So What's A Girl To Do

If she wants to play a game and everybody else is busy doing other things?
She plays it from both sides of the table. Very resourseful!

Friday Funnies

We were going shopping together, and the girls had all brought their money with them. Anna asked about buying something she has been saving for. She said, "mama can I buy it today? It would break my spirit if you said no." LOL
She was using a rather drol southern accent. I looked over at her and she had a little grin on her face.
I said, "Well I would never want to break your spirit." Sly child. :)

Adoption

It is funny how there are waves of ideas that come into our minds and many times fellow bloggers are thinking about the same subject.

It isn't a surprise that those who have blogged on adoption, think about it, but it is uncanny how often the same thoughts pass through our minds.

Our cyber blogger friends Steve and Melissa, whom we have never met, but share a passion for orphans and a few orphans in particular, whom have been hugged, prayed for and loved by both of us, are one of those blogger couples that I can really identify with. :)

Their boys were in our girl's orphanage. We met 2 of them, but not their little guy.
I was never so relieved to find out not only had the children been adopted, but adopted by a WONDERFUL Christian couple who had prepared themselves in every way for the mission ahead. :)

I have been thinking about the issue of how we view adoption in this country. We live in an instant access society, so different than many societies across the seas.
We want something, we buy it. It doesn't matter if we should or not, we just do it because we can.

Adoption is a very well known theme throughout scripture, and those who have trusted Christ as Lord and Savior are considered "adopted" by God. Romans 8:14-17 says,
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but ou have received the Spirit of adoption
as sons by whom we call "Abba Father". The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children then heirs, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

Even scripture attests that we are adopted children; are full heirs; full children, where we can be so very intimate with Him calling Him by an endearing parental name. "Abba Father" better known as "Daddy".

Likely it is the same for our children who have come to us through adoption.

In some cases, adoption is considered to fulfill a need in a household where there are no children or a limited number of children.

In other cases, adoption happens because the child has a need for parents and there are those willing to be parents to an orphan or orphans.
These families are ready to serve the Lord through parenting traumatized children.

While there is nothing wrong with expanding a family because a person cannot have children. It is very important that the adoption doesn't take place to fulfill a "need" of the parent. Parents cannot be needy. They must be complete emotionally, or there is that danger of expecting a child to "complete them".

It isn't much different than marriage. A marriage does not take 2 halves and make it one whole. It takes 2 wholes, and makes them United as one. If you are dependent upon your spouse to make you "whole", it will never happen because our only true happiness and satisfaction comes from the Lord. So at the same time, if you are dependent upon a child to satisfy a "need", it will be difficult for the child and the parent.

It is not our children's obligation in life to bring us happiness, but it is our moral and ethical obligation in Christ, to devote ourselves to raising our children in the love of Christ, bringing them up in the way they should go. (according to their bent)

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and might. And these words I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way,and when you lie down and when you rise.

If we are successful as parents it will be because of the Grace of God in our lives.
Adoption isn't about us. It isn't about finding the perfect child. It isn't about head circumference, boy, girl, perfect health or facial features. It is all about pouring ourselves into another individual to bring them up in the Lord so they can in turn, break that chain, that cycle that binds them or has bound their birth family, and overcoming the odds.

Humankind is bound by sin, and only the Lord can remove it. Adoption is all about success, all about overcoming, all about triumph and all about LIFE!

That brings me to my friends once again. Steve wrote a very good article about adoption called "The Gift of Life". It is about heritage and being thankful for the mothers who give their children up so they can have a life. It is well worth reading.

To those who do not have children yet, or are wanting more children. It is perfectly ok and normal to want children. They are truly a gift. And families do become families through adoption. We did, and maybe will again. It is just important to keep the perspective that our children are not here to fulfill our dreams, but we are here to parent our children and lead them in the way they should go. They are such a blessing to us and blessed is the one who has his quiver full. :)

New Life

We have been watching a small song type bird sitting on eggs for about 2 weeks. She made a nest in my antique chicken nester that is hanging on the wall of our back porch.
We noticed there was some extra grass in there, and then a bird flew out!

She made a nest that has a door. It is really cool! I'm going to try and get a picture of her too, but she is very "flighty" when we come around.

Yesterday, Anna noticed that she was coming and going with bits of food in her beak. Anna made the deduction that the eggs had hatched! So we went to investigate a few minutes ago. I got a picture of them. There are 3. You can't tell very well from the picture. Later I will try to get a pic with mom in the nest. :)

Isn't She the Cutest!!!!

Anna took this picture of her sitting in her purse. :)
Miss Kittie-Winkle is 6 weeks old today. :) We think. Let's just say we found her 5 weeks ago and guessed her to be about a week old. Her eyes were just open.
She is a very sweet purring kitty who loves to play with her pet mouse and pounce on your feet when you walk onto the porch. :)

Here she is sleeping on the porch by her mouse. :)

Fun In The Sun

It was another hot day. A fellow FRUAite invited us to her pool. We had a fabulous time as always. Parzhosta is always such fun to be with. Lillian was able to dip her head below the water and hold her breath. I was REALLY proud of her because she was a little timid about it. But we did it twice! :) She really prefers to stay on the steps. She had this cool water backpack on and squirted whoever was close enough to get near her.

Anna did her favorite diving for things on the bottom of the pool. Sarah swam like a fish and Erika is swimming with her life jacket on. She is doing just great.

All in all, it was a great day. But somehow, I don't think the new style "spray sun screen" is a very good value. We have swam 3 x's and we are already out! Yikes.....

I'm planning on getting a new swim suit similar to Annas. Love the t shirt short look.
Here are some pics of our day.

RRROOOAAAARRRRR!!!!!

Anna said, "Mama, I know why my birth mother didn't put the right daddy's name on my birth certificate!" I was a little surprised at her candidness about it. So I asked "Why is that?"

She said, "Because I'm really part Lion!" And then she did this:


I think I could see all the way to her lioness stomach! :)

They're Here!

Last Sunday, Mike and Anna went shopping. They brought home a receipt for this:


If anybody has been at our house while laundry is going, they might hear some terrible noises coming from the laundry room for both the washer and the dryer. After numerous repairs, and the newest problem being a leak that would require completely rebuilding the washing machine, He decided it was time for a change. I told him I liked the new LG's. So he went and looked, and then I went and looked. Then the stars must have all aligned at the same time. We got a coupon in the mail for 10% off plus 12 months no interest. Free delivery, set up and take away of the old appliances, no tax because of super energy efficiency on the washer, and..... they were on sale at that. :)

I am really thankful. :)
Now, to do some laundry.

Miss Kittie-Winkle Wants INSIDE!

Miss Kittie is doing fantastic. She is learning what a litter box is, has her favorite blankie and food, and she is on the covered porch. She loves it out there, but when she hears our voices or wants attention, she starts to climb the screen door. LOL

She got about 2 feet up the screen today, holding on for dear life. :)

Lillian Unleashed

Lilly is coming over to do PreK and get her ready for school. She is a hoot. She is 4 but will be 5 before school starts.

Today, after school we went swimming at a friend's pool. She was very excited to swim and was not one bit afraid of the water. When it was time to go, I was sitting about 5 feet from her talking with a friend. Her back was facing me, but I said to all the girls, "time to get out." "Time to go". Three girls got out, but she sat there like nobody said a word. So I called her name, "Lilly, gramma says it is time to get out of the pool, ok?" Still no response.

So I walk over to her and whisper, "Lilly" in her ear... "It is time for us to get out of the water now." She turned to me and said, "I was hoping you were not going to say that!" LOL So I said, "well, I did, and you must" and she got out of the pool and even helped clean up. LOL

Here are some pics of her, and a movie of her describing the tooth fairy and the tooth fairy wand she was playing with. :)

Brother Dave

Please hold our brother Dave in your prayers. He was involved in a car accident in Phoenix Arizona. He is in the hospital right now, with a broken L6 vertebrae. We are thankful that he is alert and talking. Please pray that all will go well and for comfort for Dave and his family.

We love you Dave and Barb. :)

Confession

I don't like Starbucks. Sorry. I just think that coffee is bitter and harsh tasting.
I do like grinding my own beans, preferably Free Trade Kona type coffee. Oh my, it is smooth and gentle.

I usually drink my coffee black, but sometimes I add vanilla while brewing, or sprinkle with cinnamon.

What are some of your fun coffee tricks? I need some ideas. :)

BTW- Sarah drinks 1/4 cup of coffee with 3/4 cup of milk every a.m. to calm her down. :)

My Mike

I was looking at My Mike talking to me tonight, and I saw him make that sweet squint with one eye just like his dad. Isn't that cute? :)

Daddy Can Do It!

I am the world's worst seamstress. I love the idea of sewing. I love the idea of home made clothing. But I am Mrs. Talentless when it comes to sewing.

On the other hand, Mike is excellent at sewing. Anything that has to do with hands on, he is great at. He is always saying, "It isn't hard!"

He wasn't there when I tried to make Anna a Sunday Dress, with one of those SUPER EZY patterns that claim, you'll have it done in 2 hours! Well, somebody will, but not me!

Instead, after 5 hours, with only 4 pieces to put together and no gathers, and the 4th time sewing the lining on backwards, then upside down, then right side on the wrong side, and taking it out with that seam ripper thingy, I finally collapsed in a pile of tears. "I'm not domestic! I'm a wanna be a domestic person!"

Erika can knit and I didn't even show her how! LOL.... I have a feeling she will be our little seamstress.


Anna has had a pair of pants and a skirt that need repair, sitting on my sewing machine aka dust collector, for 6 months!
Yesterday morning, she asked about me mending them. I must have given her a really pained look as she was witness to me trying to make her a dress. :)

She said, Never mind, I'll go ask dad he can do it! LOL

Miss Kittie-Winkle All Grown Up!

Indescribable

My precious husband and I were talking this morning about our week. We were talking about our relationship with Christ,and the vast gap between us and God.

He is the creator, we are His created beings.
He put the Sun, the Moon, the Stars into place. I can't comprehend in my finite mind the 93,000,000 million miles just between the earth and our closest star, the Sun. (on a side note, that is a smaller number than the budget of our country this year, but that is another thought that is hard to fathom :))

And yet, I find myself in relationship with God. It is amazing that as a person, born dead in treaspasses and sin, is called to come alive in Christ. That relationship is not about getting a "get outta hell free card". It is not a die and go to heaven relationship, though eternity with Christ is in the end. It is about the molding and shaping and changing of our hearts to be conformed and renewed.

Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you brothers, therefore by the mercies of God to present bodies as a living sacrifice, holy nad acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
And do notbe conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing, you may discern what is the will of godk, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Oh how I love that passage.

We are not to remain as we are in our sinful states, though we will never be fully without sin, while we remain in our unperfected flesh. But we, because we abide in the Vine, will be transormed and be able for the first time to RESIST sin. When we were dead in our sin, we had no choice but to sin. But when we are alive in Christ, we are free to not sin! Isn't that great! Though it is a struggle, a great internal struggle, as we surrender our lives and humble ourselves, our hearts are truly changed. As we submit ourselves to God and seek him in Prayer, we change.
Ephesians 2:10
We are his workmanship, created for Good works in Christ Jesus, that he prepared before-hand that we should walk in them.

Our faith is ALIVE and continually growing. It is exciting.

In Christ's prayer to the Father, He says, ...Forgive us our treaspasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us....

He doesn't ask for specific things, but asks for God's will to be done, and for the deliverance from evil and temptation.

God uses all things in our lives, as we are yielded to Him to teach us, break us, mold us and shape us.
So we can thank Him for the mountains, and we can thank him for the valleys and we can thank Him for the trials He brings us through. For if we never have a problem, we wouldn't exercise our faith that God can deliver us through the fire.

Isaiah 43:1-3
Is my life verse. My mother in law purchased me a wonderful Bible when I was young.It was my very first study bible, and I lived in it while being tried by Fire, for years. I bathed myself in it, with no sign of delivery, but I knew delivery would come.

Here it is: If you are going through testing or trial. Be encouraged:

Fear Not! For I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers
they shall not overwhelm you, when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God the Holy One of Israel, your savior.

Wow... I still get chills reading that.
It is so easy in our human flesh to take our eyes off of the goal and race set before us.
And that brings us to repentence.
Romans 2:4 says that it is God's kindness that leads us to repentence.

Ephesians 2:7-8-9 says, so that in the coming ages, He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH. And it is NOT YOUR OWN DOING, it is the GIFT OF GOD, not as a resul of works, so that NO ONE CAN BOAST.

Oh Lord, Help me to keep my eyes firmly planted towards you. Help me to not look to the left or to the right. Help me to not be distracted by the cares or hurts of this world, but help me to be renewed in my heart and spirit. Help me to see the beam in my own eye instead of the speck in my brothers eye. Fill me with your love and kindness and to live and breath the fruits of your spirit, which are Love,Joy, Peace and Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
Help me to pursue the way of love in all things. I was blinded by pain and could not see clearly, yet you rescued me and delivered me and have brought me to a place of peace and rest. I am so thankful for the solid rock on which I stand; so truly thankful.
Amen

1Corinthians 13:4-8 just the first part of 8. :)
Love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love Never Ends.

Urgent Prayer Request

Please join us in prayer regarding the Upcoming vote in Ukraine that would BAN International Adoption for good. The vote will take place on June 2.

Ukraine is a wonderful, beautiful country with a negative population growth. I think the government is trying all it can to keep people in Ukraine. The problem is, with so many orphans, there is nowhere for them to go. The statistics are dismal. And for the children with special needs, the future is grim at best.

Please pray that God would have His will. If adoptions are not banned that God would move on hearts to bring orphans into a family. If adoptions are banned, that God would move on the hearts of those who can go and serve orphans in their orphanage setting, from Cradle to Graduation.

There is also RUMOR, don't know if it is true, that foreign residents might be limited to 180 days in country at a time. This will make it very, very hard on missionaries.
I am going to contact our friends and see if they have heard anything. Russia passed a similar law a year ago and many missionaries had to leave. Many went into Poland, Ukraine and Romania.

God is in Control.

I Love How Creative They Are

It was DOG HOT today! I bought the girls a small wading pool. It is really too small, but what do you do when you don't have a pool and just want to get cool? You buy one of those blue thingys. :)

Well, at first I put Erika in without her legs, but then she can't really enjoy herself because she just lays there. So the girls came up with a great idea.

Move the swing set over by the pool, let Erika Swing over the water and they would splash her good!




Isn't that sweet? They came up with that all together so they could all participate in the water fun. :)

I also wanted to show off their new swim suits. I think these are the COOLEST!
They are regular looking shirts and shorts, made out of swim material. Very modest indeed! :)
AND They Love them. :)

A Friend To Walk With

Am I allowed to end a title like that? :)

Maybe not, but I'm just going to.... because I am so happy that I have a friend to walk with.

10 years ago, when I was quite sick, I started a walking program. I remember the first time I tried to walk, I made it down, 2 houses, turned around and came back home. I was exhausted, my back hurt and I couldn't do it. But I knew I had to.

The next morning I made it about 4 houses, and then farther, and farther, until I worked my way up to walking 4 miles a day. That exercise, combined with a raw foods diet, set me back on the track to health. I had a bunch of weight to lose, and instead of focusing on losing weight, I focused on getting healthy. Instead of thinking of my diet as a diet, I called it a LIVE IT!

It was time to eat to live, instead of live to eat and I knew it. It was hard to face that because I really didn't want to. BUT, I wanted to be healthy more than I wanted to continue down the same road.

So it was a very deliberate decision. I lost 45 lbs, and was starting to feel healthy again. It took 2 years to feel better.

I felt great for a long time, except for little bumps in the road, and then, slowly but surely, I started allowing foods back into my life that were anathema before.
Why? Sin. Plain and simple. I knew what was best and I chose what was worst.

So, weight started to come back, and little symptom here and little symptom there.
Besides that, I stopped walking. That was more understandable. We moved and there are roaming dogs in the country and no sidewalks. It was one of those "take your life into your hands" places, so I stopped. Then I started to enjoy sleeping longer, not getting up at 5:30. I still felt fine.

The girls came, and then I COULDN'T leave to go and walk. With 5 surgeries in less than 4 years, it was a struggle to find time for outside activity. Thus.... a few pounds here, a few pounds there, started to creep on.
And I found myself needing to stretch my pants abit, and a few pairs that are no longer wearable.
I would tell myself, ah, it's ok, you aren't over weight after all, you look fine, after all its only 10 lbs. Besides you are 50! Blah blah blah..... but the truth was, I was headed back for destruction, back to old addictive habits.

As I began to pray about it, I found myself faced with the fact that food is an issue for me. For me, it is a matter of self control and self discipline.
To face that square on, is what helps me to do what I know to do that is right!

I owe it to my family and my extended family to treat my body well and care for the one God gave me. It is a true matter of stewardship.

Since I lost the 45 lbs 10 years ago, I had gained back 32 lbs. And still people will say, "You're not overweight, you're not fat etc. But the truth is, I am, and I am.

Now to my great friend part. My good friend who lives down the road also wants to start walking and doing a raw food Liveit! So we are doing it together! Yea!

We started walking 8 days ago, taking Friday and Sunday off. We are walking 2 to 3 miles a day to begin, and it feels great! We drive about 2 miles down the road to the high school track at about 6 in the a.m. We are home by 7:15 and ready to start our days!
I started back on my liveit 2 weeks ago and I have lost 8.5 lbs. YEA!

The exercise with my friend is fun. We get to visit and talk, and she is also a mother with children the same age and from similar backgrounds as my children.

I am so thankful for my friend. I am so thankful that the Lord is gracious and merciful and encourages us in our hearts.

I am thankful for His Word, His Love and His Mercy. He doesn't love me any more or any less if I am healthy or not, but He has given us knowledge to use, to have a healthier body. I am thankful for the herbs of the ground He has provided for our needs. I am thankful for the foods He has created, that do not sit on a shelf with an eternal
expiration date. I am thankful for those he has given knowledge to that have studied what foods are best for our bodies to eat.

And I am thankful for dear friends, willing to get up EARLY so we can walk and talk and laugh and share each others struggles and triumphs. :)

Family Funny

I took the girls and grand girls to the local shopping center, which was QUITE CROWDED.
It looks like a small town, with a lot of traffic. We needed to cross the street so I told the girls, please everybody grab somebody's hand and we'll cross the street....
To which Sarah said, "Great, we'll all hold hands and die together. " LOL