A little life update

There's really a lot going on in our lives right now and I want to make sure they are documented somewhere...where else but here?!

1. Yesterday was a great day! I woke up to an email from our agency saying that they have the missing paperwork at the Embassy. Praise God! Although I know that I serve a mighty and wonderful God, sometimes it's easy to get lost in the "I've got to advocate for myself" mindset and remember that God has this orchestrated already. He knows and works everything for the good of those who love Him.

2. We got the boys' birth certificates last night. Their birthday is February 23, 2004. I find it very funny that they were born 5 days before we were married! ;0) This is also another blessing in disguise because February is such a hard month for us, and now it's got one more awesome celebration in it! It makes them 5 months older than Hunter, so I really will have triplets for 7 months out of every year! So much fun!

3. I am working Monday - Thursday for the next three weeks leading up to Recital. Boy will I be glad when it's over! ;0) I'll miss the kids and seeing my co-workers so much, but I am looking forward to concentrating on my OWN children again! Lincoln has been very supportive of the late nights and me missing so many functions. I guess it's just like any other job when you have a big project coming up, overtime it is!

4. Hunter has his last day of Pre-school tomorrow and Graduation on Sunday! Wow, I can't believe my little boy has completed his first year of formal schooling! We will be having a little family BBQ after Graduation with my cousin and her daughter Ally who is also graduating...which means I'd better get my house cleaned before Sunday! I have adored Solid Rock Christian Church Pre-school and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a Christian environment for their little one to flourish in! I will miss them next year, as Gray still has one year at home with me before she starts. We will send her for 2 years, simply because I love it there so much!

5. We have been doing some major home projects lately...trying to make our home more functional for 6 people! Just to name a few: I've gotten 5 little hooks up by the front door for backpacks and coats, and rug underneath it for shoes. Lincoln's grandpa put the mantle back on our fireplace and Lincoln and I stained and it and repainted all around the fireplace. I've done touch up paint all over the living room. I've reorganized the laundry room completely, adding a deep freeze and laundry sorting / folding/ storing area! I've cleaned out the kids closet and dresser drawers, keeping clothes up to size 7 in there, as we don't know for sure how big the boys will be. I got a shoe rack for their closet floor, making the shoes much more manageable!

6. We're just chomping at the bit to get to Ethiopia and our hands on our two new little additions! Please pray with us that we get the first June Embassy date...I don't know that we can take it much longer than that! They are looking so very handsome in all of their recent pictures, and I just can't wait to say "Welcome home, we love you unconditionally!"

Designer Babies, Designer God

Oh how I wish I could write like Missy at It's Almost Naptime!!... I wish I could come out and speak the truth in such a blunt, easy way to read. Someday maybe, but maybe not...maybe that's not my God given gift. I'll just be happy I have her to read!


"It's been quite a day.

This morning I read this article about a pregnant woman who, upon discovering that one of her twins had Down Syndrome, scheduled an abortion. Only problem was that the doctor aborted the wrong twin. The healthy, wanted baby was killed instead of the undesirable, imperfect baby. Upon discovering the mistake, the mother rectified the situation by aborting the "right" baby. And then there were none.

Then later this afternoon I read how doctors are taking mitochondria from one egg, implanting it in the egg of a woman who carries a genetic defect, and creating an embryo. The baby, therefore, has three parents.

And a ob/gyn named Dr. Frankenstein.

Last summer I sat by a neighbor's pool when a newly pregnant friend of mine revealed that her doctor had offered her the opportunity to take a new blood test that can determine the gender of the baby during the first trimester. My friends gasped at the fun of finding out so early.

My worries exceeded my excitement. "Now, people will abort that much earlier when they don't get the sex they want." My friends called me ridiculous. "No one will do that, Missy. Tsk tsk."

I cocked my head at their ignorance. "Yeah, they will," I nodded, and whispered, "For sure they will." I let it drop. They didn't want to go there.

Many countries already do this regularly. China is facing a fifty million girl shortage due to gendercide that had become the norm. I am sure they will be delighted to abort mere weeks into a pregnancy than to wait until they have felt her kick, or to suffocate her once she is born.

It is believed that 90% of babies diagnosed in the womb with Down are aborted. Many women who choose to implant several embryos during in vitro fertilization routinely "selectively reduce" the babies down to a number that is desirable, a practice I have always found the epitome of irony. And I can guarantee you that children are being aborted in this country because they made the mistake of not developing into the girl or boy that their parents were striving for. We are not morally superior to the Chinese.

Nor are we any less hedonistic than our friends the British, who often abort babies for such simple, correctable abnormalities as club feet (which Olympic champion ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi was born with) and extra fingers and toes. One English father aborted his child with a missing hand because he feared the child would not excel at sports.

As the field of genetics and prenatal testing continues, it won't be long before it is routine to abort babies for reasons of eye color or height. "Tsk tsk, Missy," you say. "No one will do that."

To which I will reply: untold millions of babies have been aborted for much lesser reasons.

Tsk, tsk.

Not so long ago, if you wanted a car, you went down to the lot, and you picked one out and drove it home. You didn't custom order everything down to the color of your steering wheel. If you wanted curtains, you drove to Sears, you decided which ones matched best, and you hung them up on your windows. At a restaurant, you had several items to choose from, not a ten page booklet. And they didn't make it your way. They made it their way.

But this is not the world we now live in. I am constantly overwhelmed by my choices. I've literally burst into tears in Lowe's paint department trying to choose between the sixty five different shades of light green before me. And as much as I love online shopping, it drags out a purchase considerably. Decisions to buy a camera or, heaven help me, one of those custom ordered cars, take hours of research and add stress to what should be a delightful purchase.

Because there are so many options, I feel obligated to design every aspect of my life down to the smallest detail.

Is it any wonder that we feel entitled to do this with our offspring? To create a perfect reflection of ourselves and reject the inferior version?

Is it any wonder we feel entitled to do this with our God?

Back in the curtains-from-Sears day, there was also little to no God shopping. The God of the bible was the God you got. You could take Him or leave Him, but you weren't encouraged to redesign Him.

Then God, like cars and cell phones, got marketed.
And marketing appeals to the consumer, not the product.

"Repent for the Kingdom is at hand"? Way too depressing. And, well, judgmental. Let's replace that with "Join the Excitement!"

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord"? We're too busy choosing a new cell phone for that. How about, "Become a Better You"? Now that, I could squeeze into my schedule.

"Rejoice in your sufferings?" Suffer? Why suffer when you could "Live Your Best Life Now"?

"Blessed are the poor"? Pshaw! Joel Osteen says, "God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money."

This Extreme God Makeover is nothing new. Paul spoke of it almost 2,000 years ago in his letter to the Romans: "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles....They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator..."

None of us probably worship lizards or cats.
But I know a lot of us worship a god of our own creation.

It is a god who wants nothing for us but perfect health. A god who is only interested in our finances to the extent that he increase them. A god who is tolerant of and even encouraging of sin, especially if we claim we can't help it or were born that way. A god who doesn't care if we worship him in a pew or at IHOP. A god who would never, ever send anyone to hell. Well, maybe Hitler. But not our friends, our nice friends.

A god who above all else wants us to be happy, no matter what we have to do or who we have to hurt to achieve satisfaction.

A god who never judges, never condemns, never disciplines. We find ourselves saying, "My god would never do that."

But this god that would never do anything we don't like is a refurbished computer. He was pieced together from different parts, some of them functional, some of them garbage. And the problem with this god is that he frequently crashes.

This designed god offers no explanation when our cancer is diagnosed. This god of wealth's impotence is revealed when our house is foreclosed upon. This god stingily withholds the abundant joy that is found only from turning away from the behaviors and attitudes that are slowly and certainly killing us. This god can make nothing new, especially our hearts.

And this god not only denies us access to eternal life, he can't even give us clear directions on how to get there. This god shrugs his shoulders and suggests that we just try and be as nice as we can be and hope for the best.

The true God, however, reveals himself to us, sometimes gently, sometimes forcefully, in one place alone: his Word, which He so graciously wrote to us. The true God offers only one pathway to Himself: his Son, which He so sacrificially gave to us.

The true God sometimes says and does things we don't like. Like the parents of these "designer babies" will very shortly learn, even the best "designed" children will have minds of their own. So does this God.

The true God who sometimes takes away things we love most. The true God who is completely intolerant of sin, not only the sin of a child molester, but the sin of a dishonoring wife or gossiping neighbor. The true God who assures us that indeed, we were all born that way, but that doesn't mean He's okay if we stay that way.

The true God who makes it abundantly clear that being nice is never, ever going to be good enough to go to heaven.

But -
He is the true God who shows us that peace has nothing to do with the storm that surrounds us, but everything to do in trusting in the One who is mightier than the storm. The true God takes the most horrific circumstances of our lives and makes them beautiful. The true God works all things - especially the painful, frightening and confusing things - for the good of those who love him.

The God who planned great works for us before we were ever born - in order that we glorify Him, not ourselves. Because in that, and that alone, we find happiness.

The God who believes a child with a deformity or a difference is not something worthless to be discarded, but a sign of his glory. The God who takes our greatest fear, death, and makes it our greatest blessing.

The God who wants to love us with the strongest, deepest, most unquenchable love, now and forevermore.

He is a God so much better than any that we could ever design for ourselves, who has such a better life for us than that other god could ever imagine.

Which God do you choose?

The one you designed, or the One who designed you?

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Joshua 24:15"

For One Day...

I wish that I could be the mom that has it all together.

The mom whose house is totally clean and picked up before she leaves the house in the morning.
The mom who is dressed and ready before her children wake up.
The mom whose children eat a well balanced breakfast,
are nicely dressed,
and are to church on time.

For one day,
I wish I could be the mom who has lunch and dinner planned before it's time to start making it.

Just for one day, I wish I could be the mom that others look at in admiration and wonder...

how does she do it?

Dear Cat,

Dear Cat,

Hunter and Graysen just love you.

I think you're alright...I mean, you are pretty quiet, and hardly ever cause me any problems. You're real sweet and cuddly (when there's only one person in the room).

But that hair. I just can't take it. I have to vaccum every. single. day. I've had to create a laundry basket filled with the loner socks for you to lay on in the laundry room or you lay in my clothes basket...which I just can't take. No one can hold you after they are ready to leave the house, because you get hair on their clothes. Can you please quit shedding? I would think you were the bomb diggity if you could...

Only about half of my heart,
Ashley

Blessings.

These girls and these kids have been a blessing in our lives.

These are the children of our small group members.

Their parents have provided support and prayers for us when we didn't have the strength to do it ourselves.

These kids have become the best of friends with our children. They play together every Wednesday night, and when one misses, the others always ask about them.

Ashley and Tiffany have been the best "babysitters" we could have ever asked for. They are structured, yet tons of fun...and most of all, they LOVE our children! I don't even know that I can call them babysitters, they are more like older sisters to our kids, they are a part of our family!

Since this picture was taken we've added Gavyn (newborn), Beckham (age 4), and will soon add 2 more newborns and our two new boys (age 6).

Yes, that's right, these girls have their hands full...11 kids between 6 couples!

Waiting and Watching

What are you waiting on or watching for?
No really, tell me. I love hearing from you!

Did You Know?

And I wondered why I'm tired all the time!

Interesting...See, we're universal mom's!

Sooo sad...but I must admit, before we got rid of TV, my kids may have been right there...

What should I do with this?

I need your help.
I scored this small buffet at a yard sale this weekend for 5 bucks!


I love it.
I love the potential it has.
I would love to know it's history.

Should I have a hutch built to sit on top?
What room of my home do you think it belongs in?
What treasures should it store?
Should I refinish it or paint it?

What do YOU think I should do with it?
I can't wait to hear all of your suggestions and visions for my newest piece of furniture!

It hurts

To see this.

When I let myself really sit down and feel, it hurts.
Real, physical pain in my heart and stomach and head.
It's so much to process, even 4 years later.

Sometimes I cry, and sometimes I'm just in pure shock.
Disbelief that our daughter really died.
I never got to see her open her eyes, I never got to hear her cry.

Confusion to see her name on a stone.
A name I never got to say to her.
A name I will never hear at pre-school graduation, or high school graduation.
A name I will never hear being baptized.
Or being wed.

Hunter said to me, "Mom, I wish she would have lived so I would have two sisters"
I know, son, I wish so too.



It also hurts to see this.
Still so new.
Too new to even have MAR 19, 2010 on it.
So fresh.

It still seems like she's on vacation,
maybe in Kansas City spending time with my aunt.
It doesn't seem like I'll never be able to run next door and visit for a few minutes again.

The reality hasn't settled in yet.
When will it?
I'm not sure. Maybe it never will.
I think I'll just keep living, waiting until she comes home...
or more accurately, until I go home.

I hope you've had a great 1st month in Heaven Grandma. Remember, you've got no less days to sing God's praise then you did a month ago when you entered into Heaven to be with Him. I'm anxious to join you someday!

Grace Like Rain Falls Down On Me

I learned this new song in church today...
I just stood there with my eyes closed listening,
letting God's grace rain down on me
and letting the tears fall from my eyes.

I was filled with a great presence from God,
and from my Grandma...
the last time I heard Amazing Grace I was sitting at her funeral.

I think she would've liked the extra lyrics.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see so clearly

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing Your praise
Than when we first begun

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away

One of my favorite parts of the day

This is always one of my favorite parts of my day.
Right after bath time.
Whether it's first thing in the morning, mid-afternoon, or right before bed,
(because ya know, we do it whenever we can fit it in in the Redburn household!)
I love seeing Gray with her wet head.

I love the way the kids smell.
I love to sit her up on my bathroom sink and brush her hair out.
I love seeing how long it has gotten.
I love watching her make faces at herself in the mirror.
I love playing with her hair.

After we're done, her head often looks like this


and I love that too.

Easter Favorites (Lots of Pictures!)

* WARNING: There lots of pictures ahead, with lots of adorable children!!

Graysen with her Easter basket

Hunter with his Easter Basket

Hunter was so patient with Graysen, helping to show her some of the hidden eggs...

Momma with her kids hunting eggs before Church

Aunt Kim with her Great Niece.

Look at all those beautiful children!
(from L to R: Back Row - Ally, Hunter, Jake, Baylee, JJ.
Front Row - Mya, Ganon, Graysen)

Anything to get the kids to smile!!
(Nice Matt, this is a classic!)

Lots of playing outside, Easter Egg Hunt, Sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sticky ball, etc.

Aunt Sissy with Gray and Hunter

Matt, Nick, Lincoln, Uncle Mike, and Chad playing poker downstairs while the women visited upstairs. (oh yeah, it helps that Lincoln won!)

Hope you enjoyed a sneak peak at our Easter Celebrations.

I'll leave you with this beautiful picture of my daughter...

I hope you all took the time to celebrate the rising of Christ with your friends and family. Without Easter we wouldn't have any hope beyond the grave...but Glory to God, we DO!!

All Because Two People Fell In Love

My sister gave me this sign for Christmas. I'm ashamed to say that I just got it up. I am so crazy about it! I think it's perfect on my wall and above the pictures of us falling in love with our babies!! It is centered on the wall, not on the frames, because we're getting ready to move those around to make space for two more! Praise God!

Easter Egg Dying: Round Two

Egg Dying Round Two took place at The Redburn's house on Saturday. Lucas, Tamra, Marcinda, Hunter, Graysen, and I got together at 11:00 to color eggs. The kids had a lot of fun with it. Tamra got very creative and gave Hunter some great ideas!



We colored another 36 eggs out there...so I think the kids got their fill of coloring eggs this year. I think we'll try to keep it to a minimum next year...as we still have TONS of hard boiled eggs in our fridge!

Satan Hates Adoption

I'm convinced.

The Evil One really does not like adoption.

We have run into all kinds of issues with this adoption, most recently one requiring me to contact our Senator to advocate on our behalf.

Satan may be trying to play his hand and slow this down or keep it from happening,
but our God is bigger than that!
He will work this out for the ultimate good - 2 boys joining our family, forever!

Please pray for peace for Lincoln and I during this unsure time,
and continue to pray for Bizayehu and Sintayheu's hearts...
because their parents are coming to bring them home...
SOON!

Comfort Goes Both Ways

Many of you may remember this post I wrote about how wonderful it was to see my children curled up together.

I walked into my bed the other morning and saw this.

I guess the comfort goes both ways. It warms my heart!

Easter Egg Dying: Round 1

Egg Dying Round One happened on Friday. Kara took a few hours off work in the middle of the day and we all met at our house to dye eggs.


It started off well..




Until Chad showed up...and then the kids just wanted to go outside and play with Chad and Kara... Which left my mom and I to dye some 92 eggs!

So, we decided we might as well have a little fun with it!

Thanks for dying eggs with me mom!

MOM - Go Fish Guys

I learned this song a little over a year ago at my very first Hearts at Home Conference. It's so very true. I love each little line, and every time I hear it I praise God that I am blessed enough to be a mother and to do each of those things every single day. I am excited beyond belief that I am able to stay at home with my children and be a full time Mom, sometimes my first occupation does sound like a sweet vacation, but there's really no where else I'd rather be. Thank you Hunter, Graysen, and soon Sintayehu and Bizayheu for letting me be your Mom!

If you have a stroller
But you're still a rock and roller
You're a mom
If you're tired of doing dishes
And you know who Elmo's fish is
You're a mom
If you have a lot of fun
But your work is never done
You're a mom

You're the boss, the driver
The ultimate survivor
A doctor, a cooker
Your man thinks you're a looker
If you work all day
But you never get paid
You're a mom

If you need a sick day
But instead you're gonna play
You're a mom
If your first occupation
Sounds like a sweet vacation
You're a mom
If your living room floor
Looks like a toy store
You're a mom

If you mean the whole world
To a little boy or girl
You're a mom
The Bible that you hold
Can shape these little souls
You're a mom
If you have the most important job in the world
You're a mom

You're the boss, the driver
The ultimate survivor
A doctor, a cooker
Your man thinks you're a looker
If you work all day
But you never get paid
You're a mom

The crash

Hunter had his first real wreck.
This is the culprit.(only red)

He was brave, but got a pretty good scrape.

Here's a little closer (but blurrier) shot.
The scrap is bad, but the bruise around it is worse.

Looks like it's time to invest in some elbow and knee pads...

Which came first?

Lincoln asked Hunter which came first, the color orange or the orange fruit.

I was very impressed with his answer.

With just a few seconds of thought, Hunter replied, "The fruit, because God made the plants and then Adam was given the job of naming everything, so the orange fruit was there, and then Adam decided to call it an orange, which is where we got the name of the color."

Good job Hunter! This is what I've been striving for...to raise kids who think through every aspect of their life in a Biblical view. To always know what God's word says, and believe that THAT is truth.

How do you help ensure that your kids are getting that kind of an education?

The Witness - Lincoln's First Guest Post!

As a faithful follower of my wife's blog, she's asked me numerous times to make a "guest appearance." I've finally conceded, but only because this story is way too cool NOT to share.

The other day, Hunter was playing with one of the neighbor children in the backyard. The boy is a few years older than Hunter, and frankly, I was a little concerned that he may be a bad influence on my son. It was a beautiful day, so all of the windows in the house were open. I had been watching and listening to them play for some time as they ran circles around the house and did all of the things that little boys normally do. Regardless, I just didn't have a good feeling about it. I went into the kitchen and towards the back door to tell Hunter that in was time to come inside. As I got closer, I could see them standing at the bottom of the back steps talking. I thought to myself, "Great! Hunter is probably learning his first four-letter word from this kid!" My curiosity got the best of me at this point. Instead of going to the back door, I took a detour to the kitchen window so I could listen in on their conversation.

This is what I heard:

Hunter: Are you a good boy?
Boy: Yes
Hunter: Are you sure?
Boy: Yes, I'm sure
Hunter: Are you a Christian?
Boy: What's a Christian?
Hunter: It means you believe in Jesus and live like He did.
Boy: I know about God.
Hunter: God is Jesus' father. Do you read Bible stories?
Boy: Well, I know what the Bible is.
Hunter: I read 3 Bible stories every night before I go to bed.
Boy: Ok, I'll try to do that too.

I stood there with my mouth open and my heart full. My son wasn't being influenced in a negative way, he was witnessing to this boy. At that moment I was very convicted. If my 5 year old son, with limited understanding and knowledge of Christ, can witness to a neighbor boy he's only played with for 30 minutes, why can't I be a better witness? As a parent, it was a wonderful, humbling experience.

But it left me thinking: What's my excuse?

What's Yours?

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Matthew 25:40

Sacrifice

Yesterday Hunter reminded me of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus took for our sins.

I asked Gray to put two pairs of socks away in her bucket. She threw them across the room and very promptly told me "NO!". I asked her one more time and then she went to time out. After her 2 minutes had passed I went in and asked her if she was ready to come out and put her socks away. She still refused, so I explained that she could sit in time out until she was ready, and at that point she was welcome to come out of her room and put away her socks. 15 minutes later, she was laying under her bed, still refusing to do the small task that I asked of her.

Hunter asked if he could put the socks away for her so that she could come out of time out.

Such a sacrifice.
He paid the price for her transgressions.

I was very proud of Hunter for being willing to sacrifice a little work for the happiness of his sister. I saw it as a teachable moment and used it. I hope that moments like this will come around more often...

I think we all need to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made so that we could have eternal life...
and model it in every way that we can!

The Least Of These

Our church did a sermon series on "The Least Of These". It was the most challenging set of sermons that I've listened to in a long time. It was definitely a call to action. To help jump start the members of the congregation, we were given a challenge for each Sunday. Here is a recap of our series! Good job FCC!

You can listen to all of the sermons HERE. Just scroll down to The Least Of These...

The Zoo

The kids and I went to the zoo over spring break. It was almost 80 degrees out (if not more) and lots of fun! This was the first time I've ever taken the kids by myself, and I must admit, I was a little nervous, but they were VERY well behaved, and it turned out to be a great few hours together!

We always have to see the giraffes, as they are Grammie's favorites!

Then of course we must call Grammie while we are looking at the Giraffes...


This guy is my favorite. I love watching him, but do feel slight anxiety, nervousness while I'm at his cage. He's so powerful, so huge! He could eat me in a second! Strangely, I think that's part of the draw to him. I'm odd, I know.
Side note: Please, if you're ever with me at the zoo, do not let your child kneel on the top railing of his cage and lean over to get a better view of him. No matter how hard you think you're holding on to him/her. This scares the begeezes out of me. (This happened the other day while I was there...it was someone I didn't know, so I did not feel as though I could say something to the mother...but I would say it to you!)

The kids always love to climb on this statue on our way out! Man, my kids are precious!

My favorite memory of the day was the moment when Hunter looked up at me with a big smile and out of the blue said, "Mommy, thank you for bringing us here!" Sometimes we need our children to model correct grateful behavior to help bring us back to perspective...

My Morning Walk

The last few mornings I have gone on a walk.

Not a speed, get as sweaty as possible in 45 minutes walk,

but a comfortable, enjoy quiet time with God walk.

As I walk I feel refreshed, awoken, and ready to meet the day that God has presented me with.
I pray, breath deeply, and enjoy the beauty that is all around me.

I have seen the sun rise between my house and my Grandma's house. It's a beautiful hue of yellow and orange. Something I'm sad I've missed so many mornings in the past.

As I walk by our neighbor's house, I always stare at their flag. On my way out of the neighborhood this particular morning the flag was tangled around the tree limb, and I skipped taking a picture of it because it wasn't "what I wanted". But, as I walked, I thought about that tangled flag and how I felt as though it pretty acurately represented the current state of our nation. We've got the right ideas, we're beautiful, unfortuantely we've let ourselves get tangled in a yucky web that is distorting the beauty that we truely posses.

On my way back home, I saw that the flag was untangled and flying freely in the breeze. I felt a renewed hope for our nation. I feel blessed to live in a state where our legislators call upon Christian people for 40 days of prayer and fasting while trying to balance our budget. What an opportunity to remind the rest of the country how powerful our God is!

I love this wooden cross that the Catholic Church puts out during Holy Week. I like the ruggedness of it, and the royal purple that drapes across it. It's a great reminder that the King of Kings was nailed to a rugged cross, all for the forgiveness of MY sins. Wow. Talk about perspective.

Look at the hope that these little buds hold! I just know that the next morning I get to walk by them they will be open and showing me a beautiful flower. This particular morning I felt excited and anxious like a little kid again at the possibilities that this flower represents. I was also reminded that my own children are much like this flower...still little buds, but opening up into their full potential more and more every day!

I find myself thankful for people that I've never met, nor will ever meet. Like the people from this church who helped my Grandma, aunts, and uncles when her husband passed away (while she was 7 months pregnant with my mom)...

When they lived in a house that used to sit on this lot...just a block away from my house now. My uncle recently recalled this memory of how precious the people from this church were to my family during a very hard time in their lives.

I think about things like this patch in the road. How it was broken and rough, and the street crew just came and repaired it the other day. How now it's smooth and nice to drive over. I know that this represents my life and how rough I am, yet God comes and smooths me over. Forgives me of my sins and makes my life good to be around again.

This picture, of our house and my Grandma's next to each other makes me feel so very grateful for all the years that I had with her, and especially the last 4 living right next door. I feel a heart full of thankfulness for every conversation that we had, and every time Hunter and Graysen ran between our two homes with one of us standing in our doorway watching them make it safely to the other house.

Lastly, this single flower. What hope to spout up in full color amongst the dead leaves of winter. I see this flower in my Grandma's yard and it reminds me of the woman that she was. I never saw my Grandma afraid to be different, to stand out against the rest of the world, or hide her light.
I hope that I am able to be this flower for the rest of the world, every single day.

What do you see on your walks?

Needs

I think this post is awesome. Written by a fellow adoptive mom, who has her hands much fuller than I've ever imagined, I'm inspired by her forwardness. I feel a call to action, and I can't wait to see where God leads me in this!


"I've been mulling this post over in my head for the past couple of weeks. This Sunday it was brought up at our small group and it was again when I went to our MOMS group at church.

The topic was basically on meeting needs for people whether they just had a baby, are going through a crisis, or just being an authentic community of believers.

The one thing that I have learned along the way is this: I must be intentional on meeting the needs of people around me. I cannot say, "Call me anytime." or "Let me know how I can help." Because if I am really honest, when people say this to me I don't or won't call them. I am not going to call someone who I know lives a busy life (don't we all live busy lives?) and say, "Will you come and clean my bathroom?"

Nope. Not a chance. I will suck it up and clean my own bathroom - even if it takes me a couple of weeks to do it. It is my own sin of pride getting in the way.

I started thinking that if I feel and do these things I am probably not alone.

What I need to start doing and saying is this:
"I have Tuesday night free. I am coming over to your house and I will do whatever you need done. I am bringing my cleaning supplies and you will put me to work."
"I am making you a meal. When would you like me to bring it over, or would you like me to freeze it so you can pull it out any night of the week?"

I know this is a little too straight forward for some people, but this is what has been done to me in the past. I was blessed last fall when a group of women came to my house and did a deep cleaning. It was so wonderful because I was 8 months pregnant and the two boys just had come home and life was hard. They said they were coming and I should make a list of things I wanted cleaned; they didn't give me much of a choice. I would have never asked in a million years for help, but they met a huge need. (of course I could have said, "no" to them and missed out on God's blessing)

I have talked to some of my friends about how I try to live my life at 75% speed. Meaning that I don't want to be running around at 100% because I can not maintain it long term. If I keep it at 75% then I am able to make that meal at the last minute, run an errand for a friend, make a phone call, or when life throws some punches I am not dropping all the spinning plates because I have left margin in my life. (This means I have to say "no" to some really fun and cool things - Can I even say godly things? ...gasp!)

Isn't that what we all long for? Margin....space...breathing space.

Honestly, right now with a new baby and 2 new sons from Ethiopia I am running about 94% just because I have so many little people and they have an enormous amount of physical needs. But this season shall quickly pass and become a distant memory. I am looking forward to finding my new normal 75%. What does that look like? I don't know yet, but I am hoping to find out this summer. "

Love

Looks like this.

We love you Grammie. Please don't go.

Please?