Sing to Jesus

Weekend in Zakopane

2012-02-09T07:36:00.006-06:00

As I posted previously, last weekend was Caleb's birthday. Back in the States, we would have had a big birthday party with all the grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. and the boys would have had a sleepover party with their best buddies. Since we are spending their birthdays this year away from all their friends and family, we wanted to make sure and do something extra fun on their birthday. We decided for Caleb's birthday to drive down to Zakopane and spend a weekend skiing and enjoying the views of the Tatra Mountains.

We had a great time, but our plans were slightly changed due to the weather. It was FREEZING cold...so cold that we could only tolerate being outside for a few minutes. Luke, Isaac, and Caleb attempted skiing on Friday, but only lasted about an hour and a half. We went out for dinner Friday night, and it was painful walking the few minutes outside to get to the restaurant. We decided on Saturday that since no one wanted to ski another day and it was really too cold to do any sightseeing or activities outside that we would just head home Saturday afternoon. We still celebrated Caleb's birthday Saturday with lunch, dessert and presents. Here's some pictures from our fun, but bone-chilling, weekend:

Our apartment was so cold Saturday morning that Andrew ate his breakfast with his hat on and Luke's coat wrapped around his waist. (The temperature inside the apartment was my fault...I unknowingly left the patio door partially open Friday night. Oops.)

One of Caleb's biggest surprises was that several of his friends from back home had sent cards and gifts. He wasn't expecting that, but it put a huge smile on his face.

His Lego City set that he had been hoping for....

We let him choose where we would eat for his birthday lunch. Of all the choices in Zakopane, he chose KFC. And he wanted Jello for dessert instead of birthday cake.

Enjoying his birthday fried chicken

We enjoyed the scenery of the Tatras..... from inside our warm car.

We stayed in an apartment rather than a hotel. (We are discovering that is the best way for a family of six to travel through Europe. Hotels aren't very welcoming to families with four kids, and require us to book two rooms. Most Europeans cities have nice apartments you can rent for a very reasonable price.) Isaac wanted a picture by the spiral staircase:

The view from our patio

Getting ready to hit the slopes!

They were so hungry...when will the pizza get here?

Caleb was being shy. Or maybe he was just trying to thaw out his face from our cold walk to the restaurant.

Naomi is such a cheese...she loves getting her picture taken.

We waited quite a while for our pizza...what better time to have a family photo shoot?

It was a fun weekend, but we were thankful to be back in our warm home Saturday night. Isaac is requesting a trip to the beach for his birthday....I think he just wants to go somewhere warm!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2012-02-04T14:10:00.002-06:00

Caleb turned seven today! We celebrated by going to Zakopane for the weekend. It was a fun weekend...I'll try to post more pictures tomorrow. We had a great time celebrating the blessing of seven years with this guy...

Caleb, we're so thankful God made you a part of our family!

Naomi's first phrase

2012-01-28T03:10:00.001-06:00

Naomi said her first two-word phrase this week. It wasn't directed towards myself, Luke or the boys. She was talking to Jasper. She said, "Hi Doggie!"

She and Jasper have become very good friends.

Winter Fun

2012-01-22T14:35:00.002-06:00

We finally got some snow here! Last week we awoke to snow falling every morning, although a lot of it ended up melting. Here's some shots from a few of our snowy days:

Four Kids and a Candy Store

2011-11-13T01:00:00.011-06:00

Yesterday was another beautiful fall day and we decided to head to the Rynek (the Market Square in downtown Krakow) for a visit to a candy store called Ciuciu (pronounced choo-choo). We had heard about this candy store from a few different people. This store makes hand-crafted candies, and they do demonstrations in the store where you can watch the candy-making process. As you can imagine, the boys were pretty excited about a field trip to a candy store. Here they are outside the store before the demonstration started:

We arrived at the store a little early, and had twenty minutes before the show started. So we decided to walk around the Rynek for a few minutes while we waited. The Rynek is such a beautiful area, and there's always something entertaining to do there. Like climb inside a giant head.....
...or watch clowns walk on stilts and make balloon animals.

After our stroll through the square, we headed back to Ciucui to check out the demonstration. (Isaac gives candy store field trip a big thumbs-up.)
Naomi had a great view of the demonstration from Luke's shoulders, but she was so upset by not getting to immediately eat all the candy she saw that she got a little fussy. I ended up taking her to the back of the store where she continually said "Bey!" (translation: Please!) at every bag of candy she saw.
Luke and the boys stayed up front and watched the demonstration. Luke took a bunch of pictures of the process:

After the show, we let the boys pick out some flavors to take home. They were very excited.

Ciuciu was a very fun place to visit, and I'm sure we'll be back!

Fall Fun

2011-11-06T14:38:00.010-06:00

We've done a lot of fun things over the last few weeks. We had this guy come visit for a few days...

(Clayton is a friend of ours from our church back home. We LOVED having him stay with us.)

We spent three days in Vienna. Very fun weekend!

(I put an entire album of pictures from Vienna on Facebook. After loading them all on Facebook I didn't have the energy to do it all over again on the blog. I'm kind of a lazy blogger, but since most of our blog readers are also friends on Facebook I didn't figure it was too big of a deal.)

And we have been LOVING this amazing fall weather we have been having. Fall is beautiful here! There are so many trees in Krakow, and the leaves are so colorful. Our favorite trail is lined with huge trees and now that the leaves are falling, the paths are covered with leaves. The boys had a lot of fun playing in them on our walk today. Here's some of my favorite shots:

Horseback Riding

2011-10-23T07:23:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we went to a nearby horse stable so Isaac and Caleb could each have a horseback riding lesson. We learned from another home-school family that this particular stable has an instructor that speaks great English and is good with kids. We were amazed at how affordable private lessons are and decided to give it a try. They loved it and have already asked when we can go back. The stable has an heated arena where you can take lessons in the winter, so this is something we can do year-round. We might try to do it once a month. Here's some pictures from their lessons....

The Krakow Zoo

2011-10-08T05:15:00.018-05:00

Last weekend we decided to check out the Krakow Zoo. We'd heard good things about it, and it was a beautiful fall day that seemed just right for a zoo outing. The zoo here is in the middle of Wolski Forest which is BEAUTIFUL. Hiking through the forest to get to the zoo was definitely my favorite part. We learned after we left the zoo that we didn't have to hike through the forest to get to the zoo. There is a bus stop down by the parking lot where you can catch a ride to the entrance. Luke and I were glad we hiked it though, because it was a beautiful trail and really good exercise. I would guess we hiked at least a mile, maybe two, and it was almost all uphill. Isaac and Caleb were not as excited about the hike and decided partway through they needed to take a rest.

Once we got to the top, there were a few outdoor restaurants and places to walk around.

Here are the boys waiting to get inside the zoo. They were skeptical that this zoo was going to be worth the hike they endured to get up there.
We had heard that European zoos were very different than zoos in America. American zoos build these huge, lush habitats for the animals. This is great for the animals, but sometimes makes it hard for the visitors to get close-up looks. In Europe (at least in Poland) this is different. The animals are in much smaller habitats (some are actually just in large cages) and you get very close to them. I could practically reach out and touch these pink flamingoes...
And if you look in the water, you'll see the backs of three hippos. All that was separating us from these hippos was a deep ditch and a single wired electrical fence.

This guy did not seem happy to be there.

One of our favorite animals was this condor. He was HUGE!

And then when he showed up his wingspan we were really impressed.

The camels were pretty neat to see.

Andrew checking out some animals.

Naomi enjoyed riding around in her stroller.

A fun time was had by all!

Our Trail

2011-10-04T12:58:00.004-05:00

One of the great things about this city is there are an abundance of trails that are great for hiking. The weather has been beautiful here, so we have been trying to take advantage of the fall sunshine while we can. Here's some shots from our walk today....this path is one of my favorite places in the city.

The Mound

2011-10-01T10:02:00.013-05:00

Very close to our home in Krakow is Kościuszko Mound. I mentioned in my last post how the boys were begging to hike the mound our first week here, so Luke took the three boys that weekend. (It's not stroller friendly so Naomi and I stayed home.) They had a great time, and the views from the top are amazing.

The mound was completed in November 1823 and was erected by Cracovians in commemoration of the Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko. (Interesting fact about Kosciuszko: he is a Polish national hero for his fighting against Russia, but he was also a colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. We studied the Revolutionary War last year in school, so the boys thought that was pretty neat that the guy who the mound is named after probably knew George Washington. :)

The wall around the bottom was built by the Austrians in the 1850's for use as a lookout point. The wall was dismantled sometime during World War II. The Mound was not only a fun hike for Luke and the boys, but a great history lesson for us all! Here's some shots from their outing:

Standing outside the wall

Ascending the stairs that take you to the Mound entrance

And the views from the top....

And after all that hard work to get to the top, you need some ice cream!

The First Couple Weeks

2011-09-27T05:35:00.021-05:00

Once we arrived in Krakow, there was a lot that had to happen before we really felt settled. We didn't have a car, so we had to call taxis anytime we wanted to go anywhere. I didn't have my kitchen supplies yet, so my cooking was fairly limited. The kids had no toys, so they resorted to doing things like this for fun....

Our evening outings were a little limited due to the car issue, but we managed to get out a few times and explore. The following pics were taken outside our house as we were getting ready for an outing to the mall....

The kids played a lot outside in our yard. Above is a picture of Andrew and Caleb on our patio. Below is Caleb posing by our grapevine trellis. The kids thought it was great fun picking grapes.

Naomi really likes our yard too but I have to watch her very carefully since the steps and patio are all marble. It makes me a little nervous about her falling down.

We went on lots of walks that first week to explore around our house. Here's some street signs leading to our home....

On one of our walks we walked up to the entrance of the Mounds. The boys were so excited to climb these so Luke took them that weekend. I'll include pics of that in another post. Here they are posing outside the mounds.

More pictures later this week!

Catching up...

2011-09-25T01:07:00.007-05:00

We finally have a way to hook our camera up to our computer, so this blog is about to be overloaded with pictures! I think I'm going to try and post about once a day this week to catch everyone up. We've been here three weeks now, so I have a lot to share. We'll start with the day we left...

9 checked bags + 4 kids+ 2 strollers = 2 parents praying for patience

The kids were all excited to get on the plane....

Andrew loved watching the airplanes take off and land....

Thankfully all the flights went smoothly and the kids did great. Once we got to our house in Krakow (about 24 hours later) Naomi and Andrew found a bed and crashed. Travelling is hard work!

In case you are interested....

2011-09-20T06:38:00.002-05:00

...both Isaac and Caleb now have blogs. This is going to be part of their schooling while we are in Poland. They should post about once a week. Hint: They love comments!

Isaac http://isaacsthoughts-isaac.blogspot.com/

Caleb http://theworldaccordingtocaleb.blogspot.com/

We made it!

2011-09-07T15:17:00.005-05:00

We have now officially been in Krakow for one week. We arrived last Saturday, completely exhausted but also very excited to be here. This week has not been without some trials, but overall it's been an enjoyable week getting to know the city and making friends. I can't post pictures yet unfortunately because our camera cord hasn't arrived yet (along with our beds, clothes, kids' toys, etc.) but as soon as I get that silly cord I will post pictures from our travels here.

Until then.....here' s a top ten list to give you an idea of how our week has gone.

Our Top Ten List of things we have learned after one week in Poland....

10. You do NOT want to Jaywalk in Krakow. (Luke has a story to tell about this one.)

9. When grocery shopping in Poland you will NOT get help bagging your groceries. Nor will they wait for you to bag your groceries before they start ringing up the next customer. And it just adds to the fun when your cashier only speaks Polish.

8. Poland has a lot of slugs. Isaac and Caleb think this is very cool.

7. Skype/e-mail/Facebook are wonderful blessings when you are missing family and friends.

6. Stacie has to learn how to cook with an Easy-Bake Oven. (At least that's what the size of her oven reminds her of.)

5. We have no dryer. We have clotheslines. Not sure if we are going to tough this out, or break down and buy a dryer. Our towels feel like sandpaper after line-drying, so we will probably buy a dryer.

4. We really need to work on our Polish. Caleb wanted to tell our next door neighbor "Hola."

3. Trying to buy a used car in a foreign country can be quite adventurous. On Tuesday, Luke went to look at a van that he found online. The van looked great online, but when he arrived at the car "dealership" he met a very shady-looking character selling used cars out of his backyard. (Luke's keen business instincts told him not to buy a van from this guy.)

2. Krakow is a wonderful city for families. There is so much to do here we're not sure we can fit it all in into two years!

1. God is still faithful no matter where you are living, what language they speak there, and how far away you are from home.

It's finally here!

2011-08-28T21:57:00.004-05:00

This summer has flown by and our departure for Poland is here! We fly out this morning and should arrive in Krakow Saturday morning. We are excited to get there and see what God has in store for us, but it has also been hard saying good-bye to our family and friends. We are so blessed with wonderful family and friends, and especially our church. I'm sure we will make new friends in Poland, but we know lots of people who will be missed here in the U.S.A!

If you think of us today, please pray for us as we make this trip. Please pray that Naomi will do well with the long flight. (I'm sure the boys will do fine, but an active toddler on an international flight could get a little troublesome.) Also, please pray for safe travel and that Luke and I will have patience as we travel with four young kids.

Lord willing, at this time tomorrow we'll be writing from here....

Happy Birthday to Naomi!

2011-07-31T08:47:00.019-05:00

One year ago, this little peanut was born....

...and yesterday we got to celebrate her first birthday!

We had a very fun day celebrating Naomi's first year of life. We invited the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins over for swimming, pizza, and birthday cake. A fun time was had by all...here's some pictures of the festivities.

We love you Naomi!

Our Trip to Poland

2011-07-24T08:21:00.017-05:00

Luke and I returned home from our house-hunting trip to Poland last night. It was a wonderful week, but we were so glad to see the kids last night! We'll try to give a more detailed write-up of our trip later, but until then here are some pics from the beautiful city of Krakow.

This is a picture outside Wawel Castle. To give you an idea of how huge this place is, that is me standing at the bottom of the stairs on the right. I'm the speck wearing the blue shirt.

Here are some shots of the beautiful Market Square. It's the biggest market square in Europe and has over 650 restaurants in this one area. There's a lot of historical buildings to check out, and the architecture is stunning!

This was a picture of Wawel Castle and the Vistula River. This was right outside our hotel.

And finally, some shots of our home for the next two years.....

The front view....

The views from outside...you can see Wawel Castle from our patio!

One of my favorite views from last week was Andrew running out the door to greet us when we got home! Love that kid...and the other three who were waiting for us as well. We had a great week, but it feels good to be back home as a family. We also got to meet with a missionary family while we were there, and are excited about some friendships that are already starting with some believers there. The Lord blessed us abundantly this past week, and we are excited to see what He has in store for us over the next two years!

Summer Fun

2011-07-07T08:33:00.014-05:00

Amidst all the preparations for the big move, we have had a full summer. Isaac and Caleb have been taking golf, art and piano lessons, Andrew has been successfully potty training, and Naomi has started walking! Here's some pics from our summer happenings....

We're moving...twice!

2011-05-23T21:39:00.016-05:00

A couple months ago, we were looking forward to a very peaceful summer. It had been a very busy and exhausting school year (adding a surprise baby one week before school starts really turns your world upside down!) and we were really looking forward to a break. We were picturing a summer of relaxing and recuperating a bit from our busy year. I was envisioning lazy days by the pool, lots of down time and just enjoying the days at home with the kids. Plans have changed A LOT over the the last couple months, and while we're really excited and thankful for these changes, my vision of a relaxing summer has quickly faded away.

It all started Easter weekend. Our neighborhood had a couple new homes being built, and I jokingly said to Luke that Saturday night, "We should see if the builder would want to swap us homes." (We had been thinking about moving but didn't really want to go through all the hassle of listing and showing our home.) I'll never forget the expression on Luke's face when he said, "Yeah, we should!" I thought he was joking. But he wasn't, and the next night (Easter Sunday) he left the realtor a voice mail. Monday night we looked at the house, and on Wednesday night we signed the papers. In less than five days we had bought a house! A week ago moving was nowhere on the horizon and now we had to be out of our home in a month. But we were so excited because we loved the home and really saw God's hand in providing it for us at such a great deal.

Our summer was starting to look a little bit busier, but I was excited to be in the new home by the end of May and then have the summer to get settled. I still thought we would have a pretty laid-back summer, even though we would be settling into a new home. (Moving is a lot easier when you are just moving around the corner.)

Things got really interesting two days later. On Friday, Luke left for the Men's Retreat and I took the boys to my parent's house. Naomi and I went shopping and while I was in the Target fitting room I got a phone call from Luke. He informed me that his boss just called him and offered him a two-year expat assignment in Krakow, Poland! This was completely unexpected, but after much discussion and prayer we both felt like it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up.

So here's our new summer plans:

A few weeks ago we moved from this house......

down the street to this house........

and then in September we move here.........

So do you think we're going to get that nice, relaxing summer we had been dreaming of? Obviously not, but we're trusting God that this is what is best for our family. So far He has blown us away with His provisions, and we know that He will continue to guide us through this wild two-year adventure we are about to begin. I hope to get this blog rolling again, and post lots from our experiences in Europe.

(And in case you're wondering, we will be leasing our new home while we're in Poland.)

Luke and I will be traveling to Poland sometime in July to find a home there. Our tenth anniversary is in August, so we're counting this as our anniversary getaway as well. We weren't planning on Europe for our anniversary trip, but we're not going to complain!

It all sounds crazy, and I can't believe how quickly all of this has happened, but we know God's plan is perfect. If I wasn't trusting in a Sovereign God, I would probably be a basket case right now!

Szczęść Boże!

The Big Race

2011-05-20T07:10:00.003-05:00

Most little girls play with dolls and have tea parties. But when you have three older brothers, you learn how to race a backhoe.

Our Big Day

2011-03-02T21:24:00.002-06:00

Today was a very special day for our family. We finalized Naomi's adoption and she legally became our daughter. Of course we have considered her as "ours" since the day we picked her up from the hospital, but now she is legally a member of our family. We were so excited to finalize her adoption, and are so thankful to the Lord for this precious little girl He has allowed us to parent.

This picture was taken today in the courtroom after the hearing. This is the same judge who presided over Andrew's adoption hearing, and she always takes pictures with the adoptive families once everything is done. It was fun being back in the same courthouse where we adopted Andrew--so many very special memories for our family have happened in this building.

As we look back over the last several years and how God has grown our family, we are amazed at His goodness to us. His plans were different from ours and He has surprised us many times, but His will is perfect and we love the family He has formed for us. What a blessing children are!

Our Crew

2010-12-30T14:56:00.003-06:00

Yes, my hands are full and yes, I do get really tired. But I love being the mom to these four amazing kiddos. The Lord has blessed us abundantly with our sweet family. Here's some fun shots of our crew over Christmas break:

Poor Naomi. She doesn't get any attention from her brothers. Don't you feel sorry for her?

Luke's comment when he saw this picture? "Too much cleavage."
(I don't think he was kidding.)

Naomi and Andrew are best buddies. I often wish I could know what they are thinking...

The days are busy, but I love my job!

Andrew's 2nd Birthday

2010-12-20T19:42:00.003-06:00

Last week was Andrew's 2nd birthday. His birthday was Tuesday, and we had a big family birthday party planned for him on Saturday. Luke and I had expected Andrew to relish being the center of attention, opening his presents and, of course, eating his birthday cake. Boy were we surprised by what really happened...

The party started out fine. We ate dinner (lasagna, one of Andrew's favorites) and he was having a great time playing with all his cousins. After dinner, we decided to open his presents before diving into the birthday cake. This is going to be Andrew's favorite part, right?

He started out a little hesitant. Luke helped him open up a drum set from Uncle Nathan and Aunt Kelly. He liked it and played with it a little bit, but he wasn't really sure what was going on.

We tried moving on to the next gifts, and as you can see below, he wasn't really sure about these presents...
Then....complete meltdown! He wanted nothing to do with the gifts. Every toy someone handed him he pushed away. I was flabbergasted. Crying...over presents? Nothing we tried would settle him down so we decided to move on to the birthday cake.

Every kid likes their birthday cake, right? Can you tell how much Andrew enjoyed it when we all sang to him?
(Isn't this a great picture of me laughing while my child is traumatized? Another one of my "Mother of the Year" moments...)

So after all this crying over presents and birthday cake, we adults all speculated as to what his problem was:

"Was he tired?" This was a possibility because he hadn't gotten much of a nap that day.

"Were his molars bothering him again?" Maybe, he's had some grouchy days lately because of his 2-year molars coming through.

"Was he overwhelmed by all the attention?" Not a problem we anticipated Andrew having, but maybe that was it. Could too many people watching him have freaked him out?

I spent the weekend wondering what made him so unhappy, and I think I figured it out today at the orthodontist. I had to take all four kids to Isaac's orthodontist appointment, and when Isaac was done the kind receptionist let Caleb and Andrew pick a toy out of the toy box with Isaac. Caleb and Isaac got their toy, and then the receptionist asked Andrew what he would like. He took one look inside the box and...another meltdown!!! He started wailing because this lady had asked him if he wanted a toy car! I couldn't believe it. I had to drag him out of the office crying because someone wanted to give him a toy. I've heard of kids throwing fits because they couldn't get toys, but I've never seen a kid cry because they were given a toy.

One of my friends joked that maybe Andrew is afraid of becoming too materialistic. Or maybe he's going to be a neat freak and is afraid of his room getting too cluttered with toys. Who knows? But for whatever reason, our son does NOT want anyone to give him any presents. Christmas is going to be fun this year. :)

Our Pianist

2010-12-18T21:06:00.002-06:00

Today Isaac had his second piano recital. He's progressing really well in piano and we love to listen to him. He played three songs for the recital. The last one, an arrangement of "Go Tell It on the Mountain," is our favorite. He had to work extra hard to learn that one, but he persevered and did a fabulous job today!

Why we love transracial adoption...

2010-12-16T06:17:00.005-06:00

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9

"The ultimate community of God is transnational, transtribal, transracial, translinguistic. In that sense, Los Angeles is a better anticipation of heaven than Tulsa, Oklahoma. Let the church, strengthened by the grace of God, live out now, as largely as possible, what she will one day be."

(Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God : A daily companion for discovering the riches of God's Word.)

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2010-12-13T22:03:00.005-06:00

Our big boy turns two today! We'll be celebrating with cake and presents and all the other fun birthday stuff, but most importantly we are thanking God for Andrew's life and that He chose to bring this precious child into our family. What a great two years it has been!

Giggles

2010-12-09T20:51:00.002-06:00

Isaac, Caleb and Andrew love to make Naomi laugh. She usually smiles as soon as she sees one of them, and then they will break out in a silly song or dance to try and get the giggles going. Here's a short video of Andrew getting her to laugh last night:

The quality of the video is horrible, but her giggles are priceless!

Ode to Andrew

2010-12-02T18:08:00.003-06:00

Isaac wrote a funny tribute to Andrew on his blog tonight. You might want to check it out....here.

Yes...we're still here

2010-10-31T19:39:00.012-05:00

I know it has been a really long time since I have posted on here. Honestly, I have wondered at times if I should even keep this blog going since I just don't have the time to post much on here anymore. I don't think I need to explain why I don't have much time to write on a blog, but I do have four good reasons. (And if you want to know the names of the four reasons, you can look at their adorable pictures over on the left sidebar.)

But even though my four adorable reasons don't allow me much time to sit down and write blog posts, I've decided to keep this blog going. Luke and I enjoy this blog, and it's been really fun to scroll back through the archives and see how God has worked in our family over the last few years. So even though it might be a while before I get back to posting regularly, I'm going to try my best to stick with it.

The last time I posted pictures, Naomi was barely a week old. Now she's three months old and totally adorable:

She is smiling, talking, and sitting up in her Bumbo like such a big girl! We have all just fallen in love with this little gal.
Andrew is almost two(!) and growing in leaps and bounds. He is saying a lot of words now and tries to copy everything his big brothers do. He loves Naomi, and gives her dozens of kisses every day. Here he is in his stylish new glasses:
And here he is trying to "do school" like his brothers:

And last, but not least, here are the big brothers of our crew. Isaac and Caleb have been very busy this school year with their 2nd grade and Kindergarten work. They have also been on lots of field trips and stayed busy with our homeschool co-op. Their last soccer game was this past Saturday, and they were very sad to see the season end. They're quite a pair, and (most of the time!) are great buddies.

So even though our four kiddos don't allow me time to do much blogging, I wouldn't trade them for anything. The past few months since adding Naomi have been soooo busy, but I love being the mother of four. God has been very kind to us, and I'm thankful for the privilege of being a very busy wife and mom.

Girl time

2010-08-10T18:43:00.004-05:00

The past few days have been pretty laid-back for myself and Naomi. Naomi has to stay in St. Louis until the court date tomorrow, so Luke and the boys headed back home on Sunday for a few days while Naomi and I stayed behind. At first I wasn't real excited about three days stuck in a hotel, and was counting down the days until we could go home. I knew I was going to miss Luke and the boys, I had no car, it was 100 degrees outside, and I thought, "This is going to be a long. three. days."

But then the Lord convicted me of my grumbling heart and I realized what a gift this time was. I have had three days of total relaxation (which every mom needs once in a while) with no distractions from enjoying this new little one God has given us. I thought of how someday I'm going to look back on this special time with her as a gift from the Lord, not a burden that had to be endured. So I decided I was going to relax and just simply enjoy this time.

It's been wonderful to have these three days with our sweet little gal. God is so good.

Finally....some pictures!

2010-08-07T18:35:00.003-05:00

I know I promised to post pictures soon...but as you can imagine this has been an extremely busy week. And since most of the people who check this blog are also on Facebook, I haven't been in a big rush to post pictures on the blog.

I'm not going to recap our entire week, but let's just say it's been very, very busy. We drove home from vacation in Iowa on Tuesday night after we got "the call." We woke up early Wednesday morning and drove to St. Louis where we got to meet our little Naomi Marie. The days since then have been kind of a blur filled with doctor's appointments, meetings with our attorney and adoption agency, and taking care of a newborn away from home. Whew! We will rest well when all this is over, but we have to say that God has been so good to us through it all. He has provided in so many ways, so we are not going to complain about the busyness of our week.

Here's a few pics from the last two days:

We have a few more busy days and then all the adoption stuff will be taken care of and we can start settling into life as a family of six!

An Exciting Announcement!

2010-08-03T18:44:00.002-05:00

About two hours ago we got "the call" and learned that we have a little girl! She was born on Friday and we will be driving to St. Louis tomorrow to pick her up. We'll probably have to stay in St. Louis for a couple days until the attorney gets the legal stuff taken care of, and then we'll be back home until the court date sometime in the next week or two. This has all happened soooo fast, but we are super excited and so thankful for God bringing this little one into our family.

We'll be sure to post pictures soon.....

Adoption update

2010-07-28T19:50:00.004-05:00

I just realized I haven't shared anything about our adoption process lately so I thought I should catch everyone up as to where we are with it all. Our paperwork is complete, the home study is finished, our family profiles are done ..... so now we are officially in the waiting stage. We know of one birthmother (due in October) that might be looking at our profile soon. We don't have any other information about potential situations, but are hoping to get that information soon.

As we learned with Andrew's adoption, we just need to be ready because we could get "the call" when we are least expecting it. We are all getting very excited about bringing another baby home!

Summertime Fun

2010-07-12T19:15:00.001-05:00

2010-07-03T13:46:00.001-05:00

Adoption Update

2010-07-03T13:21:00.002-05:00

I'm having a hard time keeping up with this blog--our summer has been so busy! It's been a while since I posted about our second adoption, so I thought it was high time I updated everyone on where we are with the process. We have submitted all our paperwork to Bethany (thanks to my super-organized hubby we had it done in less than a week!), we had the visit with our social worker, and all our referrals and background checks are in. So now we have to create our family profile (this is what the birthmothers look at when they are choosing a family for their child) which I am working on this weekend. So hopefully very, very soon we will be ready to be matched!

This process has been so quick, much easier the second time around! We are very excited to welcome another new little one into our family--let the waiting begin!

Brotherly Love

2010-06-08T07:01:00.000-05:00

Snakes

2010-05-22T15:00:00.006-05:00

Today while Luke was mowing, he caught a snake and let the boys play with it for a while.

They, of course, were thoroughly impressed that Luke had caught a snake and loved taking turns holding it. (Luke kind of liked holding it too.)

I got close enough to take a picture, but did NOT want to hold it. Then I got asked that famous question....

"Can we keep it for a pet?"

Our big announcement

2010-05-18T13:40:00.003-05:00

Have you guessed what the big announcement is? I'm sure most of you who know us well already had an idea what we were talking about. But for those of you who didn't already know....we're starting another adoption!!!

The reason why I wanted to wait until this week to officially announce it is because we were waiting to see if our house would sell. Our contract with our realtor ended May 17th, and we wanted to be certain we weren't moving before we started in on the adoption process. Now that May 17th has come and gone, we're moving ahead with the paperwork!

After much prayer, discussion and research we have decided to adopt again through the Minority Infant Program with Bethany Christian Services just as we did with Andrew. We really liked Bethany (would highly recommend them!) and they seem to still need families in their Minority Program. We also really liked the attorney we worked with through Bethany, so that was another reason why we wanted to stay with them. We had a great experience overall with Andrew's adoption, and are excited to work with Bethany again to bring another little one home to be a part of our family!

We have already got our application turned in to Bethany, so now we have a huge packet of paperwork to work on. We're hoping to get that turned in sometime next week. Since this is our second adoption with this agency we have a little less paperwork to do, and since our homestudy with Missouri is still current we only have one visit from our social worker. So the process should move a little quicker this time.

So...there's our big news! Please be praying for us as we start our second adoption journey. We'll update the blog throughout the process so that we can keep everyone informed as to how things are going.

We're excited to see what God will do!

Pictures, pictures, pictures

2010-05-09T21:55:00.018-05:00

It seems like lately all I really have time to do with this blog is post pictures. I love to write (really write, not just put captions on photos) but I have really struggled with finding the time to do that lately. So until I find that time, I'm just going to keep posting pictures. Luke and I enjoy the pictures though. It's been fun for us to go back and look at pictures and stories from the past couple years. It's kind of like an online journal for our family.

This first round of pics comes from our field trip last week to the Shatto Dairy Farm. It was a great trip, although I spent most of my time walking around outside with a fussy, molar-cutting, sleep-deprived little boy named Andrew. I couldn't be upset with him though--his poor gums are so swollen. I think he's handling the pain much better than I would. But despite Andrew's fussiness, Isaac and Caleb enjoyed themselves. Here's a few shots from the trip:

The boys posing in front of the Shatto Milk truck.

I managed to get one smile out of him.

Isaac petting a baby calf. (Thanks Marcy for this photo.)

Sampling some of their flavored milk. (Thanks again Marcy!)

At the end of March, Luke and I took a trip to Boston together. He had to go for work, so I flew out to join him for the weekend. We had a great time! We dearly love our sons, but it is so nice to get to have time alone together.

Here's Luke posing with the statue of John Harvard. (At Harvard's campus, of course.)

We loved visiting all the historical sites. It was fascinating to see the actual places where so many historical things had happened.

On the home front, Isaac and Caleb are becoming master builders. Here's a few of their latest masterpieces:

This is one of my favorite recent pictures of all three boys. This was taken Easter Sunday.

I also tried to get individual shots of each boy. Isaac is always the hardest one to get a decent picture of. That's because when you ask Isaac to smile, this is what you get:

Isaac is a super-smart kid, but he just can't quite figure out how to smile for a camera and look natural. His "smiles" always look like he's in pain. I've decided to quit asking him to smile for pictures. I'd rather have a serious face than this crazy grimace he comes up with.

As for Caleb, he is extremely photogenic, but I always get the same comment from people who see his pictures. Everyone always says, "He looks ornery." In this case, looks aren't deceiving.

And then there's Andrew. Andrew's at a difficult age to get pictures because he is always on the move, and doesn't always look at the camera. But every once in a while he'll slow down enough and I'll be able to snap pics like this:

Andrew managed to keep himself clean for a few hours. But then after church we went to Luke's cousin's house where someone decided to leave a box of cupcakes sitting on the patio outside. Andrew found that box, and then he looked like this:

April 22 was a day Isaac was very excited about. He had been counting down the years until he was old enough to attend "Take your Kid to Work Day" with Luke. He was finally old enough to go this year. He told Luke that it was one of the most exciting days of his life.

Next week, we'll be posting a big announcement on our blog! I don't want to reveal what it is yet until everything is official, but check back next week to see our latest news. We're very excited about it, and can't wait to share it with all of you!

Need a Mother's Day Gift?

2010-04-21T16:39:00.004-05:00

Last year we discovered the story of an amazing young woman named Katie Davis. She is a twenty-something, beautiful American young woman who has given up her comfortable life in the U.S. to minister to people living in Ugandan slums. I don't think I have ever read any of her blog posts without crying. She is such an example of dying to self, and living for Christ.

I read something on her blog today that I thought I might pass along to others. She has been working with a group of Ugandan woman and trying to help them make money to feed their children. They have been making necklaces to sell through Katie's ministry, Amazima. You can read the blog post explaining her work here. You can buy the necklaces here.

Isaac's thoughts....

2010-04-15T07:43:00.003-05:00

Isaac's been writing on his blog again, if you would like to check out his work. You can find his blog, Isaac's thoughts, right here. (And he loves when people leave comments.)

Birthday, birthdays, and more birthdays

2010-03-08T19:28:00.020-06:00

The months of February and March are filled with birthday celebrations for us since Caleb, Luke and Isaac all have their birthdays in those months. Isaac's birthday was last weekend, so now we can finally slow down a little (and quit eating so much birthday cake!).

We decided this year for all three boys' birthdays not to buy them presents to open. Instead, we decided to start a new tradition of putting that money towards something we can all do together as a family. This year we decided to try out the Great Wolf Lodge. (The Great Wolf Lodge is a large hotel near us that has an indoor/outdoor waterpark.) It was a lot of fun, and I think the boys agreed that making memories together as a familiy was much better than getting another toy. Here's some shots from our time there:

Caleb splashing around with a basketball

Isaac standing amidst the sprayground

Andrew splashing on the stairs

Our trip to the Lodge was not without injury, unfortunately. When we were getting ready to leave, Andrew fell in the changing room and cut the inside of his mouth wide open. We almost took him to the doctor to see if he needed stitches, but decided against it. It looks much better now, so I'm glad we didn't put him through the trauma of stitches. The Great Wolf Lodge staff was really nice about it, and gave us a free day pass for all of us to come back since Andrew got such a bad injury. They also gave him this stuffed wolf to comfort him, which we thought was really nice. We decided to name the wolf "Ouch." Ouch has become Andrew's little buddy, and he likes to carry Ouch around and give him hugs.

Then Isaac's birthday came on Friday. Friday night we celebrated (just the five of us) at home with Isaac's favorite meal. Our tradition on the actual birthday is to have the brothers exchange gifts they pick out for each other. This year Caleb decided to surprise Isaac with a big box of Ramen noodles and Hubba Bubba bubble gum. (Isaac loves Ramen noodles, but I won't buy them very often because they're so unhealthy.) As you can tell from the photo above, he was very excited about the gift.

The next day we had our extended family over for the big birthday meal. Here is Isaac's Indiana Jones Lego cake.

Opening presents while Caleb looks on

Andrew cheesing it up over Daddy's shoulder

Uncle Mark was very generous and gave Isaac a tool bag filled with really nice tools. He's very excited to get started building stuff with his daddy!

Our birthday fun for this season is done, but we enjoyed every minute of it. Celebrating the lives of the children God has given us is such a joy!

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-21T13:45:00.014-06:00

We have had quite the winter. Today we woke up to more snow, with a forecast of another storm rolling in this afternoon. So what do you do with all this snow? You build a snow fort, of course. Here's the impressive snow fort Luke, Isaac and Caleb (well, mostly Luke!) made this morning:

It was quite the endeavor. The only problem was they didn't have the plywood Luke wanted to build the roof, so maybe that will get added later this week. I'll post a picture if it gets done.

Since it has been a while since I've posted, here are pics of some of the recent happenings around our house:

Andrew started walking! He took his first steps on New Year's Eve, but he didn't really start walking a lot until about a month ago. Now he's all over the place, and stays very busy trying to keep up with Isaac and Caleb. We noticed he's been sleeping longer now that he's walking, so we think he must be wearing himself out. He even fell asleep in his high chair at lunch one day:

Isaac is now into his second semester of first grade, and is gearing up for his seventh birthday on March 5th. It's hard to believe we (almost) have a seven-year old. I'm starting to feel old.

Caleb turned five a couple weeks ago, and we had fun celebrating his birthday with the family. He has also started to sound out words and loves to do addition problems. He works very hard at keeping up with his big brother, and is an excellent big brother to Andrew.

On a recent visit to Mama Linny and Papa Terry's house, Andrew decided he wanted to try out Papa's cheesehead hat. A future Packers fan???

Following their big brother's lead, Caleb and Andrew have decided to take up the piano:

For our co-op this semester, I am teaching a class on Native Americans. It has been really fun working with this group of boys. Here they are posing with their Native American shields:

Our other big news is this...

This is a really bad picture, but if you look hard enough, you can see a "For Sale" sign in our front yard buried under all the snow. We listed our house a few months ago so it's possible we could be moving this spring. We don't know exactly where we're going to go if it does sell, but we're trusting God that if He brings us a buyer He will also provide us with a home. Why we're selling our home is a long story, worthy of a post all it's own. I'll try to write on that soon.

Which bring us to the question many people have asked..."When are you going to adopt again?" We are absolutely planning on adopting again, but decided we should wait until we know what is going on with our home first. We're both really excited to bring another child into our family, but we don't want to be moving and adopting at the same time. So hopefully our home will sell soon, and then we can get started!

There's our latest happenings! Stay tuned to see if the snow fort gets its roof....

An amazing story from Haiti

2010-02-07T09:32:00.003-06:00

We've all heard numerous dramatic stories of the earthquake and Haiti over the last few weeks, but this one tops them all. It's a mixture of heartbreak and joy, and a beautiful picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can read it here.

Winter fun

2009-12-28T21:03:00.000-06:00

Remembering "Gotcha Day"

2009-12-23T13:42:00.005-06:00

In the world of adoption, you often hear the day of placement referred to as "Gotcha Day." Well, today is Andrew's Gotcha Day! It was one year ago today that we brought this little guy home:

And just look at him now!

We love you Andrew!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2009-12-14T07:17:00.009-06:00

Our big boy is one year old today! Here's some shots from the weekend birthday festivities:

We had a fun weekend celebrating Andrew's first year of life, and December will always be a month of memories for us. This month we'll be rembering....

...when we got "the call" about Andrew (the 16th )

...the first time we saw Andrew (the 18th)

...the day we brought him home(the 23rd)

It's been a wonderful year, and we are so thankful for God's goodness to us in bringing this little boy into our family!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-28T20:08:00.011-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! So much to be thankful for, and a great time was had with the family. Here's some shots from the big day:

Ready to go to Grammy and Papa's

Grammy and Andrew

All the grandkids had their turn on Papa's tire swing

Grammy had all the grandkids make Christmas ornaments.

The cousins had their Christmas gift exchange (we won't all be together at Christmas).

Andrew decided Papa's belly made a great pillow!

When Andrew woke up he was jammin' with the headphones.

Luke, wore out from all the excitement, decided to take a nap.

How to parent a child of another race

2009-11-25T16:18:00.005-06:00

I have heard lots of theories and ideas about how to effectively parent an adopted child of another race, and think some of them are very wise. However, what really stirs my heart is to hear from an adopted child whose parents are of a different race. I want to know what these kids think, feel, and say. I want to hear from them what it was like to be black and raised by white parents. We want to do everything we can possibly do to make Andrew rejoice in the fact that we adopted him, and I feel it is very beneficial for us to listen to older adopted kids in order to know how to do that.

We don't know any families that have adopted transracially and have older children, so I haven't had any older kids to talk to about this. That's why I was super excited to see the following two posts on the ABBA Fund and Together for Adoption blogs. Both posts had interviews with older kids that were adopted transracially. These kids both seem so mature and have great relationships with their parents, and their comments gave me a lot of really good insight into how we can raise Andrew. If you have adopted, or are considering adopting, I highly recommend watching/reading them.

The first one is a video that was posted on the ABBA Fund blog. It is an interview with a bi-racial young man and his white adoptive mother. I hope someday that Andrew and I can have the same relationship that this mother and her son have!

I loved what she said about not realizing how "white" her world was until she adopted bi-racial children. I have noticed the same thing, and it was nice to hear her wisdom on how to handle that.

The second post I found is an interview with Talitha Piper. (Talitha Piper is the daughter of John Piper.) You can see a picture of Talitha with her parents here. You can read her interview here. Her words are so wise for a fourteen-year old!

These two young people gave us many good things to think about and meditate on as we seek to raise our precious little guy. Adopting transracially has some added challenges, but after 11 months of having Andrew we can attest that is soooo worth it!

My co-op class

2009-11-11T16:21:00.003-06:00

This past semester with our co-op I have had the privilege of teaching the younger boy's U.S. Geography class. It's been lots of fun. Here's a group picture I took today:

What month is it again?

2009-11-07T10:38:00.008-06:00

We have been blessed with amazing autumn weather (the boys are wearing shorts today...on November 7th!!!)and we have been enjoyed lots of outside play time as a result. For a mom taking a photography class, this means lots of opportunities practicing with my camera! Here are some fun shots I took of the boys outside earlier this week.

Yesterday we took a field trip to the city zoo. We toured almost the entire zoo, which took us over five hours. It was such a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed the outside time with all our friends.

Andrew was quite a trooper for the long day, but eventually he gave in and took a nice long nap in the stroller.

We're trying to enjoy this awesome weather as much as we can, because we know that it won't last forever!

Why I Abominate the Prosperity Gospel - John Piper

2009-11-03T20:17:00.002-06:00

I was flipping through the channels tonight and was saddened to see the false teachers like Benny Hinn on TBN asking for more money. John Piper explains why he is sickened by their false teaching as well.

Jude on false teachers

Jude 1:12-13 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

Fall Fun

2009-11-02T13:22:00.008-06:00

Our big decision

2009-10-26T22:18:00.004-05:00

I mentioned in the last post that we are looking towards our next adoption. We have actually been thinking and praying about our next adoption ever since we brought Andrew home, but had never planned on starting anything until after he was a year old. Well, his birthday is now in about six weeks(!!!) so we are getting very excited about possibly starting another adoption soon!

Our big decision is how to adopt this time around. The Minority Infant Adoption Program (that we adopted Andrew through) has six families on its waiting list right now; when we signed up we were one of two families. We don't feel like the need there is as great as it was (Praise God that more families are becoming open to transracial adoption!) so we have decided to look into other options.

One of the programs we are seriously considering is Bethany Christian Services Waiting Child Program. We have already filled out a preliminary application for this program, which doesn't commit us to anything but allows us to view the Waiting Children they have overseas. Children in the Waiting Child program are in because they are harder to place, usually because of a special needs issue. Some of the special needs are mild (cleft lip, crossed eyes, etc.) and some are severe (Down's Syndrome, cerebral palsy, etc.). We have thought that maybe since there is an almost four-year gap between Andrew and Caleb that we could adopt a 2- or 3-year old from this program. This adoption process usually goes very quickly; if we started the process in January we would most likely be able to bring our child home sometime next year!

I found this video yesterday of a family who adopted a Waiting Child from Korea. Their story is amazing and their little girl is precious.

Ludy Adoption Video from Lifesong on Vimeo.

God has also burdened our hearts for the orphans in Uganda, and we are also seriously considering adopting from there. We have been reading about the orphan situation in Uganda here, here and here, and have been deeply moved by what we have read. We know of two agencies that do Ugandan adoptions, and Luke has been e-mailing with a family that recently adopted from Uganda. We have had this country on our hearts, and then yesterday I found this video and was ready to jump on the next plane to Uganda!

Please be praying for us as we make this huge decision over the next few months. It is so hard to decide when the need is so great in so many places. We know God has already chosen the perfect child for our family, and we just need to trust Him (once again) as we wait upon His perfect timing. Andrew has been such a blessing, we can't wait to see what God has in store for us this time!

What we've been up to....

2009-10-06T10:13:00.015-05:00

I have had a hard time keeping up with this blog lately, as you have probably noticed from the lack of postings. The beginning of the school year has proven to be very busy, and I am having a hard time squeezing in time at the computer. One of my projects this week was to get our pictures all downloaded and resized, so while Isaac is taking his mid-morning break I thought I might post some on our blog and catch everyone up with what has been going on in our family.

Last weekend was one of Isaac and Caleb's favorite weekends of the year. It was the weekend of the annual Winslow Birthday Bash. Our friends, the Winslow's, have eight children. Rather than have eight birthday parties throughout the year, they have one huge birthday party in the fall. The word huge is not an exaggeration. They invite friends and family to camp out on their land Friday night. Then on Saturday they serve breakfast and lunch. There was probably about 30-50 people there for 24 hours. The kids love it! Here's some fun pics I snapped on Saturday:

Andrew really enjoyed the bounce house.

So did Caleb and his friend Luke.

Shawn, the Winslow Dad, had told us all that he had built the kids a clubhouse. None of us were prepared to see this:

( This picture does not do it justice. This thing is massive! Do you see the man bent over in front of the clubhouse? He is about 6 1/2 feet tall. That gives you an idea of how huge the clubhouse is! )

Isaac stopped playing for a brief minute so I could take this picture of him by their house.

In other news, Isaac is playing soccer this fall which he really enjoys. Here he is in action:

Caleb wishes he could play soccer (or any sport, really) but he can't play until next year when he's five. So the poor guy has to just sit and watch.

After many months of unsuccessfully trying to keep Murphy contained in our yard with an Invisible Fence, we finally decided Murphy needed to find another home. Luke's brother, Matt, has wanted Murphy ever since we got him so he jumped at the chance to take him. It made it a little easier on the boys to give him to Uncle Matt since they knew they would still get to see him. Some tears were still shed, though. Here they are saying good-bye:

We went on camping trip with ten other families from our church a few weeks ago. We had a great time, and Andrew enjoyed his first camping trip. Here he is after enjoying a graham cracker by the campfire:

A week ago we went on a fun field trip with one of our homeschool groups. We went to Beanstalk Community Gardens. The kids learned all about fruit, vegetable and herb plants and got to pick and taste many different types. They also got a basil seedling to plant and bring home. Here's some pics from that trip:

Tomorrow we are heading to St. Louis and then Thursday we will be on to Louisville to visit my brother and his family. While in St. Louis we will be having another meeting with Andrew's birthmother and talking with Bethany (our adoption agency) about our next adoption! Not sure what road God will lead us down for our next adoption, but we are excited to get started on another one. We'll keep everyone posted!

Choose FedEx

2009-09-30T20:39:00.004-05:00

When we had our eBay business I used to ship FedEx almost exclusively over UPS when I had packages over 2lbs. They had great rates, timeliness, and awesome customer service. They called about once a month to see how our business was doing. It didn't surprise me then to read this article.

If you have a choice between UPS and FedEx...Choose FedEx.

FedEx flies terminally ill girl home

Piano Shopping

2009-09-21T21:08:00.005-05:00

We haven't posted many pictures lately because we bought a new camera and have been trying to figure out how to use it. (I am taking a photography class this fall to help me really learn how to use the new camera.) Hopefully I will soon be taking amazing pictures and posting them regularly on our blog!

One of the things we like about our new camera is that it also takes video. Since we were very bad about taking videos of our boys with our old camcorder, this is perfect for us. We take our camera with us often, so now we can capture moments on video that we normally wouldn't have gotten. For example, a couple weeks ago we were at the music store shopping for a piano. This was not an occasion I would normally have dragged our camcorder to, but I did happen to have the new camera in my diaper bag! I was able to capture the boys having a jam session on one of the keyboards:

Can you tell who the show-off is in our family?

Adopting Jesus?

2009-09-17T21:15:00.003-05:00

I just read a great blog post by Jason Kovacs of the ABBA Fund. The title of the post is "Adopting Jesus." You can read it here.

Question of the Day

2009-08-31T20:26:00.004-05:00

Today Isaac said, "I wonder why they call him George Washington since he was born in Virginia."

I love seeing the world through a child's eyes!

Choosing Thomas

2009-08-29T23:05:00.002-05:00

Have your tissues ready.

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/08/choosing-thomas.html

Whew!

2009-08-16T12:07:00.009-05:00

There has been a whirlwind of activity around our place lately. We start our school year tomorrow and have been trying to cram a lot of fun things into the last two weeks of summer vacation. We have had numerous play dates, picnics, outings to Science City and other get-togethers with family and friends. I am feeling a little worn-out, but am still looking forward to the beginning of a new school year. The boys are excited to start school as well. Last Monday Isaac begged me, "Can we please start today?" Today Luke asked him, "Isaac, what do you think about starting school tomorrow?" Isaac said, "Thrilling!" (I thought that was a pretty funny response for a six-year old.) I hope his enthusiam lasts!

So...before we dig into the new school year, I thought I'd post a few pictures from our last few weeks.

Our friend Robin snapped this picture of Luke and Andrew while we were at the petting zoo a couple weeks ago. It's one of my new favorites.

A common question people ask us is,"How do Isaac and Caleb like Andrew?" I think I'll let the following pictures answer that question.

Andrew turned eight months old on Friday. We finally found the right attachment for our clippers to give him the nice, clean-cut haircut I have been wanting to give him. He looks so handsome!

We worked hard at the Summer Reading Program this year, and the boys both completed five lists. They both were pretty excited about the art sets they got for a prize. Isaac went on to finish a sixth list, which means he read over 120 books this summer! Luke and I are both excited about his love for reading.

A question I often get asked in regards to home-schooling is, "How do you do it all?" My answer is, "I don't." I do a lot, but we are firm believers in children needing to learn how to work and help out around the house. Isaac and Caleb had a few chores last year, and this year we are adding folding and putting away the laundry. Luke has been teaching them how to do this, and I snapped a picture of the "laundry lesson" last week. In the midst of the laundry lesson Isaac said, "Folding laundry is fun!"

We had a really fun "Back-to-School" party on Friday with one of our homeschool groups. I had planned on taking pictures, but when I went to take the first picture my battery was dead. (That tends to happen to me a lot.) One of the moms is supposed to e-mail me the ones she took, but I haven't got those yet. (That's a friendly reminder, Patty. :) When I get those maybe I'll post some.

So now it's officially "Back to School!"

Mike Vick and the American Conscience

2009-08-14T22:36:00.002-05:00

This was a very good article to put the Michael Vick controversy in perspective. The last two paragraphs are really sobering.

http://www.irishcalvinist.com/?p=3145

The Blind Side

2009-08-12T22:57:00.003-05:00

We just watched this movie trailer today. Looks like a really good one.

http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=2931

A Fun Weekend

2009-08-03T08:52:00.007-05:00

This past weekend we had a fun visit from our friends Jon and Robin and their three daughters. We met Jon and Robin through our church, and then we both adopted through the same adoption agency. Here's some pics from our fun time together:

Too Cute! Andrew and Rachel
(Rachel is about six weeks younger than Andrew.)

The Day at the Petting Zoo
On Saturday we took all the kids to the petting zoo. Here are Isaac, Allie, Ellie and Caleb posing in front of the waterfall. The four of them became great friends over the weekend.

Isaac the Butterfly

Caleb the Caterpillar

Down Time
After a long day at the petting zoo, we decided to give the kids some time to wind down. They watched a movie to chill out before we all went out to dinner.

A fun time was had by all! Thank God for good friends!

Guess who's standing up?

2009-07-27T21:48:00.006-05:00

Well, sort of. He hasn't been pulling up by himself, we've been helping him get up there. But he loves to stand up now and hold onto things. I think it makes him feel like he's more part of the action when Isaac and Caleb are playing. Here's a couple shots of him showing off his new moves:

Last Friday, we went to a spray park with a group of friends and after a couple hours he decided he had enough and took a little snooze. It was such a beautiful day I think he would slept the day away if I had just left him there.

He's Done! He's Really Done!

2009-07-21T08:18:00.005-05:00

Luke took his last final, for his last class, of his last semester of the MBA program last night. Woo-hoo! It was a wonderful thing to celebrate. He has worked hard for almost four years now, balancing a demanding job, school, family life and church. Last night as we were lying in bed he said, "Tomorrow I only have to go to work." A huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders!

We have been reflecting a lot this week on what a blessing our education is. While Luke's pursuit of his MBA was a bit of a trial, it was also a huge blessing. There are so many places in this world where education is a luxury and most people can't even read and write. Many people would love to have someone give them an opportunity to get an education, and it's something we shouldn't take for granted. Luke's company paid for every penny of his MBA and we should not complain about the work involved to get it. (However, that doesn't mean we can't praise God that he is finished!)

Not only did Luke's MBA teach him more about finance, but I also learned a lot about being a wife and mother. While he was in MBA classes, I was in a school of my own (usually learning from my own mistakes!). So here's my short list of lessons I learned through this busy season of life:

Stacie's Tips for Persevering while your Husband is in School:

-When you start to feel sorry for yourself, remind yourself of how much God has blessed you.

There were many evenings when I wished Luke could be home instead of at class, and it was easy to start the self-pity. But then I would immediately feel convicted of how my situation really wasn't that bad, and how much worse it could be. I would remind myself of the wives whose husband are off fighting in Iraq. I would think of women whose husbands had died, and they were left as single moms. How all these women would love for their husband to only be gone one night a week! All of a sudden, I felt ridiculous for complaining about my situation and thankful for what God had blessed me with.

-Instead of focusing on how hard you have it, put yourself in your husband's shoes.

I confess that I did not do this enough. I tended to get selfish, and think about how hard this was on me, instead of focusing more on how difficult it was for Luke. Not that his schooling didn't put an extra load on me, but it was selfish of me to only focus on me. I should have thought more about how I could help him out, prayed for him more, and encouraged him more. Learn from my mistakes and use this time to learn how to really serve and encourage your husband.

-Use this time to teach your children.

You've heard this a hundred times, but our kids learn more by what we do than by what we say. Remember this when you start to complain, or when bitterness starts to spring up in your heart because your husband isn't around as much as you'd like. Your children are watching you and learning from your attitudes and actions. When you start to fall into the sin of complaining, remind yourself and your children of how hard Daddy is working, how much we need to encourage him when he is home, and help them think of ways they can help him out. You'll be teaching them how to have a Christ-like attitude despite a difficult situation, and keeping yourself from sinning in the meantime.

-Remember that our trials aid in our sanctification.

Trials are never fun while we're in the midst of them, but when they are done we can see how God stretched our faith and drew us closer to Him through the trial. I didn't enjoy having Luke in school over the last few years, but now I am thankful for the experience. While he was in school I grew a lot in my faith, our marriage is even stronger than it was before, and I have learned to appreciate our time together in a way that I didn't before. I have grown in ways that I wouldn't have if I had never experienced this unique trial.

There's probably a lot more things I learned that I could write about, but for now I'll stick with those four. I don't write them as someone who did them perfectly, in fact I failed miserably at most of them. But I now have a special place in my heart for women who have very busy (or absent) husbands, and I hope God might use my experience to help someone in a similar situation.

To end this post, I'll share a picture from our little celebration last night. We didn't do much (He didn't want a huge party) but we had to do something. So Isaac and Caleb made banners, I made some of Luke's favorite food, and we invited my parents over to surprise him when he got home. (Luke's parents are planning on having a celebratory dinner with his side of the family another night.) Luke was surprised, we all had fun, and here's a picture to capture the memory of the long-awaited night:

Great job honey! We love you so much!

The Birthday Cake Swap

2009-07-16T09:31:00.007-05:00

I have a handful of blogs that I try to keep up with, and one of my favorites is Life as Mom . Jessica Fisher (or FishMama) and her family actually visited our church for a while when they lived in our neck of the woods, so I got to know her and her family a little bit while they were here. Her blog has lots of useful information and ideas for busy moms, and I have benefited a lot from her ideas and inspiration.

One of her fun weekly features is her Ultimate Recipe Swap on Thursdays. I have never participated before, but I couldn't resist this week's theme: Birthday Cakes. Those of you that know me, know that I love to decorate cakes. I'm nowhere near professional, but it is a fun hobby that has proven very useful since we have started our family. In order to participate in FishMama's recipe swap, I have to post my pics here and then link back to our blog. So here are some of my all-time favorite cake creations:

For Isaac and Caleb's 4th and 2nd birthdays we had to have a combined party because we were in the process of moving. They chose the CARS theme and each had a cake in their favorite character.

Caleb chose a motorcycle cake for his third birthday.

Isaac chose a snake cake for his 6th birthday.

Caleb wanted a Candyland cake for his 4th birthday.

None of my cakes are perfect, but they are fun to make and the boys love them. They can remember every birthday cake they have had, which makes all the effort worth it since it makes such fun memories for them. If you need inspiration for a birthday cake idea, head on over to Life as Mom to get ideas!

An amazing story

2009-07-12T12:11:00.004-05:00

I just watched the following video and it brought tears to my eyes. Lightning Ahlers is a teenage boy who was adopted from Liberia two years ago. The video is a very powerful 10-minute testimony of his adoption story. It's definitely worth watching.

Lightning Ahlers - My Adoption Story from The Ahlers Family on Vimeo.

Rain: The Great Work of God

2009-07-07T21:16:00.002-05:00

The following is a short piece John Piper wrote titled, "Rain: The Great Work of God". We read it tonight during family devotions. You'll never look at rain the same way again!

Job 5:8-10

But as for me, I would seek God, And I would place my cause before God; Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number. He gives rain on the earth, And sends water on the fields.

If you said to someone: "My God does great and unsearchable things; He does wonders without number," and they responded, "Really? Like what?" would you say, "Rain"?

When I read these verses recently I felt like I did when I heard the lyrics to a Sonny and Cher song in 1969: "I'd live for you. I'd die for you. I'd even climb the mountain high for you." Even? I would die for you. I would even climb a high mountain for you? The song was good for a joke. Or a good illustration of bad poetry. Not much else.

But Job is not joking. "God does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number." He gives rain on the earth." In Job's mind, rain really is one of the great, unsearchable wonders that God does. So when I read this a few weeks ago, I resolved not to treat it as meaningless pop musical lyrics. I decided to have a conversation with myself (= meditation).

Is rain a great and unsearchable wonder wrought by God? Picture yourself as a farmer in the Near East, far from any lake or stream. A few wells keep the family and animals supplied with water. But if the crops are to grow and the family is to be fed from month to month, water has to come on the fields from another source. From where?

Well, the sky. The sky? Water will come out of the clear blue sky? Well, not exactly. Water will have to be carried in the sky from the Mediterranean Sea, over several hundred miles and then be poured out from the sky onto the fields. Carried? How much does it weigh? Well, if one inch of rain falls on one square mile of farmland during the night, that would be 27,878,400 cubic feet of water, which is 206,300,160 gallons, which is 1,650,501,280 pounds of water.

That's heavy. So how does it get up in the sky and stay up there if it's so heavy? Well, it gets up there by evaporation. Really? That's a nice word. What's it mean? It means that the water sort of stops being water for a while so it can go up and not down. I see. Then how does it get down? Well, condensation happens. What's that? The water starts becoming water again by gathering around little dust particles between .00001 and .0001 centimeters wide. That's small.

What about the salt? Salt? Yes, the Mediterranean Sea is salt water. That would kill the crops. What about the salt? Well, the salt has to be taken out. Oh. So the sky picks up a billion pounds of water from the sea and takes out the salt and then carries it for three hundred miles and then dumps it on the farm?

Well it doesn't dump it. If it dumped a billion pounds of water on the farm, the wheat would be crushed. So the sky dribbles the billion pounds water down in little drops. And they have to be big enough to fall for one mile or so without evaporating, and small enough to keep from crushing the wheat stalks.

How do all these microscopic specks of water that weigh a billion pounds get heavy enough to fall (if that's the way to ask the question)? Well, it's called coalescence. What's that? It means the specks of water start bumping into each other and join up and get bigger. And when they are big enough, they fall. Just like that? Well, not exactly, because they would just bounce off each other instead of joining up, if there were no electric field present. What? Never mind. Take my word for it.

I think, instead, I will just take Job's word for it. I still don't see why drops ever get to the ground, because if they start falling as soon as they are heavier than air, they would be too small not to evaporate on the way down, but if they wait to come down, what holds them up till they are big enough not to evaporate? Yes, I am sure there is a name for that too. But I am satisfied now that, by any name, this is a great and unsearchable thing that God has done. I think I should be thankful - lots more thankful than I am.

Grateful to God for the wonder of rain,

Pastor John

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It's official!!!

2009-07-02T21:13:00.003-05:00

As most of you know, yesterday was our Big Day. On July 1st, at about 12:00, Andrew officially became a member of our family! It was a very exciting and emotional moment, and one that we will always remember. It feels a little strange to no longer be in the process of adopting...no more paperwork, social worker visits, and waiting. It's... all... DONE!

Andrew has been such a huge blessing to our family, and the whole adoption journey has been a life-changing experience. We have learned to trust God in ways we have never done before, and have experienced the blessing of learning to wait on the LORD. We are so thankful God led us to this adoption journey, and we are especially thankful for the journey leading us to Andrew!

To commemorate this special event in our lives, we made a video of Andrew's adoption story. We praise God for this little person and all that he has brought to our family!

Boys will be boys

2009-06-24T07:34:00.003-05:00

What do you get when you leave three rowdy boys unsupervised in a field full of mud?

At our church picnic Saturday evening, Luke and I participated in the adult softball game while the boys played with their friends in the nearby fields and playground. Towards the end of the game, Luke and I noticed Isaac, Caleb and their buddy Ryker had managed to find a softball field/mud pit and were having a mud wrestling extravaganza. They were having so much fun (and since they were dressed in playclothes and we were just going home afterwards) we let them just go at it. They were a mess to clean up, but the fun they had was priceless.

What we've been up to...

2009-06-16T19:24:00.011-05:00

Summer vacation has started and the boys and I have enjoyed a much slower pace over the last few weeks. We've been keeping busy, but mostly just with fun stuff like going to the pool and playdates with friends. Here are a few shots from the beginning of our summer vacation:

One of our favorite summer activities is going to the neighborhood pool.

Andrew has learned to sit up all by himself. I still put the Boppy there, just in case he gets a little wobbly.

He has also started eating (and enjoying) baby food.

We went to the petting zoo.

And last weekend we had a family reunion in Iowa. Here is Caleb with one of his favorite cousins, Tatum.

Our next big event is our trip to St. Louis for Andrew's final court date. If all goes according to plan, his adoption will be finalized on July 1st. What an exciting day that will be!

Jesus, Thank You

2009-06-07T21:57:00.004-05:00

This weekend I had the privilege of attending our second annual men's retreat near Kirksville, MO. The retreat was a wonderful time of fellowship and Bible study for the men and teenagers in our church. I am so thankful to the Lord for such a wonderful group of guys. It is truly rare in America today to have such an engaged group of men in the local church.

During the two days, we had four sessions of teaching from Charles Leiter on the subject of "Justification and Regeneration." I would highly recommend his book on these two subjects. I haven't read it yet, but the sessions were based on the book and were extremely helpful in bringing clarity to issues that there is a lot of confusion among Christians. Each of the men received a copy of the book during the retreat. I look forward to reading it soon. Brother Leiter does a masterful job of using illustrations to drive home the teachings of Scripture. The illustrations he used in the first session on sin were the best I have ever heard and will be very useful in evangelism. Several of the men in the church have already read the book and said that the illustrations used in the teaching sessions are in the book as well.

http://www.monergismbooks.com/Justification-and-Regeneration-Expanded-Edition-p-17823.html (Note: Make sure to get the expanded edition with the added appendix)

In addition to the teaching sessions we enjoyed ping pong, skeet shooting, times of prayer, theological discussion, a bonfire, and some great barbecue. Both years by the bonfire I have rejoiced to see fathers with their boys, and am drawn to think of my boys and long for them to repent and believe at a young age so that they won't make many of the mistakes I have made, and so they can see the immense significance and joy of life in the Body of Christ.

We sang this song together this weekend that expresses our thanks to the Lord for our Justification and Regeneration. It is definitely one to memorize.

Jesus, Thank You - Click this link to hear the music

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary
You the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son
Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

Your blood has washed away my sin
Jesus, thank You
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied
Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table
Jesus, thank You

By Your perfect sacrifice I’ve been brought near
Your enemy You’ve made Your friend
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace
Your mercy and Your kindness know no end

Lover of my soul
I want to live for You

© 2003 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The Benefits of Waiting

2009-06-01T21:28:00.006-05:00

While we were in the midst of our adoption process, Luke and I both learned a lot about waiting. I wrote about some of the things God was teaching us here. These lessons on waiting were so valuable to me, not just for the adoption process but for life in general. Life is full of waiting, so thinking about how and why God wants us to wait is very important.

If anyone is an expert on waiting, it is the families currently adopting from China. Waiting families in the China adoption program are now waiting for over three years!!! This means after they get their paper work done (which takes about 4-6 months), they then have to wait for over three years (it's estimated to be about 38-39 months) before they get a referral, and then after they get their referral they wait several more weeks before they can travel to get their child. Whew! We waited about nine months to get matched with Andrew and that seemed like a long time when we were in the midst of the wait. Our adoption was turbo-speed compared to what some of these families are experiencing! Because of this extensive wait, many Christian families in the China program have a lot of encouraging words and wisdom to offer about times of waiting. I found an excellent piece written by one of these waiting moms titled "The Benefits of Waiting." You can read it here.

I was blessed by many of the things this mom wrote, but I was especially convicted of what my attitude should be during times of waiting. During periods of waiting, my attitude should not be one of impatience and self-pity. Instead, it should be thoughtful and purposeful. God doesn't give us times of waiting for us to just sit around and...wait. I loved how the author of "The Benefits of Waiting" looked for things she could be doing, prayers she could be praying, and blessings she could be grateful for throughout her long wait. She was looking for ways she could glorify God during this time, not just impatiently and anxiously wondering when God would give her what she wanted.

After reading this article, I tried to think of ways I could apply it to my life right now. While we aren't currently waiting on an adoption, there always seems to be something we are waiting on. The biggest thing we are waiting on right now is for Luke to finish school. He has been working on his MBA for a few years now, slowly taking one class a semester. He only has two classes left, so we decided to have him to go full-speed ahead and take both classes this summer so he could be DONE by July rather than dragging it out until December. This means he'll be gone two evenings a week for the next eight weeks, and probably have to devote a fair amount of weekend time to his studies.

As you can imagine, I am really excited for him to be done with his MBA. I hadn't been looking forward to this eight weeks (his first summer class was tonight) but reading this article made me realize that I needed to change my attitude and think of how God could use me during this eight weeks while I am waiting for him to finish. Focusing on the good that can come from this wait has completely changed my perspective on the upcoming eight weeks. While I am still looking forward to Luke being done, I am not dreading this time like I was before. I am trying to think of all the ways I can be useful during this time, rather than focusing on just enduring the time. What a difference our attitude makes during times like this!

So I give a big "Thank you!!" to Adeline Quay (the mom who wrote "The Benefits of Waiting") for showing me once again how I am prone to sin during times of waiting, and how I should turn from that sin and glorify God while I wait. As I said earlier, life is full of waiting so learning how to wait in a God-glorifying way is something we all need to think about.

So...what are you waiting for?

Earth - Disney Movie

2009-05-21T20:32:00.002-05:00

Here is a post from a blog I read about Disney's new movie Earth.

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/05/earth-movie.html

Be sure to watch the trailer and don't miss the link to Russell Moore's meditation on the movie.

It looks like a good movie to teach our kids to marvel at God's creation, while at the same time show them the effects of sin and the fall of not only man, but all of creation.

It should make us long for the new heavens and new were where righteousness dwells.

Romans 8:19-23 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

2 Peter 3:13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

What would you do....

2009-05-17T10:31:00.002-05:00

...if you were 37 years old, a wife and mother of two young children, and found out you had terminal cancer? That you weren't going to live to see your 38th birthday, spend another anniversary with your husband, or see your children grow up? I just watched an amazing video of a woman in this very situation, giving her testimony in a talk she titled "Death is not Dying: A Faith that Saves." It is soooo worth listening to. It is 55 minutes long, but I can almost guarantee that if you listen to the first five minutes you'll stick around to hear the rest of what she has to say. You can find the video (or audio) here.

All the latest

2009-05-11T20:22:00.013-05:00

I read a blog post this week that really resonated with me. It was written by someone who has just adopted a son from Ethiopia. Check out what she wrote here. I couldn't agree more with everything she said. It will explain why I haven't written much lately on this blog. Sometimes I have so much to say that I don't even know how to put it into words.

So...since I have had a serious case of writer's block I'll just post some more pictures to keep everyone up to date on what is going on around our home. Here's the latest:

Isaac and Caleb had fun dressing Andrew as a cowboy

Isaac learned to ride his bike without training wheels (sorry the picture is so fuzzy!)

So did Caleb.

We had a really fun field trip to Science City.

Isaac has been teaching Andrew to read.

Andrew has started taking "big boy" baths.

As mentioned in the previous post, we had Parent's Night with our co-op last week. Here are the boys all dressed up and ready to go:

There's the latest from our home. Isaac's finishing his last week of school this week. Summer vacation is almost here!

Family night at co-op

2009-05-03T12:44:00.011-05:00

Friday night was Family Night for the home-school co-op that Stacie got involved with this semester. It was a great time of fellowship and encouragement. I got to meet and talk with several of the other fathers as well as hear from the kids on some of the things they had learned together during the semester.

Near the end of the evening one of the men spoke a word of praise and encouragement to all the mothers that worked so hard all semester to make the co-op a success. I couldn't have agreed more with his comments. Our wives work tirelessly pouring themselves into our children day in day out.

Below is a video that Marcy (one of the co-op moms) made that we all enjoyed watching together. (Thanks Marcy for all the work you put into this!)

Proverbs 31:10-31

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Some pics from today

2009-04-22T16:20:00.005-05:00

Today at our home-school co-op my friend Marcy took these pictures of Andrew. He managed to look adorable despite being up most of the night with a yucky head cold. (Notice the dark circles under my eyes...)

And here's another shot of the kids in our co-op. This is almost the entire group, minus Caleb. For some reason, Caleb is going through a shy phase and didn't want his picture taken. I never thought I would utter the words "Caleb" and "shy" in the same sentence, but it's actually happening. Wonders never cease.

The boys have loved getting together with this co-op over the last few months. They have made lots of new friends and enjoy their classes. I have enjoyed getting to know some other home-school moms, and it's been fun to get back into a classroom teaching situation again. Today was our last day for the semester. Summer vacation is almost officially here!

An amazing story

2009-04-20T21:49:00.003-05:00

Would you adopt a baby, knowing that he would only live for a few months? One family did, and you can read about their amazing story here.

Thought for the Day

2009-04-15T11:24:00.002-05:00

Here's another gem from Charles Spurgeon:

"We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, therefore we who are sinful, and who are far from being perfect, must not wonder if we are called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head be crowned with thorns, and shall the other members of the body be rocked upon the dainty lap of ease? Must Christ pass through seas of His own blood to win the crown, and we are to walk to heaven dryshod in silver slippers? No, our Master's experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of God must not, would not, escape it if he might."

The Official Baseball Pic

2009-04-12T19:22:00.010-05:00

There is a tradition in Luke's family that we have decided to carry on with our boys. Luke's grandma made a baseball outfit for Luke's Dad, Terry, when Terry was an infant. When Luke's parents had their three sons, they had each of the boys photographed in the same outfit Luke's grandma had made. Believe it or not, Luke's mom still had the outfit when Isaac was born so we decided to continue the tradition and have each of our sons photographed in it. I'm sure when Luke's grandma made the outfit for Terry she had no idea that her great-grandchildren would be photographed in it 55 years later!

Andrew had his turn with the baseball outfit last week. Lindsey came over and took some of these adorable pictures:

Two important articles

2009-04-11T21:05:00.005-05:00

The following are two articles we are hoping many will read and think about.

The first is written by one of our pastors dear friend and fellow pastor BJ.

http://bjmaxwell.com/2009/03/25/fosteradoption-a-better-strategy-than-pro-life-lobbying/

The second is written by Jason Kovacs of the Abba Fund.

http://abbafund.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/the-recession-abortion-adoption-and-the-church/

Please take the time to read, consider, and then share with others.

Something to meditate on for Easter weekend

2009-04-10T06:46:00.004-05:00

"We never should have known Christ's love in all its heights and depths if He had not died; nor could we guess the Father's deep affection if He had not given His Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of Sorrows die." --Charles Spurgeon

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

2009-04-09T21:50:00.002-05:00

The Fisherman

2009-04-04T10:55:00.007-05:00

Our neighborhood had it's annual Trout Fishing Tournament this morning, so Luke and the boys headed out to the lake around 9:00 this morning. Isaac was so excited to go, and told Luke "I've never caught a fish before, Dad." He so badly wanted to catch one, so Luke told him, "Why don't you pray?" So Isaac prayed that God would help him catch a fish, and one minute later this is what he caught:
2 lbs. 13 oz. !

He was so excited! We're still waiting to see if he wins any of the tournament prizes. When they got home, Luke showed him how to clean it and they are planning on eating it for lunch. I'm not too excited about eating fried fish, but I was happy to see Isaac catch something.

I need to go scrub the kitchen sink now to get that lovely fish smell out of our house...

We're almost done!

2009-03-28T08:01:00.016-05:00

I'm a little late posting this, but we got our court date last week for Andrew's adoption finalization. On July 1st, we will travel to St. Louis for the hearing where he will officially, legally and finally (!) be a member of our family. What an exciting day that will be!

Andrew has been such a blessing to our family! Isaac and Caleb love him so much, and it has been so fun to watch them interact with him. Especially now that Andrew is smiling and laughing. They love trying to make him laugh! Luke and I fall more in love with him every day. It's amazing what God has done in our hearts through his adoption. We are so thankful that God added him to our family.

One of our favorite things lately has been watching Andrew in his "jumperoo." Grammy bought this for him and he loves it. Isaac and Caleb get very excited when we put him in it because they enjoy watching him and helping him play with the toys. Here' s a picture of our little man showing off his keen jumping abilities:

And here's a little snapshot of brotherly love I took this morning:

There's the latest happenings with our crew. Now we're going to hunker down inside for the day and see if we really get this foot of now they have forecasted. We are so ready for Spring!

A Selfish Adoption?

2009-03-22T22:00:00.003-05:00

I read a very interesting blog post tonight written by a man in the process of adopting two sons from Ethiopia. This article was sooooo good and echoed a lot of things I have thought through as I have journeyed through adoption. If you have ever thought about adopting, you might want to check it out.

Our "Big Boy"

2009-03-15T07:50:00.004-05:00

Andrew has officially been given the nickname of "Big Boy" around our house. I think Luke is the one who started calling him that, and the name has just stuck. "Big Boy" turned three months old yesterday, and we decided we had to take an official three-month picture:

Isn't he adorable? This was taken right after his haircut. We finally got brave enough yesterday to use the clippers on his hair. Prior to this, we had just tried to trim his hair with scissors. That didn't work so well, so we decided to try the clippers. They worked beautifully and he was so good while we cut it. Isaac and Caleb stood by to give him moral support, and he wasn't bothered at all by the big noisy thing buzzing around his head. What a trooper!

A trip to remember...

2009-03-08T09:52:00.015-05:00

Isaac celebrated his sixth birthday this week, and we decided to surprise him with a special trip with just him and Daddy. Isaac has been begging for months to ride on an airplane (we had never flown with the boys before), and so when we began thinking of ideas for his birthday I was reminded of all the frequent flier miles Luke stored up last year with his trip to India. We also had loads of Marriott points from all his work travel last year so we decided to put them to use and give Isaac a special birthday memory.

Since Chicago is pretty close to us (about a one hour flight) and there are some really cool science museums there, we decided that would be a great place for them to go. We bought the tickets about a month ago, but decided we wanted Isaac to be completely surprised so we didn't tell anyone what we were planning until right before the trip.

Tuesday evening I put the boys to bed a little early, and after they were sleeping Luke and I got all their things packed and ready to go. They had to be ready to board by 5:40, so Luke got up at 4 a.m. to get himself ready before we woke Isaac. At 4:15 Luke woke Isaac up and brought him into our bedroom. He told Isaac that for his birthday present they were going to go on a plane ride to Chicago and they were leaving right now. The look on Isaac's face was priceless (although he was still half-awake) and he was very excited. We got him dressed and they hurried out the door!

They had a great time. Isaac loved flying and enjoyed seeing a big city. They went to the Science and Industry Museum and the Field Museum. While Isaac really enjoyed these museums, one of his favorite things about the trip was the "L" train and the city buses! He had never experienced public transportation before and that was quite an experience for him. Here's some pics from their trip:

Here they are getting ready to leave for their fun time!

Isaac at the corner of Lake Shore Drive.

Standing in front of the coal mine at the Science and Industry Museum

He has always wanted to be an astronaut!

One of his favorite things at the museum was this incubator where he got to watch a baby chick hatch.

Isaac the rock climber

Devouring a cheeseburger at McDonald's

He loved the dinosaurs at the Field History Museum

He also really liked Lake Michigan and said they should have named it Ocean Michigan.

One of his favorite things--riding a city bus.

In case anyone is wondering about poor Caleb feeling left out, we have told Caleb (and Andrew) that when they are six they will get to go on a trip with Daddy too. We decided to start this as fun Father/Son tradition that Luke will do with all the boys. We want Luke to make some really fun memories of quality one-on-one time with all our sons, and the 6th birthday trip with Daddy will be a great way to do that. I think the boys all agree!

Eight years ago today...

2009-03-03T07:58:00.005-06:00

No, today is not our anniversary, but it was eight years ago today that my sweet hubby proposed to me. (Which was what obviously led us to the picture posted above.) It's been a wonderful eight years, and I can't think of a better man to have by my side. I'm so thankful God gave him to me for my husband, and am glad I answered with an enthusiastic "Yes!" eight years ago. It was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made!

The flu and Phillipians 2

2009-02-27T15:19:00.016-06:00

One of the most challenging verses for me to live out in the Bible is Phillippians 2:14: "Do everything without complaining or arguing.." I memorized this verse in college, and it is one that I haven't forgotten. I am convicted of this verse often. Whenever I find myself complaining my mind immediately floats to Phillippians 2:14,"Do everything without complaining..." This week I experienced something that always brings this verse to mind: having sick kids.

Beginning on Sunday night, Isaac and Caleb have had a bad case of the flu. They have taken turns with fevers, vomiting and body aches. Isaac spent nearly the entire day yesterday in bed with a fever we just couldn't get to break. I have hardly slept for two nights with three boys who have needed me to feed them, medicate them, and try to make them more comfortable. Surely it's okay to complain a little bit when I've had a rough week like this, right?

Wrong.

According to Phillipians 2 I am supposed to do everything without complaining, even taking care of sick kids. But how do I do that? It is so hard not to grumble when I am completely exhausted, and then have to wake up for the fifth time during the night to take care of a crying child. When Luke comes home from work, it's hard not to complain to him about the horrible day I have had and how exhausted I am. How do I go through weeks like this one and not complain about the circumstances God has given me?

While I don't do this perfectly (just ask Luke!) I feel like God has grown me a lot in this area over the last several years. One way I have learned to fight the temptation to complain is to train myself to look for blessings in every situation. When our kids are sick I try to focus on how, overall, God has blessed our family abundantly with good health. Our family has had no serious illnesses, injuries, or surgeries. The occasional cold or flu virus is all we have really had to deal with. When I am tempted to complain, I remind myself of all the families who have kids with serious, life-threatening illnesses and how they would rejoice if their child could only have the flu. When I think about those parents, it makes my trial seem miniscule, and my complaining ridiculous. Focusing on how God has blessed us not only trains me to have a grateful heart, it also puts my trials in perspective and shows me how I really have a pretty easy life.

I've also come to realize that, although I don't wish sickness on my kids, it's good for them spiritually. They need to have trials if they are going to learn how to rely on God. I realized this last year when Isaac was sick with a virus of some sort. While he was feeling badly, I asked him, "Is there anything I can do for you?" He replied "Just pray for me!" This wasn't the response I was expecting, but I was so glad to hear him say it. Luke and I often pray with the boys when they are sick, and Isaac had recognized the power of prayer and that God is the ultimate Healer. If you use these times of sickness as spiritual teaching tools, they can have a very powerful impact on your child.

I don't get excited when my kids start getting sick, and I am always soooo thankful when the germs have left our home and everyone is healthy again. But I also know what God promises me in Romans 8:28: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God..." God doesn't bring a virus into our home and then just leave us to deal with it by ourselves. He's always there with us, and we need to look for ways to thank Him and praise Him during the trial instead of grumble about our situation.

Our family's happenings

2009-02-23T13:45:00.007-06:00

I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks, so I thought I should at least get some pictures up. Here's some of what's been going on around here lately:

Luke had to install an invisible fence for Murphy, and while he was at it he decided to build a firepit for the boys. So far they have built two bonfires. Considering Isaac's pyromaniac tendencies I'm not sure this was such a great idea, but I'm going to trust Luke that he will not allow our sons to burn down the neighborhood. (While Luke was installing the fence for Murphy he also got a very nasty case of poison ivy that just won't go away. Murphy seems to be the gift that just keeps on giving. )

We joined a home-school co-op this semester that we participate in on Wednesday mornings. I teach a class on "Holidays" for the younger kids. For President's Day, we studied George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and made powdered wigs. Here is Isaac modeling his.

We celebrated Luke's birthday on the 17th. As you can tell from the candles, he turned the big "32."

And last but not least, we have decided that Andrew's double chin has now turned into a triple chin. Actually, it is hard to tell where the cheeks stop and the chins begin. It makes it a little difficult to smile when you have that much cheek to lift up, but he gives it a good try. He actually smiles and "talks" quite a bit now which has been really fun.

Next week we will be celebrating Isaac's birthday. He will be turning six! More birthday pictures will be coming...

Caleb's birthday fun

2009-02-11T21:18:00.005-06:00

We had a small party for Caleb this past Saturday with the immediate family (grandparents, uncles, cousins, etc.) Here's some pics from his big night:

Since he has been Candyland-obsessed over the past year, I thought it was only fitting to make him a Candyland birthday cake. I think he liked it. (Of course, what kid wouldn't like a birthday cake with 50 pounds of candy piled on it?)

Here he is patiently waiting to open his presents.

And just so you can see how big Andrew is getting, here he is at the party. He will be two months old this Saturday. He is smiling, talking, and interacting with us quite a bit now. He's such a fun baby!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2009-02-04T21:54:00.003-06:00

Caleb is four years old today!

Our future photographer

2009-01-31T09:40:00.019-06:00

Caleb has recently taken an interest in photography. I have taught him how to take pictures with our digital camera, and now he is always asking if he can "take a picture." Here are some of the masterpieces he has come up with:

A lovely close-up of our pantry doors

A wonderfully intense color shot of our kitchen walls
(please overlook the greasy handprints I need to wipe off)

An extreme close-up of Mommy and Andrew

A nice still-life shot of our kitchen table

And with a little help from his mom, he was able to take this family picture.

If he keeps up his good work, maybe we'll send him to do an internship with Lindsey!

Something worth watching...

2009-01-27T13:42:00.003-06:00

I came across this YouTube video of a family's trip to Ethiopia to adopt two girls. Isaac and Caleb watched it with me, and we talked about how blessed these two little girls were to be adopted into this family. It is such a touching video-it made me ready to hop on a plane to Ethiopia!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG70OLkypog

How adoption has changed my life

2009-01-21T14:00:00.012-06:00

Have you ever had an experience that dramatically changed your life? I'm not talking about something like getting a new job, moving to a new town, etc., but an experience that completely altered your life from the inside-out? Adopting Andrew has changed me in this way. In fact, it has changed our lives in such an overwhelming way that I have found that I have had a hard time putting our experience into words.

I had a similar experience with my first trip to China in 1999. This wasn't my first time traveling internationally, but it was the first time I had been to a country that was radically different from the United States. That trip completely changed the way I viewed the world, made me realize how blessed I was to live in the U.S., and gave me a love for people in other cultures. It changed me in so many ways that I had a hard time putting all this into words when I came home. Whenever someone would ask me, "So, how was your trip?" all I could say was "It was good." That seemed like such an inadequate answer, but how was I supposed to convey all the emotions, changes and events that had happened during my time there? It was too overwhelming of a task to try and put it all into words, so "It was good" was all I could manage to say.

That is how I have felt since we brought Andrew home. Andrew's adoption has changed me in so many ways, and I have had so much on my mind since he has become our son. Whenever I hold him in the middle of the night and look into his sweet little face, there are many thoughts and emotions racing through my head. But because of the overwhelming task of trying to put all this into words, I have once again given very inadequate answers to people's questions. I want to share with everyone all that this little boy has brought into my life, but where do I begin?

Despite the difficulties of this task, I'm going to start trying to write about some of the things that have been on my mind because I want everyone to know the blessings of his adoption. I'm still processing a lot of things, but here are a few quick glimpses into what I have been thinking/feeling over the last month with Andrew. (I hope to write more on each of these ideas at some point.)

-I didn't realize how indifferent I was to racism before Andrew. Before Andrew, I didn't condone racism, and definitely didn't appreciate when people around me made racist jokes or slurs, but I don't think I took the sin of racism seriously enough. Now that I have a child who is African-American, I understand the ugliness of racism. Andrew is this sweet, adorable little baby who I hope and pray will someday grow into a godly, intelligent and respectful young man. When I think about how some people will judge him simply because of his skin color, it breaks my heart. It has, at times, brought me to tears when I hold him and think about this ugly truth.

-Since adopting Andrew, I feel like I have learned to love more deeply. I'm still processing this in my mind, but there's been something that has happened in my heart since his adoption that has made me feel like I have learned to love in a deeper way. Maybe adoption was God's way of teaching me how to love deeper and be a more compassionate person.

-God's Sovereignty should always be trusted! There were many times during the adoption process when I got a little impatient and wondered what God was doing in this area of our lives. I never should have doubted! He brought us a beautiful, baby boy whom He picked out for our family, and there were so many reasons why Dec. 23rd was the perfect day for us to bring Andrew home. I could write an entire post about how we saw God work through the timing of Andrew's adoption. (Maybe I'll do that sometime...)

-My faith has been strengthened through seeing God's provision. Many times I have prayed for God to strengthen my faith because I realize my weak faith is often the root of my sins. We have seen God answer prayers and provide for us in some pretty dramatic ways throughout the last month, and each time my faith has gotten a huge boost. It is so awesome to see God work in ways that only He can!

So...there's a quick glimpse into all that has been swirling through my mind since Andrew has come into our lives. I hope to write more, as I have the time and energy, and share with all of you the great blessings God has bestowed upon us through adoption. I'll definitely try to say more than just, "It was good."

Lindsey's pictures

2009-01-13T14:47:00.007-06:00

As I mentioned last week, our friend Lindsey came over to take pictures of our family. She did an awesome job! Here are just a few of our favorites...