Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Give this Christmas Away

We got a fun little surprise last week in church. Matthew West came in (as a surprise) to sing a his new Christmas song. I had not heard it before, but it seems to fit our Christmas this year perfectly.

Please PLEASE PLEASE watch this video and let the lyrics sink deep into your soul. Take it to heart and allow the message to make a difference in how you spend your Christmas.

It's feeding the hungry
serving the poor

It's telling the orphan
"You're not forgotten anymore"






Thankful

  • This week I am thankful for a house full of cousins. My girls are having a blast spending time with family that we only get to see every few years.
  • I am thankful that we are not moving or trying to sell a house.
  • So very thankful that we are all under one roof (accept for sweet pea).
  • Praising God that we are on the waiting list for Sweet Pea.
  • Thankful and grateful for how God provided the funds we needed to send in our dossier. Knowing that God will provide in His perfect timing for the rest.
  • Thankful that my family is healthy.
  • I am in awe of how gracious God has been to me and my family.
  • Thankful for God's word, for the ability to study it and how it changes my life.
  • Thankful that God forgives...for all the times I have sinned, in so many ways, and failed.
  • Thankful for Christ - the one who paid it all.


Happy Thanksgiving !!!!!!!!!!

May you spend the holiday focused on God and His blessings and His perfect ways.

Monday, November 23, 2009

preparing

We are determined to focus on the right thing for the holiday and prepare our hearts for worship. We are ready for the season of advent...are you?

Monday, November 16, 2009

Preparing for the holidays

I am sure you are all getting ready to prepare for the holidays. I am so thankful that we will not be moving, or trying to sell a home, or packing a truck or taking daddy back to the airport this holiday season. We were in such a transition period of our life last year and I am so very thankful that we can focus on the holiday and all that it really means. I am looking forward to our season of advent this year as we prepare our hearts for what Christmas is all about.

I am so thankful that we will be able to see my sister and her family for Thanksgiving. We will have a full house and I know the kids will really enjoy having the cousins around. It will be such a treat to celebrate Thanksgiving with them 2 years in a row.

I am so thankful that our paper chase part of the adoption is under our belt. We are now officially on a waiting list and we will use this time to enjoy our family as it is now and prayerfully prepare for what it will become. Our waiting list numbers are on the adoption blog - click on the peapod to get there.

We are leaning toward spending our Christmas shopping money on gifts for those that really need it. I know many families try and find something to do at Christmas to bless others. We will most likely buy gifts for native missionaries or families through GOSPEL FOR ASIA (HERE). We have done this before and I would love to encourage you to find something like this to spend part of your shopping budget on.

Also, just thought I would ask for ideas of your favorite holiday traditions that you enjoy with your family. I am looking into doing the Jesse Tree (HERE) this year and would also like to hear what ideas you would like to share.

Friday, November 13, 2009

nature prints


We made some really neat nature prints the other day for our science. I had purchased this paper a LONG time ago and totally forgot about it. (HERE) We had a beautiful sunny morning so we decided to take advantage of it.The idea is you put the paper out in the sun for a few moments with something on it to make a shape. We had fun picking fun shaped items.

It was a windy day and our things kept blowing away. We had to hold them down tight.
The girls even made their hand prints in the sun. Notice the silverware and the toy horses. They love those shadows.
Then you quickly take the papers inside and soak them in water for about 2 minutes. (Can't remember, you would have to read the instructions).
Soaking them with water helps darken the paper and prints. Then you let them dry flat.Notice the branch from a tree, the lace and the scissors. Those all turned out pretty cool.


Here are our dried nature prints. We plan on putting some in our nature journals and writing about the sun and light.

What was so cool about this project was the immediate results. Well, that and the creativity.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Am I the last one out there ???

Without a GPS ??? Does anyone use maps anymore ? Feeling like I am part of a soon to be extinct group.
Maybe I should put it on my Christmas list. =)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

We have been BUSY !!!

We have been so busy and trying to squeeze everything in these past few days. Chuck has been working round the clock on a big video shoot for the past week. He is beyond tired. The girls and I helped him out on Saturday at his shoot. Needless to say, it was fascinating. I loved watching him in action, directing and organizing all the chaos. He does such a great job and it was a treat to be involved.

God provided the money we needed to press ahead on the dossier and we have been busy trying to get those documents done and notarized (click the peapod for updates). It is a paper chase. We spent most of yesterday in the car going from office to office getting the last few things done. It is amazing to see God's mighty hand at work in all of this.

We have had construction workers in the house for almost a week working on our bathroom floor and shower. There has been a major leak and water has built up and caused a mess. I can't get into my closet so I have been wearing the same outfit for days. =)

I am teaching my portion of our keepers group today and we are taking a field trip of sorts to the library to learn about the organization system that is used there. I am also working with a friend on a junior naturalists club that we formed this fall. We have that meeting on Thursday and I need to squeeze in preparing for that lesson. I have left it all to the last minute. I hate that about myself.

We finished our last class of education on Monday night for our adoption training. Glad to have it done, but we have learned so much and appreciated all the education we have been able to take part in. My mom has faithfully helped us out with watching the girls all those Monday nights as we have had to travel to the "city" to take these classes. We are SO thankful for the support.

So...all that to say, my house is a MESS. With running in every direction, I haven't had the time to get it cleaned, or put away, or hardly made a meal for my family. I will be happy to have all the paper chasing done before the holidays approach. My sister and her family will be here for Thanksgiving and I can't wait for that. It will be such a treat to get together again.

In the spirit of keeping it real. A tiny peak at the mess around here.










When you don't sort through the mail in days, it can really pile up. Working on our paper work for the dossier.









I haven't been able to get to my closet and put any clothes away. So...they just keep piling up.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Praying for our children

I desire to pray more for my children. Not just a prayer for their health and for them to have a good day. But I desire to pray for their spiritual walk. For their relationship with God. Their influence on others. For their future spouse. Pray that they would be an example on others. For their purity.

I found a book on praying for your children and I made cards to keep next to the breakfast nook. I try and pray over these cards each morning as I have a cup of tea and read my Bible. I love how these prayers come from scripture and help me to focus on what is worthy as I lift up my family before the Almighty God. Especially as I have been praying for our new child (ren). Since I don't know names or ages or gender or circumstances, I pray for God to be working in their life even now.

I am so thankful for the prayers of friends and family. I know our parents pray every day for our children and we are so thankful to have prayer warriors that lift us up. God is faithful and He hears our prayers and His will is what we desire.

Another one of my favorite resources is the "Praying for our Children" calendar. (HERE) It is worth printing out and putting some place you see every day.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Go check out the new post

BIG news on the adoption blog. Click HERE to see how God is working.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Candy Land

Instead of eating all the candy, these girls have been playing with it all week. I had to take pictures of it, for I am impressed with their creativeness. Click the pictures to enlarge for better viewing.

At first a few toys were added to enhance the fun. And very quickly a coral showed up in front of the barn.And a candy garden was planted. Notice the "Nerds" gate. This is where the candy comes from.

Pretty soon the barn grew and stalls were added out back to house the animals. And a few wooden people were added to ride the horses and play in the garden. Notice the yellow colored candy to represent the hay. And blue candy is for the water.

When they are off playing with something else, or when it is time to take a break and eat or do school, this is how the horses are left, in their stalls.Here is the family sitting at the table. I think the family is inspired by the Ingalls family, I hear a lot of Laura and Mary dialogue going on. Chairs are made out of Milk Duds boxes. If you click the picture here you will notice the fire in the background with a Hershey Kiss as the flame of the fire.

Here they all are tucked into bed complete with covers made out of M & M's and Reese's. They have used the candy just like building blocks to create their world.

Lounging on chairs made of Nerds and Dots complete with the fireplace in the front. Again notice the flame made out of Hershey Kiss and the logs made of Tootsie Rolls. This is the parlor.

Here they are playing by the creek. Since it is inspired by the Little House stories, notice the red Now and Later, that is supposed to be the crab from the story.

I have been amazed that the kids came up with this all on their own. I LOVE how creative they are with how they play. Just had to share our CANDY LAND.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

one of the reasons we are doing what we are doing


Just a reminder that most of our adoption posts are being posted on our Sweet Pea blog (HERE). This video is worth watching, take the few moments it takes to view. My prayer is that God uses us in some way to further His kingdom. My eyes have been opened and I will not be the same. God has burdened my heart for His children who have needs. Please continue to pray for our family and our journey and our Sweet Pea.

****Sharing the good news that the homestudy is DONE and has been sent to our agency and USCIS (immigration). That is a BIG check off the list. ****

Monday, November 2, 2009

Fall Festival Fun


We threw together some last minute outfits for some fall festival fun. We have been so busy and we just didn't have the time to work on anything before Saturday morning. We had Chuck's parents here last week and we ended up having 2 families for dinner on 2 different nights and then one other night we went out for Ethiopian food. Plus last Tuesday the girls and I went to the theater with a school group to see Little House on the Prairie the Musical. It was a fantastic evening and we enjoyed every second of it. But all of that turned into a VERY busy week.
We ended up going from festival to festival. Kroger and Publix had fall festivals going on with games and candy. Then we went over to a local church where a HUGE fall festival was going on. The girls enjoyed all the games and fun. And of course lots of candy. It was fun to see how many people we know and we have been here less than a year. After that we headed to another church and fall festival. More games and treats. It was starting to get cold and this festival was outside so we quickly made the rounds and then home to go and visit a few surrounding neighbors.

The day turned out to be lots of fun and the festivals were fantastic. We need to remember that we are not living in the tropics anymore and it gets cold here. We were not really prepared for that. Good thing most of the fun was indoors. This year Tally dresses as an Egyptian and Tissy was a cowgirl (inspired by Jessie in Toy Story 2). And Chuck and I grabbed some left over yard sale scrubs and joined in on the fun.Notice my doctor kit. =) I carted around my cell phone and camera inside.

Now...what to do with all that candy. Man...these girls got a lot. First off, they love sorting the candy. Counting out how many of each kind. And that is just the beginning of the fun. We don't do much sweets, so it will last a LONG time. And provide much entertainment.