contract!!!

Yay!
Rooster, Hen and Peeps are movin' to the country!!!

a little perspective

consume: to use up or waste; to destroy, as by fire

Two definitions.
Two different perspectives.
Which one will I allow to rule my life?
The "waster" or the Consumer?

a word

from the Word

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

encouragement for the momma's heart

we have an awesome responsibility.
we are changing the world.
one little heartbeat at a time...

random pictures

Here are some random pics from the past few weeks that will tide over those who really like to see pics on this blog. A few are old. And I am bummed that Austin hasn't done anything "cute" that merited a picture :)

Anna: busted
We had to put a cabinet lock on the pantry so Miss Anna wouldn't raid the fish crackers all the time! She did this while I was out a few weeks ago. Chris told me what happened when I got home, but then said "I had to take a picture before I cleaned it up!"


My wonderful husband celebrating his 33rd birthday!


I was making dinner the other night and put on my apron (because I have ruined TOO many shirts by frying hamburger on the stove and it splattering!). The girls wanted to put on their aprons, too! Aunt Laura made these for the girls for Christmas!


Ashleigh made her first banana bread a few weeks ago - start to finish - and the only thing I did was help her mash bananas!

What consumes you?

I have been thinking about the answer to that question a LOT lately. Recent answers...
-keeping all my peeps in a row (I would have said ducks, but come ON - I am Momma Hen!)
-what we may do for school next year
-selling this house
-making our new house a home
-whether I want to adopt another peep
-living on a budget
-getting a good bargain
-being a good homemaker
-being a supportive, respectful and encouraging wife
-shepherding my children's hearts
-starting an Adoption Ministry at our church
-Perspectives

Whew! That's exhausting!
I really think these are all God-honoring things. They involve stewardship of time and resources and energy, but are they sapping the life out of me?

Maybe so.

The ringer on my cell phone right now is "Magnificent Obsession" by my favorite - Steven Curtis Chapman. Here are some of the words:

Lord, You know how much
I want to know so much
In the way of answers and explanations
I have cried and prayed
And still I seem to stay
In the middle of life’s complications
All this pursuing leaves me feeling
like I’m chasing down the wind
But now it’s brought me back to You
And I can see again

This is everything I want
This is everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession

So, I have to ask myself: Is this all for Jesus? Like I said earlier - these are God-honoring things, BUT if I am so consumed with them that I miss out on LIVING for Him, then what's the use?

(a note: I think it's back? What? My ability to think and write! I promise that I had "Mommy Brain" just as much with the adoption of my two littles as I did with the childbirth of my two bigs. I will try to balance out my "deep thoughts" with some fun pics of life in Rooster and Hen's house, but I also think God has a lot he wants me to share as he breaks me and makes me more like His Son, Jesus.)

thank you

Thank you to those who have been praying for this dear family. I cannot even begin to imagine what it's like to walk into your house without opening the door (because the wall isn't there and a door is not necessary). I can't imagine longing to find a piece of something to save and come away with nothing. How does a wife - a mother - find the strength to move on and start again with only memories? How can a mother find the strength to help her children "through" a crisis when she is unsure how they will make it through?
I love these girls so much, but today my "momma's heart" is filled with compassion for their mother. I wonder what I would do if it were my house that burned to the ground; my memories that were reduced to ashes...
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know that plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

storm the gates...

please.
One of "my" girls in jr high had a house fire this morning.
It looks like the house is a total loss.
Everyone made it ok and without injury.
Please pray for her and her family.
God knows the requests in my heart and they are too numerous and personal to list...

we are, we are, we are!

This morning Anna tripped over Austin's big ol' feet and bonked her head and bit her lip. I rushed to her and scooped her up; hoping to offer her comfort and clean up a bloody lip.
She let me. For a minute.
Then she pushed me away. Joy was here and she reached for her. That was ok, but she was still whiney about the lip. I sooooo badly wanted her to let me comfort her. I reached for her and she came back, only to reach back for Joy when I tried to comfort her.
Why won't she let me comfort her when the hurt is big? She is my daughter. I am her mother.

I was just sitting on the floor with the kids - listening to SCC's "This Moment" and the song "Children of God" came on. It's a great song! The words that struck a chord in my heart:

Who are the ones who bear His name?
Who are the children He has claimed as His?
We are, we are, we are.
The ones God has sent His Son to rescue
And now He calls us His own
We are the children of God
We are the children of God
We are the sons and the daughters
Almighty God is our Father

Then I thought:
How often do I hurt - really hurt - and run to someone or something else for comfort? The Father is there, just waiting to comfort me and sometimes I reach my arms out for something else. Maybe because I am scared of letting him comfort me or maybe because I just don't realize that He longs to be there for me.

Again - another glimpse of the heart of God that He has given me through being a mom. What a blessing.

Would you consider???

Giving one of these precious little ones a home?

I am passionate about the Waiting Child.

I am passionate about seeing God use willing and obedient people to give children a forever family. I could preach a sermon series on it.

I want to bring another child home. We won't for now, but I want to. I want to - not because I "need" another child. I want to because there are children in this world that need homes. Lots of children. Some say 143 million children. Some are babies and some are not. Some have major medical issues and some do not.

God has allowed me to see his heart for the orphan. He loves them. I love Him. I want to be passionate about what God is passionate about.

So. Four may indeed be enough; but four may not be our completed family.

Is your family complete? Is there room for one more?



*God has allowed me to journey down this road for a purpose.
If this isn't the time to add another peep to our family, I absolutely can't sit by and do nothing. I will continue to be a voice for those whose voice cannot be heard, except by God the Father.

thanks, honey!

Chris designed my new "header" and I just LOVE IT!
He used my absolute favorite picture from our vacation! I am nothing more than a Momma who loves to snap pics of my kids, but when I shot this one, I knew it would be a favorite! I already have a 16x20 printed to hang at the new house.

***** edit *****

I just realized that my MOST IMPORTANT goal for this year is...
-give Chris the freedom to lead our family
Seems easy enough, right?
Sometimes.
Other times? Not so much.
But that's my goal. I will fail. I will pick myself back up and try again. It's the best way, though - I KNOW it.

if...

...you have sent me an email in the past few weeks and I have not replied: I am still "surfing" on a borrowed computer without my incredibly handy Outlook Express. Apparently I am not even getting some emails!

So - please don't think that I am ignoring you :) I am not.

It is also apparent that some of my outward emails aren't going out, either! Yang - I know you check my blog periodically... would you email me? I have sent emails to you a few times over the past few weeks and haven't heard back.

So - there ya go.

my 200th post!!!

Wow!
So - I decided to "set some goals" for 2008 (thanks for the affirmation, Laura!). In no particular order...
-I will not buy something JUST because it is a "good deal" (although if I am looking for a particular item, I will most certainly seek out a GREAT deal!)
-Live on and THRIVE on our newly established spending plan (a.k.a. a budget!); not whining when the allocated $$$ for the month is gone
-Save fervently a 6 month emergency fund (something that has been TERRIBLY difficult over the past two adoptions... I mean years)
-do SOMETHING physical every day for at least 20 minutes
-FLY! (refernce to my favorite FLYlady)

Do you make resolutions?

I just wonder - does anyone make resolutions anymore? Maybe I am a pessimist, but I just think that if you make a resolution, you have just written a contract to break it! I have been thinking about things in my life that I want to change or commit to, but my tendancy is to stop short of calling it a "resolution".
Have any of you made a resolution for the year?
What if I call it a goal?
:)

Happy Birthday Chris!

Happy Birthday to the best husband, leader, provider and friend I could ever dream of!
I was remembering the first birthday he and I celebrated together; he was turning 16. That was 17 years ago...
I am so blessed to have seen that wild teenage boy be transformed into this godly husband and father. To see long hair :) exchanged for a "crown of splendor" (Proverbs 16:31). To see a Grand Torrino exchanged for a minivan. To watch a work ethic develop into a God given responsibility to provide for his family. To watch a teenage awkwardly hold an infant and now behold a Daddy who lovingly cradles a scared or hurting child.
He's amazing. I am in love.
Happy birthday.

Yours

I cry every time I listen to this song on Steven Curtis Chapman's new cd - This Moment. I found that someone made this little montage using the song...

Gail - grab a Kleenex...

:)

for my Dad!

My Dad called the other day and "told" me :) to update my blog. Well, I promise that nothing "exciting" has happened in our family, but for my Dad - here's the update!

We will start back into school on Monday. We had an extra long break with some school mixed in! Disney World and the road trip there and back offered many opportunities to "un" school. My poor kids... They endured many hours of "money talk" as Chris and I read through Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover". Officially - my kids don't like this Dave Ramsey guy or what he is doing to their parent's spending habits! Chris also talked to the kids about how Disney is a corperation and a little about stock and how they, too, could "own" Disney!

As far as this semester goes, we will be tweaking our daily schedule a little - offering more time during the little girl's "happy nappy" to do some science experiments and more "fun" stuff. As we go through this sememster, Chris and I will be discussing more what our plans for next school year will be. Who knows?

We haven't had much activity on the house. We have shown it once. That is a great thing, because it really served to help me completely trust God with the sale of the home and not stress about it too much. Chris is working fervently and wants to be in the new home by Spring.

We have had some "sickies" in our home. Most of the peeps have had a cold, but thankfully no fever. Anna - bless her heart - has had it the worst. She has had a constant runny nose since she came home from China and adding a cold to her allergies isn't helping. We SHOULD buy stock in Kleenex...

I wanted to offer a plug for a great book I just finished reading! My sis-in-law, Laura (and brother, Adam) gave it to me for Christmas and I just finished it this morniing!



It is wonderful and very thought provoking!

Blessings for the new year!!!