It Must Be Getting Close Because.....

Grandma Is One Tough Cookie!  We love her!

Last Sunday my brother called asking our family to come to dinner.  We talked for a little bit then he asked, "have you talked to mom this morning?  I haven't been able to get a hold of her."  No I hadn't talked to her, I just assumed that she was at church.  Well, a little while latter he called again.  "Mom's fallen and has broken her hip.  I'm calling an ambulance and a lock smith to get into her house."  What??  Your kidding!!!  Nope.  And I was off to meet the ambulance.

I cried all the way to her house.  Praying that she was okay.  This is our worst fear realized.  She had passed out in the bathroom and fell.  It took her 2 1/2 hours to get to a phone.  She would push herself so far then pass out.  Then do it again until she could reach a phone.

She finally had surgery yesterday, and is doing pretty good.  I was feeding her some sherbet and I was thinking of a time I watched her do the same for her mother.  It is a hard place to be for her.  She is so independent and on the go.  It is amazing that it can all change so fast.  Not that she will stay like this, because in a few weeks she will be walking around bossing everybody again, but it is just a reminder that things can change in an instant. 

It is amazing to me how we are carried through our trials.  Tonight I had a cute and dear friend bring our family dinner, just because she knew it was a hard and crazy day for me.  It made all the difference.  So I've decided that our TA must be getting close because before the blessings come the trials right? 

Trust Your Mommy!

I Love This Guy!!



I was going to take The Boyz snowboarding on Wednesday. I woke up and had the distinct feeling they should not go. Ethan was especially upset. To say that he loves to snow board is an understatement. So this came to him as quite a blow. He had been looking forward to "ditching school" and boarding all day. 

He was responsible and made arrangements with all his teachers and even took a test early to be sure everything was in place.  Knowing how much he was looking forward to it made me rethink my decision. "Maybe I was being too rash and maybe I should just take them" I thought.   I really didn’t want to disappoint him, he is such a good kid, but I just couldn’t feel good about it. So reluctantly (notice the bold print) they all went to school.

As it turned out by noon four of the major lifts were closed due to high winds and by evening we were experiencing hurricane winds near our home. Ethan came home from school gave me a big hug, and said “thank you mom, it would have been horrible up there.”  I just gave him a hug and told him Learn To Trust Me Ethan.

Hummm...  "Learn to trust ME?"   I need to learn to trust Him and the promptings He gives me.  Learn to act and not second guess. Learn to listen, like our angels listened when they sent our miracle money!

More about Angels

The more milestones we pass in this adoption process, the more real it becomes. (By the way we learned that our application has now officially been shipped to the CCAA.)

It is no longer"someday when we go to China to get Liddia", it is now "in a few weeks when we go to China to get Liddia...". There are so many details we need to get in order before this all happens. Are we ready?? Uhhh...not yet.

One thing in particular that has been a bit heavy, and that is all the expenses. Don't get us wrong, the Lord has performed miracles for us and we believe he will continue to do so, that is where faith comes in...and the angels.

Last night Rachelle and I were discussing an expense we weren't really anticipating, with a nagging wonder if we can cover it. The Lord and his earthly angels didn't make us wait long. Today in the mail there was a card from a family member. They more than covered this expense we were wondering about. Our hearts overflow with gratitude when we consider how everything is falling into place. God is surely the author of all this and he is providing a way.

Gratitude is not descriptive enough for what we feel.

Brendon

Cutest Girl Ever! New Pictures of Liddia

Greeting created with Smilebox

The angel we live with...

When I went to get each of the kids up this morning I noticed that each had a beautifully wrapped bag of candy with a note near their bed. I had one in the bag I take to work.

The angel we live with had been busy while we were all sleeping!

The boys had pink pancakes and milk for breakfast. What a wonderful mother they have, and what a wonderful wife I have.

No wonder whenever Ben wakes up and wants to get out of his crib only one person will do...mom. If I go in, he says, "no, mommy". I say, "what about dad?", he says, "no, mommy!"

My kids have the best mom.

Brendon

Three to Five Weeks till Travel Approval

We found out today that we could get our TA (Travel Approval) from the CCAA with in 3-5 weeks. Three weeks is probably too optimistic, but even five weeks seems doable. We are beyond excited, to actually see a little bit of light at the end of our journey.   My sweet friend told me today, "It's like the Dr. just scheduled you for an induction."  It's so true. 

I know there can be some ups and downs still, but I hope I am learning to shut up and keep pedaling.  I trust who is steering this bike after all.

Just an FYI  when we receive our TA we will travel with in two weeks. 

Shut Up & Pedal!

I like lists! I love to look at them and see what needs to be done. I especially like to look at them at the end of the day and see for myself, that I really did accomplish something. It makes me feel like I have some control in my life.  Crazy... I know!  But with 5 boys in my life I need to feel I have some what control over it.

When I first started this adoption process I thought no biggie, just do the things on “the list” and our little girl will be at the end of it. Simple right?  Boy was I wrong! Heavenly Father has a way of turning journeys like this into growing experiences. Learning to trust in His timing and in His way is hard. But as I look back at my life I can see His way has always been so much better than my own. So when I came across this little poem/story, I loved it right away.

A Tandem Ride With God

I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him.

But later on, when I met Jesus, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Jesus was in the back helping me pedal. I didn't know just when it was He suggested we change, but life has not been the same since I took the back-seat to Jesus, my Lord. He makes life exciting. When I had control, I thought I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at break-through speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it often looked like madness, He said, "Pedal!" I was worried and anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into adventure. And when I'd say, "I'm scared", He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord's and mine. And we were off again. He said, "Give the gifts away; they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it, but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus.

And when I'm sure I just can't do any more, He just smiles and says... "Pedal."

(Author unknown)

I am learning slowly to shut up and keep pedaling. To trust in Him that He knows where He is taking me.

The Waiting Place…..

One of our favorite Dr. Seuss books is “Oh The Places You’ll Go”. When Ethan was little he had us read it over and over to the point that to this day you could start with the first line of a page and Brendon or I could retell the story verbatim.


Well today it hit me. We have headed to that dreaded waiting place Dr. Seuss talks about. The most useless place.

The Waiting Place…..

….. for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

 or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or waiting around for a Yes or No

 or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for the wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

 or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

 or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

 Everyone is just waiting.

Then the book goes on

NO! That’s not for you!

 Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying.

 You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.

So……

I'm tired of Waiting.  Tonight we are having a party!  A January is over and February is here party!  Life is too short to play the waiting game.   Party On!!!!