Confession

Sometimes I suck at life.

Luckily I have a husband who loves me anyway...

me: "I quit"
husband: "no, you don't"
me: "you want to bet?"
husband: "we can't quit"
me: "and why not?"
husband: "because then we would be like most American parents and we're not like them."

Thanks for encouraging me when I'm at my very lowest honey...again, you're the best!

We Did Zumba...and we LOVED it!

Last night was the free Zumba Class! It was awesome! Megan, Sarah, and I all taught and I felt like it went pretty smoothly. We had 60 women show up! It was truely like a party in there, with the lights low, and the colored lights going! There were lots of people that I knew, some I didn't. Women of all ages, colors, shapes, sizes, etc. Man, did we work out! I'm pretty sure I was sweating by the 3rd song (the class was 13 songs long...)! After the class I had the chance to visit with lots of different women, and I think the overwhelming majority had a good time! I think they enjoyed the work out, enjoyed the company of the other women, and would like to do it again! Yea!

We are starting a summer session - 8 weeks, every Monday from 7-8 p.m. at The Dance Studio starting July 13th. If you missed out on last night's fun, or were there and didn't sign up for the Summer Session and are wanting to do it, let me know, I'll get you the registration form!

ps - We're going to try to have a free class before the start of every session...so if you are too busy this summer, watch for the next kick off before the Fall Session! :0)

"Remember, whatever you focus upon, increases.”

- The Noticer

Very true of all things in life. If I focus on things I want, the things I want increase. If I focus on the things I love, the things I love increase. If I focus on the work I have to do, the work I have to do increases. If I focus on heavenly things, heavenly things increase.

It's amazing how this principle works...

Book Review: The Noticer

I recently signed up to be a Book Review Blogger for thomasnelson.com Here is my first official Book Review for their website!

I finished reading "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews this afternoon. Subtitled "Sometimes all a person needs is a little perspective", this book is all about, well, perspective. I've never read any of Andy Andrews others books, so I can not compare this work to any of his past works. This is a book that I would suggest for anyone who wants a fairly quick, easy read. Although the concepts and "perspectives" in this book can be pondered for hours at a time, this book uses very simply vocabulary. One of my favorite aspects of a book that I felt like this lacked was beautiful descriptions of the people and places that make up the setting of the story. I love to find my mind playing a book out like a movie in my head, being able to see, smell, and taste the excitement happening in the story, but unfortunately that never did happen for me in "The Noticer".

I felt like this book was almost a collection of short stories, all sharing the same main character. Each chapter was the story of a mysterious man who helped a different person during a rough point in their lives. Although it was the same mysterious man, there were very few other overlapping characters throughout the book. One chapter toward the end was almost verbatium a chapter earlier in the book, at which point I found myself more skimming the story rather than reading because I had just read it yesterday!

"Jones", the mystery man seems to me to be in the likings of Jesus...popping up, sometimes speaking to large crowds, other times to invidiuals. When he speaks everyone listens, even when their logical mind is telling them not to. They always hear what he has to say, they always understand, and they always make a life change. I felt like the story had several good quotes...here are a few of my favorites:

"A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination—our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak."

"Remember, whatever you focus upon, increases.”

"I say to you that, as you lay your head down tonight, you are sleeping on fertile ground. Think. Learn. Pray. Plan. Dream. For soon . . . you will become.”

"The Noticer" is full of great concepts to ponder. Some I had heard in the past, others were new to me. Again, if you're looking for an easy, quick read that won't bore you out of your mind, this is a good one. It's a great, light hearted, encouraging story.

"A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination—our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak."

- The Noticer


This quote was very inspiring to me. Sometimes I think about how nice it would be to just sit at the mountain top closer to God all the time. But in reality, is God on the mountain tops, or is He there, sloging through the lush grass and rich soil with us? I think He's just with us all the time, up and down all of our mountains in life. Whew...I'm pretty sure all that mountain climbing would WEAR ME OUT if I didn't have such a good climbing partner!

We love summer animals!

Our family is having so much fun this summer observing God's animals all around us. I wish I had gotten pictures of the kids with all of these animals, but unfortunately I have misplaced my camera and have not. Hunter did have a lot of fun picking out these pictures for you though!


Bunnies. We have 3 that I think must live in the field behind our house. Hunter has been spending hours (literally) at a time chasing them around the yard. He says that he is going to catch one so we can "bake" it...I sincerly hope he really doesn't ever catch one! I think he gets closer every day though...I think the bunnies are getting used to him and aren't so afraid anymore.


Deer. We saw three deer one evening behind our house in the field and near the edge of the woods. One had nice antlers on him, and the other two did not. Hunter and Lincoln snuck out in the back yard and sat by the shed and watched them for quite a while...the deer were graceful.


Toads. Hunter actually caught one of these lovely animals at my mom's house and we decided to let him bring it home. We put it in an open container and what do you know, the little guy escaped in the car on the way home! :0) It hopped in the front floorboard, so of course I "calmly" and very promtly pulled over and got out. Hunter caught him again, we made it the rest of the way home, and then ... he died.

Turtles. The kids love it when we find a turtle in our yard. Graysen still isn't sure enough to touch them, but definitely gets mad when they try to walk away. We have found that they love to live in the landscaping at GG's house, so we can pretty much find one any time we want!


Lizards. Hunter is obsessed with the possiblity of having a lizard as a pet and is determined to catch one so he can keep it. He has tried catching them with his bare hands, with gloves on, with a net, with a box...just about any way he can think of. He has found them out at Cardetti cabin and at GG's house.



Worms. Live ones, dead ones, doesn't really matter...they are an obsession of Hunter's. He can spend an unheard of amount of time digging in the dirt seeing how many of these little guys he can find. We've had fun sorting them by thickness, length, and color.



Grasshopppers. Talk about a fun activity...watching my kids running and jumping all over the yard after these guys is a crack up!!



Lightening Bugs. Hunter caught some the other night for the first time. I felt bad that I didn't introduce him to them...a neighbor did, but none the less, he had fun catching them!



Blue Birds. We love to listen to the birds sing and see them fluttering around in our big tree. There are all kinds of birds in our yard, but Hunter especially loves seeing the bright blue ones.


We hope you are getting out and enjoying the beauty that God created for us all around you as well!

*Since writing this post I have found my camera and hope to bring you all some pictures of my KIDS and the animals soon!

What God Can Do

When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do;
when we depend upon education, we get what education can do;
when we depend upon man, we get what man can do;
BUT
when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do.

This is the new moto of the Redburn home. Hope you'll join us in prayer.

Donations

Here is the list of needs for the orphanage that our baby(ies) will be at. If any of you would like to donate any of these items please let me know and I will come pick them up from you! The clothing / toy items do not have to be new. Gently used items will be like new to these kids! We will be taking a few suitcases full of donations with us when we travel. Yes, I'm aware that's a long time from now, but the earlier we start the more we will be able to gather to take with us right?!

Baby Needs

Kirkland brand baby formula from Costco

Gerber Baby Rice cereal

A & D diaper cream

Lotrimin AF for serious diaper rash

Liquid hand sanitizer

Liquid soap

Individual foldable diaper pads (First Year brand)

Clothing

Cloth diapers

Disposable diapers, small sizes

Plastic diaper covers, (prefer Burpee Diapers covers, more expensive but last longer)

One piece stretch outfits, sleepers, onsies, socks, and baby caps

Receiving blankets

Light weight quilts

Baby wash cloths

Baby bottles and nipples

Vitamin drops

For Older Children

Clothing

Shoes, preferably sport shoes or running shoes for ages 5 to 14

Pants, boys and girls, slacks, jogging pants, for ages 3 to 14

T-shirts and shirts, all sizes

Sweat shirts and sweaters, all sizes

Pajamas, all sizes

Socks and underwear, all sizes including small size bras

Dresses, all sizes

Toys, crafts and school supplies

Tennis and soccer balls

whiffle baseballs

marbles, jacks

skipping ropes

checkers and other simple board games

playing cards

building toys such a legos and Lincoln logs

toddler toys including puzzles and books

baby rattles

dolls

trucks of all sizes

plastic play food

picture books

puzzles

family oriented DVDs

chalk

glitter

sequins

yarn

crochet hooks and knitting needles

white glue

glue sticks

good quality scissors

pencils and pens

Personal care items

Deodorant for older boys and girls

Strong combs

Hair clips and bands

Feminine hygiene items

Tooth brushes and tooth paste

Chewable vitamins

The best life partner

This man is the best life partner I could ask for. He shows me love when I'm insecure, compassion when I'm upset, grace when I've screwed up. I am so thankful that I have a husband who encourages me to go to God when we're not sure about something in our lives. I am grateful that he is open to listen and talk to me anytime I need it. God has blessed me with an awesome husband, and I thank Him for that every day!

It's off...

Man...It's hard for me to put into words what it felt like to mail off our Dossier today. I had butterflies in my stomach and tears in my eyes. I think the lady at Fed Ex thought I might be crazy! I was pretty much a basket case! :0) I think it's a feeling that you can only know when you do it. (I hope lots more of you out there experience it!!!)

I took a picture of Hunter waving to his baby brother...it's like we're finally, really, on our way.

We love you baby!

update: Our Dossier left the Rolla Fed Ex location at 7:11 p.m. today...our tracking says "on schedule, in transit"!

update (10:05 a.m on 6-27-09): Our Dossier is at the "Dest Sort Facility in Seattle, WA"!!!

update (1:33 p.m. on 6-27-09): Our Dossier is at "Fed Ex Destination Facility in Port Angeles, WA"!!!!

update (8:38 a.m. on 6-29-09): Our Dossier is "On Fed Ex Vehicle for Delivery"!!

Simple Part of Marriage

So often I view marriage as a very hard thing. Something that must be constantly worked on to achieve the best results. I hardly ever think of anything dealing with it as simple. But a few nights ago, as Lincoln and I decided on Chinese for dinner and I didn't have to ask him where to get the Chinese from, or what he wanted to eat, I smiled. I like knowing my husband so well. I like knowing that we both like Lucky House much better than any of the other Chinese restaurants in Rolla.

So, as I drove to Lucky House knowing that I was going to order a large order of Chicken Fried Rice for Lincoln and the kids, a small order to Kun Pau Chicken for me, and an extra order of Crab Rangoon for us all to share, I thanked God for always providing some simplicity to a complicated issue.

NO!

Yet another milestone in Graysen's life. "No!" Our first defiant "No!". She's been saying it for awhile, but never as defiantly as she did Monday morning.

(side note: we never used the word "no" with Hunter when he was young, we replaced it with other, less negative words / phrases, but as he's gotten older we've started using it, and apparently Graysen has caught on!)

Graysen is the Queen of Dumping. It doesn't matter what it is...a bucket of toys, cereal boxes, bowls of snacks, trash bags. This morning she dumped a bowl of animal crackers on the living room floor.

Me: Oh no Graysen! We can't dump the crackers on the floor, pick them up please.

Graysen: NO!

Me: What?! Graysen, Mommy asked you to please pick up the animal crackers and put them back in the bowl.

Graysen: No!

Me: Come on Graysen, watch Mommy...clean up, clean up (as I started picking up the crackers and putting them back in the bowl)

Graysen: (as she starts picking up and putting them in the bowl with me) NO, NO, NO, NO.

Wow! I didn't think we'd come to this day so soon...18 months old! Yikes! I guess that's another difference between boys and girls!

Q&A - Gifts

The following questions were presented to me: What is the best and worst thing you registered for for your wedding? What is the oddest present you've ever received? What is the best present you've ever given?

Let me start by saying that I am not really a fan of gifts. Well, maybe that's not the best way of saying it. I enjoy getting gifts...but I MOST enjoy the gifts that I have specifically requested and are "aware" that I'll be receiving. I am not a good gift receiver. I really don't enjoy opening gifts in front of people, especially not when all eyes are on me! I feel so much pressure to react the "perfect" way. I'm desperately afraid of offending someone with my reaction to their gift. It's not that I'm ever unappreciative, but I am a rather "practical" person when it comes to gifts, so a new Coach purse is going to throw me into a very uncomfortable spot, where as a new set of pots and pans that I asked for is wonderful! Maybe I feel this way because I am also deathly afraid of purchasing gifts for people. I always want to know EXACTLY what you want before I buy something. I don't want to buy the wrong thing, or something that you won't use. Christmas is HUGE stress-or for me. All of those gifts to buy, and then on the day that is supposed to be a happy, family day, all of those gifts to open...in front of the givers! Yikes!

That being said, I don't remember many gifts...I know, that makes me sound (and feel) very unappreciative. I'm not though, please believe me!!! It's been over 5 years since we registered for our wedding gifts, so I REALLY am having a hard time recalling what we registered for! While we were registering at Cardetti's Lincoln picked out this UGLY brown throw blanket. I hated it when he picked it out, and I still hate the looks of it, BUT it has proved to be one of the most used, most comfortable, most cozy blankets that we own! We keep it hidden in the laundry room until we're ready to use it each time...that's how ugly it is! :0) We also registered for our coffee table, which we just recently put back in our living room! We took it out when Hunter started to walk because he was always falling and hitting his head on the corners. We love this piece of furniture!

As far as oddest gift received, I think I would have to say it was a video tape that Lincoln's grandparents gave all of us kids for Christmas one year. All the other siblings got the original video in the case and wrapped from the store. Lincoln and I got a copy of it on a VHS tape. I'm really not sure what the best gift I've ever given anyone...Lincoln tells me it is our children, so maybe that's true, maybe our kids are the best gift I've ever given anyone!

My Current To Do List

• Contact the Dance Team Coach about the Pampered Chef Fundraiser
• Plan Menu for Mom's Pampered Chef Party
• Call Jennifer for any last minute suggestions
• Start on Grants / Loan Applications
• Set date for Zumba Fundraiser / secure gym
• Take pictures of all jewelry / set up Etsy shop
• Design Africa / Adoption T-shirts
• Find Baby sitter for Tue. the 30th
• Schedule Pedicure apts. for Tue. the 30th
• Price Flights to TX for Lincoln
• Practice Zumba routine

Looks rather different than a few weeks ago huh?! 

:0)  :0)  :0)  :0)  :0)

Appreciate your spouse.  God often sends us out in pairs.  As I am reading "Captivating", I am learning so much more about Adam and Eve.  I am realizing that God truly did intend for us to be a part of a pair.  Today, I encourage you to appreciate your spouse.  Tell him, show him, love him.  

Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor.  Ecclesiastes 4:9

Paper Chase is OVER!

Good news everyone!

The paper chase is officially over.  AAI called this morning (my heart skipped a beat and my stomach got sick when I saw their name on my caller ID...I can't IMAGINE what it's going to be like when we're actually waiting for a referral!) and told me that our home study is approved AND our POA was sent to Washington DC on 6-9-09...so basically, we just have to send in the Dossier and WE'RE DONE!  Yea!  

I am planning to go to Fed Ex today or tomorrow and get it mailed off!  Yippy!

Life Lesson #2

You have to begin somewhere.

The beginning is hard, but you must begin somewhere!  We are at the beginning on this amazing journey and it is so exciting!  We've had some opposition, and surprisingly, I understand.  

To us, this all boils down to the fact that sometimes God acts as a servant in your life, and sometimes He acts as Master.  That is, if you let Him.  

God has been a servant in our lives SO many times already.  He is the one who has gotten us through all of the difficult times...my father leaving my family, a young marriage, our miscarriage, and the death of our daughter just to name a few.  He has been a faithful servant during those times, never leaving our side, always providing us with exactly what we needed, whether through others, scripture, or inner peace.

Now is the time for Him to be Master.  We know that God is calling us to this "mission field".  We must obey.  Is this something that we would willingly take on in our lives right now?  No way!  Let's look at the reality of this.  1.  We are agreeing to raise and love a child we have never laid eyes on.  We don't know anything about this child's background, medical situation, or genes...but we know that we will love him just the same, no matter what.  2.  We are bringing an African child across the world to live in small town USA.  How many Africans (or even African-Americans) do we have living in STJ?!  3.  We do not have the finances to do this.  We are being forced to trust that God will show us ways to rearrange our lifestyle in order to free up more money and provide for us in ways that we can't for ourselves.  

You have to begin somewhere in every journey and we are at the start of ours.  We are also at the beginning of a great journey with God - hope you are too!

Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young.  Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  1 Timothy 4:12

My biggest life lesson

I am a planner.  This is no secret.  I like to have a schedule.  I live by my calendar.  Lincoln and I have always had a plan for our lives.  Here are just a few examples of how God plans otherwise...

We planned to get engaged at Christmas '03 and get married August 7th '04.  

We found out we were expecting Hunter Dec. 12 '03, got married Feb. 28 '04 and had Hunter 2 days before our original wedding date.  

We planned to wait a year before starting to try for a baby.

We didn't try at all...and only had 5.5 months before Hunter was born.

We planned to have our children 2 years apart.

We got pregnant when Hunter was 8 months old and miscarried.  Then we got pregnant again "on time" and our daughter died.  Then we had to wait 18 months to get pregnant again, so our children are a little more than 3 years apart.

We planned to have 3-4 biological children.

We are adopting a child/ren from Ethiopia.

We never planned to have a child die before us.

God has taught us so many lessons through Claire's death.  We are much better people, spouses, and parents then we were before.

We never planned to live in St. James after we got married.

Here we are, and here we'll stay...

I would encourage you to not get your heart set on your life plans.  Rather, listen to God and His callings.  Go when He says go, and stay when He says stay.  God will never leave your side, even when you don't think you want Him there.  God has a plan for your life, and it's so much better than yours...if you'll just listen.  

Gray

ooohhh, I am so in love with my daughter!  She is already one of my best friends and hugs and kisses from her are like nothing else in the whole world.  I pray that she will always have the smile, squeal, and hug for me when I've been gone for a few hours like she did tonight when I picked her up. 

 I love you more than life itself Graysen, please always know that. 

Really...LET'S ZUMBA!

Alright, let's quit talking about it and DO IT!  :0)  Here is your chance to try Zumba (since I've been raving about it for almost a week now) FREE!  

Who:  Everyone you know!  Zumba is for men and women, young adults - grandparents!  There are no requirements...you don't have to be in shape, and you don't have to know how to dance!  All you have to do is be ready for some fun!

  

What:  A FREE Zumba Class!  We are going to start offering Zumba at The Dance Studio (where I currently teach) and to kick it off we are offering a one-time, hour long, FREE Zumba Class!  

Where:  Eugene Northern Community Hall in Rolla, Mo (400 W. 4th Street, Rolla)

When:  June 29th from 7-8 p.m.

Why:  Because it's going to be a blast!  This is what you've been looking for!  It's a great way to get /stay in shape without feeling like you're working out.  On average people burn 700 calories in each hour long class!  (Do your research...that's a lot of calories for an hour!)  

If you have any other questions please let me know!  I hope to see you all there...and bring a friend!  :0)