school so badly)

So what is Christian education anyway?

2011-08-31T12:47:00.003-06:00

So very often, people don't really understand what I'm talking about when I say that Carter and Abby attend a Christian school and that Mike is a principal there. I see in their eyes they are thinking "ohhhhh, snooty private school, you must be rich!". Hmmm, no, that isn't it at all. Many of my friends and family don't understand the what and why's of Christian education so I thought I'd give a whirl at explaining it. Probably the easiest way to do this is to explain what Christian education is not.
1. An exclusive private school for people to keep their children away from "bad" kids.
There is a big difference in exclusive private schools and Christian schools. Our school strives to be available for many families who are sacrficing and struggling to pay tuition. We do not aim to be an Ivy-league prep school. We aim to reinforce to children that Jesus is active and intimately involved in every aspect of life: home, academics, athletics, fine arts, and fun. Literature is evaluated through a Biblical world view, Physics is taught and demonstrates our God of order who created every molecule, the gospel is presented before the high school's production of Narnia. Children spend an average of 130 hours a month at school. It is nice when they are learning the same things taught at home.

2. So, you guys think public schools are not good.
Certainly this is not the case. Mike and I have been to 10 countries, between us, and have seen that America's free and appropriate education is a huge blessing. Did you know that Haiti has a dismal 50% literacy rate? We are supportive of children all over the US receiving an education, not based on finances. Our son Dillon goes to public school because they have the services he needs, like speech therapy, content mastery, and more specialized services. We happily pay the same taxes that everyone else pays, and we pay for private school tuition. There are some awesome public school educators who do really great jobs at teaching kids(Dillon's school is especially warm, efficient, and well-run).

3. The only things that make a Christian school different are the uniforms, tuition, and chapel.
I wish you could spend a day at our school. You'd see that those are the outside, inconsequential differences. The differences are actually in the details. Science fairs with Bible verses that the kids choose to reflect how God's intricate hand made everything and keeps everything working together. A time of prayer requests for the teenagers to share with their teachers and classmates the areas in their lives that they need prayer. A parent-intensive atmosphere that realizes that parents are the primary teachers and the school comes alongside the family. An atmosphere where sports and jocks are not the heroes of the school. Principals who help lead children and teens to a saving knowledge of Jesus every year. Principals who call teen's parents in for conferences when there is talk of rebellion and disobedience in the life of their child. Principals who know every kid by name. Classrooms with 15 second-graders, not 25. I bet you didn't realize that Christian schools get zero funds from the state. State benchmark tests are not the goal when teaching the kids. The flip side of no state monies means that the teachers make 1/2 of what public school teachers do, so they really want to be there and consider it their ministry. Of course, that also means that the only funding comes from tuition and fundraisers(we only do 1 a year). Therefore, many of the amenities, like instruments,dance classes, and busses, just aren't possible.

4. Here's a classic line " some of the worst kids I know go to Christian school!"
I can't speak to the kids you know, but I can say, that just like churches, Christian schools are full of regular humans. Humans make mistakes and bad choices sometimes. Yes, students at Christian schools blow it sometimes. However, in 11 years, Mike has had about 4 of the "big-time" problems with teens(like drugs, fights, teen pregnancy,weapon at school). I think those are great statistics. The neat thing is that the Bible is the ultimate authority to the morality enforced at school.

5. And, finally, there is the argument that "if you take all the Christian kids out of public schools, who will share Christ in the public schools?" I agree completely. Where your family and children serve Jesus is between you and the Holy Spirit's leading. If you strongly feel that your child needs to be a light in public schools...great! Teach your child how to stand tall and strong for Jesus' love. If you feel that God is calling your family to Christian Education...great, be prepared to make financial sacrifices to be way more involved(as far as time comittment as a parent) than you would if they went to public schools.

teen parenting

2011-08-27T20:16:00.001-06:00

The dilemna of being a parent to a teenager:
One day you feel as if you aren't doing enough on the job parenting and you have slacked off too much.

The next day you feel as if you are over-parenting, being a helicopter parent, and not letting your almost grown child make decisions and fly on his own.

A new school year prayer

2011-08-22T20:58:00.000-06:00

The 2011-2012 school year begins this week. Beginning of school, such an exciting and nutty time isn't it? I have some prayers for this year.

For my sweet Dillon who started 2nd grade this year: healing from his communication disorder so he can speak clearly, a friend who will invite him over to play, a teacher who advocates for him and pushes him to reach his potential and doesn't accept the "I can'ts"

Abby starts 5th grade Wednesday: for a continued love for school and learning(she was begging me to let her go to school today!), for no tween girl ickiness to start, for no identity issues related to adoption--that she will remain comfortable in who she is--a beloved daughter of the King of the world, and our Korean Kong-ju(princess), that even right now, God is growing up a sweet boy to be her husband one day

Carter begins his Sophomore year of highschool: for him to grow to be a man of integrity-who chooses the path of righteousness, for continued musical skills to thrive, for more order and maturity in being responsible for his school work, for a new friend at school to take the place of his best friend who moved.

Hudson: Well, poor little man wishes he was going to school so badly. He says "me big, what about me school?". He doesn't realize it yet, but he and mommy will have one last sweet year together. I'll not lack for entertainment, that is for sure. His favorite cartoon is "fun-Bob, scare-pants," he sings Jingle Bells all the time, he wants to read so badly and asks what everything says.

Mike: It's been a stressful summer with the new secondary building being built. God has blessed and provided many more students than we had in May. My our sweet Christian school be a light in the community, a testimony to the Lord and His faithfulness. May Mike slow down, enjoy the opportunity to shape young minds and hearts to be servant leaders.

For myself: I'm taking it a bit slower and only taking 10 hrs August through December. I've decided on the grad school I want to attend and will apply in February.

2 big adoption events coming up in DFW

2011-08-20T06:33:00.001-06:00

For those who love the fatherless, there are 3 big events coming up and I want you to have plenty of time to plan

Tuesday, October 4th is the Give Hope Golf Classic. This tournament promotes awareness and raises funds for millions of children around the world with no momma and daddy. I've known them several years, they adopted from S. Korea through Dillon International and are on fire for adoption and orphancare. Click GOLF to go to the website

Saturday, October 29th is the adoption and foster care conference at Irving Bible Church. This is a well-established, effective ministry and their conference promises to be awesome! I have taught adoptive parenting classes alongside one of the breakout speakers(Melanie) and she's down-right amazing. Foster parents: you can get education credits at this conference. Click here for the link
TAPESTRY

20th year reunion dilemna

2011-08-16T21:01:00.001-06:00

I was going to post about 2 important adoption events coming up, but that can wait a few days. Here's the dilemna: I got info for my 20yr class reunion today. UGH. I graduated in 91. Not a close class. In fact, I don't talk to or visit with a single person I graduated high school with on a regular basis. If not for Facebook, I wouldn't have a clue where most of them live. Don't misread me, I didn't have a terrible time or dislike my classmates. It was typical late 80's early 90's teenager life-- Def Leopard, Bon Jovi, Depeche Mode, big fried hair, rolled jeans, MC Hammer pants, and lovely other styles. We cruised the main street in our town, singing with Information Society tapes and such. I had a group of down right hilarious friends. We could quote every word to the Sarah Jessica Parker movie "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." But, here I am 20 years later. All grown up and done with teen angst(believe me, I had plenty of it!). I love my life now and have zero desire to go try to catch up with people I haven't seen in many years. Plus, the weekend is is planned for is the same time as Kairos, the freedom ministry conference at Gateway Church that I've been really wanting to attend.
Oh, I'd love to bring my gorgeous hunk of a husband and darling kids to show off! But, is there going to be a hole in my life if I don't attend my 20th reunion?? Help me out here people. If you didn't attend, and you have issues now, please message me :)

Class is over

2011-08-13T19:39:00.001-06:00

I took my Statistics final exam this morning! Let me tell ya, I've been way stressed out over this, I"m not good at math and it has been 20 years since I've taken a college math class.
I had a 75 average in the class. The final counted for 40% of the grade. All my witchiness(is that a word??) and being a gripey mommy paid off. The hilarious thing is that I ended up making a 80.6 for my class grade. Yes--a B!!!!!!!! I was praying so hard to pass(heck, 70 is degree right?). So we celebrated this huge feat with a free Chili's dinner, thanks to an old gift card I had.
Just jumped over a big hurdle toward grad school

Dave's debt comparison

2011-08-10T20:29:00.000-06:00

This is awesome!! Good ole Mr. Ramsey puts the federal debt situation in real-live family terms. I copied and pasted from his website daveramsey.com

The federal government will take in $2.173 trillion in 2011. That’s their income, and it sounds pretty good. Until, that is, you factor in that the federal government will spend $3.818 trillion during the year. So, just like many families, the government’s outgo exceeds their income—to the tune of $1.645 trillion in overspending. That’s called the deficit. Altogether, the government has $14.2 trillion in debt.

What would happen if John Q. Public and his wife called my show with these kinds of numbers? Here’s how their financial situation would stack up:

If their household income was $55,000 per year, they’d actually be spending $96,500—$41,500 more than they made! That means they’re spending 175% of their annual income! So, in 2011 they’d add $41,500 of debt to their current credit card debt of $366,000!

.

Looking back on 8/6/2010

2011-08-06T21:42:00.000-06:00

Why do I recommend you keep a prayer journal?

Psalms 77: 11-2 I shall remember the deeds of [fn]the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds.

It becomes an invaluable treasure of memories, prayers, answers, and feelings. Over and over, Scripture tells us to remember and remind ourselves of God's faithfulness and blessings. It is such a trap to live in the past and in the world of "But what if?" I know I've struggled with that many many times.
This day last year I was at a crazy juncture in life. Infertile for 10 years, happy momma of 4 kids(one had just been with us 11 months) and content. I strangely found myself pregnant. Unfortunately, I wasn't happy or ready for that news. It blew me out of the water and totally freaked us out. Sadly, the pregnancy ended several weeks after, in a maddening kind of way(you can read about it under the title Choosing to Bless). I journaled, as I have for years. My prayers and thoughts were raw and honest, heck, why hide anything from my maker when He already knows my thoughts anyway?
On 8/6 last year I wrote
Praise you Jesus, the sonogram shows it is in the uterus, there is a heartbeat. Help me have a joy for this life. I can't work and take care of 5 kids--God what is going to happen??
On 8/7 last year I wrote
Okay Lord, I may be totally off my rocker, but I think my baby is dead. Could my hormones have plunged super quick?

Psalm 42:5b My soul is downcast within me, therefore I will remember you

Why do we remember the Lord when our soul is downcast? Because remembering brings to mind the good and bad. In this world, you can't have all good. There is always going to be good and bad, in a fallen/sinful world. Remembering and reflecting on the journey the Lord has brought you on requires acknowledging that somehow, you make it through the tough stuff and you see how El Shalom, God of my peace, walks with you and uses everything for His ultimate glory.
Reflecting on the blessings of the journey keep you grateful. Reflecting on the trials of the journey keep you dependent on Him to provide. Reflecting on the mistakes made on the journey, keep you humble. Reflecting on the victories in the journey, make you trust Him to carry you again, in the next trial! Isn't that exciting?

So, here I am, one year after my surprise baby died in my body(makes 2 we've lost in utero), I'm reflecting:
blessings: sweet family and friends who loved on us, my 4 children are healthy, recognizing what an amazing and supportive husband I have, I now have an opportunity to furthur my degree(and the hospital pays for it!)
trials: anger, ungrateful spirit, lack of trust in His plan(what the heck are you doing God??), physical illness
mistakes: a few from the above-like anger, lack of trust, ungrateful
victories: sealed in my heart how much we love our children--no matter how they came to us, worked through some deep personal loss and grief issues I'd repressed, and now I can more effectively walk alongside women who are or have experienced miscarriage

The talking toddler

2011-08-02T22:03:00.003-06:00

As you are well aware, little man Hudson, is crazy! He is so dang smart and precocious, talks non-stop(like, every second of the day filled with his talking). For you entertainment:
Tonight he picked up a bottle of baby bath, turned it over and looked at the label and said "Mommy, how many calories this have?" I said, "That is baby bath, it doesn't have calories." He didn't believe me, pointed at the small typeface and said "Uh-huh, see, it have calories."
Nuts, he's just nuts!

And here is sweet Dillon's bedtime prayer this week. We are in a severe drought and heat wave(it was 108 yesterday). He prayed "Dear God.....rain, rain, rain.....you no give us any, we need it so bad....rain, rain, rain."
That sums it up perfectl :)

Fav new song(and album)

2011-07-31T21:23:00.001-06:00

First: Scroll way down to the far right of my blog and pause my music player, then enjoy this awesome song! I first saw Aaron Ivey at the Together For Adoption conference in Austin last year. This song, The Name, plays constantly at our house(Carter loves it too). Not only is he an amazingly talented musician, but his heart for children without mommas and daddys is huge.
If you really want to cry a good one, watch his video on You tube called Amos Story(written about his son from Haiti). Great album, run and get you one.

Summer to do's...

2011-07-28T16:09:00.002-06:00

Abby's birthday is the end of August. About 2months ago, I started stripping an old desk that my parents bought for us when I was really young. I think it is about the most valuable heirloom they have to pass on, so far. It has been through so many changes, been painted everything from 1970's bright orange, to 80's seafoam green, to red, to white. It has watched my sisters and I grow up and held notes and craft projects for us all. I'm planning on stripping all the way to the wood, sanding it, and repainting it. It has been in my garage, with about 10 different colors showing for the past month. But, I'm totally swamped.... I...cant...do...one...more...thing

or so I thought :)

This morning, I did my nursing class quiz, studied for statistics. Then, after hearing Mr. Smiley(aka Hudson), repeatedly say "Pweese you paint me room bwuuu wike Thomas!" I could figure the probability of drawing a red marble from a box of 1000 marbles no longer. So, contrary to what is sensible and prudent(which I almost always lean to), I began painting. The letters above are being painted black to go in Abby's new puprle and black room. Hudson and Dillon will soon have a beautiful denim blue colored wall.

I'm not sure why I'm painting the room. We are praying over a much bigger house 2 streets over that is headed to foreclusure. IF, and that is a capitol IF, God wants us to have a bigger house to use for more ministry(we are leaning toward providing respite foster care), then we will be putting in a very low offer on this big, abandoned home. So, painting our house seems a tad silly. Oh well, it will likely not happen, so my boys may as well enjoy a bwuu room wike Thomas(the tank engine for all you moms of girls).

Pics worked

2011-07-26T07:47:00.000-06:00

My pics are not loading for some reason. But, these 2 finally did! I think little Texas boys in shorts and boots is the cutest.
Speaking of Texas, I've got a hankering to pick up and move to Boston today! Mike and I visited there 15yrs ago and loved it so much. Live in a 3 story brownstone, no car, walk everywhere or ride the T, tons of history and culture....not 23 days straight of over 100 degree weather in the summer!! Of course, I hate to be freezing and have lots of snow...alas, Boston wouldn't be a good fit from November to April. And, lets not forget our fabulous extended families--we just can't live without them, they are precious to us.

Home, cowboy boots, and a streak of luck

2011-07-23T19:12:00.002-06:00

Finally, all the kids are home! Carter returned from youth camp(Student Life in Edmond). He loved it! I just love boys. The brothers all missed each other and here is how they bond...Dog Pile(dang it, my pics won't load today, I had some awesome ones).

The new fashion statement at our house is cowboy boots with shorts. Someone gave Dillon some awesome cowboy boots. The ones Hudson is wearing are old hand-me-downs from Carter(can you even imagine that big young man wearing little cowboy boots?).

Abby had volleyball camp at our sweet school this week. She is really good and she and I are thinking a volleyball, coupled with academic, scholarship to TCU is forthcoming ;) Of course, TCU is waaaay out of our league so she better get a good scholarship! She will be turning 11 in a month. She is becoming drop dead gorgeous. We are updating her room to be more pre-teen instead of little girl boohoooo

Good luck? Of course, as a follower of Jesus, I don't believe in luck. We've been blessed. Thursday night I noticed Dillon was holding his mouth a little funny, and he was really tired. Friday morning, he wouldn't drink and was talking funny. Light bulb went off! The past few times he's had strep, that was the beginning signs. So, even though he had no fever and was running around fine, I took him to see our sweet pediatrician. He said his throat wasonly a tiny bit red, but that given Dillon's bad issues with strep, he'd test him. He came in laughing a bit later, it was Positive. The child looked no sicker than you and I, but I just knew it. We are so thankful we caught it early and Dillon isn't sick.
And, I won 4 tickets to a Kari Jobe concert. O I just LOVE her!
AND, Friday morning I made a 100 on my Statistics quiz. I needed that badly considering my last 2 quizes were 60 and 66. I've been getting up every day at 5:45 to do my class before the kids are up. Only 3 more weeks of this math craziness. Heck, I'll be darn good at Nevada Roulette after this Stats class(not that I would ever give my hard-earned money to a dumb game).

Encouraging you to go break a sweat

2011-07-21T09:53:00.000-06:00

This post has nothing to do with living for Jesus, adoption, raising children, budgeting, or my usual focus posts. But, I really believe a lot of you will benefit from reading.
One of my classes right now is Health Promotion. The instructor is not very likeable, but the course is very good. I am really really encouraging you all to read Move Yourself by Tedd Mitchell et.all. It is put out by the doctors at the world famous Cooper Clinic in Dallas. Basically, you will reap huge health benefits just by moving a little. They call the typical American lifestyle Sedentary Death Syndrome. Even 15minutes, 3 days a week, of physical activity will lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, and melt belly fat. Interestingly, if you are the type who stores excess fat right around your belly button instead of butt/thighs, you are at much greater risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and such. So, they stress Waist management, more than Weight management. Be encouraged, visceral(or belly fat) responds quickly to exercise.
I viewed a slide show this morning about how portions have doubled in the last 20years. ClickPORTIONS if you'd like to see it.
Here's good news: your iPhone can help tremendously. Mike has lost over 30 pounds since Jan 1 using Lose It, an app on his iPhone. Everyday he logs his food intake and his exercise. It displays calories in and calories burned. He looks amazing and his having fun telling people that "this summer both me and my Honda Accord hit 200(for the record, he is 6'1)!" For example, I swam laps for 20minutes in our community pool. I logged it into Lose It and it shows that I burned 173 calories. Then, I logged my food and drinks for the day..so far(2 cups coffee with French Vanilla creamer, 1/2 banana, bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a cup of orange juice). According to the graph, I've consumed 586 calories and burned 173.
So, take this info and run with it--literally :)
I'm a cardiac nurse and sure don't want to see anymore men in their 30's getting stents!

Almost let Dave down

2011-07-19T04:57:00.000-06:00

Man we came close to buying a newer vehicle several days ago. Sure was big and roomy and pretty. But, it sure is hard to put a payment in your budget again when you've not had a car payment for several years! So, that night, we came home and re-read us some Dave Ramsey(you sure are bossy Dave!). We'd love to keep plugging away, using up our old, yet reliable, Honda's, and save.

The group I went to Haiti with is returning in January. I'd sure love to go. The money I'd be using for the car can help pay for my trip :)

Why my kids are the luckiest ever?

2011-07-15T04:50:00.000-06:00

They have the BEST grandparents ever!!!
Every summer my mother-in-law hosts the grandkids for swim lessons. They go to the country and take wonderful lessons. They play with cousins, they eat lots of pizza and ice cream, and basically, do whatever they want--cause that is what Nana does for them. Dillon just spent 4 fun days out there. Ohhh, I missed that loving boy and Hudson was lost without his best buddy.

And my mother, she hosts Ma Camp every summer for Abby and my sister's daughter, Maddie. They swim, they get pedicures, learn to sew, and make a formal dinner for Poppa. I had to drag her out of my mom's home today for a few nights in her own bed.
My kids are totally spoiled to have awesome and Jesus-loving grandparents both within 1.5hours of us.

Dillon at swim lessons learning safety rules

He's so brave now

Abby and Maddie with Poppa

Hudson played in a bucket of water while
Dillon was at swim lessons

Carter is too old to do those kind of things anymore. He's a working man--remember? :)
Here is a pic my sister took while at the lakehouse. Cuties ehh?

Chip away at it

2011-07-12T21:59:00.000-06:00

Hopefully this will minister and encourage some of you like it has to me. I've been reading Nehemiah the past few days in my yearly Bible reading program. You know what is amazing about the story in Nehemiah? The walls of Jerusalem were in ruins, there were only a few(compared to how many people used to be) people returning from exile, and the few Isrealites had little resources. They used what they had, where they were, for God's work. In an amazingly short amount of time, with enemies breathing down their backs, the people repaired the walls of their city. They built the section of the wall that was directly near them, with their bare hands and skimpy tools; toiling day and night to make a difference. When they were done, the nations near were afraid of the Isrealites because God's power was made so evident. It hit me...this is no different than today. We fight for God's glory and honor, and we go about Kingdom business, chipping away one piece at a time. I was so discouraged Sunday night. My plea posting(on here and Facebook) for the little boy in SE Asia needing a family was met with Zero responses!! Oh, lots read it(my stat counter says that 160 people have looked). Yet not one person was willing to verbalize "Yes, we stand in agreement that this child needs a loving family ASAP." I was mad, heartsick, and tired. But, God's word revealed to me that I have to be faithful in repairing the broken walls in my area of influence. I'm not called to rescue every one of the world's 160million orphans. I'm called to faithfully do what God has called our family to do. The results are up to Him. What broken walls has He called you to start repairing?? To quote a great preacher "Use what you've got, where you are, for who He is"!

Dillon's twin needs a family

2011-07-08T21:26:00.001-06:00

You guys are not going to believe this!! I got an email from a sweet friend of mine who wanted me to check out a lady's blog. She said the blog reminded her of me because of my passion for the global orphan crisis. I read the lady's blog(awesome writer and passionate heart for the orphan!). It got me thinking about how years ago, I'd peruse waiting child sites all the time, just making sure I was up-to-date on my adoption issues, and, I could advocate for particular waiting kids. So, I decided to check out Holt International's waiting child site, as they still post pics, most dont without a password. Seriously, not at all exaggerating here, I found our precious Dillon's twin(5yrs younger)---waiting in an orphanage in the world for his own momma and daddy. He is 3 years old and his medical and developmental description and picture could have been a straight from our home, 5yrs ago. Click CHILD to see him.

This is our Dillon at 3yrs old!

My heart completely breaks for this little boy. Please, oh please, would one of you apply to adopt him? I'm convinced that Dillon has done so well and gotten so healthy because God gave him his own family who push, love, pray, encourage, insist on the best treatments for him. We aren't special at all--we are just a regular momma and daddy wanting our angel baby to thrive. This waiting boy deserves that. He doesn't care if you can't provide a shiny car, his own fancy room in a big house, a funded college account--he just desperately needs a family.

hi from the buried pile

2011-07-06T20:39:00.003-06:00

Wanted to make a quick note:
Had a great extended family, somewhat redneck, lakehouse trip with my parents and sibs. Lots of floating in the lake, lots of kids running around, lots of food!
Paddling upstream without an oar in Statistics class--praying to make a C. It isn't exactly easy to study for Health Promotions and Stats with 4 kids at home.
Have only heard once from my friend visiting her 4 kids they are trying to adopt in Ethiopia--kids speak some English and watched the video she took. They pointed at Ryan and said "Pappa!"
Just heard that South Korea is going to host 2018 winter Olympics!! HOORAY, we are going to save starting now. First thought for me, no lie,.....ooooh, maybe we can bring home another precious Korean angel when we go ;) I know, I'm nuts, especially since by then Mike would be 48 and me a little less than that. Those almond eyes and jet black hair melt my heart.

Going to meet the 4 kids

2011-07-02T07:14:00.000-06:00

Remember my precious friends who totally stepped out in faith and said YES to adopting a sibling group of 4 kids(ages 4-12) in Ethiopia?? Well, their process has been sllllllooooww. So, Jessica and a friend, are leaving today to go visit those sweet darlings. They have gifts and letters expressing their love for the children who are living in an orphanage. Can you just try to envision the children's faces? Oh, it is so sweet. I wish I could come and take pics and see how God turns beauty from ashes--from being orphaned, living in an orphanage, wondering if you'll ever get a new family--to a beautiful auburn haired mamma flying from the other side of the world, delivering words of love and sweet treats. Precious isn't it?

Trip to Sea World

2011-06-28T22:36:00.000-06:00

So those of you who know me, know that if I'm posting at 11:30 at night--something is way wacked out. I'm an early to bed early to rise kind of gal. Well, Statistics is totally kicking my butt!! I haven't taken a math course since college algebra in 1991. Heaven help--whose idea was this school stuff anyway??

We took a short vacay last week. The little boys have been wanting to see the dolphins for a while. So, we road tripped to San Antonio. Let's just say that driving isn't our family's biggest skill---took forever to get there! Several potty breaks were needed.

In front of Sea World

This is how Dillon keeps his world in order when he's stressed--the "peace" hands. Bless his littel heart, having Sensory Integration Disorder is kind of stinky at times.

Splashing in the Sesame Street play area

Walking with Daddy

Mesmerized by Shamu

Mike got an awesome pic of me and Abby screaming as we tip down the splash ride(Abby has the hot yellow shirt on). My face looks like I'm dying. Carter-in the Texas Ranger's t-shirt is totally playing it cool--wondering why he rode with Abby and I!

Shamu rocks!

If your fam is like mine--large and broke--then you'll appreciate this info. We got a coupon out of a travel brochure for Drury Inn and Suites. Totally rocked the hotel. Now, there wasn't anything beautiful or luxurious about it. But, it had a full size fridge, a microwave, 2 queen beds, a separate living room area with love seat and recliner. For 79.99/night, we got free breakfast. They also had a 5:30 "kickback" time of refreshments. Let's just say that after our family's "kickback", they may change their policy! We ate free dinner there each night! Hot dogs, nachos, drinks, salad, chicken nuggets, macaroni....perfect for our crap ola vacation meals ;)
To top off the tightwad image of mine, I packed a cooler for Sea World. We walked to the parking lot at noon and sat in the minivan, with the back seat folded down. We had Gatorades, made sandwiches, ate chips and fruit. It was a nice break and then we went back in to Sea World--no jipped prices for us.

On a different note, if you think about it, would you say a quick prayer for Abby? She's been suffering with bad stomach pains since Sunday evening. We've done blood work twice, a sonogram, and a CT scan and can't find anything. She was much better this evening and just came in crying and holding her stomach again. Sad and frustrating!

FYI--great adoption conference coming up

2011-06-25T21:01:00.000-06:00

Hope For Orphans(I've seen them host conferences in person and they are fan-stinkin-tastic!) is hosting a seminar in September. It will focus on special needs and at-risk children, and, how families can be better prepared for these issues. For a link to their website, click HOPE

See ya there

We can grieve with hope

2011-06-22T16:17:00.001-06:00

1Th 4:13

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep(die), or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

Yesterday was the funeral of our friend's husband. It was a total kick in the pants funeral. Tears from start to finish. The church was packed. Seeing a bunch of boys wearing their baseball uniform in support of their grieving friend is heartbreaking. What was the kicker was the wife. What a ROCK of a woman. She got up and read the most amazing eulogy--surrounded by her 2 older sons and her 14yr old son, all dressed up, holding on to his momma, supporting her. She was so poised, so strong, so positive about the legacy of love, faithfulness, and spiritual heritage her husband left. I lost it when she talked about how this past Father's Day, her husband and the daughter they lost 4 years ago spent Father's Day together in heaven and about how when they adopted their 4yr old little girl from China, she was terrified of the big burly man. She'd turn her head away from him and run out of the room(sound familiar Julie??). But, his patient and steady love won her over and they were inseperable.

What's the good news? We can cry with hope. Can you? If you don't know for sure that you will spend eternity with Jesus, the minute you take your last breath on this earth, please find out will ya? This man spent his last day with his family, vacationing and having fun--making memories, then in a split second--he was gone. Find a Bible, email me, whatever, but don't wait another day.

Just life

2011-06-20T08:33:00.001-06:00

I did not forget that yesterday was Father's Day. We certainly wished Mike a happy one. We also went over to my aunt's home for a family gathering and saw my dad and grandfather. I didn't choose to post about Father's Day because after a while, I feel rather cliche, following the scripts of when and what you are supposed to be saying and admiring. Anyone who has been to this blog in the past 2 years has heard me gloat over my amazing husband. Mike is devoted to our children, he raises them to be godly people. He loves hundreds of other people's children at his school, he is a champion of the orphan and down-trodden. My father is a gentle, generous, wise man who loves his 4 grown girls like crazy. He taught us about digging deep in the Word, to open our homes to the needy, and to look for beauty in art, music, and nature. My 94-yr-old grandfather is equally awesome. He is the smartest man I know, served in the Navy in WW2, and finds his greatest joy in seeing his family thrive. I wrote a paper about him last week for my Gerontology class. Blessed, that is what me and my children are, for sure.
Summer fun: swimming in our community pool(Hudson is jumping in and swimming like a maniac), playing with cousins and friends. Me, my mom and sister took 5 of the youngest grandkids to a really fun little indoor safari park.

Hudson playing minigolf

My niece, Lexi(my sister Emily's dtr), riding a mechanized cheetah

My nieces, Aspen(my sister Melody's dtr) and Kylie(my sister Emily's dtr), in the back of a choochoo

My mother looks like a preschool worker, loving her crazy grandkids. I hope I have a whole gaggle of grandkids someday with a rainbow of skin colors

Daddy daughter date night. Gorgeous man and gorgeous tropical girl!

New Baby girl stayed with me last week. Oooh, she's so sweet. There's been a new development in her birthfamily case. After my sister has been caring for her for a month, someone has cropped up. We all love her so much and pray for Brad and Melody to be able to adopt her. Melody has such a great attitude about fostering. If they can give a baby/child whose suffered a trauma a few weeks to months of stability, love, and hearing Jesus prayed over them, then it is all worth it.

There aren't pics of Carter because he's been busy. He has a new job working at a shop doing light manual labor. He felt so great last week. Working hard like a man, getting his first paycheck. He bought something with his own money, put his tithe in at church, and we are suggesting(okay, forcing) him to save half for a car.

Please Pray!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-17T04:27:00.001-06:00

My precious Ob/gyn's husband died suddenly yesterday. I just woke up to the horrible email!! This family is awesome. They lost their darling 4yr old daughter 3 years ago. She was adopted from China. They have a few grown kids, a son who is 13, a 4yr old little girl whom they adopted after their other daughter died. And, they were waiting on travel clearance for another little angel from China. I'm sick, absolutely SICK!!!!!!!! He carried that tiny little girl everywhere! His wife is a rock of a woman, so selfless, ministerered to me during my miscarriage and D and C last summer. OH, those kids---NOT FAIR. How do they survive another tragedy like this??? The 13yr old goes to Mike's school. Please pray like crazy for this family.

Thank you

Hello-Somebody!!

2011-06-15T05:35:00.002-06:00

I ordered my super cool Hello-Somebody watch yesterday. Shopping with a purpose is one of my all time favs! My youngest sister is on staff at Gateway Church in Southlake(super duper church). She got one of these watches at the huge ladies' conference in March. One watch(22.00) feeds 100 people in Haiti and other places, like Nicarauga(amazing cause I've been to both places and seen the need first hand). The name of the organization is Hello-Somebody, which is an awesome name. Lord knows, I've wanted to shout out HELLLLLOOOO Somebody to people about the global 163 million orphan crisis!

So, I ordered me a light purple one. Now, I'm not hip. I'm not a jewelry, make-up, clothes, accessories type of gal. I'm boring and plain. But, I'm gonna wear the fire out of this watch. I'm also going to distribute a little info card to everyone who proclaims "Oh, your watch is so cute!" See, more mouths fed ;)

As of this morning, their ticker for hungry bellies fed is over 986,000!
click HELLO to go there,
This statement taken from their website
"Hello Somebody’s first action to end hunger provided 50,000 meals to homeless and desperate Haitians. In our inaugural year, Hello Somebody provided food for over one million starving people.Join us in our fight to save lives and change lives. Listen to the call of the hopeless and the hungry. Will you help us answer it? Hello Somebody…are you out there?"

FYI: an update: it is Wednesday and the watch came today(I ordered it yesterday!). The watch is so cool but very large. So, if you have skinny wrists like me and aren't used to large jewelry, order the "mini"

Why serve ONE hour? Because children matter

2011-06-12T05:40:00.002-06:00

I spent 2 days last week helping my sister-in-law, Shana, with the 40 girls she brought to Girls Adventure camp. She has taught 3rd-6th grade girls about Jesus and missions for many years. Their church has made children's activities on Wednesday nights a priority. And, let's be frank, many are not well-behaved and have no idea how to act in church. They send the church van around to gather children who want to come, but whose parents are not involved or interested. The children get a free supper before the activities. Camp is the culmination of the year. It is at an encampment in west Texas that has been around long time(Mike used to go there for youth camp). Everytime I go, I feel like I've stepped into a bit of a time warp, where kids learn to shoot at a target, snow cones are only 50 cents, and you get to eat mini corn dogs and jello on a foam tray. As I've said before, teaching children is not my favorite thing to do, but I did enjoy my time there.

I was blown away by my sister-in-law and her commitment to these girls. Can you imagine spending 5 days with 40 little girls? Constantly, they were surrounding her saying "Miss Shana, Miss Shana, Miss Shana." She answers them with "babydoll, sugar" and such. Many were desparate for a mommy's attention. Friday morning I french braided 5 girls' hair and one of the girls said "I've always wanted my hair braided."
The town where they live(the same town Mike grew up in) is a sweet, small rural community. There aren't many jobs left . Everybody knows everybody. Shana's church is a beacon of love for the children. I am shocked at the number of unchurched, poor children that Shana serves in this ministry. The stories of some of the girls is absolutely appaling and heart-breaking and they are so desperate for a mommy's attention. A few of the girls are children of minority, migrant workers. They live in the type of poverty I incorrectly thought was only in inner-cities.
These girls come to Shana's class every Wednesday for one hour. That one hour is when they have fun, are free from worries, hear that they are special and made with a great purpose, that Jesus loves them, and that some adult really cares. One hour, that is all. But that one hour is life-changing for many of the girls.

So, why do Christians need to serve in children's ministry?

Because One hour can be the saving grace for a little child.

The App for all you frugal mommas!

2011-06-08T09:40:00.000-06:00

I'm not a wacky extreme budgeter and couponer, really I'm not(although I am totally aware that of my obsessive personality). Usually, I get all crazy and obsessed with budgeting, jogging, or most recently couponing, and it last about 3 months. Then I'm back to my mediocrity. Fact is, I have to be a little extreme. We've made choices in our lives that require certain sacrifices and such: 4 precious children(3 international adoption)s, trips to several foreign countries, Christian school, I have always worked part-time, tithing and giving. Plus, it seems like everything we own breaks so that costs a lot too(just found out this morning our lawn-mower has self-destructed and we need a new one)! Not only all that, but my desire is to be a good steward. The Bible teaches that if you aren't faithfully managing the little things, God won't entrust bigger responsibilities to you(my favorite book on this type of stuff is The Blessed Life by Robert Morris).
If you are in a similar situation, I have a great tool to suggest.

An app for you: Budget
It costs 99 cents on the iTunes app store. I log in every dime that we spent. All budgeting pros will tell you to take a spending journal. I've tried this many times, but after about 3 days, I totally forget to write stuff in the little spiral notebook I'd carry. My iPhone is with me constantly! Heck, I don't even see how people function without one, I'm so used to it and dependent(and in love with it) on the darn thing.

Recent victory:
My couponing skills are still evolving. I had the hardest time getting the groove of clipping, sorting, watching sales circulars, and then the ever important matching up of coupons to sales. That, my frugal friends, is the key, the match up. But, with the help of my friends Jenny and Jessica, I'm starting to understand the process. Sweet websites have helped too(kingdomfirstmom.com, couponing101.com are 2 I use). Finally, my triumphant moment a few days ago. I carefully perused the Kroger ad and matched my coupons to what was on sale. And, love Kroger for this, I loaded the e-coupons from Kroger's website to my rewards card. I made a meal menu for 4 days based only on the sales flyer. This is completely opposite of my old ways: make a menu, then go shop with no regard to what was on sale or coupons. I only purchased 5 items for regular price. Every other item was on sale and/or I had a coupon to match. I saved 35.00 dollars!! Small potatoes to extreme couponers, but I was thrilled. It was like a drug...intoxicated with saving my money and feeling like "I did it, I beat the system that makes my fork over my hard earned dollars to huge coorporations!" :) If I save 35 bucks each week, that is over 120.00 dollars a month! As for a stockpile, mine is tiny but so cute and growing. I can shop in my own closet :) Freakish...I know that is what you are thinking.

parenting to attach

2011-06-05T05:58:00.002-06:00

Once again, I'm probably divulging too much, but I'm convinced there are new adoptive mommas out there going through challenges and do get the straigh answer from people they talk too. So, if you are one of those mommas--this post is for you!
I'm changing my techniques. Hudson needs a new approach. He is doing great, really happy, smart, jolly, affectionate--most of the time. However, he does have a propensity to come unglued at something small and go into a loud crying fit that lasts about 10 minutes. Remember how he used to vomit in public when he was overstimulated? Now he cries, no actually shrieks with tears, when mad. I admit it, it irks me. Anyway, lately, Hudson has had more of these tirades, interestingly enough they are only with me! Last week it hit me that I had stopped parenting to attach. He's been home a 1yr and 9 months(was 22months when he came home). It seems he's always been with us and I had quit trying to look at his behavior through empathetic eyes. So, I reviewed my favorite adoptive parenting book, The Connected Child, by Dr. Karyn Purvis. Now, when the downward spiral starts, I scoop him up--kicking and screaming all the way, and go to my bedroom rocking chair. I hold him tightly against me and sing Praise and Worship music. It sounds sweet and all doesn't it? The first few minutes he hates it. He squirms to try to get out and cries all the louder, trying to drown out my voice. But, after about 5-10 minutes, he is calm and fine. The reality is that this takes a LOT more of my time. It would be so much easier if I ignored the bad behavior or sent him to his room. But, the last thing she recommends for at-risk children is isolation. She writes offer warm interaction so that your child gets the message that "I do not need to be afraid of this adult. I am a person of value to this person." Be responsive so that your child gets the message that "this adult understands what I feel. I am safe here." And later, talking about time-in instead of time-out, she says "These isolating strategies may be useful for biological lchildren who are alredy connected and emotionally bonded to their families. But isolating and banishing strategies are extremely problematic for at-risk children, because these kids are already disconnected from rlationaships, attachment-challenged, and mildly dissociative because of their early histories of neglect and abuse. Isolation is not therapeutic for them." The end result is worth it. I enjoy the feeling of a squishy toddler molded to my lap, rocking and singing. Precious memories for me and, hopefully, better ability to regulate his emotions and feel bonded and safe.

I hope this encourages some of you out there.
Next up: my best budget App tool

And summer is off to a great start

2011-06-01T11:53:00.001-06:00

My parents fly to Costa Rica tonight--I'm soooo jealous!

Abby and Carter are out for the summer. Dillon will go one more day tomorrow. Carter is already hanging out at his friend's lake house. I love how God uses other's blessings to bless our children. We've had lots of blessings through our kids' friends: taken to plays, lakehouses, on little trips. Abby is such a helper. I've really enjoyed having her home this week. It is like having another adult! I may homeschool her just to have her around to help me out ;)
The past 2 days we've been busy with a surprise. Carter's 2 best friends won't be returning to his school next year. He is very sad about this. Then, he got some more very disappointing news last week. So, we are redecorating his room while he is away. Despite my love for a beige home, we painted one wall a cherry red! We bought new bedding and Mike is installing a new ceiling light.

I think he will be cheered up when he sees it.

I have an assignment for Art Appreciation due in a few days. I took Abby and Hud with me to the world famous art museum in our city(sorry, afraid of wackos--cant disclose where we are). I am eating crow now because guess what? Taking Art Appreciation, as much as I've detested the course, made me appreciate the art so much more. I grew up in a family that appreciates art. My parents took us to the art museum and we watched classics and musicals. But, this time, after learning about the pieces in my class, I was amazed by the art work. I recognized paintings by Frida Kahlo and sculptures by the Yoruba in Africa, all before reading the info plaque on the wall!! I'm looking at grad school options and will apply next April. Finishing this class brings me one step closer to returning to Haiti and Nicarauga some day as a Family Nurse Practitioner!

We kept my nearly 3yr old niece, Aspen, for the night on Saturday. In church, she stayed Uncle Mike's arms. She's a worshipper and moves to the music and lifts her hands. I watched him with that little girl and thought, just maybe...we could adopt one more little girl!! Mike says we are done and we don't have it in us anymore. I wanted to argue with him, but I was too exhausted. Guess he just proved his point ;)

End of school and other stuff

2011-05-28T20:50:00.001-06:00

First off, did anyone else watch "The Middle" this week about end of school? Haahaa!!! I've told you before that it is my family. Well, I laughed out loud several times watching this week.

Here are Carter and Abby on the last day of 4th and 9th grades. This year they have changed so much. Carter is becoming a man, learning about girls and driving and studying for hard subjects. Abby is becoming a preteen, navigating a tiny bit of girl drama stuff. She had a great school year and wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Sweet Dillon. Bless his heart, he has to go to school next week and doesn't know that Carter and Abby do not. Nobody tell him! He has done great in first grade and is really doing well in math.

What'd I tell ya? Party man! He is nuts. Too smart, scary smart, and just crazy. He is hilarious and wearing me plum out. Last night during a precious graduation ceremony, he loudly announces "Oh my gosh" complete with Valley Girl inflection! Hmmm, anyone know the saying "Paying for my raising?" :)

Here I am snuggling my sister's foster baby. Dang it, she's sweet and gorgeous! So far the birthmother has not made any effort at reunification and we are begging sweet Jesus to let Melody and Brad adopt her.

Couponing is coming along nicely. My friend, Jenny, is coaching me. I used a store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon today at Target and got 2 Degree deoderants for $1.22each, usually $3.64 each. It seems the key to this is making sure I buy items on sale AND that I have a coupon to match with those items. My stockpile is tiny, but growing. I'm praying to save 50.00 a week off our grocery and misc. home bill. This is important because we are starting to ramp up our college savings. Only 3 more years til we send Carter off.

Depraved Indifference

2011-05-26T12:35:00.000-06:00

First scroll way down to the far right side of the blog to pause my Music Player
I wish I could have shown this video to the owners of the bazillion dollar yachts parked at Atlantis Marina in Nassau last week. Forgive me for being judgmental, for all I know, some of them donate to care for orphans all the time!

confusing times...at times

2011-05-23T10:53:00.004-06:00

You long time followers know I'm always open and transparent with our lives(at least up to the point of where we need to protect privacy). Some of you may be dealing with these same things, or have walked through them.

Our kids are growing up. We are in uncharted territory regarding girlfriends and such. Hard to see your kids become young adults. It is easy to make black and white rules...but does that really help? Is there a place for being a little bit fluid when you kid has great character and love for Jesus?

We are praying through vehicle ideas. Carter is 15 1/2 and will be driving soon. Mike and I drive old cars--but Mike's is really beat up. Hard to know when to bite the bullet and buy a newer vehicle. We hate debt. We love mission trips. We need a new vehicle, but that would mean no mission trips for good while. Hard to know what is the right thing. Praying for wisdom and patience.

Sometimes you realize a child with special needs will likely always have special needs. Dillon couldn't tell someone how old he was a few weeks ago. He wasn't upset about not knowing his age, but it cut my heart open that at 8 and a half, he can't answer that. No healing. Hurts like crazy. Makes me so mad that he doesn't get any schooling or speech services all summer because he "doesn't have documented regression." ARGH, special ed stuff is hard to navigate.

When do you decide it is time to cover the gray hair?

And yet, life is great. My schooling is going well. I have straight As. I've begun learning about couponing and, with my friend Jenny's help, expect to knock 30-50% off of our grocery bill with just a little creativity and time.
Our children haven't been sick in a long time(big praise! I bet our pediatrician thinks we moved). Summer camps begin soon and Abby is so excited to attend GA camp with her cousins again. Carter will go to Student Life youth camp. Dillon will take swim lessons. Mike will put to bed his 11th year at the Christian school were he works. He has also gotten so svelte by losing nearly 30 pounds with the help of "Lose it" app on his phone. Hudson--well, he's a party waiting to happen, talks ALL the time, sings Jesus Loves Me and David Crowder's Oh How He Loves. So cute. The little challenges don't really matter do they?

2011-05-19T20:14:00.000-06:00

This is such an amazing group of teens. I'm shocked at how hard they work. They never complain and they outworked me--which is hard to do as I'm a workhorse on mission trips. They are hilarious and so fun. They love on the residents in the camp and really got to know them. Today we worked so so hard! We cleared a demolished shack, painted, made and passed out lunches, fed a few residents, and some of the kids just spent sweet time singing with or listening to the residents. The hotel staff here are dumbfounded that we are serving at the All Saints camp. They said "those people are the rejects." Sad sad, tossed aside to die alone.

And, in surprise news, my sister Melody and her hubby got a call a few days ago. They were not on the list for a new foster child placement, but, in a hospital in the city was a newborn baby girl who had a dire need for a family and would they consider taking her. Seems that is a no brainer. So, guess who has a new baby in the family? My new neice, whether she stays for a few weeks or forever. She's darling and I'm so mad that everyone in my family has held her already but Mike and I!! No fair. My parents are already announcing that they have a new grandaughter.

Mission Trip with the teens

2011-05-17T05:16:00.001-06:00

We are in Nassua, yes, that is the Bahamas!! It gets old when you tell people you are taking the seniors from the school on a mission trip to Nassau and they give you the look and a snort, like HA, yea right! I know, it sounds ludricous. And, looking at the beach I'm enjoying for about 2 hours everyday, I'd think the same thing. Stunning!!! Soft sand, crystal clear water, amazing.

So, what are we doing? We are working at the All Saints AIDS camp. Basically, an old leper colony outside of main town area in Nassua. Think nursing home/homeless village, but of course, no nurse. The residents live in individual, one-room shacks that are about 6 X 10. The rooms are up on stilts. They are wood frame with nothing. There are some children here.

The baby above is named Asia. She walked around on a porch all day. They have a one room hut and that is it. Darling sweet angel. The teen girls had a fit for her.

We cleared off rooms and porches and painted. The strong guys demolished a shed...using 1 sledgehammer, one pike(think enormous and heavey railroad spike), and a long 2 X 4. I'm sure OSHA would have had a complete coronary watching those boys ;) They were really amazing and worked so hard. What really jumps out to me is the stark contrast in haves and have-nots. You've got places like Atlantis with bazillions of dollars flowing through and then places like the AIDS camps with nothing.

These teenagers are incredible. They work hard, are eager to help in any way. I led them into a hut and walked over to a bed bound woman. They were leery, but after watching me hug and introduce myself, they all followed suit. No signs of fear or disgust on their faces. They served the least of these and gave money out of their own pockets to buy more supplies. I'm so darn impressed. 9 out of the 13 kids here want to go into the medical field. I told the director and she said I could bring them to help with dressing changes. I think they are stunned by the lack of resources, medical care and hope. This is why mission trips are so darn beneficial. Can you imagine what 9 teenagers with very smart brains and a love for Christ can do in the medical field--awesome to think of the ripple effect this experience will have on these kids.

The above pic is an example of a mission trip gone wrong. A group came in several years ago and wanted to beautify things. There is gloppy old concrete that I'm assuming was to be a fountain and planter of some sort. The camp has extremely limited money. How in the world were they supposed to maintain something like that? So, instead of the natural tropical flora to look at, there is old ugly groupings of concrete.

Orphan ministry-shoes

2011-05-13T11:24:00.001-06:00

Hudson and I took a road trip this morning to deliver 52 pair of shoes and 42 pair of socks that our church collected the past few weeks for Shoes For Orphan Souls, click HERE for info about the organization. It was a really cool place. They let kids come volunteer with adults. I'm planning on taking a small group from our church to help sort shipments of shoes. Anyone up for coming along?

This was our first endeavor in our launch of an orphan and at-risk children ministry at church. Sllllooowww going, but yet, going all the same. Our pastor is fired up and supportive--I'm thankful for that. I'm pretty sure the people at church see me as the annoying adoption/orphancare fanatic. That's okay, I'll take that label and run with it ;) 147-163 million orphaned children in the world deserve a few fanatics!

Hudson and attachment?

2011-05-11T04:55:00.001-06:00

Now I've got myself worried. Ive noticed that Hudson is very willing to go to strangers for hugs and adoration. A few days ago, while waiting on Carter(we do that a lot!), he let another students dad hold and snuggle him--he'd never seen this dad before in his life(yes, I know him and he's totally legit). It got me thinking if he's got some attachment issues?

UGH, I'm a paranoid freak. I think maybe he's just so confident in his cuteness and he feels that the world is his adoring stage. He's a party waiting to happen. When we get to church, he bursts through the nursery door like Cramer on Seinfeld and runs to his teacher grinning. He always tells me "I lud you so much."

I'm so proud!

2011-05-07T14:20:00.004-06:00

Carter is filling out job apps. I'm so proud. I got my first real job the summer before I was 15, in a nursing home. Nothing teaches a teen about the real world like a job. He asked me "What if I get fired for my forgetfulness?" He's pumped about making minimun wage and how filthy rich he will be :)

The May panic attack

2011-05-04T14:01:00.001-06:00

May always makes me panic. Last month of school. So many extra events(Athletic banquet, trips, field days etc). Abby is in volleyball, Carter and Mike have big parts in the school musical Narnia. I start spiraling into a frenzy of go here, write this check, make a teacher gift, complete all assignments. Plus, my heart knows that one more year is over. Do you realize my oldest son has 3 more years home with us??!!!! He is finishing his freshman year. I'm panicking. You know good and well that he won't be hanging out with me much anymore. Abby will begin 5th grade and Dillon will begin 2nd grade. Poor Hud is stuck at home with me--much to his chagrine. He wants to go to school too.

Then, there's my classes. Some days I really wonder where my sanity was in deciding I could go to school full-time. I'm going to share this with you so you guys will have some comic relief today: my art assignment.

Don't think I can't hear you laughing. The assignment was to research about DaVinci and his development of linear perspective. Then, we have to draw a picture that shows spatial awareness with something in the foreground and backgound. There is also supposed to be a vanishing point--but I don't know what that means. And yes, we have to post our picture to the class gallery!! Now, I'm only taking this class because I'm forced to. I'm not a crafty, creative type of girl. My parents and sisters are, I'm not. My dad and sister, Emily, even make their living in the art business. Just wondering, do you think if would be wrong to submit one of Abby's drawings? She's a great artist. Kidding...kidding

Yesterday at work I got to help code a 25yr old gravely ill man for 2 hours. I loved every minute of it. Paint or draw--hate it!!!! Different strokes for different folks huh?

Oh well, guess what I'll be doing in 2 weeks? Working at the All Saints AIDS camp in the Bahamas baby. Mike and I take the seniors on their mission/senior trip. I can hear the surf calling my name. Oh yeah, and the serving will be awesome too :)

Bonding and Attachment revisited

2011-05-01T06:07:00.000-06:00

I've gotten a few emails from sweet families in their first adoption experience. Naturally, they are wanting to be prepared for the child's arrival and hope to initiate good bonding right off the bat. I wrote about toddler adoption and attachment last year. Click HERE if you'd like to read it.

The funny thing with attachment and bonding is that it seems to cycle. Maybe that isn't everyone's experience. I feel like I've gone through different stages at various times. My kids seem to go through various attachment stages too. Many factors can affect the attachment cycle. What concerns me is the movie/tv version of adoption. Either the adoption experience is highly magical and everyone is falling in love and crying like crazy because they are so happy. Or, Hollywood loves to show the negative and sensationalized adoptions that do not go well. I want new adoptive families to cut themselves some slack. This miraculous experiences isn't always violins playing in the background and hearts floating. Sometimes you "fake it till you make it." A traumatized child and an exhausted parent do not always feel instantly in love. But, that's the thing about love--it isn't a feeling. Love is a daily choice and decision.

Our adoption agency is excellent at preparing families for the changes their family will likely go through. If you'd like some good resources, click DILLON to see books, articles, webinars, classes and such. Read lots of adoption books(my favorite is The Connected Child and Are Those Kids Yours). Don't get overly caught up in leftist, humanistic junk, but do glean the insight and tips. And, most of all, remember that our God is a God of healing and restoration. Begin praying now for your soon to be child's heart to be bonded to yours. For you family to remove barriers to attachment. For Jesus to soothe the child's trauma that he/she has experienced in being disrupted from parents, in abuse, in institutional living. He delights in giving a crown of joy in place of sorrows, in replacing beauty for ashes!

Few quick quotes

2011-04-27T21:54:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, it is late and I should be in bed or at least studying. But, Art Appreciation is just not floating my boat right now. My entire house is beige and I don't give a rip about textures or rhythms in paintings. My Professional Nursing class is great, but I'm on schedule in that class. So, I'll waste some time typing up a post and eating graham crackers slathered in Nutella--wash it down with milk, of course! Plus, my body is all screwed up lately and who knows when I'll sleep? Last night the hangy-down thing in my throat(I am aware of the name, but I much prefer Hangy-down thing!) swelled up. I could hardly swallow and it hurt so badly. When lying on my back it felt like my airway was being closed off. I made so much noise that Mike slept on the couch because I sounded like a growling dog in bed all night! So, I helped myself to a bolus dose of steroids that a sweet doctor friend of ours gave us a while back. My throat feels much better, but I feel a bit psycho.
Anyway, to the good stuff:

My new book Shame off You by Alan Wright is really good. Here are a few great quotes to get you thinking until your copy can come after you order it on Amazon :)
     "All people who try hard at life do so for one of two reasons-they're fearful and looking for acceptance, or they're fulfilled and looking to make a difference."

     "God never uses shame to motivate us toward right living or excellence. He never motivates us by withholding His love from us."

     "Conviction always moves us back to the Father."

     "Shame always causes us to feel more distant from God. Conviction always makes us feel closer to God."

     "God's love is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift to the repentant. God's love is not acquired by living right and serving well. God's love is received only through the sweet surrender of a thirsty soul."

kids sing at Nana's church

2011-04-24T18:35:00.001-06:00

If you want to watch the kids singing at Nana's church, scroll way down to the far right and and pause my Music Player. Carter played his guitar (that boy is the next Chris Tomlin!!). My nieces, Abby, and Dillon did such a precious and wondeful job. Oh my heart was bursting! I think Nana, PaPa, and Grandma will be beaming with pride for a while ;)

My favorite holiday

2011-04-23T06:05:00.002-06:00

Easter is my favorite holiday. Know why? Cause without Easter, there'd be no Christmas. Yep, that sounds backwards doesn't it? Without the resurrection--who cares if Jesus was born in the first place. His victory over death, his resurrection is where we get our salvation, our meaning, our life, our power, our all in all. Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection separate him from historical prophets and whomever people glorify as a deity. Jesus stepped down and made a way. David Platt has a great description. He says all other religions of the world are men trying to climb to god. Christianity is God, making a way to come down to men and draw them to Himself. The simple gospel is just that: Jesus paid it all and made a way for us. Beautiful. In my head I'm hearing the wonderful song by Hillsongs "At the Cross."

We will be visiting with family this weekend. I don't mind working on Christmas and Thanksgiving, for I get paid time and a half! But, don't jack with my Easter weekend--sacred. Appropriately, the hospital called at 3am last night needing help. Sorry!

This afternoon we go to the country. The kids hunt treats(Nana has gotten creative and instead of candy, she hides Gatorade bottles, eggs with quarters, fruit rollups and such). Aunt Beverly's Easter gift to us bought the little boys matching pastel Polo shirts. Carter has a nice new shirt and Abby a cute legging outfit. We are sad that we will miss Easter at our church, but Carter is playing his guitar with the kids singing at Nana's church Sunday. They will be doing "He Loves Us" and "Mighty to Save." Don't worry, I will video it and proudly post here in a few days. Then we will feast with my parents, my sisters, their children, my 95yr old grandparents, and a few others(there are always extras--generally not related, just someone who needed a place for Easter Sunday) at my parent's home. Sweet times.

not wimpy

2011-04-21T13:16:00.002-06:00

I'm sure many of you chuckled at me referring to our A/C going out as an emergency. Well, we are not wimps. This is Texas, after all. Tuesday afternoon it was 96 degrees, in April, for Pete's Sake!! Thankfully, our neighborhood has a small pool. Here are the little boys having fun.

The rather hefty bill just came--not fun,in fact, I may vomit!

Ah well, how can I be too angry and upset over money? My sister Melody just picked up my neice Aspen. I kept her all morning while Melody visited with a mom who is stuck in the hospital for 6 to 9 months with her 7months old baby. The baby has an extremely rare form of infant leukemia. They need a miracle BADLY! If her bone marrow biopsy next week shows cancer cells, there isn't much else that can be done for the baby. Please pray for baby Avery to be healed. Kinda puts things into a new perspective doesn't it?

Be on the look out for postings about my new book. I'm super duper pumped about it. Two of my sisters can't stop talking about it. Shame Off You by Alan Wright. If it weren't for my silly mumbo-jumbo Art Appreciation homework I would have devoured the book by now.

parenting faux pas and a few random thoughts

2011-04-18T08:44:00.001-06:00

We won't be winning a parenting of the year award any time soon. May I just say that having a child with some special needs that include social awkwardness is always entertaining. A sweet young couple at church asked Mike and I to mentor them(we've never mentored before and Lord knows we have no clue what we are doing--nobody mentored us, we just have stumbled along). They have been married 8 months. Saturday night was our first get together. We had them over to our home for dinner. Dillon was in rare form. During dinner he called out "Someone toot." Basically, nobody was paying attention to him and this was how he got attention. When we ignored him, he said it again. Mike happened to be the one sitting next to him at the table. Mike wasn't exactly thrilled with this behavior.

Then, yesterday, Dillon and Hudson were arguing(they vacillate between best buddies to enemies in a span of 30 seconds). Mike heard Dillon call Hudson a whiney-butt. Uh Oh, busted! Where did he hear that? You got it, ME! I cannot tolerate whiney children and it would seem that I have occasionally let that term slip. Sorry. If you held us up as a model example of good Christian parenting, you had better find a new example.

Now, to a new subject. I never posted a pic of the 4th grade Austin/San Antonio trip that Abby and I went on. Below is a precious picture of Abby, her long time friend Catherine, and their sweet teacher. They adore her. Abby wants to be a teacher!

Random stuff:

Yesterday at church we sang With Everything by Hillsongs. Holy COW, it was so incredible I thought I was in Heaven, standing before Jesus. Totally goose bumpy!! It is so awesome to walk out of church and Mike says "What do we say everyweek? I love our church!"

Today I start a new class: Art Appreciation :( Not sure what that has to do with furthering my Nursing education, but hey, I get to visit an art museum as part of it.

Do short term mission trips help or hurt? Part 2

2011-04-14T13:04:00.002-06:00

Been pondering the past few days about this subject. I sure appreciate the words of Julie and Sunny. Basically, I think we can learn very useful tips from this book and line of thought. Tips to make our endeavors more meaningful to the people we are attempting to reach, and, to help us too.
1. The authors make a very good point about the differences in cultures. Americans tend to think in chunks of time--time must be spent wisely doing tasks. The majority of empoverished people groups have a more community mindset. Time spent with people is more important than accomplishing a task. So, we must be careful to show the people we enjoy them as people--not as a check off task to accomplish as many tasks during 1 or 2 weeks as possible. My brother-in-law heard of a church in Mexico that tore down their building each year and would have churches come in to build and paint. The Americans wanted to build, not BE with the people. It was a good pat on the back to fly home and tell people they'd spent a week sweating and building for this poor church.
2. Make a long-term investment instead of blowing through like a 3-ring circus and never showing up again.
3. Call your trips a "learning or vision trip" instead of Mission trip. We often have the mindset of "let's go rescue and save". This is insulting to the people.
4. Come alongside organizations that are already established and doing an effective, long-term ministry.
5. Make the person traveling overseas work hard to pay for a part, if not all, of his/her trip. Handing someone a trip that costs him/her little will not be as meaningful.
6. From my own personal experiences, the best part is seeing how big the world is and how big God is! There is nothing like being in a different land and hearing people sing hymns in their language. God is active and working, doing amazing miracles, all over the world.

So, WHY go?
I have one little response to share. I follow the blog of a mom who is the most passionate lover of the fatherless that I've ever seen. Linny is in Uganda right now. She posted yesterday about falling in love with a skeletal, sick 7months old baby girl in the orphanage they were working in. Linny spent hours praying and holding that baby who should have been a treasured member of a family. The baby died...alone....no mommy or daddy to rock and love her.....
you can read about her here BABY   It is known that 26,000 children die daily from effects of poverty: malnutrition and diarrhea from unclean water. While I type this post, 270 children died in the world.
Isaiah 58: 6-9 says
     Is not this the kind of fasting(speaking of the Isrealites empty religious rituals) I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
     Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-
     when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Psalm 82:3-4 says
     Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed,
     Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

I don't see any qualifier in those verses that exempt us from doing something. Sure, we need  to be smart and evaluate what will be a worthy trip--not wasteful or insulting, but we must care and go.

Do short term mission trips help or hurt? Part 1

2011-04-12T13:58:00.003-06:00

It seems that is a big question being debated right now. I just finished reading When Helping Hurts: How to eliminate poverty without hurting the poor...and yourself. It was a very thought provoking book. I'd highly recommend it for anyone involved in serving the poor, in ministry, or active in short term missions. The book addresses how often times the people going to work with the poor in the world leave more damage than good. A great example was given by an African pastor after an American missions team had just left. He likened hosting American mission teams to a fun dance between an elephant and a mouse. The mouse ends up squashed to death by the big elephant, but the elephant doesn't even realize he squashed the mouse. He didn't mean to, he was just large and exuberant. I can see several personal experiences of mine that illustrate this. In Haiti, the ladies at the orphanage cooked nice meals for us, while the children ate gruel. Of course, we paid for it, but I felt like they were servants--when it was WE who were there to serve them, supposedly.
When I was in Nicarauga with a missions pastor whom I greatly respect, he talked to us about how much damage some teams do when they come. The fly in, shower the street children with candy, make crafts, leave clothes and food, and then in a week are gone. The local ministries, who are often quite poor themselves, have no arsenal like candy, crafts, sports equipment, clothes and food. Pretty soon, the locals are depending upon other teams to come bring gifts.

Or, consider economic travesties. My first international mission trip was to a very poor city in Mexico. I was a 19yr old college student. About 40 or so students traveled to paint and roof a tiny church that was under construction. Would it not have made more logical sense to take the money each student spent on travelling, and then hire unemployed local men to do the construction. A job would do those men and their families wonders. Instead, we all flew in, worked in mass for 4 days, flew out. If the average mission trip member spends 2000.00 on a 1 or 2 week trip, and the average team has 10 people--that is 20,000! How much more beneficial to give 20,000 to an established, committed ministry that is already working long-term in the poverty-stricken area?

The pros? I honestly think the pros are for us. I'm very very pro international mission trip experience. I'm convinced that stupid things like newer cars, huge savings, huge piles of clothing, expensive vacations every year, and such would not hold the tight grip on many people's hearts and dollars if they experienced true poverty first-hand. How enriching and eye-opening to serve orphaned children with no shoes and no clean water. What an enormous blessing to see how God can use ME to meet someone's needs. Rick Warren says "Being unable to help thousands of hurting people never excuses me from helping the one next to me."

Of course, Jesus clearly said GO. He didn't say to serve and love the poor only if it will really benefit the economic situation. Like me dear e-friend Sunny, after her trip to Nicarauga said "I get it now." Profound isn't Sunny?

Pastor Rick Warren tweeted: God commands us to "Go to every nation and make disciples". What part of GO do you not understand?

I'm truly interested in hearing what you guys think? Leave a comment or email me. This is Part 1 and next I'd like to hit on positive suggestions the book offers.

First test as debt free

2011-04-09T20:00:00.001-06:00

We made it one week--ONE--week after paying off all debt(except mortgage). Our air conditioner is out. Can't be fixed til Monday. It is currently 84 degrees in my house at 9pm.

My attempt to keep positive and grateful to God for blessing my life is growing thinner by the hot minute. Yes, we have the money in emergency savings(and I'd say living in Texas without A/C constitutes an emergency!), but dang, this flat out stinks. Grateful? Hmm, I'm not being dramatic or exaggerating, but with my family, I'm grateful it isn't a new ER bill :)

Anybody have a similar experience to make me chuckle and commiserate??

The "Undrama" Queen

2011-04-07T19:09:00.000-06:00

People keep asking me "So, is Abby having fun on the trip?" My answer--I think so. This is Abby: even, steady, predictable, calm, logical, quiet. She isn't the girl that jumps and squeals when happy and dissolves into tears when sad. Abby is no drama queen, thank you Jesus!!!

We are having fun. We've seen a lot of Texas history and looked in many gift shops ;)

A little trip with the girlie tomorrow

2011-04-05T19:56:00.004-06:00

Abby and I leave early in the morning for our school's 4th grade Austin/San Antonio trip. They've been studying Texas history for several months and this is the big 3 day trip to see all the sights. Oh, sure, we've seen it before, but this is a really fun and special trip. I went with Carter and now he is a freshman in highschool--sniff sniff!! Sweet memories. After all my travels in the past 17yrs, I pack really light. I'm only taking essentials: 2 changes of clothes, iPod, laptop, iPhone, Kindle(my Bible and books are on it), camera, and chargers for all necessities!! Ridiculous huh? I can't survive without them for 3 days! UGH.

School you ask??? Ahhhh, I totally ramped it up to pull a 90 in Technical Writing(the bane of my existence for 5 weeks). Yes sirree, my online team project made the most beautiful and detailed brochure on how to make jello you've ever seen.

And now, this is a blog for family, orphan care and adoption advocation and education, and ministry focus. I know you are going to think I'm a bit nutty here, but below is a link to a sermon by Pastor Morris of Gateway Church, where 2 of my sisters go, taught a few weeks ago about Joseph and his overcoming sexual temptation, called The Purity Test. Really, I think this is the best teaching on a Biblical view of sex I've ever heard. Everyone ages 12 and up, even old married couples need this teaching. I made Carter watch it yesterday and he agreed, it is very important and informative--makes it all clear and shows how the Bible really really does know what it is talking about ;) Click on The Purity Test from March 26th.
Sermon Center Gateway Church

I like boys too!

2011-04-03T20:28:00.000-06:00

I copied this from Rainbowkids.com. I'd like to think my sweet boys helped bridge the disparity between girls finding homes much faster than boys.

"An interesting fact to share today. In 2005, boys made up only 34% of all international adoptions. As of 2010, their numbers had increased to 44% of all international adoptions. Adoption advocates believe this shift is directly related to families sharing their adoption stories on the internet and in their daily lives."
Above quote and table taken from http://rainbowkids.com/

Debt be gone!

2011-03-31T12:40:00.002-06:00

Scratched off! Zero. Line through the entries in red. FREE.

Our tax refund came. Thanks to the revised adoption tax credits, (click HERE if you are a new adoptive family, or just looking into adoption and need help figuring out how to finance it) we got a very large sum back. I marched down to the bank this week and paid off our unsecured adoption loan that we'd been paying interest on for 2 years!! Yippeee, that felt sooooo good. I also paid off the balance on our credit card. We are totally out of debt, except our mortgage. We don't plan on getting into debt ever again. And, let's be frank, we've had some challenges over the past 2 years: trip to Korea, trip to Haiti, 2 sets of new tires, Hudson's 4 porcelain caps on his teeth, 2 children's hospitalizations and abulance rides, and Mike's S. Africa trip. Whew!
It is and will be worth it--I know it will be. And before you think we are super disciplined or something--we aren't. We are very fortunate to have steady good jobs that haven't been affected by the recession. Also, the old saying is so true--Where God Guides God Provides. We are living testimonies to His grace and provision.

Funny story: My minivan is a 2003 with 167,000 miles on it(runs great and been paid off a while). Well, apparently, Abby isn't too thrilled with its aesthetic qualities. I offered to drive on the 4th grade field trip. She asked me "Could you please wash and vacuum the van first?" HAHA, cracked me up!

On a totally unrelated note: I'm ready for an Outward Focused Life event--whose with me??

Do Over Day

2011-03-29T13:02:00.001-06:00

Yes, I realize I'm supposed to be doing school work while Hudson naps, not blogging!! Oh, by the way, after many many hours of work last week, I brought my Tech Writing grade up from a 79 to an 88 :)

Today is Do Over Day. I'm trying to be a good mommy today. Mike's been gone a lot lately to trips, leaership meetings at church, school conferences. I was a big ugly witch last week-especially Saturday. Poor Hudson bore the brunt of it. I won't even tell what I told the lady at Wal-Mart last week, when my nerves were shot and I was exhausted, and he'd just run away into to the bathroom without me!!! It was poison though, pure poison from my mouth. I couldn't believe I said it. So, today has been make up time. I've edified and congratulated him on every little task...from peeing in the potty to putting a puzzle together correctly. I've baked banana bread with him--he cracked(or shall we say obliterated?) the eggs and held the mixer. I put together the Thomas the Tank floor puzzle 4 times, the Elmo puzzle 2 times. We crawled the Thomas the Tank tunnel and tent, and I read a Thomas book. Have I mentioned that he is obsessed with Thomas???
I was telling a friend at work yesterday about how I lost my cool when Hudson did something deliberately to irk me. Let me explain, that boy is a darling, happy and easy going fella most all the time. BUT, there are those times when he looks at me with a "go to you-know-where" look on his face and deliberately does the opposite of what I tell him to do. I can't stand disobedient children. Like 50 nails sliding down a chalk-board. Makes me nuts! My friend was shocked when I told her how mad I got. She said to another co-worker, "Can you imagine Libby ever losing her cool?" Friends, I was born with a sin nature, just like every person on this planet. I struggle with caring about ME more than other people. I want it MY way, just like my cute little 3 yr old. I have a sharp tongue that I lose control over at times. I'm asking the Holy Spirit to bring words of life and encouragement, not death, from my mouth. Thank goodness 3yr olds wake up each day not remembering if mommy was a witch the day before--they just love mommy! Dear Jesus, would you please bring about some more blooming fruit of the Spirit in my life?

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galations 5:22-23

it came in the mail today

2011-03-26T19:18:00.000-06:00

My totally rockin' and smokin' hot swimsuit. Yeah, be jealous. This summer I'll be sporting the dowhill-slide toward 40, mommy of many tankini and skirt.

You know the type right? Double lined, cute tennis-style miniskirted bottoms, bright-eat-your-heart-out-blue, bathing attire! When I was 20, I never ever thought I'd be so excited to order my hardly showing some skin, yet ever sexy, Land's End suit. Times have changed people!